I planted a sacred tree in Tokyo.

Chapter 275 Under the Night

The sun sets in the west.

Lights shone from the buildings with their curtains drawn.

"Thank you for your help, Kosaki."

In the living room filled with cardboard boxes of all sizes, a girl with a side ponytail is helping to organize things.

"It's alright, Aunt Chenyue."

“I live right next door: I can go home anytime.”

As she tidied up her things, the girl answered questions, making the housewife cooking in the kitchen increasingly satisfied.

How could she, as a mother, be completely unaware of her son's little schemes?

"But when I visited before, no one was home?"

Having just moved here, according to island customs, it's customary to visit all the neighbors with gifts so that everyone can look out for each other in the future. However, there was no one in the apartment next door.

"Yes, I live alone now."

"My parents were in a car accident a few years ago when they went out to run errands."

then,

There's no after that.

Aside from dying of old age, even before the arrival of a superhuman, people often die from car accidents or natural disasters.

Car accident?

"Oh, sorry."

Mrs. Chenyue, who was cooking, paused, stopped talking, and silently chopped vegetables.

"Saki, are you okay on your own?"

Put your personal cardboard box in your room.
Tatsuki Hayato walked into the living room and sat down opposite the girl.

"Although the extraordinary disaster 'Rift of the Underworld' has ended, the subsequent 'Wandering of Evil Spirits' still exists."

Living alone is a big no-no!

The simplest way to deal with evil spirits is to have more people.

Humans are social creatures after all; when there are many people, courage immediately rises.

The 'evil spirit' is essentially the echo of a human's death. One against one, most people might be afraid, but if the number of humans increases, it is the 'evil spirit' that should be afraid.

"No problem,"

"It seems you are unfamiliar with the 'customs' here, so let me explain them to you."

The girl put down what she was holding and explained the town's rules to her childhood friend, who is now her neighbor.

"There are no evil spirits here,"

"In its place is Lord 'Nether Slave'."

The so-called 'underworld slaves' are the same 'old men in mourning clothes' we encountered before, and they are also the many 'extraordinary beings' currently wandering around the town.

Some say it's because we are protected by our ancestors, and evil spirits are bound within us by them;

Some say it's because of the resurrection of the 'Underworld Slave' according to local legend.

Having recounted the unverified legends, let's turn to the practical issues:
"These 'underworld slaves' will appear after the school bell rings; usually around seven o'clock, based on the bell's chime."

"As long as they stay inside the building and avoid eye contact with the 'Nether Slaves,' they will only wander aimlessly."

"If you encounter a 'Netherworld Slave,' as long as you can hide inside a building in time, you will be fine."

Compared to that, the 'evil spirits' that might crawl out from under the covers or climb down from the ceiling are actually more frightening.

"Isn't anyone trying to eliminate them?"

Tatsuki Yuuto couldn't help but ask,
Kyoto has suffered from the crisis of the 'Cracks of the Underworld',

But Kafka Lu arrived quickly and stopped the situation from spiraling out of control—it was actually an illusion created by Takahashi Eileen.

Immediately afterward, the Yellow Springs Rift was sealed, and then the Army's superhumans repeatedly cleaned it up several times. Coupled with the huge population of Kyoto, even the mindless evil spirits had long since fled.

So apart from the initial impact, you won't see any evil spirits afterward.

Tatsuki Yuuto instinctively felt incredulous at the coexistence of humans and 'ghosts' in his hometown.

How to eliminate it?

Saki rolled her eyes at her childhood playmate.
"The most distinctive feature of these 'underworld slaves' is that they are immortal."

"Whether it's beheading, shooting, or crushing, they recover quickly."

The real reason wasn't just that. Initially, the town also planned to eliminate these 'underworld slaves'; however, they found that the 'underworld slaves' were difficult to kill, and they lost a lot of manpower.

Later, people discovered that since the appearance of the 'underworld slaves', the 'evil spirits' have actually disappeared!

In comparison, it would be better to let the 'underworld slaves' exist.

"Moreover, because our town doesn't have a crematorium and everyone is buried in the ground, many of the 'ghost slaves' look like people who have died in the town, and many people can't bring themselves to kill them."

Some even claim that their ancestors appeared to them, binding the 'evil spirit' within their bodies to protect the town.

"I see,"

Tatsuki Yuuto nodded.

