Haruno's efficiency exceeded Genichi's expectations.
Perhaps it was because the matter concerned the interests of the Yukinoshita family, as well as her own personal interests, but she was more invested in it than ever.
Only two days passed between Genichi giving the order and Haruno returning with results.
"These are all the people I found who can see spirits."
Haruno placed a thick stack of files in front of Genichi. Each page contained a photograph and was densely packed with personal information: names, ages, addresses, contact details, and specific accounts of their encounters with spirits.
"I verified every one of them personally. They really can see them. None of them are superstitious frauds spouting nonsense."
Genichi picked up the files and flipped through them one page at a time.
The photographs showed men and women, young and old. There were office workers in suits, hunched elderly people, and shifty-eyed middle-aged women.
They all shared one thing in common.
Their eyes contained something Genichi knew well. It was a look unique to those who could see things ordinary people couldn't, as though their attention was always fixed on some unseen presence. There was always a trace of vigilance and fear in their gaze.
"You didn't bring them here to meet me?"
Genichi looked up at Haruno.
She shook her head.
"You hadn't given the order yet. Just say the word, and I'll have them brought over immediately."
Genichi smiled.
It was a faint smile, but it still sent a chill down Haruno's spine.
She knew that smile far too well. Whenever Genichi wore that expression, it meant someone was about to have a very bad day.
She instinctively took half a step back, but Genichi had already spoken.
"Then what are you waiting for?"
Haruno jolted and immediately grabbed her phone.
"Understood. I'll have them brought here right now."
Half an hour later, people began arriving at Genichi's apartment one after another.
The living room wasn't large, and with more than a dozen people packed inside, it quickly became crowded.
Some stood, some sat on the sofa, and others leaned against the walls. Confusion and unease covered every face.
They examined one another while murmuring quietly, none of them knowing what the young man who had summoned them intended to do.
Genichi stood in front of the window with the sunlight behind him, leaving his face shrouded in shadow.
They couldn't make out his expression, but the invisible pressure emanating from him was enough to silence everyone.
"Everyone."
Genichi didn't speak loudly, yet his voice reached every person in the room with perfect clarity.
"I have gathered you here for one reason. I want you to tell me everything you know about spirits."
Whispers immediately spread through the crowd.
Some frowned, some shook their heads, and others looked wary.
They had always kept their ability to see spirits hidden, never daring to tell anyone about it.
Now, a stranger had suddenly summoned them and demanded that they reveal everything they knew. Their instincts warned them to be cautious.
"And this is the compensation I've prepared for you."
As soon as Genichi finished speaking, Haruno stepped forward. She removed a stack of checks from her bag and laid them across the table one by one.
The numbers written on them made everyone's eyes widen.
Seven zeroes. Eight zeroes. Nine zeroes.
Those endless strings of zeroes formed a wall that crushed every hesitation and concern they possessed.
"Of course."
Genichi spoke again, and this time, his voice carried a trace of icy menace.
"If anyone tries to deceive me, I'm sure the bottom of Tokyo Bay won't mind gaining another concrete pillar or two."
The temperature in the living room seemed to plummet.
Everyone instinctively shuddered.
They stared at Genichi's shadowed face and the eyes gleaming within the darkness. A bone-deep fear surged through them.
This young man wasn't joking.
He meant every word.
"Now, let's begin."
Genichi's voice returned to its usual calm, as though he were discussing something perfectly ordinary.
"Tell me what each of you knows about spirits. However, if multiple people possess the same information, only the first person to share it will be paid. The rest will receive nothing."
Those words were like a spark thrown onto dry tinder, instantly setting the entire crowd ablaze.
Everyone who had been hesitating, worrying, or waiting to see what happened suddenly rushed to speak.
"I'll talk! I'll talk!"
"Let me go first! I know more than any of them!"
"Move aside! I got here first!"
Voices rose one after another as everyone fought to be heard, like a school of fish battling over food.
The first person to speak became so excited that his words came out in a confused jumble. Someone who was half a beat too slow stamped his feet in frustration. Another person watched his information get revealed by someone ahead of him, and his expression turned livid, as though he wanted to slap himself across the face.
