Morozumi Miura
“Why are spirits so fond of you, Ani-sama?”
“Who knows.”
“Some spirits love you so much that they immediately retaliate against anyone who’s hostile towards you, and then there are others that always want to take Ani-sama over to their side…”
“It’s no big deal. Besides, I have your protective charm with me, safely tucked in my pocket… See? It’s not like they normally attack me anyways.”
“But what if, on the off-chance, you accidentally catch the eye of a high-level spirit…? One that even you can see… I mean… It would depend on the spirit, but you could die.”
“...”
“Pursuing you out of love… I don’t want to share Ani-sama with them…”
“Yeah, I guess that would be a problem.”
“Right? That’s why, here!”
“What’s this?”
“It’s a special protective charm I made! I put a lot of love and feelings into it, just for you.”
—
My conversation with Toi flashed before my eyes.
“I LPVE YOU, I LOVE YIUUUU!!!”1
I didn’t know what kinda high-level spirit the thing in front of me was, but I could tell it had some sort of twisted affection for me. My body burnt up as I felt a spine-chilling gaze directed at me from beyond the hole in its face. Maybe it sensed my unease, but the numerous twig-like hands attached to its torso started to shake with excitement before launching at me—
I was fucked. I tried to find a solution, but…
“I don’t have Toi’s charm…!?”
That was when I remembered, I’d left it at home because I didn’t want it to get dirty. He gave it to me to use… Am I fucking stupid? ‘This is bad,’ ‘I’m done for,’ ‘One wrong move and I’m dead.’ As those thoughts filled my head, it was at that moment—
“HA!”
“!?”
The high-leveled spirit in front of me immediately turned to dust, its remains scattered to the ground. I didn’t know what happened, but it was gone. And behind where the spirit had once been—was a man wearing a mourning suit. He gazed straight at me, his outstretched fist still hanging in the air as I stared back at him in shock.
“Y’good there, bud?”
He spoke in some strange language as he lowered his fist.
“Ya able t’speak?”
“...What?”
Again, he said those strange words.
“Ahh, ahem… my accent…”
Perhaps he noticed I couldn’t understand him, but he scrunched his face before saying, “Are you able to speak?”
“Um… probably…?”
He relaxed a bit after hearing my reply.
“Well, that’s diddly darn good. Then why don’cha get up first. Everything's alright now.”
He flashed me a warm smile and extended a hand while saying those strange words again.
—
The guy who saved me from my predicament was a spirit lawyer called Morozumi Miura, or at least that was what it said on his business card. Apparently, he was from Aomori,2 and that weird language he was speaking earlier was the local dialect. He did know how to speak normally, but he wasn’t the best at it, apparently.
“A spirit lawyer?”
“Yeah. There's a lotta cases where these fellas were originally humans. That’s why, in accordance with human law, we exorcise the ones that take it too far and bind the ones that wanna coexist by a contract.”
“Is that so…”
“That guy crossed the line earlier, so I had t’get ridda him. Or else he wouldda kill’dja.”
“Thought so. Could feel it’s killing intent.”
Morozumi-san nodded in agreement before saying, “Now that I think of it, I do recall seein’ a yankee using spirits ta threaten people fer some buck loiterin’ around here sometimes.”
“Oi, don’t start spoutin’ bullshit. I ain’t extorting them. They’re the ones leaving it there when all I wanted was to beat ‘em to a pulp.”
“Mkay, well then, guess it’s okay,” Morozumi-san laughed. As he smiled, the corners of his eyes would droop, resembling Ebisu.3 It was funny.
I stared at him as I came to know the job known as a spirit lawyer and understood that coexistence meant not allowing spirits to run rampant in a lawless land. There were a lot of things I didn't know in this world, and Morozumi-san was the one who taught them to me. Maybe, if it was him…
“My office’s on the top floor o’ this shabby buildin’, wanna take a rest there? I don' get much customers, nor appointments ‘cuz of this alley. Y’could stay fer the night if y’want.”
“...Thanks.”
If it was him, could he help me save Toi?
I wouldn’t have anything to pay for such expectations, but that night, I accepted his offer for a meal and a place to stay.