Chapter 104: We Are Centrists!
Night had fallen, and the surroundings were very cool. They waited for a while on the silent, empty street.
Kasumizuki looked at the scissors in her hand, their blades bent to one side, and asked him, "Right, how did this thing get bent? It'll affect its use a bit, won't it?"
"Give it to me."
Luke took the scissors from Kasumizuki, gripped them with both hands, and lightly bent them with force.
"There. Fixed."
Kasumizuki silently took back the scissors, which had more or less returned to their original shape, and stared at them.
This was only possible because it was an exorcism tool. Otherwise, being bent back and forth to this degree would definitely snap it.
Also, was this guy's physical ability becoming more and more like that one-track-minded maid of his?
"Have you ever considered becoming an athlete?" Kasumizuki asked.
"Never considered it. It'd waste too much time. I'd rather stay home hugging my maids," he said honestly.
"For some reason, that makes me annoyed."
Shibuya Jun speechlessly tossed a small stone, then turned his head toward the other side of the road.
They sensed something approaching.
"It's here," Luke murmured, his spirit also sharpening.
Luke and the other exorcists shifted their gazes to the empty road nearby.
Dust gently stirred up, and a somewhat old taxi appeared before their eyes.
Even from a distance, he could clearly notice the power spreading from within this exorcism-tool taxi.
That ghost driver, the story king, had arrived.
The window slowly rolled down, and the ghost driver stuck out half her head, looking at a familiar face.
"Yo, sashiburi da na… Eek, did you all drink? Can I refuse passengers?"
Looking at the drunken group, the ghost driver worried about her precious vehicle. She did not want a few drunkards riding in her car.
Kasumizuki only stared at her quietly. The meaning was obvious.
"Fine, I get it."
The ghost driver helplessly pursed her lips.
When under someone else's roof, one had no choice but to lower one's head.
Mm. Ghosts too.
"Sigh… We're in a hurry, so I had to call you over."
Kasumizuki lightly sighed and explained the reason.
"Also, something has happened recently regarding intelligent evil spirits like you. You can come along and listen."
"In a hurry, huh? Then you called the right person… hehehe."
The ghost driver seemed to hear only the words "in a hurry" and reflexively giggled. After they got into the car, she lowered her voice.
"Have you heard of…"
"Shut up."
Luke, who had climbed into the taxi's back seat, murmured.
"Okay."
Although the taxi's interior was still somewhat old and its structure looked a little antique, the ghost driver had decorated it properly.
She had wrapped the front and back seats in full-cover cushions, and she had also used car perfume inside to cover up some of the smell.
Luke said to the driver, "Remember to stay in the real world. Don't ride the line between the realm of the dead and reality. I'm afraid your hearse will turn into a real hearse."
"I know."
"Also, brake more slowly at red lights. I get carsick."
"…You have so many demands."
"Then do whatever you want. I can endure it, but I don't know about these people who just drank."
Luke, sitting in the back seat with Jun and Matsuzuki Saki, pushed Jun, who reeked of alcohol, and reminded the ghost driver in front.
"I will drive very, very carefully. The customer is God!"
The ghost driver quickly corrected herself.
…
Because it was very late, the ghost driver still took them through a stretch of the realm of the dead's boundary in a place without cameras.
So before long, she brought them to the location Kasumizuki had chosen.
A detached villa with a small garden.
It seemed no one had lived there for a long time. The flowers and grass in front of the door grew freely, full of life.
"What place is this?"
Luke asked strangely.
Why had this miko brought them to a villa like this?
"Come in. This is a new house I bought. Because I've been doing a lot of fieldwork recently, I purchased one around here."
Kasumizuki opened the front door and explained the reason.
"This can't possibly be reimbursed, right?"
Luke looked at the fairly large villa and asked in confusion.
Kasumizuki lightly raised the corners of her mouth and gave him no answer or explanation. She only gave him a "guess" look before walking inside.
…
A parasite on society.
From her mood, he obtained the answer and defined Kasumizuki in his heart.
"Right, can you help reimburse some of my expenses too?"
Luke hurriedly followed.
"The amount isn't much. Only a few hundred thousand yen."
Compared with this villa, it really was not much.
"Sigh, how could that be reimbursed? It's just that because of some recent matters, I got a house for free."
