Miko Becomes a Demonic Cultivator Chapter 5

"Bleurgh!"

Yotsuya Miko suddenly sat bolt upright in bed, dry-heaving repeatedly before taking huge gulps of fresh air and letting out muffled, ragged breaths.

"Miko! Thank goodness, you're finally awake."

When she looked beside her, she saw her friend, Yurikawa Hana, tightly clutching her right hand.

"..."

Yotsuya Miko fell silent for a moment, then forced out a smile.

"Sorry for making you worry."

Even though everything that had happened left her feeling suffocated, she did not want to drag her friend into it.

Never.

Whether in the manga or anime, I always admired Miko's willpower, which was tougher than that of ordinary people—especially during the Mountain God arc. Damn it, that Mountain God completely drained my sanity meter from beyond the screen. If that thing didn't die, it wouldn't make up for the pain of dropping my phone on my face.

Changes and Beginnings

By the time Yotsuya Miko walked out of the Health Room, she could barely remember what excuse she had used to brush off Teacher Kido.

She couldn't exactly tell him that some bizarre object had put her under immense mental pressure, could she?

No one would believe that anyway. Well, maybe Yurikawa Hana would.

In the end, there was only one conclusion:

Anemia.

"You really scared me, Miko."

"Sorry."

Thanks to the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record, Yotsuya Miko had remained unconscious until the afternoon. She had barely attended a few classes before school was hastily dismissed.

As for Hana, who had come to visit her again and again during that time, Miko could only bury everything deep in her heart, refusing to let her friend get involved in the slightest.

"Hana, let's go to Mrs. Donut together."

"Huh? But your health... are you really okay?"

"I'm fine now."

Miko gave a slight shake of her head and took Yurikawa Hana's hand as they walked out through the school gates, forcing herself to ignore the Ghosts that still lingered in her sight.

The Ghost she had devoured earlier seemed to have been a special case. After that, the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record in her mind had never reacted again.

Even when she focused her mind on it once more, she could only see several lines of otherworldly text. When she tried to look further, she encountered an obstruction, as though some kind of opportunity was required.

Profound Nether Qi...?

After devouring that Ghost, Yotsuya Miko had felt tiny particles appear within her body. She could even control them, letting them move freely through her body. But there were too few of them—only about the size of a few sesame seeds. To reach the "wisp" that Master had mentioned, she had no idea how many Ghosts she would need to devour. And besides, did she really have the nerve to devour things that ordinary people were completely powerless against—

Huh? Why would I think that?

Miko suddenly froze. Her cheek twitched as she found her own thoughts strange.

Why... why would I cultivate something like this? Wasn't it because of that Malevolent Ghost that I... That monster had already been dealt with.

"Miko?"

"...I was just lost in thought for a moment. Let's keep going."

Yotsuya Miko kept the expression on her face as she looked at the shop drawing closer, feeling that those Ghosts had probably really put her under too much mental stress.

Right. It had to be because I'd been worrying too much.

"There are so many people today. No wonder—it's a half-price sale."

"Oh, there really are so many people in line."

Looking at the long queue before them, Yurikawa Hana was a little surprised. Then, among the crowd, she spotted a girl passing through it. The girl was wearing the same uniform as their school.

"It's our school uniform."

Following Hana's gaze, Miko also saw the Golden Twin-Tailed Girl, whose twin blonde tails faded into pink at the tips. The girl noticed them as well, glanced at them once, then turned and left.

"I feel like I've seen her somewhere before."

She said it casually, then finally realized the immediate issue before them.

"If we don't get in line soon, they'll sell out."

Miko was not as eager about food as Hana was. Watching the girl leave, she searched her memories for where they had met before.

That girl just now... I think it was a while ago...

But before she could fully remember, her friend's call completely interrupted her thoughts.

"Miko, hurry up and get in line too."

"Ah, okay."

Yotsuya Miko felt that she should probably forget about what had happened at school for now. After all, those things were far too unpleasant.

For now, let's eat donuts. Come to think of it, what kinds do they have?

Miko followed the line and took out her phone to browse the donut selection.

