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

I discovered a temple on the mountain, and Lord Black Fox appeared. He told me that as long as I completed the Seven Luminaries Underworld Festival, I could resurrect Keiko, and from then on, nothing could stop my happy life with her.

【but……】

The paper following those two words was torn off.

Further on, there are four large characters: Wild.

【Huizi, wait for me!】

As for what comes after that, there is nothing more.

This concludes the entire diary.

Although the content is not much, it is enough for Kujo Toru to understand the whole story.

"Ha, the Seven Luminaries Underworld Festival..."

Even an ordinary person like Akiyama Shoji doesn't understand the effects of this evil magic, but isn't he clear enough about it?

Physical death is an irreversible process.

Even great demons can only exist in the world as souls after their physical bodies die.

As for ordinary people like Huizi? Most of them would turn into vengeful spirits, either taken to the underworld by the Grim Reaper or naturally dissipating over time.

Resurrection? Nonsense.

Even the Taishan Fujun Festival, which was presided over by Seimei and claimed to be able to truly revive the living, was ultimately unsuccessful.

The purpose of the Seven Luminaries Yellow Springs Ritual is to create the physical body for the descent of such evil spirits.

"Eighth Street City, Black Wildcat."

Silently note down this crucial information.

It can be basically deduced that the other party is a kind of vengeful spirit that has no physical body and only a soul, which is why it needs to deceive Akiyama Shoji.

Moreover, that temple should be its place of worship.

The diary entries are unclear, making it impossible to pinpoint the exact location.

I still need to consult that folklorist.

Kujo Toru's thoughts raced, and his hands moved just as quickly.

He dialed the number saved as "Daisuke Kosaka".

And before the other person could speak, he spoke first:

"I've discovered a serial murder scene here, the location is..."

He then went out of the room to get some fresh air while waiting for the other person to arrive.

However, the deathly silence of the industrial area was soon broken by the piercing sound of police sirens.

Several black and white Toyotas drove straight toward the dilapidated apartment building.

Daisuke Kosaka got out of the car and, while directing the others to set up yellow tape cordon, walked upstairs.

"As soon as I received the report from that silver-haired girl, I knew you were about to uncover another case."

Although he was complaining, Daisuke Kosaka's eyes were full of worry.

Every time a murder occurs, this guy is at the scene.

If it weren't for the irrefutable evidence that he was never involved, Daisuke Kosaka would have arrested him.

"How are things going with Natsukawa Masuzu and Miura Yumiko?"

Kujo Toru handed him the diary and inquired about the two of them.

"They've been taken to the police station for questioning. I'll drive them both back to school later," Daisuke Kosaka explained, his expression turning serious.

"How's it going inside? You didn't move around, did you?"

"Apart from this diary, nothing else has been touched."

Kujo Toru didn't even blink before he plucked the fur off the tanuki statue.

Daisuke Kosaka nodded, then followed the two detectives behind him inside.

As soon as they entered, the strong, fishy stench made the three of them look quite unpleasant.

Two of the younger detectives were pale-faced, but they still managed to suppress their nausea and carefully examined the scene.

Although they frequently deal with homicide cases, this horrific scene was a first for them.

Especially those severely decomposed corpses and haphazardly pieced-together limbs were a heavy blow to reason.

Daisuke Kosaka felt it was necessary to have the two men undergo psychological treatment after the case was concluded.

"How on earth did Kujo manage to put up with this?"

Recalling Kujo Toru's calm and composed demeanor, Kousaka Daisuke found it unbelievable.

His mental fortitude is simply too strong. Coupled with his troublesome constitution, comparable to that of a Grim Reaper elementary school student, he's practically the perfect choice to become a criminal investigator.

I'm afraid I'll be able to wear a gold watch in less than two years.

After conducting a preliminary investigation of the scene and confirming that it matched Kujo Toru's description, Kousaka Daisuke first took him back to the Chiba City Criminal Headquarters to take a statement.

Kujo Toru also managed to snag a special pork cutlet rice bowl for lunch.

I glanced at the time; it was 2 PM.

He was too lazy to go back to school at this time. He had already skipped most of his classes, so he didn't care about missing one or two.

