Chapter 17: Noticing the Clues

Hearing the news of her “husband’s” promotion, Nakano Risa’s heart skipped a subtle beat.

A promotion meant higher status and income—something significant for any household.

“Really?” Her eyes widened, the corners of her lips lifting into a delighted smile, her voice brimming with excitement. “Congratulations, honey! That’s amazing! What position is it?”

Her performance was flawless, like a wife genuinely proud of her husband’s career advancement.

“Acting section chief,” he replied briefly, as if unwilling to elaborate. “The original section chief ran into some issues and can’t perform his duties for the time being. The company decided to have me fill in temporarily.”

“Acting section chief! That’s still incredible!” She clasped her hands lightly, admiration sparkling in her eyes. “You’re amazing, honey! I always knew you were capable—you just needed the opportunity! This is great!”

The man quietly watched her for two seconds, taking in her “wifely” joy and praise.

Then, the corner of his lips twitched upward ever so slightly, forming a faint curve almost impossible to catch.

“Thank you.”

The smile vanished as quickly as it appeared, so fast it almost seemed like an illusion—yet it sent an inexplicable chill down Risa’s spine.

She hurriedly steered the conversation back to safer ground. “So, I really don’t need to prepare a bento tomorrow? That makes things much easier for me.”

“Mm, no need to tire yourself out,” he confirmed. “There’s a good family restaurant in the zoo. We’ll have lunch there.”

“Okay, I’ll go with that.”

She nodded obediently, genuinely feeling a weight lift off her shoulders.

Not having to wake up at dawn to cook rice, shape rice balls, and prepare side dishes was a huge relief for a “novice housewife” like her.

It meant she could sleep a bit longer tomorrow and prepare for going out at a more relaxed pace.

Dinner ended in a slightly subtle atmosphere.

After the meal, her husband sat on the living room sofa as usual, picking up the remote and casually flipping through channels.

The flat tone of news anchors and the exaggerated laughter of variety shows alternated, forming background noise.

As always, Nobuhito quietly cleared his own dishes and placed them in the sink before heading upstairs to his room and shutting the door.

Nakano Risa washed the dishes in the kitchen. The sound of running water echoed clearly in the quiet house, yet it couldn’t wash away the tangled thoughts in her mind.

Promotion. A raise.

An extra 30% income starting next month.

For any ordinary family, this would be good news worth celebrating with a bottle of sake.

But when she thought about the man sitting in the living room—whose core had already been replaced by some unknown, non-human entity—this “good news” instantly lost its warmth. Instead, it felt like a heavy block of ice pressing against her chest, seeping threads of cold into her heart.

Why was he doing this?

Was it simply to make the identity of “Nakano Masao” more natural and stable?

Or was it to deceive her and Nobuhito?

What exactly did that thing want from the two of them?

“Stop! Don’t think about it!” Risa shook her head forcefully, as if trying to throw those unsettling thoughts away.

Cold water splashed onto her face, clearing her mind a little.

Thinking more about it now was useless.

The reality was that the entity currently seemed intent on playing the roles of “husband” and “father,” even showing a certain degree of “consideration” (like sparing her from preparing tomorrow’s bento).

It hadn’t shown direct malice, nor any overtly strange behavior.

And she—a transmigrated soul with no roots here—what choice did she have other than to carefully go along with the act?

Ten minutes later, she dried the last plate and gently placed it into the cabinet.

The faint clink of dishes echoed in the empty kitchen.

She turned around, leaning against the cold counter, her gaze unconsciously passing through the glass door toward the living room.

The man’s silhouette was embedded in the interplay of light and shadow. He sat in a relaxed posture, eyes on the TV, his profile both familiar and unfamiliar under the shifting light.

He sat there quietly, yet felt like a black hole absorbing all the light around him.

A thought suddenly flashed through her mind.

Since the system could display the favorability of specific targets toward her, then could it also…

“System,” Risa called silently in her mind, “can you detect whether there are any other ‘beings’ in this house besides my ‘husband’—ones I can’t see with my naked eye? Can I… check their ‘favorability’ toward me?”

After a brief delay, text began to refresh on the system interface:

[Non-human observation entities detected.]

[Entity A: “Mokuro.” Location: second floor, outside Nakano Nobuhito’s bedroom door. Status: continuous surveillance. Favorability toward host: 5 (extreme indifference).]

[Entity B: “Mikoshi-nyūdō.” Location: southeast corner of the kitchen ceiling, suspended. Status: continuous observation of host. Favorability toward host: 20 (cold / mildly curious).]

[Note: “Mikoshi-nyūdō” is commonly a tsukumogami or low-level yokai found in residences, resembling a plump monk. It likes to peek from high places and is usually harmless, but can be driven by stronger beings as an observer.]

“Mikoshi-nyūdō”… a round, plump yokai… watching me from the kitchen ceiling?

A cold shiver shot from the base of her spine to the top of her head. The hairs on her back stood on end, and cold sweat instantly soaked through her inner clothes.

She forced herself to maintain her posture against the counter, not even daring to disrupt her breathing rhythm, though her fingertips had already gone icy cold.

Her caution had been right.

Completely right.

There was more than one pair of “eyes” in this house!

Aside from the “Mokuro” monitoring Nobuhito, there was another one hanging right above her head, silently watching her wash dishes, watching her space out.

If at any moment in the past two days she had let her guard down, revealing confusion or curiosity that didn’t belong to “Nakano Risa”…

If she had tried to dig into the secrets of this house, or done anything that didn’t align with the original owner’s behavior…

Then these watchers would have immediately reported the “anomaly” to that man.

And what would await her then?

She didn’t even dare imagine it.

To be able to command two yokai as observers and have them obediently carry out long-term surveillance… the existence occupying her husband’s body was likely far beyond her initial estimation.

So it definitely wasn’t some ordinary possessing spirit.

At this level, it was probably some kind of yokai leader—or something even more terrifying.

W-w-w… this is way too scary!

This wasn’t a normal survival challenge—this was hell mode right from the start!

Just as she was screaming internally while forcing herself to remain calm on the outside, the man in the living room seemed to sense something. He suddenly turned his head, his gaze passing precisely through the glass door and landing on her face.

Their eyes met briefly in midair.

Risa’s entire body trembled, her heart nearly leaping out of her throat.