Ch.28Chapter 4. Where People Live (7)

# When I opened my eyes, the first thing I thought about was my school uniform.

Of course, I was aware of the situation.

Yuka probably succeeded in dealing with the silkworm. And the silkworm I stabbed died too.

My body… it probably recovered quickly, just like when I caught the amanojaku.

So my immediate concern wasn’t about my body, which would heal for free.

I have another summer uniform at home. I hand-washed it, wrung it out, and hung it to dry, so I could wear it tomorrow morning, but the problem is the day after.

I can’t wear something that’s been reduced to rags again. And I can’t wear a sailor uniform soaked with sweat and rain without washing it either.

So the only conclusion is that I need to buy another school uniform.

“…”

I slowly sat up.

Nights in hospitals aren’t as quiet as one might think. The lights in patient rooms are turned off, but the corridor lights remain on, and nurses frequently walk around checking on patients.

But since I couldn’t hear such sounds, I must be in a private room again.

The last time I was hospitalized, Miura paid for it, and the time after that, Yuka did. I wonder who it is this time.

The people who brought me here are those who know why I collapsed.

Yuka and her grandfather do this for a living. Obviously, they can’t avoid getting injured sometimes, so it’s easy to assume they have a cooperating hospital in Tokyo.

Kaoru… I could easily tell that Kaoru’s family was well-off. I heard that very night that her parents were famous, which is why the club members couldn’t bully her.

I was wearing a patient gown. It was clean. I didn’t feel any bandages wrapped around my body.

There was a needle inserted in my left wrist again. The line connected to the IV drip was red.

I dropped my arm weakly and let out a deep sigh.

Outside the window, the sun was starting to rise.

The sky was still red.

…I need to go to school.

Let me try to understand the situation a bit. It seems like there’s no one in the hospital, so I’ll get up from the bed and—

Click.

Just as I was about to get up, the door to the room opened.

The person who came in from outside and met my eyes was Kaoru.

Judging by her bloodshot eyes, she probably hadn’t slept at all last night.

“Kut-chan!?”

Kaoru screamed like that and immediately ran to me, hugging me tightly.

Unlike when she hugged me earlier that night, this was a dry, fluffy embrace. Honestly, it felt nice. Kaoru seemed to have washed up, as her hair smelled faintly of shampoo.

“Are you okay?”

“…I don’t think I’m injured anywhere.”

“What do you mean you’re not injured? I saw you in that state with my own eyes yesterday!”

Hmm… is that how it works?

Well, if someone gets injured like that, forget about healing—it would be difficult to even survive the night.

I… was probably able to endure because of this body’s peculiarity.

“You’re awake?”

The person who came in saying that was Yuka. She also seemed to have washed up and changed clothes. Well, that’s natural since several hours have passed.

“The silkworm?”

“Hunted it.”

Yuka said.

“And the term ‘silkworm’ is technically incorrect. There’s no official name for it yet. And it’s not like someone can just name it first. It’s awkward to call it ‘a silkworm-like creature that makes silkworm sounds,’ so we just call it a silkworm. Well, at this point, it doesn’t matter anyway.”

It seems that in modern times, it has simply taken over the name “silkworm.”

“Since you caught one, I’ll give you your pay today. Cash is fine, right?”

Yuka said that as she sat down on the chair next to the bed.

20,000 yen in cash, huh.

Considering the hourly rate, it’s a very high wage, which made me feel a bit proud.

“…”

Seeing my expression, Kaoru’s face became a bit blank.

“Wait. What do you mean by pay?”

Kaoru asked Yuka with a serious face.

“Kurosawa has the ability to deal with beings like the ones we saw yesterday. She made a part-time job contract with us. She gets a fixed amount per case.”

“Kut-chan? Isn’t that risking your life…?”

“…”

At Kaoru’s words, Yuka closed her mouth.

“I said I would do it.”

I explained instead.

“I was going to do it anyway, even without getting paid.”

“Kut-chan…”

“There are families like this.”

Yuka said.

“I guess Kurosawa is from a similar family. Perhaps even older than the family I belong to.”

According to what I told Yuka, I was someone who had rejected such a family and distanced myself from it. In a way, that’s true. If I wanted to, I could receive money earned from that association.

