“Spirit? Where are you~?”

The guest from Evilus Corporation, who introduced himself as a scientist named Eight, spoke with a playful tone as he began wandering around. Watching him, Riu Spirit furrowed her brow slightly and glared at him.

“…As a guest, you deserve proper treatment, of course.”
“Hmm? Ah—don’t worry about it. I didn’t come here for tea.”
“No, I can’t allow a guest at our center to be treated poorly. That’s something I can’t accept as a host.”
“Hmm… Now that you mention it, that makes sense.”

Eight, finding her statement reasonable enough, willingly rose from his seat and followed Riu Spirit. She led him to a location far from the altar—a key area of her operations, the Spiritual Center itself.

Inside the center, numerous clients were already in meditative poses. Employees bustled about, giving meditation lectures, while a café off to the side served as a space for people to relax or study.

“Meditation and a café… quite the mishmash,” Eight remarked.
“…Do you not know what our center is about?”
“Nope. Do I need to know?”

Riu Spirit’s brow furrowed further at Eight’s deliberately provocative words. Still, she began explaining the center’s purpose.

“Our center provides a place for modern people to stabilize their minds and bodies and help with concentration. We’re often visited by students preparing for exams, entrepreneurs facing major investments, runaway teens dealing with family issues, and even exhausted mothers.”
“Is all that thanks to the Spirit?”
“…It’s the power of feng shui and various supernatural abilities.”
“Oh, no need to hide it.”

Siiigh.

Eight exhaled lightly, understanding that what Riu Spirit said was true—that the effects she described weren’t just psychological.

The space itself was imbued with some profound, mysterious force that granted physical and chemical calmness to those present. Even people who would normally nitpick and cause trouble outside became calm guests here, enjoying the air and atmosphere.

‘Feng shui, huh? What a load of crap.’

People might believe the Spiritual Center employed individuals with special powers to create these effects, but that wasn’t the case. Anyone with such abilities wouldn’t settle for merely running a place like this.

It wasn’t hard to deduce, considering how similar abilities had been exploited in H City. There, a corporation used brainwashing tactics on citizens, turning them into the world’s cheapest labor force and monopolizing the industrial goods market with ridiculously low costs.

They even ignored workplace injuries that left employees maimed without a second thought.

‘But still, could someone really dominate a city with just this?’

Sure, it was a remarkable business. How else could so many people afford to spend their weekday afternoons doing yoga? And this wasn’t even a particularly accessible location.

In other words, people didn’t mind sacrificing their time and effort to come here. Any business capable of attracting this many people was bound to be profitable.

But even so, it was no more than a mid-tier company, incomparable to the global giants waging battles across the world stage.

“Do you have any services for VIPs?”
“Of course. But since you’re not a VIP, I can’t show you.”
“Well, then I just need to become one.”

With that, Eight rummaged in his pocket and pulled out another business card. One of the many fake identities created by Evilus Corporation's AI. Or rather, an existing identity they had enhanced.

[Laémon Investment Company CEO]
Laémon

“…What is this?”
“You’ve heard of it, haven’t you? It’s one of the companies I run as a hobby.”
“A… hobby?”

After the AI incident, a new investment firm had emerged, achieving results that put all other financial companies to shame. Using an incomprehensible amount of funds from unknown origins, they made bold investments no sane human would dare—and succeeded spectacularly, earning a spot among the world’s top corporations almost overnight.

Who would have thought that company was merely a side project of Evilus? Then again, Evilus’s technological prowess was renowned worldwide. Even their openly distributed AI remained unparalleled months after its release. No other software had come close to matching its capabilities.

“How… How much are you investing?”
“Let’s start with, oh, ten billion dollars.”
“Te-Ten billion dollars…?”

She mustn’t accept it.

This was the devil’s whisper, poisoned chocolate offered by an enemy.

Riu Spirit knew this, yet she couldn’t refuse the hand reaching out to her.

Her company was in dire straits, teetering on the brink of collapse under mounting sabotage and slander. Even knowing it was a trick, even recognizing it as a trap, she had no choice but to take it.

