From his observation, although Madam Rurie had been trying to act as experienced as her mature and seductive appearance suggested, but in reality, it was rather clumsy.
She clearly looked inexperienced.
She probably hadn't even bragged like that to Nakoto's father before he had already passed away.
So even though Madam Rurie's natural conditions weren't bad, her tongue was relatively long, and she was quite articulate, Hikari still noticed a lot of things that felt off.
As he looked at the faint traces of black aura seeping through the bright yellow light of the chandelier on the ceiling, he reached out and lightly tapped the spot by the edge of the bed where Madam Rurie had just been kneeling.
He could still feel a bit of the warmth she had left behind on his fingertips.
Hikari recalled the things she had just said.
What Madam Rurie had told him about the Munakata residence didn't match much of what Munakata Nakoto had told him before.
Some of it even directly contradicted.
There was no doubt, Madam Rurie had definitely lied just now.
Of course, it wasn't like she hadn't shown any honesty at all.
His fingers slid along the edge of the bed, picking up a few strands of sticky moisture.
Hikari gently rubbed them between his fingers.
In an instant, they stretched into several thin, transparent threads.
'Tsk, pretty sticky.'
"Madam Rurie…"
Hikari raised an eyebrow slightly, then shook his head.
Better to keep thinking about what's going on behind the Munakata residence.
It was clearly a background where mother and daughter depended on each other, yet the mother wanted to harm her daughter.
And the daughter also wanted to use an outsider's hand to counter her mother.
There were quite a few shady things going on in the Munakata residence.
As Hikari thought about it, the so-called family curse that Munakata Rurie had just mentioned was likely something she made up.
Maybe it was just a fabricated excuse that sounded reasonable, so he would go ahead and mess with Munakata Nakoto, fulfilling part of her cult's ritual plan.
But for just a cult ritual, was it really necessary to go to such lengths?
Hikari knew that cults could be extremely harmful. There really were many such religions in Neon, and after being deceived, people could indeed end up doing anything.
But honestly, judging from how Madam Rurie had acted so far, she didn't seem foolish. If anything, she seemed rather clever.
Many people believed in religion because their expectations in reality weren't met, things like power or wealth.
And as the owner of this luxurious residence, Munakata Rurie definitely didn't lack money.
So the question was, what exactly did she want to gain by scheming so carefully, even to the point of sacrificing her daughter?
Also, fanatical believers usually filled their homes with religious elements, but in the Munakata residence, Hikari hadn't seen anything flashy like that at all.
That said, there was definitely something strange about this residence, and Hikari knew that this 2D world clearly contained the supernatural.
The level that supernatural power could reach might even be absurdly high.
'So… could it be that Munakata Rurie truly is in contact with another side of that so-called cult?'
Maybe she had even witnessed the kind of supernatural power that faith could bring, something convincing enough to make her believe.
And in order to obtain that power, and join them, she went to such lengths, even willing to sacrifice her daughter's interests.
This idea wasn't something Hikari had just thought of for the first time.
After all, it wasn't his first time encountering so-called ghosts or urban legends.
Based on the various abnormalities in the Munakata residence, Hikari had already concluded earlier, that Munakata Rurie hadn't been deceived by some money-grabbing pyramid-scheme-like cult, but that there really was some kind of supernatural force involved.
At the beginning, however, Hikari had leaned more toward the idea that some strange entity was causing trouble.
Something like Hanako of the Toilet, or Hachishaku-sama. Only perhaps even stronger than Hanako, maybe even stronger than Hachishaku-sama.
But after thinking and sensing carefully for so long, and combining that with his probing of Munakata Rurie, he started to feel that something wasn't quite right.
Because the faintly sinister and evil aura permeating the residence was something he had never encountered in any strange entity or urban legend before.
Hikari had read quite a few books about ghost stories and urban legends before, but he couldn't find many similar cases in his memory.
Moreover, that evil and filthy aura was extremely dense. Even the already very powerful Hachishaku-sama didn't seem to have an aura as pure as this one.
'Could it be… that something like a legendary evil god really exists here?'
'Or… is it something else entirely?'
Hikari frowned and pondered for a while.
But he felt that the information he had was still insufficient, and he didn't want to jump to conclusions.
He still needed to keep in contact with and observe Munakata Rurie.
It was precisely with this purpose in mind that, even knowing that the widowed lady had her own schemes, Hikari still accepted her overtures.
"For now, I should go talk to Nakoto-chan again."
Turning over and getting off the bed, Hikari casually wiped the weapon that Madam Rurie had accidentally gotten wet just now.
Then he put on his clothes and quietly left the room.
———
He arrived once again outside Munakata Nakoto's bedroom.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Not long after Hikari raised his hand and knocked, Nakoto's cautious voice came from inside the room.