“…What about the souls that crossed over from the netherworld?”

“I sent them all back. It took a while to perform the exorcism.”

Yuka said with a long exhale.

“But now, for a while, there won’t be any such ‘ghost stories’ at school. It’s been cleaned so thoroughly that even someone like Senior Kaoru, who can communicate with the netherworld, won’t be able to see anything.”

“…For a while?”

“Yes, for a while.”

Yuka nodded calmly and said.

“All places where people live are the same. When people gather, factions form, and there are weak ones who can’t belong or adapt. And sometimes those people die. Such souls can’t easily depart to the netherworld. And teenagers are often interested in such things. There are those who attempt spirit possession, whether they succeed or fail, and those who create and spread ghost stories. Souls often get entangled with stories or emotions, especially stories filled with emotions.”

A melting pot of emotions where countless children with countless circumstances mix with their own emotions.

Come to think of it, ghost stories don’t easily exist in places other than schools. The only other place I can think of is the military, where people with various backgrounds are forcibly gathered and confined together, which is why such stories emerge.

Moreover, ghost stories from the military are heard more often outside than inside. In fact, many are probably made up by veterans.

At universities and companies, it’s hard to hear serious ghost stories unless they’re told as jokes.

“And because of that, creatures that feed on emotions are attracted to such places. Once they’re attracted, the story gets worse. Until it’s resolved. There are many places besides schools where such creatures appear. The reasons are varied.”

“…What about Senior Kaoru’s disappearance?”

“The silkworm was probably attracted to Senior Kaoru’s emotions. It’s good new nourishment, right? Even if we had tried to take her out of school at that time, we probably couldn’t have. And the senior… would have gradually assimilated with those grudges. Eventually, she wouldn’t have appeared at school even when it was time.”

“…”

Kaoru thought for a moment and then said.

“Among ghost stories… there are ghosts that appear at certain times.”

I wonder if Kaoru was about to become such a being.

Yuka shrugged.

“…Ah, that’s right!”

Kaoru exclaimed, as if she had just remembered something, hitting her palm with her fist.

“Yut-chan, you said you exorcised the inside of the school, right?”

“Yut-chan…”

Yuka made a face that clearly showed her dislike, but Kaoru wasn’t the type to simply change to a more formal address just because of such an expression.

“Then, were living spirits also exorcised along with it?”

“Living spirits?”

Yuka frowned.

“There’s no way to distinguish whether it’s a living spirit or the soul of someone who has actually died… but I spent a lot of time going around every corner, so if there were any souls, they would have returned to where they should be.”

“Then, is there a possibility that someone in a comatose state might return?”

Yuka stared at Kaoru for a moment, then closed her eyes and let out a small sigh.

“…It’s better not to expect too much.”

Yuka’s voice was a bit subdued. It was a voice that seemed to understand what Kaoru had been thinking when she came to school.

“Whether a soul should be in its body or in the netherworld, that’s not something we can judge.”

“But if the body is intact—”

“That too, we can’t fully judge. Not even doctors. The body is a vessel for the soul. If the vessel cracks and water leaks, you might be able to contain the water somehow when you patch it, but if it’s too badly damaged, even that might be impossible. There are cases where souls can’t leave this world because of the body, but conversely, there might be cases where the body still breathes because a soul that should depart cannot.”

“…Yeah, that’s fine. I know that much.”

Kaoru nodded with a slightly relieved expression.

“That’s enough. If that child has returned to where they should be, then…”

“…”

Neither I nor Yuka could say anything more.

*

“Your mother…”

“There’s no need to call her.”

“I see.”

At my answer, Yuka showed a relieved expression.

“Grandfather will probably be here soon. He had some things to take care of while I was here.”

He probably had to extract people from the school or something. After all, if there were people staying at school until late at night, they would have seen everything Yuka did.

“Rest well here today. I’ll come back after school.”

“That’s right. I’ll bring Ikeda with me.”

…I feel like I’ll just cause worry. The day before, her close friend went missing, and today, her junior is hospitalized. She’s already a sensitive person, so the psychological impact might be quite significant.

