Perhaps it was Mori Tsukisa's moment of boredom that made Yuu feel a sense of goodwill. After preparing a simple but heartwarming home-cooked meal, the girl poured out a bit of her inner gloom to the sharp-tongued young lady.
"Actually..." she said apprehensively.
"I can see ghosts."
The table instantly fell silent.
Imhotep and Anck-Su-Namun stopped their wine glasses, and even Nagini cast a cold gaze toward the girl—
"Really, it's true..." Yuu forced a smile and put down her chopsticks. "You might not believe it, and think I'm crazy too..."
"I thought so too for a while."
Mori Tsukisa picked up a piece of vegetable tempura, stuffed it into her mouth, and crunched away. As she ate, she asked, "Ghost? What kind of ghost? In your case, is it the legendary eyes that can peer into the underworld?"
Yuu shook her head. "It's not like that. I... I can only see one."
One?
The university student was wearing loose, light blue pajamas, her hair tied in a ponytail with a red cord, looking quite spirited. "One, just one. He's been following me for many years..."
The story began intermittently many years ago, on a certain day when she accidentally dropped an ice cream on the ground and cried sadly about it.
"Since that day..." Reminiscing, Yuu poured herself a glass. "I've often been able to see that specter."
"He has hollow black eyes, blood-colored lips—he has short hair, and long arms and legs..."
"Whenever..."
The girl raised her glass and drained it in one gulp.
"Whenever I have negative emotions—" As she spoke, she got a little excited. "He appears! He appears by my side! When he laughs, even the air turns cold! It's terrifying!"
"So that's why you..."
Even so, Yuu still smiled with high spirits. "That's right. Ever since I found the pattern, no matter what happens, I maintain a high-spirited state. I absolutely, absolutely will not be downcast or depressed!"
"Then he won't appear!"
A ghost that lives off negative emotions and is dispelled by happy and heartwarming things—how... Mori Tsukisa couldn't remember, but she seemed to have heard Dumbledore mention a certain spell that applied exactly to this situation?
That... monster?
What was it called?
The young girl had forgotten the creature Mr. Dumbledore had mentioned. It was his fault for always saying such profound things; how could she remember?
"Master, Miss Yuu has no wizarding blood, and this isn't that World." Nagini reminded her in a low voice. This serpent never drank, but the Little Sprite she was responsible for was a different story—
He probably snuck off to the kitchen or wine cellar to drink his fill long ago, right?
"True... but after hearing you, it really is a standard... ghost?"
Yuu didn't pay attention to the 'Master' Nagini used. In her eyes, Mori Tsukisa's background was definitely extraordinary; one could tell just by looking at the girl's daily necessities—she wasn't an ignorant local townsperson. Having gone to university away from home, she had seen many girls from wealthy families.
The skincare and makeup products those city girls showed off... were just consumables Mori Tsukisa threw around carelessly.
She even caught a glimpse of that cold woman named 'Nagini' preparing a large pile of even more expensive items for her Master, things she had only seen in the gossip news about celebrities.
"It's a ghost... but he's never hurt me, he only 'consumes' my negative emotions..." Yuu smiled stiffly. "I'm very afraid he'll appear again. As long as I relax even a little—"
"So Miss Yuu has had it hard too." Mori Tsukisa sighed. "Think more about happy memories; that's what an Old Wizard said."
Old Wizard?
Yuu shook her head slightly. "I had no other choice. I pleaded with the Miyamizu family, but Grandma Hitoha couldn't do anything either—maybe she's still angry at my grandmother? I've been to many shrines, but in the end, none of them could solve it..."
"He seems to be staying by my side forever."
The group fell silent.
Curiously, Mori Tsukisa opened the Profiler.
[Fujiwara Yuu]
[Human]
[An ordinary university student, a determined and hardworking Child.]
[mystery detected.]
[Energy Level: Lv0 · [Contactee]]
[Note: Sanity crumbling]
Eh... a mystery Contactee?
Then that ghost... Chaos? Mori Tsukisa licked her lips. If it were a Chaos creature, it would be interesting.
"Miss Fujiwara, does he appear as long as you have negative emotions?"
Yuu looked at Mori Tsukisa in bewilderment, not understanding how this girl knew her name.
"I guessed."
Master, there are over a hundred thousand surnames in all of Japan... "But I'm a lucky girl, and I guessed right."
...Whatever you say.
Fujiwara Yuu at the table didn't seem to press further, just staring at Mori Tsukisa with a look of 'realization' all over her face.
"As expected..." Yuu said softly. "Miss Tsukisa is also a 'Miko', right?"
...?
"You've asked so much; actually, you noticed long ago that I'm haunted by an evil spirit, right?" The girl who had just started university began to mutter superstitiously, her eyes full of hope as she looked at Mori Tsukisa. "That's right! You came to find the Miyamizu family; it must be to talk about things regarding 'that side', right?"
"Haunted by an evil spirit, do you have a way to solve it?"
"Miss Mori Tsukisa! Please help me!"
Setting aside the fact that she had started using honorifics, Mori Tsukisa felt that Fujiwara Yuu had indeed been terrified all these years, to the point of treating any possible person as a lifesaver. This was quite heart-wrenching.
"I'm curious, Miss Yuu, does 'he' appear when you're working?"
Yuu clutched her chest and nodded slowly. "As long as I show negative emotions..."
"Show?"
"For example, the corners of my mouth drooping." Yuu smiled bitterly. "It's strange, right? Just like a switch! As long as I make that kind of movement, the ghost appears... it's as if he's always hiding in some Shadow, monitoring and peeking at me..."
"But when I laugh hard... he disappears."
As she spoke, the girl even began to feel cold.
Only disappears with a smile?
Appears with depression and sadness?
Feeding on negative emotions, defeated by positive emotions?
My Lord Mori Tsukisa..." Yuu made the request again, and this time, Mori Tsukisa agreed.
"Although I'm not a Miko, I'd like to see the 'ghost' you mentioned. How about tonight? After you've cleared the dishes, I'll go to your room."
"Don't you need to prepare anything?" Fujiwara Yuu stood up halfway in excitement. "My grandmother left many exorcism tools! What do you need? There are still offerings from the townspeople at the Miyamizu shrine!"
Mori Tsukisa smiled.
"I have them with me, don't worry." The young girl raised her fist and slowly opened it—then, like a magic trick with shifting light and shadow, her soft little hand flipped back and forth... a bright short dagger appeared in her palm.
"A knife..." Fujiwara Yuu sat back in her chair, murmuring at the magic-like scene.
"Exactly, exactly!" Mori Tsukisa moved her hand nimbly, and the knife began to swim and spin between the girl's fingers like a living fish; it glinted under the dim yellow electric light, like a thick, flowing stream of silver liquid between her fingers.
"Times have changed, Miss Fujiwara Yuu."
Mori Tsukisa curled the corners of her mouth, the dangerous blade pressed against her cheek, tapping the tear mole at the corner of her eye.
"I have a more convenient way."
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