The human heart is the most vulnerable to testing, Kisaragi Chiyo did not want these things to cause a rift in her relationships with Matsuda and Hara.
That was why he took this opportunity to confess to them that he had originally harbored intentions of using them.
Whatever Matsuda Jinpei and Hara Kenji might think of him after this, Kisaragi Chiyo felt she could accept it.
At the very least, being honest was better than having the other party guess the truth on their own.
As for the ghosts that were left behind.. at this thought, Kisaragi Chiyo fell into deep thought. She looked down at her phone; it was a message from her good friend, Nozono Shizuka.
The information regarding the Child Spirit Statue was provided by the other party. In order to successfully complete Hozuki's trial, he not only requested files from Date Wataru's side of the police force, but also asked Nozono Shizuka to look into some information that only an Exorcist could find.
Those three missing ghosts you mentioned, I actually have some doubts..
After the second owner took over the villa, he once invited the temple's head priest to perform a purification ritual.
I have some impression of that head priest.. although he cannot see yokai, he indeed possesses special abilities.
So, I suspect those three ghosts didn't just vanish, but were directly exorcised..
? Eh?
After reading the message sent by his friend, a suspicion flashed through his mind like lightning.
Kisaragi Chiyo slowly opened her eyes, her movements stiff as she mechanically lifted her head.
The six ghosts hanging from the ceiling by Hara Kenji remained tied up tightly, unable to move, just like decorations.
"Wait.. I think we've all misunderstood something." Kisaragi Chiyo looked at Hara Kenji with a somewhat subtle expression.
Hozuki said there are imprisoned ghosts, but he didn't say exactly how many..
Hara Kenji, being stared at by the young man with a strange look, blinked in confusion.
Here.." Kisaragi Chiyo pointed toward the ceiling, "Isn't this just a captive ghost?
So that's what caused the information gap.
Hozuki didn't know that they actually lived in this villa, nor did he know that the mastermind behind the imprisonment of the ghosts was none other than Hara Kenji.
Hara Kenji: ".."
Hara Kenji: "!"
Realizing the implication in Kisaragi Chiyo's words, Hara Kenji's expression became dazed.
"Then can I still take the civil service exam?" At this question, the three people stared at each other in silence.
Hurry, hurry, hurry! What should I do after suddenly realizing that I am the outlaw myself?
-----------------------
Author's Note: Thanks to all the little angels for your support, mwah 030
Chapter 134
“It should be fine, right?” The current Hell Assistant Official, Matsuda Jinpei, spoke with uncertainty. He looked at the victims hanging from the ceiling and suggested letting Hara Kenji lower them before making further plans.
"I'll go get some shimenawa in a moment." Kisaragi Chiyo looked at the six rescued ghosts with a complicated expression. Their gazes were vacant, a few seconds after landing, they began wriggling, impatiently crawling toward Kisaragi Chiyo.
Then, they were skillfully struck down by Hara Kenji's tentacles.
Just tie them up with shimenawa.
Shimenawa ropes are typically woven from straw and possess the functions of warding off evil, purification, creating barriers; of course, they can also be used temporarily to serve as ropes to restrict the movements of ghosts.
"So.. what should we do with that basement?" Matsuda Jinpei asked Kisaragi Chiyo, seeking her opinion.
"Just fill it in." Thinking about the previous use of that square basement, Kisaragi Chiyo didn't really want to keep it, since it was located beneath the fireplace, it was even less useful.
"Alright." Matsuda Jinpei nodded in agreement, saying he would take care of it, then asked Kisaragi Chiyo if she wanted to take a photo before filling it in, just in case she needed it to argue with the landlord later.
Since Matsuda Jinpei didn't mention it, Kisaragi Chiyo had truly forgotten about it. She looked at Matsuda with an approving gaze, stating that Matsuda was already a mature, frugal, good house cat.
So Matsuda reached out his hand toward Kisaragi Chiyo to ask for a reward.
Then Kisaragi raised her hand and scooped up a handful of fresh air, placing it into Matsuda's palm.
Matsuda said Kisaragi Chiyo was stingy.
