Eleven o'clock at night.
*Creak—screech!*
After executing a very extravagant drift turn and parking the motorcycle at the intersection, Naoki took off his helmet and looked back, "We're here, Gray."
Shaking her head slightly, Gray, who had been clinging to Naoki's back the whole time, panted uncomfortably, "Hah... hah... Brother... did you have to drive the motorcycle so fast? I feel like... my dinner almost..."
"Uh... if riding a motorcycle isn't fast, isn't it boring?"
Naoki laughed awkwardly. For motorized vehicles like motorcycles, he had an obsession with speed; not increasing the speed to the maximum made him feel uneasy. Come to think of it, if riding a motorcycle didn't increase speed, wouldn't it be better to just ride a bicycle?
Regarding the increased possibility of accidents after increasing speed... just look at [Driving: B].
Looking at the completely abandoned Fujou Building across the street, although it wasn't very clear due to the darkness of the night, even from this distance, Gray could faintly sense something inside.
Inside, there was a spiritual entity.
"The feeling... it's not an evil spirit, Brother. There's no piercing feeling characteristic of evil spirits."
"It's indeed not an evil spirit, just an unfortunate person. Originally, leaving it alone wouldn't have been a problem, but since it has already caused casualties... Although its nature is no different from an accident, it still needs to be dealt with."
Naoki sighed softly.
"But, we only accept requests and work; part-timers shouldn't think too much about things beyond money. Touko can't pay salaries this month; this request fee is our living expenses for the next month. If we don't finish it, we can only eat wind for a month."
"Miss Touko..."
Recalling the various magical tools piled up in the warehouse, Gray couldn't help but feel helpless. It was precisely because Touko always bought magical tools of unknown usefulness that she was always short of money.
"Well then, before we start working, let me explain one thing, Gray. I'm entrusting this task to you."
"Yes... eh?!" Gray was instantly stunned, "E-entrusting it to me?"
"Then what else? Why do you think I brought you here?"
Tapping Gray's head, Naoki said, "Blackmore, the gravedigger, is a famous spirit expert in the industry. As the next gravedigger, you should have also received training in fighting spirits, right?"
Gray nodded, but immediately explained, "But Master only taught me the basics, I... I'm not very confident in actual combat..."
"I know. But you have to fight for real anyway."
Patting Gray's head, Naoki laughed, "It's not that I'm boasting, but in the future, I might get involved in all sorts of things, maybe face a lot of danger. And you, this little follower, will definitely follow me into danger."
"Of course, I will protect you with all my strength, but if, I mean if, due to some accident we get separated, shouldn't you protect yourself? The point is, Brother can't possibly protect you forever."
"So, you have to learn to protect yourself. This is the first step; first, start by daring to fight. It's okay, I'll always be watching you from the side; if there's any danger, I'll save you immediately."
"Ugh..."
[What the boy said is right, you foolish Gray]
Just as Gray was still hesitating, Add under her cloak also spoke.
[You can't keep hiding behind that boy all the time. Occasionally, you also need to go out and see the world. If you hide away forever and become a gloomy woman, no one will want you!]
"Add..."
Looking at the birdcage in her hand, after pursing her lips, Gray took a deep breath, "I-I understand. I'll try!"
Good.
Naoki smiled faintly, then lifted her down from the motorcycle.
"Then, let's go."
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
There was no one to be seen inside Fujou Building.
Since it had been decided to demolish it, all the residents here had already moved out some time ago. All that remained was the whitish light of the lamps and the illuminated apartment corridors.
It was somewhat ironic; the purpose of electric lights was supposed to be to dispel the darkness of night, because since ancient times, humans had always been filled with fear of the dark, thus yearning for something that could drive it away.
However, at this moment, compared to the darkness that had been dispelled, it was the artificial light that made people feel more creeped out.
There were two ways to get to the roof, one was via the stairs, and the other was by using the elevator. The building had over a dozen floors; climbing the stairs to the top floor wouldn't be a problem for Naoki, but Gray would definitely be exhausted, so the two chose the elevator.
"Does the elevator still work? Even though no one lives here anymore."
"If it's been abandoned for decades, it won't move, but this has only been abandoned for less than half a year, and the electricity hasn't been cut off yet, so it should still work."
Naoki said as he pressed the button for the top floor.
Accompanied by slight vibrations and friction, the elevator slowly ascended. It was just that, perhaps because she was used to Naoki carrying her and leaping across rooftops and doing parkour on buildings, Gray actually felt that riding the elevator was a bit slow.
'It would be faster if Brother stepped on the walls and jumped up,' Gray thought.
*CLICK!*
The elevator door slowly opened. Passing through the only corridor leading to the roof, as the door was pushed open, Naoki and Gray's vision instantly changed from pitch black to dim, the entire rooftop bathed in moonlight.
If one wanted to enjoy the scenery, this place should have been a good location; it was said that Fujou Building used to have an observation deck.
However, Naoki and Gray had no interest in enjoying the night view at all, because the moment they arrived on the roof, they clearly saw eight ghost-like entities floating there.
And slightly above them, as if surrounded by stars, a white shadowy figure floated.
It was a woman, wearing pure white clothes, her long hair reaching her waist. Judging from her bare limbs, she should be a slender teenage girl.
Fujou Kirie.
Naoki knew her name.
"Eight... that means there should be five more victims to appear. Luckily, we came to deal with it before the situation developed like that. Then—Gray."
Taking two steps back and leaning against the wall behind him, Naoki looked towards Gray, "Just try it. If you feel you can't handle it at any time, you can come down; I'll help you."
"I... um, I understand."
Her two small hands clenched tightly, taking several deep breaths, adjusting her condition to how it was during practice, Gray raised Add high.
"Add, first stage, restrictions released!"