135 "Divine Child" (2/2)

In his previous conversation with Chiaki, he inquired whether any disasters had befallen the Drama Club, and the answer he received had been—

”Our ‘demon’ vice club president has been under so much pressure lately due to the upcoming festival, so her forceful commenting and book-throwing abilities have greatly increased! Every club member, especially the club president, is suffering because of it!”

So, was it truly since Anya Saigenji, the strange person and drama club president who ”captured” Shika Kagura was being harmed (trained) at the hands of the vice club president every day that no calamities befell her!?

Seiji was left dumbstruck when he thought of this possibility. ‘Wtf, is this really possible!?’

What exactly was ”karma,” anyway?

Even this could help to mitigate a ”heaven-sent calamity,” it kind of feels like ”heaven-sent calamities” aren’t really that bad after all!?

Seiji kept up a stream of mental comments.

Natsuya knew what he was thinking about from his expression and couldn’t help but smile wryly.

After all, she found it difficult to believe as well.

For the ‘Reaper’s Curse’ to be mitigated in such a fashion… even though it wouldn’t be completely mitigated, it still sounded a little ridiculous!

Wasn’t the ‘Reaper’s Curse’ supposed to be something more mystical!?

The exact same thoughts ran through her mind when she heard Shika explain the situation to her.

So-called misfortunes or calamities could actually be paid off beforehand like credit card debt… What the hell!!?

The contrast was as stark as the gods in heaven working as the cashiers in the bank next door; in other words, it was truly outlandish!!

Natsuya let out a small cough and cleared her thoughts

”When I heard about this method… from Shika Kagura, I found it unbelievable as well, but according to her, all her previous contractors also used this method to avoid having serious calamities befall them.”

”All her previous contractors?” Seiji asked in surprise.

”Yep, she supports herself financially by hiring herself out as a Spirit-branded Retainer to whoever pays her,” Natsuya explained. ”She used to live in an orphanage until a Yin Yang Master took her in.”

”This Yin Yang Master had discovered that she was the ‘Reaper’s Curse.’ Feeling that she was a useful tool, that person took her and trained her into a Spirit-branded Retainer.”

”Afterwards, that Yin Yang Master became seriously ill. Believing it to be a calamity sent by her powers, that person exiled her.”

”After some other Yin Yang Masters learned about her nature, they contacted her of their own volitions in order to sign temporary contracts with her to use her powers… to accomplish what they wanted. Then, they would dissolve the contract after paying her the contract fee.”

”This continually happened… so without her realizing it, she became a mercenary Spirit-branded Retainer for hire.”

”The act of hiring a human to become your Spirit-branded Retainer is supposed to be registered with the Yin Yang Master Association or dealt with by a personal manager, but she was completely unaware of the regulations… Even if she knew about it, I suspect that trying to get registered or to find a manager would likely fail as well.”

That was all because she was the ‘Reaper’s Curse.’

Everyone wanted to take advantage of her, but also hated and feared her.

Shika Kagura had been living like this in calm isolation.

Seiji was rendered speechless upon hearing this.

”As for ‘mitigation…’ Having some type of harm befall yourself isn’t a definite method, but it was rather effective. It was a way to make use of her without having to accept dire consequences.”

”If the ‘Reaper’s Curse’ ability is used properly, it’s an incredibly strong tool. As long as the risks are properly controlled, it has its own unique value, which was why various Yin Yang Masters would come and employ her,” Natsuya concluded.

Shika Kagura was able to survive until now thanks to people paying her and hiring her.