The Truth Behind Beika Town's High Crime Rate? / So I Wasn't Brought Here to Put on a Show for Everyone?

Yotsuya Miko found that acceptable too.

After all, having two days a week to say goodbye to those filthy things without constantly keeping her nerves on edge was already enough to let her catch her breath.

Besides, perhaps as the Diary's permissions continued to improve, she might one day find a way to permanently shut off her Spirit Vision?

But at that moment, Little Bocchi, who had been meekly standing to the side without daring to speak, seemed to think of something.

She hesitated for a long while. Seeing that everyone seemed to believe this was the best solution, she anxiously rubbed her hands together, as though she wanted to voice her opinion but did not dare take the initiative to speak.

Umaru, standing beside her, immediately noticed her anxious demeanor.

"What's wrong, Little Bocchi? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"

She asked with concern.

After glancing at Little Bocchi, Shinomiya Kaguya turned to Yotsuya Miko with a questioning look.

Yotsuya Miko knew she was asking whether she had seen anything around Little Bocchi, so she quickly shook her head. "No. Everyone's surroundings are pretty clean."

Meanwhile, Little Bocchi's heart was practically pounding out of her chest under everyone's gaze.

But after glancing at Yotsuya Miko beside her, she ultimately forced down her nervousness and voiced her thoughts in an almost inaudible whisper.

"Ah... um, if those things can't see the Diary, then taking it out whenever we encounter them should work, right...?"

This was a new use for the Diary she had discovered after starting high school.

Being socially anxious, she had not dared interact with anyone after arriving at a new school and new class.

Whenever someone came over to speak to her, she would take out her Diary and start flipping through it.

By taking advantage of the fact that others could not see the Diary and would rationalize the behavior of its holder while they had it in hand, she was always able to muddle through safely.

Although this method was still merely avoidance and could not solve her social anxiety at all, it was indeed effective.

That was why she immediately thought that perhaps she could use the same method to deal with those Vengeful Spirits.

It had to be said that Little Bocchi's perspective was truly novel.

After thinking it over briefly, the girls present realized that using magic to defeat magic seemed highly feasible.

After all, ever since receiving the diaries, everyone had more or less tested them by taking them out in public.

As long as they did not hold the Diary while doing something that was already attention-grabbing, they would absolutely not attract anyone's notice.

The only question was whether those Vengeful Spirits and Evil Spirits could see the Diary.

To be honest, everyone naturally trusted the miraculous Diary in their hands, which likely came from some higher-dimensional being, more than anything else.

Yotsuya Miko even rarely found herself wanting to actively approach those Vengeful Spirits and Evil Spirits to test whether Little Bocchi's guess worked.

Umaru happily patted Little Bocchi on the shoulder. "Nicely done, Little Bocchi! I didn't expect your brain to work so fast!"

The other girls also praised Little Bocchi one after another.

Having rarely been praised since childhood, Little Bocchi felt as though her whole body was about to float away. A besotted smile involuntarily appeared on her face.

The Truth Behind Beika Town's High Crime Rate?

However, Yotsuya Miko did not try it immediately.

After all, everyone was about to eat together. If she accidentally attracted another Evil Spirit to her side, no one would likely have the appetite to eat afterward.

So in the end, Yotsuya Miko merely thanked Little Bocchi and everyone with a serious expression. She even expressed her gratitude to You Know Who, who had placed the Diary in her hands.

Today, she had learned what she had missed because of the misunderstanding she had caused over the past half month. She had learned that she was the protagonist of a horror manga, joined the Diary Enthusiasts Club group chat, met a group of friends with whom she could share her bitterness and hardships, and had even found a possible solution to her problem.

"Though I don't have any special abilities besides seeing those things, if any of you need help in the future, I'll definitely do everything I can!"

Little Bocchi did not say much, but the other girls were already wondering whether they should invite Yotsuya Miko to their homes someday and have her check whether there was anything unclean there.

Though people said that what the eye did not see did not trouble the heart, now that they knew ghosts and monsters truly existed in this world, they could not help feeling unsettled without checking.

Kasumigaoka Utaha, meanwhile, began criticizing You Know Who again.

After all, it was because the words You Know Who had written in his first diary entry were so misleading that Yotsuya Miko, a girl capable of seeing strange things, had not dared open the Diary a second time until today.

"When I first flipped through the Diary and saw the things that bastard You Know Who had written, he really fooled me. I agonized for a long time over whether I should respond."

