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Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai (Light Novel) - Volume 2, Chapter 1 - The Accursed Game Part 2
Volume 2, Chapter 1: The Accursed Game Part 2
A certain thing was climbing out from the bathroom.
Elsie immediately felt her blood froze.
She started to shake uncontrollably, and stared…
At the front of the corridor,
Something was crouched there.
That wet and slimy thing.
Lifted its face.
Face?
No, that thing,
Didn’t have a face.
It was completely smooth and blank.
That thing was wearing a white one-piece dress, and the limbs were bent unnaturally like a monkey as it crouched down there.
As Elsie watched, that thing’s limbs opened up like a crab.
Elsie cried.
In the darkness that was lit by the silvery white moonlight.
“KYAAH!”
But, her body,
Was stiff.
It couldn’t move.
She couldn’t run away.
“~”
Her voice was becoming hoarser and hoarser even though she wanted to drag her body and run away with all she had.
However, it was like that mysteriously-shaped thing was giving off a strong magnetic field as Elsie couldn’t look away no matter what.
The air on the corridor got colder and colder.
Her feet were completely stiff.
However, she was about to collapse onto the floor. Elsie was rooted there, completely helpless like a little animal facing a predator.
“Hau.”
Just when Elsie was in such despair that she almost cried out.
“Chichichichichichichi!!!”
THUD! That woman rushed forward.
And in the middle of the corridor, its animal-like limbs leaped up. After a long and unnatural moment of suspension.
“EH!”
Just as she was about to land on Elsie.
“Unclean being, back down!!”
A high-pitched voice rang from around.
A powerful yet clean impact grazed Elsie from behind.
Sending her hair fluttering forward.
“Chi~”
The strangely-shaped woman was hit by the impact as she collapsed onto the corridor. She then flipped her body and looked over like a beast.
“Ah.”
Elsie stiffly looked around. Behind her,
“…How dirty.”
Wielding a chokutou, the sexy, tall and big miko agilely moved in front of Elsie.
“…”
Elsie couldn’t say anything.
The miko who appeared at the Katsuragis’ house for some reason raised the chokutou that had the exorcism talisman hanging on it.
And quickly rushed over to that strangely-shaped woman.
“Chi.”
The strange-shaped woman lowered her head slightly, looking as if she was examining the situation as she looked around. Then,
“!”
She disappeared just like that, into a pile of smoke and merged with the darkness. The miko sighed.
“…She got away? Luckily, she’s not skilled enough.”
“Ah, uu.”
Elsie’s tense emotions immediately relaxed, and this sudden change in situation caused her to collapse immediately. The miko hurriedly supported her waist.
“We’ve got to move fast. It should be your,”
The miko stared at Elsie,
“Your brother, right? Please lead me to the boy who’s playing that ‘Favor of the Western Lantern’.”
That’s—
The miko revealed a complicated expression.
“That’s a cursed game that would bring death.”
She said sternly.
At the same time.
DURUDURUDURUDURUDURUDURU!!
Elsie’s hair decoration let out a sound as it reacted.
This scene was rather remarkable.
First, it was the miko who was sitting on the floor.
With the bright contrast of white and deep red of the miko costume.
“Hello, my name is Akuragawa Shino. I came from the Toyoboshi Shrine on Mount Uryu.”
She opened her lips that had a tinge of lipstick on. Her nose was rather prominent, and her eyes were clear. Anyway, she was born with this proper face. Her thick black hair was tied with a white cloth and was laid behind.
She casually gave a bow, and then lifted her white face.
“I’m really sorry for visiting so suddenly tonight.”
The body proportions of this miko were so good that even Elsie, who was sitting beside her, felt shocked. Her body curves were in sync, and the ampleness of her breasts was so great that it could be doubted if it was inappropriate for a miko to be like this.
Also, she was rather tall.
Whether it was the eye-catching face or the flexible limbs, even if she wasn’t a miko but a model, it’s possible that she could stand on a runway immediately.
“…”
“…”
As for the owner of the room who the miko was lifting her head to,
“…”
“…”
He was still sitting on the chair with his back facing the rest as he continued to play and hit the keyboard. There were many screens interlinked right in front of him.
Elsie glanced at a corner of the room.
There was a red box-shaped machine rumbling.
(So the electricity’s coming from there…)
Of course, Elsie didn’t know that it was the emergency generator. It was small, but it could provide enough energy for multiple computers. Of course, an ordinary gamer’s house couldn’t possibly prepare such a thing, but Keima, who had reached a god-like mode, was well prepared in everything.
“…May I know your name?”
On hearing this miko who called herself Shino say this,
“…Katsuragi Keima.”
Keima continued to face them with his back as he answered clearly.
To Elsie, Keima wasn’t really in a bad mood, and he had no intention on avoiding the unexpected guest in the Katsuragis’ house.
And he even let them into his room.
However.
“…”
“Katsuragi Keima. That’s a nice name.”
He didn’t look like he was entertaining Shino wholeheartedly.
He was just unconcerned.
Unconcerned as he continued to play his game.
Patapata, he continued to hit at the keyboard. Elsie was entranced by the graceful movement of those fingers that were smooth and quick, like a pianist.
Shino’s eyebrows twitched.
“…You.”
She slightly increased her volume,
“You do know what kind of game are you playing, don’t you?”
Elsie was so scared that she curled up.
Actually, she was already curious since just now. Of the many screens, only the screen in front was lit up, and it should be showing the game screen of the ‘Favor of the Western Lantern’. Ever since she started living together with the ‘God of galge’ Keima, Elsie learned some aspects of galges, so she could tell that the screen was a lot different from an ordinary galge. First, the screen was really dark.
On the black screen, the white words were scrolled down quickly.
Keima was looking at those words normally, but Elsie couldn’t understand what seemingly meaningless paragraphs of words there were. There were a lot of calculations and English technical terms. If it were an ordinary galge, what appeared on the screen should mostly be the illustration of the female lead and the images of the streets, but this game didn’t seem to have any of these.
No, there should be, but the way it was presented was abnormal.
The black figures that were no different from shadows suddenly glided across the screen and disappeared. A normal looking girl who seemed to be the female lead suddenly appeared without warning and then went away like she was curled out. Other than that, the scene of a dump would be shown from time to time. ‘I want to die, I want to die, I want to die’. Red text streamed on it. To be honest,
Anyone watching this would find this really scary.
“…”
Keima didn’t answer as he merely tapped at the keyboard gracefully. After a while, he moved his body aside and moved his shoulders,
And narrowed his eyes as he continued to watch the screen.
It seemed that he was only moving his body.
Seeing Keima like this, Shino was obviously anxious.
She grabbed her crimson red hakama.
“…Can’t be helped. Looks like I have to start explaining that game from its origins.”
