"After all, he wouldn't even let himself keep a cat."
"Because... he wants to atone?"
"Yeah. Zen's late mother was a very strict person. His mom found out about the cat he'd secretly been keeping."
"The cat died in the end. Zen said he was the one who killed it, but I suspect it was his mother. Still, Zen stubbornly took all the blame upon himself."
"His mother was a truly terrifying person. It was less discipline than control. She used to yell at me, too, telling me not to go near her, not to look at her, things like that. I think Zen's still bound by his mother even now. He refuses to fit in with other people, and even when it comes to a cat he cares about, he approaches it as if he has to make amends for his past mistakes. It's really a headache."
"But,"
Cong paused, then smiled at Yotsuya Miko,
"That's exactly why I have to help Zen get out of this predicament. That's what I should do as his friend, and, of course, it's my duty as a veterinarian."
"I see."
Yotsuya Miko looked at the kitten.
"So it was to atone..."
She thought back to the Ghost that had possessed Tono Zen, the one she'd completely eradicated, and the Evil Spirits of those cats. At last, she understood where those things had come from.
"He's free now."
"Hm?"
Cong looked at her in confusion, but Miko, now certain of what she wanted to do, didn't explain. Instead, she looked at him urgently.
"Mr. Cong, do you know where Tono-sensei lives? I... have something I want to tell him."
Tono Zen was on his way home, but all he could think about were the words spoken by that student named Yotsuya Miko.
He couldn't refute what she'd said, just as he couldn't refute the situation he was in.
His life, his past, had shaped him into the person he was now. Even now, he still dreamed of that afternoon, of the blood that had splattered everywhere, and of what his mother had said to him.
Just as Cong had thought, the remnants of his past had continued to affect him deeply, following him throughout his life.
When he reached his apartment building, his chaotic thoughts kept him from noticing anything amiss until he arrived at his door.
Two people in suits were standing there, watching him with appraising eyes.
"Can I help you?"
"Mr. Tono... is that right?"
One of them spoke in a sincere, though not particularly respectful, tone.
"I'd like you to cooperate with our investigation. Please tell us... where did that silver orb come from?"
"The silver orb?"
Tono Zen looked at them. He knew nothing about the rumors they were talking about.
"If you mean a small silver-white ball, I found it on me yesterday morning and threw it in the trash. Is there something wrong with it?"
"Nothing, but I suggest you watch the news."
The man speaking gave him a strange smile, one full of schadenfreude. Having gotten the confirmation they wanted from Tono Zen, the two took their leave.
"Well, excuse us. We're government employees. We're sorry to have disturbed you like this."
Bewildered by their sudden visit, Tono Zen frowned and silently took out his phone to search for "silver orb."
"...A treasure that brings goodness to the world and washes away sin?"
Countless exaggerated headlines appeared before him, and the story was making waves.
The frenzied reporters had even tracked down the various people who'd owned the silver orb, including someone at Tono Zen's school.
"Natsukawa Yuki?"
He looked at the face of someone he remembered fairly well, and seemed to realize what had happened.
"So she picked up that silver orb?"
But what did that have to do with him...?
"Mr. Tono!"
As he was lost in thought, an urgent voice interrupted him again.
Since it was daytime and she couldn't use her spells, Yotsuya Miko ran up to Tono Zen, panting.
She looked at the man before her and tried to organize her thoughts, but realized there was no way she could explain what had happened. Even so, she forced the words out.
"You're free now. No one—no one at all—you don't need to atone."
She didn't know why she'd gone to so much trouble to do this, but she felt she had to. Only by doing this could she feel a little better.
"That Ghost is gone."
Tono Zen looked at her in surprise but didn't reply. He didn't know what Miko was talking about. He just found it strange that she'd gone to all this trouble simply to say those words to him.
"You're acting rather strangely, Yotsuya."
I know, but I can't tell you what really happened.
Miko felt awkward. Her lips moved, but she couldn't say anything else. Her eyes darted around, desperately searching for help, until she noticed the words on Tono Zen's phone.
Silver orb.
"It's the silver orb!"
She spoke excitedly, seizing on the silver orb to explain everything she'd done.
"Mr. Tono, that silver orb has driven away the suffering you carried. It's an answer from the gods, absolving you of the burden you've borne!"
"...Cong told you everything about me, didn't he?"
Tono Zen didn't respond to what she'd said. Instead, he looked at her. He seemed to understand what she meant, and finally managed to pull a smile onto his face.
"You don't need to worry about me. I'm fine now, and I'll be fine in the future, too. Besides, I already threw that silver orb away."
With that, he entered his home, leaving Yotsuya Miko frozen in place.
"...Liar."
Miko sighed, but still spoke her last words to the door.
"No. That silver orb hasn't abandoned you."
After that, there was no more sound. Tono Zen leaned against the door and shook his head at her words. As he was about to walk away, he heard something at his feet.
A clatter.
In the dim room, a flash of silver stood out.
It rolled across the floor and came to a wobbly stop in Tono Zen's view.
It was a small silver-white ball.
Miko Finally Realizes the Silver Orb Has Gone Viral
"Will this really help?"
