— — — — — —
"I guess I can't see her… but that's okay. Just being able to talk to my mom is enough."
The girl's face showed a flash of disappointment, but she quickly perked up again. Her eyes sparkled with anticipation as she looked at the old woman.
"Then, um… I'll need to set up some things next. Could you please wait for a bit in the hallway?"
The old woman took out a string of prayer beads and handed them to the girl. "And keep this bracelet on you."
"Okay!"
Without suspecting a thing, the girl slipped the beads onto her wrist and obediently stepped outside to wait, her heart full of hope at the thought of talking with her late mother.
After the girl left—
"Little one, can you see the spirit of that girl's mother?"
The old woman hadn't started any preparations. She simply turned toward Miko Yotsuya and asked.
Miko shook her head. "No. Her mother's spirit isn't here. But…"
Her eyes flicked—almost involuntarily—to the hideous creature squatting right next to them.
"You want to say: But… this place feels a bit dirty, doesn't it? Maybe what she really needs is someone to help her clean up." The old woman said to Miko, then sighed, "It's just... Child, cleaning can be very dangerous work. One wrong move, and you could die!"
That confirmed it—the old woman could tell Miko really could see the thing. Her voice grew serious, almost warning.
"Um, yeah... uh, ma'am, maybe you should hurry up and clean, then!"
Miko understood the metaphor instantly. The woman clearly meant "exorcise the spirit", not clean. But come on! Now wasn't the time to speak in riddles!
The spirit was getting closer—way too close. Miko felt her bladder tighten in sheer terror.
"Watch closely, young lady! This is how you really clean a room!"
The old woman suddenly stood up, pulling out her rosary from her pocket. But before she could even chant a word—
Snap!
The string broke, beads flying everywhere, pelting her square in the face.
"…Huh?"
Miko blinked in confusion. What kind of exorcism was this? Did the exploding beads always slap the exorcist in the face? Was this some kind of new purification technique?!
"Ahem! Seems this filth is tougher than I thought! Looks like I'll have to use my true power!"
The old woman coughed, straightened up, and tried to recover her dignity. The spirit was clearly stronger than she'd expected.
"But that's fine! I still have my trump card—my ultimate weapon! The prayer beads that hold all the power of my youth!"
She dramatically pulled out a small wooden box, opened it with reverence, and revealed a crystal-clear strand of beads that shimmered faintly with spiritual light.
And then—
Snap!
They broke again. The sparkling beads ricocheted off her face with a crisp clack-clack-clack.
"..."
The room fell into an eerie silence.
"Uh… that's, um… totally normal, right?" Miko said awkwardly, trying to break the tension. But deep down, her confidence in the old woman's abilities had evaporated.
When Kazuma exorcised spirits, he didn't bother with beads or chants. He just pulled out a gun, bang, and that was it—the ghost was gone.
This woman, on the other hand, had been fumbling around for minutes with zero results.
Not to mention, Kazuma always talked about spirits so casually—almost bored, even. He never avoided saying the word "spirit." But this old lady kept dodging it, talking about "dirty rooms" and "cleaning."
Wait a second… was she just pretending not to see them too? Just like I used to do?!
"Ahem. Perfectly normal. I still have one more trick! My final, ultimate secret—"
The old woman pulled out another box. Inside was a mysterious little doll. But the instant she took it out, it smacked her square in the face.
That was it. She suddenly felt ancient. Maybe it was time to retire, head back to her hometown, and cry herself to sleep.
Miko stared at her in disbelief. The "Godmother" had failed three times in a row.
If even she couldn't handle this thing, then it must be insanely powerful. There's no way a rookie could deal with it… right?
Then her eyes fell on the pendant at her neck. "No."
"I can't keep running forever. At the very least, I have to find the courage to fight."
"The Guild Master is still around to help now, but one day he won't be. When that time comes, it'll just be me."
"I have to protect my family. I have to protect Hana. I have to be strong."
Miko took a deep breath. Her hands stopped trembling.
She summoned her gun, aimed it straight at the creature, and pulled the trigger.
She knew she probably wouldn't win—but this wasn't about winning. It was about fighting back.
She believed Kazuma would come for her if things went bad. She trusted him completely.
Bang!
One shot.
In that instant, the massive spirit was obliterated. Not even a scream. Just—gone.
"…Huh?!"
The old woman stared at Miko, then at the gleaming gun in her hands, utterly dumbfounded.
What kind of artifact was that?!
She'd thrown every trick she had at the ghost, and this girl erased it in a single shot!
"…Huh?!"
Miko was just as shocked. She looked at the gun in her hand. When Kazuma had used it, she hadn't realized how overpowered it really was.
But now that she'd fired it herself… five hundred million yen felt like a bargain!
If she—a total weakling—could one-shot something that scary, then how strong would this weapon be in Kazuma's hands?
Yep… this thing was so worth it.
At that moment, a voice drifted in from the hallway.
"Kazuma-san, thank you so much for letting me see my mother again."
"Indeed, thank you, Kazuma-kun, for letting me see my daughter once more. Truly, thank you."
The door opened. Kazuma stepped into the room, a faint smirk on his face. Behind him was the girl with glasses, beaming with happiness.
Beside her stood a woman who looked almost identical—just older and gentler. Her mother.
"Mission's done. Got paid. Time to go." Kazuma said casually. Then he turned to Miko. "And hey, next time, stop dragging things out. Just shoot. One shot, done. Why make it take so long?"
He'd seen the whole thing and he wasn't impressed. That spirit was nothing special.
"And by the way, the client asked to see her mom, not to have her exorcised. What were you even doing?"
"S-sorry… I'm really sorry…"
The moment Miko saw him, all her pent-up fear burst out as tears. She ran forward and threw herself into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Crying already? Geez…" Kazuma sighed, but there was a faint smile in his voice. "Alright, alright. You messed up a bit, sure. But at least you found the guts to fight back. That's a good start."
"The rest—you'll fix with time."
He patted her head, a bit roughly but with warmth, as she buried her face in his chest, still sniffling.
"…Mm."
Miko nodded obediently.
Right now, she understood one thing perfectly—staying close to Kazuma was the safest place in the world.
.
.
.