She coughed dryly, seemingly to motivate herself, and then spoke,
“Though I’m not really well-versed in this.”
She said as an opening.
“About 20 years ago, a man’s idea was rather mysterious. That game…it should be a galge or something, right?”
Keima didn’t answer.
Shino gritted her teeth,
“I have no idea of the genres of games. If there are any mistakes, please forgive me.”
“…”
Keima still didn’t respond, and as Elsie was breaking out in cold sweat, Shino seemed to have given up.
“…The designer for that galge was a man called Mogami Takeshi. According to my investigations, he seemed to be a genius in this line of work. Eh, his works include the ro, road to decadence or something and the first something.”
“The ‘Daily Life leading to Decadence’ and ‘the First Murder’.”
Keima immediately corrected her. He was still facing the screen as he said calmly,
“Mogami Takeshi was a scriptwriter, programmer and original artist for a galge, and he was a genius who balanced on the verge of generations. His signature works were the ‘Daily Life leading to Decadence’, ‘the First Murder’ and the ‘Favor of the Western Lantern’ I’m playing now. He had very few works, but he had a system that far exceeded its time, a brand new kind of script and an advanced human portrait, which amazed lots of galge players then. He was really a genius, but it’s too bad that he died in his prime.”
“…”
This time, the reason Shino was silent was different from before.
Then, she seemed to be motivated.
“It seems that you understand the game extremely well. Anyway, the problem in question is that Mogami Takeshi.”
“…”
Keima went back to being silent. Shino looked serious as she continued,
“Keima-dono’s view of Mogami Takeshi was that he was a genius who verged between the times, but to me, I feel that he was too greedy about his own work.”
“…Greedy?”
Elsie, who never interrupted, tilted her head. Shino nodded her head hard.
“That’s right.”
At this moment, she was a little hesitant on how to explain it.
“…That person wanted to instill a soul into his own work.”
“…”
Keima stopped his hands that were typing. Elsie looked like she wanted to cry, and for some reason, it seemed that the topic had developed in such a way that she didn’t want to hear it…
After checking that Keima was listening seriously, Shino continued,
“I’m not sure as a religious person, but amongst creators, it seemed that there would be people who would head down the wrong path? Do you know of Akutagawa Ryuunosuke’s short story ‘Hell Screen’? It was about an artist who wanted to draw his ideal work and watched his own daughter get burned to death, right?”
Shino paused for a while, pondering over whether she should continue,
“…Mogami Takashi and the artist in that work, Yoshihide, seemed to be of the same kind.”
“…”
“…”
Elsie and Keima remained silent. The generator rumbled, and Elsie was a little scared as she couldn’t help but look around.
For some reason, she felt that the pale woman hid somewhere, like under Keima’s table or behind the cupboard that was full of games.
She just couldn’t relax.
“…It’s only temporary, but I set a boundary, and I’m here, so there’s no need to worry.”
Elsie was shocked, and found Shino smiling at her. It seemed that she intuitively detected Elsie’s uneasiness. Elsie answered with a nod and a stiff smile. Shino then turned around and continued,
“There are ‘evil spirits’ in this world.”
“…”
“…”
Elsie and Keima understood that this was becoming more believable. Shino showed a cautious expression.
“This isn’t speculation now. According to word of mouth, that was the vengeful spirit of a woman who was killed in unaddressed injustice, but I feel that it was the result of the unclean beings we purified being collected and existing before the legend spread. That thing had always been sealed inside our shrine.”
She looked afar,
“…Deep inside our shrine were many barriers. We used the stone gate to lock her inside. The grandmother of my grandmother’s grandmother’s grandmother’s grandmother’s grandmother had always used a ritual to seal her inside to prevent her from escaping and harming humanity. However,”
Shino suddenly showed an unhappy expression and continued,
“Unexpectedly…someone undid the seal while we were off guard.”
“!”
Elsie widened her eyes. Keima still had his back facing them, but he was obviously noticing Shino’s actions.
Shino sighed,
“That person was the man named Mogami Takeshi.”
“…”
“…”
“Let me repeat this again. To be honest, I don’t understand the author’s intention.”
After some silence, Shino added on,
“However, I know that this man called Mogami Takeshi is a genius. After undoing that seal that even we didn’t really understand, he put a part of it into his work.”
“!”
Elsie looked shocked and suddenly looked at Keima. However, Keima didn’t look back as he merely let his back slide down the chair.
He seemed to be thinking about something. Shino continued,
“It was said that Mogami Takeshi’s dream was to make ‘an unparalleled game’. Like the name suggests, he wanted to ‘make a work with all his soul in it’…that was what I knew when I investigated him. Many people noted this.”
“…”
Shino noticed Elsie’s stare and gave a somewhat self-depreciative laugh,
“Don’t look at me like this. I did lots of investigation on that guy, though my movements were slower than his by a lot.”
She narrowed her eyes slightly, and looked somewhat cold,
“…How is it? Any thoughts on playing this game? Is the game Mogami Takeshi put all his soul into that amazing?”
And asked Keima.
“…”
Keima didn’t answer.
Shino sighed.
“However, I really never expected to meet the main body of the ‘evil spirit’ over here…”
“Excuse me?”
Elsie, who was trying her best not to speak out, stammered and asked courteously,
“Erm, tha, what’s the point of putting tha, that ‘evil spirit’ into the game? And,”
There was something she always wanted to ask,
“What’s that pale woman? Is that the true identity of the ‘evil spirit’?”
“…”
Shino spent some time to collect her thoughts.
“I heard that the ultimate aim of Mogami Takeshi was to present real ‘horror’. What I want to say next was all I know in my investigations on him, and not my own personal view, so please understand. It’s said that his view was to ‘make a game as close to reality as possible’.”
(Reality…)
On hearing these words, Elsie couldn’t help but look back at Keima.
Keima’s back didn’t move at all.
Shino then continued,
“Both of you do know of the ‘suspension bridge effect’? When a boy and a girl are in an unstable state and feeling terrified, it would be easy for them to fall in love.”
“We~ll.”
Elsie used her fingers to stroke her chin.
“Chihiro-san…my friend at school said that it’s best for a couple to watch a horror movie together. Is it something like that?”
“That’s basically it.”
Shino smiled.
“…That’s the basic of basics. In other words, even after reaching the end, the genius still went back to the origin, right?”
Keima muttered to himself. Shino glanced at him,
“That person…Mogami Takeshi seemed to feel that only the deepest fear would cause an unparalleled romance. To prevent this fear, he used the Red-Ogre as the final element. That should be the way to describe it, right? That’s basically making the sticky blood in a haunted house real or using a real corpse to film. For a human, such thinking is crazy.”
