The moment she stepped outside, Yotsuya Miko felt a chill hit her face.
With great effort, she forced her gaze to look past the monster and toward the hallway ahead, walking through the torso of the humanoid creature without changing her expression.
Her calves began to tremble, and tears welled up in her eyes, but she continued to move forward.
She could not stop, and she dared not look back.
“Sat for a bit too long; my legs are a bit numb,” she muttered to herself, using a volume just loud enough for the monster behind her to hear, attempting to trick it into thinking she was the type of person who couldn’t see ghosts.
The tactic of feigned ignorance seemed to work; the grim, chilling aura gradually receded.
However, Yotsuya Miko still dared not look back to confirm the monster’s position.
She calmed her heart and walked forward.
The free, salty sea breeze blew in from the open windows, extending toward the clean, illuminated hallway ahead.
There was the sound of chattering conversations that never seemed to grow weary, and the soothing music unique to the end of the school day began to play at the perfect moment…
Yotsuya Miko savored this atmosphere, which blended a faint melancholy with a hint of brightness, and her heart gradually eased.
‘Since it appeared suddenly, it is highly likely that it could disappear just as suddenly.
As long as I can’t see it, I’ll be the same as everyone else, and I won’t get hurt…’
Just as she was thinking this, Yotsuya Miko felt something tap her shoulder.
She was immediately startled, running forward a few steps before crouching in a corner and curling into a ball with her hands over her head.
When she timidly raised her head, what greeted her eyes was Yuigahama Yui’s right hand, awkwardly frozen in mid-air.
Beside Yuigahama Yui were Yukinoshita Yukino and Hikigaya Hachiman; there was not the slightest shadow of any monster.
“Ya-ha…llo,” Yuigahama Yui said, feeling a bit embarrassed; the tone of her greeting was noticeably weaker.
“I am very sorry for startling you, Yotsuya-san,” Yukinoshita Yukino added, helping to apologize.
“I’m so glad it’s you two, Yuigahama-senpai and Yukinoshita-senpai.” Yotsuya Miko said with gratitude, as if she had been saved, offering no rebuke.
After glancing around, Hikigaya Hachiman asked, “Did you see that monster again?”
“Yes, it seems it was scared off by you all; it just disappeared again,” Yotsuya Miko answered, wiping her tears.
Since she really couldn’t offer any other help, Yuigahama Yui said something vague.
Then, Yukinoshita Yukino, who had been standing quietly to the side, spoke up:
“In that case, as compensation for Yuigahama Yui’s thoughtless behavior just now, let Hikigaya Hachiman-kun escort you home.”
“No, there’s no need…” Yotsuya Miko waved her hands in refusal.
She had just made up her mind to face everything alone, and now asking for a senior to escort her home—that would be too pathetic.
“Since the concerned party has said so, I won’t bother Yotsuya Miko-san.
Besides, it was clearly that Yuigahama who—well, Komachi is currently studying hard for her exams, and staying in the living room alone is boring, so I’ll begrudgingly escort you.” Hikigaya Hachiman had wanted to refuse, but when he saw Yuigahama Yui calling out “Hikki” with a hopeful look on her face, and met Yukinoshita Yukino’s calm eyes that betrayed no emotion, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse.
Hikigaya Hachiman wasn’t incapable of refusing pretty women; he just felt that Yotsuya Miko was genuinely a bit pitiful.
After bidding farewell to Yukinoshita and Yuigahama, Hikigaya Hachiman and Yotsuya Miko walked forward in silence.
Excluding Yukinoshita and the others, Hikigaya Hachiman truly had no experience interacting with other girls, so he chose silence.
The girl beside him was very pretty, but he was no longer the middle school student who wanted to start a conversation whenever he saw a beautiful girl.
The other party had no intention of speaking either; after all, they were complete strangers.
It was natural that they couldn’t find a common topic.
Perhaps because she had company, the look of fear on her face had vanished.
The two walked quietly.
As the road extended, trees stood tall on both sides, shedding a rustling, cool breeze that added a touch of chill.