As for Yukino Yukinoshita, the only reason I've been following her is to fish.

Because the other party clearly has the kind of constitution that easily attracts non-human beings, and even has been protected by a righteous god.

As long as you stay by her side, you'll definitely have no shortage of experience points to gain.

However, the experience points from the black raccoon are right in front of us, so we'll leave Yukinoshita aside for now.

Anyway, as long as the paper exorcism on the other party is activated, he can immediately sense it and project his consciousness onto them, so there's nothing to worry about.

With this in mind, Kujo Toru, unusually, came to the shopping street and approached the goddess who had just seen off her customers.

After briefly explaining the situation, she obtained the contact information of her folklorist friend.

I dialed the number, but all I heard was an annoying busy tone.

Kujo Toru wasn't in a hurry; he just waited patiently until the call was finally answered.

"Hello, this is Munakata Kiyono."

An old but gentle and refined voice rang out from the other end.

"Hello, I am Toru Kujo, a friend of Shitamachi Shrine Maiden. I have something I would like to ask you."

"Oh, a friend of the Mother Goddess, may I ask?"

"Do you know which part of Hachijo City the Black Fox is associated with?"

Volume One: Chapter Forty-Six: Oil Painting

"Black Fox...Eighth Street City..."

A thoughtful sound came from the other end of the phone.

It seems to be flipping through a vast collection of folklore memories in my mind.

A moment later, his voice carried a hint of apology.

"Sorry, Kujo-kun."

"The worship of tanuki is mostly concentrated in the Shikoku region, such as the 808 Tanuki, or spirits that take on various forms. I don't really have any impression of the Kanto region."

"I see."

Kujo Toru was slightly disappointed.

Even scholars who specialize in folklore didn't know.

It seems to be even more obscure than I imagined.

"However, speaking of this, something comes to mind."

Munakata Kiyono sighed softly.

“I have a friend who currently lives in Chiba. He is a local painter who loves to travel all over the country to collect folk art and record the scenes of villages that are about to disappear.”

Kujo Toru understood his unspoken meaning:

"He's been to Bajie City?"

“Yes.” Munakata Kiyono continued:

"It was about three months ago. After that, he became very strange and stopped contacting me. He used to tell me stories about what he encountered during his field trips."

At this point, there was a hint of pleading in his voice:

"Since you are a friend of the goddess, Kujo-kun, I hope you can help me find out what's wrong with my friend. Name your price."

"Okay, I'll give you the details after I've looked into it."

Kujo Toru agreed.

Unexpectedly, there was a pleasant surprise here.

As for why the other party would ask him to solve the problem, Kujo Toru was not surprised.

After all, folklorists are most likely to encounter inhuman events.

It's quite normal for them to believe in the existence of monsters and vengeful spirits more than ordinary people.

"Okay, thank you. I'll send you the address in a bit."

The phone hangs up.

The screen lights up, and a new email is in the inbox.

Upon clicking, the location is in Wakaba Ward, Chiba City.

It's not too far from here.

It's only 3 PM now, so it's a good time to go over there.

With that thought, Kujo Toru put his phone back in his pocket and left.

The afternoon sun was still scorching.

A stray cat was dozing off on the wall.

Kujo Toru arrived at a secluded residential area.

Most of the houses are quite old.

It was surrounded by lush trees.

The shade of the tree fell on him.

Looking up at the end of the street, you can see the painter's house.

It is a two-story detached house with a yard.

As he approached slowly, Kujo Toru realized that the information Munakata Kiyono had given him might be wrong.

The other person probably hasn't been back to Chiba City for a long time.

The iron gate was covered with dense vines.

The nameplate next to it reads "Laixi".

The weeds in the yard were growing excessively lush.

The mailbox was rusty and overflowing with unread newspapers.

The doors and windows were tightly closed, making it impossible to see inside the house.

Just as Kujo Toru was contemplating whether to climb over the wall and go in, a girl with long orange hair tied in pigtails happened to arrive.

She was only about as tall as Kujo Toru, with black ribbons tied around her hair on both sides. Her red sleeveless dress exposed her fair and slender arms and legs to the air.

The moment their eyes met, a look of wariness appeared on that cute face: