Sakura had been accumulating too much fatigue over the past few days and was unable to relax. Diego's meticulous and precise massage made her feel as if she were melting into a warm dream. She felt light and almost floated away, nearly drifting into sleep in a daze.
However, just as she was beginning to enjoy the rhythm of Diego's massage, her dream came to an abrupt end—the massage was over.
"Huh? That's it?" Sakura was quite surprised.
She glanced at her phone. It had only been less than five minutes!
She hadn't even enjoyed it for long before the hands on her shoulders left, leaving her feeling somewhat disappointed.
"I told you, this is just a trial session that only includes a shoulder massage. A full massage service costs extra," Diego said matter-of-factly.
"Alright then…"
Though disappointed, Sakura had no choice but to stand up.
To her surprise, even though only a few minutes had passed, her shoulders no longer felt heavy. Instead, they felt light and refreshed.
"Master Diego, has my Yang energy been replenished now?" Sakura excitedly shook her shoulders.
Without a change in expression, Diego smoothly lied, "Yes, it's temporarily replenished. However, since the session was too short, the acupoints in your shoulders haven't fully opened. Once your Yang energy is depleted, the replenishment speed will slow down, and you'll return to your previous state."
"So it's only temporary…" Sakura calmed down, a little disappointed. "I need a full massage for it to work, huh? Master, how much would that cost?"
Once again, Diego deceived her. "Not much, just 50,000 yen per full session. If you come once a week for a month, your acupoints will be fully opened, and no evil spirits will be able to get near you."
Of course, this was complete nonsense.
Diego was simply giving Sakura a regular massage—at most, it relieved her fatigue and helped her relax. How could it possibly open her acupoints?
A hot bath might even be more effective than his few minutes of massaging.
Applying the scam techniques he had learned from fraudsters, Diego smoothly executed his con on Sakura.
50,000 yen per session, once a week for a month… that was 200,000 yen in total.
Sakura deeply felt the powerlessness of being broke.
Without money, she couldn't even buy a proper protective charm, let alone replenish her Yang energy.
"What about the protective powder?" she asked.
"Wait a moment."
Diego stepped inside the house. Moments later, he returned, carrying several small packets of powder.
He opened one of them, revealing the pinkish powder inside.
"This is the protective powder that will help you sleep peacefully at night. Take it with hot water half an hour before bed, one packet per day, for a week."
After saying this, he sealed the packet again.
As Sakura memorized Diego's instructions, a strange thought crossed her mind—why did this sound just like taking medicine?
As he watched Sakura leave, Diego massaged his own sore wrists, which had become strained from the massage, and couldn't help but sigh.
"Scamming is really a profitable business. No wonder so many people go into it…"
The so-called protective charms weren't made from century-old peach wood; they were just ordinary wood he had bought from a construction market, worth less than 500 yen.
The massage was free.
And as for the protective powder…
In reality, Sakura wasn't wrong to be suspicious. What Diego had given her was indeed medicine—a common health supplement called melatonin, which had similar effects to sleeping pills.
All Diego had done in the room earlier was crush the melatonin tablets into powder and dye them with food coloring.
A big bottle of melatonin cost less than 1,000 yen. The amount he gave Sakura was worth no more than 100 yen.
Yet, he charged her 20,000 yen in total. After deducting the minimal labor cost, his pure profit was 19,400 yen—essentially a zero-cost scam.
No wonder so many people chose fraud—it was an incredibly lucrative industry.
"No, wait… This isn't fraud," Diego muttered to himself. "I talked with her, provided her emotional support… That kind of value is immeasurable."
Sakura was terrified that her home was haunted and had been feeling deeply uneasy. By talking with her and reassuring her, Diego had essentially played the role of a psychologist, offering her mental relief.
She arrived anxious and left happy. Wasn't that emotional value he had provided her?
How could that be called a scam?
If he were to charge at the rate of a psychologist, 20,000 yen for two hours would be a completely reasonable price.
At least his 'treatment' worked—many therapists charge their patients only for them to leave feeling just as bad, if not worse.
By comparison, he was practically a saint.
