This Japanese Monogatari Isn't Lame
Chapter 83. Transference of Soul Fire

Chapter 83: Chapter 83. Transference of Soul Fire

Spirit flames shot up into the sky, but the only person who could see this was someone with supernatural abilities like Beichuan Si.

As the spirit flames disappeared throughout the city, the spirit lamps carrying them extinguished one by one, until only one lamp remained on the ground.

Yet the flame of this last spirit lamp did not vanish; instead, it sprang up and deftly lingered in front of Beichuan Si.

From this lamp, Beichuan Si seemed to still see the voice and appearance of Sakura Yuki.

The cold prompt tone finally rang out.

System prompt: ’Soul of Xucha High School Martyr’ recovered, intermediate, low-ranking vengeful spirit, awarding 5 skill points. Remaining skill points: 8 points.

The black grudge was absorbed into Beichuan Si’s body, a weight so exaggerated that it could never have come from a low-level wraith.

After absorbing most of the black grudge, a second system prompt reached the ears of Beichuan Si: Detecting that the host’s death qi maximum limit exceeds one hundred, you can enhance the death qi skill branch through 8 skill points and spirit flames.

Death qi maximum value over a hundred?

Beichuan Si brought up the system panel expressionlessly.

It neatly listed Beichuan Si’s current status.

Name: Bai Fan (Beichuan Si)

Composite physical value: 50 (six times the value of an ordinary person)

Death qi: 20/102. (Spirit flames 1/1, can choose skill branch)

Skills: Baji Fist (Intermediate Advanced), Spiritual Dagger Technique (Low Level Basic), Basic Death Qi Application (Intermediate Advanced), Jujitsu (Intermediate Advanced), Unarmed Combat (Advanced Masterful).

Trait: Your traits are destined to always attract strange, supernatural phenomena.

Remaining skill points: 8.

Remaining items: Spirit Talisman (4).

His physical constitution had moved from nearly five times that of an ordinary person to six times, and his death qi had also jumped from its original upper limit of ninety something to a new limit of 102 points.

But these were not what Beichuan Si cared about—

His gaze dropped down to the vast and boundless skill tree at the very bottom.

Enhancement of death qi skill branch.

Only with a death qi threshold of 100 points could one perform the first branch enhancement, which required a spirit flame and 8 skill points.

Further down the gaze, there were all kinds of enhancements for the death qi skill branches.

Erosion, Manipulation, Burst, Shaping...

Beichuan Si was in no rush to enhance, but rather looked at the spirit flame leaping in front of him, his face showing a trace of doubt.

Last time he completed an intermediate wraith task, there was no spirit flame, but this time...

System prompt: Only by completing the obsession of the deceased can you obtain a spirit flame. The amount of the spirit flame is determined by the intensity of the fulfilled obsession.

Beichuan Si was startled, blinking.

Which means...

"Sakura," Beichuan Si reached out to gently hold the glowing light.

This must be the purest longing left behind by Sakura Yuki, and the other spirit flames couldn’t be forcibly absorbed perhaps because the longing in those spirits still had their obsessions.

Beichuan Si looked up.

At this time, he could still vaguely see the spirit flames rising and flying towards various corners of the city.

Those clusters of light were all housing the longings of the deceased...

...

After seeing off the last round of late-night customers, kitchen helper Aida Ichiro untied the dark black izakaya apron, greeted his friend Hayakawa You with a smile, changed into his casual clothes, and plunged into the night on his bicycle.

He was in a hurry to get home because it was again that time of the week.

Upon arriving home, he stopped his bicycle, placed it into the small shed, and Aida Ichiro was about to take out his keys to open the door when it suddenly opened on its own.

Behind the door, Aida Ai Mei, his daughter, jumped out into the view of Aida Ichiro.

"Daddy, welcome home. Would you like to eat first?"

With an apron tied around her, Aida Ai Mei bounced over to Aida Ichiro and asked with a smile.

"Hmm... let’s eat first."

Aida Ichiro smiled.

His wife had an affair and divorced him years ago, and after that, it was just him and his daughter left to support each other, fortunately, Aida Ai Mei was very sensible.

Every time he came back from the izakaya he owned, his daughter would always come to the door early to wait for him.

This was the warmest moment for Aida Ichiro.

No matter the hassle from difficult customers or the pressure of business competition, as long as his daughter was there, he felt that no matter how hard he worked outside, no matter how much he had to bow and scrape to others, it was all worth it.