She said calmly,
“To be honest, whether it was a crazy thought or not, I have to really respect his acute sense to use the ‘evil spirit’ that’s sealed in our shrine.”
Elsie remained that pale woman and felt chills deep inside.
“That’s because…that thing was really inauspicious.”
Shino sighed and shook her head. And then, looking like she wanted to motivate herself again,
“Anyway, Mogami Takeshi stole the ‘evil spirit’ from our shrine and installed the main body into his game. What you saw was her clone.”
“…Clone?”
“Or a part of it.”
The miko properly explained things,
“The ‘Favor of the Western Lantern’ could roughly be divided into two types, the original and the copy…I’m not really sure, but there’s something called original and replicate in the gaming realm, right? Even though the original was the only one who had the ‘evil spirit’ sealed inside, there would still be remnants of the soul left inside the copy, and thus, the effect Mogami Takeshi wished for was created.”
Elsie,
(This is the original version of the ’Favor of the Western Lantern!)
Remembered the moment she saw Keima shout.
In other words, was the game Keima’s playing now the ‘main body’ Shino said?
Elsie was trembling.
As for Shino,
“…Playing this game will cause the plot to move on, and the unsealed parts of the ‘evil spirit’ will look for the sealed parts just to become one. Of course, the copy itself an ‘evil spirit’ of comparable power.”
Un, she nodded.
“The level of horror wasn’t something that could be experienced in an ordinary haunted house. The evil spirit will slowly close in, and the house would have lots of strange shadows, the sound of weeping, houses shaking, people getting nightmares. Un, supernatural phenomena. The ‘evil spirit’ would start to look for its other parts, and most people would not be able to take this fear and give up. However, it seemed that quite a few people went mentally ill or damaged their bodies.”
“…So that’s the reason why there was a recall after it was released on the market.”
Keima muttered. On hearing him say that, Shino muttered.
“Whether it’s the original or the copy, by breaking the copy, the ‘evil spirit’ would be forcefully destroyed. In other words.”
“By conquering this game, the soul of the ‘evil spirit’ will disappear, right?”
Keima kept his back facing them and said that directly before looking at the game screen and tapped away at the keyboard. His actions even made Elsie speechless.
As for Shino,
“…”
She narrowed her eyes somewhat unhappily.
Was this guy even listening to me?
She should be thinking about that. Shino coughed dryly.
“That’s right. However, these copies…really have the remains of the ‘evil spirit’ on it, and no one was able to conquer it. Luckily, no one ended up losing their lives, but everyone lost to the curse of that ‘evil spirit’.”
“…”
Keima casually looked at the gaming screen. It seemed that Shino finally couldn’t take it as she slowly got up and said,
“You…what do you think happened to Mogami Takeshi in the end?”
Her words had fury in them.
Elsie gave off some cold sweat, and Keima merely glanced at Shino,
“…”
And continued playing the game. Shino smirked.
“In a certain sense, he got what he wanted. No, most likely, he expected this. In other words, he left this world after witnessing his own masterpiece completed. In other words,”
She paused,
And then said,
“That guy, he was killed by the ‘copy’ of the ‘evil spirit’ just when the game was about to be conquered.”
“!”
Elsie was so shocked that she backed away. Keima muttered,
“in other words, he tested the original himself…what an idiot.”
“You!”
Just when Shino wanted to close in on Keima, Keima, who never looked back, spun his chair around,
“…”
And pushed his glasses, staring straight at Shino.
“It’s not that I don’t understand how terrifying this game is. Who do you think I am?”
“Uu.”
Shino was inadvertently shocked by his aggression.
He was just a boy.
But even a miko who was trained for many years was shocked by him. Keima continued,
“Actually,”
His voice was calm,
“I have been betting my life on this game.”
And then smiled suddenly,
“Up till now, I’m not scared of any evil spirits.”
Keima declared.
As for Shino,
She was so shocked that she couldn’t answer back.
“Your…brother is really weird.”
The next day.
Shino said to Elsie in the grandpa café. Elsie said to Shino that it was alright, but she said that ‘I have to bother you for a while here’ and half-forced Elsie to let her help out in the café. On a side note, as for Keima’s mother Mari,
“So the father’s out working and the mother’s here as well? Uu~un, the days ahead may not be peaceful, so it would be good for the mother to be out.”
Shino suggested,
“Sorry, Ell-chan! It seemed that the quarrel at my mother’s house may last a little longer, so it looks like I can only go back after a week! I’ll leave Keima and the café to you then for the time being!”
Luckily, the phone call with Mari was like this. Anyway, the uninvited guest to Keima and Elsie, the miko Akuragawa Shino looked like she may be staying with the Katsuragis for the time being.
Shino’s plan was rather simple.
“Katsuragi-dono said that he wanted to conquer that game.”
And then,
“During this time, I will protect Katsuragi-dono even if I have to risk my life.”
That was her plan.
When Shino raised this plan last night, she was kneeling on the floor as she bowed to Keima.
“Right now, Katsuragi-dono’s playing the original version of the ‘Favor of the Western Lantern’, which means that half of the main body of this ‘evil spirit’ is sealed inside. If we destroy this game, we can destroy half of the ‘evil spirit’, but we can’t deal with the other parts that were scattered, and if we lose half of it, we won’t know what will happen to the other half. If we want to destroy that thing completely…that ‘evil spirit’, there’s no other way but to conquer the game.”
“…”
Keima didn’t respond as he continued to stare at Shino.
“I know this had no benefit to Katsuragi-dono, and to be honest, I can’t assure that you will be completely safe, but, but!”
Seeing Shino so serious, Keima sighed and shook his head.
“…It’s alright. I never thought about getting any benefit, and never thought of letting you assure my safety.”
“You know,”
Shino seemed to be really anxious,
“The more you play this game, the more half of the ‘evil spirit’ will close in on you, which means the burden on you will be even greater! To be honest, your life is in grave danger!”
At this moment.
“…What evil spirit?”
Keima interrupted Shino with a stronger tone.
“What mission of your shrine, what evil spirit, it doesn’t matter.”
“You!”
“I just,”
He again showed those dazzling eyes and swung his hand.
“Want to conquer all the galges personally. That’s my only aim!”
“!”
Shino was speechless. Keima’s expression suddenly softened as he showed a little smile and patted Shino on the shoulder.
“Anyway, I’m looking forward to seeing how you take care of that monster. We’re all amateurs in that aspect.”
After saying that, he yawned and left.
“This game can only be played for an hour when the demons come out. I’ll take a shower first.”
And left these words behind.
“Really.”
Shino shook her head.
“Does he really have guts…or that he didn’t think too much?”
“…”
Elsie didn’t know what to say too. Even she couldn’t understand Keima at times and not understand what he was thinking.
