Chapter 5: Behind You

"Suddenly started raining, huh..."

Rainwater flowed over the open umbrella, splattering onto the wet, slippery ground.

The conversation between the delinquents and Uehara from earlier in the day was still on Leo's mind.

Firstly, out of a sense of camaraderie with his classmate, he felt he couldn't ignore it if it was extortion or violence; secondly, he was somewhat curious about Uehara Yashu, who bore the title of [Spirit Attractor].

The completion rate of [Exorcist] had risen from 3% to 3.5%, which surely had something to do with defeating the Hidden Witch. By this reasoning, improving Uehara's favorability might have significant effects.

As a precaution, he also brought along the enchanted stationery he had experimented with the night before.

Fully prepared! He stepped over a puddle in front of him with a light heart.

Uehara Yashu ran over a puddle, letting the mud water splash and dirty his pants.

The location was an unnamed alley.

The alley at night seemed even darker and deeper, and his footsteps, as if amplified by some unknown force, echoed like distant thunder, reverberating through the twists and turns of the alley.

Driven by fear, he kept running forward, even though by all logic, he should have already exited the short alley. The once-familiar path now felt like the intestines of an unidentified creature, with even the rain falling on him bringing a disgusting stickiness.

But still, he had to keep running.

Because the sound of his pursuer echoed again behind him.

"Clip-clop..."

It reminded one of the crisp sound of wooden clogs on the ground.

For Uehara at this moment, it might as well have been the sound of death calling.

The moment he heard that sound, his body protested with intense pain, his vision as if covered by a red filter, compelling him to reach out and wipe it, only to find his hand covered in warm liquid.

The pain crawling over his nerves forced him to the ground, barely able to turn his head to look behind.

What he saw was a gray, fog-like humanoid figure without arms, its elongated lower limbs ending in wooden clogs, intermittently making contact with the ground. Where a face should have been, there were only two gaping mouths, revealing sharp white teeth.

From between those teeth, a child-like, shrill voice said, "Behind you—"

"I'm also behind you, Mr. Beto."

The gray figure froze momentarily, like an actor who discovered a mistake midway through a performance, then as if nothing had happened, it stopped making sound and continued walking forward on its clogs.

"So this solution actually works... but I can't let you go just like that!"

Leo raised his compass, the tip glowing with a crimson light.

Exorcising evil, repelling demons.

He threw the just instrument like a throwing knife, tracing a silver arc in the air before striking the monster's back.

The scene that unfolded with the Hidden Witch repeated: patterns like blood vessels wrapped around the gray figure, igniting into flames at the point of impact, and then the monster crumbled into ash.

The triumphant compass fell to the ground. As he went to pick it up, he saw Uehara struggling to his feet.

"Is it Leo? Thank you for saving me, for the second time now."

Hearing this, Leo couldn't help but ask, "You don't seem too surprised?"

When he arrived, there was no sign of the delinquents, only Uehara Yashu lying on the ground.

And the gray figure with [Mr. Beto] above its head.

His father worked in a field similar to folk studies, and under his influence, Leo had a fair understanding of various obscure myths and legends.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have thought of yokai when he saw the Hidden Witch.

Mr. Beto (Betobeto-san) is a monster that follows people walking alone at night, characterized by making a "clip-clop" sound like wooden sandals on the ground, which causes intense pain to its victims.

The way to get rid of it is to step aside and say, "After you, Mr. Beto."

After firsthand experience, Leo found this legend to be quite reliable.

Uehara staggered over. Upon hearing Leo's question, he softly said, "Come out, Leo is definitely not a bad person."

As soon as he finished speaking, several fluffy balls bounced out from his shoulder, and a few mochi-like entities with black sesame-like eyes appeared from nowhere, climbing onto Uehara's head.

It was like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat in a circus.

To Leo, it seemed like a bunch of characters suddenly popping up in an online game, with a lot of text appearing.

[Long-haired Wandering Spirit], [Edible-looking Wandering Spirit], [Weak Wandering Spirit]...

Uehara apologized with a smile and then suggested, "You might have questions too, Leo. It's still raining outside; how about coming to sit at my place? Please allow me the opportunity to express my gratitude."

His complexion was still quite pale, and a sense of dread lingered in his eyes.

After a moment of thought, Leo understood his intentions, but he had no particular reason to refuse.

When they arrived at Uehara's residence, the rain had stopped.

Surprisingly, it was a high-end apartment.

Before entering, Leo glanced at his reflection on the glass door.

[Exorcist (Completion 5%)]

Indeed, it had increased, just as he had predicted.

The interior decoration did not quite match the luxurious exterior of the apartment and could even be described as simple, filled with a chilly and uninhabited atmosphere.

Uehara invited him to sit on the sofa and brought over some tea, showing a relaxed expression for the first time since returning home.

"My uncle bought this apartment, and now I live here alone."

Leo quietly waited for him to continue, not asking why his parents were not around.

"Firstly, Leo, you must have come after hearing what Daifriend seniors, ah, the group that came looking for me during the day, said. I'm truly grateful."

He bowed deeply to Leo.

"It was just to prevent any violent incidents, after all, we are classmates. Speaking of which, where are those guys?"

"They ran away when that thing first appeared. I wanted to run too, but it came after me."

Uehara trembled as he held his right hand, and white spirits emerged, seemingly trying to comfort him, but they hid behind Uehara when Leo's gaze swept over.

"As you've seen, Leo, I've been able to see these unusual things since I was young, spirits, or wandering souls. They told me you are extraordinary—during the day in the same classroom, they would hide inside me because they were afraid of you."

No wonder I couldn't see any sign of your spirit-attracting trait.

Leo thought to himself. But this also explained why Uehara wasn't surprised he could defeat Mr. Bo.

Uehara continued, "Although I had a tough time as a child because I could see spirits, and that's how I ended up making enemies with Daifriend seniors... that's not important. In any case, I've now accepted the fact that supernatural beings exist in the world, and they usually leave me alone."

"But recently, things have changed." He nervously downed his cup of tea, "I've felt the malice towards me intensifying, like prank-like spirit disturbances, frequent nightmares, until today when a monster directly attacked me..."

"Have you tried seeking help from a nearby shrine?"

Leo remembered what Mizukawa mentioned about the [Eighty Thousand Shrines Joint Committee].

"A shrine? Those places are scams, I've already tried getting talismans, and they were of no use."

It seems he's not very informed about the existence of supernatural organizations.

After a moment of silence, Uehara stood up and went into the bedroom, returning with a savings card in hand.

He said somewhat awkwardly, "I said earlier I wanted to express my gratitude, but I really couldn't think of how to repay you for saving my life. Anyway, this is the pocket money I've saved up; it might be a little."

Uehara's face turned red, a common reaction among high school students when discussing money, transactions, and compensation.

Leo unhesitatingly took it, "I'll treat you to takoyaki later. By the way, if something like this happens again, you can ask me for help."

If I can't help, I'll shake the active magical girl. Although according to her, magic girls have their specialties, and exorcising demons isn't exactly their forte, with her combat ability, Leo thought defeating a few demons physically wouldn't be a problem.

Uehara's expression turned grateful, "Leo, you're really like a hero in a mask."

Leo averted his gaze guiltily, "It's not for any grand reason... By the way, do you watch tokusatsu? Which series is your favorite?"

Somehow the conversation shifted to tokusatsu.