Genichi stood there watching, the corners of his lips rising slightly.
Greed.
Fear.
Competition.
Those were the three fundamental elements of the human heart.
Greed made people want more. Fear kept them from lying. Competition drove them to race against one another.
As long as he controlled those three things, people would willingly place themselves at his disposal.
He remembered the female-oriented novel world, where people could sell their own sons for profit.
In the DanMachi world, adventurers risked their lives for the chance to grow stronger.
In the High School DxD world, devils fought openly and schemed in secret for power.
Human nature remained the same in every world.
Once you identified a person's weakness, controlling them became easy.
A middle-aged man wearing an old suit hurriedly spoke first.
"I-I know how to deal with spirits..."
"Wait."
Genichi raised a hand, stopping him.
The middle-aged man's face immediately flushed red, and he feared he had said something wrong.
Genichi looked at him, his voice calm.
"One at a time. You'll go first."
He pointed at the middle-aged man, then looked at Haruno.
"Write everything down."
Haruno immediately took out a pen and paper and sat at the table. She moved quickly, the nib scratching across the page.
The middle-aged man took a deep breath and struggled to steady his voice.
"I-I've had a bad heart since I was a child, so I've been hospitalized several times. Once, I saw an elderly woman in a hospital gown wandering through the hallway. I thought it was strange, so I asked a nurse which ward she belonged to. The nurse told me the woman had died the previous day."
The living room fell silent.
Everyone watched him and waited for him to continue.
"After that, I saw them several more times. In hospitals, funeral homes, and cemeteries. Those places have the most spirits. Some cry, some laugh, some wander around, and some simply stand there without moving. I realized they always appear in places where someone has died. So I started wondering if spirits are born from the dead."
Genichi didn't respond. He simply nodded while Haruno rapidly recorded the man's testimony.
"Me too! I have something!"
A young woman wearing glasses raised her hand. Her voice was high and shrill, as though she feared someone else might beat her to it.
"What I saw was different! I saw them inside an abandoned factory. There were many spirits there, but they didn't come from dead people. They emerged from underground. I could sense something beneath the ground constantly producing more spirits!"
Genichi narrowed his eyes.
Underground?
Was the source of the spirits somewhere beneath the earth?
"I saw it too! I saw it too!"
A white-haired old man raised a trembling hand.
"I saw it at a shrine in the mountains. There was a cave there, and spirits were drifting out of it. The entrance was extremely narrow, little more than a crack, but the spirits kept squeezing through it."
Genichi's gaze sharpened.
"Where is that shrine?"
His voice remained calm, but Haruno could hear the urgency concealed beneath its surface.
The old man froze for a moment before shaking his head.
"I-I don't remember. It happened many years ago. I only remember that it was somewhere in the mountains and that I walked for a very long time to reach it. I honestly don't remember its exact location."
Genichi fell silent for a moment.
"Does anyone else know about that shrine?"
No one answered.
Some shook their heads. Others lowered their gazes or looked uncertainly at one another.
Genichi's eyes swept across every person in the room. Their expressions contained regret, frustration, and a vague fear they couldn't put into words.
"That's fine."
Genichi's voice returned to its usual calm.
"You've already given me enough information. Collect your checks, and you may leave."
Haruno handed out the checks one by one.
The moment they received them and saw the long strings of zeroes, expressions of wild joy appeared on their faces.
Some were so excited that their hands trembled. Others pressed the checks against their chests, afraid they might somehow fly away. A few had already begun planning how they would spend the money.
They could see spirits, but they had no way to destroy them.
Information they had always considered useless had suddenly earned them more money than they could have made in an entire lifetime.
Why would they hesitate?
Before long, only Genichi and Haruno remained in the living room.
The others had departed with their checks, their excitement, and their dreams for the future.
None of them understood what the information they had provided truly meant to Genichi.
"I want you to compile all the information we collected and give me a complete report."
Genichi turned his gaze toward Haruno.
(End of Chapter)
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