Chapter 15 – Yandere and the Real Deal Part 3

“It’s a big place, isn’t it? I used to get together with neighborhood kids and play hide-and-seek. But now that the birth rate is declining and there are no more children, that doesn’t seem to be happening anymore.”

Asai-sensei said as she unlocked the gate. Her voice sounded a little sad.

“But wouldn’t your grandmother be lonely in such a big house all by herself?”

“There are some helpers, though not permanent, and customers come often, so it doesn’t seem to be as lonely as you might think. Of course, she’s happy when our family comes over.”

Helpers… I was a bit puzzled by this word, which is very rare nowadays. From the large house (more like a mansion), I guess that her grandmother is a very wealthy person. Or perhaps her husband was a wealthy man before his death.

The garden is a perfect structure, with pine trees on the right and a pond on the left. As I walked around the garden, I saw a koi fish leaping in the pond.

Tsubaki, on the other hand, seems to be scurrying around. Perhaps she likes this kind of pure Japanese-style building. If I took Tsubaki’s picture in such a place, she would look like a ghost.

“It’s a little embarrassing if you look around so much…”

“No, it’s just that this house is amazing. Not only is it spacious, but it’s also very well designed.”

“My grandmother used to say that it’s better to have this kind of ambience because it makes the people who come for exorcisms feel more at ease.”

“I’m still skeptical, but it seems true that your grandmother is a one-of-a-kind figure.”

Tsubaki is still irreverent as ever, but she’s beginning to look forward to meeting Asai-sensei’s grandmother a little more. She seems to be getting somewhat nervous as well. But I’m not one to speak for others when it comes to restlessness.

I followed Asai-sensei up to the entrance and walked down the hallway, going left and right, until we came upon a large sliding door. Apparently, this is the guest room.

“Grandmother, we’re here.”

“Enter.”

Sitting behind the opened sliding door was a very ordinary, good-natured-looking old lady.

The old lady looked at us with sleepy eyes, then stood up and bowed slowly.

“Hello, thank you for taking care of Ryoko.”

“Ah, no, it’s me being taken care of.”

“Please have a seat. Ryoko, bring us some tea. Take your time to make it.”

“Okay~”

With a swish sound from the sliding door, Asai-sensei left the room. No, don’t leave me behind… What am I supposed to talk to this old lady about? Tsubaki is neatly sitting on the cushion, so I decided to follow her.

“I’m sure Ryoko has caused you trouble again. She has always been very presumptuous.”

“H-Have you heard anything from Asai-sensei… Ah, no. From Ryoko-san?”

“Ah, yes. There is nothing haunting this young lady. She must have misread it again.”

The way she said it was a bit tricky, but anyway, it seems that Tsubaki isn’t possessed by any evil spirits.

“This was a waste of time, senpai.”

Tsubaki whispered in my ear with a half-smile. She seems to be in a good mood after finding out that Asai-sensei is a phony psychic. Asai-sensei must have been serious in her own way, so there’s no need to mock her so much.

But now, I don’t know what more to say to this old lady. It’ll be awkward to keep quiet, so maybe we should just keep talking? I have a few things on my mind.

“Um, what do you mean by ‘misread’?”

“This young lady has an extraordinary life force. I suppose Ryoko couldn’t believe that it belonged to a living person. Ryoko’s power isn’t complete, so it’s not surprising.”

This old lady seems to be subtly harsh on Asai-sensei, although her face is smiling. I don’t know how old people feel about their grandchildren, but usually they seem to spoil them.

Somewhat awkwardly, I stole a glance at Tsubaki and found her frozen in place with a surprised expression on her face. Huh? Was there anything to be that surprised about?

“Oi, Tsubaki? What’s wrong?”

“…I’m often told I have a life force when I first meet someone, but I’ve always been described as ‘dark’ or ‘creepy’ or something like that. This is my first time being told this.”

“The young lady’s flame is like a candle burning in a lantern. You won’t even feel the heat if you don’t get too close.”

The old lady is still smiling softly, but I feel a chill down my back. I remembered Asai-sensei’s words, “I really don’t know what and how much she can see.”

“Well, then, does grandma know about the future? I would very much like you to speculate on something for me.”

Tsubaki approached the old lady with the force of leaning over her desk. The old lady doesn’t seem to be amused by her attitude and smiles at her.

“Your future with this young man beside you, right? I used to be a maiden myself, so I understand your feelings. But I do not have the power to foresee the future.”

Tsubaki understandably slumped her shoulders. Well, how can one predict the future? We can’t have such unscientific things occurring so easily.

“All I can do is exorcism. As a byproduct, I can only read the chi of the living.”

“Isn’t that a great thing to say?”

“It’s nothing. It’s no different from the empirical prescribing that doctors used to do in the past. There are many things I can’t do. I can’t save someone when it’s ‘too late’, you know.”

Despite her calm expression, she’s an old lady who often says disturbing things…

“Even if you can’t see the future, you know how senpai feels about me right now, don’t you?”

“No, you should ask me that yourself… And I told you I don’t like you.”

“It’s possible that you’re just saying you don’t like me because you’re embarrassed.”

“Do I look like I’m embarrassed?”

“Yes.”

“Then go see an optician.”

“Hmm… This young man’s feelings, you ask?”

Tsubaki observes with bated breath as the grandmother ponders.