Chapter 162: Paparazzi
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 162: Paparazzi
"Still, that's a relief. It all worked out somehow."
「Yeah. It's all thanks to you, Yoo-Sung.」
"What did I even do? If anything, Mahes did more of the heavy lifting than I did."
As I said that, I glanced at the brown-skinned Egyptian ghost floating beside Ryuji.
「Hmph. You should be grateful, Contractor. Without me, you would not have been able to take in that girl.」
It was true. Without Mahes, Ryuji wouldn't have been able to accept Saya... no, it's Chiaki now.
He wouldn't have been able to accept Chiaki.
After all, Chiaki was a ghost with an immense amount of yin energy. If she possessed an ordinary person, it wouldn't be strange if they died on the spot.
But because Mahes, who possessed the extreme yang power, already resided within Ryuji's body, a miraculous balance could be maintained.
The harmony of yin and yang, so to speak.
Thanks to that, he seems to have powered up immensely. I'm almost scared to see how much stronger he'll get.
After the possession was released, Sasha went home by car, leaving the four of us to finish our conversation.
Anyone else watching would probably think we were strange.
Two perfectly normal-looking high school students, talking to thin air.
It was partly because we were conscious of such stares that we had chosen a secluded park as our meeting place.
"How have you been?"
「Huh? I've been...」
Even though it had been a long time since they'd last met, Ryuji and Chiaki spoke without a hint of awkwardness.
Thanks to them, Mahes, who was now a third wheel, shot the pair a lukewarm glance before sitting down next to me.
「Must be nice.」
I asked him a question.
"By the way, Mahes. How old were you right before you died?"
「Why the sudden question?」
"Oh, no particular reason."
Mahes chuckled as if my question was silly and answered.
「I was just over thirty when I died. I fell fighting alongside my warriors against the Tribe of the Night, who came from beyond the Nile River.」
"The Tribe of the Night?"
「They are those who claim to be the descendants of Set, the god of war. They were in constant conflict with my clan, which served the goddess Bastet, daughter of the sun god Ra.」
Sun and night, huh.
This smelled like foreshadowing.
「Although I, the great warrior of the sun, died in that final battle, the Tribe of the Night was on the verge of annihilation. Their bloodline must be completely severed by now.」
"No, that's a flag."
「Hmm? What do you mean?」
"In things like manga, when someone says something like that, it usually leads to a development like, 'Ta-da! Turns out the Tribe of the Night is still around!'"
「Heh heh, you say the most amusing things. A manga is just a manga. How could the bloodline of a clan that vanished thousands of years ago possibly continue to this day?」
Hearing that from the most unrealistic being in this world left me speechless.
"Anyway, let's end this conversation here. Let's talk about something more constructive."
「Indeed. Then let us speak of other matters.」
Mahes stroked his chin and spoke.
「From what I've seen, you possess tremendous qualities as a warrior. To be honest, it feels like a waste. To leave a raw gem unpolished.」
"No, even if you say that, it just puts me in a tough spot."
「True, in a peaceful era, excessive power can be more of a poison than a blessing. I have no intention of forcing my opinion on you. Besides, it is not good for the dead to interfere with the living.」
"...Don't you think that contradicts your usual behavior?"
As far as I knew, because of the contract he'd made with Mahes, Ryuji was set to travel the country doing dojo crushing as soon as he graduated.
All because this ghost craved battles with the strong.
But upon hearing my words, the pharaoh let out a hearty "Khahah!" and clapped me on the shoulder.
「That boy Ryuji is already deeply connected to me, so it doesn't matter. In the first place, his meeting me was all destiny.」
"Destiny?"
「Something that must happen, or something that will inevitably happen. It can be expressed in many ways depending on who is speaking. The boy throwing himself into the sand dune to save his family, and meeting me there to form a contract—in a way, it is all but one part of a grand flow. It is correct to see it as something that was always meant to be.」
I knew from the start that Mahes was no ordinary ghost, but it seemed he was hiding some incredible secret.
However, it was certain that it would be a difficult task for me, a third party, to uncover that secret.
「In that sense, I have high expectations for you.」
"Expectations?"
「Destiny is like a waterfall on the Nile that cannot be climbed, but the destinies of those around you, whether large or small, are slightly twisted. As a warrior and a priest, I can sense it.」
"......"
