It felt a little awkward being in Harmonica Alley in the afternoon.
I lived a nocturnal life, like a vampire, and it was rare for me to be in the shop at this hour. A life lived without sunlight suited my biorhythms far better.
But today I’d been summoned here at this hour. Thanks to that I felt a bit sleep-deprived. My mind felt hazy.
The window was covered with a black curtain, and a little bit of light leaked through. The countless particles of dust that filled the air of the store glistened in it. As I followed the dust with my eyes, I started to feel like I was drunk. I poured some steaming herbal tea into my favorite cup to stop from throwing up.
“So,” I said to the empty shop, “did you find a clue?”
The only one who could call me here was the devil.
I’d sensed him the minute I’d come into the shop, but I hadn’t spoken to him yet.
There was no explanation as to why he’d summoned me here. Maybe he’d called me here now because I would be too busy at night?
Impossible.
The devil wouldn’t care about that, and I didn’t expect him to.
I was just here because he’d told me to come.
There was nothing more to it than that.
〈Yeah, I caught ’em. Just now, actually.〉 The devil’s unpleasant voice echoed in my head.
I never got used to hearing it, but still, I felt relieved. It made me feel like I was still connected to him.
The unpleasant voice was a small price to pay for a contract with a devil.
〈You remember that guy in the trench coat who was watching this place?〉
“...?”
Watching this place...? When was that?
As I tried to remember, I could sense the devil clicking his tongue in frustration.
〈You’re not careful. That’s why you get set up.〉
“I make sure to forget anything I’m not interested in.”
Of course, the devil had a point.
Whoever had put Dr. Hashigami’s hair into my mailbox had known that I was careless like that.
—I just wanted to live life like a dead girl, possessed by a devil. That was all.
〈A guy who looks like a little kid, wearing a trench coat and a cap. I’ve seen him at least twice wandering around outside.〉
“Who is he?”
〈No idea. But it’s clear he’s planning something. So last time I saw him, I decided to follow him instead. And then I ran into an unexpected group.〉
An unexpected group?
〈You remember those two girls who asked for the Devil’s Ritual?〉
I did. They’d asked me to curse a boy who’d been cheating on them. They were still in high school, but paid almost seventy thousand yen like it was nothing. I’d wondered why they didn’t seem to be that upset when they were willing to pay that much money.
The boy they’d had cursed... his name was Yuta Gamon, if I remembered correctly.
〈I followed the guy in the trench coat and ran into one of them. The bitch with the huge tits.〉
“That’s a disgusting way to describe her.”
〈And that ain’t all. The manslut she told you to curse was there, too.〉
“...”
〈The client, the guy she wanted to curse, and the shady asshole who’s been hanging around out front were all in the same place. It’s a place called Café☆Blue Moon.〉
“Sure it’s not a coincidence?”
〈I’m telling you, stupid. There was nobody else in the place. The three of them were talking about something. It looked weirdly serious. It’s obvious they’re all working together to investigate us.〉
“If they’re trying to find out about the existence of devils...” I took “Coven,” one of my dolls, and pressed down hard on each of its five eyes, “we’ll have to respond appropriately.”
If anyone found out I had a contract with a devil, my peaceful life would be over, and more rats would start to try to sniff around in my past.
I did not want that.
〈If they want a fight, let’s give one to them first.〉
“...”
I took another sip of herbal tea to calm myself down—
And realized it had gone cold.