“Wow…!” Masamichi exclaimed as he exited his prep school, a place that had become quite familiar to him.
His breath came out in white puffs that dispersed into the air and disappeared.
In the summer, it had been bright outside at five PM, but now that it was December, the sun had set completely, making it as dark as night.
All the stores had their lights on, streetlights blazed, and the cold north wind chilled Masamichi’s cheeks.
But he was a native of Akita, a northern prefecture, and what Tokyo considered cold was nothing to him.
It was the snowflakes fluttering in the air that had made him cry out.
Since he’d arrived in Tokyo, people often commented on how challenging the heavy snowfall must have been back in Akita. However, it didn’t actually snow much in his hometown.
Of course, there were years when it was heavy enough to require shoveling, but he had never seen the first floor of his house buried in snow like in some other areas.
For that reason, the weather was a pleasant and nostalgic reminder of home.
A gentle smile appeared on his childlike face as he walked down the street, dazzled by the size of the snowflakes he caught in the palm of his gloved hand.
I wonder what the snow was like in the Heian period, when Shino lived with Tokifuyu. They sometimes show Kinkakuji Temple in Kyoto covered in snow on the news, but maybe it was even heavier back then.
Pondering days long past, Masamichi stopped at several stores, and once he finished shopping, he returned home to Bougyoudou. That was where his master and roommate—Shino Tatsumi, a specter—awaited him.
It was a small house in a corner of a residential area where time seemed to have stopped during the Showa era.
That was Bougyoudou, their home and the antique store that Shino operated.
Masamichi had become Shino’s servant that past spring and moved out of his apartment to live with him.
Masamichi had been run over by a car and nearly died on the road in the middle of the night when Shino, who happened to be passing by, saved his life on one condition—that the young man become his servant.
It was only after he agreed to the master-servant contract and Shino used magical power to repair Masamichi’s battered body that he learned his new master was a specter.
Life as a specter’s servant might sound miserable, but the reality of his situation was anything but.
Masamichi’s living conditions had actually improved dramatically.
“I will give you food and shelter,” Shino had said nonchalantly when he proposed a contract during their first meeting—when Masamichi was on the brink of death.
It had been neither a joke nor a lie.
Shino had bought all the clothes Masamichi now wore. The shirt, pants, and coat were casual, but they were from well-known brands and of good quality.
Masamichi had initially checked the prices online and felt overwhelmed. However, he ultimately decided to stop doing that to preserve his peace of mind. Instead, he made a point of taking care of his clothes and ensuring they didn’t get stains or tears in the fabric.
Because the house they lived in was old, there were certainly some inconveniences, but it was far more comfortable than the six-mat room that he had previously lived in, which had a shared toilet and no bath.
However…
“I’m home!”
He swung open the door as usual and saw a scene unfolding before him that reminded him of Moses’s Ten Commandments.
The path from the entrance had barely enough space for one person to pass through. Other than that, objects were piled up from the floor and almost to the ceiling.
They were all old items that Shino had purchased or obtained from customers who’d been wishing to part with them.
Some of them were valuable antiques, but most were old tools…all of which were something called artifact spirits.
Masamichi had learned about their existence after meeting Shino. It seemed some items that had been deeply involved with humans over the years became endowed with a soul at some point and had a will of their own.
Such artifact spirits brought good luck to their owners while they were treated with care. But if they were mistreated or fell into the hands of someone they weren’t compatible with, they brought bad luck to their owners.
Shino operated a curious business. While running his store as an antique dealer, he also picked up unwanted artifact spirits and rehomed them with suitable owners.
It meant that as Shino’s servant, Masamichi had to get along with the artifact spirits in the store, which was probably the most peculiar thing about living at Bougyoudou.
He’d been extremely puzzled at first and had another near-death experience when he attempted cleaning the place and angered one of the artifact spirits. Although he continued to be a little nervous about them, he had become used to their presence for the most part.
Despite Masamichi’s shy and reclusive nature, he was highly adaptable. That seemed to be a strength of his, which he’d realized after moving in with Shino.
So as usual, Masamichi hunched his narrow shoulders to avoid accidentally hitting the artifact spirits and upsetting them.
In the back of the store, there was a large desk and chair where Shino did paperwork, met with clients, and handled his accounting. It also had their antique cash register on it.
Farther inside, there was a stairway that led to a tea room that had tatami mats and was separated from a kitchen by a cupboard.
It was a classic and nostalgic setting where the work and living spaces were linked.
Bougyoudou didn’t get many walk-in customers to begin with.
Masamichi saw Shino in the kitchen and figured he had no more visitors scheduled for the day. The kitchen was Shino’s domain.
Once he became Tokifuyu’s shikigami, Shino had been forbidden from harming humans, and he apparently maintained his power as a specter by capturing and eating other ghouls or by eating and drinking as humans did.
Since becoming his servant, Masamichi’s responsibility was to provide the specter with sustenance…his chi, which Shino loved. And to maintain good chi, the young man needed to be healthy.
So Shino cooked Masamichi’s meals to make sure the young man was getting the right nutrition. Shino explained that it was for his own sake when Masamichi was humbled about his master going so far as to keep him fed.
Masamichi still felt bad about having his master cook breakfasts and dinners and even prepare a lunch box for him to take to his prep school. However, aside from the health reasons, the meals Shino made were incredibly delicious, and it was hard for the young man to decline such an offer.