I Am an Emperor in a World of Mixed Anime

On the contrary, this series of reactions made Higashino Akira even more certain that he was indeed being targeted. The previous attack, whether it was a ghost or a possessed person, was all pre-arranged. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that so many people happened to be carrying weapons and decisively attacked him after the evil spirit's attack failed?

Neither those evil spirits nor the vessels they possessed that were used to launch physical attacks were innocent.

If we're talking about truly innocent people in the carriage, the only ones are probably the other passengers. Fortunately, they're all Muggles, not sensitive to psychic energy, so neither of the two waves of attacks from the evil spirits were aimed at them. Instead, they sat safely on the front lines, watching the whole thing unfold without getting hurt.

"Keep investigating. Find out their identities, the people they've been in contact with, where they got the knives, where they got the vehicles, and the train staff at the station. Check everything thoroughly."

The advantage of being an official is that it can be used to openly and legitimately do many things that the hidden secret police cannot do, and the person being investigated has to cooperate.

Once a clue is found, the rest will be handled without the need for the overt forces to go through the proper procedures. The other Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) will act swiftly to make the murderer pay the price.

After hanging up the phone, a voice called from inside the house. Higashino Akira went back and sat down with Amane Megumi Ei to quietly eat breakfast.

To be honest, it's just average. It's not bad, but it's not particularly delicious either. It's about the standard of an average housewife.

However, seeing Ying's expectant eyes, Higashino Akira nodded, acknowledging her hard work and praising her.

After all, people who don't have to cook for themselves and are just waiting for food shouldn't have too many demands.

It was another day. Since they had already woven the straw ropes they needed yesterday, the two of them started making classic and fashionable shrine-themed trinkets like amulets today, leaving the tasks of checking shrine props and doing a thorough cleaning to the last two days.

What's special about her is that her friend, Nagisa Ichiyo, who is also her half-sister, came and helped out.

As a former anime fan, although many memories have become blurred after more than 20 years, Akira Higashino has not forgotten classics like Yosuga no Sora. He naturally knows the complicated relationship between Akira Amane and Ichiyo Nagisa, not to mention that he was a witness to that event in this life and saw the old man bring the child back with his own eyes.

However, since the old man didn't say anything later, Higashino Akira kept the matter to himself.

In fact, even if Ying knew the truth, her politician father couldn't tarnish his own reputation or change Ying's situation. It would only cause her more trouble. It would be better to live each day happily. At least at the shrine, she had elders who cared about her and family who cared about her. She wasn't an abandoned child.

In the afternoon, Nagisa Ichiyo was picked up by the driver and left. Before leaving, she said a serious goodbye to Higashino Akira and Ei, promising to meet again on the day of the New Year's pilgrimage.

After a long day of crafting, Higashino Akira was exhausted, mainly because it was so tedious. On the other hand, Amane Ei was full of enthusiasm and energy, throwing herself into her work all day long.

After finishing, he plunged into the kitchen to continue his work.

She didn't wear the down jacket that Higashino Akira bought for her today, but changed back into her old red and white shrine maiden uniform, saying that she wanted to save the new clothes for the New Year.

Dinner was equally quiet, ordinary yet subtly cozy.

After that, the two of them sat together to watch TV. If there was anything different about the countryside, it was the huge technological gap. Smartphones were already popular in the city, but feature phones were still everywhere in the countryside. The TVs were also old-fashioned, with small screens and dark colors. Not to mention computers and the internet, there were very few households in the entire village of Aomuran that had computers. They were even a step behind in receiving the news.

In comparison, it certainly lacked some of the fast-paced excitement.

The phone rang suddenly. After glancing at the caller ID, Higashino Akira patted Ying, who was leaning against him, and told her to sit up. Then he took the phone and went to the door to answer it.

"Damn it, Higashino!"

"I always knew you were more than just a regional runner-up. If you had worked harder back then, you might have made it to the national tournament!"

As soon as the call connected, Hiratsuka Shizuka's loud and boisterous voice came through the other end.

"I've seen the video. He fought six armed men barehanded. He didn't embarrass me!"