Yotsuya Miko walked along the road, asking herself that as the evening light tinted the way.
When she'd learned about Tono Zen from his friend Cong, she'd suddenly felt she had to tell him what had happened.
That woman who'd haunted him for so long and affected his life so deeply had vanished completely. He'd finally been freed from the chains that bound him, and had regained his freedom.
But after running as hard as she could and finally reaching Tono Zen, panting, that intense urge had gradually faded. Her mind had started weighing all sorts of things, and the very facts she'd ignored had become the biggest obstacle to saying what she wanted to say.
She had indeed killed that Ghost, but she couldn't tell anyone. It wasn't out of selfishness; she simply couldn't let an ordinary person get dragged into this kind of situation.
Not everyone was like her, able to see them and acquire the power to protect themselves. Letting ordinary people know about Ghosts would only bring them trouble.
So she'd been at a loss for words. In the end, she'd had to use the silver orb as an excuse, then put another rune-inscribed iron pill on Tono Zen and hope he would believe her.
Having done all that, she could only walk along in a daze, silently waiting for tomorrow and Tono Zen. Somehow, she also felt a sense of peace, as if she'd finally found a direction.
That peace lasted a long time, even after she returned home, until Yotsuya Kyosuke spoke up.
"Did you get a new boyfriend?"
He gave his older sister, who was humming a tune, a strange look and naturally jumped to the most common conclusion. His remark immediately ruined Yotsuya Miko's good mood. She glared at Kyosuke in anger.
"I don't! Are you asking to get beaten up?!"
"Then why are you...?"
Kyosuke spoke softly. When he saw Miko slowly approaching, he shrank his neck and wisely changed the subject.
"Speaking of which, your competition's only a few days away, isn't it?"
As he spoke, he recited the competition's rules.
"I think it has three rounds: preliminaries, semifinals, and finals. In the preliminaries, everyone writes a piece of calligraphy. In the semifinals and finals, the judges give you a prompt, and you write a related poem. It's a small local competition, but it's surprisingly formal, and the prize money isn't bad. I think... it's fifty thousand yen for first place."
"Yeah, that's right."
Miko sat down beside him, only then remembering that the competition was coming up. She'd signed up, but hadn't practiced much. She really didn't know whether she could do well.
"It'd be great if you won first place."
At least she'd have a little more money in her wallet. It was nearly empty as it was. Thinking about how she'd bought Hana several buns that morning, Miko felt she was on the verge of running out. But she really didn't feel comfortable asking her mother for money, even if she said it was for feeding the cats.
"Uh, yeah."
Kyosuke agreed. His eyes betrayed his doubts about his older sister's calligraphy, but under Miko's intimidating glare, he didn't let that stop him from saying the opposite of what he thought.
"I'm sure you'll get a good result, Sis."
"Yeah, I believe in Miko, too."
Yotsuya Touko came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of side dishes and walked past them. As she spoke, she seemed to think of something. She set the plate on the dining table, then looked at Miko.
"Do you have enough money lately? You've been buying fish for the cats every day, and you've also bought a lot of ink and brushes to practice calligraphy."
"If you don't have enough, just tell me."
Miko quickly waved her hands.
"It's not like I'm that short on money. Besides, I don't buy fish that often... I should have enough."
She spoke hesitantly, then still declined the offer. Beside her, Kyosuke propped his face up on one hand and finally figured out why his older sister had entered the competition. Miko's expression said it all.
"Sis, are you hoping to win the competition so you'll have some spending money?"
He sighed and looked at Miko with the air of someone who'd been through it all.
"If that's what you're thinking, then you won't win. You don't have the right attitude toward calligraphy."
"...That's not true."
Yotsuya Miko felt uncomfortable, especially when she saw the smile on her mother's face. She flushed to the roots of her ears, as if he'd exposed her little secret, and angrily took all her embarrassment out on her little brother.
"If you don't know how to talk, then don't say stupid things and make trouble for people!"
As she spoke, she pounced on Kyosuke and used her size advantage to pin him to the sofa, kneading his little face with her hands. A kid's face at this age was still smooth and tender, making it hard to resist giving it a squeeze. Feeling it under her hands, Miko squeezed even harder.
Pinned beneath her, Kyosuke struggled desperately and mumbled incoherently, pinning his hopes of rescue on his mother, who was watching from the side. He reached out to Touko with the hand he could still move, but she only covered her mouth as she laughed and walked away, unconcerned with his plight.
"Don't get carried away."
"Got it."
Yotsuya Miko replied, the corners of her mouth lifting as she looked down at Kyosuke with sharp eyes.
"Have you learned your lesson?"
"Y-yeah."
Kyosuke mumbled. Seeing him beg for mercy, she finally got to her feet, smoothed back her long hair, then patted his little head as if nothing had happened.
"Good boy."
That was abuse.
Yotsuya Kyosuke rubbed his reddened cheek and glared at Miko, feeling that his dignity had been deeply insulted. But he couldn't do anything about it, so he sulked to himself, determined not to speak to his older sister for the rest of the day.
He glumly turned on the TV and kept switching channels. When he reached a local program, he finally became a little curious.
"Are they talking about the silver orb?"
Before you continue