The Silent Tragedy of Human Souls
The tragedy of human souls always arrives without a sound. It was the afternoon of another drizzling day, just like yesterday. I stood in front of the café, clutching my slightly dazed head.
In a world where human lives are as disposable as flies, that much was true. Not every dead person turns into a ghost or spirit, but the death rate was unnaturally high—like Luri, or the person who hanged themselves in the woods behind Shinji Tower and became a vengeful spirit.
Of course, I'd never personally experienced someone close to me dying, so it was just head knowledge for me.
"...What the hell."
The café was cordoned off with yellow tape. Inside, people from the police department's spiritual affairs division were on site, along with Hanasaki. I'd come because she called me.
"You've arrived."
"Do you know what happened?"
"The shop owner passed away. But the state of the body is... quite gruesome."
She showed me a photo. In it, the kindly woman who'd been smiling just yesterday lay with her lower body gone, entrails spilling out.
If it had been some random corpse, it might've been okay. But seeing someone I knew like this made my head spin. She had family, two kids—both around elementary school age, she'd said.
"Have you found the culprit?"
"No. From the body's condition, we suspect a vengeful spirit with physical power, but there are no traces at all. Unusually so. Since your eyes are sharper than mine, I thought you might help."
"...I'll take a look."
I was getting used to enhancing my vision now. Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath was enough to clearly discern souls.
But this case... I wanted to solve it. So I focused harder than ever, to the max of what I could do right now.
It felt like overlaying a black-and-white filter on my normal sight.
But there were no clear traces of a vengeful spirit left behind.
This was more like... a painting smeared away with a finger. Just like the scene when I met Luri.
My teeth ground together with a clack before I knew it.
Luri's case wasn't a vengeful spirit's doing—as I could tell from how Nogawa Canon had threatened me. It was the work of the enemy she was chasing: a Gloomy Beast.
And the traces here were similar.
I could dismiss it as coincidence. Pretend I didn't know and move on.
But could it really be coincidence that this happened right after Canon and I visited?
Heat rushed to my head.
"Please calm down for a moment."
"...Sorry."
"Did you find something?"
"Yes."
I set aside the Canon part and talked about Luri. Since Hanasaki was the one who'd sent me to Luri, she understood immediately.
"I knew a child had died in an accident and become a bound spirit, but I had no idea there was such a backstory."
"Didn't you sense anything off, Hanasaki?"
"No. To my eyes, it just looks like an ordinary scene."
Aoba's family martial art had degenerated, so despite her spiritual potential, she was basically a normal person. Inuyama had great hearing with her dog ears, but her spiritual sight was worse than mine.
In the end, I was the only one who could see these traces.
And the only one with some means to track those beast bastards was Canon.
The only person I could cooperate with was her.
"If it's a spiritual entity I can't track, then I have no choice but to trust you, Tsukino."
"Yeah. I was thinking the same."
"But if it's something that can do this to a person, it might be too much for you. Contact me if you need backup."
"...Got it."
I decided to leave the scene for now. My head was burning, my heart pounding like mad, ragged breaths escaping my mouth.
Near home, in an empty lot without buildings, my legs gave out.
Someone had died. Someone with a family to care for, whom I'd just met recently.
Maybe because I'd chosen that place as our meeting spot.
"Still... gotta go home."
Part of me wanted to collapse my umbrella and stand in the rain, wallowing. But I headed home anyway.
Seeing my parents and little sister unharmed would at least be some comfort.
"I'm home."
Dragging my leaden legs, I made it back. Then I heard a familiar voice that shouldn't be in our house.
"Takuya oppa? You're late."
"Why is Manatsu Aoba here...? With my sister?"
"Yeah. We were talking, and I decided to drop by."
She smiled shyly and headed to the living room. There, my sister lounged comfortably, peeling and eating tangerines that weren't even in season.
"Oppa. Late today."
"Someone I know asked for help with something."
"A girl?"
