I stopped at the intersection and heard a very clear set of footsteps.
After thinking it over, I decided to hide first.
Most people probably couldn't adapt to being in a spirit state. Maybe the person approaching hadn't realized that only his soul had entered this strange space, and didn't know how to make use of this state.
I passed through a wall and hid inside a house at the intersection.
The footsteps drew closer. The person stopped at the intersection and called out a few times, but didn't go any farther.
"Ah, what the hell... Hey! You damn exorcists! You're behind this, aren't you? What's going on? You lock me up just because I won't help you? Hey, hey, hey! Haa..." The young man sighed.
Hearing him complain like that made me even more certain of who he was.
He was the young man who had been sitting at the round table that day!
I cautiously peeked out and saw that he was dressed just as he had been that day. He was squatting on the ground, arms dangling and head drooping, like some ordinary street punk.
After a while, the young man stood up and put his hands on his hips.
I quickly ducked back.
I really couldn't make heads or tails of this situation.
This should be the world of the ghost story the Skinny Guy had told. Of course, the ghost story was probably real—at least half of it was. The Skinny Guy hadn't simply made it all up. He didn't have the ability to brainwash himself completely. At most, he could focus his mind and make the ghost story he believed in seem more real, reworking the details to fit his own ideas.
This time, the only part that should have been reworked was the