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The Appearance of a Demon [Part 3]
“Uncle Oliver… could you tell me more about the shoki shoki you spoke of?”
The family had been staying in the rest area they had built with Over . Apart from the time they spent hunting monsters and producing can openers, they had been enjoying their summer vacation with leisure.
Because Oliver wanted to stay a little further away from the Imperial Japanese citizens and the border of the barrier, he became the only one who stayed at the mansion he and Melsa had once stopped at when they went to see Over for the first time.
It was none other than that mansion with the specter, Azuki Arai. [T/N 1: a type of spiritual monster in Japanese folklore (from ch.168)]
“Isn’t the ‘shoki shoki’ the Azuki Arai I told you about previously? And haven’t I already mentioned that it was no more than a harmless specter?”
Melsa said with a fed-up tone.
He was scared of Over and the Imperial Japanese people he couldn’t communicate with, so he took the initiative to choose that mansion. Yet after staying in his place of choice, he whined that the Azuki Arai was scary. Melsa really couldn’t understand what was going on in his mind.
“Night after night, shoki shoki shoki shoki… And yet nothing was there, no matter how much I searched for it! Even if you said it was harmless, how could I believe it so readily and feel relieved?!”
No matter how many times Oliver brought it up to someone, they only told him to not mind it. No one cared enough to be willing to help him either.
“…The Azuki Arai is a specter, right? The only specter I know is that GeGeGe guy, though…
But that Azuki thing probably isn’t as powerful as that one,” George supported his mother’s words.
[T/N 2: The manga/anime series, “GeGeGe no Kitarou”]
“Specters in their true form basically look like natural phenomenons, foxes, raccoon dogs, or weasels… It just confuses you and makes you assume it is something else, doesn’t it? I mean, Scythe Weasels[3] and the like are also a natural phenomenon, right?”
[T/N 3: かまいたち is a whirlwind that makes sharp cuts on human skin. In Japanese folklore, かまいたち is understood as a specter called Kamaitachi (Scythe Weasels), a trio of weasels with sharp claws, riding on a gust of wind and cutting people’s skin on the legs.]
Despite worrying about the haggard Oliver, William laughed, saying that specters were just a fantasy.
If something were to appear in this world, it would only be monsters. Not having a single casualty when monsters were moving freely inside the barrier was very unlikely.
“There were no foxes, raccoon dogs, or weasels! I’ve searched all over the garden and the mansion, okay!”
After having sleepless nights every day, Oliver refused to accept the family’s explanation.
Oliver had been searching for the Azuki Arai whenever the family immersed themselves in dealing with Over and produced can openers. Which meant… wow, he really had nothing to do, huh?
“…Hm? …Looking at the Azuki Arai’s true form…” Emma muttered. She remembered having read an article about it in her past life.
What was it… She couldn’t care less about Oliver, but only remembering half of it felt unpleasant.
“Emma-sama? What’s wrong?”
Seeing Emma suddenly turn pensive, Joshua peered at her face.
“Ah!”
Emma cupped Joshua’s face with both hands firmly.
“Eh? Emma-sama? Eh? EH? EEEEEHHH?!”
While Joshua fell into utter confusion when two small hands suddenly held his face, Emma slowly brought her face closer to Joshua’s.
“U-Um, Emma-sama… Um… uhh… Erkkk…”
The distance between their faces kept growing smaller until it reached a super point-blank range, and Emma stopped right when their noses almost grazed each other…
Ahh, I can’t… T-This… must be a… But, ahhh… Joshua put his hand over his wildly beating heart, and he desperately, desperately held back his desire to press his lips onto Emma’s…
His love and secret intentions for Emma had been overflowing all around his body to an uncontrollable extent. Even so, Joshua still exerted his extraordinary willpower to desperately hold himself back. Compared to this moment, all his efforts until now felt incredibly easy.
T-This is torture. But persevere, Joshua. Focus, Joshua, focus. Don’t lose, Joshua… chanted Joshua in his mind over and over.