"Why did you come back so late today? Did you meet some difficult customers?" Aida Ai Mei came forward to take off Aida Ichiro’s scarf, asking with concern.

Looking into her worried eyes, Aida Ichiro felt a pang in his heart and gently shook his head with a smile:

"No, no, everyone is nice, just that today a few drunkards got drunk, so it took me until now to come home."

"Is that so? Then Daddy, go ahead and eat. I’ve almost finished cooking."

Aida Ai Mei returned to the stove, dishing out one after another of the dishes she liked to eat.

Golden, crispy baby ginger tempura, steaming tofu miso soup, and a bubbling fish head sukiyaki hotpot.

For a moment, Aida Ichiro couldn’t tell if it was a fog before his eyes or something that obscured his view.

"Here you go."

Aida Ai Mei cracked an egg into a bowl, added soy sauce, then filled a rice bowl to the brim and handed it to Aida Ichiro with a smile.

"Dad, slow down—Really, you’re eating like you’re starved to death!" Aida Ai Mei teased, watching her father devour his food with exaggerated gusto.

"Ai Mei’s cooking is so delicious, look, I’m even crying while eating," Aida Ichiro said with a smile.

"Really, aren’t you exaggerating a bit?" Aida Ai Mei said, scratching her head, slightly embarrassed.

Just when the atmosphere was pleasant, the phone suddenly rang.

Aida Ichiro wanted to hang up the call directly but was glared at by Aida Ai Mei: "Work is more important."

"...Okay, okay," Aida Ichiro indulgently nodded, stood up, and walked outside the living room. After rubbing his eyes, he answered the call: "Hello?"

"Ichiro, have you thought about what I told you last time? Your cooking skills are so good, if we go to Tokyo and open an izakaya together, we’d definitely make a fortune! At the very least, it’s better than being a little helper at an izakaya in Yashan City."

"...Yoshi, I’ve already mentioned, I have some things here..."

"What things! Ichiro! Wake up! Ai Mei has been dead for ten years! Ten years! Do you think she’d want to see you wallowing like this? Every day when you come home, all you do is drink and stare at Ai Mei’s photos. As an old friend, I’m begging you, please come back."

"I’ll think about it..." Aida Ichiro hung up the phone.

"Daddy!"

Just as Aida Ichiro hung up the phone, Ai Mei’s pleading voice came through:

"Uncle Nakamura is right, I’ve been dead... dead for ten years."

Hearing this, the tears Aida Ichiro had been holding back finally burst forth.

Ten years ago, Ai Mei died in the fire incident at Xucha High School, at that time he was preparing to open an izakaya near Xucha High School.

After hearing the news, he rushed to Xucha High School immediately.

But it was too late, the raging fire consumed not only his daughter’s life but also the lives of other students.

Since then, he had shut down his izakaya, occasionally did odd jobs in the izakayas around Yashan City, living his life in a daze.

"I’ve already died, Dad. It’s time for you to let go."

Aida Ichiro felt Ai Mei’s embrace.

"Daddy."

"I want to taste one more time... the mashed potatoes and stewed meat you made..."

"The dishes you make are always so delicious."

"I... really want to see Dad in the izakaya again, as the head chef... the dad who dreamed of being a chef."

"Move forward... Daddy... move on..."

The voice dissipated, the voice drifted away.

Yet Aida Ichiro dared not turn to look at his daughter.

Cuisine and his daughter were once his everything, and now he had lost both.

The dream of being a chef, he had lost.

The conviction of being a father, he had lost as well.

It was as if he was a ghost... a soul bound, wandering the streets of Yashan City.

The voice from behind finally disappeared.

Tears burst forth unchecked, and Aida Ichiro cried with shame.

A long, long time passed before he came back to his senses.

Behind him was still the warm home, and the fish head hotpot bubbled with boiling bubbles.

Aida Ichiro finished his meal, composed himself, and then called Nakamura Yoshi.

"Yoshi, I’ve thought about what you said, and I..."

...

Lit by the misty glow and the steam rising around, Aida Ichiro placed the stewed potatoes and meat he had prepared before the spiritual shrine.

Looking at his daughter’s brilliant smile in the black and white photo, Aida Ichiro smiled too.

The first dish as a chef, he had to let his daughter taste it.

Yet, an indescribable emotion welled up from his heart.

The leftover food from outside still remained.

Was it an illusion, or had Ai Mei really come back?

Whatever.

Aida Ichiro laughed. He laughed while crying.

The incense burned silently.

The departed have passed on, the living must continue to move forward.