"How are you? Are you alright? Is it serious?"

After listening for a while, Akira Higashino finally understood what had happened.

Everything that happened on the train that day was recorded and circulated online, becoming a popular video on various video websites. Then, Hiratsuka Shizuka recognized him and called him directly to inquire.

With sweet words, she soothed the iron fist instructor, who was clearly getting carried away and wanted to challenge her to a fight at the boxing gym after returning to Tokyo. This angered her so much that she almost drove straight to this remote and impoverished rural area.

Akira Higashino had a premonition that his phone would be buzzing with activity in the next few days.

Sure enough, after Shizuka Heiwazuka ended the call, the sheer number of red dots and messages on her social media was enough to make one's scalp tingle.

Higashino Akira looked up the video and saw that in the comments section, some trolls were even dissecting his personal information, exposing everything from his university days to high school, including which elementary school he attended, his social status, and where he lived. He had no privacy at all, and that idiot even posted a class photo.

The train schedule revealed his intention to go home, and a group of people who love a good show have already made plans to visit his family's shrine during the New Year.

Akira Higashino doesn't have anything he's afraid to let others know. Since his family owns a shrine, he's not afraid of people coming.

only…

Thinking about the boring experience of doing repetitive and tedious handicrafts all day, Higashino Akira looked up at the sky speechlessly and decided not to tell Ying about it, otherwise he would have to work overtime again in the next few days.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: An Unexpected Visitor

Thanks to the rural areas where information flow is underdeveloped.

This saved Akira Higashino from the possibility of being worried and nagged by Akira, and from the frustration of having to work overtime as the year draws to a close.

Those little amulets can't be sold for much money. It's only because Ying disagreed that Higashino Akira would have thought to just outsource the production to a factory for customization.

I selectively replied to a few close friends and teachers, and for the others, I just gave them perfunctory replies.

After finishing everything, Akira Higashino returned to the house, completely unaware that far away in Tokyo, a young girl who had been thinking about him for a long time but had been searching in vain, exuding the air of a resentful widow, was meticulously writing down the location of his house on a piece of paper, word by word, in the comments section of that video.

Time passed day by day until the New Year.

All preparations were finally completed ahead of schedule.

Akira Higashino and Akira Amatsume stopped staying at the shrine and went out early in the morning after getting ready.

hospital.

Higashino Akira sat on the empty hospital bed next door, propping his chin up as he watched Ying and the old man lying on the hospital bed chattering about their recent situation.

Akira Higashino listened quietly, as did the old man.

Listen quietly as this little girl recounts her present, expresses her hopes for the future, and speaks of her friends, family, and the wishes she has made to God.

There's never enough time to spend with important people. It felt like only a short while had passed, but Grandpa's kind face already showed signs of fatigue, which made her feel a little guilty.

The old man noticed her change in mood and gently patted her hand to reassure her.

Then, with difficulty, she turned her head to look at her grandson sitting beside her, remained silent for a long time, and then slowly spoke.

"Ming, come closer to me, I can't see you anymore."

The old man's voice was dry and hoarse, as if covered by a thick layer of cowhide, indistinct and unclear, just as he had reached the moment of his life, like a candle flickering in the wind.

Higashino Akira walked to his side and let him look at him quietly, over and over again.

The old man stared at him for a long time, gradually sinking into a deep reminiscence. It took him a long time to come out of it, and he stretched out a dry, almost skin and bones hand and placed it on his face, his expression complicated.

"You've changed since you came back."

Akira Higashino didn't speak, but listened quietly.

"I thought you would live a normal life, peacefully, without being harmed by those bad factors. I was wrong."

"I shouldn't have agreed to let you leave your hometown."

"You've been targeted by those beings once again."

Upon hearing this, Higashino Akira's pupils contracted sharply.

The more the old man spoke, the more out of control he became. Tears welled up in his cloudy eyes, and his thin chest heaved violently, making a hissing sound like a broken bellows.

"Lady Chayori can no longer protect you. Take Ei with you and leave Okumizome. A shrine without a deity can't protect you. Give the shrine away. Living is more important than anything else."

