Miko Becomes a Demonic Cultivator

As Touko spoke, she watched Miko changing her shoes and began asking why she was late coming home today.

"Did something happen today?"

"Yeah, I helped an old lady find her way home, so it took a little extra time."

As she spoke, she handed a bag to her mother.

"This is their thank-you gift. It should be just right for Kyosuke to eat."

"Is that so?"

Yotsuya Touko took the bag and started lecturing her again.

"Don't be so reckless next time. It's not good for a girl to be walking alone at night."

"Yeah, sorry for worrying you."

Yotsuya Miko nodded, but a smile still lingered on her face.

"Still, what happened today was pretty nice."

Looking at her mother's eyes, she began recounting the story of the old lady she met today, leaving out the part about seeing ghosts. Under Miko's edits, it became a different tale about the old lady suddenly regaining her memories.

"That old lady seemed completely out of it at first, but when she got to her doorstep, she suddenly became much clearer and remembered a lot of things. She went into the room, opened a safe that her daughter said had never been opened before, took out a hair ornament, and put it on her head. According to her daughter, it was a gift from her husband. It was like an incredible miracle. Maybe, standing outside that door, she saw her long-dead husband."

Miko spoke as she walked slowly into the kitchen, her gaze turning to her mother.

"Maybe Dad is watching us from somewhere we can't see too."

"...Yeah, that's right."

Yotsuya Touko just smiled at her.

"Dad has always been watching you."

"Touko..."

Beside this woman bearing the weight of the household, a figure slowly appeared.

"You're right, I've always been..."

"Kyosuke, come eat the pork soup."

Touko composed herself, took the pork soup out of the bag, and ladled two bowls. One she handed to Yotsuya Miko, the other she set on the table.

"Okay."

Miko simply picked up the bowl of pork soup, feeling that she now had one more thing to do.

Chapter 30: The Ghost in a Kimono

"French Bakery Grizzly," a pastry shop with a sign showing a grinning bear face.

Their cakes also had their own unique character.

Yotsuya Miko followed Yurikawa Hana's pointing finger and looked at a cake named "Forest Walking Bear Cake." On the surface coated with thick cream were two bear shapes, and behind them was a strawberry huge compared to their size.

"Look at this cake, don't you think it's super cute?"

Maybe it was cute?

Staring at the ghost that was lying in front of the cake, completely blocking it, Yotsuya Miko hesitated, then gave a perfunctory reply.

The small ghost in front of her, with four eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth, was anything but cute.

"You think it's okay?"

"Ah, no, I think it's cute... ah."

Glancing back at the ghost blocking the cake, Yotsuya Miko lied through her teeth.

"Then I'll pick this one."

The ghost pounded on the glass of the counter, screaming "Let me out!" This was pretty absurd to Yotsuya Miko. Couldn't these things phase through walls? And how was it making that pounding sound on the glass when ordinary people couldn't even hear it?

Because her attention was caught by this bizarre little ghost, she completely missed what the sales clerk said.

"What should we do,"

Yurikawa Hana looked at Miko, trying to consult with her.

"What do you think, Miko?"

"What?"

"She said there's only one left."

Oh, so they couldn't buy two together. Yotsuya Miko turned her gaze to the counter.

"Then pick the Mont Blanc next to it..."

Behind the "Plump Mont Blanc," as she spoke, two Little Old Men popped out, as if deliberately messing with her.

"..."

Yotsuya Miko's expression shifted slightly. She carefully swept her Spiritual Sense over the entire counter, finally settling on a target.

"I'll take the Cream Puff on the edge."

"Please give me a Forest Walking Bear Cake."

Carrying the cake she'd bought, Yurikawa Hana weighed the pastry in her hand, feeling a bit satisfied.

"Which dessert shop should we hit next?"

She asked Miko, "Mrs. Donut? Or Butt Mochi?"

"Hmm... Butt Mochi?"

"Nice, maybe they still have strawberry flavor left today."

Watching the smile bloom on Hana's face, Yotsuya Miko felt the annoyance from encountering the ghost earlier ease a little.

Though, trouble had come again.

Her Spiritual Sense rippled violently, heralding a powerful ghost ahead.

From its appearance, it did have some air of a strong being.

Yotsuya Miko stopped in her tracks, fixing her gaze on the ghost. It wore a gray-blue kimono, had four eyes on its face—though the upper pair were sewn shut—and teeth without lips to cover them, clenched tight, eerily centered in its features. Its elongated claws stretched out. She found it a bit troublesome.

A ghost like this, even if she exerted a few points of her strength, would be hard to defeat. Unless she dealt with it like the last one at Godmother's place—using the Soul Collision Art, tearing apart a massive amount of Spiritual Sense to blast it to death with sheer volume. Otherwise, with her current means, she couldn't kill this thing silently in front of Yurikawa Hana. And unlike last time, she had no Prayer Bead energy to suppress the Soul Devouring Tribulation that would erupt from losing so much Spiritual Sense. What's more, killing this one would require far more Spiritual Sense than the last ghost.

