Ch.131Chapter 20. Request (6)

The sewer was damp and smelly.

Even though it was winter, much drier than summer, the moisture was palpable against my skin.

This feels… Lovecraftian. Wandering through damp sewers in the middle of the night to hunt monsters.

Well, at least we didn’t need to wander for too long.

After walking about 20 minutes, we found the exit we had prepared in advance.

As I climbed up the ladder and crawled out of the manhole, several sturdy men grabbed my arms and pulled me up.

I knew they were trying to help. But honestly, when your helpers have broad “big brother” shoulders and are wearing suits, it’s hard to say thank you.

“Good. Let’s get going.”

If Kagami hadn’t said that after being the last one to emerge, I wouldn’t have been able to shake off my suspicions about these men so easily.

There was a car parked nearby.

A suspicious-looking black van.

The only consolation was that it wasn’t one of those beat-up vans typically used for kidnapping in clichéd movies or dramas.

Seeing how clean it was on the outside, it seemed well-maintained. When I calmed down a bit, it even reminded me of the large black vans celebrities ride in.

Koko, Kagami, and I got in together. The van was spacious. Fortunately, no one else sat on our side. Though there were about two more people sitting behind us.

“Do you know where we’re going?”

“I know how my sister’s people move. It’s not that far from here.”

There are almost no mountains in the middle of Tokyo, which is right next to the sea. Even if you climb to a fairly high place, all you see is a vast plain packed with buildings.

However, even near Tokyo Bay, on clear days, you can see quite high mountains at the edge of your vision. If the weather is really good and you’re high enough, you might even be lucky enough to see the hazy silhouette of Mount Fuji.

But Saitama is not Tokyo.

It’s a different city neighboring Tokyo. In other words, Saitama is directly connected to those “distant, hazy mountain ranges.”

Though I’ve lived in Saitama, I’ve never thought about climbing those mountains.

“…It could be a trap.”

Kagami nodded readily at my speculation.

“That’s right. They might be trying to follow us as we move.”

True. Kosuzu was a member of the cult until relatively recently. She knew exactly where my apartment was, and naturally, she would remember the escape route below it.

After hearing that the government was looking for Satori, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think she “set up a plan” to move me, who had the ability to chase that Satori.

Kagami would have thought of that.

But it’s clear that Kosuzu would eventually make some kind of attempt even if we didn’t move.

Kagami probably thought it was better to take the risk.

“I see.”

I nodded and took a box cutter from my pocket.

“Ugh…”

As soon as Koko saw the knife, she made a gloomy sound.

I felt a bit guilty.

Self-harming in front of others is becoming increasingly difficult as time passes.

It’s not simply because it hurts. I’ve actually become quite accustomed to the pain.

But as my relationships with those around me deepen, I gradually feel their concern for me.

Even Kagami was looking at my wrist without turning away.

My tattooed wrist.

At first, I thought Kagami had engraved it. Later, after learning about Kosuzu’s existence, I thought Kosuzu might have done it.

But thinking about it again, it doesn’t seem like either of them.

There’s no reason to engrave such a magic circle on my wrist. They didn’t even think I would be alive and moving in the first place.

Then perhaps…

…Was it Nirlas, who could control my body at will?

Well, that’s not important right now.

I took a deep breath.

I closed my eyes to ignore the stares around me.

Then I pressed the tip of the knife deep into my flesh and cut sideways.

Pain came—

“I’m a bit disappointed.”

—and an annoying voice was heard.

It’s strange. Nirlas’s voice was always neat, not too emotional, and calm except for the slight interest he always showed in me.

No, maybe that’s why it’s annoying.

I’m bleeding profusely every time, while he just watches like he’s eating popcorn.

I don’t know if he has something like popcorn, but still.

“It saddens me that you only call when you need something. Perhaps you have no interest in me.”

Well, of course I don’t.

To be honest, if there were any other way to resolve the situation, I wouldn’t have borrowed his power.

Why, isn’t it like an official rule in the Cthulhu mythos that if you delve too deeply into cosmic entities, you go insane?

Even the person who put a hole in Cthulhu’s ship with a steamboat wasn’t entirely sane.

…Come to think of it, am I really in my right mind now? Who cuts their wrist to follow someone? I’m not some unstable person threatening suicide if someone won’t meet me.

Well, maybe the principle is similar.

“…You’re not that interested in me either.”

I know I’m just a toy for him to play with.

“The fact that a being like me takes interest in you should not be taken lightly.”

Again with that playful tone.

I had no intention of responding to that.

I couldn’t move my body or shift my gaze. But I could feel the stares directed at me. Human vision is quite wide, so even if the center isn’t in focus, you can still notice what’s happening around you.

Both Kagami and Koko were looking at my wrist.

Koko I understand, but even Kagami.

“…I have a request.”

“I’m listening.”

“You don’t want anything in return this time?”

“There’s no need for that.”

Nirlas smiled as he answered my question.

