I, Den-O, the Contract Urban Legend

Looking at the two guys of unknown origin beside her, Yoshie Shinozaki frowned.

[Really? Can't you just tell the truth? ]

……

"First of all, we two are from the future—"

"The future? But why..."

Yoshie Shinozaki couldn't understand why the two people in front of her, one without spiritual power and the other not even human, were reading the Book of Shadows?

"If we don't retrieve the Book of Shadows, you will be attacked by the forbidden technique, and Sachiko will swallow the 'Nirvana' that escaped from the book, and in a few decades, it will cause a crisis that will destroy the world..."

Then, "Inoue Ueya" told the story of Tenjin Elementary School and what he heard from Shinozaki Yoshie who became a ghost.

"Your final conclusion is that the spells recorded in the Book of Darkness are merely theories that have never been put into practice. There are no successful cases, and they are extremely risky."

Shinozaki Yoshie still didn't quite believe the two people in front of her. "Wait, let's assume that what you said is all true. Is it okay to just tell us about the future like this?"

Inoue Ueya thought for a moment and decided to make up an excuse. "Let me think... Anyway, the time-space distortion at Tenjin Elementary School and the erasure of the victims have seriously affected the flow of time. So as a masked man, a time robber... no, as a phantom thief, I need to intervene and restore the normal flow of time. Is this an excuse you can accept?"

"Uh... Phantom Thief, the passage of time?"

For a woman living in 1950, what Inoue Ueya said seemed a little difficult to understand, and Shinozaki Yoshie didn't understand what he meant at all.

"Why so serious? But it doesn't matter. I have a simpler version of the story. Your reckless use of the Book of Shadows has severely affected your future. I'm the only one who can stop you... That's it. Do you understand?"

"..."

Although Shinozaki Yoshie didn't say anything, it could be guessed from her expression that she didn't believe what Inoue Ueya said.

Rather than explaining things to her further, Mr. Inoue thought it would be more practical to continue with the "Phantom Thief" route.

So, "Inoue Ueya" winked at Natsukawa Hanako.

"?"

Hanako Natsukawa realized that "Inoue Ueya" seemed to want to tell her something, but the problem was that she didn't understand what it meant.

There are pictures here, which can be viewed after the updated version

Chapter 37: A Thousand Needles Hidden Behind Words

"No, whether you're a Phantom Thief or a Future Man, even if you say so, I still have reasons why I can't give up!"

In the end, Yoshie Shinozaki still couldn't give up this evil book.

[Hey, have you had enough fun? Ueya, it's time to change people.]

【ha? 】

With a tuft of unremarkable blue hair, Inoue Ueya's eyes flickered with a faint blue light. He smiled faintly and asked, "Even if you know it's impossible to succeed, do you still want to try?"

Shinozaki Yoshie gave a wry smile and asked, "Can you watch the person most important to you die without feeling anything?"

She knew very well in her heart that this was a gamble that was almost impossible to succeed, but as long as there was a slight possibility of success, she didn't want to give up.

"You won't give up even if it means destroying the world?"

"For him, I can be the enemy of the world, because he is half of the world in my eyes."

"Inoue Ueya" looked regretful upon hearing this and shrugged his back.

"Really? Since you're unwilling to hand over the book to us... then there's nothing we can do. Let's go back, Hanako."

"Huh? Are you serious?" asked Yoshie Shinozaki in surprise.

"Since you've made up your mind, I won't stop you. Try to save your husband with what you have."

Shinozaki Sachiko saw Inoue Ueya wanted to leave, waved her hand, and then said: "Come over and play next time, handsome big brother!"

"Well, see you later."

Then, "Inoue Ueya" waved to Shinozaki mother and daughter, and ran away with Natsukawa Hanako.

"Hey, what are you doing? Where's the book? Aren't you going to grab the book?"

Hanako Natsukawa reacted and wanted to stop Inoue Ueya.

But "Inoue Ueya" did not answer, and just walked out of the Shinozaki house holding Natsukawa Hanako's hand.

"Enough, answer me! Why are you giving up like this? Didn't we agree to create the best possible ending? If you don't take the book away, won't all your previous efforts be in vain?"

"Inoue Ueya" smiled slightly and took out a book from his arms. This was exactly the Book of Shadows that Shinozaki Yoshie had just held in her hand!

"No, the Book of Shadows is already in hand."

At this moment, Hanako Natsukawa suddenly realized that this guy had stolen the book long ago?

"I see, is that Inoue guy possessed now?"

“When on earth was this done…”

"Just now, when Zhi accidentally fell, didn't he knock her down with him? So I took the opportunity to swap the Book of Shadows in her hand with something I had on me."

Just now, Miss Sadako took the Book of Shadows away without anyone knowing. At that time, the alert Yoshie Shinozaki kept staring at Inoue Ueya and Natsukawa Hanako, holding the "thing" in her hand tightly in her arms, and did not notice this at all.

Then Miss Sadako suggested to Inoue Ueya that he explain the matter to Shinozaki mother and daughter. This was a simple psychological hint.

After hearing what Inoue Ueya said, Shinozaki Yoshie would not think that her Book of Shadows had been swapped. Instead, in order to prevent the book from being stolen, she would look at him more vigilantly and ignore the situation of the things in her hand.

Finally, the two of them left. For Yoshie Shinozaki, the things in her hands had not been lost, and the only threats to her plan were the two outsiders in front of her. So at this time, she would definitely watch the two of them leave before she could completely put her mind at ease, so she would not notice the problem yet.

