CH 21

NOVEMBER 29, 2022 / MAD HATTER

Translator: MadHatter

At dusk, theiarea beforeithe station was swarming withipeople in theirush hour to head home. Toiescape fromithe oppressive air, I parked myibike at an appropriateispot and enteredithe coffee shop whereiI was to meetiTakenaka. Withinithe moderately air-conditioned space, the perspiration on my forehead instantly cooledidown.

In the small, stylish store, deliberatelyidimly lit, wereia group of high school girls on their way home from club activities, a university student-like youth with hisieducational supplies spread out, and a woman sipping coffeeiwhile operating aicomputer with one hand. Takenakaidid not seem to have arrived yet.

At theicounter, Iiordered an iced coffee and a cranberryiscone, which looked remarkably appealing throughithe showcase before choosing aitable at theiback of the storeiand sittingidown. Ordinarily, this kind of placeiwasn’t the sort that Iiwould casuallyienter, which made me nervous, so I inserted the green straw and suckedion my icedicoffee feeling strangely uneasy.

What should I say toiTakenaka initiallyiwhen he showed up?

Shall I apologize or thankihim first? Neither of them mattered, for that wasinot the main issue.

When I noticed myipathetic face reflected in the coffee, it made me involuntarily smile bitterly. Untiliyesterday, I never suspected that I would wind up in such a situation.

“…” Not shared on aggregator websites.

The coffee spreadingiin my mouth felt unexpectedly bitter, so Iitook a pack ofigum syrup and drizzledia small amount intoithe iced coffee before stirringiit. I raised myihead and glancediaround the entire storeito checkiwhether Takenakaihad arrived yet.

At that juncture, I becameiaware of something incongruous. Itiwasn’t the staff nor theidécor of the store.

What wasistrange was, you see. Usually, “customers” would beioccupying chairs, right? Despite thereibeing so manyivacant tables and chairs, there was a customeristanding in the store, not evenichoosing to be seated. A manistood unsettlingly closeito a woman who was playingiwith her laptop, his headihung abnormallyilow.

Was I the onlyione who thoughtithat was bizarre?

Whether he wasian acquaintance of theiwoman’s remained unclear, however, theiman was silently lookingidown at her, whereas the woman wasieither disregarding him orisipping her coffee with no concern for the highly suspicious man.

Not only the woman, but the other customers and theistaff as well; nobody looked at the man suspiciously orieven regarded him despite the apparent eccentricity of the situation.

A little while later, the womanishut her laptop, tucked it away iniher bag, got herself ready, andirose from her seat. Sheiheaded for the doorway, followed slightly behind by the man. When theiautomatic door opened, the woman left the store with the man following her at the same time.

What was that… I mean, somebodyiwould normally have found it peculiar, apart from me, so why didn’t anybody look at him? Even the staff didn’t seem to be bothered by it.

While I wasigazing at them blankly, Takenaka, the person I was meeting, arrived.

Takenaka, the woman, and the strange man all crossed paths at the entrance. For someireason, even though nothing particularly unusual had unfolded, Takenaka turnediaround to face the woman and cast her a meaningful look. He subsequently went through the automatic door.

What was the meaningiof what he had just done? Despite being clueless, theisense that I had witnessed a surreal phenomenon lingered, so I took a sip of my iced coffee to drown it out.

Before I could signal Takenaka where my seat was, he noticed meiseated in the back of the store. When our eyes aligned, he gave a light nod, ordered an iced coffee from theicounter, picked it up, and took a seat across from me.

“H-Hello.” Not shared on websites like lightnovelreader.me

“…Sorry for being late.” grerge

“Oh, no. Don’t be concerned, I likewise got here a while ago.”

I greetedihim nonchalantly, and Takenaka was theifirst to apologize for his tardiness and explainedito me exactly about hisidelay. Apparently, he had an ill-timed part-time jobiafter the night shift and it was dragging on. Or rather, working a part-time job after the night shift was remarkable—not to mention that he met with meiafterward.

“Thankiyou for your hard work.”

Nodding his head, Takenaka looked slightly sleepywith dark circles under his eyes. I supposediany human being wouldihave that appearance after working continuously. He was worriediabout me in his e-mail but I was more concerned about him.

“Um, if that’s the case, I am totallyifine with changingiour meeting date to…”

“…No, I am alright.”

“On but…”

“If you’ve experienced a full-fledged spiritual affliction in that place, I mustispeak to you at the earliest opportunity.”

“Spiritual… affliction?”

