Chapter 107: Trying to Squeeze Us for a Tip?
Haruto's brow furrowed as he glanced down at his ghost phone. The screen showed no mention of any expedited delivery fees.
He didn't think Xie Lin was the type to set a package for cash on delivery, but just to be safe, he raised the phone, snapped a quick photo of the Ghost Postman, and sent it to him in a private message.
Ding-dong—
The reply was almost instantaneous.
[I paid in full when I sent it. That ghost is just trying to pocket some extra for himself; it happens all the time. Usually, a thousand or so ghost coins will make him go away.]
Beneath the message was a red envelope.
"What's the word?" Reimu leaned in, her head tilted curiously as she peered at the screen.
Haruto ignored the red envelope. Instead, he looked up at the Ghost Postman and spread his hands in a helpless gesture for Reimu's benefit.
"This guy decided to raise the price on the spot. To put it bluntly, he's trying to extort protection money from us."
"Extort protection money?"
The words were like a lit match to a fuse. Reimu's expression instantly soured. It had always been her collecting protection money—or, well, donations—from others. Since when was it someone else's turn to collect from her? Especially through such a blatant shakedown.
"Are you... refusing to pay the postage?" the Ghost Postman's voice grew hoarser, his face beginning to twist and deform. Chunks of rotting flesh peeled away, landing on the ground with wet splat, splat sounds. From the exposed meat, several fat, white maggots crawled out, wriggling slowly.
"Robbery is robbery, but you dress it up as an 'expedited delivery fee.' You certainly know how to make it sound nice," Haruto sneered.
If he were alone in some strange, unfamiliar instance, he might have chosen to play the part of a wise man and submit to the circumstances. But right now, he was on his own turf—the outskirts of Gensokyo, no less—and he had specifically brought this particular shrine maiden with him.
If he actually paid up... wouldn't that make bringing her along a complete waste?
The Ghost Postman's expression turned utterly grim, clearly not expecting someone to call him out so directly.
"Then you shall serve as the postage... die..."
Before the word "die" could fully leave his throat—
WHAM!
A heavy blow smashed squarely into the side of his head. Reimu had swung her Yin-Yang Orb.
After taking the hit, the Ghost Postman didn't fall. Instead, he became completely enraged. His body swelled grotesquely, bloating like a corpse that had been soaking in water for days. His voice was a ragged, gurgling rasp.
"...I will tear you apart... make you all into parcels!"
Haruto took a casual step back.
Reimu, on the other hand, was growing impatient. If she weren't afraid of accidentally killing the ghost and jeopardizing her potential earnings—and by extension, her future happiness—she would have sent him straight to the Underworld with that first swing. Besides, one look at him told her he wasn't a decent ghost anyway.
"So noisy!"
She raised her hand, and the Yin-Yang Orb materialized once more. Imbued with pure spiritual power, she swung it fiercely at the Ghost Postman again.
The ghost still tried to resist, mustering a shroud of black energy. But the moment that foul aura touched the Yin-Yang Orb, it dissipated like snow meeting fire. His eyes widened in horror. Before he could even think to dodge, the orb slammed heavily into his body.
BANG—!
This impact was far heavier than the last.
The Ghost Postman was sent flying several meters, tumbling through the air like a broken kite. When he crashed to the ground, more than half of the rotting flesh on his face sloughed off. He lay in a heap, unable to even crawl back to his feet.
"A minor ghost actually dares to fight the Hakurei Shrine Maiden? Do you think you're Lady Yukari?" Haruto tutted, his voice dripping with mockery.
Reimu strolled over, bent down to retrieve her Yin-Yang Orb, and gave the limp Ghost Postman a kick.
"Still collecting protection fees?"
The Ghost Postman seemed to have finally grasped reality. He trembled like a leaf in a storm, shaking his head desperately.
"The package," Reimu demanded, extending her hand.
Shaking, the Ghost Postman handed over the parcel, not daring to meet either of their gazes.
Haruto took it, raising an eyebrow. "Wouldn't it have been better if you'd been this sensible from the start?"
However, when he opened the package, he found it completely empty.
"Are you playing games with me?" Haruto's face darkened, his lazy amusement evaporating into a chilling stillness. "Do you believe I can make it so you can't even be a ghost anymore?"