“I think I’ll see something interesting this time too.”

“…”

See? I’m just a toy.

A toy that can be fixed if it breaks.

“I want to find the youkai called Satori.”

“Very well.”

Nirlas isn’t a “monkey’s paw.” He doesn’t twist the wish itself.

He just grants wishes for the pleasure that comes with them.

And if he determines he can’t get what he wants, he’ll demand separate conditions.

At least in this regard, he was a reliable entity.

“Then follow along. I’ll be watching from here.”

When Nirlas says something like this, it’s probably because something I dislike or worry about will follow at the end.

…But what makes him malicious is that I have no way to avoid it. Nirlas never tells me the end.

Looking at how he didn’t reveal Kudan’s prophecy until the end, even though he could have told me directly.

“You’ll need a sword too.”

“…That goes without saying.”

At my response, Nirlas laughed.

With that conversation over, time began to move again.

The stopped car started moving again, the air flowed again.

My senses had stopped and then started again, but since I was actually in a continuously moving car, it felt strange, as if the law of inertia had been ignored.

Thud.

A long red katana fell to the floor of the car.

“Kyu?”

And Chi, who poked his head out from between the split wound, made a sound.

Well, I’m used to this kind of thing.

Why does this feel so familiar?

I thought as I exhaled a long breath.

*

The place we arrived at, driving neither too fast nor too slow and observing traffic laws to avoid suspicion, was, as expected, in the mountains.

But it was a mountain right next to the city. There were several roads leading to the mountain, so we could drive to where the trees were dense.

Because it’s a monkey, I guess.

“I see. Strictly speaking, it means you can only know the direction.”

Kagami said, looking at Chi in my hand.

I nodded.

“But we should still be able to find it. It’s never been wrong so far.”

Yes, if I thought this was a malicious prank, I could be suspicious.

Like telling us the direction is this way, but the actual location is on another continent.

But Nirlas didn’t play that kind of prank on me. If it had been somewhere I couldn’t find, he would have said so from the beginning.

We had that level of trust. Nirlas and I didn’t lie to each other.

We just didn’t tell everything.

“…”

“Hey, shouldn’t you trust me?”

When I said this to Kagami, who was staring at Chi, his gaze turned to my face.

I meant it as a joke, but seeing Kagami’s utterly serious face, I couldn’t continue with the joke.

By the way, my wrist was bandaged.

Whatever they used the car for, it had tools that could perform simple surgeries. Well, it was quite obvious that the person performing the surgery wasn’t a real doctor. They probably knew how to treat knife wounds?

Since there was no need to stitch up a wound I had deliberately made, thick medical gauze was placed on my wrist. And then it was tightly wrapped with bandages.

Kagami helped with this.

“…Sorry.”

“What?”

Kagami’s eyes finally blinked and moved at my words.

“It’s a bit inappropriate to say this when the situation is so serious.”

“…”

“We need to find it before Kosuzu. Or Kosuzu might be following us right now.”

“But there was no tail.”

One of the men who drove our car scratched his head and said.

“No cars following—”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.”

Kagami gently cut off the man’s words.

“This is about something that isn’t human.”

Because Waitley is invisible.

The men fell silent at Kagami’s words.

There were four men who came with us. It might seem too few in terms of numbers, but thinking about it again, nothing attracts police attention more than a bunch of burly men moving in groups or several large vans traveling together.

Besides, honestly, these people wouldn’t be much help unless it involved physical labor.

I tightened my grip on the sword in my right hand. Good. This level of blood loss isn’t a big problem for me anymore.

And Satori… once we find it, it probably won’t be a big problem.

Koko followed behind me silently. Her expression was full of worry, and she kept glancing at my wrist.

How many times have I collapsed in front of Koko?

…I can’t even remember clearly anymore.

Will it happen again today?

“Let’s go.”

I spoke in a deliberately firm voice, trying not to show my concern.

“Kyu.”

Only Chi responded.

Whether it was a real response or just mimicking my voice, I’m not sure.

*

“Haa… haa…”

I thought my stamina had improved a bit, but that clearly didn’t apply in the middle of the mountains.

Moreover, the place we were walking now barely had a visible path.

We moved forward, forward, relying only on the flashlight beams provided by the men.

“Kyu.”

Well, this mountain setting makes sense.

They hid to avoid people.

Given that they stayed here instead of moving elsewhere, Satori must have been pushed around even in the world of youkai.

I feel a bit sorry that after finding decades of peace, I’m coming to kill it… but as I continue climbing this mountain, even those thoughts are starting to fade away.

Even the men, who initially climbed the mountain much more easily than me, began to show signs of heavy breathing.

If we continue like this, will they eventually abandon me on the mountain?

I was grateful that they had followed without saying anything so far, but—

“Haa… ah.”

After walking and walking, I suddenly stopped.

“Whoa?”

Koko, who was following me, was the first to stop and made such a sound.

“Did you find something?”

Kagami asked.

“…Yes.”

