Kays Translations

Chapter 5: Let's Go to the Countryside! (Part 2)

After hearing Irena-san's estimation of being either a third or fourth-rank, I pondered on what kind of monster could be of the fourth rank recently.

Then, I immediately remembered a certain monster.

The one who turned two teachers into cubes in the middle of the night at school.

...It seems quite troublesome.

Furrowing my brows, I took a sip of the melon soda that had been brought to me.

It was a person who had secluded themselves in a classroom that had become a "sealed room."

If things go wrong, could such a person exist in this town...?

As I drank the melon soda, I hoped that the next one I met would have a decent personality.

And then, I asked Irena-san.

"Hey, Irena-san."

"What's the matter?"

"Is it true that there are really 122 people missing?"

"Yes. The shared information clearly states that."

Saying so, Irena-san showed me her smartphone screen.

There was a brief summary of the incidents in a PDF.

Or rather, they communicate through electronic data in the exorcist community. My company still uses fax machines.

While feeling a small wave of IT, I looked at the summary of the incidents and stopped at the number of victims. It indeed said 122 people. It's still an astonishing number.

At that moment, the PDF file darkened slightly.

When I touched the screen, the smartphone regained its brightness.

Irena-san's smartphone has a short interval for the screen to darken.

Taking my gaze away from the smartphone, I glanced behind me.

"But even with so many people missing..."

There, I could see a regular customer chatting happily with the female shopkeeper.

It was a very ordinary scene.

It's hard to believe that there have been 100 missing persons in just one month.

"They don't seem too alarmed."

"Well, yes. I suppose so. The population decrease in this town averages 240 people per year. The number of missing persons is half of that. People leaving the town is a normal thing here."

"Why do they leave?"

"They go to the city."

Is that how it is?

Since my past and present lives were both in Tokyo, I don't quite grasp that feeling.

But it's true that ever since I came to this town, I haven't seen any young people around.

However, I can understand why young people wouldn't want to stay in this town. There's nothing here. No convenience stores, no supermarkets nearby. From what I've observed, there's no place to have fun. It's no wonder the young people run away.

So, that's 240 people in one year.

I don't know if this town has a large or small population, but since the missing persons are half of that, nobody seems to care.

Perhaps because it's a town where the population has always been decreasing, nobody pays attention.

...Wait. That doesn't make sense, does it?

I mean, if it's decreasing by 240 people in one year, and now it's decreasing by 120 people in one month?

And it's not people moving out. They're missing.

At this rate, it's several times the normal rate, right? Let's see, if I divide 240 by 12...

"Do you want some pudding?"

"Huh?"

While I was contemplating such thoughts, the female shopkeeper brought me pudding.

My attention was drawn to the pudding that suddenly appeared.

What the woman brought wasn't just an ordinary pudding. It was a cafe-style pudding topped with whipped cream and a cherry. I've only seen something like this in children's lunch sets.

I was surprised, but what surprised me even more was the fact that I didn't order pudding.

Without me asking for it...?

As I tilted my head in confusion in my mind, the woman smiled mischievously and continued.

"If you only eat the little girl's portion, you'll get hungry, you know."

As she said that, I glanced to the side and saw Nina-chan wrestling with her pancake.

Come to think of it, Nina-chan doesn't talk when she eats something. She really shows her good upbringing.

Taking my gaze away from Nina-chan, I turned to the woman.

"Is it okay?"

"It's fine. It's a treat."

"Thank you very much!"

Gratefully accepting the offered pudding, I received a spoon and took a bite.

Sweet.

It's sweet and delicious.

"Oh, if both Nina and Itsuki-san are having dessert, should I also get something...?"

Irena-san also put her smartphone away in her bag and looked at the menu.

I feel like she was thinking about something important until just now... Well, it doesn't matter. There's no point in thinking about various things before the monsters appear.

Anyway, we'll wait until evening.

Rather than thinking about things before the fight, it's better to wait while eating pudding.