Honestly, I was incredibly surprised to hear him say that.
Mahes had seen through half of my true nature.
「I cannot say whether it will be a boon or a bane, but at the very least, please proceed in the direction you believe is right. That is all I ask of you.」
After saying that, Mahes was the first to stand up.
「Let us return, Contractor. The sun will be setting soon.」
Ryuji, who was in the middle of being lovey-dovey with Chiaki, replied, "Oh? Should we?" and got to his feet.
Since we were all heading home the same way, we left the park and walked toward the sunset.
*
Before I knew it, nearly a week had passed since the second semester began.
It was around the time when even the kids who had initially loathed attending school were getting used to the regular routine.
I was one of them, and my school life was proceeding without much trouble.
But recently, something had started to bother me.
"......"
"Ryu-chan? What's wrong all of a sudden?"
"No, I just felt like someone was watching me."
I reflexively turned my head, but after confirming no one was there, I tilted my head in confusion.
For the past few days, the back of my neck had been prickling.
The first couple of times, I thought it was just my imagination, but the mysterious gaze continued, and it was getting on my nerves.
That Chiaki, she's never around when I need her.
Just a week ago, I'd found it tiring to deal with Chiaki whining about being bored next to me, but now that she was gone, I felt her absence keenly.
It seemed I had gotten too used to having her around.
Anyway, we were in the middle of talking about Shonen Jump, so I was about to resume my conversation with Rika when it happened.
Zing!
Feeling the stare on the back of my head again, I shot up from my seat.
"Who's there!"
I heard the sound of someone scrambling away from outside the classroom's back door.
By the time I hurriedly opened the door and went out, all I could see was a retreating back already far in the distance.
Satoru, who came out a beat later, said.
"Isn't that Ayabe-senpai from the newspaper club?"
"Ayabe-senpai?"
"Yeah, the one who interviewed you when you were going around doing dojo crushing."
Hearing that, I briefly recalled the past.
'Kim Yoo-Sung-kun, how do you feel right now!'
'Ah, please direct all interview requests through me, his manager.'
...So that was the person Rika dealt with back then.
"But why would someone like that be spying on me?"
"You were being spied on?"
"It's been about five days now."
"Is the school newspaper that short on stories lately?"
Since she was in the newspaper club, it wasn't an impossibility.
"But isn't that senpai supposed to be preparing for the Center Exam?"
Does she have enough time to follow me around all day?
Hearing my question, Satoru shrugged and answered.
"That person is incredibly smart. She's probably in the top ten of all the third-years."
For someone like that to spend five days just following me around was all the more mysterious.
"If you're so curious, why don't you just go and ask her?"
"What?"
"You're in the student council, right? Use your dark student council authority to shk shk and take care of her."
Satoru said, making a throat-slitting gesture.
The other students in the class who were watching started to whisper among themselves.
"Did you hear? Kim-kun is going to take care of that senpai."
"You don't think she's going to be encased in cement and dumped in Tokyo Bay, do you?"
"I bet that senpai won't be showing up to school tomorrow."
I felt like I was being seriously misunderstood.
When I glared daggers at Satoru, the root of the problem, he yelped, "Oops! Busted!" and scurried back to his seat.
Left alone in the hallway, I let out a small sigh and decided to think about the rest during lunch.
*
Lunchtime.
I visited the student council room for the first time in a while to have lunch and consult about the newspaper club issue. There, I found the Vice President engaged in some bizarre behavior in front of his laptop and asked.
"What's wrong?"
"Just a little! I was so close to getting it! But then a dragonfly next to me suddenly drew aggro and I died!"
Hearing that, I snuck a peek at the senpai's laptop screen.
A popular dark fantasy-style game was running on the screen.
"...Good luck with that."
After saying that to the Vice President, who looked like his spirit was broken, I turned my gaze to the President, who was sitting in her designated seat.
"President, have you eaten yet?"
The President smiled slightly and shook her head.
"Not yet. For some reason, I had a feeling something good would happen today."
She stood up as she spoke and sat down on the reception sofa first.
"From the looks of it, Yoo-Sung-kun, you haven't eaten yet either. Let's eat together."
"Yes. Thank you."
I gladly accepted the President's invitation and sat on the sofa across from her.