I have an unlimited number of shikigami

Fujiwara Izaya opened his contacts and dialed Ikeda Seiji's number.

"Hey, Fujiwara-kun, what's up?" the little monk greeted him, his voice as cheerful as ever.

"Come out and fish with me."

"Eh..." Ikeda Seiji paused for a few seconds, then his tone became very excited, "After half a year, you finally asked me out again on the weekend! I thought you had forgotten you even had a friend like me. Waaah, I'm so touched—"

"Yeah, yeah, I haven't forgotten," Fujiwara Izaya replied very perfunctorily. "Besides fishing, there's something else I'd like to discuss with you."

"..."

There was silence on the other end of the line.

Fujiwara Izaya said to himself, "I want to buy a burial plot from you. Give me a discount."

In Shinto culture, death is considered an ominous symbol, and shrines of all sizes do not engage in funeral services.

However, influenced by Han culture, the Japanese also value burial for the deceased, leading to a high demand for cemetery plots. Seeing the enormous profits involved, Buddhist and Taoist groups from abroad started operating cemetery businesses.

Over hundreds of years of accumulation and inheritance, the monks of today have already developed a complete "one-stop funeral service" with eighteen stages of farewell.

"Fujiwara-kun~"

The young monk sounded hurt on the phone.

"I thought you wanted to hang out with me, that's why you asked me to go fishing..."

“When fishing, you always have to bait the area in advance,” Fujiwara Izaya replied matter-of-factly. “You also have to bait the area in advance when fishing at a monk’s grave.”

"You still haven't paid for the burial plots you asked me for three times before!" Ikeda Seiji scolded him irritably. "My old monk has been nagging me about this for ages, he almost beat me up."

"Give it to me, give it to me too."

With his unpaid debts exposed, Fujiwara Izaya could only force a smile and ask, "Including this one, how much are the four cemetery plots in total?"

Japan has a small land area, so cemetery land is naturally very valuable.

A typical 2-square-meter cemetery plot can cost one or two million yen, and in big cities, especially Tokyo, the price could double.

"Aren't you saving your money to repair the shrine?" Ikeda Seiji asked hesitantly.

"I've had a bit more money on hand lately."

"Forget it, you can use the cemetery plot first, I'll continue to take care of the old monk."

"It's alright. If you say you have money, you really mean it. If you don't have money, I won't be polite with you."

"Then I'll give you 400 million."

"So cheap?"

"Half price discount".

"Won't the old monk beat you up?"

"I'm doing good deeds and spreading Buddhism with you. If he dares to hit me, I dare to fight back with a clear conscience!"

"That's good. I'll go to Shanguo Temple during Golden Week."

"I'll prepare it for you."

"Ikeda-kun is so kind!"

"Fujiwara-kun is equally kind!"

The young priest and the young monk flattered each other all the way and agreed to go fishing at Tokyo Bay.

They fished from noon until the sun began to set, a full six hours, and in the end, both of them came back empty-handed.

May Buddha protect you!

"Fish, hurry up and take the bait!"

Seiji Ikeda stared blankly at the buoy on the water's surface, muttering to himself incessantly.

"Looks like we're facing an air force today," Fujiwara Rinya remarked, slowly hanging up the line.

Just then, a group of mackerel swam over, foraging along the seawall. For some reason, just as Ikeda Seiji was about to reel in his line and head home, several fish surfaced, their eyes fixed on the angler on the shore, their mouths opening and closing, releasing bubbles.

It was as if they were mocking something.

"Fujiwara..."

"Well, I see it."

Are they mocking the two of us?

"...It's possible."

Fujiwara Izaya looked down at the empty net bag.

Then, he raised his head and stared at the group of ignorant mackerel with an unfriendly expression.

Seiji Ikeda clenched his fist: "We can't spoil them!"

"Right!" Fujiwara Izaya looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then waved his hand forward: "Let's do it!"

'Om Mani Padme Hum'

The six-character mantra appears.

With a push of his palm, Ikeda Seiji unleashed a burst of Buddhist light.

"Boom!"

The sea surface exploded.

The ripples spread rapidly, and soon dozens of mackerel floated belly up on the surface of the sea, dying without any pain.

Amitabha Buddha~

Seiji Ikeda clasped his hands together and solemnly bowed to Yu-Yu.

Immediately afterwards, he turned his head and grinned, extending his palm towards Fujiwara Izaya: "A great harvest today!"

"yeah!"

Fujiwara Izaya high-fives his best friend.

When he got home that evening, he wrote it down in his diary.

On a sunny spring day near the end of April, a young monk and a minor priest, unable to catch any fish, angrily used their supernatural powers to blast away a group of ordinary fish.

This wasn't something particularly significant, nor something to celebrate, but the exhilaration I felt at the time is something worth cherishing for a lifetime.

The horse mackerel soup was very flavorful and sweet; I'll fry it again next time.

Chapter 56. Senior, you're such a blockhead!

The following day, the last week of April arrived.

"Ah~"

Fujiwara Izaya rubbed his eyes and squeezed into the central carriage.

On the train's journey to Yotsuya, I received a message from Asuka Kasahara on Line.

[Asuka: Please answer my 100 questions about you, senpai—Question 3: Where would you like to go on a date with me, senpai?]

Fujiwara Izaya glanced at it, turned off the screen, and put the phone back in his pocket.

A few seconds later, the restless junior sent another message.

Kasahara: Why aren't you replying to my message, senpai?! o(╥﹏╥)o

Line is such a scary app!

In particular, the "read" function is practically designed to wipe out people like him who believe in "silence is golden".

Fujiwara: What's the point of a date? It's a waste of time!

[Fujiwara: Also, I'm memorizing Spanish vocabulary, don't bother me.]

Asuka: Senpai is so hardworking, that's amazing (^o^)/

Then, the junior sent a chubby penguin making a fist emoji, which was probably meant to cheer her on.

Fujiwara Izaya breathed a sigh of relief after switching his phone to silent mode and turning off vibration.

The younger female student has so much energy that he feels a bit overwhelmed.

"We have arrived at Yotsuya. Please disembark in an orderly manner."

Fujiwara Izaya roused himself, squeezed through the crowded station, and headed towards Kitagawa Academy.

As May approached, the sun began to get hot, and everything in sight became quite bright.

The cherry blossoms on the slope became more and more vibrant each day. Stepping on the petals on the asphalt road felt like walking through a sea of ​​flowers. But Fujiwara Izaya knew that this was the last week of their blooming season, and the cherry blossoms were burning their last breaths.

"Hi~"

Across the street, the girl waved, her school uniform shirt creating pretty creases on her full chest.

"Ahh~"

Fujiwara Izaya suddenly sneezed, feeling as if he were haunted by something unclean.

Good morning, senior!

Kasahara Asuka, carrying her little schoolbag and wearing her little leather shoes, hopped over full of energy.

Fujiwara Izaya kept walking: "Good morning."

"The cherry blossoms are so beautiful this year." Asuka Kasahara caught up with him and walked side by side under the cherry blossom tree.

"generally."

Fujiwara Izaya gave a perfunctory reply.

Tokyo certainly has many cherry blossoms, but compared to the vast expanse of cherry blossoms in Spirited Away, they pale in comparison. Speaking of Spirited Away, I wonder if my father kept the videotapes of Sadako; I'll have to go back and look for them during summer vacation.

It's been so long since I've seen Sadako freeze on the screen.

miss her.

"Is something on your mind, senior?" Kasahara Asuka looked at him with her round eyes.