I'm a teacher in Tokyo!

Mako had considered asking directly, but to be honest, she wasn't good at socializing and didn't know the city's customs.

For example, would it seem abrupt to ask such a question? Is this really a private matter?

Will asking this question offend people?

In fact, because Mako has often used her abilities to make things go smoothly since she was a child, her speaking skills are not very high, and she is also very stubborn in some matters.

Just like now, seeing Tomie come in and start a conversation with the teacher in front of her, Mako doesn't know whether she should leave or stay here.

At this moment, Yoshizaki Kawa seemed to see her difficulty and introduced her to Mako, saying, "This is Kawakami Tomie. She will be your classmate from now on. You can ask her if you have any questions."

"This is Mako Yamamura, she just joined our school, Tomie, you mustn't bully her."

"Mako, you should go back to your dorm first. Once things are done here, I'll have the teacher send you the textbooks."

Yoshizaki Kawa mainly noticed that Yamamura Mako's gaze towards Tomie seemed a bit off, so he sent her away.

However, this also confirmed his belief that Yamamura Mako was just a similar-sounding name. If she were truly the terrifying ghost from The Ring, she wouldn't be affected by a mere Tomie!

Hehe, little Tomie, watch how your brother deals with her!

From Tomie's words, Yoshizaki naturally realized that she was trying to dig a hole for him, but—to fight him? She's not quite there yet!

Yoshizaki's lips curled slightly upwards as he looked at Tomie with a hint of a smile:

Regarding your question earlier.

"Why would I confiscate it? Those are your personal belongings. At most, I'll let you take them back with you and not allow them to appear at school. You're really underestimating your teacher!"

Damn it, I should have used that line to shut him up!

Tomie held her breath and said in a muffled voice:

"……Fine."

This guy's skills are too high; I can't beat him at all.

Still angry, I walked to a corner and tore open the bag;

When she saw what was inside, she paused for a moment, then picked up a roll of garbage bags, held it up, and asked, "What, you're planning to give me six rolls of garbage bags? In that case, I won't be polite..."

"Yes, when I went to the crematorium before, they gave me six scrolls. You can take them if you want."

Since it's free anyway, it doesn't matter.

Upon hearing this, Tomie chuckled; she didn't believe this was a crematorium.

This miser must be afraid that I'll take the bag away, so he's saying this on purpose to scare me.

Excuse me, Yoshizaki Kawa—I see right through your tricks!

"Okay, I'll take it. It'll be perfect for storing these statues."

She happily opened a roll, and at the same time, a piece of paper floated out of the bag and fell to the ground;

Tomie Kawakami paused for a moment, then picked up the paper, looked down at its contents, and noticed what appeared to be a slight white powder on it.

Her face stiffened slightly, her brain went numb, and she stood there frozen in place;

next moment,

"what!"

With a scream, Tomie quickly threw away the garbage bag in her hand, and her face turned pale instantly.

Terrified, she shuffled backward step by step, squeezed into the corner, sat on the ground, and cried out in a sob, "Yoshizaki Kawa, you bastard!"

Tomie is terrified of anything related to death. Whenever she sees such things, she thinks about how terrible death is.

It's like falling asleep and never waking up again; there's no consciousness, nothing at all, everything is nothingness.

Even her fear of ghosts stems from the very meaning she embodies;

--die.

All the beauty you possess, all the money you have, all the admiration you receive from others—all of these amount to nothing in the face of death.

Even if I am praised after my death, will I be able to see it?

No, I can't see it, I can't feel it, I can't hear it.

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you."

Yoshizaki Kawa didn't expect such a thing to scare Tomie like this, especially since he had already warned her; she was just asking for trouble.

However, experience told him not to reason with beautiful women, so he sighed, stood up, and pulled her up from the ground.

"It's my fault, I'm sorry."

Grabbing Yoshizaki Kawa's hand and feeling the warmth of a living person, she calmed down a bit. With teary eyes, she glared at him fiercely: "You scared me! You have to compensate me!"

Women are so unreasonable.

Yoshizaki sighed, but he admitted that he was partly to blame for the situation, and that he had actually had some intentional thoughts just now. So he said, "...compensation within a reasonable range."

"Treat me to dinner! And it has to be a really expensive one!"

"Can--"

"Also—I'm so scared I can't attend class this afternoon, you have to grant me leave!"

"No."

"I accidentally cut my hand while clipping my nails this morning, and I need to take the day off."

"Don't go too far."

……

at the same time,

Inside the shrine, Higa Kotoko was dressed in a formal shrine maiden outfit, holding a sacred tablet in her hand. Around her, dozens of people, holding sacred tablets and dressed in priest's robes, stood solemnly.

In front of them was a road paved with pure white mountain stones;

At the very front of the road was a tall wooden frame, on which flowers, dogwood, and red silk banners fluttered high.

On the table on the wooden shelf, there was simply a piece of paper offered as a sacrifice;

In front of the paper was a large wooden basin filled with water, with a bamboo pole lying across it and eight porcelain bowls upside down.

After obtaining the paper, Kotoko studied various materials, attempting to find the root of the curse so that she could prevent it from erupting in the future.

But she could not find such a curse in any of the books.

Since she couldn't find the source of that terrifying resentment, Higa Kotoko finally decided to try the method of "asking the gods".

The main reason for choosing this method is that "God" is isolated from the world, so he will not be touched by the curse, and naturally will not cause the curse to rebound.

In short, this is simply inviting a "god" to see what this thing really is.

Of course, there is no God in this world.

The so-called God is nothing more than the embodiment of a will.

After seeing that everything was ready, she nodded slightly:

"Alright—let's begin."

As the four high priests knelt in their respective positions, elegant music began to play, and the wind whistled.

Kotoko stood barefoot on the mountain rocks;

Step by step, we move forward with devotion;

until,

Kneel before the platform and begin chanting the incantation;

next moment,

The clear water in the basin began to churn inexplicably;

At this time,

A red dot appeared in the center of the basin, and almost instantly, the entire basin of water turned blood red, like thick blood plasma;

The entire wooden platform began to sway as a strong wind rose.

The half-finished note seemed to be affected by the wind, swaying slightly;

Then——

From the gaps in the paper, a black liquid, as dark as ink, seeped out, one drop, two drops, falling heavily into the basin.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 82 Remarks on the launch

This book will be available on the shelves tomorrow at noon.

Thanks to all the brothers for their support along the way, and thanks to editor Meteor for the signing opportunity. Meteor is a very responsible editor; he will help you get all kinds of recommendations submitted, and he will also help unblock chapters at night.

For readers who are interested in writing, you can give it a try!

Many thanks to the two great guys, Moyu and Yipianxuebing, for their posts.