Ch.130Chapter 20. Request (5)

What should I do?

I don’t know the full extent of Kosuzu’s abilities.

But at least, I know that Kosuzu is creating and controlling entities similar to me and Koko.

My tracking ability isn’t actually “my” ability.

To be precise, it’s the power of a foreign god called Nirlas Shura who’s enjoying observing me.

If I find that yokai called Satori and he thinks it’ll make things boring, he definitely won’t help me. Conversely, if he thinks it’ll be entertaining, he’ll force his help on me even if I refuse.

“Then, may I assume you’ll help us?” Kagami asked at the front door after finishing dinner and helping with the dishes.

“…Yeah.”

I nodded.

That’s right. I had already made up my mind.

I don’t know how Kosuzu will use it. But at least, I’m certain it won’t have a particularly positive impact on this world.

Whether it’s blackmailing higher-ups, or figuring out effective attack points—just having that kind of information is reason enough to track it down.

“…Thank you,” Kagami replied.

I quietly observed Kagami.

In my previous life, I never really grew up in poverty. At least when I lived with my family, I never lived in a hastily built house like this one.

So I’m not sure if houses like this exist in Korea, but—

Well, at least standing here in this entryway, I could definitely feel the cold air seeping through that thin wooden door.

It probably wasn’t below freezing, but the temperature seemed to be in the single digits.

I looked Kagami over.

Those clothes didn’t look particularly thick. …Though I’m not sure if that’s just my perception as someone who spent winters in Korea.

“How are you getting back? Do you have someone to drive you?”

Only after asking did I realize this was the first time I’d asked Kagami such a question.

“Yes, someone will come if I call.”

Though it seems like they’ve never actually picked Kagami up right in front of this apartment.

The last time I checked the clock, it was past nine.

I hesitated briefly, then looked at Koko. Koko seemed completely indifferent. She was watching Kagami and me talk quite intently, but hadn’t interrupted our conversation.

To be honest, I couldn’t really tell what she was thinking.

Well, at least she didn’t seem to have negative thoughts about Kagami.

At the very least, she wasn’t showing an extremely wary expression right now.

“Meow.”

I heard a cry from near my feet.

Kuro was looking up at me and meowing.

What are you going to do?

His expression seemed to be asking that.

…Alright, fine.

“…You can just stay the night.”

After saying that, I looked up to see Kagami frozen with a faint smile.

Rather than deliberately putting on that expression, it seemed like that was just the last expression they had before freezing up, not knowing how to respond to my words.

“It’s late,” I added.

Ironically, this room contained enough items for a family of four to live comfortably. There were plenty of blankets since Yuka often came to stay over.

Accommodating one unexpected guest wouldn’t be a problem.

“I…”

You can refuse if you want to.

But isn’t it strange to refuse at this point? Koko and I have already stayed above Kagami’s bar before.

“…”

Still, I can’t say it’s not awkward.

To ease the atmosphere a bit, I added a reasonable excuse.

“And we still have some things to discuss. If Kosuzu has started moving, it’s best to find her as quickly as possible. And… I don’t want others to find out that we dealt with Satori.”

After saying that, I shrugged.

“I’ll be in my room, so do whatever you want.”

Then I went back to my room with Koko.

About 30 seconds later? Kagami hesitantly came back into the room.

And somewhat awkwardly sat down in a corner.

“Meow.”

Kuro followed shortly after Kagami.

Curling up on my lap, Kuro yawned widely.

As I scratched behind Kuro’s ears, I smiled slightly, making sure Koko and Kagami couldn’t see.

*

Since I’m not a very planned person and tend to be impulsive, I honestly couldn’t explain why I said those things to Kagami in that moment.

But if I try to be logical and dig deep into my subconscious, I think there was some guilt mixed in for being overly cautious of Kagami.

It was also a relationship where I was almost unilaterally receiving help.

To be honest, Kagami deserves a lot of credit for the consideration I now receive from those around me. After all, Kagami took on the villain image for me.

“You know someone’s watching me right now, don’t you?”

Kagami nodded at my words.

Since I’d invited Kagami to my room under the pretext of having a conversation, I planned to discuss this during the remaining night.

“When they realize I’m gone, they’ll move immediately. Since I’ve already heard about Satori.”

“…That’s right.”

Kagami nodded.

“So I was wondering, is there a way for me to secretly leave this building? Like a secret passage?”

Actually, I already had an idea.

Opening the window and asking Koko to take me outside. Well, we couldn’t completely avoid suspicion. Opening a window in the middle of winter would be suspicious, and if someone was staring intently at the room, they might see some afterimage when we disappear.

Still, it was one definite method. At least they wouldn’t know where we disappeared to.

So this was just something I brought up without much thought to continue the conversation, but—

“There is.”

“…There is?”

