There was a clear commonality in all their stories. But the Mysterious Person, who enjoyed adding insult to injury, deliberately didn't spell it out — instead waiting for the girls reading the diary to connect the dots on their own.
Because of this, Ruri privately grumbled about the Mysterious Person and began investigating on her own, trying to uncover the true identity of Eromanga Sensei. Fortunately, the other diary holders were always alert to names mentioned in the entries. Ruri was confident it wouldn't be long before someone in the chat uncovered Eromanga Sensei's situation.
Complaints aside, Ruri had to admit the Mysterious Person's advice was far more practical than her own dream of becoming a light novel author. Compared to writing, she was much more confident in her programming and gaming abilities.
With livestreaming just starting to gain traction, the Mysterious Person's suggestion made sense: if she streamed games, she might genuinely be able to earn money. At least then her family wouldn't have to work so hard.
Tonight, Ruri was on her beat-up old computer — one she had painstakingly built from second-hand parts — working on 3D modeling.
The designs the Mysterious Person provided were embarrassing, but compared to revealing herself in person, this method felt much safer. With adjustments and modifications, no one should be able to recognize her identity.
She had just started drawing again when the entire room suddenly went dark. Her younger sisters screamed in panic from next door.
As the eldest, and with her parents still at work, Ruri immediately rushed to calm them down. Once they were settled, she picked up her phone, complained in the chat group, and went to check the circuit breaker.
At first, she thought it was just a minor accident. But after resetting the breaker and returning to her room, the power tripped again within minutes. This time she realized something was wrong.
She carefully checked the house's appliances — nothing seemed faulty. After telling her sisters to stay put, she reset the breaker once more, this time waiting near it. Several minutes passed without a trip. Frowning, she muttered:
"Strange… should I call someone tomorrow to check the wiring?"
Since the power held, she returned to her room and sat down at her computer.
But after only a few minutes, the TV in the living room blared to life.
"Hina, are you watching TV? Didn't I tell you not to watch after eight?" Ruri called out. Her second sister, Hinata, only ten years old, should've been in bed already.
Moments later, Hinata hurried into her room with a puzzled expression.
"I was telling Tama-chan a story. Didn't you turn on the TV, Sis?"
Ruri frowned. Hinata wasn't the type to lie about something so small. If she'd wanted to watch a bit more TV, she would've confessed.
So if it wasn't Hinata… who had turned it on?
Stepping out, Ruri found the living room TV glowing. A chill prickled down her spine. She double-checked with Hinata, who confirmed again they hadn't touched it.
Her throat went dry. "A… ghost?" she whispered.
Before the diary, she might have brushed this off as her own chuunibyou imagination. But now she knew spirits existed. She had even listened as Miko described in detail how grotesque they looked.
Yet vengeful spirits couldn't usually affect physical reality — they couldn't trip breakers or switch on TVs.
Then she remembered what Kamubo had mentioned: yokai, too, were reawakening in modern times.
"Could a yokai have entered our home?" Ruri muttered, quickly sending a private message to Kaguya for advice.
---
When Kaguya saw Ruri, who usually argued and postured, suddenly acting timid, she was intrigued. The idea of yokai surfacing was new. She immediately reached out to Kamubo for guidance.
Kamubo, now living under the name Takeda Misae, replied calmly:
"I haven't dealt directly with yokai, but yes, there've been more rumors in recent years. Still, don't panic. This is Tokyo — it's unlikely for anything too dangerous to appear. Most likely, it's a minor yokai playing pranks. They're usually harmless."
Kaguya, however, didn't fully trust the so-called official supernatural agencies. After all, Mihana Town was swarming with spirits, and no one had lifted a finger.
Misae elaborated:
"Vengeful spirits are weak — most can't affect reality. They appear and vanish constantly, and cursed spirits or yokai often devour them. They're not usually exterminated, just monitored.
Cursed spirits are rarer but more dangerous, and there are agents who handle them.
But yokai… yokai are different. They think, they gather, they interfere directly with humans. That's why the hidden world pays closer attention to them. If a major yokai had appeared, the headquarters would've noticed already.
What's at your friend's house is probably just a small prankster. A meal offering is often enough to appease them — sometimes they even stay on as protectors, like the old tales of zashiki-warashi bringing luck to families."
Her tone turned sly. "If your friend doesn't mind, I could come check. If it is a zashiki-warashi, Lady Kaguya, would you want it for yourself?"
Kaguya wasn't interested. The Shinomiya family didn't need extra "luck." But for someone like Ruri, whose family struggled, such a spirit might be a blessing.
Relieved, Ruri sent her address. She followed Misae's instructions: leaving the TV on for her sisters while she guarded the living room entrance, waiting nervously.
Little Tama-chan happily watched cartoons, while Hinata sat stiffly.
Hinata had overheard Ruri's earlier call and knew her sister suspected a monster. Normally she'd laugh it off as Ruri's chuunibyou antics — the magic circles, the "summoning rituals," the fake friends on her phone. But lately, Ruri seemed different.
She was stronger. She cleaned without tiring. She spoke about "breathing methods" like they actually worked. And Hinata had seen it with her own eyes — arcs of light sparking from her sister's hands late one night.
Her sister wasn't pretending. She had powers.
So when Ruri said "monster," Hinata believed it. Maybe it was even true.
Focused on this, Hinata didn't notice the small brown mouse perched behind them on the cabinet, eyes glued to the television.
Jerry yawned. He'd nearly missed his favorite show tonight because of this errand. Settling down, he muttered, "This black cat isn't so bad — even called her sisters over to watch with me."
But compared to Renji Miyauchi's place, this home was shabby. The other mice here were filthy and crude — gnawing, stealing, and spreading parasites. They lacked the elegance a mouse should have. Jerry decided he'd teach them manners later.
But his entertainment was cut short by the arrival of an uninvited guest: an elderly woman with an aura that reeked of spiritual power.
"That must be the Kamubo Renji mentioned," Jerry thought, narrowing his eyes. "Did the black cat call her to deal with me?"
But the aura wasn't as oppressive as Tom's had been, so Jerry simply stayed still, tail twitching, pretending to be just another rodent. The show wasn't over, and he wasn't about to miss it.
---
Misae stepped into the Gokou home, listening to Ruri's hurried account before greeting the two little sisters. She was about to put on a performance — prove her worth in front of this skeptical girl — when she caught sight of the mouse.
A brown mouse, sitting brazenly on a cabinet, eyes fixed on the glowing TV screen.
Her nose wrinkled. The house wasn't messy, but a mouse showing itself so openly? Embarrassing. Still, this was her chance to impress.
She slipped out a string of prayer beads. Normally, she wouldn't waste spiritual energy on pests. But tonight, she had to demonstrate her power.
Crushing a few beads, she released a wave of energy into the room — testing whether the "mouse" would react, and whether anything else might stir in the shadows.
---
✨ End of Chapter 44
[a/n]= guys check out new fanfiction i am uploading and it name is = [They Asked for a Game, I Gave Them Pirates of the Caribbean]