And she maybe did not understand what he saw.
It’s just.
He had never taken back his words on anything he promised before.
As long as Katsuragi Keima says that he will conquer it, he will definitely do so.
No matter how much danger he would have to bear.
No matter how many threats there were in front of him.
He would definitely believe in himself and advance forward.
Elsie trembled.
She was scared.
She was really scared.
Maybe she has to face that horrifying thing again.
If possible, she really wanted to leave this place.
However,
Elsie had an intense thought.
The one who will protect Keima would definitely be…
The one who will be with him will be…
Her.
“…”
Elsie glanced at Shino. Actually, last night,
“That person had a runaway spirit.”
She told Keima this last night. Immediately, Keima hesitated a while.
“I see. But in terms of the outcome, it should still be the same. That’s because the inner emptiness in that weird miko definitely has something to do with the ‘evil spirit’.”
But he immediately concluded.
“I guess that once we beat the ‘evil spirit’, we can fill the emptiness in her heart.”
Elsie agreed wholeheartedly with Keima’s view.
Unbelievably, even though Elsie’s viewpoint was completely different from the god-like observation skills of the god of conquest Keima, she came to the same conclusion.
That was because Elsie was a member of the runaway spirit capture squad.
Most likely.
Elsie stared at Shino and thought,
Just as she was chasing after runaway spirits, this person should be chasing after ‘evil spirits’ too. From the conversation yesterday, it seemed that this person had bet her entire life on it.
And it seem that she was unlike Elsie, who had a reliable and respectable partner like Keima, and a colleague who was aiming for the same thing like Haqua.
If not, she wouldn’t have appeared alone.
Alone.
Always alone.
“?”
Shino found that Elsie’s eyes were a little wet, and showed a somewhat surprised look, but immediately smiled.
“…What’s wrong? What happened, Elsie?”
For some reason, this miko was being courteous and understanding to Elsie all the time.
“Ah, nothing! No, nothing!”
“Fufu, you’re really weird. But you’re amazing. You’re taking care of your brother and even helping to manage the shop after school.”
In the morning, Shino once said, “Looking at you, it reminds me of a little daughter with a relative.” Though she looked serious and had an aggressive presence, to put it, she should be someone with lots of maternal love. Elsie smiled and thought. At this moment,
“Ring.”
The bell chimed. A customer’s here.
“Oh, customers. Elsie, I just need to greet them, right?”
“Ye, yes.”
Elsie immediately nodded her head. Shino hurriedly moved towards those two male customers.
“Welcome.”
She smiled.
“Ah, wel, welcome.”
Shino was still in her miko outfit.
She called it a traditional outfit, but the customers who entered would be shocked. They only came here for tea, but found a miko wearing crimson red hakama here.
They stared at Elsie, who they were familiar with, and saw her earnest smile.
--This didn’t look like a comedy show.
Just when the customers were hesitating.
“This way, please.”
Shino let out a mature and charming smile.
“Here, this way.”
She nodded her head and stood properly in front of the two customers. The fragrance scattered all around, and the two male customers were stunned.
“Ah, tha, thanks.”
“We’ll leave it to you then.”
The two male customers looked confused like foxes and followed Shino to the seats near the windows. Elsie heaved a sigh.
On hearing that she wanted to wear the miko outfit and stand in the shop, Elsie was confused at first, but Shino herself was a miko trained in traditional and highly elegant ways, and was extremely polite (for a café waiter, this is extremely underappreciated). Her mannerisms were rather refined too, so it looked like things would be alright.
Also, she looked like she could cook and knew how to brew tea. Once she could get along with Elsie, even if Mari wasn‘t around, maybe they could operate the café without resting. To Elsie, she hoped to at least help out in this way for Mari, who she respected and was really fond of.
Ring, the bell chimed again. Another customer was here. Shino smiled at Elsie with her eyes, indicating that she wanted to lead the customers.
Elsie smiled and nodded her head.
It seemed that Shino’s response was rather quick too. Elsie walked towards the customers Shino just led and took their orders.
What they wanted was red tea and coffee.
“E, erm, who’s that big beauty? A new waitress?”
“Why is she wearing a miko outfit?”
These two could be said to be old customers, so they secretly asked Elsie. Elsie gave an ambiguous smile, said a few words and hurriedly ran away.
She returned behind the counter and poured out red tea and coffee. During this time, Shino took the orders of the second group of customers and led another group of customers to their seats. Just as Elsie prepared the coffee and tea.
“I’ll send it. Table 2, correct?”
Shino asked as she smiled before taking the tray of red tea and coffee.
Elsie really felt that she was amazing.
Her movements were so fluid, so graceful.
Right now, the customers in ‘Grandpa Café’ (who coincidentally were all male) were all staring at her in an intrigued manner, and were even looking at every single action Shino took in a rather perverted manner. It seemed that she had a heroic and yet mature ambience around her that caused her to capture the hearts of everyone.
Actually, even Elsie thought that she was really a mature beauty. That gentle smile, elegant etiquette and the somewhat quaint but clear manner of speech.
At least, there were very few people around Elsie who were like this.
Normally, the ones Keima would conquer or the ones Elsie would interact with were mostly girls in their teens or slightly older, and most of their personalities weren’t too stable. It was rare to see a mature and reliable woman like Shino who was already aware of herself.
Un un.
Elsie nodded her head as she thought that she should look up to Shino as she continued to prepare drinks for the other customers. At this moment,
“GYAAAAAHHH!!!”
“HOOO!!!”
The screams and breaking of porcelain could be heard.
Elsie couldn’t help but close her eyes and cringe. After a while, she finally opened her eyes, and what appeared in front of her was,
“HOOOOTTT!!!!”
“So, sorry! Are you al…!”
The knees of the customer were drenched as he frantically shouted in agony as he was scalded. Shino wanted to help, but ended up tripping and creating a second disaster.
CLANK! The cup broke again, and the one who was scalded by the coffee shouted,
“HOOOTTT~!”
The number of people who were caught in this ended up increasing.
Elsie,
Could only stare at this scene in a stunned manner…
It was hard to tell, but Shino was a very careless girl, and Elsie didn’t take too much time to realize this.
Just like that, Keima and Elsie would head to school during the day, and Elsie and Shino would take care of the café after school. At night, Keima would start playing the ‘Favor of the Western Lantern’ for an hour from 2am on. This happened for 5 days.
As the sun set, after Shino finished her fast and bath, she would set a new barrier throughout every corner of the house (Using straw ropes to surround the house and adding talismans on them). Then, she would sit in a seiza position in front of Keima’s room and silently keep watch until daylight.
The amazing thing was that as long as Shino concentrated, the atmosphere in the Katsuragis’ house would become clearer and clearer, until even Elsie could detect it.