As if to affirm this thought, his vision cracked again. His jaw clenched instinctively. A dull pulse throbbed in his head. It was starting to annoy him—this strange, unpredictable eye phenomenon.
Instead of feeling good, Diego frowned and rubbed his chin.
"This is so strange… Why do my broken eyes activate so randomly? Is it related to my psychological state?"
"Does it truly exist? Or am I just having a mental breakdown and using an imaginary perception to justify my own sense of morality?"
"No, that can't be it. My eyes are too conspicuous. If that wasn't enough, I remember how I easily chirped the rail in the hospital when I touched the line."
"But why does it activate like that? Should I continue touching those things? Maybe…. Even cut it?"
After pondering for a while, he couldn't come to any conclusions, so he set the matter aside for now.
—
Diego was a materialist.
He had traveled to this world and had firsthand experience of it, so he believed in the existence of transmigration.
He had obtained King Crimson and these weird eyes and somehow benefited from it so he knows it's real.
However, despite working as an exorcist, Diego did not believe in ghosts, spirits, or supernatural beings.
Why? Because he had never seen them.
If he had never seen ghosts, yokai, or supernatural powers, then on what basis should he believe they exist?
Materialism is the belief in objective reality—trusting only what can be observed.
If someone simply claims that ghosts exist but provides no solid evidence, a materialist will not believe it.
However, if ghosts were to appear before a materialist with undeniable proof of their existence, he would acknowledge them and begin studying their biological structure and reasons for existence.
After all, seeing is believing.
Diego wasn't about to believe someone just because they said, "I'm possessed by a ghost."
If that were the case, should he also believe someone claiming to have the "Evil King's True Eye" or to be a "Dark Flame Master"?
Even in a world where transmigration is real, countless parallel worlds exist, many containing ghouls, giants, ghosts, and yokai. But just because they might exist somewhere doesn't mean Diego has to believe in them here without evidence.
The biggest problem with supernatural believers is that they accept things without question, without investigation, without logical reasoning.
So far, all the "supernatural events" Diego had encountered fell into two categories: either paranoia or trickery.
Perhaps one day he would encounter something truly supernatural, something that would reshape his worldview.
But at least for now, in Diego's eyes, this world was as normal as any other.
A real supernatural event—he had never seen one.
But if possible… he would actually like to.
—
Walking out of the exorcism office, Sakura felt a sense of relief.
Although spending all her money left her heart aching a little, this was the best she had felt in days.
However, the moment she saw the staggering figure ahead—its head larger than a balloon, resembling a mindless, walking corpse—her good mood instantly vanished.
Sakura had been lying to herself.
The truth was, it wasn't just the two spirits in her home that troubled her—it was every spirit in the world.
She was a Magus, however, compared to others, she didn't have much proper training and mostly relied on instinct.
Magus have their own elements and attributes that allows them to cast magecraft far easier than casting an element that doesn't align with them.
Sakura's original attribute was Imaginary Numbers before it was… forcefully changed by her grandfather years ago, causing it to change to water, the specialty of the Matou family.
Just because her original attribute was changed doesn't mean it's gone, and she knows that Imaginary Numbers are the reason why she can see things like this.
It was…. Horrible, she didn't think her life wouldn't get any bad but it got worse a few days ago.
From that moment on, her world changed.
Her world was no longer filled only with the living. Now, the dead were a part of it, too.
These spirits constantly emitted a dark aura, and some had lost their human forms altogether, transforming into grotesque, terrifying creatures.
They sometimes stare at her or approach her, or ignore her.
They existed in a different plane from humans. Even if they collided with a person, there would be no physical contact—their bodies simply phased through.
Most spirits had lost their sense of self and wandered the streets purely on instinct, existing in a state of mutual ignorance with the living.
However, they were extremely sensitive to being watched.
The moment a spirit sensed that someone might be looking at them, they would immediately approach that person and ask:
"Can you see me?"
Sakura had no idea what would happen if she responded, but she knew it wouldn't be good.
So, every time she heard the eerie, guttural voices of the spirits, she pretended not to notice and ignored them completely.
Fortunately, spirits were slow-witted. Even her rather unconvincing acting was enough to fool them and make them leave in disappointment.