"Who is it?", Munakata Nakoto asked sharply.
"Nakoto-chan, it's me," Hikari replied.
"Hikari-kun?"
Surprised and a bit delighted, Munakata Nakoto quickly got out of bed and came to open the door.
"Hikari-kun, why are you here again?", she asked, standing behind the door and looking at him in surprise.
"Let's talk inside," Hikari glanced back, then said to her.
"Ah! Right! Come in, quickly!", Coming back to her senses, Nakoto hurriedly pulled him into her room.
"Nakoto-chan, on my way back to my room just now, I ran into your mother, and quite a few things happened," Hikari got straight to the point and told her everything that had just happened.
"Tani Ichiro is dead? And my mother smashed him to death?", Hearing Hikari's account, Munakata Nakoto wasn't shocked, just a bit surprised.
"See? I told you my mother would definitely choose you, not that guy Tani Ichiro," she said, nodding confidently when she heard that Hikari had been asked to help bury the body.
Hikari then told Nakoto about the request Munakata Rurie had made before leaving, and the reward she promised afterward.
"My mother wants you to 'deeply communicate' with me? And it'd be best if I got pregnant, saying it would be good for the Munakata family? Heh!", Hearing something similar to what she had eavesdropped before, Nakoto let out a cold laugh.
Then she asked curiously, "Based on my mother's personality, if she's decided to ask you for help, she wouldn't just give you an empty promise and say you'll only get rewarded after you finish everything."
"You also said she already gave you something as a reward… what exactly did she do?"
Seeing Nakoto's curious face, Hikari pointed at her tender lips.
"K-kissing?", Nakoto looked at him curiously.
Hikari shook his head and pointed at her mouth again.
"S-so it was that?", Nakoto's eyes widened at his gesture.
When Hikari nodded, her pretty face flushed red, "Mother actually… actually did something like that?"
After the embarrassment, anger surged in her heart, "For the sake of harming me, she actually… actually went that far? She's even willing to sacrifice that? Just how badly does she want me dead?"
Thinking about how her mother used such a reward to ask another man to ruin her, Nakoto couldn't hold back her anger.
Seeing Hikari silently blinking at her, Nakoto snapped back to herself and hurriedly explained.
"Hikari-kun, don't misunderstand, I… I wasn't targeting you, really!"
"The reason I said that is mainly because of my mother herself!"
"You might not know this, but my mother has always been very strict about chastity."
"My father has been gone for many years, and people have suggested she remarry, but she never even considered it. She rarely even talks to men to avoid suspicion."
"And yet she… she did that to you. For the sake of dealing with me, she's even willing to sacrifice this, so that's why I'm so shocked…"
Nakoto explained hurriedly.
"I see. I understand. I believe you," Hikari nodded.
Thinking back to how Madam Rurie had seemed seductive but was actually clumsy, he knew Nakoto wasn't lying.
Seeing that he didn't misunderstand, Nakoto let out a sigh of relief.
Then, as if she suddenly thought of something, her delicate face changed slightly, and she suddenly got up and threw herself straight into Hikari's arms.
Sitting on his thigh, she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Her soft lips pressed against his cheek, leaving behind a faint fragrance as she smiled and asked, "Hikari-kun, even though my mother is trying all sorts of ways to win you over..."
"Based on your personality, you'll definitely stand by justice and stay on my side, right?"
Hearing that, Hikari lowered his head, looked at the pure and beautiful girl in his arms, and smiled.
"Hard to say. Madam Rurie is really charming, too good, too tempting. I can't guarantee I'll be able to resist."
Nakoto immediately rolled her eyes at him, "Hikari-kun, you're so bad, teasing me again!"
As she spoke, she suddenly raised her head and pressed another kiss onto his lips.
She even lingered there for quite a while.
Maybe it was just a playful gesture, or maybe she had really been frightened by Munakata Rurie's actions.
Worried that Hikari might actually switch sides, in any case, Nakoto was clearly a bit nervous right now.
Only when she was breathing a little heavily did she release his neck.
Looking at Nakoto clinging tightly to him, acting a bit spoiled out of worry,
Hikari smiled, gently freed her hands, and said, "Alright, stop messing around. I still have something to ask you."
"What is it?", Nakoto looked up, puzzled.
"About the Munakata residence, and your mother."
"Is your mother really trying to harm you just because she believes in some cult?", Hikari asked.
"This…", Nakoto hesitated slightly, but seeing Hikari staring at her, she gritted her teeth and said, "Actually, I'm not completely sure. And to be honest, I'm a bit worried you might get scared."
"But since you've asked, I'll tell you."
"Based on what my mother said, and my own observations…"
[🎉 Shoutout to baby_pal and LeadStar p@treon. Thank you very much.🤗]
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