Editing Ghost Hunt:Volume3 Chapter2 (section)

===6===


"What a troublesome case..." Naru said as he looked out the window.

John nodded in agreement.

"So it’s come to this."

"Really?" Bou-san asked in a persistently carefree manner.

Naru shot Bou-san a disdainful stare. "Out of all the complaints we’ve received, how many do you think actually happened?"

"Well, at a glance there seems to be some misunderstandings," the monk responded.

"Strange incidents continue to occur in this school. No one feels comfortable anymore, and everyone feels like prisoners," John said to Naru.

"Since everyone feels so uneasy and frightened, they might experience hallucinations. This could be the reason why the girl possessed by a fox spirit became such a wreck. I know this sounds vague, but something similar to a curse must be causing this―At least, that’s what I think. If this situation continues, the uneasiness will increase, and people will believe the school is haunted or that there’s a curse. And then the clumsier people may panic."

"Right," Naru agreed.

"We can’t determine whether or not these incidents are due to spiritual phenomena because of all the possible exceptions and the sheer amount of incidents that has occurred. Moreover...even if that’s true, the amount is still abnormal. There must be a reason behind all this despite the fact that incidents only occur to those related to the school. Still, I haven’t the slightest idea what those reasons could be..."

Everyone seemed deep in thought.

"Now the only one we can rely on is Hara-san..." Naru muttered indifferently.

Hara-san raised an eyebrow before responding, "...There are no spirits in this school."

Naru let out a sigh upon hearing Masako’s voice.

"...So that’s your conclusion. Have we reached a dead end this soon?"

"Maybe Masako is right?" asked Ayako.

Masako turned towards her. "Matsuzaki-san is undoubtedly correct."

"Exactly. However you think about it, if the ghosts aren’t there, then there’s no way they are the cause." Ayako’s remark was thickly coated in sarcasm.

Masako turned toward Naru. "Kazuya-san believes me, right?"

Right. I... I’m absolutely disgusted with you saying "Kazuya-san" like that. I hate it when you do that!

And then I instinctively replied, "Well that’s obvious, isn’t it?"

Everyone’s gaze fell onto me. Especially Masako’s sharp one.

"...Why can Taniyama-san say that? As for the *freebie, please be quiet."

Freebie?! Freebie—?!

You’re infuriating me on purpose. You’re making me lose it. Just because I carelessly let slip something.

"There are spirits here. It’s just that, Masako can’t sense them," I stated.

Masako began to laugh. "Taniyama-san’s spiritual ability is non-existent."

"But, they do exist here. I can feel it in the atmosphere."

Ahh, some words can be bought.

"Such talk is meaningless." Masako giggled as Ayako raised her voice.

"I agree with Mai."

...Ayako?

"I think so too," came another voice.

Masako scowled at us. "There aren’t any here. I believe I am correct."

"Really? If there were ghosts here, what would you do?" asked Ayako.

"In one way or another, everything will be okay," Masako replied.

"So, from now on, you’ll stop helping Naru with his cases, right?" the older woman challenged.

...What are you talking about, you.

We forgot about our situation and just stared at her with blank looks on our faces.

There was a faint smile on Masako’s face. "Ara, Matsuzaki-san, why must you speak so roughly?"

"There’s a problem with this team."

...A problem with the team? You mean from the very beginning?

Masako replied, "It’s okay. I get it. Because of this change, I win. Kazuya-san is mine."

Naru struck the desk, the sound echoing throughout the room. "Don’t just do what you want and bet on others like that!" 

...Look out. He’s angry. Naru was clearly in a bad mood.

"I know what Hara-san is saying, and I know what Mai is saying too. But we can’t tell whose judgment is correct as of now, so this argument is pointless. This case is meaningless," he stated ruthlessly.

...This is how Naru acts when he’s angry. If anything, this was quite natural for him. Masako and Ayako turned around. Ayako stomped towards her acquaintance, John, her shoes clanking against the floor.

"John, let’s get back to work! We should quickly exorcise the spirits."

"Huh...? That..."

"Well! Let’s go!"

...Poor John. He was dragged out of the room by Ayako again.

Bou-san scratched his head. "...I’ll get back to work too..."

He went out the door. Masako spoke to Naru and proceeded to shoot me a glance before walking out. Now the only ones left behind were a very confused Taka, me, a bored Naru, and an expressionless Lin-san.

Naru was casually looking out the window, his bitter expression still in place.

"...If only," he murmured.

"Eh?"

When no reply came, I shook my head.

"If only...a psychic with abilities that we can trust were here. –Lin, let’s get back to work as well."

"Okay."

Naru and Lin also left the room.

Stiff and dazed, Taka sighed. "Is it always like that?"

"...Yeah."

"Mai constantly undergoes hardships."

"You think so?" I asked.

"Of course. If it were me, no one would be able to rely on this service anymore."

"...For a moment, I was thinking the same thing."

"Don’t feel bad about it."

Taka gently patted my head, comforting me for the moment.

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