I looked up at Kagami with an incredulous expression.

“Yes, there is. What do you think this place is?”

Well, it’s a dilapidated apartment. With walls so thin they can’t even properly block the winter cold.

…And also a place where each room’s refrigerator contained enormous chunks of flesh, and behind the plastic covering the walls was red blood smeared all over.

So, if you think about it… from a cult perspective, it’s a well-disguised and very important location.

“Did you hold gatherings here?”

“We did. Not anymore.”

Kagami looked at me while speaking. As the conversation turned to something they were confident about, Kagami seemed to gradually return to their former self.

“And among those gatherings and rituals, some were very close to criminal activities in the eyes of outsiders.”

Hmm, I don’t really want to hear exactly what they did.

So I pretended not to hear that part and continued.

“So, about the passage?”

“There’s quite a large hole under the first-floor room. We dug a passage from there connecting to the sewers.”

I’m not sure if I should call this large-scale or something to be expected.

…At least I’m grateful Koko didn’t go that way. It also meant they had properly sealed it off, at least on the surface.

“Well, since the passage itself hasn’t been maintained for quite some time, there might be lots of bugs lurking inside.”

“…”

I decided to pretend I didn’t hear that either.

“Once in the sewers, you can go anywhere that’s connected. Of course, we also designated escape routes to prevent getting lost and starving to death in there.”

“That’s… thorough.”

“Hmm…”

When I muttered, somewhat intimidated, Kagami put a hand to their chin and fell into thought briefly.

“The problem is that there’s no direct way down from the second floor to the first floor. To get to the first-floor room, we must go outside.”

If someone is watching us, they would find it extremely suspicious if we entered the first floor and didn’t come out for a long time.

I haven’t found any signs of someone secretly entering and searching this apartment. The people watching me seem to be at least that cautious.

But it’s impossible to know how they’ll act if they judge the situation to be truly urgent.

“That’s… something to think about.”

Which would arouse more suspicion? Keeping the window open continuously? Or entering the first floor and not returning for a long time?

“Since I’m staying here after a long time,”

Kagami said to me as I was lost in thought.

“Let me think of a way.”

Kagami looked somewhat proud as they said this.

*

The next day, after studying in the literature club room and returning home, I found quite a few people gathered in front of my house.

“Kagami?”

When I called out to Kagami, who seemed to be directing these people, Kagami looked at me with a faint smile.

“What’s all this?”

“The building is too old, isn’t it? Plus, we’re hardly using the lower floor.”

Kagami answered my question straightforwardly.

“So I’m doing a bit of remodeling. Fixing the walls, checking the plumbing for any issues.”

I almost reflexively asked “Now?” but then I noticed people on the second floor too and kept quiet.

That’s right.

I had already broken through the ceiling before. Of course, it was partly because the construction was so shoddy that I doubted this apartment was even meant for human habitation.

“Do you see over there?”

Looking where Kagami pointed, I saw the man who lived next door, his face incredibly bright.

He was peering around his home, already excited that his living space would be cleaned up. Did he finish work early today?

“And, would you come this way?”

I followed Kagami’s gesture.

Kagami led us into the room at the far right end of the first floor.

Inside, almost nothing had changed. There was some luggage, but no people.

Instead, some of the flooring was exposed, and in the middle was a closed door.

“And this way, even if people living in this building come to look, they won’t be suspicious.”

“…Ah.”

I see.

So this was the method Kagami had mentioned.

Creating a reason for me to come in at any time.

Indeed, with this, I could buy time until I disappeared in front of them.

“…I see.”

“Yes, that’s the reason.”

Kagami looked back and forth between Koko and me as they spoke.

“So, may I ask when you’re planning to go look for Satori?”

“…”

Looking at Kagami, who seemed to have completely regained their usual composure, I momentarily forgot what to say.

*

We set the execution date for this weekend.

I don’t know exactly where Satori might be. I only know it’s somewhere on the Japanese archipelago.

Building a nest and moving takes quite a long time, but it’s been decades since I gave up tracking it.

If it crossed the sea, it might be impossible to find, but given that Kosuzu is moving, they must have found at least minimal clues.

Is it a similar method to mine? Waitley seems to have received at least part of a god’s power, so it’s reasonable to think they might have convenient functions related to that, even if not as much as me.

So, I set the deadline as soon as possible.

“You want to take the weekend off?”

The manager asked in response to my request.

I’ve already taken a lot of days off throughout this year. Honestly, if this were a normal workplace, I might have used up all my annual leave by now.

“Well, fine. Take the time off.”

But the manager agreed without asking for any reason.

“Since you brought in free labor, we’re not short on staff.”

As the manager said this, his eyes were directed at Miki.

When I looked at him incredulously, the manager shrugged.

