Sunday, nearing the end of April, cherry blossoms in full bloom.
The morning sunlight was warm and golden. Young girls in sailor uniforms walked in groups of two or three, their long legs beneath their skirts pale and dazzling. Even the air was filled with the scent of youth.
Kaito stood at the intersection, replying to messages while waiting for the red light to change.
[Togawa Sakiko: This commission is a bit complicated. The client works in finance. Some time ago, one of her subordinates jumped off a building due to a relationship issue. Since then, many strange things have happened in the company.]
[Togawa Sakiko: She tried seeking out priests and monks from nearby temples to perform rituals to appease the spirit, but in the end, it didn't work. Instead, the priests and monks were so terrified that they fled the company in a panic and refused to go back no matter what.]
[Togawa Sakiko: On top of the original reward, the client added another several million. She's willing to offer 15 million yen to thank the exorcist.]
[Togawa Sakiko: Boss, do you have confidence in handling it?]
Sakiko-chan really was a capable assistant.
She had just started the job not long ago and had already brought in the first commission, with a very fitting reward too.
Of course, Kaito wouldn't refuse. He asked Sakiko to set up a time to meet with the client.
———
Perhaps it was really urgent.
Not long after Sakiko contacted the client, the other party immediately said they could meet today.
So, two hours later, a taxi stopped in front of a café. Kaito got out and easily spotted Sakiko.
The girl wasn't in her uniform but had changed into a relatively formal lady's dress. A black satin ribbon formed a beautiful bow on her chest. Even among the comings and goings of customers, she was the most eye-catching.
After meeting, the two entered the reserved private room and quickly met with today's client.
She was a capable-looking middle-aged woman, with long black hair. Even with age, she retained a touch of charm.
But she didn't look in good spirits. There were faint dark circles around her eyes, as if she had stayed up too late.
Well, it was understandable. Anyone dealing with such unlucky matters would struggle to stay in a good mental state.
When the pair, both young, entered the private room, the client was visibly stunned.
Especially after meeting eyes with Kaito, her daze turned into a blank stare.
Fortunately, Sakiko quickly reached out her hand to break the awkwardness, "Nice to meet you, Miss Nagasaki."
Nagasaki Asuna came back to her senses and, while shaking hands, looked a little embarrassed.
'Already at my age, with a daughter in college, and I am still crushing on a young handsome guy? How shameless!'
But she was, after all, a strong woman who had built her career from scratch. Her mental fortitude was exceptional, and she quickly hid her momentary lapse, smiling and making small talk.
Once the atmosphere had warmed up, she got straight to the point, "You've already heard the details before, so I won't repeat myself."
"I'll just say this, if this incident can be resolved, I'm willing to add another five million as a bonus, making it twenty million in total, as my thanks to the two of you."
"Of course, even if it can't be resolved, you'll still receive a ten-thousand-yen hardship fee. I won't let you come for nothing."
Miss Nagasaki was indeed very generous.
Her surname also reminded Sakiko of someone from the past.
But Nagasaki was a very common surname in Japan, just like Yamamoto or Kato, you could grab a handful at random, 'It is probably just a coincidence?'
Shaking her head, Sakiko brushed away these trivial thoughts and also went straight to the point, "In any case, please take us to the scene, Miss Nagasaki."
———
Miss Nagasaki's company was located in the busiest part of Roppongi, occupying a floor of an office building.
They took the elevator up, but didn't see a single employee. It was completely empty.
Noticing Sakiko's puzzled expression, Miss Nagasaki smiled wryly, "Because of the recent haunting, the employees are all on edge and can't concentrate on work. I had no choice but to give them two days off."
'So that's how it is.'
Sakiko understood and then turned to the tall boy beside her, asking with her eyes, "Have you found anything?"
Kaito nodded, his gaze fixed tightly on an inconspicuous corner where a window had been sealed shut.
Following his gaze, Miss Nagasaki explained, "That's the place where Nakamura jumped."
Nakamura Shinna—that was the deceased's name.
Thinking back to the scene at the time, the strong woman still felt a bit shaken.
She had only argued with her boyfriend over the phone and threatened to jump if he dared to break up with her. When he refused, she really did jump without hesitation from the 34th floor, scaring her coworkers into shock. They forgot to even try to stop her.
If she had that kind of resolve, couldn't she have done something better with it? Why throw her life away for a man?
And her family wasn't easy to deal with either. After learning their daughter died at the company, they came and made a scene, blaming the company for her death and demanding a huge compensation.
It took great effort to settle things with the grieving family, and then the company started experiencing hauntings. This series of upsetting events left Nagasaki Asuna exhausted both physically and mentally.
She didn't even dare go home, afraid of bringing the bad luck with her and infecting her loved ones.
"There really is something dirty here," Hearing Kaito's words, Nagasaki Asuna tensed.
She used to not believe in ghosts. But this time, the events were just too strange.
Even the two professionals she invited, a well-known priest and a respected monk, were so terrified during the exorcism that they wet themselves and ran away screaming, completely losing the aura of spiritual masters. They cried for their mothers and crawled away, swearing never to come back.
Their fear definitely wasn't an act. As charlatans, even when acting, they'd only try to portray themselves as powerful. There's no reason to show such cowardice.
Not to mention, even Nagasaki herself sometimes felt like she was being secretly watched.
She was sure, there was definitely something unclean in this building.
Now that Kaito had confirmed her suspicions, the woman suppressed her inner anxiety and pleaded earnestly, "Master, could you please deal with it? Money is not an issue!"
Before she finished speaking, Nagasaki Asuna suddenly felt her heart skip a beat. A chill crept up her back. It felt like someone was glaring at her with hatred from the shadows.
In the unseen world of darkness, a female ghost with messy hair and bloodstains all over her body, her face twisted, her pupils nothing but whites filled with malice, was staring at her intently.
Nagasaki Asuna swallowed nervously, feeling a coldness over her entire body. She couldn't help but rub her arms, only to find them covered in goosebumps.
"Ma-master, you see…", She was just about to say something when she noticed a faint warm glow radiating from the back of the boy next to her. The coldness lingering on her body met this light and melted away in an instant, like spring sunlight melting snow.
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