Chapter 62: If Che Does Not Abandon Me, Nai Desires to Bow Before Him as Adoptive Father!

Uesugi Toru opened his eyes wearily on the bed, feeling on the verge of vomit.

He glanced over the dense wall of notifications before checking the change in his Soul Ash count.

Soul Ash: 449 → 486

"This damn thing is so ridiculously stingy..."

After hacking away non-stop at the tunnel entrance for nearly twenty minutes, Toru figured he must have killed at least three to four hundred Chi, yet his Soul Ash had only increased by 37 points.

Taking the time to go back to Hrakawa Village and track down three sturdy farmers would yield more than this!

It was too much of a loss; it would be better to avoid dealing with those small-fry Chi in the future.

When entering Kisaragi Station in his next life, he definitely had to prioritize killing Chi of half-a-star rating or higher, just to fill up the 500 Soul Ash needed for a tenfold draw.

However, thanks to facing a large group of enemies simultaneously for the first time, the proficiency growth of his two skills was decent.

[Your skill, Fragment of Qi Art, proficiency +58!]
[Fragment of Qi Art (Proficient 144/600)]
[Your skill, Tennen Rishin-ryu, proficiency +35!]
[Tennen Rishin-ryu (Novice 378/500)]

The proficiency gain for Tennen Rishin-ryu was lower than that of the Qi Art once again... though that was hardly unreasonable.

After all, Toru’s Tennen Rishin-ryu was barely past the novice stage, consisting of the exact same few moves repeated over and over.

Without feeding on calming incense ash and having Ririko guide him from the side, progress was bound to be quite slow.

This problem could only be resolved once Ririko returned after mastering the breathing technique, or after he managed to breakthrough this swordsmanship to the proficient tier.

Although he still had one life left in reserve, Toru decided to get some sleep first.

—Continuously swinging a blade for twenty minutes, only to ultimately be suffocated and crushed to death by a sea of enemies, dealt an immeasurable amount of mental damage.

...

Roughly five hours later, with his condition fully restored, Toru washed up, had a simple meal, and prepared to re-enter Kisaragi Station.

Before that, however, a red notification dot popped up on Line, as expected.

—Let me see what this is about.

Toru tapped on Line, only to find that someone had actually sent him a friend request.

Opening the request, he noticed the other person’s profile picture was none other than a certain blue-haired losing heroine from a recently trending new anime.

In an instant, Toru knew who it was.

The heavy, itchy anime vibe radiating from it was so strong he could smell it clearly through the screen.

[Never Gonna Lose!: Uesugi-kun, I am Runa Kitano!]

Seeing the Line name, Toru couldn't help but chuckle.

[You have accepted the friend request from "Never Gonna Lose!"]

Barely two seconds after the acceptance, Runa Kitano sent a sticker of a character peeking out and waving hello.

Toru promptly stole the sticker and sent it right back.

[Never Gonna Lose!: Uesugi-kun, that ID of yours...]
[Never Gonna Lose!: Brother, you smell so good.jpg]
[Yuesa-chan: Say what you need to say.]
[Never Gonna Lose!: Sincere bowing and apologizing.gif]
[Never Gonna Lose!: Actually, it's like this. Because I got inexplicably dragged into a supernatural incident halfway through my train ride, I'm completely too terrified to leave the Special Affairs Bureau now!]

Toru understood, roughly guessing Runa's request.

[Yuesa-chan: You want me to visit your mother at the hospital and help discharge her, is that it?]

After sending this message, Toru could see the "Typing..." at the top of the chat box instantly vanish.

Then, the typing status flickered back and forth several times before the other side timidly popped out just three characters.

[Never Gonna Lose!: Can you?]

Matsuya and Runa were stuck together at the Bureau and couldn't leave without causing trouble, and Ririko was still studying.

So the only friend this socially anxious otaku could turn to was him.

That made complete sense.

Seeming afraid that Toru would hesitate, Runa quickly sent another message.

[Never Gonna Lose!: Adoptive father! From now on, I can whisper sweet nothings in Ririko's ear every day to assist you fiercely with that flat-chested girl!]

