Please to Kitsune-sama!

Chapter 160 : A Certain Man’s Story

The man awoke inside a bus.

“Crap… I fell asleep.”

He knew he was tired after working the night shift—but where had the bus carried him?

It wasn’t moving. In fact, the engine was completely shut off.

Not a single other passenger in sight, not even the driver.

“Did they not notice me still inside?” he thought, recalling the urban legend.

But no, it looked more like the bus was just parked at a stop, standing still. Maybe the driver was on break?

“Well, this could be fun. If I tweet about it, maybe it’ll blow up.”

The doors were left open.

Deciding to step outside, he checked the bus stop sign, hoping to learn where he was, when the bus would depart, and where it was bound. With that, he could figure out the rest.

“Uh… Kisaragi? Where’s that? Never heard of it… And the timetable’s all smudged—can’t read it.”

Sighing, he pulled out his phone.

With GPS and a map app, finding his current location and the way home was trivial.

It looked rural, sure, but that would only make for a good story later—something to share over drinks or at a mixer.

That thought reassured him, until…

“…Huh? No signal? Seriously? Not even GPS? That’s impossible…!”

Map apps that needed internet were one thing. But GPS worked offline too. In the open outdoors like this, losing both was unthinkable.

“Oh wait—the bars are back. Don’t scare me like that.”

Full reception again—three strong bars. Relieved, he checked his current location.

[Unable to determine location.]

“What the hell!?” he shouted aloud.

He had never seen that before.

But he didn’t give up. He had the name of the bus stop. That was enough to search—or, worst case, he could call the police.

Clicking the first search link, he opened the page.

[You cannot go home.]

A chill ran down his spine. His hand slipped, nearly dropping the phone, before he clutched it back in panic.

He closed the disturbing page immediately.

But his heart was pounding. Something was wrong. Something had caught him.

The police wouldn’t do.

The Awakener Association—yes. That was the right call. He dialed their emergency line.

『This is the Awakener Association emergency hotline. Is it monsters? A dungeon?』

“S-something weird happened! I don’t know what’s going on!”

『It’s alright. Please calm down. Can you describe your situation?』

The calm voice on the other end steadied him. Relief spread through his chest.

It would be fine. Even now, he would be saved.

“I was on a bus, it stopped at some place called Kisaragi… There’s no one around, no signal, GPS doesn’t work! Please help!”

『Understood. If you walk along the road, you’ll reach the town. That will take care of everything. You’ll be fine.』

“…R-really?”

『Yes. Everything will be fine.』

“I… I see. That’s good…”

Yes. If he reached the town, there would be a police box, even a branch of the Association.

That would solve everything.

Ending the call, he began walking.

Sure enough, he soon saw buildings ahead.

The smell of curry drifted in the air… warm, comforting, safe.

The houses were quaint, old-fashioned in design—perhaps it was just a rural area.

“First things first, need to find the police box… Maybe ask someone nearby.”

Walking further, he found an old town map sign.

Rare these days—but very useful.

“Let’s see… school, hospital… police box, that’s it. Wait—station? That’s a joke, right?”

Trains didn’t exist anymore.

Destroyed in the monster disasters, then deemed far too vulnerable to return.

Every station in Japan was now a memorial or replaced with a bus terminal.

Maybe here, too.

“Alright, got it. Let’s go.”

He snapped a photo of the map for safety, then walked on.

The evening glow made the streets strangely pleasant.

His heart felt lighter.

No more worries. Truly, he believed—deep down—that everything was fine now.

And then… some time later.

The town’s loudspeakers crackled to life.

『Today’s announcement. One dead. Ryota Suzuki. Torn to pieces, dead. How pitiful, so very pitiful. Everyone, let’s sing and see him off.』

The voice was warped, distorted as if through a voice changer, echoing across the town.

But nothing—no one—reacted.

And so, the man’s disappearance would go unknown to the wider world… for some time yet.