"..."

The hospital's monitoring equipment for patients' physical conditions was buzzing loudly as a large number of medical staff who remained on duty rushed into the wards and pushed hospital beds into the operating room.

Higashino Akira walked out of the hospital in a daze, with a tearful Amane Emi beside him. Looking up at the gray clouds rolling overhead, he was overwhelmed with mixed feelings.

It turns out that the so-called supernatural world had been entangled with him long before he knew it, even before he was born.

Ying sobbed softly. She didn't understand what her grandfather meant by those words. She only knew that her grandfather probably wouldn't make it through the winter, and she felt sad about it.

The crying brought Higashino Akira back to his senses, and he gently wiped away the tears on her face.

When he wiped her face, Ying cried even harder. She hugged him tightly, buried her face in his chest, and burst into loud, heart-wrenching sobs.

Higashino Akira let her cry as much as she wanted; the more she cried, the more she would release her emotions and feel better.

When Ying finally stopped crying and was exhausted, he carried her on his back and took her home.

That night, Ying had cried herself to sleep halfway there. Higashino Akira didn't wake her up. He ate the New Year's Eve dinner that had been prepared but had gone cold by himself. After a few bites, he found it tasteless, sighed, poured himself a cup of tea, and sat in the courtyard, lost in thought.

The old man still had many unsaid words he hadn't had time to say.

Perhaps he simply mistook the things he was involved with for former enemies, but the very fact that he had this misunderstanding proves that Akira Higashino still has a formidable foe in the world.

Even from the few words he uttered, one could sense the depth of the implications; last time, even the deity enshrined in his own shrine perished.

Even if we follow the old man's arrangements and find another backer, they are not the gods that our family has worshipped for generations. If we encounter danger, will they still do their best to help us?

Can they really be relied upon?

I really can't trust Akira Higashino to rely on others.

Akira Higashino considered himself a person with principles. He wasn't a pushover, but he wasn't a complete villain either. So why did he suddenly feel like he was the enemy of the world?

This treacherous world, sometimes I really want to humiliate it!

From the other side of the mountain path, a familiar voice could be heard in the distance.

"Hey! Is anyone home?"

Higashino Akira quietly looked up and saw a woman dragging a suitcase slowly walking up to him, using her cell phone as a flashlight.

Upon seeing the person's face, Akira Higashino was even more startled.

"No, are you an idiot?! It's Chinese New Year, why aren't you at home? What are you doing here?"

"You idiot, I only came to hang out with you for a while because of the New Year. If I stayed at home, I would either be ridiculed by relatives coming in pairs, or I would be kicked out of the house after the New Year and face endless blind dates, only to be rejected by everyone. Those blind bastards, boohoo..."

Hiratsuka Shizuka walked over with a miserable look on her face. As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes. She slapped Higashino Akira's shoulder hard through gritted teeth, then suddenly acted like a little bird clinging to him, walked to his side, pressed her head against his, took out her phone, snapped a selfie, sent it to the family group chat, and then quickly turned off her phone.

Akira Higashino, who could face evil spirits without flinching and deliver a powerful blow, suddenly changed his expression after watching Shizuka Hiratsuka's complete operation.

Oh no, I've been forced to shut down by this "leftover" customer!

This world is stupid enough, how come even people are so abstract, holy crap!

"Hey, what's with that expression you're making!"

Hiratsuka Shizuka was a little annoyed by Higashino Akira's reaction. "No matter what, I'm a real beauty. You don't even need to coordinate anything. You just need to appear on camera. Is that so bad for you?"

"I haven't settled the score with you about what happened on the phone a few days ago!"

...................................................

...................................................

P.S.: I can't write anymore today. It's too noisy outside, all I hear are fireworks, each one louder than the last. Some of them even set off the car alarms in the parking spaces downstairs. It's making me dizzy and my thoughts are all jumbled up. I'll stop with three updates for now. If I don't fall asleep and the fireworks stop, I'll continue writing. I still owe 35 updates.