Chapter 4: Resolving a Favor
They were shown into a spacious, neatly organized apartment.
Inside, the first thing that caught Haikawa’s eye was a high-end computer setup and an impressive collection of peripherals.
There was a webcam, a headset, and what looked like a very expensive microphone.
Around the desk were various Happy Relay merchandise items and the latest gaming consoles, all arranged for easy access.
What stood out the most, however, was the sheer amount of Kitagawa Minami merchandise.
Happy Relay heavily promoted character goods, so there were all kinds of products available.
“For now, hello.”
“Can I call you Kitagawa-san?”
“I’m Haikawa.”
“H-Hello…”
“D-Do you do…”
She was clearly intimidated by him.
Still, that was a fairly normal reaction for a teenage girl meeting an older man for the first time.
“So, Kitagawa-san, I hear you’ve been having a rough time.”
“Things moving on their own and all that?”
“…!”
“Y-Yes…”
“That’s right…!”
“I was told you’d be able to do something about it…”
Kitagawa Minami looked ready to burst into tears.
She was clearly under a lot of stress.
After that, Haikawa asked several questions and gathered information about her situation.
Knocking sounds came from the walls at all hours of the day and night.
Objects left on her desk fell over without being touched.
Doors opened by themselves.
She had even stayed at a hotel because she was too scared to remain in her apartment, but the same phenomena occurred there as well.
For someone living alone, it was certainly terrifying.
Of course, there was always the possibility that it was all a misunderstanding.
But Haikawa could definitely sense something unpleasant surrounding Minami.
“Haikawa-san can solve this easily, right?”
“You’re a psychic, after all.”
The one saying that was Eris.
After he had helped her, she’d developed a strong sense of trust in him.
“Well, from what you’ve described, it sounds like a classic poltergeist case.”
“Though I don’t know what’s causing it.”
“The cause…?”
“I don’t know either…”
Apparently Minami had no clue.
All she could tell him was that she was scared.
They continued talking.
They searched the apartment.
They checked various places.
But they found nothing.
Since Minami still hadn’t fully opened up to a stranger she’d only just met, time simply slipped by without accomplishing anything.
By six in the evening, there had been no progress.
Nothing had happened.
The conversation had drifted aimlessly from topic to topic.
“Um…”
“Haikawa-san.”
“Do you feel anything in this room…?”
“Do you think it’s a ghost…?”
“I don’t feel anything.”
“Maybe it’s all in your imagination after all.”
“…!”
“There’s no way that’s true!”
“I’ve been dealing with terrifying things for days…!”
Minami spoke with as much force as she could muster.
“Let’s wait a little longer.”
“I can’t stay too late since this is a young girl’s apartment.”
“But it’s still early enough for Gyudon-chan—”
“No, Eris-chan—to stick around, right?”
“Of course.”
“I want this solved so we can stream together again.”
“Thank you…”
“Eris-chan…”
“By the way, what’s with this Gyudon-chan thing?”
“Oh.”
“Since people might recognize me as Mitsuhashi Eris outside, we decided to use the name from my alternate account.”
“An alternate account?”
“Then why does Haikawa-san know the name of Eris-chan’s secret account?”
“I thought that was supposed to be private.”
At that point, they explained everything that had happened.
The phone call.
The stream.
Everything.
Minami immediately leaned forward with interest.
“Haikawa-san is a streamer too!?”
“That’s surprising.”
“What kind of streams does a psychic even do?”
“I don’t advertise myself as a psychic.”
“I mostly do gaming streams and chatting.”
“Then you’re just like me and Eris-chan.”
“Even though the situation isn’t great, this is the first time I’ve met a streamer outside Happy Relay.”
“I’m really happy.”
“Minami finally smiled!”
“You seem a little better now.”
A bright smile finally appeared on Minami’s face.
Haikawa felt like she’d finally relaxed around him.
“Haikawa-san…”
“Ah…”
“Huh?”
“What is this…?”
“…”
All three of them sensed it at the same time.
The lights were still on.
Yet the room suddenly seemed darker.
The air conditioner was running.
Yet the room felt cold.
A disturbing, ominous sensation abruptly filled the apartment.
“You two stay quiet.”
“Don’t move from where you’re sitting.”
“O-Okay…”
“Haikawa-san…”
“I’m seriously counting on you…!”
He focused his senses.
An unpleasant presence seeped from every corner of the room.
The feeling was familiar.
“This is a curse.”
“Kitagawa-san, someone’s cursed you.”
“…What?”
“No way!”
“Minami isn’t the type of person anyone would hate!”
“I know that.”
“But this is loaded with malice.”
“Can you think of anyone who might resent you?”
“Anyone you’ve upset in the past?”
Just as he was about to continue—
BANG!
A door that appeared to lead to the bedroom flew open violently.
At the same time, dishes inside a kitchen cabinet rattled loudly.
Then, as the final blow, the sound of a toilet flushing echoed from a bathroom nobody was using.
