I'm a demon in Tokyo!

Chapter 392 New Area - Asahikawa City (3.5-5 stars)! Side Quest: Shrine Ema and the Demon Father
Chisa silently breathed a sigh of relief.

She knows he's a fake human; she's been in Hokkaido for many days now. Before, Ririko-neechan killed off a large number of them, so he's not a very powerful monster.

If she uses her wisdom, the chances of her surviving encounter are still quite high—if she is alone or two, she can barely handle them if she has a weapon.

But what is "the ghostly ringtone"...?

--sly? ghost?

Upon seeing these two lines of notifications, Uesugi Tetsu's mood was not as relaxed as Chisa's.

What is a ghost?
He has never seen any demons or monsters with that word as a suffix until now.

It's neither a demon nor a monster from the ordinary world, nor does it seem like a ghost story. What exactly is this "strange" thing?
Uesugi Tetsu wanted Chisa to use her True Sight to look at the corpses more often, but he was also worried that if she saw something, it would summon the true form of the "Belling Ghost".

Didn't you see that all those fake people who had encountered the "Bell Ringing Ghost" were dead? This pile of corpses is the best proof of the Bell Ringing Ghost's danger.

Uesugi Tetsu observed quietly for a while longer before speaking.
"Don't move yet, wait until all the fake people in the classroom are dead."

Chisa stood still like a doll, completely obedient.

Her previously pounding heart gradually calmed down.

Because of Master's words...

It's really reassuring.

After waiting for about three or four more minutes, as Uesugi Tetsuya expressionlessly watched the three or four pseudo-humans that had been torn apart beyond recognition, a notification suddenly popped up in front of his eyes—

[You have been in the new area for more than ten minutes. Unlocking the new area...]

Uesugi Tetsuya, far away in Shizuoka Prefecture, had a slight change in expression. He hadn't expected that simply having his consciousness descend upon Hyakume could be considered as having reached a new area.

This is broken.

However, Uesugi Tetsu knew that it was too late for him to leave now, so he might as well stay on Hyakume to finish reading the instructions and wait and see.

After confirming that Chisa still couldn't see the prompt using the All-Seeing Eye, Uesugi Tetsuya turned his gaze back to the semi-transparent panel in front of him.

[Your area unlocking quest is complete... Error...]

The system was about to send rewards, just like it had done before with the "Area Unlocking Mission" at Kisaragi Station, but it seemed to have discovered that Uesugi Tetsu hadn't actually completed the mission.

Therefore, it experienced a brief downtime.

【…】

Your area unlocking mission is incomplete!

[Detection indicates you have been in the new area for more than ten minutes...]

The bug has been fixed.

[You have not received the corresponding unlock rewards because you have not completed the area unlock mission!]

[Because your area unlocking quest can no longer be completed, your area unlocking item, the Black Man's Book, has lost its "unlock new areas" property!]

[Currently unlocked area: Asahikawa City (3.5-5 stars)]

Deep, blood-red characters unfolded before Uesugi Tetsuya's eyes.

However, the crimson color has not yet stained the entire row of prompts, which probably means that the difficulty of the Asahikawa City area is not yet four and a half or even five stars.

[Dear World Walker, due to the current special circumstances and the significantly increased difficulty of the current area, the relevant tasks in this area have changed. Please check them yourself.]

"Respected Eternal Walker..."

Uesugi Tetsu glanced at the first character—it wasn't mentioned in any of the other hints. Could it be that this hint came about because of the convenience of his identity?
Chang Shixing's backing is still strong enough.

As for the current difficulty level, which is probably three and a half or four stars, it's just right for Uesugi Tetsuya.

But for Chisa...

That would be a living hell where even the slightest misstep could lead to utter ruin, or even simply staying put could result in being taken by passing ghosts or monsters.

The region-related prompts are still popping up.

Uesugi Tetsu lowered his gaze, wanting to see what changes had occurred to the mission.

[Required Task 1: Light Up the Shrine. Please light up the shrine in the "Asahikawa City" area.]

[—Click to display shrine coordinates]

[Required Mission Two: Destroy the Closed Loop. Regardless of the means, destroy the "closed loop" belonging to Asahikawa City.]

[—The way you destroy the "Asahikawa City closed loop" will significantly impact the regional assessment! Please make your decision carefully!]

[The following are the main quests and side quests—]

[Note: Main quests and side quests are not mandatory in this area, but completing them will improve the area's rating.]

"If I don't select either the main quest or the side quests... does that mean I can complete the entire area's mission simply by lighting up the shrine and destroying the city?"

