Makoto pulls a scrap of paper from his rucksack and begins to scribble something on it with a marker. He tapes it to the sign advertising his services. 25% off! There. Makoto smiles contentedly with his handiwork, if only a hint of pain that he'd cut his pay to try and attract at least one customer.

after what feels like hours, a totally not at all suspicious man in a long, dark cloak approaches the table, Luard recognizes Makoto from GYM, though they might not have seen him, regardless, it is the sign that interests him. Ghost summoning? Worth looking into at least Hello again, we may not have met earlier. You may call me Luard. Though, I must ask, what forms of payment do you accept? Unfortunately I have not had the time to convert to the standard currency yet

Makoto looks up from the table, a confident smirk running across his face. A pleasure, Luard. My name is Makoto Fukami. As for the payment, I suppose whatever you have will do. I'm certain I'll find a way to convert it to yen. At least, I hope most shops take yen, you see, most people here seem to be from SOME variant of Earth, so I think it's safe to say I'll eventually run into someone who's Japanese. Makoto takes a seat, and motions for Luard to do the same. Are you here for summoning, or exorcism?

Luard nods, slowly taking his place in the seat opposite Makoto I'm here to observe a summoning, I've never seen an actual ghost, so I am somewhat interested in scanning one. I do trust you will be able to deal with any creature you bring forth, correct? Luard slowly draws out a tablet from within his cloak, useful for simple note-taking at least. As for the payment, it shouldn't be too hard to convert. In my experience almost every society values gold to some extent

Makoto's eyes widen in surprise, not at the payment method, but at the request. Just... observe? No particular person you wish to reach? Very well. For this summoning, I will channel the soul of the Pharaoh Tutankhamen. Watch closely. Makoto retrieves a sphere from his rucksack and places it down on the table. This item contains the soul of Tutankhamen. Normally it's much more simple to summon a spirit requested, but I can manage. Makoto holds the sphere with one hand, and begins to draw some obscure symbol in the air with the other. Upon completion, a spectral yellow symbol representing an eye forms over the air his hand had touched. The sphere goes through the symbol, and a bright turquoise specter flies out of it. It begins to levitate near Makoto, giving a clear view of it. The spirit seems to be a black cloud holding a vest aloft. The vest connects to the Nemes Headress which is commonly associated with the Pharaohs. There are two glowing cyan crescents acting as eyes for the phantasm, and two horns protruding beneath them. At present, you cannot communicate with it. That is entirely up to the spirit itself.

Luard quickly types down some notes, primarily on the appearance of the ghost, not particularly humanoid is the first thing to occur. Though he is not entirely sure who tutankhamen is, the internet is a wonderful place to find the basics. After a moment, Luard looks back up from his screen Very well, I do not mind not speaking to the spirit. I have more questions for you honestly. Is this summoning a unique trait you possess, or is it more inherent into the sphere you used? In other words, could anyone theoretically do it so long as they had a similar object?

Makoto scoffs at the suggestion that he could be so easily replaced. It is not unique, there are others like me, but we have been trained as such. The object you see is merely a direct conduit to Tutankhamen's soul, but that conduit cannot be opened by anyone not trained for such a task. I needn't have the Eyecon either, that is, the sphere I used. An eyecon substitutes two of the three requirements for summoning a spirit. As you saw, I provided the final requirement, which acts as a gateway. Tutankhamen retreats back into the sphere with a dim blue glow following him. Most spirits aren't content to be simply watched. Despite what some may think about things that are summoned, ghosts have a will of their own. If a spirit refuses to heed your command, there is little you can do but attempt to persuade it using words and the like.

Luard grins and writes down a few more notes, though this spirit was not particularly fond of the observation, merely watching it was enough to deduce a variety of things about the process Interesting, so it is a finite process one could potentially learn, though it may not be easy. In addition, you mentioned the object in your possession fulfilling two requirements, suggesting that one could potentially use other items to summon as well. In addition to this, these spirits have their own personalities, though they lack their own body, they are still very much alive in a sense. If you would be so kind as to explain, what two requirements do these "eyecons" of yours fulfill? I have not the time to do all the research into a summoning like that myself, but perhaps in the future I might have some things I would wish to speak to myself

Makoto hesitates, but decides against it. Far be it from him to deny knowledge that could save a life. To summon a spirit, you need three things. 1. Something belonging to the departed. 2. Someone with strong feelings for the departed. 3. The ability to serve as a conduit. The first two are fulfilled by securing a spirit inside an Eyecon, but the third requires training. Training that takes years, decades even, to master. Don't go thinking you can trap a soul in an eyecon just because you have the training. Only souls who have been deemed luminaries or tremendous experts in their field can occupy an eyecon and manifest without a special aid. I pray to god, that there be no devices capable of storing a living soul inside an eyecon. That brings about a whole separate form of chaos. Death. Death without end.

Luard nods, satisfied, hopefully he has something or another around that will fulfill the requirements, no real need to make an eyecon so long as they are fulfilled after all. Luard stands up, searching his cloak momentarily As I said, I wasn't considering the process myself. Rather, it gives me more of a reason to come back another time. Thank you for the information, now if I can just.... There it is. Luard takes out a small pouch, sort of like a minipurse, except plainer, not as girlish, and begins counting out several small, gold coins. Unsure of the conversion, Luard decides to play it safe and get out a handful, setting it out on the table I hope this will suffice for the information. Terribly sorry for the inconvenience I have caused.

Makoto waves his hand dismissively. No need to worry. You've just paid for my dinner, maybe even breakfast too. Feel free to come back soon, it's been a while since I've been able to talk of my home, or at least my old life. Makoto places the coins in his jacket pocket. I'll be certain to investigate the conversion rate so you don't overpay next time.