Starting a Night Shift Part-time Job at a Convenience Store.

Noione could share an understanding, nor anyone who would even try to understand. Evenihis family denied him, dismissing his words as creepy, attributing his lonesome childhood to the sudden awakening of hisipowers.

“It’s ratheritough not to be believed, isn’t it…”

“Of course… but itiwas even more difficult for me when I was a kid. I got adjusted to being able to see specters, even if I didn’t like it, and eventually grew unconcerned about it. But being called a liar… no matter howimany times I was told that, I justicouldn’t get used to it.”

“Iisee…”Translator: MadHatter

“It wasn’t entirely unpleasant, though. EveniI made friends. Forithe first time, people believed me and didn’t accuse me of being a liar… I was incredibly happy, and having even just one person believe iniyou isia real lifesaver.”

Smiling, Yakumo lookedigenuinely happy as he responded.

“That’siwhy… I wantedito use this power to drive away the wicked, to save those who believed in me, and that’s why I’m doing this.”

“You’reian outstanding guy.”

“Hmm? Aboutiwhat?”

“Because, usually, wheniyou suddenly start seeing things like that in your life, staying positive like that is unlikely, you’re amazing. I… can’t tolerate that kind of thing foridecades.”

Thereiwas no way I was going to get used to it, and I didn’t want to be stuck with that power for the restiof my life.

“In the beginning, I thoughtithe same thing.”

“It’s fineito laugh because at my age, I still freak out like a littleikid.”

“Iiwon’t laugh. Nobodyican accept it at first. Butirest assured, thatipower doesn’t stay with you forever, itican abruptly vanish one day, or gradually you become unable to seeiit.”

Wasithat true?

“Iidon’t know about the conditions, but Iido know of a precedent.”

“If possible, itiwould be preferable if this power would disappear sooner ratherithan later…

“Haha, well, not while workingihere, I guess.”

“…You’reiright.”

EveniYakumo, who had been viewing specters and other apparitions since elementary school, stepped into a haunted place voluntarily with a calm and composed attitude.

Even if thatipower didn’t disappear, at worst, I might have a chance of familiarizing myself with it. No, but I wouldn’t want to get used toiit.

Atithis point, Yakumo unexpectedly paused again. What was it this time?

Theisudden halt made me pass through him.

“Whyidid you stop…”Not shared on aggregator sites

When I turnediaround and said so… I noticed that Yakumo, who had been speaking fluently up until now, was behaving oddly. The guy who hadibeen laughing hysterically and moving forward was so red in the face as if he had been coated with paint from the top of his head. Withieyes wide open, he was frozen in place like a sculpture.

The exact same miserableistate he was in when he first showed up.

“Yakumo…!?”

What in theiworld…

“Close…”

“What!?”

Redidripped from his eyes and mouth as he uttered the brief words, and I raised my voice in astonishment. Close…? What did he mean… 

“Theiplace where I collapsed… right, I recall it, I―”

Beforeihis next words could be delivered, something compelled him to clutch his head and complain of acute pain.

“W-Whatihappened! Hey!”

“It’sithe severe pain from that time. Probably… because the place is so close to…! Ouch…!!”

His formiwent sharply blurred in that instant, and somehow, the transparency worsened. I couldn’t find the appropriate words to describe it, but it seemed as if the entirety of theiguy I was seeing was fading away slightly.

“Hey, getia grip…!”

ThoughiI had assumed that specters could not perceive pain, Yakumoiin front of me was trembling withipain and drawing heavy breaths.

“Thisiis bad…”

“What? What’sibad?” 

“Iithink the time limit is about to be over.”

“Time limit… that’s.”

“Yeah, myimain body’s pretty much at its limit, and my astral body… is starting to get absorbed into this spiritual magnetic field.”

“What’sithat?”

“All thoseiwho perish here are bound by shackles that prohibit them from attaining Buddhahood. That’s why staying here is… if I’m going to die here, so will I… It seems like I’m on the verge of perishing right now… this is really the mummy hunter himself becomes a mummy…”

“Don’t be so feeble… can’t you do something about it!”

“Theisolution is to return to my body at once… But it’s not good. The magnetic field is too powerful, and it is dragging me down. At this rate, I will be turned into an evil spirit…”

Hey, wasn’t that a rather unsavory development? “Perhaps so,” replied Yakumo. Contrary to his carefree words, Yakumo looked as if he was desperately resisting.

“Once that happens, I’ll lose my ego, and I won’t be able to return you to where you belong.”

“Don’t worry about others at a time like this! ―Hey!”

Before long, Yakumo suffered to the point where it was unbearable to watch him, and his voice was so agonized that he had to forcefully contain his screams.

What should I do, what was I supposed to do? Having relieved my fears, Yakumo’s abnormal situation drove me to lose my composure once again. That was when it happened.

The timing was unfavorable, and unpleasant things kept arising in rapid succession. The air surrounding me felt noticeably frigid. An unnatural gust of wind swept through from behind, sending a rustle through the entire forest.

Yakumo dropped to one knee on the ground and muttered abhorrently, “This is bad. Don’t come.”

He stared into the darkness beyond the trees, seemingly ready to disappear at any moment. He looked as if he was threatening toward something.

“Sonny… do me a favor. Get away from here, right now.”

You were telling me to escape…!

“No time to explain… something awfully nasty thing is about to come. Don’t look directly at that.”

“Awfully nasty… isn’t that not good?”

