The Fish-faced Ghost and Cave Bear Philosophy

A voice spoke up—no, four voices spoke at once, as if they were putting on a four-person comedy routine. Come to think of it... was there even such a thing as a four-person comedy routine?

Maybe it was more accurate to say it had a strong variety-show vibe.

Yotsuya Miko kept scrolling through the prayer-bead shopping page. The beads were getting more and more expensive, and she could feel the pressure building—financial pressure.

The Ghosts, which had originally maintained a human shape, began their act as soon as they sat down in front of her. Their four elongated heads crowded toward Miko's face, repeating the same four lines.

It was seriously annoying.

Miko thought this and paid them little attention.

So the huge mass of Ghosts moved behind her and started making a nuisance of themselves there instead.

The bus stopped at a red light for a while, then slowly crossed the intersection. The driver was operating this route in a very dull fashion. With only a handful of passengers aboard, the bus was quiet; the only sound was the Ghosts repeating their dialogue. It was a truly terrible variety show: the same three lines and a burst of laughter, over and over.

"I'm almost there."

At 13:51, Miko glanced at the time and replied to Yurikawa Hana. She was in a hurry and had no time to indulge the Ghosts' tedious performance. Besides, she had just managed to gather her third wisp of Profound Nether Qi, and didn't want to kill this Ghost.

The intense Soul Devouring Sensation brought on by the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record was nearly too much for her to bear. When she killed the third Ghost and refined its Soul Extract, a feeling of dissatisfaction had risen quite naturally from deep within her. It made her realize she would probably have to wait a long time before hunting a fourth one. Otherwise, she might well be controlled by that ravenous urge to devour souls.

That was why she'd arranged to meet Yurikawa Hana, to see if they could find some way to suppress it. Even if the prayer beads didn't help, going out and having fun with Hana would at least ease her mood.

As she thought about it, a faint smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

But that smile soon vanished.

"The next stop is Ichitani Station."

"We'll soon arrive at Ichitani Station."

The conductor's announcement rang out. Miko looked at the "STOP" button beside her—the one used to signal the driver—and pressed it.

Then she looked at the Ghosts, which had once again surrounded her with their four heads, and a nasty feeling rose inside her.

This time, they'd gone too far.

Damn it, but...

Miko took a deep breath, restraining the urge to unleash the Soul Collision Art. Her urge to devour souls had grown intense; even looking at the Malevolent Ghost in front of her made her want to consume it. If she saw its body shattered by the Soul Collision Art, she truly didn't know whether that overwhelming hunger might make her body refine its Soul Extract on its own.

Besides, judging by appearances, this one's Soul Extract seemed to be much higher quality than those of the Ghosts she'd encountered before.

Irritated, she focused once again on the prayer-bead selection page. The Ghosts had no idea what they were about to face, and changed shape again, actually sitting down to Miko's left.

"What do you think?"

It asked the question in the most infuriating way imaginable.

"Ichitani Station. Ichitani Station. Please watch your step."

The bus stopped at the place where she needed to get off.

The Ghosts seemed to realize they weren't wanted and pulled away, continuing their variety show somewhere else.

But Miko couldn't think about any of that anymore.

Thanks to the Ghosts' provocation, a powerful hunger had already clouded her thoughts. A voice kept urging her to kill them, while her mind had begun fantasizing about devouring them.

This is bad...

Miko stared fixedly at the prayer beads on her phone screen, as if they could purify her abnormal feelings and thoughts from a distance.

No... Take a deep breath... Relax... Relax.

She slowly suppressed the Soul Devouring Sensation, which had flared up along with her anger.

"Ichitani Station. Are there any passengers getting off?"

The Ghosts, which had come over again to provoke her, nearly stirred her emotions once more. The conductor repeatedly asked if anyone was getting off. After confirming that no one was, the driver slowly closed the doors.

The bus pulled away. Watching the Ghosts recede into the distance, Miko realized they'd gone outside. But before she could breathe a sigh of relief, a woman's voice startled her.

"Is that true?"

"That's way too ridiculous."

A woman beside her, talking on the phone, repeated familiar words. Fortunately, at least the person saying them was human.

"Hahahaha..."

"What? That's seriously hilarious."

"Hahahaha..."

Only after laughing for a while did she notice the murderous look from the person beside her. She sheepishly stopped.

Was I the reason?

The Japanese culture of shame made her realize what she'd just done in public. Guilt soon washed over her.

"Sorry, I have to go."

She sighed and checked the time on her phone. Miko's mood began to sour.

It was 13:58. She was obviously going to be late.

Yesterday, The Girl Who Can See ended with a celebratory finale. Honestly, the last episode surprised me a little. They'd gotten as far as the movie plot, yet they cut Rom's scenes and added a sequence where Miko dreamed, along with a recap of the Ghosts from earlier episodes. But I suppose it doesn't have much to do with me anymore. If Miko, now a demonic cultivator, meets the Mountain God again, she won't be trying to escape and get the Mountain God's protection.

Lastly, may I be blessed with a successful contract.

Chapter 13: The Fish-faced Ghost and Cave Bear Philosophy

"Sorry, Hana... I missed my stop. I'll be a little late."

Not long after she sent the message, Yurikawa Hana replied.

"I got on the wrong train too! I'll be late as well!"

Looking at the message, Miko sighed.

"Then... see you later?"

She suggested this and quietly sent the message.