Maybe it would be better to just say I’m absent for personal reasons—

“I’ll buy lots of delicious things when I come.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Maybe if I show Ikeda that I’m eating well, she’ll be a bit less worried? The quickest way to alleviate someone’s worry is to show them that the person is no longer sick. If the cause of worry disappears, there’s no need to worry. Absolutely.

The two nodded to me and turned around.

The sun was now properly up in the sky.

Is it a school holiday…?

If I get discharged today, should I go straight to work?

…If I can’t go to work, I should tell Shii in advance.

As I get to know more people, there are more things to be mindful of.

But the fact that there are people I need to be mindful of felt somewhat welcome to me.

*

I wonder how much a used Game Boy costs?

Recently, I’ve been spending time at home playing old games. As they say, old is gold—there’s a unique pleasure in these games that’s hard to compare with smartphone games, which is why I sometimes find myself holding onto the game controller late into the night.

Since I now have more ways to pass time at home, lying blankly on the bed without thinking felt rather boring. I considered buying one for times like this but decided against it. If it gets broken during a fight, I’d just feel bad.

There is a TV, but I’m not the type to enjoy dramas. And at this hour, there aren’t any animations either.

Even if there were animations, I’d feel a bit awkward watching them here. After all, a nurse or doctor could come in at any moment, and watching cartoons would feel a bit strange.

…But, did Yuka watch animations when she was young? Was there a time when she enjoyed magical girl shows?

The game console I inherited was one that Yuka used to play with, she said.

There were quite a few games too. That means Yuka once played with toys and enjoyed cartoons like other children of that age, doesn’t it?

The light novel [Tokyo Slayers] is strictly told from Souta Sasaki’s perspective. Naturally, Yuka’s attitude seen through that lens was cold. She wasn’t the type of tsundere who would hit the protagonist’s face at every opportunity during that time, but she was a tsundere with a consistently cold expression.

She was more of a verbal abuser, I guess. If she were a heroine in today’s web novels, she’d be perfect for a regret story.

Thinking about it again, I think there was that kind of taste even back then. After all, there was a scene where Yuka screamed in anguish when she saw the protagonist severely injured.

“Hmm…”

I stared blankly at the ceiling, wiggling my toes. As I was humming a tune that came to mind, the door opened again with a click.

I’ve already had breakfast, and I’ve already been examined by the doctor making rounds. I was told to rest today.

So, there was only one person who could come in.

“Miss Kurosawa.”

It was Yuka’s grandfather.

His expression was complex in many ways as our eyes met.

He must have seen me slitting my wrist and rushing at the silkworm with a sword made of blood.

I had already finished thinking about that.

Grandfather wouldn’t see me as a yokai. After all, I crossed the barrier Yuka had created without any difficulty.

“Hello.”

When I bowed slightly, grandfather also raised one hand. In his other hand, he held a plastic bag. I wonder what’s in it?

“Yes, did you rest well?”

After looking me over once, he fully entered the room and closed the door.

Then he sat down in the chair where Yuka had sat.

“…I’m not sure what to talk about first.”

Actually, I wanted to ask how much the hospital bill was first, but that seemed a bit inappropriate, so I held back.

“Hmm…”

Grandfather thought for a moment, then handed me an envelope.

“I’m not sure if you like this sort of thing.”

I took the envelope with both hands. It was quite cold. Almost like—

Ice cream!

Looking inside, there was actually Häagen-Dazs.

My goodness, who in the world wouldn’t like this ice cream?

“I’ll enjoy it.”

“Yes, eat it before it melts.”

I was about to scoop up a large portion of the green tea flavored ice cream with the spoon inside, but then I remembered that someone was watching, so I took a smaller scoop and put it in my mouth.

The smooth ice cream melted instantly in my mouth. The slightly bitter taste of green tea blended with the sweet cream was exquisite.

“…You seem to like it.”

Ah.

Did I fail to manage my expression?

But what can I do? It’s really delicious. Above all, it’s an ice cream that’s incredibly precious to spend my own money on. For a few dozen yen more, I could eat a gyudon, so I couldn’t just choose to eat ice cream.

“Listen as you eat. You don’t have to answer.”

Grandfather said that, then lowered his voice a bit and asked.

