The Demon King, reborn in Japan as a monk

"Indeed, dreams have great potential!"

Then, after a pause, Ishihara Akira wondered if he could also use his dream-entry technique to pull people from that dimension into his dream world and make them the foundation for his growth.

"Whether it works or not, let's give it a try in the next world. Maybe we'll get some unexpected gains," Ishihara Sho pondered.

Then he reactivated his mental power and scanned the resting conditions of the residents in the entire apartment building again. He also pulled the dream consciousnesses of the residents who hadn't been drawn into his dream because they stayed up late into the night into his dream, thus completing the collection of the entire apartment building.

"This way, we can take action against residents in other apartment buildings."

Thinking of this, Ishihara Akira couldn't fall back asleep. He immediately threw off the covers, got out of bed, crawled into the bathroom to wash up, changed his clothes, and quietly left his friend A's apartment...

Without going far, it stopped directly in front of the apartment building next door, activated its ability, and began scanning the status of the residents in the apartment building.

Pull the sleeping ones into the dream world, ignore the awake ones, and deal with them at another time.

Then comes the next building.

He followed his usual route from the temple to this place.

The goal is to connect the two sides.

Regardless of the purpose or benefit of doing so, Ishihara Sho instinctively felt that doing so was probably the right thing to do.

He continued walking and pulling along until the time came for him to return to the temple as usual. On the way from the subway station to Friend A's apartment, he had scanned almost half of the apartment and pulled the consciousness of the residents into his dream.

As expected, his personal dream world expanded dramatically, growing from the size of a single Guanyin temple to nearly the size of a large region.

Spanning several miles, the exhibit not only fully revealed the residents' apartments, but also showed the other buildings between and around the apartments on a one-to-one scale.

It can be described as a miniature version of a corner of Nagoya.

This caused Ishihara Sho's spirit to undergo a tremendous upheaval and growth, to the point that he was almost losing control of his power.

"If we convert his current mental strength into Academy City's ability levels, it's probably around LV3, right?"

The reason he was so certain was because when he was in the world of A Certain Magical Index, the final level of his ability was LV3. Now he was actually feeling like he couldn't control his ability, so it was clear that his current level of mental strength was second to none even among LV3 ability users. He was just one opportunity away from officially breaking through his current limitations and becoming a LV4 level great ability user.

"It seems that this is the best I can do for now. If I continue, who knows if I'll go into a state of demonic possession." After suppressing his somewhat restless mental energy, Ishihara Akira took the subway back to his family's temple.

……

Around noon, Ishihara Akira received a call from the real estate agent.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Ishihara Akira?"

"It's me. And who are you?"

"Hello, I'm a staff member from [Real Estate Agency Name], my name is Adachi Ayumi. You previously asked our company to help you find a house you like. When are you free so we can go and see the house together?"

"I have time around noon."

"Noon? Sure, let's arrange a place to meet."

"Name a place."

"Then how about we meet in front of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva?"

"Okay, let's go there."

Chapter 37 Renting a House

Shortly after hanging up the phone, Ishihara Akira greeted his aunt, Tendoko, who had come to help with the cooking, changed into casual clothes, and headed towards the agreed-upon location with Adachi Ayami, a staff member from the agency—Jizo-mae.

It wasn't far. Just walk straight out of the Guanyin Temple gate and along the road in front of it. In just over ten minutes, Shi Yuanzhang arrived at the place, found a relatively conspicuous spot, took out his phone, and started watching short videos.

Yeah, the TikTok girl series.

This exists even in parallel worlds.

Moreover, unlike short videos in China, which tend to be quite homogeneous, Japanese videos are still quite unique and creative, so they don't seem boring or uninteresting.

And so, after who knows how much time had passed, a voice woke Ishihara Akane from his interest in watching short videos.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Ishihara Akira?"

The person who came was a woman, not very old, only about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. She was wearing a light gray women's business suit and stockings, which are a common requirement for Japanese companies.

Her hair was coffee-colored, which made her look very fashionable.

She has a good appearance, and with makeup, she gives off a seven out of ten overall impression, which is not unpleasant.

The perfume she wore wasn't overpowering, which made Ishihara Akira's impression of her much better, and he couldn't help but put away his phone and face her directly.

"Hello, I am Ishihara Akira."

"Hello, Mr. Ishihara, this is Ayumi Adachi from a certain agency. We spoke on the phone before." Ayumi Adachi proactively handed over her business card.

"I never expected Miss Adachi to be such a beautiful woman." Ishihara Akira took the business card, put it away, and then handed over his own business card.

"Mr. Ishihara, you're too kind." Ayumi Adachi took the business card and looked at the introduction on it—

"Is Mr. Ishihara a monk?"

"Yes."

"That's really rude of me."

In Japan, monks have a very good status, especially famous monks in well-known temples. They can be considered social celebrities. Although they do not participate in politics, they still have considerable influence over certain local political figures.

"Let's go take a look at the house first," Ishihara Akira said with a smile.

“Okay, Mr. Ishihara, please follow me,” Ayami Adachi said, leading the way.

The two then walked along the road toward the west of the pavilion, and as they walked, they began to describe the condition of the house they wanted to recommend to Ishihara Akira.

"The place we're going to next is not far ahead. It's an old apartment building that was built ten years ago. It originally belonged to a certain real estate company, but a couple of years ago, due to debt issues, it was transferred to the name of a certain company and started to be rented out for commercial operation. So the overall environment is quite nice. All kinds of luxury living facilities are readily available around it, and it's not far from the station."