What a fake friendship.

[Yuesa-chan: Naturally I can. But you can skip the matchmaking assistance; Ririko and I share a normal friendly relationship.]
[Never Gonna Lose!: I have wandered alone for half my life, only hating that I never met my true lord... Adoptive father! I'll call you when the time comes, please go ahead and be busy now!]
[Never Gonna Lose!: Dogeza with clothes and toys scattered aside.jpg]

Putting away his phone, Toru sighed, thinking that Runa was not only socially anxious offline, but also an ultimate introvert online.

Those stickers were definitely stolen from various chat groups she lurked in daily; anyway, they were quite good—he stole them all.

Waiting another two minutes without receiving any further messages, Toru closed his eyes.

Kisaragi Station, your daddy is here!

Open eyes.

The familiar rails, mountain woods, and convenience store came into view.

Toru felt a strange sensation, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what was off.

Transforming into the laughing Hanya, he called out to the Two-Foot Woman and asked, "Can you sense the location of the Taiko Bell?"

Two-Foot Woman: "Um... right now, it's beside the tunnel entrance."

Toru paused slightly.

Judging from his previous encounters, the Taiko Bell didn't seem like a ghost story that stupid.

"Let's go into the convenience store and see..."

Before Toru could finish his sentence, the rails actually began to vibrate slightly, followed by the sound of an oncoming train.

Clack-clack.

The train stopped, and the carriage doors slowly slid open to both sides.

Then, a short-haired girl holding a flip phone and looking panicked rushed out from within.

Toru and the Two-Foot Woman looked at her simultaneously, freezing in place together.

—Esumi!?

How could it be Esumi? Wasn't she already killed by the Taiko Bell?!

Toru clearly remembered burying this bloodless-faced girl with his own hands, handful of soil by handful of soil.

Because Toru wasn't wearing the Kaga Kiyomitsu at his waist this time, the first thing Esumi saw was the white-dressed Two-Foot Woman.

"Little sister, hello!"

Toru watched as Esumi ran up beside the Two-Foot Woman in pleasant surprise, asking the exact same question as last time:

"—My name is Esumi! By any chance, were you also brought here by that supernatural train?"

"Eh? Ah?!"

The Two-Foot Woman stepped back two steps in fright, looked left and right, and finally looked up at Toru: "Lord Toru! Has she turned into a vengeful spirit to claim my life?!"

Esumi followed her line of sight, then let out a terrified screech: "Waaah! There's a vicious ghost! Run, little sister!"

There was no way Toru was going to let her run.

With a single stride, he pressed his large palm onto Esumi's head and applied a tiny bit of pressure.

"Take another step and I'll crush your skull."

Esumi immediately stopped in her tracks.

Carefully and agonizingly slowly, she raised both hands, her voice trembling: "Mister Vicious Ghost, I won't move. Not even a little bit."

Toru released his hand: "Come with me, and don't say any unnecessary words."

Terrified that the Hannya ghost before her might devour her on a whim, Esumi nodded obediently.

Still, being able to speak was a good thing.

What Esumi feared most was encountering the kind of ghost from movies that did nothing but shriek and torture people to death; if it came to that, she'd rather commit suicide for a quicker release.

Toru walked into the convenience store first, spotting the exact same bag of barbecue-flavored potato chips, identical in placement and production date.

Then, under Esumi's bewildered gaze, he ripped open the package and tossed a chip into his mouth.

Toru clutched the chip bag tightly: "The taste is identical."

Leaving the convenience store, Toru led Esumi over to the small tree where he had previously buried her.

The latter was filled with utter confusion.

She had already mentally prepared herself to be swallowed whole, yet now she somehow seemed to have turned into a henchman alongside this little girl in a white dress.

And ghosts liked eating potato chips too? If she took out the supersized original-flavor bag from her bag, would she be able to make friends with it?

Esumi's curiosity gradually gained the upper hand.

Toru took two steps back and produced a crowbar while fixing his gaze on the staring Esumi.

—Next, it was time to reveal the answer.