Could This Legend Be True?

Uesugi Tetsu leaned closer to his phone screen, frowning as he pulled his gaze away after a long moment.

This was White Brahma. This was, without a doubt, White Brahma.

Even though the figure glimpsed in the photo was blurry.

Why was Uesugi Tetsu so sure? Because aside from the mask, everything else about it was almost identical to his own avatar, Laughing Brahma. It was obvious at a glance!

Something was wrong.

This was a huge problem!

White Brahma had appeared in reality?

Was it a pure coincidence, or was this the "heavily injured White Brahma" from the main quest in Arakawa Ghost Village?

Resting his fingertip on the cold Walker token in his pocket, Uesugi Tetsu was unsure.

Unlike Laughing Brahma's almost playful rumors of "liking to play pranks on cute children," White Brahma was a true vengeful spirit, a bloodthirsty demon that killed for pleasure.

If it were a coincidence, then Shizuma Manatsu, who had encountered a fully formed White Brahma at close range, would almost certainly not be sitting in front of them completely unharmed.

Therefore, the scales of probability had tipped.

"—Demons and monsters from Tokoyo can come to the real world?"

The thought startled even Uesugi Tetsu himself.

Because if White Brahma could, then there was no reason why the red-faced samurai Hōshō he'd met in Edo Castle couldn't.

If a murderer who had achieved ten thousand kills in ancient times could come to reality...

Uesugi Tetsu felt a chill run down his spine.

At that moment, Ririko asked, "Manatsu, you said you found out what kind of yokai this was on the trending list?"

"Mhm!"

Though she didn't know what was happening, Shizuma Manatsu happily replied, seeing the couple's synchronized actions, "This topic was quite popular a while ago."

White Brahma, Twitter trends, very popular.

Uesugi Tetsu couldn't fathom how these words could be connected.

"Because many people said they saw a white figure floating behind them," Shizuma Manatsu quickly found the browsing history when she saw them both leaning in, "Look, are these photos similar to me?"

Uesugi Tetsu squinted and found that indeed, there were figures of White Brahma behind the photos, whether clear or blurry.

Ririko said coldly, "And 'methods to summon White Brahma'?"

"Uh, yes." Shizuma Manatsu blinked, "What's wrong? To be honest, I actually took that amazing photo after trying this method."

As soon as she said this, Kitano Runa, who had been observing the situation cautiously, noticed Uesugi Tetsu and Ririko's expressions quickly turn grim.

The otaku girl secretly swallowed and thought, Oh my god, could this actually be real...?

"Move."

Uesugi Tetsu blurted out, "Shizuma-san, I suggest you move immediately, or at least don't go home for a while."

"Uh... hahaha, Uesugi-kun, you're making me a little scared."

Shizuma Manatsu gave a dry laugh and looked at Ririko, "Come on, Ririko, say something too."

"I support Uesugi-kun's suggestion."

As someone who had also narrowly escaped death at the haunted house event, Ririko looked very seriously into Shizuma Manatsu's slightly uneasy eyes, "I'm not joking, Manatsu."

Seeing Ririko's serious expression, Shizuma Manatsu knew that something truly bad had happened.

She took several deep breaths, finally forcing a strained smile, "Let's eat first, okay?"

Uesugi Tetsu, picking up his chopsticks again, remained silent.

It wasn't that he didn't want to speak, but the sudden influx of information was simply too overwhelming.

Based on what Shizuma Manatsu had just said, Uesugi Tetsu already had a vague guess in his mind, but he couldn't confirm it yet.

"—It sounds so real!"

Kitano Runa took out her phone, looking at the dozens of similar summoning methods piled up in her notebook, followed by about ten checkmarks.

White Brahma was just an insignificant little demon among them.

In an instant, Kitano Runa had already figured out which funeral package was the most cost-effective and which plot of land had the cheapest rent.

After devouring their meals, Uesugi Tetsu proactively suggested, "Shizuma-san, I have some acquaintances. If it's convenient, you could have your family stay with them for a couple of days."

Ririko, who had been eating with her head down, paused for a moment before continuing to eat without saying anything.

Shizuma Manatsu seemed a bit flustered. After a few seconds, she replied, "I live with my sister, so it's very convenient."

"I, I'll go too!"

Kitano Runa eagerly raised her hand.

Everyone looked at her in confusion. Uesugi Tetsu, in particular, was wondering what her name was, as if he had forgotten it.

But Uesugi Tetsu didn't say much. It was the same whether he arranged for two people or three with Nanjō Emi.

Rather, Ririko's friend seems quite aware of the danger. Most people would probably still be treating them as a joke right now.

After explaining the cause and effect of the matter to Nanjō Emi on LINE, Uesugi Tetsu received a reply within two seconds.

[Nanjō-sis: We've naturally noticed the phenomenon you mentioned. As soon as topics related to the supernatural appear on the trending list, we take relevant measures within minutes.]

[Moon Sand-chan: Then why can I still see the history on my friend's phone?]

[Nanjō-sis: Try not to delve into this. In short, it's not that we haven't thought of a solution, but that we currently don't have one. Also, I'll send someone over this afternoon, don't forget to answer the phone.]

[Moon Sand-chan: Okay.]

Forbidden matters, just like the Friendship Club.

Uesugi Tetsu had no intention of probing further into the matter. Since Nanjō Emi wasn't saying anything, it was naturally for his own good.

Of course, his current lack of strength was also a contributing factor.

A mere half-star nobody trying to investigate such a matter would probably not even know how they died.

"I'm done eating."

Ririko put down her chopsticks, breaking the silence.

And so, the four's first meal together ended hastily. With all four of them preoccupied with their own thoughts, the meal clearly couldn't continue in a relaxed manner.

After seeing off Shizuma Manatsu and the other person who left first, Uesugi Tetsu walked over to Ririko, who had waited for him, and said:

"This afternoon, let's skip class and go practice sword fighting."

Ririko swallowed the exact same words she was about to say and, seeing that there were many people around, nodded as if nothing had happened: "Okay."

Uesugi Tetsu: "However, I might need to wait for two or three hours first."

"Okay."

After parting ways with Ririko, Uesugi Tetsu decided to first replenish his water supply, then find a patch of grass to lie down on and enter the haunted village directly to take care of that workshop.

Unlike the water quality in other regions, most tap water in Japanese schools is potable.

You can drink water straight from the tap, which is much faster than waiting for boiled water to cool down. And there's no issue of water resource scarcity during peak hours, where latecomers might not get any water.

--But actually, very few people know that the taste of water from different faucets is different.

For example, the washbasin next to this teaching building is the furthest from the water tank on the rooftop, so the taste of chlorine is naturally the faintest, making it the sweetest.

Walking under the shade of a tree, Uesugi Tetsu turned the faucet outlet upwards.

Just as he was about to turn on the faucet to drink, he spotted a very familiar figure across from him.

I forgot to schedule the posts for midnight, so both chapters are being released today.