I Was Possessed By An Unknown Manga

Chapter 162: Paparazzi

“Good to hear. Somehow everything got resolved.”

“Yeah. It’s all thanks to you, Yu-seong.”

“What did I do? If anything, it was Mahes who had the hard time, not me.”

Saying that, I looked at the brown-skinned Egyptian ghost floating next to Ryuji.

“Hmm. You should be thankful. My contractor. Without me, you couldn’t have taken in that girl.”

Indeed, without Mahes, Ryuji couldn’t have accepted Saya… no, Chiaki now.

He wouldn’t have been able to accept Chiaki.

That was because if Chiaki, a ghost with immense negative energy, possessed a normal person, it could have killed him.

However, because Ryuji already had Mahes, who possessed the power of extreme yang, they were miraculously able to maintain balance.

Thanks to this, it felt like a significant power-up, but I was scared to think how strong it might get.

After Sasha’s possession ended, she went home by car, and the four of us remained to continue our conversation.

Probably, others would think it odd.

Two seemingly normal high school students talking to thin air.

We deliberately chose a secluded park as our meeting place to avoid such looks.

“How have you been all this time?”

“Huh? Me…”

Especially Ryuji and Chiaki, despite meeting after a long time, talked without any awkwardness.

Thanks to that, Mahes, feeling like an outsider, sat next to me with a lukewarm gaze towards them.

“It’s a good time, then.”

I asked Mahes, who said that.

“By the way, Mahes, how old were you when you died?”

“Why do you ask that all of a sudden?”

“No particular reason.”

Mahes chuckled dismissively and answered.

“I died a bit over thirty. Fighting the Night Clan that came from beyond the Nile River with my warriors.”

“The Night Clan?”

“They claimed to be descendants of Set, the God of War. They were in opposition to our clan that served Bastet, the daughter of the Sun God Ra.”

The sun and the night, huh?

It smelled like a plot twist.

“Even though I, the great warrior of the sun, died in the last battle, the Night Clan was almost annihilated, so their lineage must be completely extinct by now.”

“No, that’s a flag.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“In comics and such, usually when someone says that, it leads to ‘Ta-da! Actually, the Night Clan still exists!’ kind of twist.”

“Haha, you say such interesting things. Comics are just comics. How could a clan that disappeared thousands of years ago still exist?”

Having the most unrealistic being in this world say that left me speechless.

“Anyway, let’s end this conversation here. Let’s talk about something more substantial.”

“Alright. Let’s talk about something else then.”

Mahesh stroked his chin and said.

“In my view, you have tremendous potential as a warrior. To be honest, it’s a bit of a waste to leave such a raw gem unpolished.”

“No, even if you say that, it’s just troublesome for me.”

“True, in peaceful times, excessive strength can become poison. I don’t intend to push my opinion recklessly. After all, it’s not good for the dead to meddle in the affairs of the living.”

“…Don’t you think that contradicts your usual behavior?”

As far as I know, due to the contract he made with him, Ryuji would travel around the country, breaking dojos, after graduation.

Because of this ghost who sought battles with the strong.

But upon hearing my words, Mahes laughed heartily and patted my shoulder.

“Ryuji is already deeply connected with me, so it doesn’t matter. After all, him meeting me was all destiny.”

“Destiny?”

“It can be expressed in any way, depending on who speaks it. Whether it is something that must happen or will happen. His throwing himself into danger to save his family, and meeting me and making a contract there could be seen as just a part of a larger flow. It was meant to be that way, originally.”

I always knew Mahes wasn’t an ordinary ghost, but it seemed like he held some incredible secret.

However, as an outsider, it was certain that uncovering his secret would be a daunting task.

“In that regard, I have great expectations for you.”

“Expectations?”

“Destiny is like the waterfalls of the Nile, impossible to climb against. Yet the fate of those around you, big or small, seems a bit twisted. As a warrior and a priest, I can sense that.”

“……”

Honestly, I was incredibly surprised by his words.

Because Mahes seemed to have half-penetrated my true nature.

