Chapter 187: Essence of Emotions

A few minutes later, Kumoko Natsume walked over while balancing a tray of food, her delicate face beaded with small droplets of sweat.

As soon as Ikioi Ito saw this, he stood up frantically and took the tray of food from her. Smiling bashfully, he asked, "Kumoko-chan, do you still remember me?"

"I don't think so." Kumoko Natsume was very honest about this. Her sparkling eyes looked earnestly at Ikioi Ito for a few seconds, then she shook her head regretfully.

"Alright... It's fine, even if you don't remember me. We haven't seen each other for many years, after all." Ikioi Ito was initially disappointed, but after some thought, he brightened up again. When he was young, he had only come here once before, along with his father. It had almost been seven to eight years since then. It would indeed be unusual if she could still remember him.

However... He could still remember that Kumoko looked around five to six years old at that time. How come even after seven to eight years, she suddenly looked as though she were 13 or 14 years of age. Was it possible for ghosts to grow as time passed?

Of course, although his heart was filled with curiosity, he did not pry. After a while, Kumoko brought over their ordered takoyaki. She glanced carefully at Kimura Kazuki as she placed their servings of takoyaki on the table. Upon meeting his eyes, she jumped and ran like a terrified rabbit to Mitsue Natsume's side.

Kimura Kazuki saw that after Kumoko ran towards Mitsue Natsume's side, he patted her head gently, which brought a smile to her face once more.

Mitsue Natsume seemed to have sensed Kimura Kazuki's attention, as he gave him a slight smile to indicate respect. Kimura Kazuki responded with a nod.

Ikioi Ito had not noticed this exchange. He saw that Kimura Kazuki had not touched his chopsticks, which prompted him to nag, "Hurry up and eat." After that reminder, Kimura Kazuki lifted his chopsticks, causing Ikioi Ito's eyes to fill with hope.

Kimura Kazuki glanced at him for a moment, then looked at the oden in front of him. Then, he randomly picked up a pork meatball with his chopsticks. Pork meatballs were not like fish balls in that they were not chewy inside out but instead were more soft and hard at the same time. This made him pick it up and put it in his mouth quickly to prevent dropping it. He chewed twice and found that these pork meatballs were not much different from those made by other oden sellers.

Despite that, the second, he swallowed it... It felt as though his entire body was being showered with cool refreshing mountain spring water. The negative emotions of stress and anxiety that plagued his mind began to dissipate. That feeling of stress had been present the minute he arrived in this world. In other words, a knot of frustration would be present in his heart as long as he had not fully recuperated his reiki yet.

Compared to the stress, the anxiety he felt was to a much lesser degree. The thing he was worried about was, of course, the issue at hand that he needed to solve as soon as possible. This was because the Jade Dragon Flag National Competition was not being held in Tokyo, and he would have to leave Tokyo for that time. If he was unable to solve this incident in time, did it not mean that the demon would continue to commit atrocities while he was absent?

Of course, this demon lurked on the internet, it could create trouble in other districts as well.

However, his previous life in the Spiritual Academy was not for nothing. Even if his experience in dealing with spirits was lacking, he was still quite knowledgeable.

In most cases, demons were unable to break through the Metamorphosis State and were confined to staying in one particular area. Even if the demons could enter the internet, they would still be unable to leave their place of confinement.

This also meant that the demon who killed Kotone Mikami would most likely be restricted to targeting people in Tokyo. If he was unable to wrap this up quickly before being forced to leave for other districts to participate in kendo competitions, then it would be highly possible that another person would die by the demon's hands at this time. Naturally, he hoped to be able to solve this case as soon as possible.

"So, what do you think?" Ikioi Ito could not help but ask when he saw that Kimura Kazuki had fallen into contemplation after he finished eating.

"It's not bad." Kimura Kazuki nodded slightly. At this moment, he understood why even though it was so late at night, and the stall was set up in this pitch-black alleyway, that it could still attract so many customers here for supper. He also figured out the ability that this small food cart-like Tsukumogami possessed.

The food from the cart, after it was consumed, could disperse negative emotions. It was no wonder that people were willing to line up instead of going to other places.

After all, as long as one was human, one would have to deal with all sorts of pressures. These negative emotions more or less accompany humans throughout their lives, so if there was a place that made it possible for humans to forget their stress, then it would naturally make them more relaxed and not so eager to return home.

Upon hearing this, Ikioi Ito felt fully satisfied. After all, he was the one who brought Kimura Kazuki here. If he did not like this, then this trip would have been a waste. Obviously, the food was secondary. The main reason he brought Kimura Kazuki here was to meet Mitsue Natsume.

When the time struck midnight, the surrounding customers began to disperse. This was because they knew that Mitsue Natsume was about to pack up his stall.

After the customers left, Mitsue Natsume waited for about five minutes before starting to pack up his stall.

10 minutes later, Ikioi Ito and Kimura Kazuki were brought by Mitsue Natsume into his home.

After entering the house, Kimura Kazuki assessed his surroundings subtly. He noticed that it was not unlike the average person's house.

After they sat down, Mitsue Natsume was the one to break the silence. He looked at Kimura Kazuki with hooded eyes as he asked, "To what do I owe this pleasure, my esteemed guest?"

Kimura Kazuki did not reply. He just looked at Ikioi Ito, as until now, he was still unsure of why the other had brought him here, and to do what exactly.

Before this, Ikioi Ito did want to tell Kimura Kazuki about it, but he had been so engrossed in eating that it had slipped his mind. Ikioi Ito's face reddened in embarrassment as he quickly replied, "Sir Natsume, the issue is..." After which he explained the entirety of today's events to Mitsue Natsume.

After waiting for Ikioi Ito to finish, Kimura Kazuki added, "The wraith is most likely living on the internet, using it as a base, coming and going as it pleases while harming its victims."

Mitsue Natsume froze when he heard that. He looked at Kimura Kazuki, his expression slightly distressed as he said, "If the wraith is hiding on the internet... then my tracking spell may not have much effect."

A tracking spell...

So that was why Ikioi Ito brought him here. Thinking of that food cart's ability, he nodded slightly in his heart. It seemed that his guess was not wrong.

"It's okay, you can just try your best."

"Alright." After agreeing to that, Mitsue Natsume hollered, "Little Cart!"

"Coming~" The moment he called for it, a Tsukumogami appeared from a room at the side. This Tsukumogami was in the shape of a bowl, two tiny legs sprouting out below it, supporting it as it wobbled across to them. Kumoko had been sitting next to Mitsue Natsume, and upon seeing Little Cart, she dashed to it and lifted it up.

"Hey haha, don't tickle me... My stuff is going to fall out."

"Kumoko." Mitsue Natsume called out, and Kumoko obediently placed Little Cart on the table.

Kimura Kazuki gave the peculiar little thing a once-over and soon realized that the Tsukumogami named Little Cart, was actually just a normal bowl. However, in the bowl, he saw that it was filled with crystal clear water... although one could not really call it water, because this 'water' was exuding a rainbow-hued shimmer.

"This water, I call it the Essence of Emotions." Mitsue Natsume saw how curious Kimura Kazuki was, so he continued to explain, "Little Cart is just a Tsukumogami. He can dissolve other people's negative emotions after they ingest the food that he makes. These negative emotions will then be collected by him and become his sustenance."

Kimura Kazuki nodded slightly. The bowl was only half-filled with this Essence of Emotions. Who knew how much of it had already been consumed by the little cart?

"I was the one who discovered how to use the Essence of Emotions to harness a special tracking spell."