Kasumizuki helplessly explained.
What a pity. He had wanted to fleece a little money too.
"Got it for free? Can you help me get one for free too?"
Jun and Saki were instead very interested in how to get one for free.
"Move aside."
Luke pushed the two away.
"So, why exactly did you call me here?"
Today, during club activities, Kasumizuki had been messaging him and had arranged to gather again after finishing the official report about the cultists.
He had not eaten with Kasumizuki and the others. He had simply thought that since he had already come to Tokyo, he might as well use the free time to verify the Kuchisake-onna matter.
Earlier, he had searched online for the location that appeared in the Kuchisake-onna chapter of Scream.
It was near Shuchiin Academy, and he really had found posts discussing Kuchisake-onna.
So following the clues this time, he had unsurprisingly caught this supernatural spirit.
Kasumizuki placed the scissors on the table in the hall and asked, "You didn't directly kill this Kuchisake-onna you mentioned, right?"
"No. Because I didn't bring items that could directly remove her, I held back earlier. Why?"
In truth, it was because even to the brink of death, this Kuchisake-onna refused to admit that she was actually an evil god.
On the other hand, when it came to this kind of intelligent evil spirit attached to an exorcism tool, keeping her around to ask some questions was better.
"Help restore her. This matter is related to evil spirits like them that are attached to exorcism tools."
Kasumizuki said that again, just as she had told the ghost driver before.
The ghost driver looked at everything strangely. As someone also residing in a taxi exorcism tool, she could naturally sense that there was a similar existence inside those scissors.
"Okay."
Luke picked up the exorcism tool that looked no different from ordinary scissors. Sensing the other power remaining inside, he gently poured in his spiritual power and restored it.
Exorcism tools were items capable of storing spiritual power, so naturally, they could also absorb the spiritual power of others.
Under his energy injection, this exorcism tool soon slowly recovered its former luster.
"Come out."
Luke stopped moving, lightly knocked on the scissors, and called the Kuchisake-onna residing inside.
"…"
The Kuchisake-onna reluctantly appeared before them. She cautiously swept her gaze over the surroundings, tightened her red mask, glanced at the ghost driver beside her who was similar to herself, and quietly moved a little closer to her.
She could sense the ghost driver's situation, and naturally, she could also sense that the people nearby were exorcists.
So although she was not too reassured about the ghost driver who appeared together with exorcists, she still felt closer to her than to those exorcists.
"Tell us about yourself."
Kasumizuki looked at the Kuchisake-onna and took out a bell from beneath her skirt, speaking first.
Luke recognized that bell.
It was an exorcism tool used to detect lies.
"What about me? I was perfectly fine scaring people in an alley when this guy came out and beat me up, almost making me disappear completely."
The Kuchisake-onna looked at him unhappily.
"I'm asking about your life before death. For example, what caused your death, and whether you have anything unforgettable carved into the depths of your soul. Such as your lover betraying you, someone killing you while you were alive, blah blah blah."
Kasumizuki questioned her.
"Those things? I don't remember."
The Kuchisake-onna said directly, then blankly knocked on her own head.
Ever since she was born inside this exorcism tool, the days she had experienced had been far too happy.
There were always people who refused to believe in evil. Even knowing that evil spirits haunted that place, they would still come looking for her with calm expressions while secretly trembling in their hearts.
Then, after she appeared, these seemingly calm people would become so frightened they could not control themselves. Pure fear would spread from around their bodies, letting her eat until she was completely full every single time.
And after scaring these humans, she would obtain spoils like cigarettes and phones.
So she had never bothered to recall or search for her past.
The Kuchisake-onna added, "I only remember that I am the Kuchisake-onna people speak of… I need to appear before lone people and ask them, 'Am I pretty?'"
"But no matter how they answer, I have to remove my mask and show this mouth… then beat them up."
"She doesn't actually kill them?"
Kasumizuki exclaimed in surprise.
She had thought that according to the normal plot development, Kuchisake-onna should cruelly kill these people.
"Why would I kill them? Wouldn't that attract the police? And after killing people, no one would pass through that place anymore, right?"
The Kuchisake-onna said that.
The bell had not rung this entire time, and Kasumizuki could not help looking at Luke in confusion.
Luke nodded.
The students beneath the Kuchisake-onna's body had indeed been fine. They had only fainted because of her spiritual interference.
