"Grandma, why did you suddenly call me over this morning?"
About half an hour later, a short-haired girl walked into the house with a puzzled look on her face.
Upon seeing the boy sitting across from her grandmother, laughing and chatting with her, an ominous thought couldn't help but arise in her mind.
The Kanoe family was considered a prominent household in this area. For her grandmother to suddenly call her over today, could it be to introduce her to some fiancé she had never heard of, but who had actually been arranged before she was even born?
Kanoe Kirie, who had been reading a lot of romance novels for girls recently, couldn't help but feel a little nervous. At the same time, she carefully sized up Miyauchi Hikage.
Itou Kaiji was naturally ignored by her.
After all, he couldn't be called ugly, just that he had no distinguishing features and looked a bit scruffy. From his attitude, he seemed to be the boy's subordinate.
As for the girl beside him, she inexplicably gave off the feeling of a secretary or an assistant. It seemed that among the three of them, this youth was the leader.
Therefore, her attention naturally focused on Miyauchi Hikage.
This youth didn't look bad at all. In fact, he was quite in line with her aesthetic taste. And just being able to sit and chat happily with her grandmother was already a rare feat.
After all, even she had rarely seen her grandmother smile so happily these years.
The only problem was that she had no impression of him at all.
She also didn't know what this boy's personality was like. She hoped he was a brave one.
After all, for the past month at school, she had always been able to see some unclean things, which made her, who was already quite timid, have to pretend that she hadn't seen anything at all.
As she was thinking this, she was introduced to this boy by her grandmother.
Then she first let out a sigh of relief, and then immediately felt a bit breathless again.
It was good that he wasn't a fiancé.
Although he wasn't bad looking, it was still their first meeting, and she didn't want to decide her future life's major event so early...
Hmm, they're here to film a video?
Their Seikyou Academy's reputation in this area should be quite good. As a middle school, it's considered to have a relatively high promotion rate. It shouldn't need any more local publicity, right?
Wait, they want to film that Yuuko-san?
Hearing this, Kanoe Kirie immediately felt that something was not right.
In the month she had been enrolled, she naturally knew that the identity of the "demon" she had been seeing from time to time at school for the past month was most likely the "Yuuko-san" that had been passed down from generation to generation by the students.
So, are these two really not afraid of death? Why did they come here to film that Yuuko's story?
Kanoe Kirie wiped her forehead, confirming that she hadn't misheard her grandmother.
"Although my granddaughter is a student at Seikyou, I haven't told her much about Yuuko-nee before, so she doesn't know much about what happened back then," Kanoe Yukariko nodded towards Miyauchi Hikage, indicating that she would now go and explain the specific situation to her granddaughter.
Miyauchi Hikage also nodded, and at the same time, took this opportunity to size up Kanoe Kirie.
He had to say that in anime and manga, it was mainly because characters were distinguished by their hairstyle and clothing.
In the anime, with such a standard tomboy hairstyle, it was hard for people to associate her with the long, straight black-haired Kanoe Yuuko, despite them having the same face.
But in reality, this similarity was not something that a hairstyle could make indistinguishable.
The moment she walked in, Miyauchi Hikage had subconsciously thought he was seeing Kanoe Kirie again. It was only when he noticed her short hair and her not-yet-developed figure that he remembered there was indeed such a person in the original work.
However, it was only because of his enhanced super vision from his improved physical fitness and by carefully observing her appearance with his spiritual vision at close range that he could realize the two looked exactly alike.
And although Fujimiya Konomi, who was sitting next to him, had also seen Kanoe Yuuko's figure from afar at dusk the day before yesterday, from a distance of one or two hundred meters, it was already good enough to notice the general features. It was clear that she hadn't seen Kanoe Yuuko's face clearly at that time.
Otherwise, when she saw Kanoe Kirie now, she would probably have screamed on the spot.
Watching the grandmother and granddaughter walk into the bedroom on the side, Fujimiya Konomi also quietly leaned into Miyauchi Hikage's ear and whispered to him, "I think that chairman is hiding something, and her attitude towards her granddaughter also seems quite strange."
She continued, needless to say, what was hidden in the front was naturally the truth of what happened back then. As for her attitude towards her granddaughter, it was because she had always been unable to face her granddaughter's face, which was identical to her sister's.
However, for Fujimiya Konomi to be able to notice these things, her observation skills were sharp enough.
In contrast, Miyauchi Hikage looked at a certain "unparalleled gambler in adversity" behind him.
If it were the "desperate gambler" Kaiji standing here, he would definitely have noticed these things in a state of high mental concentration.
But the one present now was the "smooth sailing" Kaiji who had no worries about food and drink and had god-like teammates by his side. He was basically in a state where anyone could swindle a large sum of money from him.
Looking at his dazed appearance, you could tell he definitely hadn't noticed anything.
But it was better for this guy, Itou Kaiji, to remain in this state. He didn't know what his reaction would be when he saw a real "ghost" for the first time tonight.
Miyauchi Hikage thought, and then simply responded to Fujimiya Konomi.
"There was something fishy about the story back then. After all, with the Kanoe family as the shrine's successors, even if it was in ruins, this kind of sacrificial ritual is generally not something that ordinary villagers can decide on by just finding some random person."
"Normally, it should have been Kanoe Yuuko, as the shrine's successor, who chose the person for the sacrifice. Then, because Kanoe Yuuko was unwilling to do such a thing, the angry villagers instead used her as a sacrifice to the gods."
"This development should be more reasonable. But according to what the chairman said yesterday, from the very beginning, it was the villagers who chose someone else to make this choice, and in the end, that person chose Kanoe Yuuko. Why do you think that is?"
