"If I had passed the banking exemption exam, I might have successfully joined the Osaka West Branch of the Tokyo Central Bank as the head of the financing section..."

The "big breath of life" that Sousuke Araki saw in front of his eyes evoked his youthful memories, Uncle Watanabe lay on the large seat in a loss, looking up at the starry sky above his head, and began to mutter to himself.

"After that, I should have solved the 500 million yen loan scam jointly set up by the branch manager and the large steel company, defeated various enemies inside and outside the bank, and became a person who implements the 'can't be like a machine. An excellent bank manager who believes in treating the people around him," and "treating the villain with a tit-for-tat and double return"..."

"Wake up, Watanabe and Banzawa's surnames are 108,000 miles apart."

"The long-distance transportation industry is also quite good. There are no such strict rules of seniority, and the steering wheel is in my own hands. I don't need to listen to others' commands. As long as the things are delivered safely on time..."

Perhaps feeling the regrets in Uncle Watanabe's youthful memories, Sousuke Araki quickly relieved him.

"Don't worry, Uncle Watanabe, although you are exempt from passing the assessment and may not be able to continue to accept your guidance in the future, I will definitely take my work tonight seriously and successfully end my 'long-distance transportation career'! "

Life is like a dark and endless Tomei Expressway that leads nowhere. There is no turning back and no way to re-select a fork in the road. A single thought may lead to a completely different future.

"I just like you kid, I only focus on the things in front of me, and my shortsightedness is admirable!"

"Since it's too late to take a bath in Thailand, let's invite you to eat ramen to celebrate. There is a shop in the service area that has been opened for more than three generations, and the drivers of this line of long-distance buses know it..."

"Thank you, Uncle Watanabe!"

Sweeping away the previous decadence, Sousuke Araki reached out and pressed the switch on the radio.

"It's rare that there is some good news recently, let's listen to some happy music to set it off..."

However, Uncle Watanabe's strong and scorching palm had already squeezed his wrist tightly.

"Huh? Uncle Watanabe, are you..."

Araki Sousuke turned his head in surprise...

"Boy, although you may quit this line of work in the future, I still have to remind you of some things."

What greeted him was Uncle Watanabe's unprecedented serious gaze.

"On the Tomei Expressway, it's best not to listen to the radio at night. In addition, you can't speed, don't litter, don't occupy the emergency lane for no reason, fasten your seat belt, and don't defecate anywhere. Among long-distance passenger drivers, they will silently follow taboos.”

"Huh? The above is not so much a taboo, but it is actually a prohibition in the traffic code, right?! However, it is inhumane to not be able to listen to the radio. Isn't it boring on the road..."

The series of rules mentioned by Uncle Watanabe reminded Sosuke Araki of the content of the "traffic code lecture" in the driving exemption test.

"Boring is more important than no life."

In the spacious cab where there were only two people, Uncle Watanabe seemed to be afraid of being overheard the conversation between the two by some unknown existence. very..."

"Hey, how do you say this?"

Looking at Uncle Watanabe who was about to write "Come here, I'm going to tell an urban legend" on his face, Sousuke Araki immediately made a look of listening intently.

This uncle deliberately didn't let the radio turn on, did he just want to listen to him tell ghost stories?

"The drivers with long driving experience on this road know each other to some extent, and occasionally eat together in the service area, so I also listened to others. After all, in recent years, there have been many car accidents on this line, which is inevitably a bit strange. Rumors came out..."

Sure enough, Uncle Watanabe changed his routine and used a gloomy voice to whisper an urban legend about the Tomei Expressway, which was passed down by word of mouth among drivers through the service area.

The Tomei Expressway connecting Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe can be said to be one of the "big arteries" running through Kanto and Kansai in Japan. Due to the high traffic flow, the probability of accidents is naturally high.

"I don't know the specific details. I heard from people from other companies that some drivers called the company to report before the accident, saying that there was a strange sound on the radio talking to themselves, or they claimed to have met a runner on the road. The fast old lady... Later, it is said that several transportation companies also jointly invited 'professionals' to do some worship ceremony for the dirty things on this road."

"Pfft, the sound on the radio? The fast-running mother-in-law? So old-fashioned, who made up this boring urban legend, hahahaha."

Hearing this kind of old "urban legend" that is not at all exciting, Araki Sosuke, who is a spirit remover, has a look of disdain and a wild laugh.

"You kid, it's normal for the radio to occasionally turn on the radio and make noises when you're running on the highway, but you haven't heard of 'the fast-running mother-in-law'? That's a legend that has existed all over Japan since my student days. …”

"It is said that people who don't follow the rules on the highway will meet a fast-running mother-in-law following the car. Once encountered, you must pretend not to see, hold the steering wheel and drive carefully. If you look around, you will encounter terrible things. matter……"

"Moreover, the names of these mother-in-law are different in different places. Near the Tokyo Metropolitan Expressway, it is called Sprint Mother-in-law, Hokkaido is called Baili Mother-in-law, Nagoya is called High-speed Mother-in-law, Osaka is called Turbine Mother-in-law, Rokko Mountain is called Jet Turbo Mother-in-law, there is a small place called Sonic Mother-in-law..."

In the beginning~lightnovelpub.net~ Sousuke Araki listened with relish, until he heard a lot of strange names, he finally couldn't help but complain: "Cough cough cough... What is this? , at first listen, it is a name made up by drag racing racers from all over the world, comparing with each other according to the routine of modified cars and upgrading!"

"I have also upgraded from turbo, jet, and TURBO all the way to the speed of sound. Could it be that my mother-in-law has a higher configuration than others? 』

"Hey, that's not wrong. After all, it's common for the radio to go to the radio station and the old woman of the nearby farmer to walk along the highway. Perhaps it was made into an urban legend to make everyone concentrate on driving and obey the traffic rules. After all , sometimes 'superstition' is easier to remember than 'rules' and to follow carefully..."

Perhaps he also thought these legends were funny, so Uncle Watanabe patted Sousuke Araki on the shoulder and laughed.

"Perhaps, everyone's prayers for a safe journey have been pinned on these 'taboos' and 'legends', thinking that as long as they abide by them together, people on this road will be able to return home safely."