We can now use the "skipping class" method to speedrun.

That being said, Uesugi Tetsu found it unusually difficult.

If it were just about destroying Asahikawa City, also known as the "City of False Humans," then all that would be needed is to find Nanjo-nee, Oni-on Kensuke, or at worst, ask someone to ask the Sword Saint for help. That would easily wipe the city off the map.

If the goal is simply to speedrun the game and prevent the potential harm that Asahikawa City might cause in the future, without any rewards, it can be speedrunned in a day at most.

There is no way Uesugi Tetsu could do that.

Firstly, even if a region is cleared quickly, the region's evaluation and rewards will likely be exceptionally low, and things haven't reached that point yet.

Secondly... Chisa is still inside.

Come to think of it, this is the first time I've been allowed to "easily pass through" a region.

Uesugi Tetsu focused his attention and looked at the task prompts below.

[Main Quest 1 (Optional): With Hundred Eyes in Hand. Ensure "Thousand Veils'" survival within Asahikawa City.]

[If this mission fails, the difficulty of the Asahikawa City area will increase significantly!]

A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

really.

Chisa's capture was related to "Hyakume," and Hyakume did indeed have a significant influence on Asahikawa City.

[Main Mission 2 (Optional): Before the "Ring" ends, ensure that "Kujou Machi" dies no more than ninety-nine times in Asahikawa City.]

[If this mission fails, the difficulty of the Asahikawa City area will immediately increase to the highest level! And the area will undergo unknown changes!]

[If this mission fails simultaneously with "Main Mission 1", the difficulty of the Asahikawa City area will most likely exceed the area's limit!]

"ring."

Uesugi Tetsu silently repeated, recalling how Karuta had once used "Probe Possibilities" to obtain results related to "Rings".

Kujo Machi is undoubtedly a key figure in this region.

Kujo.

"The Kujo family..."

Uesugi Tetsu's thoughts drifted to Kujo Tsubaki and Kujo Oboroya, and he decided to turn back and ask them.

and many more.

Uesugi Tetsu caught a rather outrageous keyword – “ninety-nine times”!
Even if Kujo Machi died in Asahikawa City, he could be resurrected. Wouldn't that make him the same as he was in the ordinary world?

The only difference is that Kujo Machi can only die ninety-nine times, while he, although having a countdown to resurrection, can resurrect infinitely. The key question is... how does he know how many times Kujo Machi has died so far?
If I've already died 98 times, wouldn't the difficulty of Asahikawa City be about to reach its maximum?
Uesugi Tetsu felt a headache coming on. He ignored the second main quest and accepted the first quest first, then saw the pop-up notification—

[Current safety level of Qiansha: Relatively safe.]

The bright green with hints of yellow made Uesugi Tetsuya's expression relax slightly.

This tip is pretty good; it has a certain warning effect and lets you know when you encounter a "safe house".

For him now, it's practically a "baby-raising magic tool".

Side Quest 1: Trust in the Nine True Principles. Gradually increase your trust level in the "Nine True Principles".

Side Quest 2: The Bell Ringing at Asahikawa High Schools. Investigate the truth behind the bell ringing that has recently appeared at various high schools in Asahikawa City and find its source.

Side Quest 3: Shrine Ema. Please deliver the item "Shrine Ema" to the current shrine maiden at "Shiratsu Shrine".

Side Quest 4: Dad's here? ...

Side Quest Five: ...

There were still many side quests, but Uesugi Tetsu didn't continue reading.

Because someone has arrived.

He casually accepted the [Side Quest 1], and a new prompt popped up in front of him.

[Current Trust Level for the Nine Insights: 0 (Distrust)]

That's right.

Approaching from outside the classroom seemingly unaware, was none other than Kujo Machi, a key figure in the Asahikawa City area!
Uesugi Tetsu thought to himself that luck had finally smiled upon him.

If you're unlucky, who knows when you'll find a specific person in such a huge city full of fakes.

Using the effect of the All-Seeing Eye, Uesugi Tetsuya focused the True Sight on the head of the black-haired girl named "Kujou Machi," and then showed the clue to Chisa.

【Nine True Knowledge】

[—She seems to be an ordinary...somewhat strong, ordinary eighteen-year-old human girl?]

Haha, a mere Eye of True Sight can't see through the disguise of such a key figure. Only a fool would believe that this guy is holding a baton, has prayer beads all over his forearms, and is covered in talismans and crosses...

The strange and unusual things inside the classroom suggest that the girl, who is clearly wary of what is happening in the classroom, is probably an ordinary person.

The good news is that Kujo Machi's appearance is indeed "ordinary"—like a human.

