Chapter 3: Chapter 3: The Little Brat, Isshiki Iroha
After saying those words to Yukinoshita Yukino, Hikigaya Hachiman, feeling utterly embarrassed, walked toward the school gate with his backpack on.
Around the first corner of the hallway, he unexpectedly bumped into Yotsuya Miko, who had been waiting for him.
"Looks like you can see it after all."
Seeing Yotsuya Miko waiting for him, Hikigaya Hachiman smiled slightly.
This was really great.
He had originally thought that he was the only one who could see those things, but now with Yotsuya Miko showing up, he didn't feel so lonely anymore.
"Aren't you afraid of it?"
Unlike Hikigaya, who seemed calm, Yotsuya Miko was trying to control herself, but Hikigaya could still sense her nervousness from her small movements.
"Are you talking about this?"
Hikigaya Hachiman pointed to the evil spirit attached to him as he asked Yotsuya Miko.
"Yes! Since you can see it, you should know what will happen at night, right?"
Seeing Hikigaya Hachiman actually try to mess with the evil spirit, Yotsuya Miko thought the man in front of her must be crazy.
Doesn't he realize what's going on?
He's already possessed by the evil spirit!
As soon as the sun sets completely, the evil spirit will tear off its harmless mask and show its fangs in the dark, ripping him to shreds!
"I know what will happen at night, of course."
It's just that the number of spirit coins will go up by fifty, not five hundred. Why would I worry that the evil spirit will run away?
"Then why..."
Yotsuya Miko's words trailed off as she suddenly realized something was off.
From the moment she saw Hikigaya, he hadn't shown any fear of the evil spirit.
He even had the leisure to mess around with the very evil spirit that terrified her...
"You have a way to deal with them?"
With a hint of hope in her heart, Yotsuya Miko carefully asked Hikigaya.
"Of course."
Saying that, Hikigaya pulled out the Demon Slayer Sword that was given to him by the system, right in front of Yotsuya Miko.
It seemed that the evil spirit, sensing the cold aura from the sword, suddenly darted toward the shadows in the hallway.
"Whoosh..."
The evil spirit was fast, but Hikigaya Hachiman's strike was faster.
All Yotsuya Miko saw was a flash of white light, and the vicious evil spirit that had been clawing at the air was sliced in half by Hikigaya's sword.
" Ding, you have slain a low-level evil spirit. Due to the host slaying it during the day, half of the spiritual coins are deducted, resulting in a total of 25 spiritual coins."
Hikigaya Hachiman felt a bit helpless upon hearing the system's voice in his mind.
This is exactly why he wanted to wait until the evening to deal with the evil spirit. Killing one during the day means losing half the reward—who can stand that?!
But this time, the loss was worth it...
"You... you killed it!"
Watching the body of the evil spirit dissolve into black smoke under the sunlight, Yotsuya Miko quickly covered her mouth with both hands, suppressing her excitement.
Because she had accidentally been targeted by a powerful evil spirit, she had prepared herself to say goodbye to everyone today, not wanting to drag anyone down, especially little Hua.
But who would have thought, just when she came to thank Yukinoshita Yukino for her past help, she would unexpectedly run into Hikigaya Hachiman!
"Can you help me? You can ask for any reward you want, as long as I can do it!"
Without hesitation, after confirming that Hikigaya Hachiman had really killed the evil spirit, Yotsuya Miko immediately grabbed his hand and made her request.
"Can you let go for a second?"
Yotsuya Miko suddenly leaned close to him, and a faint scent spread around Hikigaya's nose.
Feeling awkward, he turned his head away, wanting Yotsuya Miko to notice how close they were.
After all, when a beautiful girl, who was perfect in both figure and appearance, suddenly tells him she's willing to do anything...
It was hard for him not to get distracted!
"No! If you don't agree, I won't let go!"
However, upon hearing Hikigaya's words, Yotsuya Miko thought he was politely refusing because he didn't want to cause trouble.
Her face immediately took on a weak, pitiful, and helpless expression, and she looked at him with teary eyes.
"Thud, thud, thud..."
Just then, footsteps suddenly came from the other side of the hallway.
Hearing the footsteps, Hikigaya's face stiffened.
If someone saw him standing with Yotsuya Miko, especially with her looking at him that way, who knows what kind of rumors might spread at Sobu High School tomorrow?
He quickly grabbed Yotsuya Miko's arm, trying to pull her hand away.
No matter what misunderstanding the approaching person might have, at least if he kept some distance from Yotsuya Miko, the chances of him being socially ruined would be much lower.
But Yotsuya Miko's reaction made her more certain that Hikigaya didn't want to help because he found it troublesome. Instead of letting go, she tightened her grip on his sleeve and wrapped both arms around his.
"...."
As Hikigaya realized that the more he tried to pull away, the tighter Yotsuya Miko clung to him, he started to feel anxious.
Especially as the footsteps got closer and closer, each step felt like a drumbeat in his chest.
"There's no choice, this is the only way..."
Seeing that the person was about to turn the corner, Hikigaya's face showed a determined expression.
He focused his spiritual energy, and in the blink of an eye, he pulled Yotsuya Miko into a nearby classroom and held his breath.
"Eh? No one's here?"
Turning the corner of the hallway, Isshiki Iroha looked at the empty hallway in front of her with a surprised expression.
She had come over to check after hearing some strange sounds from this direction.
"How strange..."
While speaking, Isshiki Iroha walked into the hallway.
"How come there's no one here? I clearly heard something just now..."
Suddenly, Isshiki Iroha noticed a classroom door that was left slightly open. Her eyes brightened.
"Could it be...?"
In an instant, a lot of rumors she'd heard from seniors flashed in her mind. She lowered her head and glanced around the classroom, and sure enough, she found two messy footprints in the dust on the floor.
"Looks like the seniors are really bold~"
Iroha "Sherlock" Isshiki looked at the footprints on the floor, her face breaking into a little devilish smile.
Of course, there was no way she would report this to the teacher, since that wouldn't fit her cute junior image.
But making the seniors suffer a little was something she could definitely do!
For example, locking them in the classroom and making them think they couldn't get out, then secretly opening the door and such...
So, while pretending to keep looking for traces, Iroha moved closer to the classroom.
"Grrr..."
Seeing Iroha's shadow getting closer to the classroom door, Hikigaya's heart began to race.
He suddenly regretted his actions earlier.
All he had to do was separate from Yotsuya Miko. Even if they were caught, it would only raise suspicion at most.
But now, if they were caught in this situation, he might really get expelled!
"Seems like there's really no one here..."
As if hearing Hikigaya's silent wish, Iroha stopped just one step from entering the classroom.
---