That evening, Kamiyama Rikuo recovered enough to be discharged from the hospital, only to find that all his treatment costs had been paid.
"Sakiko-sensei must have used the family's influence, right? She probably wasn't confident she could resolve such a big issue on her own, so she was forced to concede and now owes a significant favor."
Rikuo didn't dwell on it too much; after all, there was nothing he could do at the moment.
"First, I'll check if there's anything unusual at the apartment, then take the train to Osaka and test the effects of this pen and card."
Rikuo got up and walked towards the apartment.
Due to the considerable distance between the apartment and the hospital, and having lost his phone and wallet in the explosion, Rikuo unknowingly walked until 8 PM.
"Is the hospital really that far from the apartment? The street is so quiet, and there are no pedestrians walking around. It's a huge difference from near the academy… Hey, there's a light under the vending machine ahead.
I've been walking for ages; maybe I can find a coin to buy a bottle of water."
As Rikuo squatted in front of the vending machine, searching for a coin, as if in response to his call, someone (questionable) arrived.
From behind, he heard the sticky sound of dragging leather shoes.
Turning his head, Rikuo saw a ghostly man in a wrinkled suit, his tie like a noose digging into the decaying flesh of his neck, holding a projector remote control emitting a green light.
"Young man… do you want to experience true blessings…?"
Excel spreadsheets rolled in the ghost's eye sockets, and with every word he spoke, he exhaled black mist that smelled of coffee grounds.
He pressed the remote control, and the entire street suddenly twisted into a conference room, with a blood-red "Voluntary Overtime Agreement" appearing on the projection screen.
"Holy crap, dude, why haven't I seen a ghost in two years here? I just got the rider system and now I'm seeing a ghost.
Seriously, what the hell."
Rikuo suppressed the urge to complain—suppressed it, my foot!
Who could suppress this?
"This isn't the time to complain.
Let's try the rider system.
This is like being in another dimension, so surveillance probably won't work, right?
Probably."
Rikuo pulled out the pen and ace of spades, and then, there was no "then."
"Sweet, I haven't even tested how to transform yet.
Whatever, I'll try every pose first."
Rikuo placed the pen against his waist like a belt, trying to find a place to insert the card.
But it was just a pen; how could it accept a card?
"Never mind, anyway, Henshin."
The ghost wasn't idle either; his tie extended endlessly, covered with "Read, Not Replied" Link messages.
Rikuo struck a pose as if to perform a flying kick.
"Sa! Ki! Ko!"
The Corporate Slave Ghost was momentarily stunned by the impressive aura of the young man opposite him.
Rikuo seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, ready to rebuild the glory of LJL (League of Legends Japan League)… No, he immediately rushed towards the office door.
"Damn it! It's not that easy to transform after all.
I need to find a place to hide first."
Rikuo opened the office door and hid in a distant cubicle.
The ghost followed closely, his twisted face even more hideous with anger.
"How is there still someone here? Oji-san, how long have you been trapped here?"
Rikuo entered the cubicle and saw a gaunt uncle.
At first glance, he might have once been quite refined, but now he had a decadent look on his face.
"Is there still someone trapped here? And a child at that.
Such things should be left to useless uncles like me.
Why does the world have to make things difficult for this half-grown child?"
The uncle looked at the young man in front of him, who was about the same age as his 16-year-old daughter, Sakiko.
He had been trapped here for two hours, and in that time, he had thought a lot.
He couldn't help but sigh; if he, who had been cast out by the Togawa Family, were to die, perhaps Sakiko would be freed.
But this young man's life had just begun.
Togawa Kiyotsugu began to reflect on his life.
Because of his 'sincere' personality, he and his childhood sweetheart, Togawa Mizuho, secretly pledged their lives to each other.
Because of his 'sincere' and diligent personality, he gradually gained the approval of his father-in-law, married into a faction of the Togawa Family, and had a cute and innocent daughter.
Although he couldn't enter the family's core, he never had the desire to join it.
But how can life be smooth sailing? Good times didn't last, and his wife passed away early.
At that time, he thought that even though Togawa Mizuho was gone, he would work even harder.
Although his influence would surely be further reduced by the family due to Mizuho's death, he would strive to give Sakiko a better life, all to uphold the 'sincere' impression his wife had of him.
However, it was this very 'sincerity' that brought him great suffering, and even more so, harmed his beloved daughter, Sakiko.
When he accidentally saw his father-in-law's illegitimate child, Misumi Hatsune, for the sake of that sincerity in his heart, he resolutely launched a charge against the consortium in defiance.
But it was also because of this overconfident sincerity that he was expelled from the family.
At this point, he began to question whether this 'sincerity' still held any meaning.
So he abandoned sincerity, choosing to conceal everything and feign decadence, hoping Sakiko would give up on him and return to the family.
But Sakiko inherited his stubbornness.
She worked part-time, transferred schools, an 16-year-old child bearing the burden of two people's lives, without a single word of complaint.
Thus, he once again fell into confusion; was sincerity truly meaningless?
"Perhaps, I won't have the chance to find the answer."
"Young man, please help me take this passbook out and find a girl named Togawa Sakiko and give it to her.
The password is her birthday."
Togawa Kiyotsugu instructed clearly.
"But…"
Rikuo was about to reply.
"I've lived my life to this point, and I don't regret it.
Your life is still long.
I see that this ghost seems to only be able to use its abilities in the conference room.
I've also checked the elevator in this fictional building; we're on the 4th floor.
I will hold him off, you climb down the stairs.
You must take the stairs; I suspect the elevator is abnormal."
Kiyotsugu interrupted him and continued to instruct.
"Remember to find Sakiko and tell her that she's worked hard this past month."
After saying that, Kiyotsugu walked out of the cubicle.
At this moment, the decadence on his face was swept away, revealing only the back of a father.
"So he's Sakiko's father? I thought he was an irredeemable drunkard.
It seems judging people solely by first impressions isn't reliable."
Rikuo sighed in his heart, gripping the pen and card that had remained motionless just now.
"As a provisional rider, I don't even have the ability to protect others, and I still need others to step forward?
Are you kidding me?"
"If I truly have the qualifications to be a rider, even if I don't have a single card, I should still be able to seal you!"
After saying that, Rikuo also walked out.
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