Kimura Kazuki sat at the dining table, watching the four sisters chatter with each other without a care in the world. He could not help but smile at the amicable atmosphere.

Back when he was still their private tutor, everyone was well-behaved and obedient when they were having their meals together here, which gave out an inexplicable sense of estrangement.

Now that he had quit, this sense of estrangement had vanished.

He then pulled out his phone and sent a message to Chiba Shiori.

Kimura: The novel is interesting, I can’t wait to know what’s next.

Chiba: Then I’ll post an update soon (*•̀ㅂ•́)و

Kimura: Sure.

Chiba: Also…I need to talk to you about something.

Kimura: Go ahead.

Judging from the way Chiba Shiori left out the emoticons in this reply, Kimura Kazuki knew it must be something that she cares about a lot.

Chiba: Didn’t you mention before that fulfilling the obsessiveness of the specter would be suitable for your practice? Here’s what I think – apart from helping the specter resolve its obsessiveness, what if along the way, we help it to accomplish its other wishes as well. Would the benefits be increased? 

Kimura Kazuki paused. Honestly, he had thought about this before. He did not take any action. Too much work was required to fulfill the obsessiveness of the specter. There were all sorts of strange obsessiveness, one had to use many different methods to overcome it. If he went a step further to help the specter in fulfilling other wishes, putting aside the question of whether it would have any effect… well, the problem was, he would not even know if there would also be an effect.

The specter would vanish into a mass of reiki once its obsessiveness had been fulfilled. Was it possible that they could see a difference in the mass of reiki after they help the specter in fulfilling its other wishes? It seemed unlikely. 

Nevertheless, there was a slight temptation in his heart when Chiba Shiori asked the question.

Kimura: Has Yuriko said something to you again?

Chiba: No… Yuriko is still at home, I’m in school.

In Akihide High School, Chiba Shiori sat in her seat, mobile phone in hand, ignoring the admiring gazes from her surroundings. Her slender fingers tapped on the screen intermittently. In school, she had been maintaining her image as an introverted and elegant super scholar. 

Chiba: My idea is… if this novel really gets adapted into a comic book and eventually an animation, we can donate the money earned to Yuriko’s parents.

Yuriko was the only child of her parents. After her sudden death, they had to send her off to the afterlife despite being older than her. Since they came from a poor family, Chiba Shiori really wanted to help them. Moreover, Yuriko did participate in this novel, and she had put in a lot of effort as well.

Even though Yuriko was not an exceptional writer, but she was a great storyteller. Throughout the two days of their discussion, she had given tremendous inspiration to Chiba Shiori.

For example… Chiba Shiori wanted her protagonist to be a doctor so that he could treat himself effectively when he got hurt during the escape. But Yuriko rejected the idea and told Chiba Shiori that readers would relate the most to a mediocre and ordinary character. Coming from an average person, the emotional and psychological transformation of the protagonist through step by step utilization of his mind-reading ability would create the strongest impact in shaking people’s hearts.

The transformation of an ordinary man to a cold-blooded slaughterer. This is the hidden plot of the novel.

After thinking about it, Chiba Shiori was convinced and believed that the idea sounded very feasible. Writing a novel like this would be very sensual as well.

Looking at the number of messages, Kimura Kazuki started to get a headache, but he had no choice but to reply.

Kimura: Actually… if you want to help Yuriko, then, by all means, do it. This is a novel written by both of you, the money you earn belongs to both of you. You can do whatever you want with the money. There is no need to discuss it with me.

He was just a hands-off manager, he would not intervene unless Chiba Shiori had run into any problems. He was not a gifted writer on his own… therefore, the book that Chiba Shiori had written and the money she had earned had nothing to do with him. He drew a clear line on this matter.

Chiba: Alright…

Disappointment flashed through Chiba Shiori’s eyes. She actually hoped that Kimura Kazuki could be more involved sometimes, as it would be great for them to talk about the novel during their free time. But… it was clear that he would not interfere recklessly in matters which he did not know well. 

Kimura: I’ll stop by Akihide tomorrow and cast a Vision Spell on you again.

Chiba: Alright（//▽//）

Chiba Shiori’s eyes shone with joy at the thought that Kimura Kazuki would be coming over tomorrow. 

However, she soon started to ponder. She had noticed that her mood was quite unstable lately, and there was always a sense of urgency, especially when she was facing Kimura Kazuki. She wished to share everything with him.

“Am I…in love?” she frowned. Perhaps this was the feeling described in the novel – falling in love out of curiosity? They said that women in love had the same IQ level as the paramecium… but her IQ level had not dropped. She still achieved the best results amongst her batch, so this was probably just her own delusion.

While Chiba Shiori was still deep in her thoughts, Kimura Kazuki received a message from Nakagawa Aokiji.

Nakagawa: Kimura-san, are you having class now?

Once he saw the message, Kimura Kazuki bid goodbye to the Furuhashi sisters, picked up his dishes, and walked away. After depositing them in the designated tub, he started a call with Nakagawa Aokiji.

“What can I do for you?” The lunch break had not ended yet. Kimura Kazuki still had plenty of time. After solving the problem with Akichi High School, he seemed to be more at ease.

“Kimura-san, I would like to ask for your help,” Nakagawa Aokiji sounded anxious. He quickly continued, “My mother has been having the same nightmare for about a week now… is she being haunted by specters or demons?”

Frankly, he had wanted to give Kimura Kazuki a call on the third day, but he thought that it might just be a usual nightmare. He had experienced the feeling of having the same dream for a few consecutive days before, some of which could even be linked to the previous dream just like a drama…

However, after a week, his mother was still having the same nightmare. Things started to seem peculiar.

Nakagawa Aokiji himself was the admin of the Final Forum, along with Kimura Kazuki. He had met a demon in Akichi High School before, so it was only natural for his first thought to be related to demons.

“It could be… but there is also the possibility that it is just a normal nightmare,” Kimura Kazuki answered in his deep voice. “Is there anything unusual with your mother besides having these nightmares?”

“No…it was just nightmares,” Nakagawa Aokiji felt embarrassed as he said this. Guilt welled up in his heart as he continued, “Lately, I’ve been spending most of my time in the hospital taking care of Ryoko. I wouldn’t have noticed it if my mother had not stopped coming to visit Ryoko.”

“Do you know the contents of the nightmare?”

“I did ask her. My mother said it was the same scene in all her dreams, a car hitting a lady, and there is a child next to the lady.”

Is someone trying to make a request through the dream?

Kimura Kazuki pondered deeply for a while, but he did not come up with anything conclusive. He would need to observe it in person to get a hold of the situation. 

“Got it,” Kimura Kazuki said as he nodded. “I will go to your place around late noon after school.”

“Do you need me to pick you up?”

“I’m good. Just send me your address.”

“Alright, my mother and I will be waiting for you at home.”

Kimura Kazuki smiled. “Don’t worry, since there were only nightmares for the past week, and your mother hasn’t been feeling ill, it shouldn’t be a serious problem.”

Nakagawa Aokiji forced a laugh, but his emotions were in turmoil.