Tokyo bombing incident Nth time

Unexpectedly, the three known spontaneous combustion incidents were roughly mapped into a triangle, which included the location of the cult's gathering.

To be honest, Yuri wanted to go and destroy the cult's meeting place right now, but Minmei hadn't returned yet.

If only I could create clones of myself.

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.

In the afternoon, Mingmei returned with several newspapers.

Her expression was serious, but that was normal—she'd been looking serious every time she had new information these past few days, and Yuri was used to it. In fact, it was quite remarkable that she could juggle all this with school. Of course, Akemi's extraordinary energy was nothing new.

Judging from her expression, there must be some new information in the newspaper, and it's certainly not some major piece of good news.

"So? Where is the latest fire location?" After a brief moment of thought, Yuri casually guessed a possibility to start the conversation.

“No—the newspapers don’t have any updates on the location of the fire,” Mingmei said, placing the newspaper on the coffee table and pressing it down on the map. “Instead, there are some expert discussions about the causes of spontaneous combustion and assertions of arson—for example, the empty room we went to is believed to have been secretly used as a smoking room, and then a cigarette butt ignited it.”

—Nonsense! Could it be that the spiritual energy we sensed was fake?

Yuri quickly realized what this meant.

“That’s right, which means that the journalist friend you met was telling the truth—someone really is starting to cover up the situation.” Mingmei pointed to the specific conclusions in the newspaper. “It can’t be said to be very effective, but they have at least made some efforts—it would be abnormal to say that it was all spontaneous combustion, so some of it was said to be spontaneous combustion—for example, dust in the supermarket igniting plastic—some of it was said to be accidental, for example, a family put a magnifying glass on their window—some of it was said to be human-caused accidental—for example, a cigarette butt in an empty house.”

Yuri pointed it out and found that five or six "very scientific" possibilities were given, which meant that there was absolutely no possibility of spirits setting fires.

Even the unexplained phenomenon of "the direct appearance of a fire ring" was covered up by saying that "this is an optical error caused by a flaw in the camera lens, which is actually just a small dot"—it really looked convincing.

It's perfectly normal to find reasons for things, but these spontaneous combustion incidents have no real reason, and they shouldn't have any real reason—yet they still manage to forcibly find very scientific reasons.

If the police issue such a report, it's probably because they're in a hurry to solve the case and need to find a reason; they only do this because they have no other choice.

But is it necessary for newspapers to do this? If the police have a good investigation, they should follow suit; if they haven't, they should just keep calling it a cold case.

...Could it be that the police pressured the newspaper? That's not impossible...but is it really necessary to take spontaneous combustion so seriously?

"No new information? I mean, the kind of news that caused an accident," Yuri and Akemi might have believed it if they hadn't actually gone to the scene to investigate. "Aren't there any new spontaneous combustion incidents?"

“No, on the contrary, there are warnings like ‘Residents are advised to take precautions to protect themselves, as there may be arsonists taking advantage of the chaos recently.’” Mingmei shrugged. “However, it’s just that it’s not in the newspapers.”

It wasn't on TV either, but Yuri didn't believe that meant the opponent had stopped voluntarily.

He tried to think of the positive side of the situation, "Is it possible that some powerful force has stepped in and resolved the problem, and then, to avoid causing panic..."

If that's the case, then the relationship is good. Although some time was wasted, the problem was solved on its own.

“It’s not impossible, but the classmates are spreading rumors like crazy that there’s a fire here and there—we kids love spreading these conspiracy theories. The problem is, what if it’s true?” Mingmei shifted her posture and sat up straight. “So we have to find out what really happened.”

"The news is unreliable now. Do you mean we should go directly to the scene to investigate? Or should we contact the reporters directly?"

"We went directly to the reporters. We tried to find the scene without any journalistic guidance, which has already been proven last time."

Yes, it has been proven to be basically garbage.

Although Akemi didn't say it aloud, Yuri knew that was what she meant.

