Tokyo bombing incident Nth time

She was probably on edge too… Yuri was too; he was ready to pounce and help Akemi hold her down the moment she started to run away. Luckily, she didn't run away, and this potentially dangerous situation didn't happen.

"But, but you were indeed active around when the rat spirits were running all over the streets, and for a while before that, right? I know you've been stripping low-level ghosts of their spiritual essence!" The girl's speech gradually returned to fluency, though she still lacked confidence, but at least it became coherent. "And this range is very close to the range of the rat spirits' outburst! Um... how do you explain that?"

That is indeed true. At the time, Yuri was investigating the cultists' whereabouts, and the cultists happened to be near the Rat King's location—they may have known about it in some way beforehand, but there's no point in asking now—as for the matter of stripping away the spiritual essence... Yuri can only say that he just happened to take it.

“I was investigating the Rat Spirits at the time—I’d like to know, since you know so much, what were you doing while I was being beaten up by the Rat King—the leader of the Rat Spirits?” Yuri quickly found his footing, which was also true. “I didn’t manage to directly stop the Rat King’s plan, but I did play a significant role in accelerating its end!”

If we disregard the train spirit's fierce attack, Yuri even felt that he was the biggest contributor to the end of this incident. If he couldn't be the biggest contributor now, he should at least be the second biggest contributor.

"I was out there calming spirits to stop the mass emergence of supernatural beings!" Although he lacked confidence, his tone was still firm, not like he was lying. "You say you were stopping rat spirits, what proof do you have?"

Where can I find reliable witnesses for you? I have several witnesses, would you like to meet them? And what about that massive train, tens of meters long and several meters high? Would you like to inquire about it?

Just as Yuri was pondering which witness was both particularly credible and easy to find, Akemi offered the girl a suggestion he hadn't expected, "If you're unsure, why don't you ask your friends? I've heard that spirit binders are all very experienced..."

Yuri's attention turned to the black-robed figure who had remained silent until now.

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.

Bound spirits are special ghosts, and sin eaters are their anchors. Yuri wasn't quite sure how similar this "equivalent" was, but it was clear that a bound spirit was an independent ghost that had only formed a connection with a sin eater, rather than completely merging into one.

More specifically, the creature that was just chasing and attacking him undoubtedly possessed self-awareness, at least enough to assess the situation and respond accordingly. Its change of tactics after Yuri's change of tactics demonstrates this.

The previous conversation also illustrated this point. She referred to the bound spirit as her "friend" and asked her "friend" to continue the attack even in danger. If this doesn't prove anything, the fact that the bound spirit didn't actually obey her command even after she made that request suggests that the bound spirit possesses intelligence at a human level or even higher.

But Yuri still didn't hear him say a single word.

Is it some kind of taboo? Like never talking to your opponent?

The book doesn't describe the spirits in much detail, only stating that they are usually considered strong among ghosts of the same level, but not necessarily the highest level. If we translate this description into Yuri's standards, it would be "usually level three, highest level five, though the exact level is uncertain."

However, none of the information claims that bound spirits cannot speak and communicate with others. On the contrary, every piece of information that mentions this asserts that bound spirits can communicate deeply with sin-eaters in various ways.

How will it react?

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.

The girl didn't hesitate for long. After nodding firmly, she felt a surge of energy emanating from her body. Yuri believed that this was a transfer of energy through some kind of bond that provided power to her spirit.

Then, some of the girls, their foreheads sweating, asked Yuri to repeat what he had said to the spirits.

Yuri repeated the past word for word.

"Is she lying?" the girl asked the spirit-binding creature.

The spirit shook its head.

"Does she seem to be hiding something?" the question continued.

The spirit nodded.

"What are you hiding?" The girl suddenly turned around.

“Many details are hidden, but the general direction is correct—telling out all the details would take hundreds of thousands of words, and it’s only past noon now. I could talk here until dark—” Yuri glared back, “Do you expect me to tell you which foot I put in the house first?”

By the way, Yuri usually enters the house with his right foot first, but the time he walked through the pile of rats, it seems he entered with his left foot first... Surely no spirit would have such a silly taboo?

"Is this true?" The girl turned back to look at the spirit binding her.

The spirit nodded.

"Then...then...it seems I really misunderstood you in this matter..." The girl's stammering voice showed her great shame. "I...I'm so sorry."

