Chapter Twenty-Three: Side Quest—Twisting and Turning

In the withered and desolate farmland, the writhing, ghostly white figure seemed to possess a strange, hypnotic magic that made it impossible for Uesugi Toru to look away once he had caught a glimpse of it.

The mask of the Laughing Hannya twitched for an instant, but a moment later, the face, which was naturally imposing even without anger, broke into an eerie smile.

A dry, distorted voice emanated uncontrollably from the depths of Uesugi Toru’s throat:

"Writhing... writhing..."

Even though Uesugi Toru felt profoundly sick, he found himself grinning ever more brightly. His exhausted body seemed to surge with fresh energy as he stood bolt upright.

Then, following that ghostly white figure in the field...

He began to writhe.

...

On the lawn, Uesugi Toru opened his eyes with a start, retching in extreme disgust.

"What the hell was that..."

Even now, the image of that bizarre, twisting white figure lingered in his mind, along with the sensation of his body being completely beyond his own control.

After lying on the lawn to rest for a good while, Uesugi Toru managed to steady his chaotic thoughts.

—This time, he had actually died on the spot simply because he had looked at that thing in the field for one second too long.

Do you explode if you look at it for one extra second?

That is absurd.

What star rating would this guy have? One star? Or one-and-a-half?

Noting down several characteristics of the twisted white figure, Uesugi Toru didn't hesitate to pull out his phone and post an inquiry to the all-knowing netizens of the corporate-slave community.

[Tsukisuna-chan]: I have a friend who saw a writhing white phantom in the fields, suspected to be a scarecrow. Is this thing dangerous?

In the office, Nanjo Aisumi, who had her black-stockinged feet propped up on her desk and was happily sipping a soda, couldn't help but spray the drink all over the face of Shijima Mafuyu, who was working diligently across from her.

Shijima Mafuyu’s mouth twitched. She didn't say anything, simply pulling out two tissues to wipe the soda from her face and neck in silence.

—Even in just half a day, she had already grown accustomed to Nanjo Aisumi’s unprofessional behavior.

The private persona of this Yin-Yang subordinate was completely different from how she acted in the outside world.

She didn't resemble a corporate elite at all; rather, she was much like her own sister, who was still in high school—she loved chugging soda, eating puffed snacks, and often gossiped about colleagues with her behind their backs.

Shijima Mafuyu sighed inwardly.

She couldn't help but feel a bit disillusioned.

—But Nanjo Aisumi felt she had a reason for spitting out her soda.

It had only been a few hours; she had just told Uesugi Toru to behave himself, so why had he gone and provoked a famous urban legend?!

Being bored out of one's mind, are we!

The classic "I have a friend" line couldn't fool Nanjo Aisumi; she had used that little trick countless times herself in the past.

However...

Nanjo Aisumi was a bit puzzled.

Judging from the resonance of her spiritual arts, the doll she had given Uesugi Toru hadn't been damaged yet. If he had truly encountered a "Writhing Phantom," the doll should have acted by now.

This kind of specific urban legend born in rural villages, even if widely known and passed down, wouldn't be particularly strong.

Because this is modern society.

It’s the same principle as taking the famous urban legend "Miss Mary" back a thousand years; she would be severely weakened by the lack of telephones.

[Work-is-Hell]: Then your friend will be dead before long. That is "The Writhing Phantom," a very famous urban legend. Anyone who sees it will fall into a state of mental derangement, until they go insane and die.

Seeing that the characteristics matched, Uesugi Toru thought, "Indeed."

He had suffered a mental breakdown and died within minutes of seeing the Writhing Phantom, which counted as experiencing a brand-new way to die.

—Since this thing is so strong, could it be related to the side quest?

[Side Quest 2: The White Scarecrow—In fields eroded by chemical sewage, the scarecrow sways in the wind.]

Uesugi Toru read the task description carefully again and felt it highly likely that "The Writhing Phantom" was connected to it.

So, the question arose.

If he couldn't even look at it for an extra second, how was he supposed to kill it?

Uesugi Toru relayed the question to the netizen truthfully.

—Nanjo Aisumi felt that Uesugi Toru had lost his mind.

That "Writhing Phantom" stayed in the sparsely populated countryside and didn't wander around; it could be considered one of the most harmless types of urban legends.

Why on earth would you go out of your way to provoke it?

Though she thought this, Nanjo Aisumi tossed out a key: "Shijima, go take that Vajra statue out of the safe, and when you go over this afternoon, by the way..."

Halfway through her sentence, Nanjo Aisumi suddenly realized that Uesugi Toru was asking [Work-is-Hell], not her, Nanjo Aisumi.

If she gave the item to Uesugi Toru, wouldn't her secret identity be exposed?

So, Nanjo Aisumi reached out and took the key back.

[Work-is-Hell]: There is a way, and it’s not difficult.

[Tsukisuna-chan]: What is your insight, master?

[Work-is-Hell]: Since seeing the Writhing Phantom causes madness, why not just close your eyes and hack it to death?

—Hack it to death with eyes closed?

Uesugi Toru smiled. Did the corporate-slave netizen think he was some sort of master swordsman with a "Mind's Eye" or "Fist's Eye"?

But after sitting in silence for a while, Uesugi Toru realized that this idea... didn't seem impossible?

—Ririko had said that listening for sounds to determine position was the most basic skill for a qualified swordsman.

There might be something to it.

When he saw Ririko this afternoon, he would ask her about it.

Thanking the netizen for the quick reply, Uesugi Toru didn't waste any more time and re-entered the cursed village of Arakawa.

—He had killed the foreman, but hadn't yet had a chance to collect his reward from the blacksmith.

An immense water pressure washed over him.

Having grown accustomed to the cutscenes, Uesugi Toru donned his mask without a word and headed straight for the blacksmith's shop.

On the way, he didn't forget to test the effects of the foreman's crowbar, a weapon of rare quality.

In practice, Uesugi Toru was pleasantly surprised to find that the crowbar's effectiveness far exceeded his expectations.

For locked doors in ordinary thatched cottages, he only needed to give the lock a gentle nudge with the crowbar to break it, making it feel like a master key.

Even for heavy wooden doors blocked by boards and furniture, Uesugi Toru only had to swing with normal force to send the entire door, along with the obstacles behind it, flying.

Although powerful, he didn't seem to have found the crowbar's limit yet.

"Maybe I'll try it on the iron gate of the school rooftop later."

Putting away the crowbar, Uesugi Toru thought this before stepping into the blacksmith's shop.

Entering the shop, Uesugi Toru noticed that there was no sound of hammering coming from the backyard this time. Instead, a small figure in a hood stood beside the blacksmith.

"Making such a small child learn to forge? That's child labor exploitation..."

Muttering this in his heart, Uesugi Toru was about to explain the process to the blacksmith when he saw the man smile and set his hammer on the table:

"Speak, what weapon do you want?"

Uesugi Toru, who had almost thought the man was going to discard him after the job was done, was stunned. He tucked the woodcutter's knife away, not expecting the old blacksmith to be so straightforward.

He said, "I practice the Tennen Rishin-ryū."

The blacksmith paused, his smile fading.