Editing Internet Shrine Maiden Tsugumi-chan:Volume1 Chapter2 (section)

===Part 7===

After school, raindrops were pattering on the window.

At more than 500 kilometers south of Tokyo, the weather of New Sea City was temperamental and sudden downpours and lightning strikes were common. It really was hard to believe it was officially part of the Greater Tokyo Area.

Homeroom Teacher Saitou Aiso stood in the middle of the hallway operating her tablet. Partially because she felt like doing this on her faculty room computer would stain her search history.

She searched and searched and found only ominous results.



“The Rending Pool is for real.”



“Was it a young woman who died? Supposedly her body was torn to pieces in a pool they claimed was safe.”



“(Official Police Statement) A portion of the remains have yet to be located. (heh)”



“The place tries to make itself look perfectly safe, but if you look around, you’ll see they have piles of salt sitting around. They’ve known the place is dangerous before anyone died and still kept it open for business.”



“Given how much they lose each day they’re closed, they can’t not reopen their doors just because the cause is unknown. They’ll find a way. I bet more people are going to die. Those places always get worse once they’re known to be haunted.”



“Saitou-sensei.”

Saitou Aiso jumped and turned around when someone called her name.

She saw a familiar woman’s face.

“Y-Year Head, what locations were you assigned?”

“A few izakayas in the shopping district. I can’t imagine high schoolers going there, but it’s best to be safe.”

And then she would likely stay there a while to do some drinking. Along with the others who had made the assignments.

Meanwhile, Saitou had to go to the Rending Pool, where someone had actually died. At night. On her own.

“D-do we really have to check out a haunted location?”

“All of our locations are equally dangerous. If you find anything there, it’ll be some drunk.”

“Um, then would you mind swapping assignments with-”

“Why should I do that? You need to forget this silliness about ghosts and start showing your senior teachers the respect they deserve. So can we discuss this like professionals?”

“…”

It was always like this when people found excuses not to do something themselves and then forced it onto someone else.

Kindness was never a factor in their arguments.

Nor were the feelings of the person on the receiving end.

“Anyway, I will complete my job and you will complete yours. Simple, isn’t it? So do make sure you patrol that leisure pool tonight. There are only so many of us teachers, so we need to split up and check out each of the dangerous locations around the city. We must keep our students safe.”

With that said, Year Head Haramori Yoshiko promptly left.

She would be joining her close friends among the older teachers to enjoy an evening of drinking while the younger Saitou was left alone to visit a haunted location during the shadowy night. Ghosts were unrealistic. Saitou knew that intellectually. But what was that about someone actually dying? Could that leisure pool be home to someone capable of doing something not even the police could explain?

No, that was an excuse.

She couldn’t try to force an explanation for what she was feeling right now.

The evening downpour hammered against the window.

Homeroom Teacher Saitou Aiso muttered to herself, her head lowered.



“This isn’t a job for a teacher. And effort isn’t enough to make your fear go away.”



Around a corner in the hallway, Yahirodono Tsumugi heard that comment with her back against the wall.

This matter was complicated by the fact that the Malign Spirits was real. It wasn’t mere superstition and it had the ability to kill.

It was plain to see what would happen to that powerless homeroom teacher if she carelessly visited a real haunted location like the Rending Pool late at night.

(Which means I have to get there first and defeat the Malign Spirit before that can happen.)

Tsumugi silently left that place and operated her phone in one hand.



“Online Shrine Maiden> I accept the Rending Pool job. Speculation is fine, just send me the Malign Spirit’s rank and basic specs. As much as you have.”

“Detective> Then we should meet in person. This is perfect timing.”



“?”

Why was this perfect timing?

What about this did he not want overheard? It was best not to spread around word of Malign Spirits’ existence, but there was no real punishment if it was discovered. In fact, Rainy and Yuhi had ended up part of the team in that way.

The real reason people in this business kept secrets was to avoid the many questions ordinary people would inevitably ask. It was a matter of compartmentalization, just like how professional entertainers did not invite amateur guests to their dressing room or backstage (even though they knew it would delight them).

Tsumugi tilted her head and used both hands to pull out a cheap rental umbrella in the entranceway. When it popped out, she staggered back from her own excess momentum. Only afterwards did her phone chime to show it had worked with the facial recognition to pay for the umbrella rental. Thanks to swimming class today, she was carrying more bags than usual and now she had an umbrella to deal with. She didn’t want to have to drive a vehicle like that, so she decided to walk to the nearest dock and take a water bus. The self-driving taxis were too expensive for a single passenger.

By the time she arrived at the multi-tenant building and boarded the elevator, the rain had completely let up. Now the folded-up umbrella was only in the way. The weather in tropical New Sea City really was even more temperamental than in the mountains.

She arrived at the floor she wanted and opened the usual door to the detective agency.

And was greeted by a girl in a colorful bikini.



“Yahoo!! I hope you’re ready for a trip to a fashionable leisure pool tonight!!!”

The online shrine maiden’s mouth formed a small triangle.

The gyaru sister had turned the place into her playground.

Apparently the detective considered this “perfect timing” because Tsumugi could evict this reckless exhibitionist idiot from his office.

Two masses contained by a swimsuit jiggled before Tsumugi’s eyes.


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