Tokyo Exorcism Diary

Hoshino Gen pulled a stack of documents from the folder and skimmed through them, focusing on the titles.

[Tokyo Bay Wraiths]
[Nagano Nai Ghost School]
[Urban Legend Broadcast]

The Nagano Nai Ghost School was the same case described in the report the Special Affairs Unit had sent him previously. The location was in Nagano Nai Town, on the outskirts of Koto Ward. The school housed a significant number of malevolent spirits. While it posed a substantial potential danger, the spirits appeared confined to the abandoned school, so the disasters caused by it hadn’t been too severe—for now.

Given the number of vengeful spirits and the difficulty of dealing with them, the Special Affairs Unit’s current strategy was to seal off the area and prohibit civilians from approaching. However, recently there had been signs of the spiritual disturbances expanding outward. As a result, the unit hoped Hoshino Gen could enter the ghost school, investigate, and, if possible, resolve the issue completely.

Hoshino Gen didn’t pay much attention to the ghost school case—he had already reviewed the details online the night before. What intrigued him more were the other two incidents.

“Tokyo Bay Wraiths,” as the name suggested, involved water ghosts in Tokyo Bay. These ghosts frequently attacked small boats, swimmers, and even people fishing on the shore.

However, the vastness of Tokyo Bay—directly connected to the Pacific Ocean—made locating the spirits the most challenging aspect. The unit, short on manpower, couldn’t afford to expend excessive resources on an incident of this scale. Therefore, they hoped Hoshino Gen, as a collaborator, could help handle it.

The report also included the most recent sighting: a village near Chiba Prefecture called Shiratake Village. A fisherman had been dragged into the water by a shadow while fishing, as reported by his companion during a call to the authorities. This report had made its way to the Special Affairs Unit.

Hoshino Gen wasn’t particularly concerned about this incident. After all, it wasn’t unusual for water ghosts to haunt Tokyo Bay. Who knew how many had drowned or how many corpses rested beneath those waters? No ghosts would be the real anomaly!

What truly caught Hoshino Gen’s attention was the “Urban Legend Broadcast.”

“The following information is derived primarily from surveillance footage left by the late Special Affairs Unit member Tenjo Kohei. Some scenes were reconstructed based on testimonies from the investigation team.”

The report detailed how Tenjo Kohei had a fondness for listening to the radio—a habit he indulged in after work to help him sleep. One evening, he turned on his radio as usual. However, the program that night was different from the usual emotionally charged stories, and the host seemed to have been replaced.

Instead, a calm male voice began recounting an urban legend.

At first, Tenjo Kohei didn’t notice anything unusual, assuming it was just a quirky twist to the program. He continued listening as a bedtime story. But as the tale progressed, he felt increasingly unsettled—until he realized with a shock that the protagonist’s predicament matched his own circumstances perfectly.

As someone well-versed in the supernatural, Tenjo Kohei quickly grasped that his death was imminent. His final act was to remotely activate his computer’s webcam with his phone, recording the entire process of his death. According to the recording, every time the voice on the radio described an event, it manifested in Tenjo Kohei’s room—a bloodstain seeping through the ceiling, creaking sounds from beneath the bed, a fallen wardrobe crushing the protagonist…

After reviewing the three files, Hoshino Gen chuckled softly, looking up at Master Nishida from across the table.

“I can’t make any promises. Supernatural incidents are always unpredictable. All I can say is, I’ll do my best,” Hoshino Gen said with a smile. If the cases turned out to be too dangerous, he wouldn’t hesitate to walk away. And he wouldn’t rule out the possibility that the unit was sugarcoating the truth to manipulate him. He had no qualms about viewing others with suspicion.

Master Nishida wasn’t bothered by Hoshino Gen’s cautious attitude. He nodded solemnly. “I’ll leave it to you.”

Hoshino Gen slid the documents back into the folder, slung his demon blade over his shoulder, transforming it into a dark tattoo on his arm, and prepared to leave.

“Wait, Hoshino-senpai!” Kiryu Rakuye suddenly called out, her sweet smile lighting up her face. “Do you use LINE? It’d be easier to keep in touch if we added each other!”

Hoshino Gen paused, smiling politely. “Sorry, I don’t use social apps.”

“Huh?” Ruoye blinked in surprise, her disbelief evident. “Really?”

Hoshino Gen didn’t respond further, instead saying, “You have my number, don’t you? A phone call will suffice.”

With that, he left the café without looking back.

Kiryu Rakuye watched his retreating figure, her sweet smile fading into a blank expression. “What a reclusive guy,” she muttered under her breath.

…

After leaving the café, Hoshino Gen didn’t head straight home. Instead, he took a taxi to a nearby motorcycle licensing center. He’d been planning to get a motorcycle license for a while. With his meticulous nature, he had already arranged everything beforehand, calling his father’s assistant to pull some strings.

In no time, the process was smoothed out, and all he had to do was show up for a routine exam before awaiting his license’s delivery.

Once that was done, he headed to the police department to give a statement about the recent Liz kidnapping case.

Naturally, he didn’t tell the truth. He fabricated a story to fool the police.

As he was finally about to head home, he spotted a tall, handsome man walking down the corridor, surrounded by officers.

The only reason Hoshino Gen paid him any attention was the striking resemblance the man bore to his own… assistant.

If he recalled correctly, Shimizu Yuu had mentioned her plans to become a police officer someday.

Sure enough, Hoshino Gen overheard someone address the man as “Inspector Shimizu.”

As they passed each other, Hoshino Gen chuckled, finding it amusing. “Inspector, huh… Seems that dummy’s family has some influence.”