Lunch break at Sobu High School was always overflowing with the noisy restlessness of adolescence.
Only Fujiwara Ai found the atmosphere somewhat irritating.
He sat quietly in his usual window seat with a simple double-layered bento placed in front of him.
The meal had been prepared that morning using the effects of [God-Tier Cooking (Home Cooking)].
The contents were extremely ordinary: tamagoyaki, octopus sausages, and some pickled vegetables.
Yet the moment the lid opened, a faint but irresistibly comforting aroma drifted through the classroom like an invisible hand tugging at people’s stomachs.
“Grrr…”
Someone’s stomach growled loudly nearby.
Several boys who were eating bread immediately sniffed the air in confusion.
“What is that smell?
It smells amazing…”
“It feels like homemade food, but somehow more high-class…”
Fujiwara Ai remained expressionless as if the surrounding discussion had nothing to do with him.
He calmly picked up a piece of tamagoyaki and placed it into his mouth.
The texture was soft and dense while the egg fragrance spread perfectly across his tongue.
As expected of system-enhanced cooking.
Even ordinary ingredients could be elevated to absurd levels.
Just as he was quietly eating, Fujiwara Ai suddenly felt a gaze fixed tightly on his back.
It wasn’t from a spirit.
The gazes of ghosts always carried coldness and malice.
This one instead contained hesitation, dependence, longing, and anxiety.
Fujiwara Ai glanced slightly sideways.
At the opposite side of the classroom, Yotsuya Miko sat stiffly at her desk holding a pineapple bun she had yet to touch.
Compared to yesterday, her condition looked even worse.
Heavy dark circles hung beneath her eyes, making it obvious she hadn’t slept properly all night.
And crouched beneath her desk was something horrifying.
A charcoal-black “child” with only one remaining eyeball was curled beneath her feet while letting out sharp giggles.
“Hee…
hee…
hee…”
Its blackened claws repeatedly stretched toward Yotsuya Miko’s ankles.
Miko’s body had completely stiffened.
She desperately tucked her legs beneath her chair while trying not to breathe too loudly.
Yurikawa Hana had already rushed off to the school store to fight over limited-edition yakisoba bread, leaving Miko alone to endure this nightmare by herself.
So scary…
So scary…
Miko screamed internally while staring straight ahead without daring to acknowledge the creature beneath her desk.
At that moment, the faint aroma drifting from Fujiwara Ai’s bento suddenly reached her nose.
The effect was immediate.
The charred child spirit beneath the desk noticeably shrank backward while the suffocating coldness around her weakened slightly.
Yotsuya Miko subconsciously looked toward the window seat.
Fujiwara Ai sat there quietly eating lunch beneath the afternoon sunlight.
Although his face remained expressionless, the light shining over him made him appear strangely radiant in Miko’s eyes.
If…
if I could stay near him…
That thought suddenly surfaced in her heart.
The moment it appeared, it spread uncontrollably like poisonous weeds.
It was the instinctive longing of a drowning person desperately reaching for driftwood.
The greed of someone freezing to death yearning for warmth.
Fujiwara Ai naturally noticed her increasingly intense stare.
A headache slowly formed in his mind.
Please stop looking at me like that, young lady.
I’m just a background character trying to eat lunch peacefully.
Complaining internally, he maintained his cold expression while quickly finishing his meal, packing away the bento, and leaving the classroom.
The afternoon lessons were painfully boring for Fujiwara Ai.
Combined with his Intelligence stat of 14, ordinary high school material held no challenge whatsoever.
Most of his attention was spent mentally researching the functions of the mysterious [Romance Strategy System].
Finally, the dismissal bell rang.
For ordinary students, this represented freedom.
For Yotsuya Miko, however, it marked the beginning of another nightmare.
“Miko!
I’ll be late for club activities, so I’m leaving first!”
Yurikawa Hana waved energetically before dashing out of the classroom like a storm.
“Y-yeah…
be careful…”
Miko answered weakly.
One student after another gradually left the classroom.