She looks a bit utterly despondent; is she about to burst into tears?

"Alright, alright, first we need to clear up the misunderstanding—" Akemi immediately squeezed between the two of them, "First of all, you won't attack again, right?"

Yuri looked at the high school girl who had suddenly interrupted with some confusion. Why was she suddenly talking to him at this time—she seemed to be mouthing the words to him. Yuri couldn't read lips, but this time he still caught the key words: "immortal body, entanglement".

"Don't get entangled with immortality?" That makes a lot of sense, but Yuri looked at his left hand... Was he just going to suffer this loss for nothing? To make Minmei notice this, he deliberately made an unnecessary head-lowering gesture.

Akemi spoke again, but this time Yuri read out the parts in very fragmented way: "After, treatment"... This time it was completely incomprehensible.

While the two were wasting time staring at each other, the girl seemed to have made a decision. "I won't attack anymore, but I feel it's necessary to tell you the proper way. This is part of my compensation."

Not attacking is certainly a good thing, but what constitutes "proper practice"?

“What I mean is—first of all, without a doubt, it was my fault for launching the attack without proper investigation—” The girl, who hadn’t given her name yet, began by stating her part in one breath, “However, it’s obviously wrong of you to keep stripping low-level ghosts of their spiritual essence! Do you remember how many low-level ghosts’ spiritual essence you’ve absorbed so far?”

Yuri fell silent and closed his eyes.

"Um... if you can't figure it out, don't force it—"

“Two hundred and thirty-one, and I took seven of them twice, so it’s two hundred and thirty-eight times.” Yuri opened his eyes again. “I do remember, and I also remember that when I was absorbing the essence from them, they didn’t notice anything. It was the same with every single one of them.”

The girl paused for a moment, then turned to look in the direction of the spirit binding her, receiving a response before she could even ask a question.

The spirit nodded.

"I'm starting to wonder if you're a master liar... You actually remember?" The girl's expression was somewhat puzzled.

“I remember everything, but I might not recall it exactly. I was just counting.” Yuri completely understood the other’s doubts. “You are free to doubt, but you can use that reason to doubt anyone. Besides, you guessed wrong once before.”

“Okay…” The girl covered her face to hide her expression. “Can we go somewhere else? Let’s not stand here and have an awkward conversation. I think someone is being blocked by the motorcycles.”

Yes, Mingmei's motorcycle is lying on the ground and hasn't been picked up yet.

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.

On a park bench, three people sat in a row—Akami in the middle, the little girl who had just introduced herself as Yamanaka Yuka on the left, and Yuri—although she had become a spirit—still insisted on sitting on the right.

Even if no one can see him, he will still do it.

Fortunately, the bench wasn't very long, so even with only two people sitting there, there wasn't much room left. Otherwise, Yuri might have faced the awkward situation of physically overlapping with the others.

Yuka Yamanaka, female, her hair should be black, but Yuri felt that it looked a bit bluish in the sunlight. Yuri couldn't tell if it was dyed or something else.

She's fourteen years old, and seems to be in the second year of junior high... I hadn't noticed during the intense sparring session, but she's actually much shorter than Akemi, probably only a little over 1.4 meters tall. No, that's probably the normal height; it's just that Akemi next to her is too tall, only two years older, yet almost 30 centimeters taller.

Yuri tried to subtly inquire about the other party's school and other circumstances, but he was carefully evaded. It would be too tactless to press for details under these circumstances, but Yuri still managed to glean some information.

First, Yuka Yamanaka has other family members, though they may be far away, but she's not a lone wolf. Second, her family members are likely unaware that she's a Sin Eater. Finally, Yuka Yamanaka has her own friends connected to the supernatural; she came alone (plus a bound spirit) simply because she felt she could handle it—initially, she genuinely didn't expect Akemi's presence, much less that Akemi would so decisively join the battle, even fighting more fiercely than Yuri.

Yuri had some doubts about whether Akemi was really more vicious. If Yuri hadn't been being beaten up, he probably wouldn't have held back either... But never mind, there was something else more important.

Examining his wounds, yes, just like before, there was a force preventing Yuri from regenerating—that strange energy was still there.

Could it be because this unreliable little girl forgot to get rid of it?

