There actually weren't that many ghosts and monsters in this world, at least for now.
Counting the Ki-Kidoko that was just taken down, Kaito had only encountered two of them so far.
And yet, Gotou Hitori just kept running into ghosts one after another, even awakening her yin-yang eyes all on her own. Clearly, she didn't have any special constitution. Should one call it luck, or misfortune?
"That's right!", Little Bocchi nodded like a bobblehead and hurriedly recounted everything that happened at home.
Although at the moment, her mom and dad didn't seem to be able to see the ghost face, and things were temporarily still safe... this kind of thing was unpredictable. If something suddenly changed one day, just thinking about the terrifying consequences turned Bocchi's face pale.
'To protect my own warm and happy little family, even someone as useless as me, even more useless than a paramecium, can muster courage!'
So...
"Please, Kaito-senpai, you must exorcise that evil spirit for me. Whether it's money or anything else, as long as it's something I can do, anything is fine!"
Watching the girl prostrate herself in a full kowtow, respectfully knocking her head against the ground, Kaito's expression became a bit strange, "That won't be necessary."
Since he had already agreed to help Gotou with the exorcism, he wasn't going to go back on his word.
As for whether or not he could handle it?
Judging by the ghostly aura still lingering on Gotou-senpai's body, even a beginner disciple from the Courting Death Sect who had trained for just three days could beat that ghost into a spinning top with a copper-buckled belt.
For him to take action now, it's like asking: 'Can the Great Sage Equal to Heaven defeat a backwoods zombie?'
It was currently lunchtime, with one more PE class in the afternoon.
Because she was worried about her family's safety, Gotou Hitori made a terrifying decision.
She was going... to skip class.
For a little social recluse who couldn't even make eye contact when talking to people, any behavior that violated school rules was like a Damocles' sword hanging high above, enough to pierce right through her.
'Ugh... If the teacher finds out, they'll definitely kill me, right? I'll definitely be killed, right? The charge will be something like "arrogantly attempting to escape the holy infusion of knowledge"...'
'But! For the safety of Dad, Mom, Futari, and Jimi Hendrix!'
Little Bocchi's blue eyes seemed to ignite with blazing flames.
Even someone like her, gloomy, withdrawn, useless like a paramecium, had something she wanted to protect.
"Let's go. I've already asked Teacher Hiratsuka for leave," A sudden voice interrupted the girl's tragic resolve.
Bocchi blinked blankly, "A-asked for leave?"
'So... this kind of solution exists too?'
———
In the end, they boarded the train home.
Gotou's home was very far from Shuka Academy. The one-way trip alone took two hours.
In other words, just the time spent commuting by train every day was at least four hours.
There weren't many passengers on the train at this hour. After randomly finding an empty seat, Kaito noticed Gotou still looked very nervous. To help her relax, he casually started a conversation.
"By the way, Gotou-senpai, why did you choose Shuka Academy, which is so far away, instead of a school closer to home?"
"Just commuting every day must be such a hassle, right?"
"Be-because…", Hugging her guitar case a bit shyly, Little Bocchi mumbled, "I wanted to find… a new school where no one knows the old me…"
She just wanted to change her environment, start fresh, and ideally become a normie.
For that reason, during junior high she practiced guitar for six hours every day, thinking girls who could play music were popular...
But even though the school year had already been in session for two whole days, she still hadn't made a single friend. Not even one…
"I see."
Kaito murmured thoughtfully, "So Gotou-senpai is the type who enjoys solitude, like me."
'That's not it at all…'
Little Bocchi sneakily used the corner of her eye to observe the radiant, divine-looking boy beside her.
Both were isolated.
But being ostracized by the class and choosing to isolate oneself from the class were clearly two completely different things.
Though from what she had observed, Kaito didn't seem to have any friends either, that was only because he liked being alone.
'If Kaito wants to, with just a wave of his hand, there will be countless boys and girls scrambling to be his friend, right?'
'Even the most normie of the class, Miura, couldn't help but try to exchange contact info with him, only to be turned down.'
'If the class is a pyramid, Kaito will undoubtedly be the Pharaoh at the top.'
'Never thought that someone as useless and invisible as me will one day get to associate with such a big shot…'
'Hehehe…'
Watching Gotou showing that familiar dumb smile on her face, clearly lost in a wonderful fantasy, Kaito didn't say anything more, deciding to wait until the train reached their destination to wake her up.
.
.
.
Two hours flew by.
Waking up Little Bocchi, who clearly had some kind of sweet dream and even drooled a little at the corner of her mouth, the two walked another five minutes before finally arriving at an unremarkable detached house.
"Th-this is my house…", Little Bocchi rang the doorbell. Not long after, a gentle-looking lady with the same pink hair tied in a bun, who bore a 90% resemblance to Gotou Hitori, opened the door.
"Excuse me… Hitori? Why are you home so early today?"
"Uh, that… I invited a friend over…", Little Bocchi glanced nervously at the handsome classmate beside her, afraid he might suddenly contradict her and say something cruel like "I'm not your friend."
Fortunately, Kaito didn't ruin the act.
He waved politely and greeted with courtesy, "Hello, Auntie. I'm Gotou-san's friend, Kaito."
"Oh—", Gotou Michiyo finally saw the boy's face clearly and couldn't help but let out a "Oh ho!" of surprise.
———
"You're Kaito-kun, right? Thank you for looking after Hitori at school."
Gotou's mother took her daughter to the kitchen to cut watermelon.
Gotou's father was in charge of entertaining the guest in the living room. At the moment, he was wiping tears from the corners of his eyes with a little handkerchief, a deeply moved expression on his face, "Never thought the day would come where Hitori actually made a friend… Pardon me for asking, Kaito-kun, but you're not one of those rented friends Hitori paid money for, right?"
"…Of course not," Kaito subtly glanced toward Little Bocchi, who was still in the kitchen slicing watermelon.
'Gotou-san, is your image in your family's mind really that tragic?'
'Even your friends are suspected of being paid hires?'
"Big brother, hug!", A little girl named "Gotou Futari" had just turned five this year, but her personality was the complete opposite of her shy sister.
Her adorable little face was beaming with a bright smile, and she didn't hesitate at all to make the hug request that her sister Hitori wouldn't even dare dream of.
The Gotou family's pet dog, a Shiba Inu named 'Jimihen', also barked once, enthusiastically lying at Kaito's feet, tail wagging non-stop.
Though he hated bratty kids, well-behaved little girls clearly didn't fall into that category.
Even Kaito didn't act cold; he easily lifted the little girl and let her sit on his thigh, then gave the Shiba Inu a few pats before continuing to chat with Mr. Gotou.
Although the reason he came today was to exorcise a spirit, and the Gotou household definitely did have an evil spirit.
That ghostly face that scared Little Bocchi half to death was currently floating all around the house, unwilling to give up, constantly asking, "Can you see me?"
But for handling a minor ghost like that, there was really no need to make a big deal out of it.
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