"From that moment on, I already felt that You Know Who, the one writing the diary, definitely had an awful personality. Every time he did one decent thing, he had to mess with our heads while he was at it."

The "us" Kasumigaoka Utaha referred to currently only included herself and Shinomiya Kaguya. The other Diary holders did not seem to have experienced much of You Know Who's firepower yet.

She worked across novels, manga, and anime, so she was basically dragged out and flogged every few days.

Shinomiya Kaguya was no slouch either, thanks to her desire to become a photographer and Little Kaguya's state today.

If they were being precise, Hoshino Ai could count as well. But her personality meant she felt no pressure at all. She had even regarded You Know Who as her fan because of his single line, "I've watched your videos."

As for the others, Yotsuya Miko and Katsura Kotonoha had only received well-meaning reminders, without much malicious fun involved.

As for Little Bocchi...

Thinking of that, Kasumigaoka Utaha felt a little jealous.

That doting feeling, like that of an old father, was practically overflowing!

You Know Who, do you really like this little social anxiety case that much?

Why can't you treat me like that?

After grumbling internally for a while, the Aura-aching Kasumigaoka Utaha's resentment toward You Know Who rose another level.

Although quite a few twists and turns had occurred throughout the day, it still ended on a relatively satisfying note.

The only regret was that they ultimately failed to discover where You Know Who had been watching them from.

That evening, after everyone enjoyed a lavish dinner at the Shinomiya Estate and took a group photo together at the end, the Diary Enthusiasts Club's first offline gathering came to a successful conclusion.

Of course, there was another segment afterward, but it was not suitable for too many people to take part in.

That segment was questioning the Shitamachi Godmother they had met that afternoon about the Reverse Side World.

When Shinomiya Family bodyguards discovered that the Shitamachi Godmother had dejectedly packed her bags and was preparing to return to her hometown, they brought her to the Shinomiya Estate with Shinomiya Kaguya's approval. She was now waiting in a side hall for Shinomiya Kaguya to summon her.

After everyone discussed it quietly, Yotsuya Miko, who possessed the strongest Spirit Vision, naturally stayed behind. This would also allow them to verify the truth of what the Shitamachi Godmother said.

Incidentally, worried that something might happen to socially anxious Little Bocchi, Shinomiya Kaguya specifically instructed Hayasaka Ai to personally escort Little Bocchi home.

After everyone left, Shinomiya Kaguya looked at the slightly uneasy Yotsuya Miko, reassured her a little, and only then had someone bring the Shitamachi Godmother over.

The moment the Shitamachi Godmother saw Shinomiya Kaguya and Yotsuya Miko, she promptly surrendered, saying that she could tell them everything she knew.

Her judgment had not been wrong. Shinomiya Kaguya truly was a fat sheep, and an extraordinarily enormous one at that—the kind that could effortlessly crush her to death.

After all, who would have thought that the daughter of the renowned Shinomiya Family would come to this remote shopping street on a weekend?

There was no way she could use her old smooth talk on a fat sheep of this caliber. Moreover, with Yotsuya Miko, a girl who seemingly possessed Spirit Vision, at her side, she likely could not deceive them even if she tried. She might as well come clean.

Perhaps she might even get some benefits that way.

As for the rules of the Reverse Side World?

Yotsuya Miko possessed Spirit Vision and had already stepped into this world. As for Shinomiya Kaguya... the Shitamachi Godmother could sense life energy far more vigorous than that of ordinary people from her. With only a little guidance, Shinomiya Kaguya could probably become a proper Exorcist.

Besides, a conglomerate on the level of the Shinomiya Family had surely heard of such matters. Otherwise, this young lady would not have so confidently brought her to her own home.

Thus, the Shitamachi Godmother quickly made her decision and began explaining the truths of this world as she knew them to the two girls.

Regarding ghosts and Spirit Vision, what the Shitamachi Godmother said was no different from what You Know Who had mentioned in the diary.

Those with Spirit Vision could see, hear, and sense the existence of ghosts. The stronger a person's Spirit Vision was, the more they could see.

For example, regarding the Evil Spirit that had appeared beside Yotsuya Miko that afternoon, Yotsuya Miko could clearly see its appearance, hear its voice, and smell the foul stench emanating from it.

The Shitamachi Godmother, on the other hand, could only barely see a shadowy mass and could sense nothing else.

Of course, the Shitamachi Godmother claimed that she was old and her Spiritual Power had declined severely, leaving her with less than thirty percent of what she possessed in her prime.