"...Would that be?" Yuri asked seriously. He hadn't brought it up immediately to keep the atmosphere light, but they'd already talked for a while, so it should be fine now.

"No, of course I knew about this effect beforehand. Theoretically, my treatment method should be able to completely bypass it, and I did conduct experiments. So without a doubt, the problem lies in the fact that you are not a ghost..." Then Yuka Yamanaka started muttering again.

"What are you muttering about?" Yuri didn't say it aloud, but he was sure his expression had conveyed his meaning.

“I’m thinking, this shouldn’t be the case. Although I did sense something unusual about you, I didn’t feel that you weren’t a ghost—you were in a state where it was possible to say you were a ghost, and it was also possible you weren’t a ghost…” the girl repeated loudly.

"Is it possible that you are not skilled enough, have limited knowledge, or your eyesight is failing, which caused you to misread it?"

“That’s impossible. We Sin Eaters are born with the ability to distinguish such things. As people who have returned from the dead, we cannot make such a mistake—even if you are ugly, strangely shaped, with a blue face and fangs, this perception should not be a problem.” Yamanaka Yuka clapped her hands forcefully. “Alright, when I take you to see the proper procedure, I will give you the spiritual essence that I gave you. That should be enough to cure you. This is also part of my apology and compensation.”

131 Truce and Peace Talks

"What is a standard procedure?" Mingmei asked with great interest.

"It's about gaining the gratitude of ghosts by alleviating their suffering, and then receiving their spiritual essence as payment." Yuka Yamanaka held up one finger, her face serious.

"What if they just refuse to give it to us and plan to eat and drink for free?" Yuri added.

"Then consider it voluntary work, but not every ghost has this mentality."

Huh? Yuri was dumbfounded. This seemed like the percentage of people doing volunteer work was a bit too high.

"What kind of expression is that? Of course, it's not as efficient as directly robbing the spiritual essence that ghosts rely on for survival, but it's doing a good deed, a good deed, you know that?" Yuka Yamanaka glared at Yuri.

"I would never do something that would make me unable to live, please forgive my bluntness, but I really can't do it..." As if competing with the other party in terms of impoliteness, Yuri raised a finger and pointed at the other party, "That high-level spirit that has now shrunk into your body, even if he is usually in a dormant state, he still consumes energy, not to mention in battle - where did he get the energy to lay mines throughout the entire city?"

"If you don't know, then don't—" Yuka Yamanaka tried to jump up, but Akemi forced her back into her seat. "She's gone too far! You need to do something about it!"

It's obvious that the second half of the speech was directed at Akemi.

"Alright, Yuri, you too, say less and let me handle this." Akemi turned her head, spoke to Yuri, and then turned back. "Sorry, sorry, he probably got slashed in the hand and it hurt his brain a bit."

Regardless of what Yuri was thinking, or what the connection was between hands and brains, the Sin Eater girl seemed to remember the harm Yuri had suffered, suppressed her anger, and remained silent for a while before speaking again.

“We do have other ways to obtain spiritual essence, but this question does have some merit. If we obtain our energy from ghosts without interacting with them at all, our energy is also limited. And in terms of interacting with ghosts, it seems that some sin eaters do choose a method that is almost like robbing ghosts, believing that this is for a greater benefit, thus convincing themselves.” The girl sighed. “But Tokyo is different.”

What makes Tokyo special?

"Are there a lot of ghosts in Tokyo?"

“That’s right, it’s a combination of many factors: a large population, dense density, many disputes, and… a lot of murders.” The girl’s voice trailed off. “Unwilling people will leave behind a ghost, and some will even leave behind several ghosts… If we help them get rid of their obsessions, they usually won’t care where their soul essence went—although it’s very difficult.”

To deliver from suffering.

“More often than not, we just try to satisfy their obsessions, and then because they may continue to hope that we will provide assistance in the future—so they are willing to pay a certain amount of spiritual essence.” As if thinking of something, “Some sin eaters will choose to agree on the payment in advance, while I prefer to collect it afterward. The former earns more, while the latter has a better relationship.”

It's still a transaction, but the latter seems more humane.

"Most importantly—in Tokyo, with such an enormous number of ghosts, there is enough spiritual essence for daily use, regardless of the type—which is why your appetite is so astonishing."

