I was at a loss for words as I faced the old man bowing deeply in front of me.
After all, I'd never had someone much older than me bow their head to me like this—not in this life or my previous one.
It was the first time I'd experienced such a thing, and I couldn't find the right words to say to someone bowing to an elementary school student.
So I stayed silent, but Nina-chan, standing beside me, spoke up.
"Is this... a request?"
"A request... Ah, yes. I suppose you could call it that."
The old man, visibly flustered, nodded at Nina-chan's question and began to explain carefully.
"Lately, strange products have been delivered to people's homes under the name of my company. At first, I suspected it was a scam, but it seems that's not the case."
"Strange products?"
This time, I was the one who asked.
Given that the old man referred to it as his company, he was probably the CEO or president.
If someone were using his company's name for something shady, I would've thought the police should handle it, not an exorcist. But the mention of "strange products" caught my attention.
"I forgot to introduce myself. Wait a moment..."
With that, the old man handed me a business card. It was the first business card I'd received since arriving in this life, which made me feel a little nostalgic.
I glanced at the card, which read:
"Daiwa Health Foods Co., Ltd. – President and CEO, Hosoi Yamato."
The card also listed the company's address, phone number, and email address.
There was nothing unusual about it—just a standard business card.
Still, seeing the name Yamato on the card made me wonder if it was pronounced Yamato or Daiwa. Given that it was a person's name, Daiwa seemed unlikely.
"We manufacture health foods. You know, things like yeast and green juice—stuff your grandparents might drink."
"I've never met my grandma or grandpa," Nina-chan retorted.
"Oh, I see. My apologies," Hosoi-san replied, looking a bit taken aback by her sharp response.
I, too, had never met my grandparents in this world. I had a hunch they were among the portraits lined up on the family altar, but I'd never asked for confirmation.
Asking about those portraits felt like a taboo topic for me.
One of the portraits showed a baby. I'd always suspected that baby might have been my older sibling—someone who couldn't survive the "devouring curse" that afflicts our family.
"The moment they drank it... they disappeared. No, maybe 'disappeared' isn't the right word. Do you know what a human embryo looks like in the womb?"
"Yeah, I've seen diagrams of it..."
I remembered studying it with my mom during healing magic lessons.
"They turned into that—a seahorse-like form—and died."
"..."
I didn't know what to say. Why would anyone drink something so strange?
But there are always people who act irrationally.
As I processed what I'd just heard, Hosoi-san made his request.
"That's what I wanted to ask you. If there's any way to deal with this eerie situation... please tell me."
"A way to deal with it?"
"Yes. I saw you handle those posters earlier. I thought... perhaps you might know how to deal with strange phenomena like this."
I exchanged glances with Nina-chan.
In summary, Hosoi-san wanted advice on how to handle an inexplicable situation.
Given what we'd heard, it seemed likely that a monster was involved. If that were the case, the only solution would be to exorcise it.
But tracking down an unknown monster was no easy task—it was a job for professionals.
"Have you reported this to the police?" I asked.
"Not yet. I was just on my way there. But... I wasn't sure if they'd believe me."
"You should still go. There are officers who will listen to you."
"But..."
"It'll be okay. Just try talking to them first."
In reality, the police would escalate the case to exorcists if they deemed it necessary. The exorcists would then investigate the monster, assess its threat, and assign someone capable of dealing with it.
I wasn't great at tracking monsters, so it was better to leave it to professionals.
After a moment of hesitation, Hosoi-san nodded reluctantly, climbed back into his car, and drove off toward the police station.
As Nina-chan and I resumed our walk home, we talked about whether the recent monster sightings were becoming more frequent.
At the time, I had no idea that Hosoi-san's strange case would soon entangle me in ways I never expected.