Poor magical girls, work for me!

Although there was no fierce fighting last night, the entire operation utilized a great deal of supernatural observation.

The extreme mental exhaustion caused Ryosuke Miyagi to sleep until 3 p.m.

I slept for six hours straight, and the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a little dolphin floating in the air.

Seeing that Ryosuke Miyagi had woken up, "Shio" flew over and nuzzled his face.

Judging from this interaction, he felt that tide, this spirit, was very special.

He spread his right hand out and gently lifted his index finger to support tide's small body.

Are you hungry?

Xi nodded.

Ryosuke Miyagi took a bag of dried fish from the refrigerator—it was left by Sena Momose that morning.

It loves to eat dried small fish.

It was swallowed in one gulp.

After finishing her meal, she looked at Ryosuke Miyagi with teary eyes.

"...Do you want to eat more?"

tide nodded again.

Ryosuke Miyagi immediately took out his phone and ordered ten bags of dried fish.

Shio gave a satisfied shout and kept circling around Miyagi Ryosuke.

Last night's message from Nanako prompted Ryosuke Miyagi to decide to try out the Level 4 Book Spirit tonight. He picked up his phone and sent a message in the group chat.

"Work tonight. Level 4 Book Spirit, Chiyoda Ward. Meet at the usual place at 6 PM. Same pay as always, 2 gold coins. Take the materials with you."

The phone started vibrating incessantly as soon as the message was sent.

Hikawa: "Level 4! Perfect for practice! 2 gold coins! 2 gold coins!!!"

Matsushima Yukio: "Understood. Is there anything else I need to prepare?"

Sena Momose: "I'm working again!! I still have so much debt to pay... QAQ"

Nanatsuji Kirion: "Ryosuke-kun, is Shio going too?"

Ryosuke Miyagi glanced at Shio by the window.

"It's also a fighting force. Of course we'll go."

Hikawa: "Great! I want to see what Shio's ability is, that spirit is so cute!"

……

Six o'clock in the afternoon.

In the coffee shop.

Four girls appeared right on time.

Today, Hikawa was dressed in a black tracksuit, with a chainsaw slung over his shoulder, looking very energetic.

Matsushima Yukio was still wearing that faded white wool sweater, carrying a convenience store plastic bag.

Sena Momose was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and holding a cloth bag full of crystal powder.

Nanatsuji Kirion was dressed as a shrine maiden and carrying a bulging cloth bag on her back.

There was also a small dolphin floating beside Ryosuke Miyagi.

"Shi!"

Himawari rushed over, wanting to touch it.

tide dodged for a moment, but not completely.

It seems to have started to get used to the group of girls.

"Boss, what's the situation with that book spirit?"

Hikawa asked.

Ryosuke Miyagi placed the intelligence on the table.

"In Chiyoda Ward, Kanda-Jimbocho, there's a used bookstore called 'Sankodo.' A Level 4 Book Spirit, its true form is an old book. It pulls people into the world within the book; three people have already gone missing."

"The world within the book?"

Matsushima Yukio frowned slightly.

"Isn't it easy to get infected?"

"Therefore, we must be careful in this operation."

Ryosuke Miyagi looked at them.

"Once inside, don't get distracted. No matter what you see, stay connected."

He paused.

"The Mist's barrier might not be useful here, but talismans can."

"Information about that vengeful spirit is limited, and everyone will need to adapt to the situation as it arises."

All four nodded at the same time.

"Understood."

"Then let's go."

Ryosuke Miyagi begins his test of the Standing Technique!

"null."

On the wall, the bus door slowly appeared.

Five people filed in.

tide Piao was at the very end, looking at the door with curiosity.

Then he crawled inside too.

...

Kanda Jimbocho, Chiyoda-ku.

This street is a famous used bookstore district in Tokyo, with large and small bookstores lining both sides. The afterglow of the setting sun shines on the storefronts piled high with boxes of books, giving the whole street a warm orange hue.

But at this moment, the five people were standing in front of a shop, and none of them were in the mood to appreciate the scenery.

"Sanguangtang".

An old wooden sign hung askew above the door, its lettering faded and worn. The roller shutter door was half-open, letting in dim light through the crack. A police seal was affixed to the door, but it had been torn in half.

A strange smell permeated the air—not the musty smell unique to old books, but something deeper, more decaying.

It's as if the pages of a book have rotted for a hundred years.

It was as if something was slowly fermenting deep within the pile of books.

[Target Confirmed]

【Chiyoda Ward·Kanda Jimbocho·Sankodo】

【Resentment Transformed into a Book Spirit (Level 4)】

Status: Active

[Note: It knows you're coming, be careful.]

Ryosuke Miyagi closed the Witcher's Hunting Manual.

"This is it."

Hikawa peered through the crack in the roller shutter door.

"It was pitch black, I couldn't see anything..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the lights in the shop suddenly turned on.

The dim light shone through the crack in the door, casting a thin strip of light on the floor.

Immediately afterwards...

The sound of pages turning.

Splash splash splash splash.

It was densely packed, like thousands of books turning pages at the same time.

"It's obvious that guy has already spotted us."

Matsushima Yukio was already in battle mode, her staff in her hand.

"Foggy, get ready."

"Um!"

Nanatsuji Kirion took out a talisman and stuck it on the roller shutter door.

A flash of pale golden light, and the roller shutter door slid open silently.

The store doors were wide open.

Inside was a small secondhand bookstore.

Books were piled up from floor to ceiling.

Books were everywhere—on the shelves, on the tables, on the floor, and even on the stairs.

Some books were neatly stacked, some were scattered on the ground, and some were piled up higher than a person.

And in the gaps between those books

Pairs of eyes stared intently at the door.

Small, dimly lit eyes peered out from the gaps in the spine of the book.

"Holy crap..."

Hikawa gripped the chainsaw tightly.

"What's going on...?"

Ryosuke Miyagi took out his "gun" and raised his revolver.

[Extraordinary Observation - Launch]

In an instant, the world slowed down.

His gaze swept over the books.

Each of these books is imbued with a subtle trace of resentment.

Those resentments, like vines, extended from every book, converging at…

The deepest part of the shop.

Among the organized information, Ryosuke Miyagi spotted an old desk through the messy pile of books.

There was a book on the desk.

It was a very thin book, the cover of which was already blurred and only a few words could be vaguely seen.

"Stories of ××"

All those resentments poured into that book.

[Target locked!]

[The body of the resentful book spirit]

[Location: On a desk deep inside the shop]

[Status: Currently absorbing the resentment of all the books in the store]

[Note: These books are all part of it. Each book is a trap.]

Ends in 2 seconds.

Ryosuke Miyagi opened his eyes.

"The main body is at the very back. It's the thin book on the desk. It's a level 4 vengeful spirit; if you're careful, you can handle it easily."

The magical girls have now reached level 5, so dealing with a level 4 vengeful spirit is a piece of cake for them.

"These books..."

He paused.

"Don't touch it."

"As long as you don't touch them, they're just books; every book is a trap."

Himawari nodded.

"Understood! Don't touch the book! Only cut the main body!"

She picked up the chainsaw and rushed inside.

But they had only taken one step...

Suddenly, the ground beneath my feet gave way to emptiness.

The ground disappeared.

She plummeted downwards!

"Hikawa!!"

Matsushima Yukio's ice wall instantly rose up beneath Hikawa's feet, attempting to support her.

But the ice wall was in vain.

Himawari has disappeared.