If he didn't genuinely need that ghost artifact—the one that could bind an additional person—he would have already had Reimu send this fool to the Sanzu River to report for his next life.
"I didn't bring it... I... I'll go back and bring it for you," the Ghost Postman stammered, his entire body quaking.
Didn't bring it?
Haruto narrowed his eyes, his gaze turning ice-cold. This was clearly a creature accustomed to bullying ordinary players, trying to swallow both the payment and the goods.
Reimu, standing to the side, also heard his words. Still groggy and not fully awake, she assumed his empty-handedness was related to her money. Her grip tightened on the Yin-Yang Orb, her eyes flashing with killing intent.
"S-Sorry... I'll go back and get it now."
The Ghost Postman was already undead, but he felt a lethal sense of danger radiating from Reimu, a feeling that he could be utterly annihilated at any moment. Though he didn't understand why, instinct and the fresh memory of his beating told him that these players were completely different from his usual victims. The shrine maiden before him was absolutely not to be provoked.
Haruto held up a hand, stopping Reimu. He asked the Ghost Postman, "How long will you take?"
"Th-Three days."
"Heh." Haruto let his hand drop and no longer tried to restrain Reimu. "Kill him," he said lightly. "He dares make me wait three days? Does he really think my time is worthless?"
Just as Reimu raised the Yin-Yang Orb, the Ghost Postman frantically pulled a pile of cigarettes, alcohol, and other miscellaneous junk from the bag at his waist, along with a thick stack of money. He kowtowed desperately, begging for mercy.
"It can only be three days! The delivery truck can only go that fast!"
Reimu's eyes lit up. Ignoring the cigarettes and alcohol, she snatched the stack of money. But upon closer inspection, she found the bills were completely different from the currency used in Gensokyo.
She looked back at Haruto in confusion. He just shrugged.
"Don't look at me. You can't use that money."
Hearing this, Reimu brandished the Yin-Yang Orb again, glaring fiercely at the Ghost Postman. "Daring to trick a shrine maiden with fake money? You deserve to die!"
"This money can be used... it... it can..." The Ghost Postman's intelligence wasn't high to begin with; he mostly relied on his ghostly nature to rob common players. Terrified by Reimu, his brain completely short-circuited.
"He's not really tricking you," Haruto cut in. "You just can't use it. Only players like us can. Give it to me." He beckoned with his hand.
Reimu reluctantly handed the stack of ghost coins to Haruto, still shooting a resentful glare at the Ghost Postman, which made him scramble back even further.
But just as she turned back to Haruto, something cold and heavy was pressed into her hand.
"This is... a gold coin!"
"This little trip was really just to pick up a personal delivery. Consider this a tip for your hard work, Reimu," Haruto said.
"What hard work? With our relationship, is there any need to distinguish between what's yours and what's mine?" Reimu declared righteously as she pinched the gold coin, happily tucking it into the sleeve of her shrine maiden uniform. Her earlier displeasure vanished in an instant, the corners of her mouth threatening to reach her ears.
"So, what's next? Kill him, or let him go back and get the item?" Having received her payment, Reimu was in a fantastic mood and no longer fixated on killing the Ghost Postman. Of course, if Haruto needed it done, she wouldn't mind sending him on his way. Even without the Book of Life and Death, she could tell the creature was heavily burdened with sin.
"Let him go back for it. But can you put a curse on him? Something like, if he doesn't return in three days, his soul disperses."
"Simple." Reimu's spiritual power flowed. With a flick of her wrist, she planted a spiritual mark on the ghost. "If you don't return in three days," she announced, her voice flat, "your soul will gradually disintegrate until nothing is left. Now, you can scram."
The Ghost Postman looked as if he'd been granted a full pardon. He scrambled up from the ground, not even daring to stand fully upright. Maintaining a near-prostrate posture, he rolled and crawled onto his Ghost Tricycle, finally vanishing into the depths of the forest.
Reimu let out a wide yawn. "Anything else? If not, I'm going back to sleep."
Haruto shook his head.
After Reimu departed, he didn't return to the Yakumo Residence. Instead, he turned and began walking alone toward the Sunflower Field.
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