Thus, Elsie, who originally couldn’t sleep well, could finally get a good sleep recently.
She personally felt the care of others.
This really made her feel secure.
Also, Shino would put a weird-shaped crystal talisman on Keima every time Keima went to school or came back from it. From then on, there weren’t any mysterious phenomenon at school or other places.
According to Shino,
“It’s temporary, but those little things, and even ‘evil spirits’ can’t touch him in the day.”
That was it.
And as Keima and Elsie went to school, Shino would take a nap. The opening time wasn’t long, but once they got back home, the café would open till evening.
During that time, Keima would play his games as per usual.
The amazing thing was that even though Shino messed up the café the last time, the number of customers that came continued to increase.
Even though Elsie couldn’t understand
“I heard that there’s a careless, sexy and mature miko here?”
But it seemed like a lot of people talked about this incident and liked it. There were many customers who came here because of Elsie’s attire. It seems there is a demand in the market for this.
Every time Shino,
“So, sorry!”
Accidentally spilt drinks, like tea, onto the customers,
“Ho, HOOOOTTT!!!”
Many customers would scream, but their eyes would look like they’re smiling, and the other customers would give envious looks and say something like ‘I’m so jealous’ or ‘can you spill it near me?’ or something like that.
It felt like there were a lot of chaotic things.
Elsie thought.
She really hoped for things to end quickly and that Mari would come back.
If this kept up, the future of ‘Café Grandpa’ may develop in a strange manner…
But other than that, the days were rather peaceful and smooth sailing. Ever since Shino appeared, the mysterious presence and the phenomena all disappeared without a trace, and the Katsuragis’ house had a rather peaceful atmosphere.
Elsie thought that there would be a lot of things happening and made her preparations already. Thus, to her, this was a little depressing.
Except for that hour at night, Keima would continue to play other games as per usual. Even when Shino told him that ‘this involves lives’, he didn’t look like he was motivated at all, as he was merely rather docile as usual, a weirdo that’s a little strange.
His daily schedule would be to head to school, play games, and eat the meals Shino made for him (though she was really careless, her skills were decent), and would only conquer the ‘Favor of the Western Lantern at night. According to him, the ‘Favor of the Western Lantern’ was slowly being conquered.
“This game’s tough, but the ending’s nearly there.”
Keima said on the morning of the 7th day.
He pushed his glasses and let his lens shine as he declared,
“I’ll conquer it tonight!”
In this aspect, Keima’s prediction would never be wrong. He definitely wouldn’t be mistaken at this crucial moment. Since he said so, it meant that the ending was already right in front of them.
Elsie heaved a sigh of relief.
Perhaps it was because Shino’s power was too strong that those demons couldn’t approach them.
She finally couldn’t help but,
“Fufu.”
Laugh happily.
However, the other two had different views.
First, Akuragawa Shino was extremely cautious as she bathed herself again. However, it was merely pouring water onto herself inside the Katsuragis’ bathroom to purify herself, though it does follow the procedure.
She was fervently splashing water onto her white naked body.
Every time she splashed once, the presence that Shino released would become cleaner. She wasn’t as optimistic as Elsie, but was already mentally prepared somewhat.
(Tonight…we’re going to settle this.)
Her spiritual sense detected something. It was that the irritating presence that wanted to enter this house was becoming stronger and stronger every day.
Before that, that thing was definitely sealed off outside Shino’s barrier.
However, that thing didn’t give up.
Actually, it was the complete opposite.
That thing was waiting silently.
For the moment its powers peaked.
There was only one chance.
The moment right before Keima conquered the game.
(Tonight.)
This miko stood up naked and looked up at the ceiling.
(I’ll have to settle this with that thing…)
The moment she was about to leave the bathroom.
“KYYYAAAHHH!!!”
She slipped and fell backwards awkwardly. Her feet kicked the shampoo and the bathing foam, letting out a loud thud. That sound was so shocking that even Elsie, who was changing the towel outside, couldn’t help but cringe…
At the same time.
Keima, who was playing the PFP a while back, stared at his hands.
The PFP was placed on the cushion near him.
“What’s wrong?”
The female lead in the game asked. As he put down the game, the self-disciplined AI gave the most appropriate question.
“What happened, Keima?”
He systematically answered as per the system,
“No, nothing.”
And then smiled so that the character in the game wouldn’t worry.
“Really, it’s nothing…”
However, his eyes were sharply narrowed into a fine line as he looked up at the ceiling.
(Tonight…)
He too,
Secretly made his determination.
The dinner tonight started under a peaceful atmosphere as Elsie was the only one chatting away excitedly. However, she noticed that the other two’s faces were rather grim and held back.
“We, well, Shino nee-sama, your skills are really good, you know?”
On hearing her say that,
“Un? Ahh, my grandmother taught me…”
The miko merely smiled and looked back at Elsie before being lost in her own thoughts again. She looked a little nervous.
It was rare to see her so anxious like this.
Elsie felt really uneasy.
“Tha, that, kami nii-sama, okaa-sama, she,”
And then turned to talk to Keima,
“…Un, I do have a mother.”
Then, Keima looked unconcerned as he continued to be immersed in his game of PFP. Even though he had spent a lot of effort trying to conquer that ‘Favor of the Western Lantern’, it seemed that he left that world completely.
He said that the ending was near, which meant that it should be true.
Then, she just needed to ask when the game could be done.
An indescribable tense feeling surrounded him.
Elsie was really affected by this,
“I know you have a mother!”
“Un, I have a father too.”
“I KNOW THAT!”
For some reason, Shino chuckled, and for some reason, Elsie felt really awkward as her face went red.
“Re, really~! Kami nii-sama! At least stop playing when you’re eating!”
“Un, I still have Elsie.”
At this moment, his hand suddenly jerked.
“Eh?”
Elsie was shocked.
“Tch.”
Keima clicked his tongue and used his left hand to hold his right wrist, but his hand continued to jerk.
“Eh? Eh?”
Elsie panicked.
“Eh?”
“…Oi.”
Keima stared at Shino.
“I’ll leave it to you.”
Both of them understood each other. It seemed that they knew that Keima was starting to be affected by the soul.
“Un.”
On hearing his words, Shino immediately nodded her head. Elsie gave a crying look,
“Ka, kami nii-sama!”
“Elsie.”
It’s rare for Keima to give a gentle smile.
“You must believe in me.”
“!”
On hearing these words, Elsie finally realized the seriousness of this and looked really affected, thinking that she was so stupid.
Actually.
Things haven’t ended yet!
“I’ll go take a nap first.”
After saying that, Keima stood up with his hand still shaking. Shino herself closed her eyes. Elsie looked lost and said,
“Tha, tha, that!”
