Miko watched the Benevolent Spirit nervously.
The Benevolent Spirit smiled gently, "I… my wish has probably been granted. I've always… wanted to apologize properly to you, Miko-chan."
"I think I'm heading to heaven now."
"Don't be sad, Miko. I'll be watching over you…"
"Father—no!"
Miko lunged forward to grab him, but her hands closed on air; the golden light slipped through her fingers and scattered.
"Miko, what happened to your father?"
Mrs. Yotsuya asked, eyes red, voice trembling.
She'd seen the fading golden light in Miko's eyes, yet she refused to believe it.
"He… left."
"Why… we only just got to speak… he'd been here so long… why now…"
"Father!" Kyosuke shot to his feet, voice firm.
"I'll become a man you can be proud of! I'll protect Big Sis and Mom! Rest easy!"
Halfway through, Kyosuke broke down sobbing.
"Is that so… then I can rest…"
Everyone heard the Benevolent Spirit's final words.
"Mamoru! I'll take care of the children…"
Mrs. Yotsuya pulled Miko and Kyosuke into her arms; the three of them wept together.
"Rest… assured…"
"Friend…"
Not far away, the towering Cursed Spirit glanced back at the family, then passed through the wall and vanished.
Ten-odd minutes later.
A mouth opened on Miko's cheek:
"Hey, hey, hey—my turn now. Save the tears for tomorrow."
Mrs. Yotsuya stiffened, wiped her tears, and composed herself.
"All right. Your father left with a smile; we shouldn't grieve so hard."
"It's late. Off to bed, Kyosuke—school tomorrow."
Kyosuke stole a nervous look at the mouth, then let Touko steer him into the bathroom.
"Mom, I'm turning in. Lord Akuto will come out next."
Miko closed her eyes.
When they opened again, the golden irises had turned crimson; a second pair of eyes lay beneath, and cursed marks crawled across her face.
"Such a pain."
Akuto helped himself to an iced cola from the fridge, grabbed some snacks, flopped onto the sofa, and switched on the TV.
Touko merely glanced at him and headed to the kitchen.
Though his eyes were on the screen, Akuto was thinking about the third finger.
"Searching alone is too slow; maybe I should contact the Exorcism Society."
He thought of Kishida Itsuki—having help would make things easier.
He also planned to check out the fox shrine slated to appear in the next plot thread.
With his Domain, Akuto was now utterly unrivaled in this world.
Even the deadliest places were worth a look.
In high spirits, he pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag.
"Nope!"
Like a ghost, Touko set a bowl of ramen on the table, flicked his forehead with two fingers, and—while he stared in shock—snatched the cigarette and crushed it out.
"No smoking in the house!"
Hands on hips, she glared at him.
Not just Akuto—Miko was stunned too.
She wondered if she hadn't explained clearly: Akuto was the strongest Cursed Spirit alive!
Before he could react, Touko stuffed chopsticks into his hand.
"You must be hungry—eat up."
"Ingredients were limited, so it's ramen. Finish every bite, no wasting."
Akuto stared at the chopsticks, then at Touko's retreating back and the steaming bowl.
"Hey, Touko."
His low voice made Miko's heart skip.
"Next time you disrespect me like that, I'll kill you. A servant should know her place."
"Sure, sure~ Akuto-kun, how's the ramen?"
He tasted it hesitantly and shrugged,
"Edible, barely."
"Glad to hear it," she smiled, sitting beside him to watch.
"Thank you for protecting Miko, Akuto-kun."
"From now on, consider this your home."
Akuto didn't know how to respond when Miko's phone rang. "Talk."
"Miss Akuto, this is Nagashima Yaeko. Sorry to call so late."
(A/N: This is not a mistake, she did call him 'miss' since she doesn't know his real gender.)
"I have a commission—wondering if you're available."
At first he'd taken jobs to find this world's ability-users and to fund himself.
Now that he had both, the work was unnecessary—yet he agreed anyway.
Maybe he just didn't want to stay in this weird house.
"Send the location."
"I'll text it. Thank you—the fee will be generous."
After hanging up, he finished the ramen and stood. "Off to exorcise?"
Touko had heard Miko mention exorcisms. "Be careful, Akuto-kun. If it's dangerous, protect yourself first."