But after seeing Shinomiya Kaguya's gaze, which seemed capable of seeing through people's hearts, she could only honestly tell the truth.

Even in her prime, she could only barely be considered a second-rate Exorcist.

Both the master who had introduced her to the profession and an apprentice she had later taken in possessed far greater talent than she did.

At this point, the Shitamachi Godmother shook her head helplessly. "With my strength, even if my Spiritual Power had declined, it would still have been enough in the past."

"But for some reason, this world began changing more than a decade ago."

"High-level Vengeful Spirits that you might not encounter even once in several years started appearing one after another during these years. Especially around Beika Town, which has practically become a gathering place for high-level Vengeful Spirits. Even if ordinary people cannot come into contact with them, those high-level Vengeful Spirits still affect people's minds to some extent, causing the crime rate there to rise more and more over the past decade."

"Yet the people at Sorcery Headquarters use the excuse that those Vengeful Spirits are stable and will not actively attack people, so they have no intention of dealing with the trouble at all. At this rate, Beika Town might even breed a special-grade Vengeful Spirit in a few more years."

So I Wasn't Dragged Here to Entertain Everyone?

The Shitamachi Godmother had suddenly revealed something incredible.

"Beika Town? I remember that You Know Who, the one writing the diary, said in it that we should stay away from Beika Town whenever possible. So it turns out it's a gathering place for Vengeful Spirits?" Yotsuya Miko softly remarked to Shinomiya Kaguya beside her.

She had read the diary that afternoon, so the content within it remained deeply etched in her mind.

You Know Who had said that it was where the protagonist of a detective manga serialized for decades lived, which was why all sorts of bizarre murder cases kept occurring there.

Who would have thought those Vengeful Spirits were influencing things too?

Yotsuya Miko immediately patted her chest. According to the Shitamachi Godmother, that place was practically becoming a gathering ground for Vengeful Spirits. Just thinking about it felt terrifying.

Fortunately, she had not gone there these past few days.

Shinomiya Kaguya, however, was more concerned about something else.

What exactly was this Sorcery Headquarters?

The Shitamachi Godmother soon explained it to the two girls.

Exorcists like them were basically self-taught, without any proper sect or lineage. They had few methods of exorcising evil; aside from using Spiritual Power to forcibly resist it, they could only figure things out on their own.

Sorcerers, meanwhile, were what those Exorcists with long-standing inheritances and mastery over various sorcery techniques called themselves.

However, when she mentioned this, the Shitamachi Godmother paused before adding, "Though if we're being particular, the power Sorcerers use really is somewhat different from the Spiritual Power possessed by Exorcists like us. That's why they call their power 'Cursed Energy,' and they look down on Exorcists like us."

Sorcery Headquarters was an official organization established by the great Sorcerer families. It was one of the agencies responsible for managing and monitoring supernatural incidents throughout Japan. Because the number of Vengeful Spirits had sharply increased over the past decade or so, the organization had also grown considerably.

Of course, there were currently fewer than a thousand people in all of Japan who could be called Exorcists, let alone elite Sorcerers.

Even if Sorcery Headquarters wanted to expand on a large scale, it had to consider its manpower shortage.

As for the Shitamachi Godmother, although she had lived fairly comfortably as a second-rate Exorcist in the past, an incident more than a decade ago had robbed her of her former ambitions. Later, as her Spiritual Power declined, she could only settle down in a small shop on the shopping street.

Most of the time, she deceived people. Occasionally, she would show kindness and help those who truly needed it. In short, she stayed out of troublesome matters.

As for Sorcery Headquarters, she had mostly learned about it from people she had known in the past.

"I originally thought that the ritual tool I made in my prime could at least drive away the Evil Spirits and protect you from their influence for a short time, even if it could no longer exorcise them," the Shitamachi Godmother said with a sigh as she looked at Yotsuya Miko.

"But times have changed too quickly. At this rate, the chaotic era from a thousand years ago, when humans danced alongside a hundred demons, may return. An old bone like me, who can no longer keep up with the times, should head back to my hometown and farm while I still can."

As the Shitamachi Godmother laid out everything she knew and all her guesses, Shinomiya Kaguya had already taken out her Diary and begun recording it.

The ghost and monster legends passed down throughout human history were not entirely false.

It was simply that the closer things came to modern times, the more those ghosts and monsters had faded away.

In the Shitamachi Godmother's era, even a second-rate Exorcist could make a name for herself.