By the time she got to the tea shop, the agreed-upon time had already passed.

She ordered a cup of milk tea. Even after the server brought it to the table, warm and fragrant, Yurikawa Hana still hadn't arrived.

Bored, Miko sipped her milk tea and brushed aside the long hair that had fallen in front of her. Then she glanced toward the door again.

Why wasn't Hana here yet?

As she wondered, her Spiritual Sense, strengthened several times over, sent her another warning: the Ghost's presence was drawing closer.

Holding her milk tea, she looked in the direction of the Ghost.

"Don't worry, just trust me."

A young man whose outfit practically screamed "popular guy" spoke into his phone, probably to his girlfriend. From his flippant tone, it was hard not to see how experienced he was at dealing with women.

Especially with the Malevolent Ghost hovering around him.

"I'm really not lying to you."

A female-shaped Malevolent Ghost slowly moved closer to him, as if showing affection.

"I... you..."

"I love..."

Watching this, Miko couldn't help thinking that the world was full of strange things.

Even among Malevolent Ghosts, were there oddballs like this? No—or perhaps oddballs were simply what Ghosts were like.

"I... love you to death..."

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it too."

"Love you..."

The popular guy tilted his head slightly, and the Ghost moved with him, apparently having attached itself to him completely.

"I love you."

As if showing affection to a person, the female Ghost stuck out its long, thin tongue and licked the popular guy's face from afar. Miko could even clearly see the saliva on its tongue.

"Yeah, I love you."

The popular guy spoke the embarrassingly affectionate words into the phone with an utterly calm expression. But the Ghost seemed to think he was saying them to her, and, already looking like a pervert, grew even more perverted.

"I love you... I love you... I love you..."

It kept repeating the same words over and over.

"Ugh..."

Even though Miko had prepared herself for the bizarre behavior of these Ghosts, the whole "love you even after death" routine still disgusted her. At least it hadn't affected her appetite in the slightest.

Under the influence of the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record, her mind and body still registered Ghosts as food. For now, she could keep that thought under control—as long as the Ghosts didn't get too close to her.

After witnessing the whole farce, she was about to turn her attention back to her messages with Hana when the popular guy seemed to notice her gaze and misunderstand it. He gave her a faint smile, thinking it made him look handsome.

...Ah, this is bad.

Sure enough, the Ghost's neck soon turned a hundred and eighty degrees, revealing its face.

A long, thin tongue, fish-like, vacant eyes, and lips that seemed to represent some kind of organ. Ghosts like these never seemed to care much about the details of their features. Maybe they just grew them however they wanted.

The Fish-faced Ghost stared at the popular guy and wore an expression of disbelief, as if jealous—no, probably something worse. An expression of fury at seeing her boyfriend cheat?

Miko stared expressionlessly at the Fish-faced Ghost, ignoring the popular guy entirely.

All she could do now was hope it would take its anger out on him and not come over to her. Please don't. She had no desire to experience that Soul Devouring Sensation a second time.

It was obvious that this was probably too much to hope for.

Even when Miko quietly looked away, the Ghost didn't seem willing to let the matter drop.

"What are you doing?"

She glanced over from the corner of her eye, then immediately regretted her carelessness.

She could have used her Spiritual Sense to feel what was going on. Why had she instinctively looked with her eyes?

That glance hadn't caught sight of the Ghost. Instead, she'd met the popular guy's eyes, deepening his misunderstanding.

This is bad...

Miko opened her phone and looked for something that might suppress the Soul Devouring Sensation she was about to feel.

"What are you doing? What are you doing?"

That glance from the corner of her eye had been the last straw. The Fish-faced Ghost angrily walked toward Miko. Through her Spiritual Sense, she felt it getting closer and closer.

Along with that sensation, her hunger grew stronger. Her stomach kept producing acid, and a cramping pain soon hit her. Even though she'd eaten lunch, her body was still deceiving her, making her think she was starving.

She could still suppress her body's instincts. What was truly dangerous was the hunger in her mind.

The feeling was like going through withdrawal from some substance, accompanied by pain, weakness, and dizziness. It quickly overwhelmed what was left of her clear-headedness. One after another, hallucinations of devouring Ghosts appeared in her mind. At its worst, she seemed to hear another version of herself, close to her ear, softly urging her:

"Eat it."

That other self even seemed to want to control her body and make it act.

She quickly searched through her phone's browser for something disgusting enough to put her off her food, while taking large gulps of milk tea. But the milk tea didn't make her feel full in the slightest.

Soon, the Ghost was right in front of her.

The second bout of Soul Devouring Sensation was perhaps a little easier to bear than the first. Miko scrolled through her phone and finally stopped at a martial-arts video.

Ah... pure violent aesthetics.

Watching the video, Miko felt that her mind had probably been struck by something else instead.

Two naked, bald men grappled with each other, engaging in all kinds of physical contact. The camera captured every detail of their bodies with great clarity. Even through the screen, Miko could clearly see the hair on the yellow-browed, bearded Bald Giant and his powerful, muscular physique.

"You can't..."

The Fish-faced Ghost, which had crept up at some point, seemed stunned by Miko's "kinky" tastes the moment it saw the scene on her phone.

"There it is, the Great Serpent Offensive!"

The man named Cave Bear used his thick, muscular arms to viciously choke his opponent, squeezing the other man until he foamed at the mouth.

The camera focused on the man's confident smile.