“What’s the problem? She really doesn’t take a salary. For now, she just seems to want to help me.”

“…”

“What, do you want to tell me why you’re taking time off? Is your tongue itching to speak?”

The manager asked with a smirk.

“Just, with mom…”

Mom, huh.

Well, I can’t call Kagami by name in front of others. Even though we have a setting of initially having a bad relationship that’s gradually improving, considering Eastern relationships and titles, calling someone just by their name would be too strange.

“…I see.”

Whatever interpretation the manager made of my words, he showed a very warm smile and said:

“Then that’s what you should do. If they’re among the few family members left in the world, you should definitely spend time with them. Go have fun, eat lots of delicious food.”

I was very thankful that Yuka wasn’t nearby.

Yuka would definitely have made an incredibly complex expression hearing our conversation.

She might have thought that I didn’t fully believe her and that Kagami had asked me to find Satori.

…Which was actually true.

*

Saturday, after school.

“…I see. You have to work on Saturday too.”

Yuka, who had asked me to study together but was rejected, said with a somewhat empty expression.

“Honestly, I really want to go with you, but it feels a bit awkward to spend all day studying at your workplace.”

Looking at Yuka, who spoke somewhat jokingly, I smiled slightly.

Honestly, if that had really happened, it would have felt like silent pressure. Like she was telling me to study more.

Though Yuka probably wouldn’t have any malicious intent.

“Well… yeah.”

Yuka nodded to herself and said:

“Okay. See you next week.”

I nodded at Yuka’s words.

“See you Monday.”

Fortunately, since Yuka’s train was scheduled to arrive first, Koko and I saw her off first.

Good. I can breathe a sigh of relief for now.

As I exhaled softly and turned around, I found Koko staring up at me.

“…What? Is something wrong?”

Concerned by Koko’s expression, I asked, and—

“Uh.”

After thinking for a moment, Koko said:

“Kotone, lie.”

“Huh?”

As I blinked, Koko continued:

“Lying is bad… what if Santa Claus doesn’t like it at Christmas?”

“…”

Ah.

I see.

Koko had been sitting beside me with a blank expression throughout my conversation with Kagami yesterday.

So, she probably judged my deceiving my best friend and doing something alone as “lying,” a bad thing.

“This is…”

I found it difficult to answer Koko’s question.

“I’ll explain this to you when we get home. It probably won’t be a big problem with Santa Claus.”

“Uh-uh?”

Koko tilted her head again at my words.

*

“…Santa?”

Kagami tilted their head after hearing our conversation at home.

“Bad things make Santa not give presents.”

Kagami’s eyes widened slightly at Koko’s words. Even widened, they were still narrow eyes.

Seeing Kagami give me a look that seemed to demand an explanation, I thought for a moment and said:

“This is to prevent Yuka from worrying.”

“Uh-uh?”

“Koko, do you think making a friend worry is a good thing?”

I looked at Koko’s face with a serious expression as I spoke.

“…That, bad thing.”

Koko said after some deep thought.

“That’s right. But sometimes there are moments when you have to lie. To prevent people you care about and are close to from worrying.”

“But…”

“If I had told her the reason there, Yuka would have worried tremendously.”

And she would have followed me.

I said that while hiding the latter part.

“For this matter, I thought it best if we resolved it among ourselves.”

“…”

Koko stared at me intently.

“We’ll solve it quickly without making others worry, and return by the weekend. That way, we can resolve the issue without making anyone worry.”

“Not bad thing?”

“No, it’s not.”

Of course, even as I answered that, a corner of my heart ached a little.

There are various types of lies.

There are light lies told as jokes. There are cases where you withhold information for now to tell the truth later, and there are lies told solely to deceive the other person.

The lie I told Yuka was the last kind.

No matter how much the intention was for a friend’s sake, no one would consider it purely a good deed.

And above all.

I’ve already told Yuka a far too big lie.

Although it’s for Yuka’s sake, I’ve already told a lie that could cause a huge wound in the end, a long time ago.

Yes.

There’s one more type of lie.

The kind of lie where you don’t tell anyone anything.

A deception in the form of silence.

…Considering what I know about that prophecy, the yokai called Satori is one that shouldn’t exist.

What expression will Koko make when she learns that fact in the final moment?

“Santa Claus will definitely come. So there’s no need to worry.”

“Uh-uh.”

Koko looked up at me with her head slightly bowed and said in a somewhat deflated voice:

“I hope Kotone gets a present too…”

“…I’m sure you will.”

Kagami, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, said.

“You probably will. Given what you’ve done so far.”

Kagami was staring at me.

“So, there’s no need to worry too much.”

“…Really?”

“Really.”

Only after hearing Kagami’s words did Koko show a slight smile.

A smile of relief.

Yet seeing that smile, I felt no relief at all.