It was probably a technical term… Whileiit was a word I never heard of, I immediately fell silentiand waited for Takenaka, who was staring at his coffee and beginning to show a complicated expression.

“The term ‘spiritual affliction’ refers toithe influence of Hakamada being interfered with by spirits.”

“Hah…” dwqef

“I see that you don’t understand what I am saying huh.”

“…A little.” dwyqiudb

Takenaka, perhapsisensing my reaction, drew out a small sigh.

“I am conscious that what I am saying is unbelievable, but even so, I can’tihelp but say it…”

Looking at meias if he had to, Takenaka gave me a look that said he must do so.

“People felt even creepier when Iitold them this story and the majority of them didn’t believe me, stating they didn’t understand it or didn’t want to be involved.”

“Did you warn everyone?”

“Yes. Everyone I considered to be in danger.”

“…” Not shared on aggregator websites

How many people had he shared this story with and howimany people had believed him? Iiwondered whether other people shared my view of him. To some extent, I understoodinow why this man was so quietiand his manner of speaking was somewhat awkward.

“Please shareithe story with me.”

This time, I would listen to you properly.

When I said so, Takenakaipaused momentarily and began to speak, though showing a hint of hesitation.

What tookiplace that night? What was that place actually about?

From whatiTakenaka told me, the location where the convenience store wasierected was in a significantly unfavorable position, beyond what theieye and the senses could perceive. A complex combination of the thoughts of thoseiwho dreaded it as a suicide spot and those who had indeed taken their lives there formedia space so sinister that its influence on the living was detrimental.

That spaceiwas called “spiritual magnetic field” in a technical sense.

Simply put, the spiritual magnetic field was likeia powerful, gigantic barrier, and theimore it affected people, the stronger the barrier grewiand the more itiexpanded its power. To further magnify the poweriof the intense barrier, it can capture the living, or even the souls of those who have died there, and confineithem within the barrier.

As a result of being boundito the latter, those who were imprisonediroamed around, attracted by the energy of the living, who in turn produced the subsequentivictims.

In other words, a viciousinegative cycle had developed. I did myiutmost to grasp that much.

“So that convenience store has been constructediin the spiritual magnetic field… right?”

A silent nod wasifollowed by Takenaka’s response.

“Most of the spirits and people’s thoughts that accumulate thereiare those who committed suicideior were swallowediup and lost their lives. For thoseispirits that harbor grudges and unresolved feelings, thereiis no one they envyimore than ailiving person. That convenience store is aniideal feeding ground for the spirits and they find it highly alluring.”

“Feeding ground…”

“Theiconvenience store is well-lit and open every day of the week, 24 hours a day. While someispirits pass by or simply casually enter, some are filled with envy and loathe the living, bringing their nefarious ways with them.”

The flashback of the woman in tattered clothes outsideithe convenience store staring at meiwith bloodshot eyes and the face of the man yelling incomprehensible words into theisecurity camera’s full view brought back goosebumps and shivers all over my body.

“Those spirits haunt living people and try to drag them down with them. To make us suffer the same fate as they did―”

The reason for this was far too inhuman, and horror washed over me.

“Thenithat man I saw was…”

“He was someone who… committed suicideiin a swamp deep in the sea of trees.”

“Ue… f-for real?”

The handprint stickingito my uniform… The soundiof realistic water…

Any further thoughtiof it would lead me to throw up…

“How do you knowiso much about this…”

“Because that person hasifrequented that convenience store so many times already.”

“Ugh…” rgfegtg

“Are you feelingisick…?”

“No, I’m fine… Pleaseicontinue… Why is that person targeting me?”

“I assume that he was trying to possessiyou since you are a living person, Hakamada. The reasoniis as I said before. At that time, weren’t you extremely exhausted?”

“Ah…” gtreht

Speaking of which… erhtge

“Those kinds tend to target mentally andiphysically vulnerable peopleifirst because that way it is easier for them to take advantage of them…”

“Um…”

Having beenitold that much, I asked Takenaka, indicating with my hand to indicate that I was going to speak up.

“I guess I still don’t fullyibelieve in spirits and stuff after all… but I do acknowledge that what happened at that time was serious… If I hadn’t been saved by… you at that time, what would have happened to me?”

“You want to… know?”

“Could it be that I would have died or something…”

“It would have been ugly…”

It was said with a straight face. wref

So it was real. grewfd

“No, no, no, but that kind of thing! Dying is a bit of a stretch, isn’t it!”

I tried toisay something like that, butiTakenaka’s eyes were deadiserious.