The worst part was that this kind of creature's Soul Body quality would definitely be extremely high. The Soul Devouring Tribulation's eruption was almost inevitable.

Thoughts flashed through her mind one by one. Miko shot the ghost a wary glance. Her sudden halt left Yurikawa Hana puzzled.

"Miko?"

"Ah... I think we should go to Mrs. Donut instead."

For now, she could only hope this thing wouldn't follow Yurikawa Hana. Best to avoid it. Miko thought, then shifted her gaze to a Ram Rabbit charm on Hana's backpack.

The ghost she'd encountered last time meeting Yuria had been reforged into a talisman pattern and loaded into the Ram Rabbit accessory she'd given Yurikawa Hana. Just in case, she hadn't activated this new Evil Banishing Talisman right away, ensuring it could protect Hana at a critical moment.

Now seemed like that time.

"Nice."

Hearing the change of venue, Yurikawa Hana showed no displeasure, instead turning her thoughts to Mrs. Donut.

"Then I'll get a Bloody Classic today too."

She trotted over to Yotsuya Miko, grabbed her arm, and pulled her in the opposite direction.

Seizing the moment, Miko poured a large amount of Spiritual Qi into the Ram Rabbit, activating the talisman.

Though it still used fish as flesh, the ghost's quality had jumped significantly. The current talisman could interfere with a wide range of ghosts' movements—as long as that ghost didn't notice the life energy on Hana... No, even if it did, it would struggle to get close.

And if the talisman could hold out through tonight... she could go deal with that thing.

Thinking this, Yotsuya Miko finally relaxed a little.

But soon, her brow furrowed. Though Hana hadn't approached the ghost, it was still trailing them.

Had it noticed anyway?

Her hands moved slightly, and she shot a black light into her own and Hana's shoulders.

If life energy had alerted that thing, then just masking that energy's aura would do.

"Miko?"

Hana, in the middle of talking about how sweet Mrs. Donut's treats were, glanced at Yotsuya Miko, puzzled why she'd suddenly patted her shoulder.

"Looked like a bug landed on you."

"What? Eww, gross! Did you get it? Where?"

"Don't worry, it flew off."

Hearing that, Yurikawa Hana's reaction calmed down. She let out a long breath.

"That's a relief."

Just as she was about to say more, her stomach suddenly growled.

"Huh, that's weird. I ate a ton before we left, so why am I hungry now?"

"Well... then just buy more at Mrs. Donut's."

Looking at the ghost behind them, Yotsuya Miko poured more Spiritual Qi into the Ram Rabbit, boosting its interference. This would greatly drain the talisman's lifespan, but she couldn't care about that now.

As long as Yurikawa Hana wasn't targeted by that thing.

After that, the ghost finally turned and left, as if it had lost its prey.

Sensing within her Spiritual Sense that it had truly gone, Yotsuya Miko finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Right after came the growl of her own stomach.

"Uh..."

Maybe she shouldn't have cast that on herself.

"What, you're hungry too?"

Looking at the smile on Yurikawa Hana's face, the thin-skinned Yotsuya Miko couldn't help but cover her face.

"It's just... I didn't have much appetite for dinner, that's all."

"Is, that, so?"

"Hana..."

Another matter: regarding the term "Ghosts" in the text, as everyone knows, in Japanese understanding, "oni" refers to a race—modern Japan typically uses it to mean a type of extremely fierce, savage yokai resembling wild men or ogres. But the "ghosts" in Miko's world should actually be called "spirits" or "evil spirits." I've been using "ghosts" throughout not to deliberately confuse these concepts, but out of laziness in not adopting "spirits" or "evil spirits." Incidentally, I originally planned to replace "ghosts" with "soul bodies," but since "ghosts" is easier to type, I gave up.

If this phrasing isn't too comfortable, I can take opinions and change it to "evil spirits." But if I call them all evil spirits... there's still weird stuff like the Mountain God and the Bakeneko. I'll look up knowledge about Bakeneko and earthbound gods later.

Finally, apologies for the late update.

Chapter 31: The Omen of Crisis

"Well, see you tomorrow then."

"Mm, bye."

Yotsuya Miko smiled and waved goodbye to Yurikawa Hana. Watching Hana gradually recede into the distance, the smile on her face slowly faded, replaced by a shadow of gloom.

She silently turned and walked back, returning to the street from before. Once again, she used her Spiritual Sense to perceive the surroundings. Within that perception, many auras of Ghosts surfaced, but none of them was the one she was looking for.

"Already... gone?"

She finally withdrew her Spiritual Sense and rubbed her head again. This was the worst-case scenario.

Yotsuya Miko had no means to track Ghosts, because she hadn't yet learned that from the Soul Nourishing Artifact Path Understanding—just studying the other techniques had already taken enough time. Now, she was starting to regret it.

"I should have learned one while I had the chance."

Looking at the empty street, now left with only Ghosts, Yotsuya Miko shook her head again, maintaining an optimistic outlook.

"If it's left the area, then it probably won't target Hana anymore."