Keima merely glanced back to look at Elsie and left the café. Elsie really wanted to catch up, but at this moment, Shino spoke,
“Don’t go after him.”
She stopped Elsie.
“Bu, but.”
“I finally understand. He,”
Shino quickly opened her eyes.
“He is a strong-willed person.”
“…”
“He’s ready. I’m ready. You should be ready.”
“The, then.”
“What you should do is not get in his way.”
“Uu~”
Elsie looked like she couldn’t accept it as she puffed her cheeks. Shino stared at her,
“You hear? No matter what happens next…got it?”
You can’t leave this house.
You can’t open the windows.
And no matter what happens, these are to be followed.
This was what the miko instructed.
Then, the miko headed towards Keima’s room. Elsie was uneasy as she moved between the café and her own room, but still did not know what to do. Thus, she tied a scarf on her head and tied her sleeves with her belt.
She took her broom out from the storeroom and put it aside.
“Uu, uuu.”
Elsie was trembling throughout as she wanted to at least use the broom as a weapon.
Today.
If she could last through today, Keima and Shino would definitely win.
She turned on all the lights in the house, brewed some tea and went to the living room to watch TV. Even though the contents of the program may not be able to enter her brain, she just wanted something to distract her.
Every 5 minutes, she would look up at the clock hanging on the wall.
Time passed so slowly that it was infuriating.
Whether it was the stupid comedy channels or the international channels she normally wouldn’t watch or the boring education program, she just wanted to have some sounds and light.
Sometimes, she would feel like sleeping. At this point, she would slap herself to wake herself.
By midnight, she was drinking tea continuously to keep herself awake and stared at the midnight channel with a blurry look.
Finally.
The time ticked and showed 2am.
The time the demons come out.
It started.
The final,
Conquest began. Elsie unknowingly looked up at the ceiling. Was Keima watching the ‘Favor of the Western Lantern’?
(Kami nii-sama…)
Elsie clasped her hands and closed her eyes tightly.
(Please do your best.)
She prayed to this one ‘god’ that she knew of, the strongest one.
At this moment,
DING DONG, DING DONG! The Katsuragis’ house bell rang…
Elsie went completely frozen at first.
Then, she didn’t know what to do as she frantically looked around. However, the doorbell continued to ring.
It continued to ring.
The sharp sound invaded Elsie’s mind.
DOK DOK DOK.
Then, it was the forceful knocking on the door.
In the midst of this sound,
There was a soft sound,
A soft yet familiar sound…
“Uu.”
Elsie first held the broom like a spear, and then walked towards the door. However, she didn’t want to answer the door at all.
However, she just had to go over.
That’s because.
That voice…
DING DONG.
DOK DOK DOK DOK!
DING DONG!
DOK DOK DOK DOK!
The bell of the answering machine and the knocking of the door rang. Elsie felt dizzy, and the sounds didn’t even stop as she came to the corridor.
Not only that, it got even more agitated and loud.
DOK DOK DOK
BAM BAM BAM.
DING DONG
DING DONG
Elsie slowly moved towards the door and pointed the broom at the door as she trembled.
Her trembling hand caused the front end of the broom to shake as well.
“Ahh, uu.”
She couldn’t let out a voice.
The throat was all stiff.
“~!”
There was someone screaming on the other side of the door.
It was a person Elsie was familiar with.
That voice,
“~!”
Seemed to be shouting something.
Elsie,
“Ah, uu, u.”
Still couldn’t talk.
The voice came in.
It went,
Into her ears.
“Ell-chan! Save me! There’s a strange monster! A strange monster’s chasing me~!”
It was Keima’s mother.
The one Elsie respected and loved.
The voice of Katsuragi Mari.
“Save me! Faster! Open the door!”
“Ah, uu.”
Elsie was all teary. Someone reminded her.
Shino reminded her over and over,
No matter what, she must not open the door.
However.
“Ell-chan, please! Uu, please, the monster…monster.”
She couldn’t do it.
She couldn’t leave her like this.
She couldn’t leave Mari like this and pretend that nothing happened.
Elsie just couldn’t do it.
“Uu.”
Even though her eyes were full of tears, she still looked towards the peering hole. Outside the door was,
“Ell-chan!”
The bloodshot eyes of Katsuragi Mari as she leaned over to the door.
“Uu!”
Even though she was taken abak.
“Open the door! Hurry! Open it!”
Elsie was still led by this shrill voice.
“Uu!”
“Open it open it open it open it!”
“Uu.”
“Open the door.”
“WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”
Elsie screamed as she turned the lock of the door and opened the door.
“Okaa-sama!”
She cried and called Mari in.
“Hurry!”
“Fufu.”
It’s unknown whether it was Elsie’s imagination as Katsuragi Mari, who was crouched there, lifted her head.
“Finally got in.”
She smirked as her face cracked.
That couldn’t possibly be Katsuragi Keima’s mother Mari!
But the ‘evil spirit’.
“!”
Elsie’s expression grimaced with fear and regret.
“KYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!”
A shocking cry came.
The white air rose from Mari and surrounded Elsie completely.
“It’s here…”
Shino, who was sitting in front of Keima’s room, looked hurt as she muttered.
Her originally closed eyes immediately opened.
Even though she set up the barrier all around the house, she knew that it would be broken through.
It was merely faster than what she expected.
Shino looked up at Keima’s room door that was still tightly shut. Right now, she knew one thing; that the boy called Katsuragi Keima was definitely trying his best to fight.
“Please…strong-willed boy.”
Shino smiled and muttered before looking back adamantly with a sharp gaze at the stairs leading to the first level.
At the darkness on the other end.
At the same time, Keima’s fingers were slamming hard on the keyboard at an amazing speed.
“Uu!”
He looked up at the clock.
He clearly heard the sound downstairs, but there should still be some time till the ending. He originally felt that he would only need another 20 minutes,
“Uu.”
However, his hand was trembling, numbed.
“Ugh!”
He looked like he was deflected away as his body faced sideways.
“Ugh.”
He used his left hand to grab his right wrist and used his right hand to press the keyboard. About 3 days ago, whenever he started to play the game, the hand would start to tremble.
Was this the curse of the ‘evil spirit’?
It was obviously wearing Keima down supernaturally.
However,
“Fufufufu, this design’s really interesting…this is the first time I’m playing such a game full of sensation. A lot of work’s put in.”
Keima merely chuckled fearlessly.
Chi.
Chichi.
The dark yet heavy presence started to float up from downstairs. Shino stood at the middle of the corridor and waited for the enemy to arrive.
“…”
She quickly raised the chokutou.
Shino let her aura fill her entire body. Even though she raised her alertness completely, the presence was somewhat calm. The clean spiritual air surrounded her.