As human presence diminished, the things hidden within the shadows began growing increasingly active.
Distorted human faces reflected faintly against the classroom windows.
Dragging footsteps echoed slowly from the hallway outside.
Yotsuya Miko’s hands trembled while packing her school bag.
She didn’t want to go home.
The route back required passing through a dark park before enduring a twenty-minute train ride.
At this twilight hour, those locations would definitely become gathering places for horrifying spirits.
What should I do…?
Just as despair began swallowing her whole, she noticed Fujiwara Ai still inside the classroom.
Because of classroom duty, he was the final student preparing to leave.
Fujiwara Ai calmly picked up his school bag before reaching toward the light switch.
Click.
The lights instantly shut off.
The classroom sank into darkness.
Yotsuya Miko nearly screamed from fright.
Her body reacted instinctively as she hurriedly stumbled behind Fujiwara Ai while clutching her school bag like a lifeline.
Fujiwara Ai stopped walking and glanced backward.
Within the dim hallway lighting, Yotsuya Miko lowered her head nervously while tightly gripping her bag straps.
She stood less than half a meter behind him.
Although she didn’t speak, the pitiful expression in her eyes already explained everything.
Fujiwara Ai quietly stared at her.
He was waiting for the system notification.
As expected.
[Ding!
Continuous Mission Triggered!]
[Mission Name: Mobile Safe Haven (I)]
[Description: Yotsuya Miko’s psychological defenses are nearing collapse.
At this moment, you are no longer simply a classmate in her eyes, but her only source of safety.]
[Mission Objective: Allow her to accompany you until she safely reaches home or another secure area.]
[Special Requirement: During the journey, attempt to satisfy her desire for a “sense of security” (including but not limited to physical contact).]
[Reward: Charm +1, Passive Ability: Malice Perception, Significant increase in Yotsuya Miko’s affection.]
Fujiwara Ai sighed internally.
Physical contact again?
System, are you sure this is still a pure romance route?
Even so, his outward expression remained perfectly calm.
“Same direction?”
He asked knowingly in his usual cool tone.
Yotsuya Miko immediately looked up with hope shining in her eyes before nodding rapidly.
“Y-yes!
Same direction!
Um…
Fujiwara-san also uses the Chiba Line, right?”
In reality, she had absolutely no idea where he lived.
She simply wanted to stay near him.
“Mhm.”
Fujiwara Ai turned and began walking.
“Follow me.”
Those simple words sounded like salvation to Yotsuya Miko.
She hurriedly followed close beside him, instinctively choosing the nearest possible position.
The two exited the school grounds together.
Along the way, Yotsuya Miko gradually realized something astonishing.
As long as she remained within roughly two meters of Fujiwara Ai, every spirit that normally approached her aggressively would immediately retreat from a distance as though encountering a natural predator.
For the first time in days, she could finally breathe peacefully.
The sense of safety nearly moved her to tears.
Her gaze unconsciously focused on Fujiwara Ai’s back.
It wasn’t particularly broad, but it looked incredibly dependable.
And within her heart, the seeds of dependence were rapidly taking root.
Soon, the two arrived at the train station.
It was currently peak commuting hour.
The platform overflowed with crowds.
Mixed among the living were countless horrifying entities visible only to Yotsuya Miko.
A drenched salaryman spirit clung tightly to a female office worker while whispering beside her ear endlessly.
Near the tracks, a creature made entirely of hands crawled along the ground trying to grab people’s ankles.
Miko’s face immediately turned pale.
There were simply too many.
Places filled with dense human traffic naturally attracted enormous spiritual negativity.
Screeeech.
The train finally arrived.
The doors opened and the crowd surged inward violently.
Yotsuya Miko was instantly pushed aside by the flow of people, nearly losing sight of Fujiwara Ai.
Fear instantly gripped her chest.
“Fujiwara-san!”
Her voice carried a faint sob.
At that moment, a hand suddenly reached through the crowd and firmly grabbed her wrist.
Warm.