Chapter Sixty-Two Meeting

Fate is truly mysterious; a source of information that was merely encountered on the roadside can instantly become the only known source.

Although you'll eventually encounter a cult if you keep investigating, if you miss it, you'll just have to wait for the return of the Soul Hunter mobile game, which may or may not have been updated by everyone drinking water to their heart's content.

Of course, Yuri didn't actually know whether the Spirit Hunters had fallen into the water and drowned, but he harbored a deep resentment towards these guys who had been missing for several consecutive incidents.

Information, we need more information... Ideally, we'd like professional information from intelligence agents who do absolutely nothing but monitor all sorts of activities in Tokyo every day without getting silenced.

Ghosts? Ghosts are completely unreliable; they don't care about anything that doesn't involve their own life or death.

Spirits? Spirits are a good option, but their regional divisions and contradictions make it difficult to obtain a sufficiently broad intelligence network. In addition, Yuri is not familiar with the process of dealing with spirits, so getting their help would probably come at a considerable cost.

The best source of intelligence is still humans, with intelligence and time—but what can an ordinary high school girl and Yuri, who isn't even an unregistered resident, use to obtain information provided by humans? —Even if they want to steal, they at least need to know where to steal from.

Is there any source of information that can combine the persistence of ghosts, the breadth of spirits, and the ingenuity of humans—and ultimately, that source of information must also be sent to Yuri?

Just think about it, you probably couldn't find such a good situation even in a dream.

As a last resort, Yuri's standards for information sources have been declining, and now it's "any information will do."

Relying on Yuri Kaminami's four legs to gather information is becoming increasingly inadequate.

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.

Complaining won't bring you intelligence; it will only waste your time.

That's why, right now, under Akemi's supervision, he's making a phone call to Hojo Reie from a roadside phone booth.

To prepare for this phone call, Akemi dug out a huge pile of coins, seemingly planning for a long-term struggle. After all, no one knew just how easily Hojo Reie could be persuaded.

At first, Akemi wanted to call directly using her own cell phone, thinking it might increase credibility. Yuri agreed, but also pointed out that this might lead to the other party pestering her and going on and on.

After hesitating for a while, Mingmei finally decided to use a public phone booth to complete the communication.

It would be much more convenient for Yuri to have a cell phone, but it's not clear whether the US would be willing to pay for it, and having a cell phone would greatly limit his mobility.

Perhaps we could think of a way to create a spirit phone?

Lost in thought, the two went out onto the street and found a phone booth in a relatively secluded corner.

Suspicious trench coat A, Yuri, was inside making a call, while Suspicious trench coat B, Akemi, was outside keeping watch. Regardless of any other benefits, at least the people passing by walked much faster.

It's a little past 7 p.m. now. A normal person, while not yet asleep, should at least be in a state of not wanting to be disturbed. But the last time Yuri met the reporter was in the middle of the night, and she didn't seem sleepy at all—clearly, Ms. Ree had adjusted to the time difference beforehand to conduct the investigation in the middle of the night, or like Akemi, she had destroyed her biological clock.

For street reporters, this might be a pretty good skill.

The phone rang for a while before being answered, but no one spoke for a moment.

Is this situation normal? Yuri, who was making his first phone call, didn't quite understand.

Akemi was giving Yuri a meaningful look, but without a word, Yuri couldn't understand what she meant. Was it, "Hurry up and say something before they mistake it for an advertisement?"

Before Yuri could come to a specific conclusion, the other side couldn't hold back any longer.

"Who is it? I'm hanging up if you don't answer." It was Hojo Reie's voice, very impatient.

"Very good, it's me." Yuri spoke up confidently, "It's me. Do you remember my voice? We met not long ago."

"—It's you?" Hojo Reie's voice suddenly became warm. "So, what's up? Did you contact me?"