"Please." He laced his shoes. "I'm the strongest, remember?"
"Later."
Vroooom—
The sports car roared away; Touko watched with mixed feelings.
There was much she didn't understand, so she said nothing—yet knowing those expensive clothes hadn't come from anything shady was comfort enough.
An hour later Akuto pulled into a mountain resort.
Hot-spring inns lined the roads, crowds bustling. "Miss Akuto!"
Yaeko waved from afar.
Today she wore tight jeans, knee-high boots, and a Chanel-style jacket—gentle yet sophisticated. "I'm a guy. Couldn't you tell from the voice?"
Her smile froze; she gave an awkward laugh. "My apologies, Mr. Akuto."
"This is Mr. Tozuka, my partner and the client."
Tozuka had underestimated the delicate girl—until he heard Akuto's voice and saw his attitude. He bowed ninety degrees.
"Please help me, Akuto-sama. I'll pay ten million yen."
"What's the trouble?"
Akuto lit a cigarette and leaned against the car.
Yaeko took over. "The forest behind us. Two days ago Mr. Tozuka's son and two friends went exploring and vanished. He sent twenty searchers; none came back."
"I suspect Cursed Spirits, so I recommend you." Clearly, she was cashing in a favor—Akuto didn't mind; business was business.
"Ten million just to show. Another ten for each extra survivor; five million per body if they're dead."
"That's…"
Tozuka hesitated, but every second his son remained missing was dangerous. He clenched his teeth.
"Agreed. I'm counting on you."
"Wait here."
Akuto flicked the cigarette away, stepped off the ground, and vanished in a blur.
Yaeko was awestruck—no matter how often she saw it, it looked impossible.
Tozuka nearly collapsed in shock.
"Miss Yaeko… what was that?"
She gazed into the distance, eyes profound.
"We still know so little about this world, don't we, Mr. Tozuka?"
Meanwhile, Akuto crested a mountain and stood on a treetop surveying the ground for tracks.
The Cursed Spirits here were beyond counting—more plentiful than the trees themselves!
He glanced toward the hot-spring town in the distance.
The more desire there is, the more Cursed Spirits gather.
They are born from negative emotions and drawn to them as well.
Greed, malice, and lust are all food for Cursed Spirits.
And right now, down below—
"Hara, look up… isn't there someone standing in that tree?"
"D-don't talk nonsense…"
Tsukahara's teeth clacked so hard they rattled as he and another boy huddled inside a cave less than a meter deep.
"I-it really looks like someone's there—and she's watching us!"
The boy's voice shook with terror.
"A Cursed Spirit… she's here—aaaahhh!!"
The boy screamed at the top of his lungs, and Tsukahara shrieked right along with him. They pressed themselves against the cliff wall, trying to squeeze deeper into the cave.
As if that could give them any sense of safety.
"Oi, you two—anyone here named Tozuka?"
At Akuto's voice the yelling stopped; the boys exchanged a glance, then stared at her.
When they realized it was a girl, their screams turned even more desperate.
"Aaaaahhh!!"
"Don't kill me! I taste awful!! Aaaah!!"
Akuto stepped forward, hauled them out, and slapped each of them once.
Smack! Smack!
Their eyes instantly cleared.
"Where's the third one? You said there were three."
"D-dead! A ghost tore her apart!"
"Get us out of here—there's a ghost!"
Akuto frowned.
"Where's the body?"
"G-gone… the cursed spirit ate it…"
Their gazes were vacant; they answered with pure reflex.
"There goes five million."
Akuto glanced at them, grabbed the backs of their collars, and leapt. He bounded from branch to branch through the forest as though flying.
A little over an hour later.
Tozuka paced impatiently.
Yaeko stayed calm; she'd seen Akuto's power and never doubted the job would be done.
"Aaaaahhh!!"
With a scream, Akuto emerged from the darkness hauling the two boys.
Thud.
He dumped them on the ground.
"Thirty million, as agreed. One of them didn't even leave a bone."
"D-Dad… help me…"
When Tsukahara saw his father, the last thread of his nerves snapped and he fainted.
Medics rushed over.
It was only shock and a few infected scrapes, nothing worse.
"Lord Akuto, thank you so much!"