As the old saying goes: when faced with two evils, choose the lesser one.

Compared to these aimless wandering 'slaves', 'evil spirits' are far more dangerous.

Then let them wander around: anyway, as the girl said, this town doesn't have much of a nightlife.

"If that's all there is to it, then it's not bad—"

"what!!"

A short scream suddenly rang out, startling both Yuuto and Saki in the living room, who turned to look at each other simultaneously. Yuuto's mother, Mrs. Yuuto, stood there, holding a bloodstained kitchen knife, her face blank.

? !
"Aunt Chenyue?"

"Put the knife down—"

With a quick glance, Tatsuki Hayato saw the source of the blood:
The fingers of the mother's other hand!
brush,

Without thinking, he pounced on it.

?

Slightly startled,
The girl Saki also got up and rushed over.

"Quick, get the first-aid kit!"

Suddenly snatching the kitchen knife from his mother's hand, Tatsuki Hayato pressed down on his mother's injured wrist while turning to ask Saki to get the first-aid kit.

"It's in that red cardboard box!"

"Huh? Oh, okay."

After a flurry of activity, the two finally managed to treat the wound on Mrs. Chenyue's dazed hand.

"What happened?"

Did you accidentally cut your hand while cooking?

After helping the distraught Mrs. Tatsuki to the sofa, Tatsuki Hayato's gaze fell on the kitchen counter.

His mother's phone was right there; if anything seemed amiss, it would most likely be related to the phone. Could it be—

The thought of his father, who had not returned home, sank into Chenyue Yongren's heart.

His father went to see his older brother, who was also Tatsuki Yuuto's uncle, to discuss work matters: to rest there tonight.

Could something have happened to my father?
"I'm fine, I'm fine."

With Saki's comforting words, Mrs. Tatsuki, regaining her senses, waved her hand, but tears silently streamed down her face.

This appearance doesn't look like 'anything' at all.

"Mother, has something happened to Father?"

Tatsuki Hayato walked over with his phone and handed it to his mother.

Based on his understanding of his parents, their relationship wasn't just good, it was extremely good!
They've been married for almost twenty years, yet they're still often deeply in love, making him seem like an 'unexpected' presence at home.

Only a father could have caused a mother to be so distraught!
"I'm sorry, Yuuto."

Wiping away her tears with the back of her hand, the young Mrs. Chenyue seemed to be trying to calm herself down, but her rapidly heaving chest made her words fragmented.

“Your father…he…sent this text message.”

As Mrs. Chenyue unlocked the screen, a simple message appeared.

'I'm sorry, I misspoke.'

"This is?"

What does that mean? It's completely nonsensical.

Amidst the bewildered expressions of Yuuto and Saki, Mrs. Tatsuki, who had finally calmed down somewhat, explained to them.

"I once made a promise with Yuuto's father;"

He said that in order not to make me sad, he would definitely die after me.

Whoever dies first, the one left behind will suffer unspeakable grief: when Mrs. Chenyue heard the young Mr. Chenyue say these words earnestly back then, she didn't understand. But now—

I can't cry!

"Yūto's father, Yūto's father."

The fact that he suddenly sent back such a message means he's going to die!
"Could it be that Father encountered a 'slave of the underworld'?"

Thinking of this possibility, Tatsuki Hayato quickly took out his phone.

Call the police!

however--

"Feel sorry,"

"We will not be dispatching officers at this time."

But a cold rejection came from the other end of the phone.
"I am just a patrolman. During the time when Lord 'Nether Slave' was operating, it would be beyond my capabilities to act rashly in the town."

After saying that, he hung up the phone directly.

"this?!"

"Yugo, calm down."

Saki, standing nearby, comforted the stunned Tatsuki Hayato, who was almost so angry that he threw his phone.

“We only have one patrolman in our small town. Do you expect him to go looking for your father at this time?”

“He was just an ‘ordinary’ patrol officer.”

It would be more appropriate to send someone with superhuman abilities.

"If Father is hiding somewhere because he was attacked by 'Netherworld Slaves'."

Are we just going to do nothing and wait for news of his death to come back?

"I'll go find my father and bring him back!"

Tatsuki Yuuto stood up; as a son, he couldn't just sit there idly.

? !
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: I visited relatives, so I didn't get to see everyone as often as I wanted. Sorry!
(End of this chapter)