“This happens every day!”
“Please, Haikawa-san!”
“Help me!”
Both Eris and Minami were halfway into panic mode.
Even for Haikawa, it had been a long time since he’d witnessed such obvious paranormal activity.
However, after observing the phenomena, he had a good idea what was causing the curse.
“Wait a second.”
“The purification ritual I’m about to perform is… a little unconventional.”
“So try not to be too disappointed.”
“You’re going to perform an exorcism!?”
“Then hurry up, Haikawa-san!”
Haikawa pulled out his smartphone.
He opened a video site.
Then he searched for a Buddhist sutra chanting video.
Turning the volume to maximum, he pressed play.
“…Huh?”
“It stopped?”
“You’re right!”
That alone ended every phenomenon.
The rattling objects stopped moving.
The toilet stopped running.
The apartment fell silent.
“There.”
“Problem solved.”
“Wait, Haikawa-san?”
“Seriously!?”
“That’s it!?”
“It’s a curse, right!?”
“Did you really solve it with that!?”
Eris practically shouted.
Meanwhile, Haikawa calmly began explaining.
“I found a recording of a highly virtuous monk reciting sutras really well on Your-Tube.”
“So I borrowed it.”
“That’s not what I mean!”
“Did that really solve it!?”
“Really!?”
“It solved it.”
“That curse was incredibly weak.”
“Honestly, Eris-chan’s situation was harder.”
“Back then you couldn’t even access the internet.”
From Haikawa’s perspective, the moment the sutra started playing, the curse surrounding Minami had completely dispersed.
Poltergeist phenomena were certainly frightening.
But they rarely caused direct harm.
Whoever had cast the curse had likely done their best.
This was simply the limit of their ability.
“I think it was either an anti-fan or someone jealous of Minami-chan.”
“They either used the wrong method or cast a weak curse unconsciously.”
“If it had been a proper curse, things could’ve gotten dangerous.”
“An anti-fan…?”
“Did I say something that made people hate me…?”
“I don’t know.”
“But it’s probably not worth worrying about.”
“It might’ve been something someone projected unconsciously.”
He tried to reassure her.
Minami’s streams were known for their gentle and comforting atmosphere.
But not everyone liked that sort of thing.
It was also possible that someone who viewed her as a rival had done it.
“Haikawa-san…”
“Um…”
“Is it really over now…?”
“When I think of exorcisms and purification rituals, I imagine altars and chants and all kinds of elaborate things…”
“That deserves a little explanation too.”
“Put simply, just like society changes, the world of spiritual abilities changes as well.”
The world today was completely different from what it had been in the past.
Smartphones and computers were everywhere.
Thirty years ago, few people could’ve imagined such a world.
Nowadays people cooked with induction stoves instead of fire.
Electric vehicles were increasingly common.
Even cigarettes, once considered lucky and socially accepted, were now treated like public enemies.
“When people think of exorcisms, they imagine priests or monks in traditional clothing shouting loudly while performing elaborate rituals.”
“But that’s mostly because of old ghost shows and movies.”
“Really…?”
“That’s kind of surprising…”
“Honestly, a lot of modern monks don’t seem to truly believe in gods or Buddhas themselves.”
“They get married.”
“They have children.”
“They eat meat and fish.”
“Some even squeeze money out of families through posthumous names, then drive luxury cars and spend nights at hostess clubs.”
“How much value do you think their sutras have?”
“That sounded really personal!”
There were, of course, differences depending on sects and teachings.
Some traditions emphasized relying on divine power.
Others emphasized personal effort.
But it was true that many religious figures lacked virtue.
Religion changed with the times.
The same was true for spiritual matters.
“Nowadays even Buddhism and Shinto use the internet.”
“You’ve got online funerals.”
“Remote purification services.”
“They even sell water that’s supposedly capable of exorcising spirits.”
“No idea whether it works, though.”
The times had changed.
VTubers didn’t even exist not that long ago.
Yet now they were completely normal.
Naturally, the occult world had changed too.
Religious practices involving the internet and electronic devices were becoming increasingly common.
“When you put it that way…”
“I guess that makes sense…”
“But somehow it still feels wrong.”
“The weird phenomena stopped because of an online sutra, didn’t they?”
“Like I told you before, you’re overthinking it.”
“Nobody really understands these things.”
“So the only option is to try different methods.”
He knew they wouldn’t fully understand.
Ideas deeply rooted in people’s minds didn’t change easily.
“It’s not like I can’t perform a traditional exorcism.”
“It just wasn’t necessary this time.”
“I see…”
“Well… okay then.”
His explanation had been rather sloppy.
Yet somehow there was one person who seemed deeply moved by it.
“Amazing…!”
“Haikawa-san!”
“You’re really incredible!”
“Eh?”
“Eh?”
The normally quiet Kitagawa Minami suddenly burst out.
She looked ready to cry tears of admiration while showering Haikawa with praise.