"Here's your thirty million and my card. If ever you need anything, call me—anything at all."
Akuto glanced at the card.
"Hara Auction House—jewelry, antiques, art, curios."
"Ever seen a finger sealed with a yellow Talisman?"
Tozuka blinked, then fell into thought.
A moment later he slapped his forehead.
"I actually have seen something like that!"
"They claimed the finger was over a thousand years old. No one in the trade believed it, and eventually it was auctioned off—decades ago now."
"Who bought it?"
Akuto perked up.
Tozuka thought hard, then gave an embarrassed smile.
"It wasn't sold through our house. I'll check the records and let you know."
"That would mean a lot."
With that, Akuto turned and left.
Dawn was already gray when he reached home.
He stepped inside; a voice greeted her out of nowhere.
"Say 'I'm home' when you come back."
Akuto frowned at Touko beside him—hair tousled, eyes sleepy, looking adorably disheveled.
"Are you a ghost?"
He kicked off her shoes and walked into the living-room.
"Welcome back."
Touko wasn't bothered by the lack of response; she followed along.
"Did everything go smoothly today?"
Akuto tossed her the bank card Tozuka had given.
"A tip for my servant. I can't let you look shabby."
"Housekeeping money from Akuto-kun? Such a thoughtful boy."
Touko pocketed the card with a smile, having no idea how much was on it—probably not much, just an exorcism fee.
"Would you like something to eat?"
"No."
Akuto flicked on the TV. Miko had only just fallen asleep; waking her now would be cruel.
Touko didn't go back to bed; she started making breakfast instead.
Soon Kyosuke woke up. Seeing the spell marks on the face before him, he knew it wasn't his sister and stared curiously.
"Big brother, is that car outside yours?"
Akuto gave him a sidelong glance.
"Don't get friendly, brat. I'm not your brother."
"Then what should I call you?"
Kyosuke scratched his head, looking innocently bewildered.
"Master."
"Akuto-kun, don't bully your little brother!"
Touko's voice rang sharply from the kitchen.
Kyosuke didn't mind; his eyes sparkled.
"Big brother, can you take me to school today?"
"Oh?"
Akuto turned to look at him, amused.
"My appearance fee isn't cheap, kid."
Kyosuke ran off without a word. Ten-odd minutes later he reappeared, washed and carried his piggy-bank.
He opened it in front of her: a pile of small change.
"That's everything—sixteen thousand yen. Is it enough?"
Akuto rolled her eyes and was about to refuse when she saw Touko gazing at her hopefully.
"…Fine. I'll take you—now get lost and stop bothering me."
"Yay!"
Soon Miko woke; Akuto returned the body and feigned sleep.
"Sis, call big brother out!"
Kyosuke stood at the door, cheeks flushed with excitement.
Miko gave him a flat stare.
She felt betrayed—he was her little brother, after all—and Akuto clearly found him annoying.
Did Kyosuke have some weird kink?
Reluctantly she summoned Akuto.
Seeing the spell marks crawl over his sister's face again, Kyosuke bounced.
"Big brother, let's go to school!"
Akuto started the car and glanced at the boy standing stiffly outside.
"Brat, planning to ride on the roof?"
"Huh? Oh…"
He fumbled with the door until Touko figured it out and let him into the passenger seat.
"Drive safe, Akuto-kun. Have a good trip."
Vroooom.
The McLaren roared; Kyosuke sat bolt upright.
"Awesome!"
Boom!
The car shot off, weaving through traffic.
"Lord Akuto, too fast!"
Miko, inside the seal, went pale.
"Woohoo! Big brother, pass them!"
Kyosuke was beside himself, wishing he were at the wheel.
No boy can resist a super-car.
Screech.
Akuto stopped at the elementary gate; every eye turned their way.
Kyosuke climbed out red-faced, ready to fly from sheer pride at his classmates' envious stares.
Only after the car left did a few friends dare approach.
"Wow, Kyosuke, whose car was that?"
"So cool—bet it costs a fortune!"
"Who drove you?"
Kyosuke lifted his chin, nose stretching with pride.
"Haha, my big brother brought me in a super-car!"
"It goes like lightning—riding in it feels like sitting inside a monster!"
"Whoa~"
"You have a big brother, Kyosuke?"