Chapter 43: The White Hannya Invading the Living World

That is quite a rare sight.

Whenever he returned from the Netherworld in the past, he would basically only see messages from internet netizens who were corporate slaves or from Miss Nanjou.

Tapping on the LINE avatar with a background of a vast blue ocean—which domestically would probably be called "calm waters"—Uesugi Toru saw an unusually concise offline message from Ririko.

[Riri: I am learning the breathing technique at the Special Affairs Bureau. Once I figure it out in a few days, I will come over and secretly teach you.]

Is this something you can just secretly teach!

Uesugi Toru stared at the message, speechless.

Ririko, best buddy for life!

Ririko had joined the Special Affairs Bureau specifically for this breathing technique that could transform ordinary humans, and yet her very first reaction upon mastering it was to teach it to him.

This only further solidified Uesugi Toru's determination to give the Pure Heart Amulet to Ririko.

In the past, he even had to address his dorm roommates as "adoptive father" just to get them to bring him takeout, yet Ririko tossed all sorts of good items his way without hesitation.

—Where else could you find such a selfless and generous bro?

With a casual swipe, he cleared all the red notification dots on LINE. Feeling wide awake after both his physique and willpower had increased simultaneously, Uesugi Toru sat up on his bed.

Should he take a moment to figure out Spirit Manipulation Arts?

Taking out the Nanjou plushie that he always carried with him, Uesugi Toru examined the lifeless object, thinking that if he could figure out its regular usage through Spirit Manipulation Arts, it might bring some new surprises.

After all, it could be considered the highest-star-rated item in his possession.

However, after a sweat-inducing session of trial and error, looking at the paltry "1" point in his Spirit Arts attribute on the stat panel, Uesugi Toru silently stuffed the plushie—which wore an expression of intense dissatisfaction—back into his pocket.

He looked at his significantly altered personal panel and sighed—

[Uesugi Toru]
[Physique: 8 → 12]
[Willpower: 8 → 9]
[Charisma: 9]
[Spirit Arts: 1]

Although his physique had officially surpassed ordinary humans and entered the realm of the superhuman, researching Spirit Manipulation Arts would have to wait until he drew a new avatar.

However, there was still a problem right in front of him.

Having subconsciously maintained the Circulation Technique ever since returning from the Netherworld, Uesugi Toru checked the time on his phone—in two hours, it would be time for class.

Should he go to school?

If it were prior to yesterday, Uesugi Toru would probably have answered in the affirmative.

Because he believed that demons and urban legends had a low probability of appearing in crowded places like schools, and since the school had a dojo and Ririko, how was he supposed to practice swordsmanship and raise his proficiency if he didn't go!

Yet yesterday, Separation Sorrow had almost double-killed him and Ririko even at noon, completely indifferent to the other ordinary humans at the school.

Going to school now would probably only bring harm to those innocent classmates.

Pushing open his bedroom door, Uesugi Toru was about to bid a customary good morning to the Ghost Old Man, only to be stunned to find that the figure who always sat on the sofa had vanished!?

Turning his head, Uesugi Toru realized the old man was squatting on the balcony.

That face had deliberately grown a large, fang-filled mouth, and it was happily chewing on a feeble, wailing demon in its hand.

Uesugi Toru pretended not to see anything, scanning the scene with his peripheral vision while searching the refrigerator for ingredients.

Before long, a star popped up above the head of the sparse-haired, duck-billed, green-skinned demon.

[Kappa (One-Star)]

Uesugi Toru narrowed his eyes. One-star demons weren't particularly common, yet now one had wandered without warning to the doorstep of his very ordinary apartment.

Did this prove that the portents of the first tide had already arrived?

Uesugi Toru let out a deep breath and sent what he had witnessed to Nanjou Aimi.

Perhaps some relatively weak demons had already washed ashore and were gradually beginning to wander the mortal realm.

However, this also proved that the Ghost Old Man didn't just watch ball games all day and steal his electricity; he was indeed an absolute powerhouse when it came to guarding the house!

Raising a father to become a dragon had indeed been a success.

Clatter.

Just as Uesugi Toru was about to heat up a bento to fill his stomach, the sound of a bowl smashing against the tile floor suddenly came from the balcony.

He pretended not to hear it.

Uesugi Toru honestly finished his bento first, and only after the Ghost Old Man had settled back down to watch his ball game did he casually murmur, "Time to bring in the laundry from the balcony," while effortlessly scooping up the porcelain bowl from the floor.

[Kappa Bowl]
[Quality: Common]
[Effect: Grants a slight boost to swimming proficiency when equipped.]
[—A porcelain bowl perched atop every Kappa's head.]

Uesugi Toru was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected it to actually be an item, and one that happened to make up for his relatively weak underwater combat capabilities.

This old man really did know how to deliver pleasant surprises from time to time.

Pacing the Kappa Bowl into his storage inventory, Uesugi Toru already envisioned the wonderful scenario of the house-guarding old man bringing him a few extra items every single month from now on.

Consider it rent and utility fees voluntarily paid by the old man; that was entirely reasonable.

Just as Uesugi Toru was planning to head out and find an open space to practice his sword, the phone in his pocket suddenly rang.

Who could possibly be calling me at a time like this?

He pulled out his phone and saw an unfamiliar number.

After a moment of thought, Uesugi Toru decided to answer: "Hello, who is this..."

"Uesugi-kun! Save me!"

Coming from the other end of the line was a trembling female voice that nonetheless maintained perfect clarity.

Uesugi Toru froze for a fraction of a second, then quickly recalled the owner of that voice.

—Kitano Runa!

—It was that quiet bespectacled girl with braided hair who was Ririko's best friend.

But hadn't she gone to stay at the Special Affairs Bureau headquarters with Shizuma Manatsu? Could something major have happened at the Bureau?

No, that was unlikely... Because Nanjou Aimi and Ririko hadn't passed on any news of the sort.

So it was a personal matter of hers?

To think she could still manage to get herself into trouble even after being warned.

He was starting to understand how Nanjou Aimi viewed him.

Without overthinking it, Uesugi Toru simply asked: "Location?"

"Sent to you..." After a few breaths mixed with terror, Kitano Runa's extremely faint voice came through: "It's the White Hannya."

Uesugi Toru's pupils contracted—the White Hannya from the Arakawa Ghost Village had actually made it into reality?!

Without the slightest warning.

In an instant, Uesugi Toru's mindset shifted dramatically.

Now, he actually had to thank Kitano Runa. If she hadn't put herself in danger to flush out the snake, his main quest might have remained uncompleted and led to a progression block.

"Uesugi-kun, you need to hurry. I don't have much time left..."

With those words, the call was abruptly disconnected.

"Old man! A friend of mine wants to go out and play!"

Dropping those words, Uesugi Toru immediately pushed open the front door and bolted outside. On his way down the stairs, he found the location information Kitano Runa had texted him.

—The straight-line distance from his house was less than three kilometers.

—At that distance, it wouldn't even take three minutes at the laughing Hannya's pace.

Uesugi Toru casually found a surveillance-free alley, transformed into the laughing Hannya, and pulled his wide school uniform jacket over his head.

That way, unless someone was observing him face-to-face, ordinary people would never recognize that this was actually a laughing Hannya.

And at his current sprinting speed, ordinary people would at most see a blur flash past before nothing more.

Along the way, Uesugi Toru also tried calling Nanjou Aimi and Ririko, but both calls resulted in a busy tone followed by no answer.

"So that's why she reached out to me."

The laughing Hannya's eyes were ice-cold as it sped through the streets and alleys.

"Kitano-san, don't panic... I am coming to your aid!"