"Mirror... a mirror? What's the fuss? Good thing I stayed calm, or I'd have been scared stiff by you!"
Arataki Itto turned around and indeed found a large bronze mirror placed in the room behind him. But what was so astounding about it?
The way Boss Feng Yi acted so seriously, Arataki Itto had thought he'd encountered a ghost, scaring him to death.
Fortunately, it was just a false alarm...
Yae Miko shot Arataki Itto a disdainful look. Calm, your ass. If you were calm, why were your knees shaking?
Afterward, Yae Miko ignored this Arataki, who was stubborn as a dead duck, and headed straight for the room with the bronze mirror pointed out by Feng Yi.
She easily deciphered the mechanisms there, combining the painting and the bronze mirror.
"Then what? Miss Fox, what do we do next?"
While Yae Miko's decryption of the mechanisms was effortless, for Arataki Itto, it was a monumental challenge. He couldn't find any connection between the mechanisms.
He watched as Miss Fox, with a few swift movements, opened them. It was ridiculously simple, easier than drinking water!
Arataki Itto couldn't help but suspect that Miss Fox herself had set up the mechanisms here. Otherwise, how could she be so familiar with them?!
"Next, I'll introduce a secret technique of the fox spirit. This painting is a 'medium for rapid spiritual summoning.' With it, many tedious steps can be skipped. The dim, yellowed mirror reflects scenes of the past, and ghosts, stirred by memories, are easily attracted to it. Arataki kid, it's your turn now... Come, sit here."
Yae Miko walked to the bronze mirror with a chuckle, pointing to the small stool on the ground.
"Wait a minute, Miss Fox, you're not thinking of using this great me as a guinea pig, are you?"
Arataki Itto's heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively took a step back, sensing that this was no simple matter.
The way Miss Fox smiled while hiding a knife in her smile made him feel uneasy. This task was definitely not a good one.
"The essence of a summoning ritual is to allow a ghost to possess a living person. But don't worry, it's not dangerous. Think of it as a dream, and also a rare experience. Arataki kid, are you perhaps scared?"
Yae Miko's smile widened.
"This great me is not scared, I just feel... Although this great me is a ghost, being possessed by a ghost, a ghost on top of a ghost, it sounds terrifying..."
Arataki Itto shook his head like a rattle drum. He might be a bit dense, but he wasn't stupid. He wouldn't fall for such an obvious taunt.
"Of course, I won't let you help for nothing. Besides the reward Feng Yi is giving you, how about I add an extra fifty thousand Mora?"
Yae Miko was somewhat surprised. This silly kid from the Arataki gang actually didn't fall for the bait. She had underestimated him.
If that was the case, she could only launch her second offensive – the Mora offensive.
"I... I'm not that kind of person! Don't try to tempt me with Mora!"
Arataki Itto's eyelids twitched, and he said stubbornly.
"One hundred thousand!"
"This concerns this great me's life and safety, how can it be bought with a mere one hundred thousand Mora?"
"Two hundred thousand!"
"Uh... this really requires a lot of courage..."
"My final offer, five hundred thousand Mora, plus a copy of Ms. Sina's 'Moonlit Photoshoot' illustration. If you don't agree, I'll have to find someone else..."
"Ms. Sina's 'Moonlit Photoshoot' illustration? Really? Cough cough, I mean, don't worry, with this great me here, no demon or monster dares to be presumptuous. Since this great me agreed to help Boss Feng Yi, I will definitely help him to the end..."
Arataki Itto patted his chest, looking heroic and righteous, and took on the task.
Feng Yi: Hey, hey, hey, wasn't that what you said just now?
Arataki Itto: Ms. Sina's 'Moonlit Photoshoot' illustration?! A rare treasure never circulated on the market, how can this great me allow it to be taken by other men? Ms. Sina's illustration can only be guarded by this great me!
'For Ms. Sina... and her 'Moonlit Photoshoot' illustration, why should I fear facing my fears? It's just ghosts, right? Who isn't? Who's afraid of whom is not yet decided...'
Arataki Itto shook his head, cheering himself up inwardly. His fear of ghosts was quickly suppressed.
"Tell me, Miss Fox, what do you need this great me to do?"
"Sit on the chair, gaze at the painting, and relax your body and mind. Just be natural, no need to be nervous..."
From a distance, Yae Miko watched as Arataki Itto's figure gradually merged with the painting, as if he had become a part of it.
Gulp—
The scroll rippled slightly, like the surface of still water.
"Arataki kid, hurry up and recite the incantation!"
Yae Miko felt the time was right and nodded to remind him.
"Incantation? What incantation?!"
"It's the wish incantation from 'The True Spirit Medium's Notebook.' Haven't you read it?"
"That book is so expensive..."
Arataki Itto muttered softly. He had heard of the popular light novel, 'The True Spirit Medium's Notebook,' but its price was more than double that of other light novels released at the same time.
Arataki Itto stated that he hadn't paid off his existing debts yet, so where would he get the Mora to buy light novels?
It wasn't like Ms. Sina contributed to 'Gossip Monthly,' he wouldn't lose anything by not reading it, so he wouldn't spend that money.
Arataki Itto's mutterings caused Yae Miko and Feng Yi to fall silent simultaneously.
The air instantly became quiet.
"You didn't tell him about this?"
Yae Miko looked at Feng Yi, her flickering gaze conveying this message.
"I thought he had read 'The True Spirit Medium's Notebook,' so I didn't mention it. Sigh..."
Feng Yi blinked his eyes and conveyed the information to Yae Miko through his gaze.
Feng Yi sighed helplessly. It was his oversight. Who would have thought that someone genuinely hadn't read 'The True Spirit Medium's Notebook,' which had become so popular a few days ago.
"Never mind, it's fine if you haven't read it. This is the wish incantation from 'The True Spirit Medium's Notebook.' Just read it as written."
Yae Miko wrote the incantation on a piece of paper and handed it to Arataki Itto. Considering Arataki Itto's limited intelligence, making him memorize such a long incantation in a short period would be harder than a sow climbing a tree, so she wouldn't make things difficult for him.
Reading it aloud, although the effect would be slightly diminished, there was no other way.
"Rea... read without stopping, like... like a bright moon, harmonious with..." wΑp.kanshu伍.net
Despite everything, they had still overestimated Arataki Itto. This guy, even reading from a script, stumbled through it.
Feng Yi: "..."
Yae Miko: "..."