Chapter 6

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“I’ve had a hunch. And it’s right there, isn’t it?” Tendou said.

“Huh?”

It was the protection charm [1] that Shouma always wore around his neck. His grandmother gave it to him when he was a child, and he had been told to keep it close to himself all the time.

Today as well, Shouma followed his grandmother’s instructions and hung it around his neck.

“The bottom has been ripped off.”

As Tendou had said, there was a hole in the bottom of the charm that looked like it had been torn out. The shintai [2], which was supposed to be inside the small bag was completely gone, leaving only the cardboard in it.

It seemed Shouma must have dropped it somewhere.

“I hadn’t noticed…”

“Well, if you’ve been wearing it for a long time, there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s called degradation over time.”

Tendou returned the amulet, which was nothing more than an empty bag now, to Shouma.

“Your true nature was hidden by this.”

“But why…”

“The one who gave you this must have realized that you were seeing things that were not good. So that person called an expert to make this amulet and gave it to you.”

If the story is to be believed, it means that before he received the protection charm, Shouma was able to see the kaii. However, he had no such memory at all. His grandmother must have given this amulet to him not long before his parents died, so he might have just forgotten about it, but is it even possible to forget such intense creatures like the kaii?

While Shouma was absorbed in his thoughts, Tendou looked out the window and let out a short “Oh” sound. His voice sounded as if he had found something, which interrupted Shouma’s thoughts and he looked up.

“Something happened?”

Shouma also walked to the window and looked out.

Outside, the curtain of the night had already fallen. In the darkness, there was something crawling in the shadows.

Shouma stared into the darkness and after a few moments, became speechless.

“Wait a minute…. what is that?”

There was something crowding around the building.

It was what Shouma would call a few hours ago as apparitions. It was the kaii, as he now called them. The kaii that had gathered were of various sizes and shapes, ranging from small ones like pebbles to large ones like houses.

The creatures gathered about a dozen meters away from the building, where the office was located. Or rather, they were swarming.

“It’s those kaii that love you so much. Amazing! As if they were waiting for a celebrity.” stated Tendou happily.

The blood drained from Shouma’s face.

“What should I do? I’m not even happy at all…”

“It’s hard being the popular guy.”

“I wanted to be popular in something different.”

Shouma crouched down and held his head in his hands. He felt a little nauseous as he imagined himself merging into that amount of kaii.

“But, why are there so many…?”

The number of the kaii Shouma could see from the window was extraordinary.

There have been times when he had to go home late at night from his part-time job, but there wasn’t any gathering like this one. Even when they do gather, only a slight increase could be noticed in their numbers at night compared to daytime.

“Is the timing good or bad? I guess the amulet’s effectiveness must have completely worn off just now. It seems the bag alone was doing some good.” Tendou answered Shouma’s question quite simply.

Shouma knew that if he happened to come all the way there, he had no choice now but to trust this man. With his knees on the floor, Shouma looked up at Tendou.

“Could Tendou-san remake this charm?”

“Yes, if you can wait an hour or so… but of course there is a fee.”

“How much do I need to pay?”

Tendou held up three fingers.

(Three thousand yen? No, thirty thousand yen. What a rip-off for a single amulet!)

Just as he was about to make a dejected face, an unthinkable number reached his ears.

“Three million yen.”

“What?”

“Three, million, yen.” Tendou said it again slowly, as if he were talking to a child.

Shouma was dumbfounded. It was doubtful if he could afford even one tenth of the thirty thousand yen, but three million was not a laughing matter.

(Three million yen for such a small charm. And this guy said he could fix it in an hour. Three million yen is an hourly wage?)

“If you can’t pay I won’t force you. If you can go home in that sea of kaii then it’s better if you do it now.”

Tendou’s smile didn’t even falter.

Even if one were to take advantage of a customer by raising the price, it’s not how one should do it.

Shouma began to speak with a trembling voice.

“I’m really sorry but I don’t have that huge amount of money…”

“I can lend it to you if you want.”

(This guy… is a demon)

As a frown began to appear on Shouma’s face, Tendou tilted his head, wonderingly.

“You sure, you don’t have money?”

“….Yes”

“Eh….”

The ’eh…’ should be my remark! Shouma resisted the urge to shout.

“Hmmm…Then I guess it can’t be helped.”

Tendou was lost in his thoughts for a moment, then took Shouma’s arm and helped him stand up. As expected, a suspicious smile still clung to his face.

“Oh by the way, I didn’t listen. Your name is…?”

“Shouma Hanashima.”

“Okay. Well, then Shouma. I’ll turn you into a scout.”

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Translator’s Notes:

[1] It’s the typical small, bag-like Japanese O-mamori, which can be bought in any Shinto shrine in various colors and patterns and it’s believed to provide various forms of luck or protection for the bearer. (example)

[2] 神体 The translation of this word is literally ‘body of the kami’, it’s some kind of object, which is believed to contain a spirit of a deity. Although these things are not the actual part of the kami but rather a temporary repository of which people can worship.

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This translation is hosted by Nocturne Translations.

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