"Moreover, because it is surrounded by apartment complexes, the security in the area is very good. There are no Yakuza or similar groups roaming the streets. Also, there are no noisy places or areas that would disturb the residents' rest, making it a perfect place for residents like you, Mr. Ishihara, who need peace and quiet."

"..."

"How's the soundproofing?" Ishihara Akira asked.

"We'll have to wait until we get there to confirm," Adachi Ayami said awkwardly.

"And what about the price? Since it's a commercially operated rental apartment, the rent shouldn't be too expensive, right?" Ishihara Akira remained noncommittal and asked for more crucial information again.

"Because it is an old building that is more than ten years old, before the company took it over for commercial operation, it organized a team to carry out a comprehensive repair and maintenance of the entire building, so the price... will probably be a little more expensive than a regular house."

"How much exactly?" Ishihara Akira didn't want to hear any of that nonsense and asked directly.

“The monthly rent is 60,000 yuan. Each time, you need to pay the full quarterly fee in one lump sum. In addition to the key money and other expenses, you need to pay 300,000 yuan upfront before you can officially move in,” Ayumi Adachi replied.

"Sixty thousand? What kind of layout?" Sixty thousand isn't much, the key is the layout and location of the house. But I imagine it should be much better than a house of the same price in Tokyo, right?

After all, Tokyo is a place where rent is notoriously expensive!

"The scale of 1DKL".

That is, a layout with one bedroom, one bathroom, and one kitchen.

That's considered orthodox.

"Let's go take a look at the house first."

"Ok."

Shortly afterward, the two arrived at a four-story building whose exterior had been clearly repainted. They found the building manager, who then led them to the house that Adachi Ayumi had mentioned was to be rented out.

There's not much to say about the layout. Upon entering, there's a foyer/hallway, with the kitchen and bathroom on either side. Neither is very large; they're just the kind of spaces where one person can barely move around. Further inside is the bedroom, which is about ten square meters. The wall directly opposite the door extends outwards to form the balcony, which is also small, only about six square meters. It's even a bit difficult to lie down, but it's quite nice for drying clothes or for coming out to look at the city lights when you're bored at night.

There are no beds or furniture provided; residents need to prepare everything themselves.

"How's the soundproofing?" Ishihara Akira asked the female manager.

"There's no problem with soundproofing. As long as you're not making a lot of noise or singing karaoke inside, your neighbors won't hear you talking or doing anything normal," the middle-aged woman assured her.

"Alright then, I'm quite satisfied with this place. Let's sign the contract." Ishihara Akira wasn't one to waste words. Besides, he was only renting this place to facilitate his dream travels; he wouldn't be staying there permanently. So, as long as the place wasn't so terrible that it would annoy him at first sight, he actually didn't care much about its condition.

“Okay.” Adachi Ayami said with delight, seemingly surprised that Ishihara Akira would be so easy to talk to.

Then came the printing of the contract, stamping, filing, and payment. Ishihara Akira then received the room key from the manager and became a temporary resident of the building.

Then, without further ado, Ishihara Akira took out his phone, logged onto the internet, placed an order for a mattress and a blanket on EasyBuy, and then turned and left the apartment, heading towards the nearby Otae Internal Medicine Clinic.

Now that I've found a house, it's time to recruit the nurse who will help maintain my vital signs.

……

"Sir, is there anything I can help you with?" Inside the clinic, a young nurse in a nurse's uniform approached Ishihara Akira, who seemed unsure of what to do, and asked him softly.

Chapter 38 Emiko Amamiya

Luckily, the nurse I just met was exactly the type that Ishihara Yuu found appealing.

She's the kind of high-quality woman who scores 6 points or higher, and is comparable to or even surpasses my friend A.

"Beautiful lady, what's your name?" Seeing this, Ishihara Akira stopped pushing his way in and smiled slightly at the approaching nurse. He used a psychological manipulation technique to close the distance between them and adjust her initial feelings towards him, essentially seducing her. He asked in a slightly flirtatious tone.

"Hello sir, I am the guiding nurse here, Amamiya Etsuko. Is there anything I can help you with?" the short-haired nurse who identified herself as Amamiya Etsuko asked in return.

"Oh, I'm fine. I just got tired from walking around outside and wanted to come in and rest for a bit. You're not going to kick me out, are you?"

“No, that won’t happen. Also, there are rest chairs over there for visitors. If you’re tired, sir, you can sit down there for a while,” said Amamiya Etsuko, pointing to the metal chairs not far away.

"Okay. Wait a minute."

"Hmm? Is there anything else, sir?" Amamiya Etsuko, who was about to turn and walk away, stopped and asked with a puzzled look.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Ishihara Sho asked directly.

"This doesn't seem to have anything to do with you, sir, does it?" Yuemiko frowned.

"What if I said that I suddenly feel like I've fallen in love with you at first sight, and I want to pursue you and have you as my girlfriend?" Ishihara Akira stepped forward and pressed him for an answer.

"I'm sorry, I cannot comment on such matters."

After saying that, Yumiko turned around as if to leave, but Ishihara Akira immediately grabbed her arm.

Yumiko couldn't help but turn around, wanting to scold him, but when her eyes met Ishihara Akira's gaze, her eyes suddenly became empty, as if she had lost her spirit.