“I believe what you said, so I also have something important to tell you. It’s a bit complicated and I can’t explain it over the phone. Do you have time? If so, you can specify a place.” Yuri recited the lines he and Akemi had prepared beforehand.

According to Akemi, letting the other person choose the location would increase the likelihood of them accepting the invitation. As for why it was unclear over the phone, that was simply because Akemi didn't have enough coins.

“No problem, I don’t have anything urgent to do right now, so let’s meet right away. I should be there in about half an hour.” Then, Hojo Reie gave the address of a coffee shop.

This place actually exists on the map in Yuri's mind, and he can get there in about twenty minutes on foot.

"Okay, there it is. See you in half an hour."

"By the way, are there any precautions? For example, can't I wear silver, can't I wear a cross—or something like that?"

What are you talking about, Ms. Lehweh? Are you treating me like a werewolf or a vampire? Yuri knew in his heart that she was asking if there were any common taboos, but in fact there weren't, and if there were, Yuri didn't want to say them.

"Please don't bring any unknown script with you, I have a disease that kills me if I see certain special scripts." — If you say something like that, firstly, the other person can't possibly know what you're afraid of, so they can't guarantee they won't bring it; secondly, the other person will know that Yuri is afraid of scripts, and if that gets written into the news, Yuri will be in trouble.

"No, besides, I remember saying that vampires are not afraid of crosses."

After the two finalized the meeting time and place and confirmed that there were no other points to note, the reporter hung up the phone.

The first step is complete: arranging the meeting.

It wasn't as complicated as I'd imagined; it seems I was mostly just scaring myself.

Yuri turned to the very nervous high school girl next to him, who was already sweating profusely—it was extremely rare for her, with her superhuman physique, to sweat without strenuous exercise.

"...Why are you so nervous? This is my first time making a phone call, are you serious?" Yuri pointed out the problem. "Besides, it's just arranging to meet up with someone else. Haven't you made plans with your friends before?"

Akemi wanted to say something, but in the end she just replied, "Yes."

Sorry, I forgot you don't have any friends.

Yuri, who also had no friends, realized he had spoken out of turn and quickly changed the subject, "So, are you going later? Or can I go alone?"

Actually, considering the striking similarity in their attire, it should be fine for Akemi to go alone.

However, firstly, there are some differences in their voices. Akemi's voice is usually more "mellow," while Yuri's is more "hollow and straightforward." If you've heard both of them speak, it's easy to notice the difference. It's not entirely unreasonable to call it voice imitation, but that's another matter entirely.

Secondly, Yuri had actual contact with the reporter and could communicate effectively. Although Yuri had told Akemi everything he needed to, it was still different from experiencing it firsthand.

Thirdly, and most importantly, if Yuri doesn't go, he won't know what to do and will have to find something to do.

"No, never mind, I'll go back to Uncle Okumura's place to look through the documents—I've been thinking about something for the past two days, and that is—" The high school student mystic paused mysteriously.

“It’s just—” Yuri asked in response.

"—I discovered that while other spirit hunters were setting sail with the ambition to drink up the sea, no one I didn't know was blocking my way from looking at the data—I could take this opportunity to quickly memorize their data. —Tomorrow is a day off, so I'll just stay up all night researching."

Good plan. Right now, we (the two of us) need any useful information, and any information we don't need now might be useful in the future. Of course, regular meetings are still necessary. The two agreed on a time for further communication and then parted ways.

Before leaving, Yuri double-checked Akemi's phone number, intending to use it for emergency contact. Akemi understood perfectly and left all the coins with Yuri.

To be precise, she needed to go back first and tell Yuri in advance that the pile of coins would be placed on the coffee table.

After all, Yuri needed to set off directly for the meeting, and carrying physical objects would make it difficult for him to escape as a spirit.

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.

Yuri did arrive at the coffee shop within half an hour. To be precise, including the time spent communicating with Minmei, it took him a little over twenty-four minutes to reach his destination.

The journey was quite smooth, without any unexpected incidents, and we didn't even see any cult members.