Fujimiya Konomi was no fool and quickly connected the dots to the truth. At the same time, her expression became a little ugly. "You mean, back then, it was this chairman who..."
"Who knows? It's been so many years, and she's still spreading her sister's ghost stories, and she always looks remorseful when she mentions her sister..."
Miyauchi Hikage shook his head.
And Fujimiya Konomi frowned slightly. "Since you've guessed it, should we revise our script?"
Originally, she had thought this chairman was quite reasonable, but after learning such a truth from Miyauchi Hikage, her impression of her couldn't help but change a little.
In response, Miyauchi Hikage waved his hand indifferently.
"I think, the reason she's taking her granddaughter into the bedroom now is probably to tell her granddaughter the whole truth, and then have her granddaughter relay it to us."
"But you know me, I'm not some detective. Uncovering the truth has never been my job. Making popular and profitable videos is my pursuit."
Hearing this, Fujimiya Konomi just shrugged her shoulders slightly, seeming not to quite believe his words.
If it were the Miyauchi Hikage from a month or two ago, what he said would have a seventy or eighty percent credibility.
But the current Miyauchi Hikage...
After having other pursuits, money was probably no longer his goal.
It was just that she didn't know what Miyauchi Hikage was pursuing now.
But she had already made up her mind these past few days. No matter what Miyauchi Hikage wanted to do, she would continue to follow behind him and watch him.
Looking at the meaningful smile Fujimiya Konomi gave him, Miyauchi Hikage didn't say any more and continued to drink his tea calmly.
Compared to the calmness outside, the atmosphere in the bedroom had become much more subtle and tense.
"So... back then, the person who caused grand-aunt Yuuko's death... was you, grandma?"
Kanoe Kirie listened to this story with an expression of complete shock.
Before this, she did know that her grandmother had a sister she had thought about her whole life, and that this sister was the prototype for that "Yuuko-san" at Seikyou Academy.
But she had only thought that it was because her grandmother could never let go of her sister that she had always left that old and dilapidated old school building as it was.
Until today, she learned this truth from her grandmother that shocked her immensely, and it could even be said that it shattered the idealized image of her grandmother that she had grown up with.
Did her grandmother really do such a thing when she was young?
Even though she was only 13 this year, Kanoe Kirie could feel just how excessive what her grandmother had done back then was.
Looking at her granddaughter's complex expression of shock, doubt, fear, and apprehension, Kanoe Yukariko sighed softly and then gently touched her granddaughter's cheek.
"You look just like Yuuko-nee. Seeing you now always reminds me of my foolish self back then."
She paused, and then continued speaking to her granddaughter, "Originally, I thought I would take this matter to the grave without telling anyone, but now the situation has changed."
"You should be able to see it too, the ferocious appearance of that 'thing'. Actually, more than ten years ago, it wasn't as restless as it is now..."
Kanoe Yukariko told her granddaughter about the temples and special organizations she had sought out in her earlier years in the hope of letting her sister rest in peace, and in the process, she had also met some people with real abilities.
"Back then, some people came to confirm Yuuko-nee's situation, but because her spirit was still relatively stable, at my request, they did not exorcise Yuuko-nee's spirit."
"But in the last ten years, especially in the last few months, she has become more and more violent. If this continues, I'm worried that one day, she will attack the students of the school."
She explained Miyauchi Hikage's origin to her granddaughter and also said that he should have been assigned by some special organization to specifically handle Yuuko's spirit.
"I was just thinking that the people from that organization hadn't come to check on Yuuko-nee's situation for almost ten years, and I was wondering if I should contact them again. I didn't expect them to come over, and it seems they've become much more advanced than before. They even help to record these things as stories."
She shook her head, saying that she was old now, and after trying countless times over the years, she had never gotten a reaction from Yuuko's spirit, let alone her forgiveness.
"But you're different. You can also see Yuuko-nee's spirit, maybe even more clearly than I can. And with your appearance, you must have inherited the bloodline of our Kanoe family."
"Perhaps through this opportunity, you can also enter that world again and rebuild the shrine that our Kanoe ancestors once protected."
Because of her grandmother's explanation, Kanoe Kirie knew that the Kanoe family had once guarded a certain shrine here for generations, and it was only after the shrine fell into disrepair a hundred years ago that they became the local landlords.
But as for "bloodline" and "ancestors," being exposed to these things at this age was still a bit too much for her.
In response, Kanoe Yukariko just stroked her granddaughter's head again, saying that it didn't matter even if she was unwilling. She just wanted to tell the truth that had been bottled up in her heart for half a century.
"I will also go over tonight. If Yuuko-nee still cannot rest in peace, I think I will probably use my own life to let her resolve this hatred."
It could be said that she was telling her granddaughter these shameful past events with the thought that she would not live past tonight.
In fact, she had already written her will last night.
And hearing the finality in her grandmother's tone, Kanoe Kirie quickly shook her head, wanting to stop her grandmother from having such thoughts.
She hadn't expected that her grandmother would still have such thoughts at this meeting today.
She wiped the corners of her eyes and then said that she had no problem, and that she would go alone tonight.
No matter what, the old woman before her was her grandmother.
As her granddaughter, she had to bear this sin for her grandmother.
Kanoe Yukariko just smiled and hugged her granddaughter, then continued to give her "final instructions."
"You must maintain good contact with that boy named Miyauchi Hikage. He is from Asahigaoka, and I think the changes in Asahigaoka over the years should be his doing. Now he is also connected with those organizations. Although I don't know his strength, I think that since they sent him to handle Yuuko-nee's matter, there shouldn't be too big of a problem."