Also, according to the plot development in Scream, the ending was a comedic one.
"Then why did you hit her so hard?!"
"If I hadn't hit hard, do you think I could've brought her here?"
Luke asked back.
Exorcism tools themselves were dangerous things. The ghost driver and Kuchisake-onna were merely exceptions.
He had seen several evil spirits attached to exorcism tools before.
An umbrella black on the outside and red on the inside.
An extremely well-fitting black dress.
The umbrella worked like this:
If someone opened it on a rainy day, they would feel that the umbrella was leaking. When they sensed something was wrong and looked up, they would discover that the rain falling inside the umbrella was actually blood-red.
If someone outside the umbrella looked over at that moment, they would discover that under the umbrella, besides the person holding the handle, there was also a woman in red.
As for the black dress, that exorcism tool most attracted women who longed to lose weight and slim down.
It would make these women fall deeply in love with the dress and continue wearing it, gradually losing their desire to eat.
Until they lost their lives and flesh, leaving only skin behind, which merged with that human-skin dress and made it softer and better-fitting.
They were originally aggregates of resentment.
It would be strange if they did not kill people.
"That's true."
Kasumizuki murmured.
"However, an intelligent evil spirit that doesn't remember its life before death and doesn't remember the target of its resentment…"
"It's a bit like…"
Luke looked at Kasumizuki.
"An artificial evil spirit created by cultists."
Kasumizuki nodded in agreement.
"That explains why she has no memories from before death and doesn't remember the cause of her resentment."
"What are these guys talking about?"
Seeing the two suddenly discuss her matters, the Kuchisake-onna asked the ghost driver.
"Looking for a reason."
"What does that mean?"
"Our birth doesn't need a reason, but humans always like finding the reason we were born. No need to pay attention to them."
Luke looked at Kasumizuki, who was thinking.
"Then it was probably made by the remaining branches of the cultists."
"We'll talk about that when we have time…"
"So what exactly happened?"
"Sigh, it's those politicians who have nothing better to do. For some reason, they suddenly started acting up again. The two groups, the radicals and the conservatives, have started discussing the issue of evil spirits attached to exorcism tools."
Kasumizuki sat at the mahjong table and casually pressed the dice button on the automatic mahjong machine.
"It's probably because some politician or big boss got scared by an evil spirit again."
Jun, who had been dazed beside them, hurriedly asked, "What ideas do those politicians have? Are there subsidies?"
"Do you think they can discuss anything in such a short time?"
Kasumizuki glanced at him.
"If there are no subsidies, who cares about them?"
Jun, who was always short on money, muttered.
"So what are their current ideas?"
Luke asked the important point.
"Their ideas…"
"The conservative group of old-fashioned people thinks they should follow the lessons of the past and must resolve these dangerous evil spirits."
The ghost driver, sensing that things were bad, hurriedly asked, "What about the radicals?"
"The radicals believe all nonhumans should be killed, including those orthodox gods."
"…So, miko, which side do you intend to stand on?"
Matsuzuki Saki, the outside support, asked her.
Kasumizuki and Shibuya Jun leaned back at the same time.
"We are centrists. Whichever side pays, we help that side."
"…Fine."
Saki speechlessly sat back on the sofa.
"Then in other words, no matter what, spirit bodies like us can hardly escape death, right?"
The ghost driver said speechlessly.
Kasumizuki glanced at her.
"Of course not. No matter how much those people discuss it, in the end, the ones who actually act will still be us exorcists. What are you afraid of?"
The ghost driver relaxed.
Perfect centrists.
Luke thought for a moment, then curiously asked, "…Kasumizuki, I remember that, um… wouldn't the god you serve also be among the radicals' targets?"
"Yeah…"
Kasumizuki casually waved her hand.
"It's fine! In any case, I stopped wanting to do this job a long time ago. I've already achieved financial freedom. Isn't enjoying life better?"
This woman really had drunk too much.
If the so-called radicals wanted to kill the god you serve, do you think you'd be able to run away?
The ghost driver tugged at the Kuchisake-onna and whispered beside her ear, "These are exorcists. When they sell out teammates, they're even harsher than we are. Even the god they worship can be sold at the right price."
Luke glanced at these two things, not knowing why they had suddenly huddled together.
…
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