Steady.
Fujiwara Ai effortlessly pulled her toward him before turning sideways and using his own body to carve out a narrow safe space within the packed train.
“Hold on tightly.”
His calm voice remained clearly audible despite the noise around them.
At this point, Yotsuya Miko no longer had the mental capacity to care about embarrassment between men and women.
Directly behind her, a flattened-head spirit was pressed against the train window while staring at her obsessively.
Extreme fear weakened her legs.
Instinctively, she buried herself closer against Fujiwara Ai.
Their current posture immediately became extremely intimate.
Fujiwara Ai leaned casually against the handrail with his hands in his pockets.
Meanwhile, Yotsuya Miko was pressed almost entirely against his chest.
The crowded train and constant swaying forced their bodies tightly together.
“Mnn…”
A soft whimper escaped Miko’s lips.
Her face buried deeply against his chest while his faint clean scent surrounded her completely.
The fragrance wasn’t simply laundry detergent anymore.
After the increase in his Charm stat, it now carried an indescribable attraction toward the opposite sex.
To the current Miko, this scent was more effective than any sedative.
The fear gradually faded from her body.
In its place came an unfamiliar warmth and strange comfort.
With every sway of the train, friction between their bodies became unavoidable.
Miko could clearly feel the warmth beneath his uniform and the rhythm of his breathing.
That heat transferred directly into her body, making her tremble softly.
The terror haunting her gradually dissolved.
Instead, another emotion slowly surfaced.
Relief.
Dependence.
And an unfamiliar excitement that made her cheeks burn.
Her breathing became increasingly hot and uneven while her trembling hands tightly gripped the hem of Fujiwara Ai’s shirt.
Her legs had completely lost strength.
At this point, she was relying entirely on his body to support herself.
So warm…
So comfortable…
As long as I’m beside him…
those terrifying things disappear…
I want to get even closer…
Miko’s gaze gradually became hazy.
She repeatedly told herself that this was simply to avoid ghosts.
That she had no choice.
But her body reacted honestly.
Unconsciously, she rubbed her cheek lightly against Fujiwara Ai’s chest like a cat seeking warmth while greedily absorbing his scent.
Meanwhile, Fujiwara Ai was also suffering mentally.
Although his face remained expressionless, he was still a normal man.
The softness pressed against him was impossible to ignore.
Combined with the train’s constant movement and Miko’s increasingly clingy behavior, the entire situation became dangerously suggestive.
Anyone witnessing this would definitely misunderstand.
Is this affection system broken?
Fujiwara Ai quietly checked the system panel.
[Target: Yotsuya Miko]
[Current Status: Fear / Dependence]
[Affection: 80/100]
[Description: Due to the host’s unique constitution capable of suppressing evil spirits, the target has developed intense psychological imprinting and physiological dependence toward the host.
Within this world filled with malice, you have become both poison and salvation to her.]
Fujiwara Ai nearly twitched.
Eighty?
Yesterday it was only twenty-five.
Did it skip friendship entirely and speedrun straight into dependence?
Though realistically speaking, this was largely the suspension bridge effect amplified by fear.
Eventually, it would stabilize somewhat.
“We’re here.”
Fujiwara Ai’s calm voice suddenly sounded.
Yotsuya Miko abruptly regained her senses.
The train doors were already open.
She hurriedly backed away from his chest, only to discover her legs had become so weak she nearly collapsed on the spot.
Fujiwara Ai quickly grabbed her arm to stabilize her.
“Can you walk?”
“I-I can!”
Miko’s face turned bright red from embarrassment.
Just now…
She had practically been rubbing herself against him like some shameless pervert.
And worst of all…
She actually enjoyed it.
The two eventually exited the station together.
Night had fully descended while dim yellow streetlights illuminated the roads.
Fujiwara Ai silently accompanied her all the way to the intersection near her neighborhood before finally stopping.
This location was already close enough to her home and still populated with pedestrians.
“I’ll leave here.”
He had no intention of escorting her directly home.