“That’s the cause that I became like this. That thing is nothing compared to the small fry around here. It’s an existence born from a conglomeration of resentment, envy, wrath, and filthy human emotions that have congregated in this place, the source of the chain of events that drags many humans down with it, the genesis of all evil. An ordinary person living in the world would be psychologically afflicted if they saw that. Even a talisman is unlikely to help in stopping this exceptionally hazardous existence, so I’ll do something to stop it. That’s why…!”

Go quickly, he repeated. 

“Sonny, there should be a black van up ahead, search for it and yell with all your might, and I’ll be right there…!”

“You!”

“No time to hesitate! Get moving…!”

At the yell, I was at a loss as I observed the suffering Yakumo, but I knew that if I stayed here any longer, the situation would turn out to be truly unpalatable, so I turned around several times and left the place, leaving Yakumo kneeling on the ground, motionless. I rushed along the trailless path with utmost effort. Things would seriously be a disaster unless I somehow manage to locate the main body of that guy right now. That sense of crisis was the only signal that was directing all the functions of my being.

I depended only on the flashlight of the light which was not reliable. I didn’t even have time to wipe the sweat off my face. Should I stop, I was sure I would cower in fear and never be able to run again. Several times the deceased, who seemed to have passed away here, flashed into view, but I passed them by screaming and clutching the talisman in the pocket of my hoodie.

A woman swayed with the branches and eyes wide open. A man tumbling to the ground, wearing a thin smile. A man and woman sitting side by side at the base of a tree, hands clasped together, streaming blood profusely from their mouths and with half their tongues shredded. An elderly man, with half of his head missing, was flung onto a boulder.

How many dead people did I witness in this place―As I ran, my eyes welled up with tears.

Why did I end up in a place like this? Gradually, a sense of helplessness washed over me.

What was I doing? Regret bubbled up within me. Indeed, I had agreed to be here. I went to this place because it was sickening to see people die, even if they were strangers. Initially, I thought, “Give me a break,” but if I didn’t cooperate, I would undoubtedly feel terrible later on, so I lent a hand to Yakumo for the self-centered reason of wanting to make things easier on myself. It wasn’t because I wanted to save people. All because I didn’t want to regret anything. Because I didn’t want to create obstacles in my life.

But, but, but, but…

These choices made in a momentary rush of tension shouldn’t be made easily. In this world, there existed a convenient phrase, “the right man for the right job”.

At this time, I once again thought to myself.

The couple who would mindlessly venture to a haunted place was foolish. And that I was an even greater fool for running around in the sea of trees with tears in my eyes, screaming at the top of my lungs, despite having chosen to do so myself.

The pit of my stomach churned and the back of my throat shot up. Not even I could tell where I was running to anymore. The vinyl string that served as my lifeline had somehow snapped, and it was flopping around on the edge of my bag.

There was no going back. All I could do was keep moving forward. Regardless of whether my face grazed by the grass or hit a branch, I ran forward as if I were struggling. It was so hilarious that I felt like a wild boar running forward.

In the midst of my desperation, I tumbled to the ground drastically, my feet caught in the thick roots of the tree without being aware of what was below me.

A stone bare from the ground struck my head and sent me to the muddy soil. With an increasingly hollow feeling of hopelessness, I held my lightly bleeding head and feebly lifted myself up.

The moment I looked up, calmness flooded through me. The atmosphere of the place was different from before…

As usual, the branches and leaves were clamoring overhead, and I couldn’t even see the night sky, but before I knew it, I found myself in a slightly more open area. The trees were not so dense, but instead, the large trees were all around me, and it was a vast place.

My face, knees, and everywhere else were sore from my rough fall, but I could still manage to move.

Grabbing my flashlight and picking it up, I vigilantly illuminated the area.

It was a hundred times more terrifying than any horror movie out there. The occasional wind blowing incongruously from behind me nearly stopped my heart several times. The light reflected something, and I immediately jumped up at that, but I knew what it was right away.

A car… a car was there…

A dirty one-box type light car, which looked like it had crashed from a very high place, its structure almost disintegrated, covered with dirt and dust. The window glass was heavily cracked and I couldn’t see well into the car… It was quite unpleasant to view a scrappy car in a place like this.

It was unbelievable that someone had abandoned the car. Why did this thing end up in a place like this?

I mean, wait… This was… It was a black van…

My face twitched as I gazed at it. Yakumo had told me to search for a black van.

Then, could it be… this one here…

Frightened, I searched around the van, lighting up the area, and looking for the shape of a person. This time I went around the back of the van, impatiently, and reached for the light.

My heart shrieked louder than ever.

I found it…

It was literally under a large tree that had been charred and left a trail of rough fall. A person wearing a red sleeveless parka, long hair disheveled on the ground, in a prone position.

“Hey―”

A bright red spiked bat rolled near the arm that had been thrown out of the way.

Yakumo’s two eyes were closed and his face was smeared with mud and blood from the preceding day’s rain, so I slid over to him and called out to him. I repeatedly shook his body.

“Hey…! Hey! Caniyou hear me! Hang on!”

Evenithough I called out, he didn’t even twitch. My whole body went into a state of fear.

H-He…idied…

At the conclusion of a chaotic process, I endeavored to keep my thoughts from becoming disorganized and exploding. Right, breath, I hadito ensure he was breathing.

I hurriedlyiput my hand over his mouth.

“…”wewrw3rg

Hey. This…

Heiwas… not.. breathing…