"I didn't collect spirit essence simply to sustain myself; I used it for more important things"—Yuri thought for a moment, then decided it was best not to reveal the whole truth. Ultimately, he skirted the issue, saying, "Fighting the spirit rat horde and other things requires a lot of spirit essence." This was true, but not the whole story; Yuri concealed considerable detail.

“In any case, it is wrong to forcibly strip other ghosts of their spiritual essence—you don’t seem to know the correct way to do it, so I’m going to tell you, that’s how it is.”

There seemed to be no flaws, and Yuri fell silent.

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.

"Speaking of which, is your friend listening to our conversation right now?" Akemi changed the subject.

Yuka Yamanaka tilted her head, seemingly trying to figure out what Akemi's question really meant... while Akemi gave her a rather convincing smile.

In the end, the sin-eater girl felt that the problem was not threatening.

"He is here, and he is not here."

"?" Mingmei didn't say anything, but just looked at the other person with a puzzled expression.

“He’s listening, but I think he might not be thinking; he’s just memorizing. Some kind of stimulus will wake him up…” Yuka Yamanaka leaned back on the bench and sighed.

In other words, her bound spirit is sleeping with its eyes open, daydreaming.

“In other words, before—” Akemi continued.

Yuka Yamanaka's body showed signs of tension.

“I’ve only seen it once, but I guess if you didn’t know beforehand, you would still have a misunderstanding—the way your spirit disappeared looked too much like you were possessed,” Mingmei said, her tone suggesting that she was still having a pleasant chat. “No wonder some books say that sin eaters are people who are possessed by ghosts.”

Akemi's turn wasn't perfect, but it wasn't exactly flawless either—given Yuri's understanding of her, what she probably wanted to ask was, "Was the thing that was chasing Yuri and slashing at him an unconscious, instinctive action?"—After all, no matter how you look at it, the Sin Eater girl still needs to concentrate to communicate with her bound spirit, and fighting clearly doesn't meet the requirements.

However, since the other party is already on edge, asking further questions that might provoke them is not a good option.

"Actually, the real names are Bound Spirit and Bound Body. The two together make up the Sin Eater. As for the idea of ​​being possessed by a ghost, that's just nonsense. I have self-awareness, and so do my friends." Yuka Yamanaka relaxed again. "Those books were probably not written by the Sin Eater. I did have some trouble because I was mistaken for a ghost possessor... but that's all in the past."

"What kind of trouble?" Yuri wanted to ask, but seeing that Yamanaka Yuka looked like she was having a terrible time, he figured he wouldn't get any information out of her, so he gave up.

After chatting for a few more minutes, Yuka Yamanaka slowly got up. According to her, unless something new happened, she wouldn't come looking for trouble again... As for compensation, if Yuri wanted it, he could go to a designated location tomorrow afternoon. She would show Yuri the "formal process for obtaining the spirit essence" and give him her share as compensation. By the way, the location was a funeral home.

"Wait a minute—" Yuri called out to the sin-eater girl who hadn't taken two steps from behind her.

"?"

"Ignore the treatment, at least help me remove this thing that's preventing my wound from healing, okay?" Yuri said, shaking his left arm with his right hand.

“No problem.” Yuka Yamanaka pointed her finger, and the strange energy completely disappeared. “I’ll say it again, I’m sorry.”

It sounds completely sincere.

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.

Soon, the sin-eating girl disappeared from their sight.

"Do you think she's trustworthy?" Yuri asked Akemi.

Mingmei looked back, spread her hands, and shook her head. "I think she's trustworthy, but I have no proof."

To put it more politely, the two sides have not yet established enough mutual trust and are still in a state where they could be stabbed in the back at any time. Moreover, Yuri would not be able to withstand even a direct attack.

Yuri didn't think the other party would betray him, but what if they did?

Akemi's gaze was directed at Yuri's left hand, which he was still holding to his chest.

How does your hand feel now?

To be honest, it wasn't very effective. Even after the energy covering the wound was dispelled, Yuri still couldn't heal his arm by stretching his spiritual essence. Injecting spiritual marrow was indeed effective for recovery, but the consumption was considerable. This time it wasn't a superficial injury, so the cost of recovery was relatively higher.

"Fortunately, at least the part that was preventing regeneration has been removed, and it can now fully recover normally."