Perhaps it was because the route was slightly different from before, avoiding areas where cult members were concentrated. Tracking down the cult members wasn't the priority at the moment, and Yuri didn't waste his energy on that.

He appeared in a corner where no one was watching and walked towards the coffee shop.

The sign outside the coffee shop said it would be open until 10 p.m. Looking through the glass, it seemed to be doing well, with about a third of the tables occupied. Yuri quickly scanned the area but didn't see any reporters; they probably hadn't arrived yet.

The people inside haven't noticed him yet, but if he stands at the door for too long, the fact that the trench coat-wearing man is standing outside might attract attention.

Not wanting to attract attention, Yuri went inside, waved to the approaching clerk, and said, "Wait for someone." Then, led by the clerk, he found a corner to sit down.

The shop assistant had intended to suggest a table with better lighting to Yuri, but since Yuri had already chosen a spot, she decided not to interfere.

I glanced at the interior layout, but honestly, I couldn't really tell anything special. It seemed to be doing good business, as it was very clean. However, the people inside were quite a different story – either couples or close female groups. That's probably the selling point of this coffee shop.

If Yuri hadn't chosen a corner seat, it would have seemed rather...out of place for him to sit alone without ordering anything. While he was probably the only one who noticed this, everyone else was mostly chatting happily with their companions and likely wouldn't have paid much attention to what the people at other tables were doing.

Soon, his attention was drawn to the chaos across the street. The view from this corner wasn't great, but you could still see some very obvious things.

For example, there was a safety barrier set up across the street, and a lot of people seemed to be watching. Yuri thought this was probably another one of Tokyo's famous crimes, with various incidents happening all over the place.

It didn't affect the atmosphere or mood of the people on this side of the street at all; in fact, some were even pointing and whispering...

Yuri closed his eyes to rest.

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.

Why isn't he here yet? Just five minutes after Yuri started scaring himself, a familiar-looking reporter came in through the door, looked around, and then quickly walked towards Yuri.

It should take about half an hour.

"Didn't you order anything? The coffee at this shop is good, and the cakes are delicious too." The reporter looked at the empty table.

“I don’t want to eat in this state.” Yuri floated up slightly, then quickly landed before anyone else noticed. Apart from the reporter who had been observing him, everyone else probably just thought Yuri had gotten up and stretched. “If you want to eat something, order it yourself—don’t worry about me.”

The waiters have already started walking this way; judging by this, it'll be hard to get through without ordering something.

"Hey, give me this coffee, this ice cream, and that cake—just give her one of the new cakes." Lie Hui started ordering from the waiter. She seemed quite familiar with the place, as she didn't even look at the menu.

After the waiter turned and left, Yuri repeated, "I don't want to eat anything, what's wrong?"

“No problem, I can take the leftovers home if I can’t finish them,” Lehwi waved her hand to indicate to Yuri that he didn’t need to worry. “This restaurant serves food very quickly. Let’s wait two more minutes until the food arrives before we start talking. It wouldn’t be good if we were interrupted.”

Yuri had no objection.

However, he regretted it after only a dozen seconds, because after that, the reporter opposite him observed Yuri's every move with a scrutinizing gaze.

Yuri had seen that look before; he himself had a similar look when he focused intently on observing himself in the mirror.

So being observed is this embarrassing? Yuri's movements gradually stiffened. Unfortunately, the reporter opposite him showed no sign of relaxing after reading his expression.

Yuri simply stared back at him, observing the other party as well.

The clothes were different from last time; they were new and very clean, but not particularly special. It seems not everyone is like Mingmei, wearing only one school uniform and one work uniform their entire life.

She looked much prettier after removing her makeup—the makeup she wore when we last met was definitely deceptive, mainly to make herself look like an average person.

I changed my handbag; this time it's light yellow, and I don't know what's inside.

It looks much the same as when I last met her; this is probably her work uniform.