Miko Becomes a Demonic Cultivator

"Urghhh..."

He let out a roar with all his might, putting an end to the battle.

"Man among men, Great Python Cave Bear!"

"Ah, thank you, Mr. Cave Bear."

Yotsuya Miko sighed, feeling as though her very heart had been purified. Even with the ghost so close before her eyes, the Soul Devouring Sensation had suddenly vanished.

This, perhaps, could be called philosophy.

Chapter 14: Prayer Beads and the Alley

Belatedly arriving, Yurikawa Hana finally broke the frozen stalemate.

Yotsuya Miko stood up and walked over to Hana, ignoring the Normie's invitation along the way. But as she stepped out of Tea Buck, the female companion of that Normie named "Yuuyu" also showed up.

Seeing the woman followed by several ghosts, Yotsuya Miko couldn't help but feel numb.

As expected, truly worthy of a Normie.

The high-level woman quickly seized control of the date, calmly and unhurriedly declaring her dominance.

Thanks to Mr. Cave Bear, she had now entered a fairly peaceful period.

From Tea Buck to Donkichi, the entire walk was uneventful, and at last, it was time to pick out Prayer Beads.

Yotsuya Miko touched the Prayer Beads on the counter inside Donkichi's shop, probing them with a thread of Spiritual Qi. Lucky for her, they seemed to be genuine.

That thread of Spiritual Qi soon returned to her body, carrying a gentle warmth. This gentle warmth gave her the same effect she had felt from Mr. Cave Bear.

Only, the quantity was small.

When she stepped out of Donkichi again, Yotsuya Miko had four strings of Prayer Beads looped around her wrist. According to her plan, these beads should help her endure two or three more rounds of Soul Devouring.

As for after those two or three times, she'd have to come back and buy more.

Raising the beads on her wrist, Miko slowly drew the mysterious power within them into her body. The transfer wasn't slow—in just a minute, she had stored the power of one string of beads inside herself.

Soon, she had transferred the power of all four strings into her body. A mass of gentle substance settled in a corner, far from the Profound Nether Qi. The next time the Soul Devouring Sensation appeared, she could use this substance to suppress the negative reactions it caused.

The problem of the Soul Devouring Sensation was probably settled for now. The only trouble was that she'd have to spend a considerable amount of money on Prayer Beads.

As for not buying the beads and instead extracting the substance from them right there at Donkichi—her morals wouldn't let her do something like that. Besides, these beads were genuinely real. It wasn't as if no one else might need them. If she drained all the energy out and someone who truly required them ended up harmed, that would be outright wrongdoing.

"Donkichi really does sell everything, huh."

Yurikawa Hana remarked, hugging a large plush toy in her arms. The rabbit doll, with its lower lip jutting high up, was impossible to see as cute.

"You bought that doll again?"

"Don't you already have a lot at home?"

At the very least, Miko couldn't quite appreciate the charm of such a plush toy.

"That's exactly why having lots of them makes them cute."

Yurikawa Hana said matter-of-factly, stroking the doll's head.

"Didn't Miko buy four strings of Prayer Beads too?"

"Ah, because the quantity isn't enough."

Yotsuya Miko raised the four strings of beads on her wrist. Even though she had extracted the energy from them, wearing them didn't hurt.

"You need a lot for them to work."

"Work?"

Yurikawa Hana stuffed the doll into her backpack and slung it over her shoulders, curious about Miko's purchase of Prayer Beads.

"Are Prayer Beads really trendy now?"

"Very trendy, very trendy."

Miko brushed her off without any guilt, now pondering whether she should go back and kill that four-headed ghost from earlier. She hadn't been able to before because of the Soul Devouring Sensation, but now with the help of the beads, she had nothing to hold back.

Besides, it was because of that thing that her good mood today had been ruined.

"But I haven't seen anyone wearing them at all."

"I'm at the cutting edge of fashion."

She said something she didn't even believe herself but was utterly certain her friend would trust. Sure enough, Yurikawa Hana had no doubts left.

"So it'll become popular later?"

"It will. Definitely."

Hearing Miko's answer, Yurikawa Hana wore a thoughtful expression.

"Maybe I should have bought a string too."

Looking at Hana before her, Miko suddenly recalled the scenes she had witnessed earlier. Even though Hana couldn't see them, she too was being harassed by ghosts.

Thinking this, Yotsuya Miko silently poured the gentle energy inside her body back into the beads on her left hand. If she weren't unsure what else Spiritual Qi could do, she would have infused some of that in as well.

She took two strings of beads off her left hand and handed them to Yurikawa Hana.

"Here, for you."

"Huh? You're giving them to me?"

"Yeah."

Yotsuya Miko sensed the meager warm energy inside her, barely enough to keep the Soul Devouring Sensation at bay, and figured she'd come back later to buy a few more strings of Prayer Beads.

For now, she'd just keep shopping with Yurikawa Hana.

"Thank you."

Yurikawa Hana broke into a happy smile, quickly slipped both strings of Prayer Beads onto her wrists, and gave them a little shake.

"Now we match."

"Right at the cutting edge of fashion."

