Wandering spirits emerging from abandoned houses, entities summoned by spirit dances, bullied students who'd been beaten to death, possessed suits of armor, and even human sacrifices buried inside bridge pillars by the yakuza.
A chaotic mess—every kind of ghost imaginable.
They weren't particularly powerful individually—a single Mind Blast could destroy them—but they just kept coming, day after day. That was the annoying part.
With so many ghosts and frequent paranormal activity, occult items sold exceptionally well...
Bella had casually crafted three lucky rabbit's feet, and they sold instantly without any haggling.
This made her think of her friend, the cursed one—Heather.
Heather was still running the occult shop with her boyfriend, but sales in San Francisco remained abysmal. They were barely keeping the business afloat.
"Seriously, occult items sell like hotcakes here. If you're interested, you guys should open a branch store in Japan."
Bella genuinely cared about her friends. Even though Weyland Magic Item Store no longer had anything to do with her, she still offered advice over the phone.
"Look, you could bring rabbit's feet, totems, and holy water here to sell, then buy Japanese talismans, ritual implements, and prayer beads to sell back in America. Trust me, you'd make a fortune."
It was the classic "grass is greener" principle. Japan had invested heavily in promoting its cultural products, so Americans found Japanese items mysterious and exotic, enhanced by that Eastern mystique. Many Japanese occult items had a strong market in the U.S. Conversely, Native American tribal goods were considered rare treasures in Japan.
After discussing it, Heather and Max both agreed she had a point. They immediately packed their bags and flew to Japan.
Bella helped them lease a storefront and handle all the preparations.
To her surprise, their occult shop became wildly popular in Tokyo. A single day's revenue exceeded an entire month's earnings in San Francisco.
The two of them were raking it in.
Max, now a business owner, drove around in a Ford and wore tailored suits with his little mustache neatly groomed. His whole demeanor had transformed.
Through constant exposure, Max had absorbed quite a bit of occult knowledge from Bella—more than enough to fool ordinary people.
Of course, he hadn't stopped learning. Using Heather as a bridge, he occasionally picked up new knowledge from Bella.
Although it was all theoretical, his rich knowledge base allowed him to confidently lecture clients. Gradually, Max carved out a reputation in Tokyo's exorcism circles.
Several of his exorcisms were fake—there were no ghosts at all, and he'd simply talked his way through.
Twice he actually encountered real ghosts, but fortunately they weren't very powerful. Max managed to scrape through with several talismans Bella had made and Heather's chainsaw.
After discovering that exorcism paid better than selling goods, Max clung even tighter to Bella's coattails, frequently buying talismans from her—ones she'd crafted by studying onmyōdō techniques. Some worked, some didn't.
In critical moments, just throwing them all out at once was quite effective.
Max had initially caught vampire Alice's eye because of his good looks, and with occult knowledge backing up his conversation skills, he had no problem impressing people. Armed with talismans for safety, various advantages converged to help him take on increasingly high-level commissions.
Add to that Heather's status—the American President's niece's boyfriend! The position wasn't particularly high, but it certainly wasn't low either. Through his excellent exorcism skills, Max quickly became a regular guest of many Japanese officials and wealthy elites, gathering intel while helping them with their supernatural problems.
"Gentlemen, you are the finest exorcists the Yashida family could find. I hope you can help me resolve this matter. The Yashida family will reward you generously."
Stern-faced with impeccably groomed hair, Shingen Yashida, the current head of the Yashida family, surveyed the exorcists below with considerable authority.
Among them was an eminent monk from Kegon-shū's main temple, Tōdai-ji, a Southeast Asian master of voodoo curses, and Max—who claimed to have mastered both Native American and ancient Eastern mystic arts and styled himself the "Sorcerer Supreme"!
This "Sorcerer Supreme" title had absolutely nothing to do with Bella. He'd given himself the name because he thought it sounded cool. By his own account, having integrated Eastern and Western mysticism, calling himself Sorcerer Supreme was perfectly appropriate.
As the head of a major conglomerate, Shingen Yashida spoke excellent English. Everyone present could understand him without any language barrier.
"Mr. Yashida, rest assured—no ghost can escape my curses. I'm even more ruthless than the spirits themselves!" The voodoo master, a blind old man, declared viciously.
The other exorcists were more cautious. Just from Shingen Yashida's grand preparations, they could tell the supernatural threat was real. Unlike their previous cons, this would require actual work. If the voodoo master wanted to take point, they were happy to let him.
Even Max, typically an overconfident American youth, kept quiet, merely expressing his commitment to give his all.
"Good. I can see your determination." Shingen Yashida interlaced his fingers and gathered his thoughts.
"This story begins twelve years ago. At that time, I hadn't yet inherited the family business. I was using the alias Ryuji Takayama, and I met a woman named Reiko—Asakawa Reiko..."
He began recounting the investigation he and his former girlfriend, Asakawa Reiko, had conducted into a cursed videotape.
Ring ring ring! An annoyingly loud ringtone jolted Bella awake.
Still drowsy, she pointed toward the nightstand. "Sakura, check who's calling..."
Sakura Dragon craned her neck to look at the screen. "Little Bei, it's your sister calling."
"I'll take it!" Bella immediately perked up, making a shushing gesture at Sakura Dragon before grabbing the phone.
"Dear sister, what's up?" someone said in an affected tone.
"Nothing much, just wanted to ask you something. Last time... did I hear a woman's voice on your end?"
Bella firmly denied it. "You're imagining things! It's just me! Don't suspect Heather—she has a boyfriend, and besides, she flew back to America yesterday. We're really just friends..."
She chatted with her adopted sister for half an hour.
Actually, there was nothing important—Natasha was just bored and wanted someone to talk to.
Less than half an hour after hanging up, the phone rang again.
Bella said lazily, "Sakura, see who's calling..."
Sakura Dragon stretched her neck to look. "Little Bei, your phone says 'Idiot Employee.' Should be that mustachioed Max guy."