"If you want to deceive your opponent, you have to deceive your teammates first. Now that we've left Shinozaki's house, even if she finds us, she won't be able to catch up."

"What? Isn't this amazing!" Hanako Natsukawa smiled.

"Hehe, there are thousands of needles hidden behind the words, the best!"

……

Shinozaki family.

After watching the two of them leave, Shinozaki Yoshie breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finally, I managed to keep the Book of Shadows..."

She let go of the book and looked down...

"This is... a diary? Why a diary? Where's my Book of Shadows?"

As he spoke, a piece of white paper fell out of the diary. There were densely written words on the paper. The content was probably about the research on the bloodline of the family of people with special abilities, and it also recorded the feasible methods to deal with the special curse in the bloodline.

After learning the truth of the incident at Tenjin Elementary School, whether as a bargaining chip to exchange for the Book of Shadows or to help Sachiko Shinozaki regain a happy childhood, Inoue Ueya used Miss Sadako's ability to try to find content related to people with special abilities in modern times, and then recorded the most credible content.

Well, I don't know if it works, but it's better than nothing.

“This piece of paper…”

Looking at the information in front of her, Yoshie Shinozaki immediately put the matter of the Book of Shadows out of her mind. Compared to that strange book of evil magic, the information on this paper seemed more reliable?

Yoshie Shinozaki turned the paper over, and what was written on it was a message for her.

"A treasure is something irreplaceable... As promised, I've taken despair from you, but as for hope, you'll have to earn it yourself. That's all. —A passing thief."

"There's no time to delve into this. I have to save Seiji!"

Without time to think, Shinozaki Yoshie gritted her teeth, holding the white paper in her hand, and hurried into the study.

But without her noticing, a ghost that looked exactly like her ran out of the diary.

"I cannot change my past self." This seems to be the limitation of using Den-liner to travel through time, so Shinozaki Yoshie, who has become a ghost, has never appeared in the diary to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.

"Mother?"

When Sachiko Shinozaki saw Yoshie Shinozaki who had become a ghost, she couldn't help but look surprised.

"It's Sachiko."

"Yoshie Shinozaki" smiled and reached out to touch her head.

"Promise me that you will live well with your mother, okay?"

Shinozaki Sachiko tilted her head and replied, "Well, isn't this a matter of course?"

"Ah, please live happily. As long as Sachiko is by my side, Mom will feel very happy."

A golden light emerged from the body of "Yoshie Shinozaki" and she gradually disappeared from Sachiko's sight.

"Ah, did I see something just now?"

Sachiko Shinozaki frowned, as if she had forgotten something.

……

A rainbow light flashed across the sky, and the time train appeared in front of everyone.

The blue light separated from Inoue Ueya, and Miss Sadako appeared beside him.

Inoue Ueya nodded and finally breathed a sigh of relief. At least all his previous efforts were not in vain. They had already obtained the Book of Shadows.

Turning to look at Yanagihori Ryumine, Inoue Ue also remembered the previous agreement.

"Yoshi, before you go back, let's go to Principal Xia's house first..."

"Ooooh—are you going?"

Hanako Natsukawa was excited when she heard this. It happened that she was freed from the contract with Yoshie Shinozaki and was connected with Ueya Inoue again. So she turned into a ball of red light and drilled into Ueya Inoue's body.

Inoue Ueya, who was once again possessed by Natsukawa Hanako, clenched his fists slightly and shouted loudly: "Yoshi, go beat that guy up!"

Yanagihori Ryumine, who had become a ghost, did not answer, but simply nodded.

[Hey, Hanako, at least let me fight you!]

"Stop talking nonsense! I've been so angry on this trip!"

For some reason, Yanagihori Ryumine, who was staying at home, suddenly shuddered, as if telling himself that something bad was about to happen.

Chapter 38 Inoue Ueya

In the starry night sky, a man in black appeared in front of Yanagihori Ryumine.

"Inoue Ueya" waved his right hand, turned his body to the right, raised his left hand and pointed at the fat uncle in front of him.

"[Sarah, come and count your sins!]"

"what?"

Yanagihori Ryumine was completely confused. He was just staying at home, but was suddenly pulled out by a man in black who said, "It's all your fault that I spent so much effort." Then he was beaten up.

He had originally thought of running away, but when he saw the man in black in front of him pick up a small stone and throw it hard at his feet, creating a big hole in the ground, he immediately gave up the idea.

When one plan failed, he came up with another. He decided to try to beg for mercy from "Inoue Ueya" and try to get the other party to let him go.

"Let me go! If you let me go, I'll give you any amount of money!"

The man in black in front of him became even angrier after hearing this.

"Money? This kind of thing is far less important than what I value!"

“Ahhhhhh——don’t come over here!!”

There was no other way. Since he couldn't escape or fight back, and begging for mercy failed, he had no choice but to take the beating.

"Listen carefully... don't try to become a principal in the future."

"???"

"Got it? Don't try to be a principal in the future, or I'll beat you up again!"

"Hey, I understand..."

"Well, this also fulfills the promise I made to the ghost principal, right?"

Inoue Ueya wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead and returned to the time train. "Huh, this is so satisfying..."

Yanagihori Ryumine, who was lying on the ground with a bruised face and swollen nose, looked confused as he watched the man in black walk into the time train that appeared out of thin air, and then watched the train rise into the air and disappear into the rainbow light.

"Uh, t-what's going on?"