As she said that, remembering she should return the favor, Yurikawa Hana looked at Yotsuya Miko.

"Let me treat you to some Butt Mochi as thanks."

"Butt... Mochi?"

"They're soft and springy, super delicious, you know."

With that, she walked ahead, leading the way. Yotsuya Miko followed her to the mouth of a small alley.

"Go through this alley and we're almost there."

She said, jogging forward a little, then turning back to urge Miko on.

"Hurry up, Miko."

Yotsuya Miko looked at the alley ahead, teeming with Ghosts, and watched Yurikawa Hana weave through them as the spirits instinctively gave her a wide berth. She felt a little more at ease about the Prayer Beads' effectiveness. Seemed like giving those two strings to Hana was a good call.

Thinking that, she quietly drew out a thread of warm energy to suppress the Soul Devouring Sensation in her mind, and unhurriedly plunged into the crowd of Ghosts ahead.

Ah, this felt nice.

Yotsuya Miko sighed in relief, pretending not to see them as she passed through the spirits, and that troublesome Soul Devouring Sensation didn't stir up any trouble either. She was finally free of it... Huh?

Suddenly, she realized the warm energy inside her was draining at an alarming rate. Her Spiritual Sense alerted her to the presence of a big one, appearing right in front of her.

Its form was taller and more imposing than the average Ghost, and its whole body radiated the aura of premium-grade ingredients. No wonder the Prayer Beads' energy was burning through so fast.

Still, premium ingredients like this were also harder to deal with.

Yotsuya Miko hurried past the big monster's body, then glanced back at it, committing it to memory.

She'd deal with it later.

The Ghost seemed to have some intelligence of its own, turning its gaze back—but not at her. Instead, it looked at someone else: Yurikawa Hana.

That look, Yotsuya Miko no longer sensed. She followed Yurikawa Hana, chatting and laughing as they left the alley.

"So itchy..."

The Ghost muttered, taking a shaky step, then slowly dragging itself toward the direction Yurikawa Hana had gone.

As if drawn by something.

Chapter 15: Godmother

Butt Mochi—it sounded like some kind of heavy-flavored food, but it really wasn't.

Mochi was a Japanese stuffed glutinous rice cake, and "Butt Mochi" got its name because a crease down the middle split the cake into two halves, just like a certain part of the body...

"So... so good."

Stuffed glutinous rice cakes like this usually tasted pretty great, especially the runny fillings. The perfect sweetness paired with the soft, chewy texture meant even people who didn't like sweets could wolf down several in a row.

"Right?"

Hearing Miko's praise, Yurikawa Hana flashed a knowing smile.

"It feels like eating a butt, all soft and squishy, doesn't it?"

"I've never eaten a butt before."

Yotsuya Miko savored the mochi in front of her, feeling a rare sense of relaxation.

Right now, she could enjoy good food with her friend, chat about trivial things, and not have any Ghosts bothering her—it was way too rare.

"Om nom—"

Yurikawa Hana took big bites of the two mochi in her left and right hands, then shoved both into her mouth at once. Her cheeks puffed up instantly, like a hamster.

"So good."

She mumbled, walked over to the trash can, and tossed the two paper wrappers inside.

"I really wanted that strawberry mochi, but they're all sold out."

Yotsuya Miko listened to her regret-filled words, shook her head slightly, and kept nibbling on her own mochi.

But it seemed the Ghosts weren't planning to give her much time to relax. Her Spiritual Sense sounded an alarm again. She looked up, frowned.

That thing had actually followed them.

The malevolent ghost that had been far beyond ordinary ghosts in the alley was now tottering toward her. As a high-quality meal in the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record, it would drain the energy from her Prayer Beads several times faster than a normal ghost. Moreover, she had only kept a small amount of the energy from those previous strings of Prayer Beads within her own body, pouring most of it back into the beads in Yurikawa Hana's hands.

"Hana, do you know anywhere nearby where I can buy Prayer Beads? Preferably close by."

Seeing this thing's stance, Yotsuya Miko had no intention of being polite with it anymore. She planned to send this ghost straight to the afterlife.

"Huh? Didn't you already buy Prayer Beads?"

"They broke."

Miko said flatly, and the Prayer Beads on her hand suddenly fell apart, scattering onto the ground.

She lowered her eyelids, revealing a foul mood.

"I just noticed the string holding them together was damaged."

"What?"

Yurikawa Hana looked at the scattered beads on the ground and got a little angry too.

"They gave you a defective product. No way, I'm going back to get them replaced."

"No, don't. Let's just go to another store."

Yotsuya Miko shook her head. She had cut the string herself with Spiritual Qi; it wasn't a defective product from Donkichi. She knew this clearly in her heart, so naturally she didn't want to go back to Donkichi for a replacement, because it really wasn't their fault.

"But..."

Yurikawa Hana pouted at her, held the stare for a few seconds, and finally deflated.

"Fine, I can't figure you out. I do know a fortune-telling shop, though. Maybe they sell Prayer Beads there."

"That's perfect. Let's go, Hana."

With that, Yotsuya Miko finished the daifuku in two or three bites and walked toward Yurikawa Hana without looking back.