Chapter 8: The Game Software

Several minutes later, Kanami finally calmed down enough to stop laughing, and Ichino spoke to her.

“Kanami-chan, are you okay now?”

“Y-Yes…!”

“Haikawa-san, I’m sorry…!”

“Please forgive me…!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.”

“If you laugh yourself to death, I’ll help you pass on.”

“Ngh…!”

“A self-serving psychic…!”

“That’s the worst…!”

“Ahahaha—!”

Cough, cough!

Kanami laughed at every single thing Haikawa said.

Even though he was only making light jokes, they somehow struck her funny bone so hard that they couldn’t make any progress.

Eventually, Haikawa decided to force the conversation forward.

“Anyway, your problem is that you’re scared of ghosts, right?”

“!?”

“H-How did you know!?”

“Because if you’re consulting a psychic, that’s usually the reason.”

Apparently, Kanami possessed exceptional talent in the entertainment field.

But Haikawa got the impression that she wasn’t particularly quick-witted.

A psychic asking, “Are you troubled by spirits?” was the same as a fishmonger asking, “Are you here about fish?”

Failing to immediately understand that, even as an elementary school student, suggested her thought process was a little slow.

“Kanami-chan, you’re studying all sorts of things at Happy Relay to become a streamer, right?”

“Does that include playing games and watching movies or anime?”

“Yeah.”

“Actually…”

“I started having scary dreams after we did some horror game lessons…”

“And there was this game called Ghost Story III that was especially scary…”

He listened as she explained in detail.

Originally, Kanami wasn’t the type of child who spent much time watching anime or playing games.

Even when she watched movies, they were usually children’s films.

But after joining Happy Relay, she was told that streamers and VTubers were expected to play games.

She was also told it would be good to have at least basic knowledge of movies, anime, and other forms of pop culture.

So the agency had her try various games and films.

Among them were some mildly scary titles with no age restrictions.

One particular horror game had caused problems.

The story involved a ghost emerging from a mirror inside a girl’s house every night.

The player had to solve the mystery behind it.

It had frightened Kanami so badly that she gave up halfway through.

Unfortunately, it perfectly matched her personal fear triggers.

After seeing it, she became unable to sleep and eventually suffered from sleep deprivation.

“So basically…”

“You played a horror game.”

“It scared you.”

“And then you couldn’t sleep.”

“That’s a pretty common story.”

“S-So that’s all it was…”

“Ahaha…”

Kanami had simply gone through the same experience many people did.

It was Ichino who had exaggerated things into a ghost incident.

While Haikawa had correctly guessed that ghosts were involved in her fear, there had never actually been a ghost.

“Now let me say something serious.”

“This entire sequence of events is exactly how ghost stories are born.”

“What do you mean?”

“It means rumors grow tails.”

“In other words, stories become exaggerated every time they’re passed along.”

For example:

You pass someone on a dark road.

Then it becomes:

You passed a strange person on a dark road.

Then it becomes:

You passed a ghost at the dead of night.

Stories lost accuracy every time they changed hands.

In this case, the process had happened with only two people.

Kanami and Ichino.

According to Haikawa, Kanami’s childish way of explaining things and Ichino’s misunderstanding had combined to create the confusion.

“There’s also a big difference between modern horror and old horror.”

“Even horror aimed at children used to be merciless.”

“And Ghost Story is a pretty old game.”

“Really?”

“I wasn’t paying much attention, so I wouldn’t know.”

Old horror television programs and scary dramas were often genuinely terrifying.

Some were even created by directors who later became top-tier filmmakers.

Many children ended up traumatized.

Modern horror tended to be much milder.

Concerns about ethics and the psychological effects on children had softened things considerably.

That might be better educationally.

But horror fans often found it lacking.

Games now had age restrictions as well.

Children couldn’t easily access excessively frightening content.

That wasn’t necessarily true in the past.

“I think you just have a very powerful imagination, Kanami-chan.”

“Probably the same type as Ichino.”

“People like that tend to imagine things in greater detail, so scary stories become even scarier.”

“Is… that true…?”

“I have a strong imagination…?”

Perhaps that very imagination was what had attracted Happy Relay’s attention in the first place.

“So don’t worry.”

“You aren’t haunted.”

“There aren’t any ghosts attached to you.”

“You don’t need to be afraid.”

“Oh, and take this.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a pretty stone.”

“It’s what’s commonly called a power stone.”

“A quartz crystal.”

“It has been used around the world as a protective charm for ages.”