In contrast, the thing that climbed up the stairs and came onto the corridor was,
“Chichichichichichi.”
Wasn’t in human shape anymore.
It wasn’t a human.
It was a giant white slab of flesh.
The size of the flesh block was so large it was irritating. That large and fat white flesh filled the entire corridor. Whether horizontally or vertically, it continued to move forward.
It seemed that the ‘evil spirit’ went from its spiritual form to its real form.
The opponent was mustering its strength to fight.
“Chi, chichichichichi.”
A certain sound that sounded like things rubbing together or worms creaking came from what looked like the face in the middle of the slab of flesh.
There were 3 black holes over there.
These 3 holes look like the eyes and the mouth, and it looked really disgusting.
“Chi, chichichi.”
On hearing this, Shino remembered what happened in the past and started to get goosebumps.
She hurriedly took a deep breath.
Don’t be scared.
Calm down.
However,
Her mind started to work on its own.
She didn’t need to think.
She just needed to focus on taking down this enemy in front of her.
But she still remembered.
How long had it been since I faced this thing head on?
She remembered.
Once, when she was really small.
When the ‘evil spirit’ Red Ogre was taken by Mogami Takeshi, she did touch this thing a little…
She remembered.
That thing.
That large and pale spiritual thing.
After taking it, she let out a scream for unknown reasons, and verged on the gates of Hell for three days and three nights.
“Ugh!”
Shino’s body trembled.
No.
No, no.
I’m no longer that young brat. I was 5, 6 back then. I was just a little kid who never underwent training.
But.
I’m different now.
I’ve trained; I came here to capture this thing.
To hunt this ‘evil spirit’.
I was completely powerless when Mogami Takeshi stole this, and I couldn’t do anything.
That’s why I started training. I continued to train, trained my spirit, and increased my soul’s strength. I won’t make the same mistake again. I will stop this thing here.
I will stop this thing for all to see.
This is also for that ‘strong-willed boy’ who’s facing against that game in that room.
But.
“Chi, chichichichi!”
The center of the block of flesh, what looked like a face seemed to smile in a twisted manner.
A chill went through Shino’s body.
I,
Can’t do it…
That thing sensed the fear in Shino’s heart and was mocking her…
The monster immediately closed in.
“Damn it!”
Shino tried her best to overcome this situation.
“Kya!”
But she couldn’t hide the fear within her.
“KYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!”
BAM! A loud sound rang as the door was slammed aside. Shino’s body entered the room. At this moment, Keima,
“Tch!”
Glanced behind him and clicked his tongue.
It seemed that Shino lost before the match even began.
“10 MINUTES WILL DO! MIKO, CAN YOU TRY AND HANG ON!?”
Keima shouted.
Chichi.
The dragging sound came over.
The face that didn’t really appear suddenly came looking from the corridor, and there were three black holes on the face.
“Uu, guu!”
Shino tried to get up and looked outside the room.
“EEK!”
On seeing the giant face looking in from outside the room, she shrieked out in fear. Seeing her like this, Keima couldn’t help but look up and sigh.
It seemed,
That Shino was completely overwhelmed by fear.
She collapsed and landed onto the floor with her butt.
She wasn’t a refined miko anymore, but an ordinary weak woman that was just trembling and looking up at the monster.
“OI! BUCK UP, STUPID MIKO!”
During this time, Keima was till typing away quickly at the keyboard. The crisis was right in front of him, and so he hastened the rate of conquest.
The ending was already right in front of him!
It was right in front of him!
“HANG IN THERE! SHINO! DIDN’T YOU COME HERE TO BEAT THAT THING!?”
“Uu.”
“Chichichichichi.”
The thing that was looking in from outside the room seemed to smirk as its black holes were staring at Keima.
Even Keima couldn’t help but break out in cold sweat.
That thing was as large as an abnormally swollen runaway spirit. Keima was stared at by that thing, and there was nothing between them.
“Chi.”
Zz.
That thing continued to expand its surface area like an amoeba as it crawled into Keima’s room.
Keima felt that thing moving behind his back and hastened his conquest. He didn’t mess up his steps as he continued to gain progress and tried his best to continue his mission.
“Tch.”
Just when he was gritting his teeth.
“Chichichichichichichichichichichi!!”
The thing looked like it was reaching out its hand as it reached its materialized part over to Keima.
Better late than never as,
“I WON’T LET YOU!”
An energetic voice,
“HURT KAMI NII-SAMA!”
A figure slipped in from the side. She knelt down on one knee, tilted her body and jumped up, extending her hagoromo to the maximum to protect Keima, blocking down the white monster’s body that was rushing in like a tidal wave.
“ELSIE!”
Keima shouted as his eyes never looked away from the screen.
“Hau~!”
Tears welled in Elsie’s eyes.
She was so scared that her body was trembling, but she still shouted,
“Kami nii-sama! Faster!”
Keima’s eyes flashed.
Good work, Elsie!”
“Hau, uu~!”
Elsie spread her hagoromo to fill the entire room’s length and continued to block off the attacks of the white hands. On the other hand, the main body of the ‘evil spirit’,
“Chichichichichi!”
Creak.
Was filling the house and letting out a creaking sound as it slowly moved into the house.
“Chi.”
And pressed its body forward as it tried to break through Elsie’s hagoromo.
“Hau, uuu~!”
Elsie was desperately trying to stop it.
“…Tch.”
Keima glanced at that thing, and the words that were flying quickly slowed down. His body was going numb.
His arms were trembling.
His fingers missed. It seemed that as the ‘evil spirit’ closed in, the power of the ‘curse’ would begin to severely affect his body.
In the end, he couldn’t even tap the keyboard.
“Ugh!”
Keima’s body collapsed aside. On the other hand, even Elsie,
“KA, KAMI NII-SAMA! I CAN’T HOLD ON! I CAN’T HOLD ON FOR LONG!”
She started gasping. It seemed that it was only a matter of time before the ‘evil spirit’ broke through.
“Can’t do it…”
Keima looked at Elsie again, and then left the computer to calm himself down.
He then smiled.
“Just a mere evil spirit.”
He closed his eyes,
And raised his hands.
At this moment.
He had 6 hands.
“In front of this ‘God of Conquest’!”
Keima opened his eyes, and his hands started typing at twice the speed before this. On seeing this, Elsie exclaimed,
“IT, IT’S THE GOD OF CONQUEST MODE!”
As the burden on the body was too great, Keima would rarely use this super-speed technique.
It was ever so majestic,
Even beautiful.
Under the light of the screen, Keima seemed to be giving off light as he shone all around. That extremely fast hand movement seemed to give off afterimages.
“Chi!”
The ‘evil spirit’ started to get anxious as one could feel from its presence that it was getting riled up. To deal with Keima once and for all, that large body used its size and continued to press at Elsie’s hagoromo.
