[Twenty Minutes Later, Guest Room]
The traditional Japanese-style room had a very simple and clean decor. All four walls were white, with ink-style landscape paintings hanging as decoration. A bit further inside, there was a velvet bed that could accommodate at least three people. The snow-white bedding was spotless, making one want to dive in and roll around happily.
Only, the room that should have been spacious now felt a bit crowded, taken up by the silhouettes of the girls.
On the soft tatami, Nijika sat upright. She had already taken off the white bathrobe she wore earlier and returned to her original outfit. On top, a plain white shirt; on the bottom, a light purple knee-length skirt. Around her waist was a bright red ribbon shaped like a butterfly. Her golden side ponytail hung down smoothly, making her look both cute and lively.
She clearly had a belly full of questions to ask, but was afraid it would be rude to blurt them out.
Kita had the same mindset. Having witnessed with her own eyes that terrifying black monster like rotten mud, and that lifelike fire dragon... it felt like a little kitten was scratching at her heart, dying to figure things out.
In comparison, Scummy Ryou was much more direct, "That move just now... was it the legendary Fire Style: Great Fire Dragon Technique?"
"Isn't that just from a manga?"
Kaito shook his head, "If you really want to call it something, you can consider it a kind of spell."
"There are really spells in this world?"
Even someone as calm and expressionless as Yamada Ryou found it hard to stay composed when faced with the other side of the world. Even her usually emotionless golden pupils were glowing slightly.
"As for that question, Bochi and Yumiko both have a lot to say," Kaito didn't explain much further. Instead, he turned his gaze to the pink wild hammer snake beside him.
Although the little social anxiety girl wasn't used to being suddenly placed in the spotlight, she still quietly recounted her experience of getting to know Kaito and becoming his disciple.
"Shikigami boy... yin-yang eyes... spells... earth-bound spirits..."
Every time she repeated one of these words, Scummy Ryou's eyes sparkled a little more.
By the time Bochi finished telling all the big and small events, Scummy Ryou's eyes were already glowing like a golden light bulb.
She then turned to the blonde girl beside Bochi, "Miura-senpai, have you had similar experiences?"
"That's right~", Yumiko smiled and said generously, "I was also a victim of supernatural events. I met the club president at the last moment. Otherwise, I might already be dead."
Kita and Nijika were speechless.
The overload of information nearly fried the CPUs of the two girls. They were this close to crashing.
Some things are hard to preserve, but if you want to destroy them, it only takes a second.
Don't get me wrong, I was talking about the worldview.
Scummy Ryou used to be a staunch materialist, scoffing at all kinds of monsters and ghosts.
But after witnessing the truth with her own eyes, her mindset quickly adjusted. She asked instead, "That monster just now, what exactly was it?"
"A kind of grudge conglomerate."
The suddenly appearing sludge monster, though its shape was a bit unique, was neither ghost nor yokai.
The soul crystals left behind after its death also proved this. The impurities within were the physical form of "grudges."
If ordinary people came into prolonged contact with them, while it wouldn't be life-threatening, they would be eroded by the grudge and undergo drastic personality changes.
Even someone who was originally peaceful and avoided conflict could turn into a short tempered who pulls knives over disagreements. Sooner or later, they'd make a huge mistake.
"Grudge conglomerate?", Nijika tilted her head, a bit puzzled. Her golden side ponytail swayed with her movement, making people want to tug it.
"But why would a grudge conglomerate suddenly show up? And it even looked super aggressive..."
Little Bochi had a flash of insight, a thought suddenly popping into her head, "C-could it be because... of this afternoon?"
'This afternoon?'
The girls quickly recalled the little incident in front of the Inugami statue. At the time, Ryou had ridiculed the legend as fake and was warned by an old lady in a priestess outfit passing by to show respect to the gods.
If that really was the case... they ridiculed it in the afternoon and were attacked by a monster at night.
This Inugami sure works fast. It settles scores the same day, doesn't even wait till tomorrow.
"That... shouldn't be, right?", Nijika was still hesitant. Ryou's ridicule was a bit disrespectful, but it was also natural human behavior. Not exactly a serious offense.
After all, before seeing the sludge monster with her own eyes, even Nijika herself didn't believe the Inugami existed.
If just saying "the legend is too fake" once would trigger divine retribution, then with all the tourists in Hoori Town, how many people would be punished by gods every day?
In modern society, where information spreads quickly, one post could help many people avoid danger. If tourists were constantly attacked, Hoori Town would've been infamous by now.
Of course, in a bad way.
"In the legend, even after being killed by humans, the Inugami didn't hold a grudge and instead helped Hoori Town repel enemies. Doesn't sound like the vengeful type," Yumiko analyzed rationally, thinking it was unlikely that the sludge monster was sent by the Inugami.
Of course, all of this assumed the legend wasn't fake. If the story had been altered, and the Inugami wasn't as generous as claimed, then tonight's attack might really have something to do with it.
"Sorry, it's all my fault," Ryou, for once, didn't crack a joke. She lowered her head, feeling a little guilty.
Whether or not tonight's attack was related to the Inugami, the existence of the sludge monster proved that Hoori Town was definitely not simple.
Her casual ridicule at the time might have really attracted some trouble from the shadows.
And it might even end up involving her friends.
"Don't say that~", Nijika quickly interrupted her self-blame. Even though she often bantered with Ryou, that was actually a sign of closeness.
The truth behind tonight's incident hadn't been revealed yet, and Ryou was already taking all the blame on herself. She was clearly on the verge of going emo.
The gentle angel comforted her, "Maybe it was just a coincidence? Like Miura-senpai said, the gods are probably not that petty."
"Mm," Yamada Ryou nodded, but her brows still didn't relax. She looked deeply troubled.
Nijika was getting anxious but didn't know what to say.
Ryou had always been a very opinionated person. If someone like her got stuck in a mental corner, it was hard for others to pull her out.
Seeing the mood starting to turn heavy, the energetic little sunshine Kita Ikuyo quickly changed the subject. She turned her yellow-green eyes to the beautiful boy who had been silent the whole time and asked eagerly, "Kaito-kum, what do you think?"
Speculation only gets you so far. Since they had a powerful exorcist right beside them, they might as well ask his opinion.
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