Sutochiru ch7

They got an exorcism job☆

Here you go.
Ah, right. Thank you.

Bitter.
Bitter.
Bitter.
Bitter.

The bittersweet taste of an adult that seeps right in.

Ahem.
Well then, please tell us about your enquiry.

Ah, r-right.
Mmg.

Once again, I'm Matsuo Yuki.
Just as the request on the bulletin board says, I want you to do some exorcism.

...Hold on.

Now that I look closely,
are you guys really exorcists?

I know you treated me to this and all...
but wouldn't you normally talk about this kinda stuff in a café or something?

And why is there a nurse here?
Haha...

This is a serious problem for me. I can't talk about this to just anyone!
So if you'll excuse me,
allow me to confirm whether or not you're real exorcists!

Of course she'd be suspicious!
There's no way we could go into a café with only 500 yen on hand... And we had to beg for that!!

What now, Chamu!? If we get found out here,
Bitter.
we won't be able to pay our phone bills!!

Do you know what places ghosts tend to be in?
Eh!?

Places where sunlight doesn't reach.
There are no ghosts under the sun.
It's because your case is so serious that we brought you here, Yuki-san.
Sunny places like these are the best place to talk about something like this without being afraid. It clears up your mood too, doesn't it?

Our nurse here is support in case anyone gets hurt.
You can't heal injuries from exorcism easily, right?

This is all for your sake, Yuki-san.

I'm so sorry for doubting you...
This girl is so gullible!!

I'm so glad to have met you, Chamu-sensei...
The most gullible of gulliblinas!

I feel the same! I changed after meeting Chamu-senpai too!

Yeah! You too!
And Ozaki's airheadedness is adding to the good mood!!

Well then, could you tell us all the crucial details?
O-Okay, Sensei.
Popopo

Bitter.
Bitter.
Bitter.
Bitter.
Popopo.

The Terrifying Curse of the Card Granny!!
...Let's call it that.

No, we don't really need to give it a catchy title.

It happened in a room of a building that I own.
A building!?
That you own!?
It used to belong to my granny. It was her dream to open up a shop there.

And what shop would that be?

A card shop.
A card shop!?

The kind that sells trading cards.
The type of granny I've seen the least!!

Granny seemed to really enjoy collecting cards for the shop's opening.
We were about halfway done when she...

Ever since, whenever a customer would come looking to buy that room,
the building would shake and a woman's scream would be heard...

Because of that, I haven't had any buyers...
I'm sure this is because of my granny's regret from not being able to fulfill her dream of opening the trading card shop...

So she's refusing to trade, huh?
Don't get clever.

I've grasped your request.
Well then, could you lead us there right away?

Okay.

p10

By the way, Yuki-san.
Yes?

Since you own a building, erm~...

You must be rich, right?

Charmy, shush.
Hwah.

p11

Eh? What was that?
Do you have problems with asset management and the like?
Words that only a con artist would use.

Don't worry!
As you can see for yourself!

I've got everything toget-...
Dowawawah!

p12

A-
hem.

We're doing construction here, so please be careful.

Now then! The building's right over there.
Clutzarina.

I'm convinced...!
We can do this...!!
Let's carry this out without fail!!

And pay off our phones!!

p13

Ooh.
So this is it.

Yes.
The card granny's building room.
It's huge~
Although saying that, it's currently mine.

p14

D-Don't worry, Ozaki. I'm here for you.
Hm? Sure!

...

How about it? Do you sense anything?

p15

I do.
!

There's about 300 of them.
300!?

They're all lined up by the entrance and are about to burst through.
They're lining up!?
Did she open a card shop on the other side!?

Eep!

p16

Hey, Cham!
You were kidding just now, right!?
Please say sike!!
There's no way I'd say that...

I'm sure Granny's really lively.

Why are you guys so calm about this?

Granny! It's me!

p17

It's Yuki!
These girls aren't buyers!
Also, here!
I've brought this, so calm down!

Ah, it settled down.

I can't take it! Let's go already.
Finish this already!
Now now. It's just a little treme.
"Just" a tremor!?

What did you bring?

Granny's card.

p18

I thought she might calm down if I brought this...
Thank goodness...
Heh~
More!

What a shiny and pretty card, Charmy.

Ah...

?

I see...

So that's what it was...
More!

p19

What Granny truly loved wasn't the card itself.
!

I was like that too.
Smiling upon seeing the shiny cards.

She was looking at me.

Granny's dream
was for me to smile.

Hey! Don't just wrap things up just like that, Clutzarina!
Where's the reward!?

p20

Chu Chu Gabrilla

Thanks... Granny...
I'll be fine now...
I don't...

care about cards anymore.
You didn't need to go that far!!

Gufuu...
You sure can cry.

p21

Yuki-san... I'm sorry. We were lying.
Eh?

There are no ghosts here.
!

Wait, wait, wait!
Of course you're not, Chamu-sensei!

What about getting the reward to pay off our phones!?
Granny would never do anything to scare Yuki-san.
Argh, it's no use! This girl is weak against the elderly!

No ghosts...? But then what was the tremor just now all about...!?

It's the resonance phenomenon.

p22

When power equal to a body's natural frequency is added to it, that body will shake fiercely.
In other words, that tremor just now was from was the result of power equal to this building's natural frequency being added to it.

Huh?

What are you saying...? Eh? Who!?
You are Cham, right!? You're not possessed, right!?

Chamcham-senpai really is amazing!

I don't... really get it but
where is this power coming from?

They're doing construction work nearby, right?
Who are you?
!

p23

The construction hole
that I almost fell into!!

It's a ghost~
Power

That's right. That hole is somehow sending power from beneath the building, resulting in the resonance phenomenon.

In other words,
the tremors will stop once that construction is finished!

So that's...
what it was.

p24

Thank you so much!
I feel kinda bad, making Granny out to be some kind of bad guy.

Could you at least
hold a memorial service for this card?

Very well.
Oh?

Memorial service

p25

Hah~ I feel so refreshed!
Thank you so much!
In the end, you purified the place and even held a service.

That's right! We purified everything properly!
We did everything that needed to be done!

Ah! That's right!
I need to pay you guys, don't I?

Ah.
Oh no!

?

p26

I forgot that I was gonna sell Granny's trading card.

That thing just now?

Yeah, it's strange. I don't know why, but trading cards can be sold for 10,000 yen a piece.
There are apparently some that can fetch for 10 million yen.

p27

10 million yen!

Eh?

10 million yen!
10 million yen!!

10 million yen!
10 million yen!
10 million yen!

It's gone!!!

My 10 million yeeeeen!!

p28

That
Clutzarinaaaaa!!

...
Eh?

p29

So after all that,
Hah
we didn't get a single yen out of it.

Why didn't you know the card was valuable, Stella? You're an otaku, aren't you?
Don't call me an otaku! And it's not like otakus know everything about anything, y'know! That's biased!

Speaking of knowing things, Cham!
Hm?

Resonance phenomenon, was it? You sure knew a lot about that.
You surprise me from time to time.

Ah, I just made that up on the spot.

Hmmm. Amazing.

Huh!?

p30

Anything's fine as long as she can accept it, right?
Yeah~
Okay, onto the next job! I'm sure it'll work out this time!
...

W-W-Wait a minute!
In that case, what was the real cause of the tremors!? Don't tell me it's actually a gh-...

Probably some fidgeting from upstairs, right?
Of course not!!

Leaving things unknown is a step towards becoming an adult, I suppose?