Kisaragi Chiyo replied that Matsuda's words were light, but his intentions were profound.
I say, you two.
Watching you two go back and forth, the conversation drifting further and further away—even discussing how the cakes at Poirot Cafe are truly excellent and that they would have to order them again next time—Hara Kenji had to speak up a little louder to remind them that the matter was not yet completely settled.
Besides, he was just a mere waiter; Kisaragi Chiyo liked him, so he didn't mind playing along next time.
Have you all forgotten about the third floor again?
Ah." Kisaragi Chiyo let out a soft "ah" and nodded thoughtfully, "I think there is something like that, but I haven't seen what a Child Spirit Statue looks like yet.
I hope it's the easy-going type.
At Kisaragi Chiyo's words, Matsuda and Hara exchanged a silent glance, sharing a knowing smile.
Although saying it this way might sound a bit like bullying a child, the Child Spirit Statue had shown ill intent first; even if it continued to resist stubbornly, Matsuda Jinpei and Hara Kenji would take action to make it the easy-going type.
*
Perhaps because there were two menacing figures watching closely by her side, Kisaragi Chiyo got her wish. After a brief, friendly conversation with the Child Spirit Statue, she convinced it to temporarily reside in the box used to seal spirits, before being sent to Hell along with the ghosts later on.
After resolving the matter, Hara Kenji planned to prepare dinner, while Matsuda Jinpei said he had to go out to buy some materials to prepare for the basement renovation.
As for Kisaragi Chiyo, besides needing to find a way to treat this serious ordeal with the gravity it deserved—even though it ultimately ended in such a ridiculous, tearful manner—and write a summary report on the content of the trial, she also had to read through the documents sent by Morofushi Hiromitsu before dinner.
This was the finalization stage for the publication samples of Kisaragi Chiyo's new book, which included the release date and several promotional activities that required Kisaragi Chiyo's cooperation.
Because the publisher knows that Oboro Asagiri follows a mysticism approach and never participates in any activities in real life, promotional channels like book signing events had to be changed to other methods.
For example, Kisaragi Chiyo could promote it more on her social media accounts and repost the publishing house's lucky draw event while she was at it.
And the prizes for this giveaway were a total of one hundred signed copies of Oboro Asagiri's new book.
Kisaragi Chiyo looked at this entry in the document and sent Morofushi Hiromitsu a question mark.
Three seconds after the question mark was sent, a phone call came in directly.
“I don't remember us agreeing on a hundred copies?” Kisaragi Chiyo still remembered how, at the very beginning, the publishing house had told him that rarity makes things precious and that signing just a dozen or so would be enough; how had they suddenly turned around and increased the quantity several times over?
Oboshima-sensei, haven't you realized it yet?" Morofushi Hiromitsu's voice, laced with laughter, drifted over from the other side. "Congratulations, you've made it onto this month's Most Popular Books List.
The Most Popular Books List is a ranking jointly established by major publishing houses in recent years, selecting the most popular book of the month based on both online and offline readership.
Since its inception, this ranking has been dominated by mystery novels almost every month. It was still somewhat surprising that Kisaragi Chiyo could break through the crowd of books to make the list this time.
"It's probably because of the popularity of mystery novels, right?" Kisaragi Chiyo was only surprised for a brief moment before she quickly realized the reason.
Alien Detective Notes—at first glance, the name makes it obvious that it is a rather unconventional mystery novel. However, since the title contains the word "detective," and given that it is one of the most popular and high-employment professions today, it still piques people's curiosity to take a look.
"Not entirely." Morofushi Hiromitsu let out a low laugh, teasing Kisaragi Chiyo.
On the other end of the call, Kisaragi Chiyo heard some muffled conversation. Morofushi Hiromitsu paused, seemingly saying something to someone else, then, following the sound of rustling paper, the noisy background noise returned to silence.
"Are you out?" Kisaragi Chiyo raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, I went to the publishing house today." Morofushi Hiromitsu's voice was gentle and calm; while it couldn't be called particularly enthusiastic, it always carried a sense of familiarity that was just right.