I felt it.

A strange chill that penetrated even the cold of midwinter.

As always, Chi’s guidance was accurate.

It seems it doesn’t just indicate direction like a compass. It works more like a navigation system, but since I don’t always know my exact orientation, I might have just assumed it was pointing like a compass.

Nirlas isn’t being considerate… rather, he’s probably drooling at the prospect of a very tasty development.

It’s only natural that I wouldn’t respond if I thought it wasn’t helpful.

“But it’s still far away.”

I’m not yet an expert. At least not as someone who instinctively senses youkai and their nests like this.

If Yuka were here, she might know how close we were, or why the energy felt so faint.

And why it wasn’t properly found despite being so close to Tokyo.

Well, even if there are exorcists, they can’t search every inch of such a vast mountain.

Kudan was a rare case born in this world with that appearance, and if anyone saw him, it would cause a commotion, plus he was of great importance. But Satori easily senses malice and runs away, and to anyone who sees it, it’s just a monkey.

“…Let’s go.”

I want to finish this as quickly as possible, at least before Sunday ends.

I didn’t want Yuka to catch me lying.

So I squeezed out all the strength I could from this body and moved forward.

*

“Shh. Wait.”

One of the men following us said.

We immediately crouched down. Koko was a bit late to sit, but the difference wasn’t significant.

The man, with his finger to his lips, looked around.

Rustle.

Something made a sound stepping on the ground.

…A person?

In the middle of the night, in a forest with barely a path?

…

Well, it could be.

This isn’t like America with vast uninhabited areas; it’s Japan, an archipelago with over 100 million people crammed together.

And even though it’s a bit in the mountains, it’s still Saitama.

The flashlights were already turned off when we crouched down.

“Let’s move from here for now.”

One of the men said.

“It’s not good if we’re spotted.”

Someone might be coming towards us after seeing our light. Moving seemed like a good idea.

I blinked, trying to adapt my eyes to the darkness.

Slowly, I moved without making footsteps.

I gripped my sword tightly.

Koko also had a stern expression, as if preparing to fight.

And Kagami—

Was taking out talismans from inside his clothes.

Talismans, it’s been a while.

Come to think of it, he used talismans when catching the silkworm too.

“There might be vengeful spirits in the mountains. And… we have our own know-how for these situations.”

“It seems so.”

Remembering the mirror Kagami used last time, I responded, and Kagami seemed to smile a little.

Judging by the small bag he’s carrying on his side, he might have brought it today too.

“Shh.”

After moving a few meters like that.

The men who were at the back but now leading the way stopped again with such a sound.

“…From that side too?”

“Yeah.”

The men, who were whispering among themselves, all looked at us and said.

“This has become troublesome.”

“Are there many people?”

“Yes. It doesn’t seem like just one or two. Footsteps are coming from all directions.”

The oldest but still as burly as the others said. There was a long scar on his temple, so vivid that it was faintly visible even in this dark place.

“Are they surrounding us?”

“I’m not sure.”

The man pondered for a moment. Since his voice was almost audible even from right in front, we huddled a bit closer.

Still, the winter wind was blowing quite strongly, so sounds would be quickly muffled if the distance was even slightly greater.

The cold temperature made the wound on my wrist sting even more.

“We didn’t notice anyone following us.”

“…”

“What would you like to do? If we go any further, we’ll definitely encounter them. I’m not sure if we can help you.”

If they’re from the Yamashita family, they would have seen me fighting Kodoku.

They would know it’s not an entity that ordinary human strength can face.

Kagami silently looked at me.

Does he want me to decide?

“…That’s what we came prepared for.”

At my answer, the man nodded.

“Then let’s go. If we’re spotted, we’ll walk proudly from then on.”

“…Yes.”

For now, he meant we should hide our bodies as much as possible.

With that agreement, we started moving again.

I’ve heard that yakuza, outside of movies, have no loyalty or anything, but whether it’s because we’re in a light novel or what, these men showed no signs of betraying us.

No, perhaps these people are also “believers.” As Mr. Yamashita said—

“Hey!”

At that sound, we all stopped.

We almost lay flat on the ground and held our breath.

Did they see us?

That irritable voice clearly seemed like someone had seen—

“I know you’re there! Show your face! We didn’t come to fight—”

What should we do? If we’ve been spotted, should we rush out and subdue—

But before my thought could finish, the chill running up my spine suddenly intensified.

And then.

Rustle. Splash. Thud.

A sound that’s unpleasant no matter how many times you hear it hit my eardrums starkly.

“…Koko!”

“Yes!”

At my shout, Koko jumped up from her spot.

I also sprang up simultaneously and extended my left arm forward.

The sound of metal clashing and something like a water balloon bursting were heard simultaneously.

It was the sound of tentacles, which had torn through the bandage on my left wrist, hitting something and bursting.

“…”

The other side— wasn’t visible.

So you’ve come after all, Kosuzu.

I thought, glaring beyond.