Chapter Seventeen "Your father is a malevolent spirit."

“Hello? Can you hear me?”

Before using the spirit control technique, Uesugi Che gathered a small amount of spiritual energy in his palm and then spoke to the doll.

Naturally, nothing happened.

The doll still stared silently at Uesugi Che with its black pearl-like eyes.

But that was fine; this was the control group.

Next came the experimental group.

Muttering under his breath, Uesugi Che carefully channeled an equal amount of spiritual energy, drawing a simple pentagram—the “Bellflower Seal” from Onmyōdō—on the doll’s forehead with his fingertip.

According to the spirit control technique, he should now be able to communicate with the doll in a basic way.

But how exactly this communication worked was never explicitly explained.

After reviewing the process in his mind to ensure he hadn’t missed a step, Uesugi Che, ready to transform into a smiling Buddha, asked again:

“Can you hear me? Can you hear me?”

The doll remained motionless, not even bothering to turn over and show him its back.

“How strange,” Uesugi Che scratched his head, preparing to ask Nanjo Aimi for help.

[Tsukisuna]: Nanjo-san, I accidentally learned a technique that lets me communicate with spiritual beings, but it doesn’t seem to work on the doll you gave me.

After putting down his phone, Uesugi Che tried every language and method he could think of to talk to the doll, but all efforts were fruitless.

“—The lower half of Hasegawa’s body has been found? Alright, let’s piece it together.”

When facing coworkers who came to wrap up the scene, Nanjo Aimi reverted to her usual cold and efficient demeanor.

There was no trace of the disheveled, smoking, and ranting attitude she’d had just minutes earlier.

Beside the dying inferno, a short-haired intern wearing an ID card timidly stepped off a vehicle and approached Nanjo Aimi:

“Your Excellency, I’m Shizuma Mafuyu. From now on, I will be replacing Mr. Hasegawa as your apprentice.”

“Oh.”

Nanjo Aimi nodded indifferently. “Be careful. Don’t die.”

Her frosty attitude left Shizuma Mafuyu at a loss for words.

She swallowed her self-introduction and stood silently to the side, watching Nanjo Aimi pull out her phone, her expression suddenly changing.

Quickly, Shizuma Mafuyu asked, producing a special phone of her own, “Is something wrong?”

Nanjo Aimi shook her head. “No, nothing.”

Nothing at all—how could that be?

She clearly remembered typing out a message to Uesugi Che on a burner account just two or three minutes ago. How was he already asking about the spirit control technique?!

Could it be that within these few minutes, Uesugi Che had learned the written version of the technique and even tried it on the doll?!

Nanjo Aimi swallowed hard. “It can’t be…”

No, maybe it really could.

After clarifying a few details, Nanjo Aimi had to admit that Uesugi Che had indeed mastered the spirit control technique.

Even if it was just the most basic and superficial part.

“Hiyori wasn’t wrong—he really is a genius,” Nanjo Aimi thought to herself.

She exhaled and looked at the message from four minutes earlier on the burner account: “A once-in-a-millennium, unparalleled genius.”

[Nanjo-san]: To communicate with the doll, you need to say my name twice in a row. Only then will it respond. As for the mental influence, it exists but is minor and benign, designed to protect you from certain dangers.

[Tsukisuna]: Got it. Thanks for taking the time to answer, Nanjo-san.

“Your Excellency,” Shizuma Mafuyu whispered as the number of vehicles around them dwindled, “aren’t we leaving yet?”

Her words snapped Nanjo Aimi out of her trance. She turned to Shizuma Mafuyu, giving a faint smile and patting her on the head. “Thanks for the reminder. Let’s go.”

“No, no need to thank me!”

Shizuma Mafuyu immediately stood at attention, blushing as she lowered her head and walked toward the driver’s seat.

Nanjo Aimi didn’t notice the small gesture. She only marveled at how geniuses seemed to endlessly emerge in this world.

At that moment, the “once-in-a-millennium genius” turned toward the doll with a fierce expression:

“Nanjo Aimi! Nanjo Aimi! Can you hear me?”

As if finally hearing the correct command, the doll slowly turned its head and looked at Uesugi Che, dryly saying:

“Please ask your question.”

Uesugi Che leaned in closer, delight sparkling in his eyes. After scrutinizing the doll for a while, he heard it speak again.

“Please ask your question.”

It seemed that was the only phrase it could say.

Perhaps his current level of spirit control was too low, and his spiritual energy insufficient to let the doll speak freely.

What should he ask the doll?

He recalled Nanjo Aimi’s earlier explanation.

She had said the doll’s mental influence was meant to prevent him from encountering danger.

So Uesugi Che spoke:

“I want to know—what dangers are around me?”

The doll blinked.

Then, in a faint, slow voice, it said:

“Father.”

Father?

Uesugi Che was puzzled. How were those two words connected?

He held the doll’s hand and asked, “Can you be more specific?”

After a moment of silence, the doll glanced back, as if confirming something, then continued:

“Your father...”

My father?

Uesugi Che’s confusion deepened. His father just watched ball games every day. Could watching games on an otherworldly schedule really cause the world to end?

The doll fell silent again, seemingly pondering.

Uesugi Che shook the doll gently, eager for answers. “Come on, don’t leave me hanging.”

The doll stared silently for a while longer before speaking:

“—Your father is an evil spirit.”

As if reminded by someone else, like finding a phone after searching everywhere or discovering keys in a pocket after tearing apart the house, a veil of “ignorance” in Uesugi Che’s mind shattered at the doll’s words.

He suddenly understood, immediately noticing all the inconsistencies about his “father.” Then, he mentally scolded his former foolish self.

These spirits are really something else—like a household register with only one page left, always pretending to be someone’s parent!

After this thought, Uesugi Che silently repeated the doll’s words to himself.

Then, cold sweat broke out on his back.

An evil spirit?

What level was that? How many stars?!

A chill ran down his spine as he realized that if this “father” spirit could deceive him in an instant and fabricate so many false memories, it was far beyond his ability to resist.

He couldn’t stay in this house—not tonight, at least!

Hurriedly, Uesugi Che jumped out of bed, ignoring everything, intending to grab the doll and escape through the window.

But the doll had already jumped down from the bed, turned its back to him, and silently faced the door.

Seeing this, Uesugi Che’s scalp tingled as he also looked toward the door.

Thump.

Thump-thump.

Knocking sounded from outside the door.