Chapter 68
7. The God Who Is There
As I sorted through the docunts and burned them in a drum can behind the ruins, morning ca.
If I burn all the records, we won't understand how dangerous the god is. I should leave so, but I don't know which ones to keep.
Apparently, two-thirds of the people who ca here were from the counterasure headquarters. Maybe there are still so who haven't disappeared. Would they help dispose of the docunts and rebuild the headquarters? What if they beco hostile like Ryoko and the others?
"I can't do this alone... I need to get back to Tokyo for now..."
Smoldering scraps of paper and sparks danced like fireflies as the sky turned pale pink.
I put out the fire with fallen leaves and soil, then descended the mountain path.
The chirping of birds and the rustling of trees echoed like tornt. I didn't even know the way back. It probably wasn't walkable. My shirt, which should've been bloodstained, only had soot on it.
As I passed through a rusty iron fence, I saw a man leaning against a black car.
"Umura... why..."
He looked completely exhausted.
"Why haven't you disappeared?! Aren't you with the counterasure headquarters?!"
"I'm still in training! More importantly, I should be asking you! I heard gunshots, then a huge noise, and inside, sothing like a monster..."
Umura covered his mouth as if to hold back nausea.
What the hell. Umura wasn't erased because he wasn't a full mber. Is that why I'm still here too? I suddenly felt uneasy as I recalled everything.
"Hey, do you rember ...?"
Umura narrowed his eyes and punched in the cheek.
"Of course I rember you."
He spat the words out. It should've hurt, but my senses were dull, like it was happening to soone else. More than that, I felt relieved that he hadn't vanished.
"Got it."
Umura sighed.
"The people inside... are they dead?"
"No, they're not. They all vanished."
As I spoke, Umura listened silently. The high sun's light and heat pecked at my neck.
"I had a feeling this would happen eventually."
When I finished talking, Umura said that and turned his back to .
"Can you drive?"
"I don't even have a family register, let alone a license."
Umura widened his eyes.
"So I'm stuck in the driver's seat again? I wish soone with a license had survived."
The passenger door was opened toward . As I hesitated, Umura spoke irritably.
"Hurry up. You planning to walk back?"
I brushed off the dirt from my clothes and got in.
The car interior was filled with trapped heat. Umura rested his cheek on the steering wheel.
"So what now?"
"I'll deal with the docunts there. Move only the important stuff underground, toss the rest. But first, we need to rebuild the counterasure headquarters. We'll only pick people who won't let this happen again."
After saying that, I looked at Umura.
"You gonna help ?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"Why?"
"Because you punched ."
I didn't understand and asked again. Umura suddenly said:
"I once confessed to Reizei. She turned down, though."
He stared at the blurry Divine Statue reflected in the windshield.
"It's not that I wanted to erase everything."
I deliberately leaned back arrogantly in the passenger seat.
"You got rejected? That's la."
Umura bumped my shoulder. The familiar pain made want to cry again.
With no tint on the windshield, I could clearly see the receding trees and the cityscape gradually turning urban. Every intersection in Tokyo was swarming with people.
"Sumr break ends today, huh."
Umura sneered at my mutter.
"That's why you have fun. You the type who left howork unfinished?"
"I barely went to school."
Umura fell silent.
Neon dots lted into the glass reflecting the night. People who knew nothing squird about.
A towering building lood in the darkness. The lights were on in the counterasure headquarters office.
As I waited for Umura to park the car, a sprightly old man with a hat ca out of the entrance. It was Miyaki.
Umura let out a groan.
"That's the founder of the counterasure headquarters. Damn, the big boss right off the bat. What now?"
I unbuckled my seatbelt.
"I'm going."
"You got a plan?"
"Not really..."
I pulled out the business card I had stuffed in my shirt pocket.
"But he told to live properly."
I looked at my own face in the mirror.
The most decent adult I know is that guy.