“I can’t tell if it will be beneficial or harmful, but at least proceed in the direction you think is right. That’s all I wish from you.”

After saying that, Mahes was the first to rise from his seat.

“Let’s head back. Contractor. It’s about time for the sun to set.”

Then Ryuji, who was busy roasting sesame seeds with Chiaki, replied, “Oh? Should we?” and stood up.

Since we were headed home the same way anyway, we left the park and walked toward the sunset.

Before I knew it, almost a week had passed since the start of the second semester.

Even the kids who initially detested attending school were gradually getting used to a regular routine.

I was one of them, and my school life was flowing quite well.

But recently, something concerning has arisen.

“……”

“Ryu-chan? Why are you suddenly like this?”

“No, it feels like someone’s watching.”

I reflexively turned my head, and finding no one there, I tilted my head in confusion.

For some days now, the back of my neck has been prickling.

At first, I thought it was just my imagination, but the persistent feeling of being watched was incredibly bothersome.

‘Chiaki, you’re never around when needed.’

Just a week ago, I was tired of dealing with Chiaki whining about being bored, but now that she was gone, her absence felt significant.

It seemed her presence had become too much of a given for me.

Anyway, we were in the middle of a discussion about Jump, so it was time to continue the conversation with Rika.

Zap!

Feeling the gaze on the back of my head again, I abruptly stood up from my seat.

“Who’s there?!”

Then, I heard the sound of someone running hastily outside the back door of the classroom.

When I hurriedly opened the door and went out, I could only see a figure running away in the distance.

Satoru, who emerged a beat later, said,

“Isn’t that Senior Ayabe from the newspaper club?”

“Senior Ayabe?”

“Yeah, the one who interviewed you when you were going around breaking dojos.”

I thought back to the old days upon hearing that.

“Kim Yu-seong, how do you feel right now?”

“Ah, please conduct the interview through my manager.”

…That was the person Rika dealt with back then.

“But why would such a person be watching me?”

“You were being watched?”

“It’s been about 5 days.”

“Is there a shortage of news material for the school newspaper lately?”

Since he was from the newspaper club, it wasn’t impossible.

“But isn’t that senior preparing for the center exams?”

Did she have enough time to follow me around all day?

Hearing my question, Satoru shrugged and answered,

“That person, she’s really good at studying. She’ll probably be in the top ten of the third year.”

It was even more mysterious that such a person had been following me for 5 days.

“If you’re that curious, why don’t you go ask her directly?”

“What?”

“You’re in the Student Council, right? Use your Dark Student Council powers and sort it out.”

Satoru said this while making a throat-slitting gesture.

The students in the class began murmuring while watching him.

“Is Kim going to bury the Senior?”

“Maybe he’ll be buried in cement and thrown into Tokyo Bay?”

“That Senior won’t be seen from tomorrow.”

It felt like a huge misunderstanding had occurred.

When I glared at Satoru, who was practically the cause of all this, he exclaimed, “Oh no! Hot!” and hurried back to his seat.

Left alone in the corridor, I sighed softly and decided to think about the rest during lunchtime.

Lunchtime.

Visiting the Student Council to have lunch and also consult about the newspaper club matter, I found the Vice President gaming on a laptop and asked,

“What are you doing?”

“Just a bit more! I could have caught it, but suddenly, the aggro jumped to the dragonfly next to me, and I died!”

Hearing that, I sneakily peeked at the senior’s laptop screen.

A dark fantasy-themed game that was popular these days was running on the screen.

“…Hang in there.”

I said that to the Vice President, who seemed mentally shattered, and then looked at the President sitting in her designated seat.

“President, have you had lunch?”

The President smiled slightly and shook her head.

“Not yet. Somehow, I felt like something good would happen today.”

Saying that, she stood up and sat down on a reception sofa first.

“It seems you haven’t had lunch either, Yu-seong. Let’s eat together.”

“Yes, thank you.”

I gladly accepted the President’s recommendation and sat down on the sofa across from her.