The Amanita Muscaria Charm mushroom muffins looked pretty good, and the giant poisonous scorpion chocolate chips were hard to pass up too. Hm?

A strangely shaped dessert suddenly appeared among the reference photos—Namu Amida Butsu Potty.

Were those... Prayer Beads?

"Miko, where are you going?"

"Huh?"

Hearing the voice, Miko instinctively turned her head toward Yurikawa Hana, somewhat confused. Wasn't it obvious? She was lining up.

"Aren't you coming over here to line up?"

"Huh?"

Looking at the long line beside Yurikawa Hana, Yotsuya Miko felt at a loss. She was clearly lining up over here too...

Could it be...

Trembling, she shifted her gaze back in front of her. The guy standing ahead of her naturally demonstrated exactly what it meant to turn into a Ghost right before her eyes.

As the man amiably twisted his neck ninety degrees, Miko finally confirmed something.

I... I got in the wrong line.

What kind of line was this?

For a moment, she could not tell whether she was trembling from fear or excitement. As if she had been shocked by electricity, her body quivered faintly.

What was this line for?

Before she could figure out what was happening, a pair of small hands firmly stuffed her left hand into a soft chest.

"Honestly,"

Yurikawa Hana glared at her irritably.

"You were so busy playing on your phone. You shouldn't use your phone while walking, okay?"

As she spoke, she tugged Miko by the left hand and pulled her back to the end of the line.

"Otherwise, you might bump into someone, get hit by a car, or fall into a manhole."

With that, she shot Yotsuya Miko another fierce glare.

"S-Sorry, I was looking at the menu."

"If I hadn't called out to you just now, you could've been seriously hurt."

"Seriously hurt is a bit of an exaggeration, isn't it?"

As they spoke, a bizarre cry suddenly came from the Ghost line beside them. A huge frog-like Ghost bit down on the Ghost at the front of the line, grasping its food with long, thin hands as it chewed, producing crisp crunching sounds like gnawing on ribs.

Seeing that, Miko immediately imagined herself being chewed up by that Ghost, and her face turned pale.

"Th... thank you, Hana."

"Thank you so much."

If Hana had not pulled her away, she had no idea what she might have gone through.

But beyond her lingering relief, as Yotsuya Miko watched the frog monster chew, she suddenly recalled what had happened to her before.

So Ghosts eat other Ghosts too? Then what exactly am I...

Watching the incredibly mouthwatering scene, Yotsuya Miko felt as if her stomach was also a little...

She hurriedly shook that bizarre thought from her mind. If this kept up, Yotsuya Miko felt that she really would not be far from death.

Sure enough, I never should have trained...

She looked at Hana, who had no idea what had happened to her, and sighed inwardly.

What kind of talent was being able to see them?

I really wish I couldn't see them...

If she could not see them, perhaps so many strange and bizarre things would not have happened to her.

If only...

Unfortunately, there were no ifs.

On the way home, she rarely saw any wandering Ghosts, which made Yotsuya Miko feel a little better.

Yurikawa Hana carried her heavy bag and happily talked about the desserts she had bought.

"In the end, I bought ten honey-sweet ones."

"Are you going to eat all of them by yourself?"

"Of course not. I'll give you one."

"One..."

Yotsuya Miko once again felt overwhelmed by her friend's appetite.

"You know this isn't zero calories, right?"

"I know."

Yurikawa Hana's tone carried a hint of sorrow.

"My boobs are going to get bigger again."

"...I shouldn't have asked."

"So what did you buy, Miko?"

"Three Namu Amida Butsu Pottys."

For reasons she didn't understand herself, Miko looked at the donuts she was carrying.

"Only three?"

"Because the Amanita Muscaria Charms were sold out."

That was the reason she gave.

Cats, People Haunted by Evil Spirits, and People Accompanied by Bakenekos

Even on the way home, there were still dangers and hardships everywhere.

Miko had originally tried to soothe her stifled heart with the abandoned kittens in the cardboard box, only for her mood to turn utterly awful the very next second.

Because there was more than one cute kitten in that box—there was also a curled-up ghost.

Yurikawa Hana teased the kitten, a healed smile appearing on her face.

"It's licking my index finger! Oh my gosh."