Maybe the cursed spirit wanted to pick out a new outfit for itself?
With a trembling hand, a queasy feeling in my stomach, and a cold shiver running down my spine, I gripped the heavy, thick fabric of the curtain and yanked it aside with a swift motion.
Lucky!
Nothing but a stool and a shattered mirror lying on the ground, reflecting the intact ceiling in countless shards.
My tension dropped a few steps down the victory podium, though my pulse still raced at what felt like 50 beats per second. I moved on to the next curtain. Tension rising, curtain grabbed with shaky hands, same quick motion applied and again, nothing but emptiness. I blew out the breath I'd been holding in a loud rush. Why wasn't I just lying in bed right now, watching a horror movie where I could close my eyes during all the famous jump scares?
"Because this is my goddamn own horror show. Starring Mayu Ryomen. Unwillingly! … All cameras on me? Action!"
Third and final fitting room.
I once again reached for the concealing fabric, ready to rip it open when the sudden vibrating of my phone scared the life out of me.
"...! You sock philosopher!" I hissed through clenched teeth, shaking out my hand in hopes of loosening my nerves.
Taking a deep breath, I pulled out the heart-attack-inducing device again.
A new message from Megumi.
***Megumi: We've been busted :')!***
He had even attached a screenshot of his chat with Satoru, which made me chuckle as I quickly typed back.
***Mayu: Damn it! I'm so sorry, Megumi :/ This is definitely going to cause trouble... I'll explain it to him later.
Megumi: No need. I'll handle it. Are you okay?
Mayu: Haha... define "okay"... I mean, technically yes, but honestly, if I could, I'd be shitting myself nonstop!***
One last try for fitting room number three.
Holding my glowing phone at chest height, I grabbed the curtain again, yanked it open with force and stared straight into another person-sized figure illuminated by my phone's light.
"Holy shit!" I gasped loudly. "How can... someone be this stupid?!" I huffed in panic, squeezing my eyes shut.
A cold shiver ran down my back before retreating slowly from my limbs as I pressed the smartphone against my chest.
"Couldn't you have been one of the damn broken mirrors lying around on the floor?!" I scolded the mirror I'd been reflected in.
First deep-seated scare of the day undoubtedly with many more to come. But hold up. Why hadn't I been using my phone's flashlight this whole time? Yeah... the excitement. Thinking straight had never been one of my strong suits under pressure...
Another buzz from my phone.
***Megumi: Believe me, that's exactly how I felt on my first solo missions too. It gets better with time and experience.***
More missions? Honestly, I had hoped this would be my one and only...
***Mayu: Such comforting words. I'll think of you ^-^ ***
"Come on, Mio," I called out across the room to the hellhound. "We're moving on."
Luckily, Mio didn't react to anything suspicious, and we left the store, heading back into the main hall where, oddly enough, I felt the safest.
Given the size of the building, it was a miracle I hadn't already gotten hopelessly lost.
I placed a finger on my chin, listened carefully to the suspicious silence, and glanced around briefly.
Apart from the soft whisper of wind breezing through the hall, I didn't hear anything else. Good.
The subtle, eerie whistling was already giving me enough goosebumps as it was.
But let's be real here! The cursed spirit could be absolutely anywhere... or nowhere at all!
With a sigh, I tried to get a better overview from where I stood.
Some of the shop entrances were so heavily barricaded that there was no way I could even get inside.
Pity, really, because one of them had really caught my attention though, at the same time, I was also very much not eager to investigate it. There had to be another way to track down the cursed spirit, right? I ran a hand over my face, mentally flipping through my lessons.
Kento! Right; residuals!
"Residuals are lingering traces left behind when using cursed techniques. Skilled curse spirits and sorcerers can either deliberately leave them or conceal them."
Cursed techniques, then.
If the cursed spirit I was after had recently used a technique, surely I should be able to spot his residuals, right?
Immediately, I swept my gaze more thoroughly and focused across the neglected floor.
Kento had explained to me multiple times what I needed to pay attention to in order to see residuals.
Still, it wasn't easy.
So far, I'd only ever managed it once under Kento's supervision.
Alright, focus.
I let my gaze linger for a few seconds on several different spots, concentrating with all I had on finding any trace.
But nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
Either I was completely incompetent which I highly suspected or the cursed spirit had wiped away his traces, or... maybe he hadn't used any techniques at all yet.
Resigned, I exhaled sharply through my nose, crossing my arms tightly over my chest as I continued forward.
"Brilliant work, Special Grade Sorcerer," I muttered with heavy sarcasm. "How the hell did they ever promote me to Special Grade?!... What a joke."
I shook my head, as if that could rattle loose my frustrating thoughts.
Clearly, I would have no choice but to deepen my search.
Meanwhile, Mio had taken it upon himself to sniff around within a safe radius, inspecting everything carefully without indicating anything suspicious yet.