He was friendly, yet he maintained a comfortable social distance.
I'll be leaving for somewhere else soon," Morofushi Hiromitsu continued. "I've found a new editor for you; he has three years of experience and is a guy with a good personality.
Not knowing what he was thinking, Morofushi Hiromitsu added another sentence: "Just like a mouflon."
"Full of fighting spirit?" Kisaragi Chiyo pondered the image of a mouflon for a second.
"I heard he used to be a Muay Thai fighter before changing careers," Morofushi Hiromitsu said with a very sincere tone, as if threatening Kisaragi Chiyo that she would be killed if she submitted her manuscript late to the new editor.
However, both of them knew it was a joke.
Although Kisaragi Chiyo is passionate about pushing deadlines, she does indeed submit every single one before the due date. Although it is sometimes in the final five minutes, which does test an editor's heart and processing ability.
But he is a very good person, the serious and responsible type," Morofushi Hiromitsu recommended. "He has also worked in cat cafes and dog cafes before, so he can provide you with experience.
"Then it's him," Kisaragi Chiyo decided quickly.
I have another question." Kisaragi Chiyo changed the subject and brought up something else. "Actually, I've been wanting to ask for a while, is it okay that you use your real name when you're an editor?
It's fine.
After all, in the eyes of the publishing house, Editor Morofushi is also a mystic, just like Oboshima-sensei, right?
Morofushi Hiromitsu rarely went to the publishing house; like Kisaragi Chiyo, he basically handled everything online, on the rare occasions he did appear in person, he was well-disguised.
Actually, there was another main reason; he was essentially a well-connected individual. On top of that, since he only had one author under him, Oboro Asagiri, everyone at the publishing house basically treated him like a salaryman who was just coasting through his days.
Alright then," Kisaragi Chiyo nodded, not continuing the discussion on that topic. "In that case, send me the new editor's contact information.
"Alright." Morofushi Hiromitsu responded. After chatting for a few more sentences, the two of them hung up the call.
Staring at the darkened phone screen, Kisaragi Chiyo suddenly wondered about Morofushi Hiromitsu's response during the call just now—"not entirely." What exactly did he mean by "not entirely"?
Kisaragi Chiyo had a good sense of self-awareness regarding what she wrote; after all, it wasn't traditional mystery. Since hers included supernatural elements, it actually sat at the very bottom of the hierarchy of disdain within the mystery genre.
"So, what exactly is it not?" Kisaragi Chiyo curled her fingers against her chin, a thoughtful expression appearing on her face.
Originally, he hadn't cared, but once Morofushi Hiromitsu mentioned it, his curiosity was instead piqued.
So he logged into the social media platform he hadn't used in a long time; the last time he had opened it was during his identity verification.
Then, as soon as he logged in, Kisaragi Chiyo's phone froze for several minutes due to a sudden pop-up. He had to exit the app and restart it before he could finally successfully enter the platform.
Under the social media account that had originally verified Oboro Asagiri's identity as a novelist, the posts that previously had only a few dozen comments and likes had increased several hundredfold.
The comments inside were also almost entirely things like, "This is so sweet," "My ship is real," "Please write more, Sensei," and "I'll do anything."
After a half-hour of touring and studying, Kisaragi Chiyo roughly understood the meaning behind Morofushi Hiromitsu's words.
In short, one of the reasons he made it onto the Most Popular Books List was because the chemistry between the detective and his partner in his new book went viral.
*
Having eaten a somewhat heavy dinner, Kisaragi Chiyo didn't feel like moving much after finishing his meal. He lay on the soft sofa, after being lazy for five minutes, he reluctantly got up to rack his brains to complete the task report that had to be submitted to Hozuki.
After spending an hour and thirty-five minutes, Kisaragi Chiyo utilized her professional expertise, writing a sprawling report of over six thousand words. Much of the content focused on the investigation of the incident and the Child Spirit Statue; as for the culprit responsible for imprisoning the ghosts and the rescue process, Kisaragi Chiyo used only about three hundred words to gloss over the details, keeping the specifics vague and only mentioning that Hara Kenji played an important role in the process.