“Ah… Shall we head inside to discuss further, VIP guest?”

In the end, she surrendered everything, offering Eight a bright smile. Even her previously stern tone was cast aside.

++++

Riu Spirit led Eight to a private meeting room and began brewing tea herself. Shortly after, she placed a cup in front of him, the aroma alone revealing it to be far superior to the instant coffee he had earlier.

“This is a specialty product from N City that you can’t get even with money these days.”
“Can’t get it with money?”
“Yes. Because the Ancient Tree was completely destroyed.”

At those words, Eight sipped the tea with a faint bitter smile. Even though he wasn’t knowledgeable about tea, the sweetness was enough to make him marvel at how exquisite it was. To think such tea could no longer be obtained—what a cruel twist for those who once savored its flavor.

Still, pity for those people aside, Eight grinned widely as he fixed his gaze on Riu Spirit, seated before him. Feeling his eyes on her, she immediately shifted the conversation to business.

“As you mentioned, our company’s main focus lies elsewhere.”
“Something involving that ‘Spirit,’ I presume?”
“…Yes. Although the heads of other corporations refuse to admit it, the Spirit’s power is very real.”

Not only did Eight know the Spirit existed, but he was also intimately familiar with its abilities. After all, he had experienced them firsthand.

Perhaps aware of this fact, Riu Spirit began to glance cautiously at him. Yet it seemed something more urgent was on her mind, as she quickly got to the point.

“Our work is simple. It’s a kind of ritual.”
“A ritual?”
“Think of it as praying for success in business ventures. That might make it easier to understand.”

Hearing this, Eight grasped what they were doing.
Ah, shamanism.

It was a concept he’d heard about even on Earth—relying on shamans or other mystical figures to pray for success in various endeavors.

The fact that the same practice existed in this world was surprising in its own way.

“We conduct rituals to ensure a business prospers and, in return, receive a portion of the profits from successful ventures. That’s our main operation.”
“Hmmm… Wouldn’t people try to weasel out of paying you?”
“That doesn’t happen. Not only do we only take payment from successful ventures, but those who try to cheat us learn firsthand that we can influence the rise and fall of their business.”

Apparently, there were several cases of people who refused to pay only to have their businesses collapse, leaving them utterly destitute. Hearing this, Eight couldn’t help but think it was a rather well-devised business model.

Riu Spirit didn’t actually do anything. She and her company simply performed rituals, waited for success, and then collected their share. It was a business where they raked in profits just by sitting still.

Of course, such a scam-like business shouldn’t succeed in most cases—at best, it would earn enough for someone to live comfortably for a lifetime. Assuming the Spirit didn’t exist.

‘With the Spirit’s power, every company they pray for will likely succeed. And as word spreads, more and more people desperate for results will turn to them…’

The number of businesses the Spiritual Center had a hand in and the sums of money they collected were unimaginable. The fact that they managed to rank among the top 26 global corporations with this parasitic structure spoke volumes.

“─Very well. I happen to have a business I’d like to invest in and ensure its success.”
“Ah, I see. I’ll bring the contract.”
“Before that—may I meet the Spirit?”
“…That’s, well—”
“Is it not possible?”

As Riu Spirit hesitated, Eight nonchalantly scribbled on the contract in front of him. It was as if visions of ten billion dollars flashed across her eyes. After a brief moment of contemplation, she cautiously opened her mouth.

“P-please, follow me…”

Soon after, she guided Eight to the altar. Standing before it, he watched quietly as she began to pray.

“Oh, Spirit, another soul in need of your power has come before you…”
“Please, Spirit.”

Eight smiled brightly as he looked at the altar. Moments later, something indescribable began to crawl out of it.

Pale—no, it could only be described as ghostly white, the entity slithered into view and locked eyes with Eight. He didn’t avert his gaze, holding firm as he met the Spirit’s stare.

‘So this is the Spirit…’

As Eight looked into the Spirit, it felt as though the Spirit was gazing back into him.

A mutual examination, an exploration of each other.

An unspoken, indescribable exchange stretched on, long and profound.