Supernatural/Anime Crossover: Where Did My Romantic Comedy Go?

"Kujou-sama, I know a really good ramen restaurant around here. Their mentaiko (spicy cod roe) is also excellent. I'll treat you to some later."

Hakata ramen is a signature dish of Fukuoka and can often be seen even in anime.

Mentaiko, on the other hand, is a specialty of Fukuoka. It is a spicy cod roe, and it seems that it was stolen by the peninsula across from Fukuoka and claimed as its own specialty, which caused quite a bit of controversy.

Under normal circumstances, Kujo Toru would have liked to try it, but unfortunately, he wasn't in Fukuoka for tourism, so he had to decline.

"Never mind, I have somewhere else to go, so I won't go with you. Just send me the address of the guesthouse via email."

It takes about an hour to get to Misaki-cho from here by car. It's already past 2 p.m., and Kujo Toru is trying to hurry up.

Anyway, he only brought a backpack, so he didn't need to go to the hostel to drop off his luggage first.

"what?"

Yokota was somewhat surprised and was about to say something when he suddenly remembered what Kujo Toru had told him. He silently swallowed his question and nodded.

"Alright then, Kujo-sama, be careful."

"Ah."

The two parted ways there, and Kujo Toru followed the navigation to the bus stop and boarded a bus bound for Misakicho.

The journey was bumpy, taking us from the clean and tidy city center to the suburbs where farmland and buildings intersect, then into the lush mountains, and finally to a slightly dilapidated town.

This is Misaki-cho.

It is located on the southwestern edge of Fukuoka Prefecture, next to Saga Prefecture.

I wonder if there really is a zombie idol group over there trying to revitalize the region.

After all, these things really do exist in this world.

"Hello, could you please tell me where the town hall is located?"

Kujo Toru casually grabbed a man in his forties and asked him for directions.

There are hardly any young people to be seen on the main street of the town, and the overall architectural style is quite old, even worse than that of Bajie Street.

It's as if time has left this place in the 1980s.

The middle-aged man looked at Kujo Tetsu with some surprise.

Not only because he was a new face in town, but also because his Soubu High School uniform clearly indicated he came from a big city, and was completely different from the uniforms here.

After kindly giving Kujo Toru directions, the man offered to take him there and began chatting with him in standard Japanese with a local accent:

"You're not from Fukuoka, are you?"

"Yes, I'm from Chiba, here to participate in the Jade Dragon Flag competition."

Kujo Toru didn't hide anything. While chatting with the uncle, he looked around the small town located in the mountains, and a bright, spiritual light quietly appeared in his eyes as he observed the flow of spiritual energy in the air.

"Wow, so you're from Tokyo."

The middle-aged man exclaimed in surprise.

People from Kyushu consider the entire Tokyo metropolitan area to be Tokyoites.

While Tokyoites consider Chiba and Saitama to be stinky out-of-town places, Minato and Chiyoda wards consider the other wards to be stinky out-of-town places as well.

It's fair to say that the issue of infinitely subdividing regions is the same no matter where you look.

"But if I remember correctly, the Jade Dragon Flag competition is supposed to start tomorrow, so why are you here at this time?"

The middle-aged man walked ahead, greeted several elderly people passing by, and casually explained the situation to them when they asked questions.

Then Kujo Toru gained a lot of attention.

It felt like I was being watched like a monkey.

“I have elderly relatives here who are too old to go out easily and miss their hometown. So I’m taking this opportunity to take some photos back with me.”

Kujo Toru had already prepared his reasons and blurted them out casually.

"You're quite filial," the uncle said with an appreciative look, speaking very kindly.

"What's your elders' surname? I grew up here, so I might even know them."

"Kurokawa, do you remember me?"

They directly used Kurokawa Misaki's surname.

Although he knew it was a pseudonym and that his real surname was Yomiyama, Kujo Toru still wanted to ask.

Even if it's a pen name, it shouldn't be completely fabricated.

Sure enough, the uncle's expression changed instantly upon hearing those two words.

His smile vanished, his expression turned cold, and he instinctively distanced himself from Toru Kujo.

Instead of continuing the conversation, he pointed ahead:

"Sorry, I suddenly remembered that I have some things to take care of at home. The town hall is just ahead. You can see it if you follow this road."

Without waiting for Kujo Toru's response, he hurriedly left.

There really is a problem.

Kujo Toru watched his retreating figure, lost in thought.

Volume 1: Chapter 184 (4K) I must find her!

The town hall in Misaki-cho looks even more dilapidated than the buildings in the town. The walls are covered with vines and the red bricks are covered with graffiti. It's hard to tell how many years it hasn't been repaired.

If it weren't for the small sign hanging next to the door that clearly stated it, Toru Kujo would have thought it was some kind of artistic building.

I almost thought the uncle had given him the wrong directions.

Fortunately, although it looks dilapidated, the town hall itself is indeed located here.

Upon entering, the first thing that caught his eye was a young woman dressed in formal attire, who looked no older than him.

He was lying on the counter playing on his phone, looking utterly bored.