Maintaining some emotional distance better suited his cold persona.
“Eh?
Ah…
okay…”
A trace of disappointment flashed across Yotsuya Miko’s face.
The moment she separated from him, the warmth surrounding her seemed to disappear alongside his presence.
Just as Fujiwara Ai turned to leave, Miko suddenly gathered her courage.
“Um…
Fujiwara-san!”
He glanced back calmly.
Yotsuya Miko bit her lip nervously while clasping her hands behind her back.
After hesitating for several seconds, she finally spoke softly.
“Tomorrow morning…
can I wait for you at the station?
I mean…
if it’s convenient…”
The moment she said it, her heartbeat nearly exploded.
This was practically a disguised confession.
But after experiencing that overwhelming sense of safety beside him, she simply couldn’t endure facing those terrifying spirits alone anymore.
Fujiwara Ai quietly looked at her.
Beneath the moonlight, the girl’s hopeful eyes shimmered beautifully.
The small mole beneath her eye made her appear even more pitiful.
Several seconds passed silently.
To Miko, those few seconds felt like centuries.
“Suit yourself.”
Leaving behind those words, Fujiwara Ai placed his hands in his pockets and disappeared into the night.
Although his tone remained cold, those words sounded like salvation to Yotsuya Miko.
She stared blankly at his departing figure while an uncontrollable smile slowly appeared on her face.
He agreed…
I can see him again tomorrow…
Standing beneath the streetlights, Yotsuya Miko covered her burning cheeks with both hands while the memories from the train replayed endlessly inside her mind.
That warmth.
That scent.
That feeling of safety.
She genuinely felt like she had developed some kind of illness.
An illness called Fujiwara Ai.
Meanwhile, back inside his apartment, Fujiwara Ai let out a long exhausted sigh before collapsing onto the sofa.
“I’m exhausted…”
“Pretending to be aloof really isn’t human work.”
He rubbed his stiff face while opening the system settlement screen.
[Ding!
Mission “Mobile Safe Haven (I)” completed!]
[Evaluation: Perfect.
You successfully planted the seed of dependence within the target’s heart and greatly shortened your emotional distance through the suspension bridge effect.]
[Rewards Issued: Charm +1 (Current: 72), Passive Ability: Malice Perception]
[Charm: 72]
[Your appearance has begun gradually separating itself from the ordinary crowd.
You now possess a faint cool and mysterious temperament.
Current estimated street head-turn rate: 30%.]
[Passive Ability: Malice Perception]
[Description: Even without activating Spiritual Vision, the host can instinctively perceive malicious entities targeting either yourself or those around you, including humans, spirits, and demons.
Grants approximately one second of advanced warning before danger occurs.]
“Malice Perception…
pretty practical.”
Fujiwara Ai nodded slightly.
He stood before the bathroom mirror again.
The increase in Charm remained subtle but undeniably real.
His facial lines appeared slightly sharper while the original gloomy stiffness had transformed into something colder and more mysterious.
Especially his eyes.
Their depth had become strangely captivating.
“If this continues, reaching Charm eighty might genuinely become dangerous.”
Fujiwara Ai rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
At that moment, his phone suddenly vibrated.
A LINE notification appeared from an unknown number.
[Um…
this is Yotsuya Miko.
Hana-san gave me your contact information…]
[Thank you very much for today!
Also…
good night, Fujiwara-san.]
Attached beneath the message was a cute bowing kitten sticker.
Fujiwara Ai stared silently at the screen.
A nearly invisible smile appeared briefly at the corner of his lips.
However, he still chose not to reply.
Instead, he locked the phone and tossed it aside casually.
For someone currently trapped in a dependency phase like Miko, instantly replying would only lower his psychological value.
Sometimes, leaving a message unread created the strongest emotional impact.
That night, Yotsuya Miko hugged her phone tightly while tossing restlessly beneath the blankets.
She repeatedly checked the unread chat window while feeling both disappointment and anticipation.
Only very late into the night did she finally drift into sleep.