But whether she is even human is still uncertain.

But anyway...

"Qian Sha, she will most likely be our partner in the future. Do as I say and test her first... When she gets to the door, use 10 True Sight Eyes to observe her."

Uesugi Tetsu paused, then whispered in Chisa's mind.

His original idea was not so radical.

He only said that it was because Kujo Machi's arrival eliminated the "scanning gaze" that had always been faintly present, allowing him to protect Chisa through Hyakume's intervention.

Although Chisa hesitated slightly, she did not hesitate at all.

When the fully armed girl walked to the classroom door, stepping on the sticky black blood, Chisa immediately activated ten True Sight Eyes to look at her.

The notification above Kujo Machi's head, which had been blurry, changed.

【Nine True Knowledge】

[—Exceptionally strong, exceptionally calm, able to see all the ghosts in Asahikawa City, and has seen most of the ghosts' "visible girl".]

—Can you see the ghost?
In other words, are ordinary people, and even many ordinary fake people in Asahikawa City, "unable to see" the supernatural?

As Uesugi Tetsu pondered, he glanced out of the corner of his eye at the faint, eerie black aura swirling around the newly appeared, fake human corpses on the ground.

Without using the Ten True Sights, Chisa couldn't see these "black energies".

Thinking of this, Uesugi Tetsuya looked at Kujo Machi with a hint of joy in his eyes.

Because he didn't know whether the rule in Asahikawa City was "you can only be killed by a ghost if you can see it" or "you can be killed at will by a ghost if you can't see it".

If it's the latter... Kujo Machi's ability to see is undoubtedly a huge bug!

In no time, Uesugi Tetsuya finished his consideration and said to Chisa, "Chisa, first tell her your name, then ask her, 'Can you see it too?'"

As they spoke, Uesugi Tetsuya noticed that Kujo Machi, standing at the door, seemed quite nervous—again, because of Chisa.

Is it because Chisa's face is unfamiliar, and she's the only living person there...?

He had no idea for the time being, so he could only carefully examine the "equipment" all over Kujo Machi's body.

Then, somewhat frustratingly, it was discovered that most of these strange exorcism items were worthless, comparable in quality to the cheap street vendor items that could be slashed from 100,000 yuan to 10 yuan each.

At most, only the baton and prayer beads are still somewhat useful.

Uesugi Tetsu watched Chisa walk over, then stood on tiptoe and said softly,
"Sister, my name is Chisa."

"Can you see it too?"

He stared intently at Kujo Machi, trying to glean some clues from the latter's expression and answer.

"Hehehe."

Kujo Machi grinned stiffly, scratched his head, pointed at the blackboard, shrugged, and asked in return,

"Can you see it? Can you see what? The math homework on the blackboard? Sorry, classmate, I'm a delinquent and I didn't do my homework yesterday, so I won't be able to lend it to you to copy."

The girl's lips suddenly twitched, and she said loudly again,

"Not only yesterday, but today, tomorrow, and every day thereafter, I will not do my homework!"

She said with a disdainful look, "This is my way of survival, the way of the delinquent girl Kujo Machi!"

Then, Kujo Machi nonchalantly walked past Chisa, calmly stepping through the narrow gaps between the corpses to his seat, and began tidying up the brand-new books as if they were nothing.

This action not only left Chisa stunned and bewildered, but also caused Uesugi Tetsuya's CPU to overheat.

He never expected that the "visible" Nine True Principles would answer in such a unique way!
But the next moment, the pop-up notification made Uesugi Tetsuya almost feel like his cerebellum was about to atrophy.

[Due to Chisa's words, Kujo Machi's trust level increases by 10.]

[Current Trust Level for the Nine Insights: 10 (Beware of the intertwining of fear-induced distrust and the desire to trust)]

No, what is going on?
Trust has increased, but he pretends not to understand what Chisa is saying?

the reason is simple.

Yu Guangli is currently revisiting nine brand-new pieces of wisdom, which he hasn't even opened the textbook once or twice.

Before the middle school girl's nose, a purplish-black mass of flesh, its surface covered with dozens of different pale limbs, and viscous fleshy folds from which the distorted faces of her former classmates kept emerging, opened its dozens of eerie mouths, asking again and again in a sinister, eerie voice, "..."

"Can you see it...?"

"Can you see it...?"

"Can you see it?"

Kujo Makoto was nearly driven mad by the repeated, hundreds and thousands of eerie whispers that echoed in his ears.

But the middle school girl who asked herself, "Can I see it too?" couldn't see it at all...

(End of this chapter)