Nia City, inside a remote little shop.
Bright sunlight streamed in through the doors and windows, illuminating the dolls arranged in neat but varied stacks on the wooden shelves.
Some had exaggerated red noses and clown decorations, some were blue-eyed blondes dressed in princess gowns, and some were simply all kinds of adorable little animals.
The sign above the shop entrance read "Doll House," clear and eye-catching.
That's right, it was a doll shop!
Sulu sat behind the counter, looking utterly bored. "I never thought... Galan would be someone who made handmade dolls!"
Although the dolls were exquisite and beautiful, their prices weren't so pretty. Even the cheapest one cost a Silver Eagle, so they often went a whole day without making more than a few sales.
Since he hadn't found a shop assistant who met his standards, Sulu had no choice but to serve as the temporary shop manager and mind the store.
In truth, he was also waiting at this contact point for a mission from the Goddess Church. That was the main source of income for the two brothers these days.
After that incident, Sulu had gone on a few more missions with Rhode. They hadn't run into trouble every time, and had completed them fairly smoothly.
As a result, he had earned not only a substantial income but also valuable combat experience.
"Turns out... supernatural incidents haven't been erupting all that fiercely these days. Maybe it's because we've only just seen the light of Dawn?"
Sulu wondered to himself.
The thing that had left him most speechless over the past few days was a man who claimed to be a Demon worshipper but was actually making a fortune by building a cult and swindling people.
He was a complete fraud, performing a bunch of rituals that only seemed supernatural. There wasn't the slightest sign of any supernatural power at work.
Honestly, the man was making a lot of money. Even Sulu had been sorely tempted.
After several missions, Sulu had also grown much more adept at using a Medium's abilities. He could now be considered a competent spirit medium.
"But a first-tier supernatural being's actual strength hasn't crossed a certain threshold, and each has their own specialty. A Medium, for example, is good at dealing with spirits but not at fighting other supernatural beings... A Witch Hunter's strengths are physical prowess and resistance. They can also make certain magical items, but the materials have to be related to Demons, and the items' effects are only temporary... According to Rhode, if he advances to the third tier, becoming a Demon Hunting Expert, he'll be able to use Demon materials to make magical items that last. A fourth-tier Demon Hunting Master can even have items 'custom-made' to suit his needs..."
Unfortunately, Rhode was still a long way from reaching the third tier.
Sulu knew that the higher the tier, the more terrifying the difficulty of advancing became.
For now, aside from spending every day lazing around, he was also trying to find out what had become of Kira Gales and Beatrice.
Unfortunately, he still hadn't found a thing.
He glanced toward the shop entrance and, seeing no customers, opened a notebook with a black cover and an old-fashioned design. Then he began studying Witch Hunting Knowledge.
The notebook had been left behind by the Portley ancestors during their hunts for monsters. It was very helpful for expanding one's knowledge of the occult, especially Demonology.
Sulu had turned to a fresh page:
"Cursed Spirits! A special kind of spirit... In life, they may have been good or evil, but without exception, they were watched and cursed by a special being, or underwent a qualitative change in form due to some inexplicable influence!"
"Cursed Spirits don't wander the Spirit World. Instead, they instinctively yearn for the physical world. They kill according to some kind of pattern, spreading death and terror among the living..."
"True Cursed Spirits cannot be destroyed or driven away. Their existence is suspected to be tied to the source of their influence. As long as the 'source' remains, they are truly immortal, bringing disaster to the world..."
The notes on this page came from one of Sulu's ancestors.
During the Twilight of the Gods, he had become a detective, secretly investigating the movements of dark creatures. He had written this after surviving an attack by a Cursed Spirit that had claimed many lives.
"Take note! Even if a Cursed Spirit is destroyed, it will inevitably be reborn... It can only be restrained by various means, never erased completely! I suspect this is due to the influence of a higher existence... such as a Demon!"
At the end, the ancestor had added an emphatic note. The final few letters were so hurried they had torn through the paper.
"A Cursed Spirit? Isn't that just a vengeful ghost and a curse?"
Sulu smiled, then turned the page. The handwriting had changed to someone else's: "Hamish still died! He hanged himself with a belt, exactly like the victims of the curse he'd experienced back then. He thought he'd escaped his deadly fate, but he never imagined it had only been delayed by thirteen years!"
The handwriting was neat and meticulous, yet it sent a chill creeping through Sulu from the depths of his heart.
It wasn't just the terror of vengeful ghosts and curses. The despair and madness of the Portley ancestors seemed to emerge from the notebook, which was nearly falling apart.
He glanced at the Attribute Panel and saw that his Witch Hunting Lore had already reached LV4!
"The Portley Family's entire legacy... If I don't take the Witch Hunter path, LV4 is probably the limit for Witch Hunting Lore. I've read all the notes, after all. At this point, I might know more about Demons than Rhode does..."
Sulu thought to himself, fascinated by the Cursed Spirits mentioned in the notebook.
As a Medium, dealing with all kinds of spirits was part of his professional instincts.
Of course, these eerie and terrifying Cursed Spirits were frightening, so he'd best study them while keeping himself safe.
Tap! Tap!
Hearing footsteps approach from outside, Sulu put the book away. He had just put on a professional smile when he suddenly froze.
Both newcomers were people he knew, but he'd never expected to meet them again under these circumstances!
"Sulu, I found a pretty good employee. He can read, do calculations, and prepare reports... Much brighter than the others I interviewed before. Huh?"
Rhode came in with someone. When he saw Sulu, his mouth fell open as he stared at the person he'd brought along.
"Sulu!"
The newcomer wasn't much to look at, but he excitedly stepped forward and punched Sulu. "I thought... I thought you'd gone traveling before starting your job!"
"Sean, it's great to see you again!"
Sulu's mouth twitched. He managed a strained smile, then looked at Rhode. "What's going on?"
When had university students sunk so low that they had to work at a doll shop? This wasn't the era from his previous life, when there were more college graduates than dogs.
"So you know each other?"
Rhode's stiff face showed little emotion. "He came looking for me on his own. I interviewed him at a café, thought he seemed all right, and brought him here."
"What about you?" Sulu asked Sean.
University degrees were highly valued in the White Eagle Federation at the time. At the very least, a graduate could find an ordinary clerical job at a large company. How had he ended up in this situation?
"Oh... I've had terrible luck!"
At the question, Sean looked like he was about to burst into tears. "I went to more than a dozen interviews and finally got hired at an overseas trading company, but it went bankrupt within days... It's not that I couldn't find other jobs, but I think I'm better suited to studying, so I'm planning to go back to school. I'll need to pass an exam, and I need a quiet place to study and a salary that'll keep me fed... Then I saw your older brother's help-wanted ad in the newspaper."
Before you continue