“What was that yesterday?”

“…”

I froze with the spoon in my mouth.

Looking at grandfather, he was staring at me with a serious expression. It seems he really didn’t know what had happened.

Did Yuka… not tell him?

“It’s the power of a god.”

Fortunately, the religion this grandfather serves isn’t monotheistic. If the other party had been a Christian from this kind of novel, they would have tried to behead me immediately for being a heretic.

And I am a heretic, to be fair.

But the Japanese concept of gods isn’t like that.

“A god you… serve?”

“…A god my mother serves.”

“…”

Grandfather nodded as if he understood why I was averting my gaze just from that.

“I see. Yuka… sometimes acts as if she doesn’t like her job.”

But Yuka also has a strong sense of responsibility.

A feeling like… if she doesn’t do it, who will?

Come to think of it, it’s similar to when I first started working.

“But in the end, she did what needed to be done.”

“…”

Hmm.

What needed to be done, huh.

Of course, it’s certain that if someone doesn’t do such things, there will be big trouble. Beasts that eat people are roaming around, and only those who have been systematically educated and trained can solve it. If left alone, the damage will grow indefinitely. So, strictly speaking, this is indeed ‘what needs to be done.’

But that doesn’t mean it must be done.

Police, firefighters, soldiers—these are all professions that someone must take on, but they’re not something everyone must do, right? Some places operate with conscripts, but ultimately, working there for life is determined by one’s own choice.

It shouldn’t be forced… I think that’s because I don’t know well.

So I just thought about it and ate my ice cream.

“Would you tell me your mother’s contact information if I asked?”

I pondered for a moment.

He’s probably not asking with the intention of attacking her right away, but he’s probably wondering if it would be harmful or not.

However, the problem is that we don’t know how big the entity behind Kagami is.

From what she says, it seems like “small in scale, but each individual is important,” but there’s no guarantee that’s the absolute truth.

But since the entity she serves was “the mother who leads 1,000 sheep,” and I was the 1,001st, it’s probably not something to be ignored. Maybe… in terms of a novel, it would be the villain that runs through the latter part of the story.

So, telling him right now… wouldn’t be good. It would be better to deal with it after knowing more accurate information.

When I shook my head, grandfather nodded.

“Yes… I understand. The bond between parent and child isn’t something that can be easily severed.”

There wasn’t even a speck of such a bond, but since it was a convenient setting to use like this, I didn’t bother to correct him.

“Alright. That’s all I wanted to ask. …Would you like another ice cream?”

When I was clutching the empty cup in my hand, grandfather asked that.

“…Is that okay?”

“Should I just buy you a big tub?”

I nodded.

A bit vigorously.

*

“Kurosawa~!”

As soon as Ikeda saw me, she rushed over and hugged me. Did she catch it from Kaoru?

But since feeling the warmth of another person was a pleasant thing, I didn’t bother to point it out.

“What happened? How badly were you injured?”

“…Just a momentary anemia.”

That’s right.

Since there are no specific injuries, all that remains is anemia.

Anemia severe enough to be prescribed blood packs.

“Geez, really, this is what happens when you don’t eat properly.”

I’m the one who takes the largest share of snacks in the literature club room.

Of course, Ikeda probably didn’t mean it that way. Certainly, my body was very thin. As if it couldn’t gain weight.

Ikeda and Kaoru dumped a bunch of bread on my lap.

“The doctor said it’s better to eat well. But you don’t need to force yourself too much. I picked these out with Kaoru.”

Kaoru scratched the back of her head and grinned.

I could tell from that expression.

Ah, this person’s junior is alive.

I unhesitatingly picked up a yakisoba bread.

“…Did you eat lunch?”

Yuka asked, seeing my enthusiasm.

I did eat, but it’s been four hours already.

I shouldn’t eat too much or I won’t be able to eat dinner, so I’ll just have one.

I’ve already contacted Shii. It seems she’s diligent and plans not to miss her part-time job.

It’s amazing how the atmosphere has recovered like this, when just this morning I had collapsed covered in blood.

Yes, this is what living is about.

Eating yakisoba bread, which boldly sandwiches carbohydrates between carbohydrates, I thought to myself.