The stone Haikawa handed her was a cheap quartz crystal inside a small drawstring pouch.

It was worth only a few hundred yen.

“If you carry that around, weak spirits won’t come near you.”

“And just to be safe, I’ll perform a cleansing.”

“Eh!?”

“Haikawa-san, you can actually do that!?”

“I want to see!”

Haikawa brought both hands together in front of his chest.

While controlling his breathing, he rapidly changed the positions of his fingers and palms, forming a series of hand seals within seconds.

The other three immediately realized this wasn’t amateur imitation.

The atmosphere around him felt different.

It was as though air was gathering around him.

As though heat itself was concentrating nearby.

Hand seals were a simple ritual used to ward off evil and repel negative influences.

Haikawa had practiced them since childhood.

The technique involved complicated breathing methods and manipulation of spiritual energy.

And his mastery of it was genuine.

“Hah…!”

“Hyuuh…!”

“There.”

“Finished.”

“You feel warmer now, don’t you?”

“Y-Yes…!”

“I feel…”

“Like I have a lot more energy.”

“And like I’m not scared of ghosts anymore!”

“That’s good.”

“Turn the crystal into a phone charm or something.”

“Keep it with you for a while.”

“Thank you very much, Haikawa-san!”

“I doubted you at first, but you’re the real thing!”

“That’s a bit rude.”

“Though honestly, that’s the normal reaction.”

For now, Haikawa judged that Kanami’s nightmare problem, caused by her fearfulness, had been resolved.

After that, they spent some time chatting casually.

“I should get back to my lessons now.”

“Thank you for everything today.”

“Ichino-oneesan.”

“Fumina-oneesan.”

“Haikawa-onii-san!”

“Take care, Kanami-chan.”

“If anything happens, leave it to Ichino-oneesan!”

“I’m always happy to listen too, Kanami-chan.”

“Good luck, kid.”

The gathering came to an end as everyone exchanged farewells.

Just before leaving, Kanami energetically called out:

“I’ll watch Haikawa-onii-san’s streams too!”

After that, all that remained was to go home.

However, once Kanami was completely out of sight, Haikawa stopped the other two.

“Hey…”

“If you ever see a game called Ghost Story III at the office…”

“Don’t play it.”

“Eh?”

Haikawa’s expression was completely serious.

Ichino and Fumina had already relaxed, so his warning caught them off guard.

“What’s wrong, Haikawa-san?”

“You said everything was just a misunderstanding.”

“Does that game have some kind of history behind it?”

“If you’re warning us, I absolutely won’t touch it.”

There was something Haikawa hadn’t told Kanami.

He had deliberately kept it from her so she wouldn’t become even more frightened.

“The Ghost Story series never got a sequel after the first game.”

“The company disappeared after its president went missing.”

“!?”

Haikawa might have been a psychic, but he was also a horror fan.

He had played Ghost Story years ago.

However, he had never heard of a third installment.

To be certain, he had searched for it on his phone while in the café restroom.

Nothing came up.

Not even fan-made games with the same title.

“Kanami didn’t seem like she was lying.”

“I think she experienced a genuine supernatural phenomenon.”

“When I examined her spiritually, she was cursed.”

“Whaaat!?”

“Then what’s going to happen to Kanami-chan!?”

“I already removed it.”

“I told you positive curse techniques are my specialty.”

“Just to be safe, I also placed a protective curse on the crystal.”

“And I infused her with protective energy through those hand seals.”

Haikawa’s abilities were genuine.

Kanami’s curse had already been removed.

Ordinary supernatural influences wouldn’t affect her anymore.

“Then how did that game end up with Kanami!?”

“Why does a game that doesn’t exist even exist!?”

“And is it really cursed!?”

“I don’t know.”

“If I knew the cause, it wouldn’t be a supernatural phenomenon.”

Even when paranormal incidents occurred, uncovering the truth was often extremely difficult.

Psychics weren’t investigators.

Nor were they detectives.

Discovering the root cause of mysterious events was difficult regardless of whether they involved spirits.

Finding the game itself might reveal something.

But if it was somewhere inside Happy Relay’s offices, there was nothing Haikawa could do.

Having the girls bring it to him would also expose them to unnecessary risk.

Besides, in situations like these, the object often disappeared before anyone could find it later.

“This time, conversation and a few techniques solved the problem.”

“So it’s probably fine.”

“‘Probably’…?”

“Are you really okay with that, Haikawa-san?”