I brushed up my bangs, straightened my back, sharpened my gaze, and tightened my lips. I got out of the car.
"Miyaki-san."
The old man turned around. I strode up to him and said in one breath:
"The counterasure headquarters has been destroyed. So of the Territorial Divine Offenses have escaped. We need to rebuild the organization imdiately."
I was surprised at how low my voice ca out. The old man looked at suspiciously.
"...What do you know?"
"Everything."
I'm a fraud. I'll deceive gods and humans alike. Before the old man could interrupt, I pressed on.
"This is a negotiation. If you cooperate in reorganizing the organization, I'll hand over The God Who Is There. In return, I want to be in charge of selecting the mbers. We'll change it into an organization focused on docuntation, without interfering with the gods."
The old man stared at , as if he rembered but couldn't place .
"Who are you...?"
I pulled the business card from my pocket and showed it off.
"Imperial Household Agency Special Division, Counterasure Headquarters, Kirima Renjirou."
The counterasure headquarters was even more insane than I thought.
Ryoko and the others were just the tip of the iceberg. In less than half a month, the docunts in the chapel were carefully selected, moved underground, and the ruins were sealed off.
The dusty counterasure headquarters office hadn't changed.
As I faced the mountain of docunts on the desk, Umura peeked in from behind.
"Tough being an executive, huh? Make sure I get a good position too."
"Don't worry, I'll work you hard even if you don't ask."
The mug Umura brought gave off the scent of coffee steam.
"So, any progress on the reorganization?"
"It'll take ti."
I looked down at the photos in the classified docunts. They were all candid shots—folklorists, detectives, psychiatrists, even kids who seed clueless.
I think the counterasure headquarters is a terrifying organization.
I pulled out a few sheets of paper.
"First, I'll summon Esato. One of the few people who knows the true form of the God of the Calling Tide. Then I'll investigate Rokuhara, ntioned in the records of the solitary god. It's the family Ryoko considered dangerous. That makes them trustworthy. Once the eldest son cos of age, I'll contact him. And then..."
Midway through, Umura looked away.
"You're like a different person."
"That's the point."
I flipped the last page and fell silent. There was a girl I recognized in the photo.
"I'm stepping out for a bit."
I placed the docunts on the desk. The clock read five in the afternoon. Visiting hours at the hospital hadn't ended yet.
Tracing back the mories of when I visited with Kirima, I walked down the hospital corridor. The paper bag in my hand crinkled.
A small shadow stretched across the hallway, and a girl stood in front of the hospital room. Her intelligent large eyes and twin-braided hair hadn't changed.
"Rei-chan, right?"
Kirima's daughter looked up at curiously.
"Are you here to see your mom?"
Rei glanced toward her mother's hospital room. She was on guard. She probably didn't rember .
"Um, are you a friend of my mom's?"
"Of your dad's."
After a brief silence, Rei shook her head.
"Dad's not around. He disappeared before I was born."
It felt like a cold knife had slipped into my heart. I forced out a voice.
"I see..."
"Are you okay?"
Rei's eyes shifted from wary to concerned. That expression resembled Kirima.
"Did you know my dad?"
"Yeah, I knew him. I rember. He was always worried about you and your mom. Probably still is."
I held out the paper bag I was carrying. Rei accepted it, looking slightly puzzled.
"They're all filled with red bean paste."
Before I could hear her response, I turned on my heel and walked back down the hallway.
When I left the hospital, it was already dark and the air was crisp. It's strange how late sumr and early autumn can feel so different with just a small shift in ti.
The God Who Is There had already been taken away by Miyaki and the elderly. Apparently, it's being stored sowhere within the Imperial Household Agency. They must be planning to use it. The closer I get to the truth, the more I realize how far away I really am.
I had managed to work my way into a position where I could access top-secret information.
It paid off that Kai bluffed like he knew sothing about the god.
If they're planning to reshape the world, I'll use it to return things to the way they were.
God reigns in the heavens.
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