Irena-san ordered a parfait for herself, and we engaged in small talk to pass the time.

We mainly talked about our plans for summer vacation. Where to go, what to do.

While listening to that conversation, I heard that Irena-san and Nina-chan are going back to England for just two weeks.

It seems they couldn't return on the anniversary of her father's death, so they decided to go back during summer vacation.

That's why this exorcism will be Irena-san's final mission before the break.

On the other hand, I talked about things like my house being rebuilt or going on a training camp during summer vacation, as a substitute for the conversation.

I had a lingering feeling that there was something more important to talk about first, but I couldn't remember what it was, and an unsettling feeling lingered in my chest. However, I felt it would be strange to bring it up...

The moment it turned 5 p.m., the female shopkeeper approached us.

"I'm sorry. This shop is only open until 5 p.m."

"Oh, I see. Then let's settle the bill."

As I looked, I noticed that even the regular customers were starting to prepare to leave.

5 p.m. seems early. Is it because it's a small business?

While thinking about such things, just as we were about to settle the bill and stood up, the shop owner approached me and asked.

"Hey, buddy. Is this person your mother?"

"No, she's a friend's mother."

"Oh, I see. Your friend's."

"Yeah, we're friends."

As I said that and turned towards Nina-chan, she suddenly grabbed my hand tightly. Her hand was trembling intensely.

"...Itsuki."

Being called again, I wondered what was wrong and tried to turn around, but the shop owner continued further.

"Does your mom exist?"

"Yeah, she does."

As the regular customers said their farewells and left behind the shop owner, the sun descended, casting orange light from beyond the sky.

Ah, I see. Because this town is nestled in the mountains, the sun sets early.

The evening sun that shone into the dimly lit interior of the unlit shop extended our shadows.

It kept stretching, stretching, and dyeing them black.

"Oh, I'm glad to hear that. Hey, buddy, are you happy right now?"

"Yeah, I'm happy, but..."

Just as I thought the shop owner was asking strange questions, Nina-chan shouted.

"Itsuki! Wait!"

"W-What's happening all of a sudden? Nina-chan?"

"Look! Why didn't you notice? Right in front of us, it's a mon...ster!"

After Nina-chan's shout, a purple haze burst out from her and enveloped me, violently shaking me. No, it wasn't just me. Irena-san was also enveloped by Nina-chan's fairy in the same way.

In that moment of being enveloped, my thoughts switched abruptly.

Why didn't I notice?

Why was I avoiding thinking about it?

...I had a hunch from the beginning.

The peculiarity of this situation with 120 people disappearing.

As if abruptly waking up from a dream, I became calm and collected. Meanwhile, the shop owner muttered bitterly.

"You didn't even look at the menu, huh?"

"...I'm not good at reading Japanese text."

The shop owner's exasperated voice was met with Nina-chan's voice filled with shame.

"Damn it. Ah. This is bad. I rushed things."

In the next moment, Irena-san's fairy fiercely struck the shop owner.

Unable to withstand the impact, the monster was stripped away from the body.

And what emerged from there was a monster wearing a black hat and a black suit.

It appeared to be male, but it had no face. It was featureless.

A parasitic type of monster.

But it wasn't just an ordinary monster.

While deploying the "Guiding Thread Silvate," I confronted it with a clear mind.

I had been led to think in a certain way from somewhere.

Even if I noticed that the numbers were large, I was not supposed to think it was a big deal. I was not supposed to think about it.

...How did it manage to do that?

I want to know that technique.

I want to know at what timing it was set up.

"...I leaked a bit too much information. I was trying to lure a strong exorcist."

However, thinking about that can come later.

Right now, the top priority is to purify this monster.

I extend my "Guiding Thread Silvate."

I aim for the monster's neck, where the hat and suit meet.

"Hyaha...! What a huge failure...!!"

At the moment the monster laughed like that, my "Guiding Thread Silvate" underwent a qualitative change.

Forming a circular shape around its neck, it erased it, and the monster turned into black mist and perished.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter