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Chapter 247 – Magazine Journalist Haruhara Part 2
“Interesting story?”
When I asked, Haruhara leaned forward and said,
“Yes. Do you know about Tozaki’s adoptive mother, his real grandmother?”
He said something like that.
“It sounds like a complicated relationship.”
“It seems that Tozaki’s grandmother took him in as her adopted son. Well, that wasn’t that unusual back then, and it still happens today…”
“So what’s the problem?”
“It’s not really a problem. It’s just that the grandmother who raised Tozaki was a famous spiritual medium in certain circles. There are some suspicious stories that she was involved with the government during the war and gave advice to the military. There are even more dubious stories that she tried to curse Roosevelt to death.”
“Roosevelt… the American president? Isn’t that a bit far-fetched?”
“No, it’s true. There’s a story that Roosevelt’s sudden death was the result of Japanese military leaders gathering monks to perform a curse to subdue the enemy country. I heard about it when I was working for an occult magazine.”
“You used to do that kind of work, too?”
Come to think of it, Haruhara in this world dropped out of high school, so he probably didn’t get hired by a top publishing company like the Bunshu Times right out of college.
It seems like he’s had a tough time in the job world, just like me.
“Well, that’s not the point. Tozaki’s grandmother was a spiritual medium—basically a shaman like Itako of Osorezan. Apparently, she used to channel the spirits of Japanese soldiers who had died in battle to get information about the war situation. Maybe it was because of that, or maybe it was the shock of defeat, but after the war, she developed mental disorders and became obsessed with certain ideas.”
“Summoning the spirit, huh?”
“You may not believe it, but what you did before was similar.”
“That’s true…”
It seems that the mountain ascetic practices at Tengumine Shrine really did have occult powers.
It wouldn’t be strange if there was “real” magic in this world before the dungeons appeared.
“It’s fine for me to summon them with my abilities, but it’s another thing if you have to ‘bring them down’ into your own body like the Itako do.”
“That’s right. That might have been the cause of the mental disorder that happened to Yoruha Tozaki… Tozaki’s grandmother.”
“You said she was possessed. Did that affect Tozaki’s upbringing?”
“Yes. Yoruha believed that the divine nation was defeated because its leaders lacked the qualities of a king. I guess it’s understandable that people thought that way back then, but Yoruha went a step further.”
“How so?”
“Yoruha argued that there is no one in this land who has the qualities of a king. But that is not the country’s fault. As long as people are bound by their attachment to themselves, it is impossible for them to possess the perfect qualities of a king. In other words, no matter how many millions of people there are in this country, no one with the qualities of a king will ever be born naturally. If he cannot be born naturally, then he must be created artificially. Fortunately or unfortunately, Yoruha knew a way to do it. If the human obsession with self is an obstacle, then perhaps by completely removing it, it would be possible to artificially create the perfect vessel for a king…”
“Remove the obsession with self…”
“Yoruha is a spirit medium. To transfer another person’s soul into one’s body, one’s own soul must be an obstacle. Yoruha had mastered an ancestral technique to ‘kill’ one’s own soul. This technique of killing one’s soul… It’s obviously a special form of training. By teaching it to a child with the right aptitude from a very young age, one might be able to artificially create the vessel of a king.”
“Does this mean that Tozaki was exposed to this technique by his grandmother, Yoruha?”
“Tozaki himself apparently showed signs of spiritual abilities at a young age. Yoruha noticed him, adopted him, and decided to teach him the technique of killing his soul herself.”
“Wait, wait. If that’s the case, doesn’t that mean that Tozaki has no sense of self? I think that’s the exact opposite of how the world sees him…”
“A psychopathic egoist and the ruthless CEO of a black company. That’s certainly how the public sees Tozaki. But at the same time, there’s a certain trend in how people describe him. When you talk to Tozaki, you feel like you’re talking to someone else.”
“What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. Tozaki can be a cold-hearted CEO at times. That’s a fact, but when he’s like that, he resembles a certain famous CEO of another black company. Not just similar, but too similar. At other times, Tozaki becomes a shrewd politician. And his behavior…”
“…resembles that of another politician?”
“Yes. His street speeches are strikingly similar to those of another politician. Even when he acts like a businessman, his personality seems to change completely depending on whether he’s dealing with subordinates or external parties. He’s not completely cold-hearted; sometimes he acts like a man of compassion. However, his behavior in that compassionate mode is almost identical to that of a certain celebrity.”
“It is not acting. It’s more like copying someone’s personality.”
“That’s exactly what it looks like. Maybe his grandmother, Yoruha, had a similar ability. It’s not like she was summoning real spirits, but rather emulating the target’s personality and making it her own… I don’t know, maybe it was some kind of emulation mechanism.”
“Well, it’s more reasonable than thinking that ghosts existed before the dungeon.”
Speaking of acting, it is acting.
However, even the performances of actors are sometimes described as if something possessed them.
It is possible that Yoruha’s spirit summoning was a further refinement of that.
Then I suddenly realized something.
Tozaki’s unique skill, “Change of Strategy.”
This skill distorts a person’s thoughts in a certain direction, making it seem as if their personality has changed.
Perhaps the background to Tozaki’s awakening to the Change of Strategy was the special “education” his grandmother, Yoruha, had given him.
I haven’t told Haruhara about the Change of Strategy yet.
It’s information related to our plan, so I can’t just let it slip.
Of course, I’ve already checked his status and confirmed that Haruhara himself is not under any “strategy”.
The reason Haruhara isn’t under “strategy” is probably because he didn’t vote for the ruling party in the proportional representation district in the last election.
Tozaki’s status was hidden by the system.
The protection on Harukamiwa Hayato’s status may become visible as my Usurper’s unique bonus increases, but something else is needed to see Tozaki’s status.
Of course, my plan is designed to work even if I can’t see the status.
However, not knowing the details of Tozaki’s unique skill is a cause for concern.
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