“WAH!”
The entire house was creaking. If they’re not careful, this horrifying strength may even cause the entire room to collapse.
“I, I can’t hold on for long! My power alone…”
At this moment,
The miko who collapsed onto the floor stood up.
She got it,
“Really.”
And shook her head.
“That was really embarrassing. Granny’s right…my training still wasn’t enough. Sorry Elsie.”
She smiled.
“I’ll use some of my strength too. I,”
She stared coldly at the ‘evil spirit’.
“I won’t be scared of you again. It’s a miko’s job to protect the deities!”
She swung her chokutou and gave off an aura.
“Chichichichi!”
“Shino-san!”
Elsie shouted happily.
“Chi!”
The tent-like object that was glowing spread itself on Elsie’s hagoromo, and the ‘evil spirit’ backed away.
Unfortunately, good things didn’t last for long.
“Chichichichi!”
The mysterious shapeshifting white flesh increased its force.
“Elsie!?”
“Shino-san!”
And countered.
“Hau! Uu!”
“Damn it! This filthy thing!”
Both sides launched an intense battle. The ‘evil spirit’ wanted to get rid of Shino,
Elsie,
And Keima behind them all at one go, and thus, the power gathered was abnormal. On the other hand, Shino and Elsie,
“We can’t lose! Elsie!”
“Ye, yes!”
Both of them were extremely determined as they worked together to ensure Keima’s safety.
“However.
“U, guh. That, that’s some terrifying power.”
“…Uu~! Hau~!”
As they faced this monster with endless endurance, both of them were almost unable to hang on.
At this moment.
A calm voice rang.
“Why this game, the ‘Favor of the Western Lantern’,”
The voice came from behind Shino,
And Elsie. Both of them were wondering whether Keima’s mind was burned up.
However.
His voice was rather calm.
And clear.
“Why it was created. I had been wondering. If it was just to present the horror, there were many manners of presentation and elements that didn’t need to be entered. I couldn’t tell the creator’s intention at first, but now I finally got it. The female lead for this game was always waiting.”
His confidence was rather rational.
“Waiting for light to overcome darkness.”
“Katsuragi-dono…”
On hearing Shino mutter,
“What you saw before wasn’t correct. This game wasn’t presenting fear, but through force of will to overcome the darkness in front of us and obtaining hope. That’s the true nature of this game.”
“CHICHICHICHICHI!!”
The ‘evil spirit’ maniacally swayed its body. Keima quickly kept his ‘God of Conquest mode’ as both arms sagged on both sides.
And he sighed.
“I’ve already seen the ending…no, I should say that this game was always waiting for someone to break the ending. This is the wish of the game, and the last dream Mogami Takeshi illustrated. It wasn’t a ‘curse’, but ‘hope’, all meant to be solved by someone.”
Shino and Elsie couldn’t help but look back, and they saw it.
On the screen.
What appeared should be the words of the last option. Keima suddenly turned around and lifted his head to look at the ‘evil spirit’, and then pointed his right finger.
He coldly narrowed his eyes that looked full of intelligence.
“CHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHI!!!”
KLUUAAA~!
The body of the ‘evil spirit’ let out a loud sound. It got smaller and smaller like a large balloon being deflated.
Finally.
“…”
Keima silently watched this and made the final declaration.
The thumb that was facing the ceiling turned down.
Keima said,
“As the ‘God of Conquest’, I command you,”
The hand on the other side rose up above his head.
And then,
He pressed the enter button.
He then shouted,
“RETURN BACK TO WHERE YOU BELONG, TO THAT EVIL CONGREAGATE OF YOURS!”
Don’t come back again.
The keyboard let out a click. At this moment.
“IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!”
The ‘evil spirit let out a long wail without any restraint as its body became white smoke and scattered away. What looked like white mist surrounded them.
Everything ended here.
In the midst of this mist,
“Shino.”
Keima got up and approached the miko. Shino, who was terrified and speechless as she watched the ‘evil spirit’ disappear, finally seems to realize something,
“…You’re really strange.”
She narrowed her eyes at Keima,
“You like older big sisters?”
She looked somewhat mischievous. It was because her senses were far superior to normal people that she should have realized it. Shino closed her eyes.
“If everyone I met was just like you.”
Keima grimaced.
“It would be a lot easier for me now.”
And then, he kissed Shino.
On a side note, the runaway spirit that left Shino was the smallest ever…
The next morning, Elsie and Keima were in the café. Keima closed his eyes, seemingly enjoying the coffee fragrance, and Elsie was washing the dishes.
She then used the apron to wipe her hands,
“…Aren’t you tired, kami nii-sama?”
And asked. Keima took a sip of coffee and widened his eyes,
“Why did you ask?”
And asked back. Elsie was intrigued,
“Be, because, things escalated so much yesterday.”
Keima suddenly smiled.
“That’s nothing much. The game itself was set to be only playable for an hour at night, so it was a little troublesome. The game itself wasn’t difficult.”
“I see.”
Elsie responded, and it was hard to tell whether she was amazed or surprised.
Even after so many things happened, he still insisted that it was merely a game…
Elsie was really impressed.
(Speaking of which, kami nii-sama was so calm until the end…)
She recalled everything that happened. The ‘evil spirit’ was so scary…let alone Elsie, even the miko Shino was so scared that she was trembling. However, Keima didn’t even flinch as he faced the main body of the ‘evil spirit’.
He was completely unmoved.
Was there something he wasn’t scared of?
“Luckily, the computer and my personal collection are all safe.”
Just when Keima spoke halfway through and was about to put the coffee to his lips,
“Hm?”
He tilted his head. Perhaps it was Elsie’s imagination as Keima seemed to be uneasy.
“…That’s right, where did that strange miko go?”
“Ahh.”
Elsie nodded her head.
“It seemed that she wanted to head back today, so she wanted to repay us a little before going back.”
“Repay?”
“Yes. She said that she wanted to clean up this place before heading back…”
“…”
Keima’s face immediately went pale.
“I remember…”
Elsie used her fingers to support her chin.
“She’s cleaning kami nii-sama’s room.”
At this moment, Keima clumsily dumped the coffee cup onto the table and dashed out of the café. Elsie cringed.
She hurriedly ran up to the second level,
“OI! STUPID MIKO! DON’T MESS UP! DON’T MESS UP MY ROOM!”
And heard Keima shout,
“Ohh? Katsuragi-dono, please relax! Look, I’m just going to turn on the vacuum cleaner.”
And Shino’s cheery reply, and then,
“KYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!”
There was a cry and the sound of things breaking.
BAM, and an impact.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
Keima cried out.
This was the first time Elsie heard Keima scream…
