Chapter 144: Standing Alone (6)

"The next Chief Priest, huh."

Dr. Sanjiro picked up the documents on his desk and double-checked the contents about the next Chief Priest.

"Let's see. Drug dealer... presumed to have obtained the position by seducing the Chief Priest... Huh."

He let out a hollow laugh and tossed the documents onto the desk as if throwing them away, then looked at his subordinate. Then, frowning slightly, he asked him:

"Is this what you came up with?"

"Yes, sir. That's correct."

"This report that sounds like it came out of a drama or cheap novel, is what you came up with?"

Dr. Sanjiro threw out a harsh evaluation and quietly looked at his subordinate.

Although the content was nonsensical, he believed that his Harvard-educated subordinate must have had some thoughts, and waited to hear his further explanation.

"The speculation written in those documents is the result of interpreting too little information too fragmentarily. It's an immature report that fails to view things from a broad and macroscopic perspective, but it's my best effort, so I hope you won't be too angry."

"Tsk tsk. Alright. I said I'd try to believe even the most outlandish things, so I'll listen."

"First, as written in the report, this entity called the 'next Chief Priest' is presumed to be a criminal. Not just any criminal, but one deeply involved with drugs."

The subordinate spoke in an extremely polite tone.

"After cross-referencing data from the Public Security Intelligence Agency and the Metropolitan Police Department, it's estimated that he's not related to any specific organization. We also considered the possibility of involvement with smuggling or foreign criminal organizations, but after checking the data from the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, that also seems unlikely."

"So, is it definitely an individual?"

"It's certain. It's an individual. If two or more people were involved, we wouldn't have failed to detect it."

Sanjiro nodded.

"Go on."

"Here's what I think. This unknown entity called the 'next Chief Priest' obtained drugs through some kind of opportunity..."

The subordinate slowly began to explain his thoughts.

That this entity called the next Chief Priest used 'some means' to manufacture or discover drugs, and used them to harbor evil intentions.

That instead of selling drugs for money, he tried to elevate his social status by addicting those in power.

But since it was difficult to approach and sell drugs to well-known powerful figures or nobility, he chose the easiest target, and that was 'Saigo Kenji'.

"At the time, Saigo Kenji had just lost his wife and was in great despair. To fill that void, he frequented red-light districts and even dabbled in gambling. But neither satisfied him, and he fell into depression. And then..."

"That's when he approached?"

"Yes, exactly. This criminal probably used any means necessary to make Saigo Kenji take the drugs. There are many methods. Since he's protected by divine power, he couldn't have forcibly administered it, but he could have mixed it into food or drinks, or coated it on perfume or flowers for inhalation. And so Saigo Kenji experienced the effects of the drug and probably felt like the emptiness inside him was being filled."

"That's why people with depression often turn to drugs. It was the same in America..."

"That's right. People struggling with life often start using drugs to escape reality, then fall into the swamp of addiction and end up living a life for drugs. Saigo Kenji was probably the same. At first, he might have wanted the drug to fill the void of loss with satisfaction... But as it gradually worsened and became an addiction, the craving for pleasure that came with withdrawal symptoms slowly destroyed him."

"Hmm. That makes sense. Any evidence?"

"We obtained hair samples from Saigo Kenji's visit to a brothel last year and recent hair samples, and conducted drug tests. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis confirmed positive results, with components of three types of drugs detected, including methamphetamine."

"Components were detected... I see. But that's not quite enough evidence..."

"There's more evidence."

The subordinate handed Sanjiro some photographs.

"Hmm. The man is Saigo Kenji, who's this woman?"

"That's Saigo Kenji's daughter, Saigo Rise."

"Hmm. I see."

Sanjiro nodded as if understanding while looking at the photo.

"Saigo Kenji's photo is... the very image of a drug addict."

"And not just any drug addict, but one on the verge of being completely consumed by drugs. His teeth and jaw aren't damaged yet, but just looking at his sunken expression, the dark circles under his eyes, and that gloomy smile and madness on his face..."

"Yes. Anyone can see he's an addict. Hahaha."

"Besides his face, there are wounds typical of drug addicts all over his body."

Sanjiro laughed loudly while looking at the photo.

The photo of Saigo Kenji was like looking at a 'Before & After' photo of a drug addict in America.

A clean and decent-looking photo before drug use.

A photo after drug use looking more shabby and gloomy than a homeless person.

"You and I might know, even if others don't. We used to see people looking like that when we studied abroad. How annoying it was to see them come in high on drugs, claiming to be making some strange music or whatever, and screeching noise that couldn't even be called singing."

"It was like that back then too. I saw religious people trying to evangelize while high on drugs, and people staggering around drunk saying they need to take drugs to compose well."

