Ch.292Temple! (3)

Something… there were talismans plastered all over the Avalokitesvara statue.

And… there was clearly something like a black aura emanating from it. This… that’s it, right? It had that unmistakable feeling of being possessed by a spirit.

“Excuse me, Aiko-san. What exactly is this…?”

I asked, looking at Aiko.

“What do you mean what? It’s a Buddhist statue. Oh, there are various types of Buddhist statues, and among them, Avalokitesvara is…”

Aiko-san immediately began explaining.

“No!! Not that!! There are clearly talismans stuck all over it!! Tons of them!!”

I shouted loudly.

Shit… I absolutely refuse to get involved in another supernatural incident!!

“Ah… you know how people put lots of tape on valuable items when moving? It’s something like that.”

Aiko-san said, slightly averting her gaze. No!! She’s clearly trying to gloss over this!!

“Who sticks talismans with tape?!”

I shouted loudly.

“Huh? Wasn’t this just tape?”

Aki said nonchalantly.

“Please have some sense of danger…!!”

I was certain now.

It gave off the same energy as the eight-foot ghost I dealt with before, and Takashi too. This… is definitely a spirit.

“Aiko-san. Be honest with me. There’s something here, isn’t there?”

I asked Aiko-san directly.

“What are you talking about… there’s nothing here.”

Aiko-san said, deliberately avoiding eye contact. This person is terrible at lying.

“Sigh… Aiko-san. I’m an exorcist. I can help you!”

I said.

“An exorcist? Do you have an exorcist license? Preferably a Class 1 if possible.”

Aiko-san said, looking at me.

“Ah!! That setting existed!!”

That doll I met when I went to the mountain with Taiga!! Right! Saeko, that one said it had a Class 2 exorcist license!! I thought it was just a joke setting… but surprisingly, it seems to be officially recognized.

“I don’t have that… but I’ve helped defeat a ghost with an exorcist before! I can help you!”

I said.

I couldn’t let this ruin our precious temple stay with my girlfriends.

“No. It’s dangerous for someone without proper credentials to exorcise spirits. It’s like preparing fugu sashimi without a license.”

Aiko-san said firmly.

“I… was an exorcist before becoming a monk. I’ve seen many people die because they took spirits lightly.”

Aiko-san said with a hardboiled expression.

“That’s quite an unexpected background…”

Is exorcist a common profession in this world? This is making me dizzy.

“………”

Aiko-san was surprisingly unwilling to cooperate. Can’t be helped. I’ll just have to keep an eye on that statue.

“Now then, everyone’s task is zazen meditation. Let’s practice emptying our minds for about five minutes.”

Aiko-san immediately assumed the proper sitting position.

Well… I’ve done zazen often. Everyone at the kendo dojo does zazen before important tournaments. It actually does help calm the mind.

We all sat cross-legged and assumed the position.

———

At that moment, Aiko observed everyone doing zazen. It was the abbot’s duty to help those who couldn’t concentrate properly.

“……..”

Then, Aiko’s gaze turned toward Shota, who was sitting neatly.

She could clearly sense the vitality emanating from his ordinary yet wild-looking appearance and sturdy body.

Before she knew it, Aiko was examining Shota’s nape and collarbone area.

“……..”

Looking at Shota like that, Aiko’s face turned bright red.

Earlier in the kitchen while cooking, something substantial had brushed against Aiko’s buttocks. For the first time in decades, Aiko felt her bottom heat up and her lower abdomen tighten. Aiko had awakened as a woman after a long time.

“Ahem…..”

Aiko cleared her throat. She never expected to be consumed by such worldly desires.

‘No… I must control myself…’

After losing her husband while working as an exorcist, Aiko had raised her daughter Aki as a single mother. During that combative life, Aiko had abandoned her femininity.

But… with Shota’s arrival, her resolve was beginning to crumble.

Shhhhhh-!

At that moment, spiritual energy flowed from Aiko’s body toward the statue.

“Haaaa… your desires are accumulating, Biwashima Aiko.”

A chilling voice from the statue, audible only to Aiko, reached her ears.

The yokai sealed within the statue was absorbing Aiko’s desires and growing stronger day by day. Feeding on human desires was the yokai’s ability.

“Ugh….”

Aiko clicked her tongue. Indeed, Aiko had been suffering from extreme desires recently. As a result, the yokai was growing stronger by the day. It had reached the point where the talismans and the statue’s power could no longer contain it.

“Just… pounce on that man. Release your desires… advance toward greater temptation…”

The yokai whispered to Aiko.

“Shut up….”

Aiko said, trying desperately to catch her breath. She had to suppress her desires somehow.

“Hehehe. How long can you hold out? Your daughter is all grown up. It’s time to find your own happiness…”

“Shut up…!”

Aiko felt tempted by those words but forcefully suppressed her inner feelings.

“…I’ll set everything up for you. I like you. That’s why I’m helping you.”