It had only been two days since she gained this ability to see things.
She had spent every moment of those two days on edge, unable to relax for even a second. She feared that if the spirits discovered her ability, they would swarm her like zombies.
She didn't even want to imagine what would happen if she were found out.
What Sakura wanted most now was for this ability to disappear—for these spirits to vanish from her world.
But she had no idea who to turn to for help. Who could possibly understand her situation?
Then, this afternoon, she met Diego Seijuro, a man who claimed to be an exorcist.
At the time, she wasn't squatting in place because of a leg cramp—she was frozen in fear.
A horribly disfigured spirit, seemingly a victim of a car accident, was lying directly in front of her, blocking her path.
It was like a dark shadow, always twisting and squirming.
The spirit reached out toward every person who crossed the street, trying to grab their ankles—wanting them to meet the same fate as him.
But his hands were intangible. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't touch a single soul.
Sakura, however, knew she was different.
She didn't dare walk past him. What if he could actually grab her?
She had planned to call her… former sister Rin Tohsaka, for help, but before she could, Diego arrived and led her away from the crosswalk.
After thanking him, she turned back to look at the street—only to find that the spirit was gone.
Diego had been the only one who crossed the road at that time. Given his exorcist profession, Sakura suspected that he had been the one to eliminate the spirit.
And so, with nothing to lose, she visited Diego's exorcism office, hoping he could help her.
At first, she didn't reveal that she could see ghosts.
While Diego seemed competent, she had no idea how skilled he really was or how much he could help.
What if he couldn't solve her problem? What if revealing her secret put her in danger?
So, instead, she asked him to exorcise the two spirits in her home as a test.
If he could do it, then she would feel safe entrusting him with the truth.
However…
His prices were far too high. She simply couldn't afford his services.
She had already spent all her allowance just buying a protective charm.
Now, as she looked at the staggering spirit ahead, she decided this was the perfect time to test whether the charm actually worked.
She could only hope it was effective. If not, Diego's office was only a few steps away—she could make a run for it.
Usually, she would avoid spirits at all costs.
But today, gripping her phone tightly, she mustered her courage and walked straight toward the wandering spirit.
Twenty meters.
Fifteen meters.
Ten meters.
She was getting closer.
At five meters, the spirit suddenly stopped.
It turned its head toward her, its hollow eyes locking onto her.
Sakura's heart nearly stopped.
Had it noticed her?
She instinctively took a step back, preparing to flee at a moment's notice.
But the spirit didn't approach her.
Instead, it seemed to recoil in disgust, as if sensing something repulsive. It suddenly changed direction, stepping aside to let her pass.
Sakura hesitantly glanced at the spirit, only to realize something incredible—
It wasn't looking at her.
It was looking at the charm.
The spirit's face contorted with fear and disgust.
"It works!" Sakura's eyes widened in astonishment, and she exclaimed in excitement.
But in doing so, she made a fatal mistake.
The spirit, which had been ignoring her, suddenly turned its attention back to her.
"Can you see me…?"
Its neck stretched unnaturally long as it swayed its head, slowly advancing toward her.
Sakura's breath caught in her throat.
For a moment, she nearly bolted.
But at the last second, she forced herself to stay still.
Thinking quickly, she put on a cheerful expression which was incompatible with her hollow eyes, held up her phone, and exclaimed, "Yes! I finally got the character I wanted! This charm is amazing!"
"…Can't see me, huh."
The spirit was easily deceived.
Seeing that Sakura's attention wasn't on him, it withdrew its head and turned away in disappointment.
Only when it was completely out of sight did Sakura let out a long breath of relief.
Her heart was still pounding.
But she had just confirmed something important—
The charm worked.
Not only did it keep spirits from coming within five meters of her, but it also made them ignore her gaze.
As long as she didn't do anything to startle them, they wouldn't bother her.
She finally had a way to protect herself.
Clutching the little brown bear charm tightly in her hand, she felt a newfound sense of security.
At first, she thought it was too expensive.
But now, knowing that 20,000 yen could buy her this level of protection…
It was worth every single yen.