Chapter 101: Busted
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 101: Busted
It was, in all honesty, a shocking encounter.
No, perhaps "encounter" is the wrong word. Maybe "sighting" would be more accurate.
The ghost floating behind Sakamoto, its skin a sun-tanned copper, spoke to him in fluent Japanese, a stark contrast to its foreign appearance.
"Tsk, tsk. You should be more careful. Now hurry up and take the tissues your friend is offering, Contractor."
Sakamoto waved his hand behind him as if shooing a fly, then took the box of tissues I was holding out.
"Thanks, Kim."
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure."
I nodded, hiding my bewilderment as I handed him the box.
It seemed he hadn't noticed that I could now see the ghost behind him.
It was invisible just a moment ago. Why could I suddenly see it now?
Mulling it over, I sat back down, and the cat-shaped ornament I had just touched came to mind.
Could that be it?
It was only a hunch, but that object was the only thing I could think of.
And based on his reaction just now, it seemed the foreign ghost was visible not only to me but to Sakamoto as well.
Is this related to some kind of drift into a battle manga?
Even as I speculated, I couldn't bring myself to say anything.
Sakamoto probably thought I was just a normal person, completely unaware of things like ghosts.
In any case, after Sakamoto wiped the spilled drink off his clothes, we decided to play some of the board games in his room since we had nothing better to do.
"It's no fun if we just play normally. How about the loser gets a forehead flick?"
"Sounds good."
There were quite a few options—The Game of Life, Uno, Pop-Up Pirate, Old Maid, and more. After some thought, we decided on Old Maid, since each round was relatively short.
Like the board game club regular he was, Satoru skillfully shuffled the cards and dealt 18 to each of us.
This was my first time playing Old Maid since I played with Hyoneko-ssi at the maid cafe with Sasha.
To be honest, I was incredibly frustrated back then.
I hadn't managed to win a single round by the time the cafe closed.
"Alright, I'll start."
We decided the order with rock-paper-scissors, and Satoru began, with play proceeding counter-clockwise.
I checked my hand. No joker.
That meant either Satoru or Sakamoto had it...
"Ryuji, Satoru has the joker."
Thanks to a spoiler from a ghost who had nothing to do with the game, I instantly knew the joker's current location.
Is this guy the king of ghost card games or what?
But I decided it was best to use what I could, so I kept my mouth shut.
As long as I wasn't the one left with it, I was fine.
*
"This is rigged!"
This was the cry of Satoru, who hadn't won a single game and kept losing thanks to the ghost behind him calling out card information in real-time.
"Rigged? What are you talking about? Forehead. Now."
"Gah! Let me go!"
"Sorry, man."
As someone who had tacitly condoned the cheating, I couldn't bring myself to do the flicking. I left Satoru's execution entirely to Sakamoto.
Thwack!
Another forehead flick struck Satoru. Held fast by me, he let out a silent scream and struggled.
Having already lost three times in a row, his forehead was already red and swollen.
And the foreign ghost who had orchestrated all of this just laughed heartily at the sight.
Contrary to his serious appearance, he seemed to enjoy playing pranks.
After our game of Old Maid, stained with Satoru's screams and tears, came to an end, we decided it was about time to head home.
It felt rude to overstay our welcome, and it was getting close to dinner time.
Satoru, the only one who had received any forehead flicks, was the one begging for another round. But when I told him I'd be the one flicking him if he lost next time, he quietly got to his feet.
"Today was fun."
"Grrr, I'll get my revenge."
"See you later."
When we said we were leaving, Sakamoto walked us to the front door.
I was about to drag Satoru, who was still grinding his teeth, out the door when the foreign ghost behind Sakamoto suddenly spoke.
"A shame. It would have been nice if you stayed for dinner."
I flinched involuntarily at his words but tried my best not to show it as I put on my shoes.
Just then, Sakamoto's younger sister cautiously emerged from the living room, bowing to us.
"Goodbye."
I gave a small wave in return and opened the heavy front door, stepping outside.