"Right. If you've studied abroad, you'd know just by looking at this photo. It's obviously entangled with drugs. And where there are drugs, there are drug dealers. Your speculation makes sense..."

Dr. Sanjiro glanced at Rise's photo.

"This girl's appearance has become quite gloomy too. But judging by the fact that her appearance hasn't changed much... Could this child also be...?"

"Unfortunately, we couldn't obtain Saigo Rise's hair samples. But I estimate she's not addicted to drugs. She might have used them once or twice, but probably not more than that."

"Right. If he's trying to gain social status rather than money through drugs, he wouldn't ruin the precious woman who could pull him up."

Dr. Sanjiro muttered, placing the photo on the desk as if displeased.

"One can be dismissed as coincidence, but two becomes necessity. And if there are two, there could be three, so he'd know that suspicion would naturally fall on him."

"Yes. If only Saigo Kenji was an addict, it could be dismissed as an individual's deviation, so he might have calculated that he could get away with it. But well... He might have used it once or twice to tame Saigo Rise. But he probably didn't use methamphetamine."

"Right. Methamphetamine is devastating if used incorrectly. Severe side effects, highly addictive. And if used during sexual relations... They'd never be able to escape and would be ruined."

Dr. Sanjiro looked at his subordinate with satisfaction.

"Very good, excellent!"

"Thank you, sir."

"Continue your explanation."

"This criminal would have dragged Saigo Kenji into the swamp of drugs like that, and later used drugs as bait to demand sexual favors. The criminal's birth was probably insignificant."

"Right. He could have been from the Burakumin, or from some outlying area."

"And becoming a member of the family by entering its shadow means a change in status itself. He would have elevated his status using drugs as bait, and taken control of Saigo Rise to use that as his foundation. Then, while looking around the shrine that had become his possession, he probably discovered a very strange cursed object."

"A cursed object..."

"In China, there were cursed objects used for buying and selling ghosts."

"Right. They sealed and sold ghosts to be used as playthings in places called ghost markets."

"When Japan ruled the world in the past, they also occupied China. At that time, Chinese cursed objects that sealed ghosts probably flowed into the shrines. And when the criminal, now having changed his status to the next Chief Priest, saw this, he harbored evil intentions."

The subordinate's explanation continued without interruption.

That he would have approached Murata Ryunosuke, who was obsessed with sex, using Saigo Kenji's connections to provide the cursed object; that the Elder, although thorough in self-management, had no small curiosity about sex and eventually accepted the proposal; that he would have used the effects of the cursed object to make him feel pleasure unattainable in the human world; and the speculation that in return, he would have received the protection of Elder Murata Ryunosuke.

"Right. It's a plausible story... Yes. If that happened, the Elder would have recommended ghost sex to others..."

"Whether they liked it or not, they couldn't refuse the Elder's words. And once you taste pleasure, you want to keep tasting it, so they would have easily fallen into it."

The subordinate paused for a moment before speaking again.

"But a hole appeared in this seemingly solid alliance of pleasure. That was Uchikawa Ryosuke."

"Hmm. Uchikawa Ryosuke is quite materialistic and has a nature that craves pleasure, so how did he not fall into ghost sex?"

"The reason is that Uchikawa Ryosuke has spirit eyes."

Dr. Sanjiro slapped his knee at the word 'spirit eyes'.

"That's right!"

"Our investigation confirmed that Uchikawa Ryosuke recently acquired spirit eyes."

"Of course. While others wouldn't see the ghosts' true forms and have no reservations, Uchikawa Ryosuke would have seen their true appearance and been horrified!"

Hahahahaha-!

Dr. Sanjiro laughed heartily.

"If it was made to be sold as a plaything in the ghost market, the beauty itself might have been outstanding, but that's only to normal people's eyes! Someone with strong spirit eyes would have seen their appearance at the time of death, so it's no wonder he wouldn't feel aroused!"

"He must have been disgusted. Seeing the scene of mixing bodies with ghosts covered in blood or half-rotten."

"Hmm. Yes, then everything makes sense."

Dr. Sanjiro nodded.

"Uchikawa Ryosuke stole a protective spirit tablet and yin-yang books from the Metropolitan Police Department's evidence storage. That's why he caught our eye. If that was to protect his body from ghosts, and at the same time to secretly send us some kind of signal... Yes, we can use this."

"Yes, that's correct."

"Alright, try to make contact. But since this ghost sex is likely to be Elder Murata Ryunosuke's sore spot... He won't want his shame exposed. Approach very secretly and cautiously so that we don't get caught in the crossfire."

"Understood."

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『 The next Chief Priest has shown interest in the cursed object given by Uchikawa Ryosuke. There is an urgent matter to discuss regarding this, so please come to the shrine tonight. 』