Startled by the noise of Kujo Toru pushing open the door, she wasn't angry at all; instead, she warmly approached him.

"You're from out of town, right? What brings you to the town government? Do you need any help?"

Nana Asano was very excited.

Good heavens! A stranger has finally arrived in town!

Who knows how difficult it was for her to be a public servant in this small town where she rarely saw outsiders all year round.

Although they say they work at the town government office, they actually just sit here all day on a paid basis, slacking off and playing on their phones.

Everyone in town knows each other; who would bother coming here for no reason?

It made it so that she couldn't even find someone to chat with.

You can't exactly talk to a town mayor who's over sixty and still living in the Showa era about idols and fashion.

Over time, even Nana Asano began to feel like she was a parasite living off the public.

Fortunately, the arrival of Kujo Toru gave her a place where she could finally realize her value.

With eyes full of anticipation, Asano Nana was already rubbing her hands together in excitement.

Come on, tell me your problem and let me solve it cleanly and efficiently!

Kujo Toru gave her a strange look, wondering why she was so excited.

He came here simply to research the historical context of Daiyu Village.

Although the town hall is the administrative hall of a town, in order to promote rural revitalization, a lot of promotional documents are usually placed here.

Local gazetteers are also printed and placed here.

However, since the other party was so enthusiastic, Kujo Tetsu simply repeated what he had said to the uncle earlier.

"Kurokawa?" Asano Nana thought for a moment, her face showing some distress. "There doesn't seem to be anyone with that surname in town."

She has been in Misaki-cho for two years. There are only five or six hundred households in total, and none of them have this surname.

"Really? Then I'll look it up myself."

Kujo Toru remained noncommittal, then looked up and walked toward the small bookshelf next to the hall, where promotional documents and local chronicles were displayed.

"Let me help you."

Looking at Kujo Toru's profile, Asano Nana felt a sudden urge and, as if possessed, spoke up.

This high school student from out of town is really good-looking, much better looking than the latest male idols.

There must be quite a few girls pursuing him at school...

Lost in thought, she was pulled back to reality only when Kujo Toru spoke:

"Then trouble you."

"No trouble at all!"

Asano Nana quickly waved her hand. Because of her previous thoughts, she felt her face getting hot. She quickly took a brochure from the bookshelf and held it in front of her.

I felt a little embarrassed.

Kujo Toru didn't pay attention to her strange attitude and began to focus on researching the local history of Misaki Town.

There are too many strange and unusual things in Shintoism. Based on the information we have now, we cannot determine what exactly is causing the trouble in Daimiya.

It could be a monster, a malevolent spirit, a ritual left behind by some unscrupulous Onmyoji or shrine maiden, or it could simply be due to a problem with the geographical location itself.

Unfortunately, the local gazetteer appears to be newly revised.

Although it tells the story of Misaki-cho's past, famous figures who were born there, important events, and customs of nearby villages, it is missing Daimyo Village.

Even after Kujo Toru went through every single paper document on the bookshelf, he still couldn't find anything related to the village.

Even if information control was imposed due to the mudslide ten years ago, it shouldn't have gone to this extent.

This is tantamount to completely erasing the existence of this village.

The setting sun shone through the town hall gates and fell on Kujo Toru's face.

Asano Nana pretended to look at the documents in her hand, but was actually secretly watching him. Seeing that Kujo Toru was silent, she took the initiative to ask:

"Didn't you find it, Kujo-kun?"

"Ah."

Kujo Toru nodded and put the gazetteer back in its place.

Judging from the actions of that uncle, it's clear that the townspeople know something, but there's nothing that can be done if they're unwilling to talk about it.

Fortunately, he was only here to scout out the location and familiarize himself with the situation, so he wasn't too disappointed.

I'll find out once I visit the original site of Daiyu Village in person the day after tomorrow.

I took out my phone and checked the time. It was already past 5 p.m. There was only one bus left to go back to Fukuoka city. If I didn't leave now, I would have to wait until tomorrow morning.

"Ms. Asano, thank you for your help. I'm going back now."

After politely saying goodbye, Asano Nana unexpectedly blurted out:

"So fast..."

She quickly realized her words were inappropriate, a faint blush rising to her cheeks, and hurriedly added:

"Why don't you look a little longer, Kujo-kun? I remember reading somewhere that there's a Kurokawa Shrine in a nearby village, and the shrine's head priest is surnamed Kurokawa. Maybe they're from the same family..."

"There's no Kurokawa Shrine here. Don't talk nonsense in front of our guests!"

An old voice suddenly interrupted Asano Nana's words. An elderly man in a suit came down from upstairs and glared at her.

"Mayor!"

Asano Nana shrank her neck and retreated to the side.

Kujo Toru looked at the old man, who was also sizing him up with suspicion and wariness in his eyes. Then, ignoring Asano Nana, he began to shoo him away.

"Alright, it's time to get off work. Let's go home! Stop watching all that nonsense!"

Only after the mayor left the town hall and his figure disappeared from sight did Asano Nana speak up, still feeling indignant:

"When I was asked to dispose of the old documents before, I saw information about this shrine. The mayor is really senile."