"Phew."
I hadn't felt it while we were hanging out, but now it felt like I'd just escaped some kind of demon's den.
It was probably because of the foreign ghost I'd suddenly started seeing.
As Satoru left Sakamoto's apartment with me, he adjusted his bag and asked.
"By the way, you said your place is around here, right? Can I stop by for dinner on the way?"
"...No."
This guy. Is he planning to leech off me after Sakamoto?
Seeing the wary look on my face, Satoru sighed dramatically.
"Man, you're so cheap. I thought we were pretty close friends, but you're saying we're not close enough for me to visit your home?"
He grumbled, and I didn't know what to say.
Truthfully, I'd known Satoru even longer than Rika.
After a moment's thought, I decided to concede.
"You can come for dinner, but you have to leave right after you're done, okay?"
"It's free, right?"
"You're paying."
"Tch, you cheapskate."
Despite his words, Satoru took out his wallet to check his cash.
It seemed he was actually planning to pay.
Seeing that, I felt a little bad and waved my hand.
"Forget it, forget it. What's money between friends? I'll cook for you today, so just bring yourself."
Satoru's face instantly lit up.
"Really?!"
"Yeah."
Having gotten my confirmation, Satoru, as if he'd never been sulking at all, started humming and pressed the elevator button.
I thought to myself that it was a relief he had such a simple personality that could be placated with food, and stepped into the elevator with him.
*
After Kim Yoo-Sung and Satoru left, the Egyptian ghost, Mahes, who had been trailing the protagonist Sakamoto Ryuji, muttered with interest.
"That kid... can he see me?"
Ryuji, who was cleaning up his messy room, spun around in surprise.
"What? What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
Mahes pointed a finger toward the top of a display cabinet.
"Earlier, when you spilled your drink, Kim Yoo-Sung touched the statue of the goddess Bastet while reaching for that tissue box. Immediately after, his gaze turned toward me."
"Isn't that just your imagination? Nothing happened when Satoru touched it last time."
At Ryuji's point, Mahes nodded with a cautious expression.
"Perhaps. But it's true that his demeanor was strange. Even after that, he occasionally seemed to react to my words."
Hearing this, Ryuji sat down in his desk chair and countered.
"Let's say you're right and Kim can suddenly see you. Then why didn't he say anything?"
"Well... because I'm a ghost and he was scared?"
"You think Kim would be scared of a mere ghost?"
Mahes readily admitted his words had been a mistake.
"True. I cannot imagine a warrior of his caliber trembling at the mere sight of a human soul."
"Then for what reason?"
Mahes stroked his chin as he spoke.
"How about this: he didn't want to get involved with me."
It was a much more plausible theory than being scared of ghosts, but Ryuji still couldn't accept it.
"That makes it sound like Kim already knew about ghosts."
Mahes tilted his head and asked back.
"Let me ask you this instead. Why do you assume he doesn't know about the existence of ghosts?"
His question hit Ryuji like a blow to the back of the head.
"Uh... because he's a normal person?"
"In modern times, do you call a powerhouse of his level a 'normal person'?"
Come to think of it, he was right.
Mahes had said before that Kim Yoo-Sung's Tutra was on a level equal to his own.
There was no way someone with that much power could be a normal person. Why had he just assumed Yoo-Sung was normal?
Ryuji reflected on his own complacency, and the thought that Yoo-Sung might also be able to see Mahes made his heart flutter with excitement.
If someone else could see the ghost that had been visible only to him, it would prove that he wasn't just seeing things.
And if Kim Yoo-Sung had known about ghosts from the beginning, he could surely ask him what was going on.
He had become a community of fate with Mahes by a twist of chance, but there were still many mysteries surrounding this pharaoh ghost.
Mahes spoke to Ryuji as if things were working out perfectly.
"You said you were all going on a trip together this summer, didn't you? How about we test him then?"
"Test him?"
"Whether he can see me or not."
Mahes crossed his arms in response to Ryuji's question and gave a meaningful smile.