"It is a girl, yeah."
This brat, bringing up that topic with Aoba right there. What a menace.
Aoba, beside her, looked half troubled, half worried.
"Someone from high school?"
"Half right. The shrine maiden from Shinamori Shrine. We're in the same class at school, and we run into each other when I'm training or at the market."
"You two close?"
"That's... kinda ambiguous. We use full formal speech, attach -ssi to names and all, but we trust each other to handle requests properly."
"Business relationship with oppa, then."
"Spot on, sis."
I told Mom I was back, then grabbed some cold water and a pudding from the fridge.
Clear my head with cold water, recharge with sugar. After all that emotional drain, I needed it bad.
"So, what'd she ask this time?"
"You know what the Shinamori shrine maiden does?"
"Uh, shrine stuff?"
"Hiyori. She handles almost everything village-related."
"Ehh. Anyway, what was it that she'd call oppa for?"
"A murder happened at a place I stopped by on my way home from school yesterday. She wanted my input on whether anything seemed off."
My sister blinked.
Before we moved here, the neighborhood wasn't on a spiritual vein, and spiritualists or non-humans were rare, so crime was about average for Japan.
Anyway, after hearing the story, she said,
"You look beat."
"Yeah, gonna eat this and rest. Gotta change too."
"Changing in front of Aoba is public indecency."
"You think I'm nuts?"
I slurped down the rest of the pudding and headed to my room. I stripped off my rain-soaked outer clothes and flopped onto the bed for a bit.
Seeing my sister spout nonsense safe and sound brought some calm, but I hated myself for selfishly feeling relieved right after someone died.
"...Don't overthink it emotionally."
Just as spiritual energy fed by dark emotions becomes a curse and turns ghosts vengeful, negative thoughts could lead a spiritualist to self-possession.
I sorted my mind with deep breaths, changed into my usual home clothes, and went back out.
"Son."
"Yeah."
"She said you ran into her on your morning run."
"Mom, can we talk later?"
"This kid."
She must've seen me grab water and pudding in the kitchen before heading upstairs, because Mom had come up to my second-floor room door.
"First time seeing her today, but she seems like a nice girl."
"She is nice."
"Looks like she might have a thing for you."
Seeing my awkward face, Mom playfully shoved my back.
From her perspective, this was prime teasing material after my picky eating. She grinned and shoved a paper bag into my hands.
"Bread from a local gathering. Eat it with her. Milk's in the fridge."
"Mom. Thanks, but..."
"Hm?"
"Be careful out there."
"What're you saying, you who just got over a big arm injury?"
"No, I'm saying it 'cause I've been hurt. If something happens to you, I'll cry. Don't want to see a grown man rolling on the floor bawling—stay healthy."
Mom waved it off, saying she got it.
Couldn't exactly spill everything honestly.
I took the bread to the kitchen, grabbed three cups and milk, and headed to the living room.
"Here. Mom said share."
"What?"
"Looks like sweet pastries."
"Gimme."
My sister snatched one and started munching happily. Aoba laughed beside her.
"Hiyori seems closer to her brother than she looks."
"...Isn't that normal?"
"Nope."
Aoba scooted closer, her hip brushing mine. Closer than close—our bodies touched. Unlike my flat sister, Aoba had curves in all the right places, which was a bit much.
Sis eyed us and tsked with a grossed-out face.
"Takuya oppa."
"Yeah."
"Can I come over more often?"
Thinking about it, Aoba was just a normal girl good at martial arts right now. In a world with monsters that could bisect people and devour their lower halves, training alone was risky.
"Whenever. I'm thinking of getting back to workouts too."
"Hehe. See you lots then."
"Tsk."
Sis tsked again, and I let out a hollow laugh.
Nothing stabilized the mind like these silly, everyday chats. I spent the peaceful afternoon reaffirming that.
The torrential rain that had poured like mad finally stopped, leaving faint clouds tinged with sunset glow in the evening.