“Whether I’m okay with it or not doesn’t matter.”

“Anything beyond this would require a proper ritual.”

“And conversation and techniques are already forms of sorcery.”

“I understand the techniques part.”

“But conversation is sorcery too?”

Conversation could dramatically influence people.

It could encourage them.

Depress them.

Teach them knowledge.

Guide their thoughts.

Shape their beliefs.

And much more.

Encouraging someone who was depressed could improve their mood.

Harsh words could make them feel worse.

Correct information could help them.

False information could lead them astray.

Truth.

Lies.

Carefully chosen words.

Implanted ideas.

Biases.

Using such tools to alter someone’s thinking for your own purposes was, according to the Haikawa family’s philosophy, also a form of sorcery.

The family believed that curses and spiritual influences had less effect on people who were healthy, energetic, and mentally resilient.

That was why Haikawa had spoken to Kanami the way he did.

Unfortunately, the Haikawa family tended to be impulsive.

Very few members were skilled at conversational sorcery.

Haikawa himself was somewhat competent.

But intelligent people often out-argued him, and stubborn people frequently ignored him.

“There are actually lots of paranormal events in the world.”

“Most people never notice them.”

“The best defense is simply not caring.”

“I see…”

“That’s a little scary.”

If Kanami hadn’t become frightened of the game, perhaps it would never have affected her mentally in the first place.

That was only speculation, however.

As far as Haikawa was concerned, the matter was settled.

“This ending doesn’t feel very satisfying…”

“I hope Kanami-chan will really be okay…”

“Just so we’re clear.”

“When a member of the Haikawa family says they’ve applied a positive curse, even shoguns used to feel completely safe.”

“You didn’t do any of that for me!”

“That’s unfair!”

“I used conversational sorcery on you.”

“And the Buddhist chanting from my phone was enough for Fumina.”

“Explanation over.”

“If you have complaints, go hire another psychic.”

“I’m convinced.”

“Haikawa-san truly is an amazing person!”

Feeling that any further explanation would only drag things out, Haikawa forcibly ended the discussion.

Without authority, resources, or investigative networks, this was the best he could do.

Still, one thing bothered him.

Strange incidents kept happening to people connected to Happy Relay.

There might be a common cause.

But discovering it wouldn’t be easy.

Afterward, the three of them headed home.

Haikawa returned to his run-down apartment.

Exhausted, he lay down intending to rest for a little while.

Instead, he slept straight through until evening.

After waking up, he turned on his computer and opened a video site.

Minami happened to be streaming.

Apparently Eris was taking the day off after several consecutive days of streaming.

Minami, on the other hand, had missed some broadcasts due to her recent troubles and needed to make up for them.

Perhaps her contract required a minimum number of streams per month.

Or perhaps she simply couldn’t afford to lose viewers.

“If you stop streaming, fans leave.”

“Tonight, I’ll be answering questions sent in by everyone.”

“First, we have a question from Marupin-san.”

It appeared to be a chatting stream.

She was casually talking with viewers and answering questions submitted through a question box.

This format was one of Kitagawa Minami’s most popular styles.

Her gentle personality appealed to viewers.

At times, she’d even respond coldly to bizarre questions, creating comedic moments.

[Minami-chan, are you feeling okay now? We were worried.]

“Thank you very much.”

“I’m fully recovered now.”

“And thank you for worrying about me.”

[Congratulations on your return! We’ll keep watching!]

“It really wasn’t long enough to call it a return.”

“But thank you very much.”

The atmosphere was largely one of celebration for her comeback.

As Haikawa watched, he found himself thinking.

Why was Shirayuri Fumina—Kitagawa Minami—so attached to him?

He had helped her when she was in trouble.

But was that really enough to earn such affection?

He wasn’t particularly handsome.

He wasn’t wealthy.

He didn’t have influence or power.

“I guess I’ll have to ask her someday.”

“Assuming we even meet again.”

If another opportunity came along, he’d bring it up casually.

For now, he decided not to think about it.

He continued watching Minami’s stream.

To be completely honest, though, her content felt a little boring to him.

It was kind.

Gentle.

The viewers were well-behaved.

It was relaxing and occasionally funny.

He understood why it was popular.

It just wasn’t quite his style.

Still, it felt like exactly the kind of stream someone would want after a tiring day.

Students and working adults alike were exhausted in modern society.

Many probably came seeking comfort.

“Maybe I should stream too.”

“Someone will probably show up.”

With that casual thought, he opened his own streaming page.