With those words, the yokai retreated back into the statue.

“Setting things up… unnecessary meddling….”

Aiko was about to lash out at the yokai.

However, the yokai’s presence had already vanished.

———

Meanwhile, Shota.

I continued with my zazen. It was distracting with Umi and Eri fidgeting beside me, but I decided to meditate at my own pace.

‘The spiritual energy has gotten strangely dense.’

The presence similar to the eight-foot ghost from before kept amplifying and diminishing repeatedly. It was enough spiritual energy to make someone sensitive to such things feel sick.

‘At this level… who knows what it might do.’

I decided to remain vigilant about this. Aiko must know about it too… what exactly is the relationship between Aiko and that yokai? What is this temple? Such questions crossed my mind.

‘Shit… there was no such development in the original game.’

It felt like the game world had become more elaborate since coming to this reality. How should I put it… it’s become more absurd. Plus, only my game genre seems strange.

In the original, the story with Aiko was just a pure MILF romance. It was about comforting a woman tired from raising her daughter, leading to Aiko finding a new husband. It was a popular route because sex was guaranteed even without following the girlfriend path.

“Alright, zazen is over. Now let’s make prayer beads.”

Aiko-san said, clapping her hands.

“Huh? Prayer beads? What for? They’re not even pretty.”

Umi said.

“They’re called prayer beads, but we’re making beads from jade and wood. Think of it that way.”

I said.

Girls’ trait) They love anything related to beads.

“Oh! Beads! That sounds fun!!”

Eri took the bait immediately.

“Prayer beads!! I know them!! They’re those things where you release one bead at a time to use a special attack!!”

Tina shouted.

“Tina… you played a lot of Ten-X when you were young, didn’t you?”

I said with a cold look. Ten-X… it was a meaningful game in its own way. I awakened to sexuality through the glamorous female character Koyori from that game.

“Ah!! How did you know?!”

Tina immediately showed a surprised expression. As expected. It’s a game that gives people strange fantasies about Buddhism.

By the way… the female character there somewhat resembles Aiko-san… especially in how magnificently voluptuous her figure is.

“You can also put your wishes into the prayer beads. How about it? Interested now?”

Aiko-san said.

It seemed we could choose talismans contained in transparent beads in the middle of the prayer beads. There were classic talismans for longevity, academic achievement, fertility, and more.

“Here, choose one each.”

Aiko-san said with a smile.

I immediately chose longevity. I needed it the most since I had to face a great enemy like Pink Beard.

*Thump!*

And all my girlfriends chose ‘fertility.’

“…Aren’t you all high school students?”

Aiko-san asked.

“We’ll get right to it after graduation. Isn’t the woman who bears the most children the legal wife? This is the battle for legal wife status.”

Taiga said seriously.

“Agreed. The number of children is proof of being favored.”

Tina said with a smile.

“I’m also listening to Mozart symphonies every day in preparation for when I have children.”

Kana also casually joined the absurd conversation. She’s… blended in too.

“Hey!! You’re not even part of the harem yet, so why did you choose fertility?!”

Umi asked Aki, who had secretly picked fertility.

“Well… I’d be fine having Shota’s child out of wedlock.”

Aki blushed slightly.

“Why you!!”

Umi and Aki immediately started a cat fight. Have they… gotten closer?

———

Anyway, after making prayer beads… playing Monopoly together… bathing together and then playing more Monopoly… they really love Monopoly.

In any case, bedtime arrived.

“This is where the monks stay. Traditionally, practitioners don’t use blankets, but… you’re not monks, so it doesn’t matter. Rest well.”

Aiko-san said, looking around.

“By the way… all of you staying in one room… high school students these days are bold.”

Aiko-san said.

“I’ll stay here too…”

Aki tried to seize the opportunity to join in.

Our girlfriends united to drag Aki away.

“That’s so mean!!”

Aki shouted loudly.

“Um… Aki, we’re seriously considering your harem recruitment… so could you wait a bit?”

Eri offered a compromise.

“Y-yes!! Eri!! I really like you!”

Aki exclaimed. Eri… you’re amazingly skilled at pacifying people. I couldn’t help but admire her.

Anyway, I could just have some fun and then sleep. I immediately laid out the bedding and lay down.

And… I have no memory of what happened after that.

——–

How much time had passed?

“Ugh… what’s going on….”

I muttered, clutching my throbbing head.

Shhhhhh-!

Somehow, an ominous fog filled the surroundings.

“Where is…!”

I was in front of the Buddhist altar inside the temple. Did someone move me while I was asleep? Moreover… I was only in my underwear.

Just then, I heard a voice from beside me.

“Sh-Shota-kun…..”

There was Aiko-san. Wearing nothing but underwear! And a flimsy dress on top!! Anyone could see it was clearly lingerie!!

“A-Aiko-san?!!”

I opened my mouth wide in shock. W-what kind of situation is this?!