Chapter 23: The Girl Who Could See!
In the blink of an eye, it was Saturday, the favorite day for students.
You could sleep in, didn't have to wake up early, didn't have to go to school, and the next day was Sunday, still a day off.
Not counting other holidays, Saturday was the best day.
And Luke, also a student, tiredly poked his head out from under the covers, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling and the clock on the adjacent wall – ten o'clock.
And then...
Abstinence plan, failed.
He couldn't resist last night and got drained by Mikasa again.
Luke rubbed his aching forehead.
At this rate, forget about restoring his Constitution to a normal person's level; he'd be thankful if it didn't drop below 9 points.
This was truly a sad story.
"Sigh, still have to go out for work, how speechless," Luke rubbed his numb arm and crawled out from under the covers.
Mikasa had already woken up long ago.
The faint milky scent of a girl still lingered in the blankets.
Need to change the bedsheets again.
Getting dressed, he walked out of the room.
Luke picked up a few exorcism tools.
Today, he had to go on a business trip based on the information Kasumizuki gave him.
However, he wasn't exactly averse to business trips; instead, he was somewhat looking forward to it.
After all, tasks like these usually came with hefty rewards.
Actually, the income in the exorcism business was really high.
After all, clients were generally wealthy.
Because ordinary people did fewer bad deeds and rarely encountered ghostly troubles.
But for some wealthy people who rose through unfair competition, once they became aware of the existence of evil spirits, their minds would be occupied by ghosts.
They'd lose the sense of security that money provided, terrified that old enemies would turn into vengeful spirits seeking revenge.
Because of this, any slight disturbance would make them want to call a hundred exorcists over to investigate their homes.
Hiring exorcists to perform rituals at home was like an addiction for these people terrified of death.
"Then I'm heading out. I'll leave things at home to you two," Luke said, looking at Mikasa Ackerman, simultaneously grabbing an egg from the dining table and popping it into his mouth, then picking up a slice of bread.
He had already informed Mikasa yesterday that he was going out for an exorcism trip today, so she had prepared some simple food for him.
"Mm, remember to send a message through your phone before you come back," The black-haired beauty reminded him.
"Oh." Luke walked out the door.
As usual, he made a fist, placed it before his eye, and saw his neighbor, a familiar ghost granny: Granny Nanohana.
"Child, although your two girlfriends are very pretty, young people should really do it in moderation... cough cough."
Granny Nanohana could sense the boy's condition and couldn't help but offer advice.
Looking up at the high sun, Luke waved his hand, offering no rebuttal.
"You're right."
Unfortunately, when you're home, things are often out of your control.
After all, who at this age could resist the temptation of two beautiful, devoted young girls?
"But, the sun is so strong, it's not good for you to sunbathe right here," Luke said, looking at Granny Nanohana's spiritual body and reminding her.
Although the sun couldn't kill souls after death, it was sufficient to suppress spiritual activity.
Moreover, if a soul got frightened at this time, it might actually dissipate.
So, generally, whether for evil or good ghosts, nighttime was their main stage.
"Hehe, even after death, you can't change the habits of life. Besides, my children are quite filial, the incense offerings are constant. I'll just go back and rest in a bit," Granny Nanohana chuckled nonchalantly.
"Anyway, sunbathing is a kind of enjoyment for me, a dead person... Young man, you'll understand when you die."
"Hehe." Luke's mouth twitched.
He'd rather experience that later.
"Alright, I'm leaving now. You should go back and rest soon. If some friends are looking for me, Mikasa and Annie will tell me."
"Aiya, I know, I know. Why are young people nowadays so gloomy, not even letting an old woman sunbathe."
Luke lowered his fist.
Granny Nanohana's image and words vanished into the air.
Although Granny Nanohana hadn't passed on to the spirit world like normal dead people, she wasn't an evil spirit that harmed people.
She was simply bound by an obsession born from an oath to a friend, which allowed her to linger.
The existence of such benign spirits wasn't unheard of, just very rare.
Exorcists could easily distinguish them and wouldn't perform exorcisms on good spirits.
Of course, whether they helped fulfill their last wishes depended on the exorcist's kindness or whether the spirit had money in life.
...
Bustling streets, a sea of people, a lively scene filled the air with laughter and chatter.
It felt like this was how the world should be... but...
Yotsuya Miko clenched her hands together tightly, desperately trying to stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks.
So scary, so scary, so scary.
Her mind was completely overwhelmed by thoughts of fear.
In the corner of her vision, a completely inhuman, grotesque monster kept leaning in close, its foul-smelling, drool-covered mouth constantly muttering beside her.
"Can you see me?"
"Can you see?"
"You can see, right?"
"You can see."
Ughh—!
Anyone, please, save me.
Yotsuya Miko's trembling lips tightened.
She quickly lowered her head, opened her phone with both hands, trying to pretend she didn't see the evil spirit beside her.
But the ghost's reflection on the phone screen still made it impossible for her to completely ignore it.
"YOU CAN SEE—!!!"
Seeing the unresponsive girl, the evil spirit let out a vicious roar.
Yotsuya Miko's whole body tensed abruptly.
Little pearl-like tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes onto the phone screen.
Her fair thighs rubbed together tightly, and her feet, encased in black mid-calf socks, clenched their toes hard.
She was already, almost... about to lose it from fear.
She really wants to run away, and pee.
"Ah— It's scorching hot!"
A sudden exclamation sounded beside her ear.
Although it was just an ordinary human voice, Yotsuya Miko felt as if she had jolted awake from a dream, because she noticed the evil spirit beside her was trembling and rapidly backing away.
Yotsuya Miko quickly looked up, but a layer of tears blurred her vision, making everything unclear.
She hastily wiped away her tears, then took in the image of the newcomer and everything around.
A boy stood there, slightly hunched over, holding a Coca-Cola dripping with condensation in one hand, fanning himself with the other.
A very normal scene.
But... surrounding the small fountain plaza, countless ghosts were trembling, desperately avoiding him.
For a moment, Yotsuya Miko forgot her fear, forgot everything important, just stared blankly as the boy continued walking forward.
And then...
She saw those terrifying ghosts recoil from him as if they had seen a ghost themselves.
Why? Why are they avoiding him?
Why are they afraid?
Thoughts flashed through Yotsuya Miko's mind.
She quickly uncrossed her tightly wound legs, picked up the shopping bag beside her, and used the last bit of strength remaining from her fear to chase after him.
...
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