“Hey, Yotsuya-san, let me tell you a story.” Hikigaya Hachiman was the one to break the silence.
He suddenly became talkative, his gaze deep and profound as he looked toward the distance of the road.
“When I was a child, I was actually quite cute, so I had companions to play with.
On a midsummer evening in the countryside, the two of us snuck out to play by the river as usual.
Because of that, our parents didn’t know where we had gone and certainly wouldn’t be frantically searching for us.
Thanks to that, we almost lost our lives in a narrow, dense forest two thousand meters away from the nearest house.
A starving, vicious wolf blocked our path and was about to launch an attack.”
Hikigaya Hachiman let out a long sigh; it was a heavy memory that brought no ease even when recalled now.
Yotsuya Miko listened attentively, saying nothing.
“Every step we took forward, that beast agilely retreated one step, but when we tried to retreat, it stepped forward ferociously.
The situation became difficult.”
As Hikigaya Hachiman told his story, the trees on both sides of the road seemed to become clawing and gnashing.
“If we hesitated any longer, it would be dark, and the wolf was losing its patience as it slowly approached.
All that seemed to be left in my heart was fear.
Although I was young, I knew that pinning our hopes on being saved by adults was a pipe dream.
Therefore, I could only rely on myself.
There was no need for much thought; only two paths lay before us: defeat the enemy or run for our lives
“Because I was just a child, I had no confidence at all in defeating a wolf.
So, the only option left was to run.
I didn’t discuss it with my companion—I knew that would only waste the little time we had left.
I commanded him to run.
While I charged toward the wolf, he would run in the opposite direction.
I don’t know if it was out of some childish ‘live and die together’ idea or if he was just truly terrified, but he didn’t agree with my plan; he just stood timidly by my side.
But I had no other choice.
I had to explain to him, ‘If you don’t run, we’ll both end up here.
Once it gets dark, it’s all over for us.
Don’t expect adults to save us; no one knows where we are.
So, you run first to get help, and then I’ll be safe.’ He listened to me, and finally, he was persuaded and made up his mind.
After I counted down from three, I rushed toward the wolf without looking back, while my companion sought a chance to escape.
The wolf, startled by my reckless charge, pivoted and swapped positions with me.
I grew bolder, while the wolf retreated in uncertainty.
‘Don’t run, and don’t show your back.
Run once you’re out of the woods, and find someone to save me.’ Just as the plan was about to be completed, I instructed my partner as we passed each other.
Just like that, my partner safely left the wolf’s sight.
Soon, I heard the sound of running, and then the running vanished, leaving only the sound of the wind moving the trees.
Only the wolf and I remained in the dense forest.
I finally chose to save myself.
Soon after, I retreated safely from the forest and ran to catch up with my partner.”
Yotsuya Miko listened quietly, tears welling in the corners of her eyes.
“Do you know what point I’m trying to make by telling you this long story?” Hikigaya Hachiman squatted down, as his shoelace seemed to have come loose.
“Courage—as long as you have courage, you can eliminate fear,” Yotsuya Miko replied.
‘That is a completely wrong answer.
This girl’s grades in liberal arts must be terrible.’
“Wrong.
The moral of the story is simple: when you encounter a dangerous creature with a companion, you’ll be much safer if you have the resolve to abandon them.
Besides, the idea of saving others is purely a delusional, arrogant thought.” Hikigaya Hachiman stood up, looked toward the road ahead, and stretched his joints.
“Even if I did save him, we didn’t remain friends for long after that…
I was truly good at self-indulgent sentimentality back then.”
“But…” Yotsuya Miko argued through her tears, also looking toward the distance.
“There is no ‘but.’ Phrases like ‘courage’ are fine for motivating children in cartoons.
You’re a high school student now; you should consider yourself a bit more.”
Facing Hikigaya Hachiman, who spoke in this manner, Yotsuya Miko stopped arguing and bit her lower lip tightly.
‘So Hikigaya-senpai saw the terrifying creature blocking the end of the road too.
But if he really wanted to run, he didn’t have to go through all that trouble to tell a story.’
“Those who are slow will be eaten, you know.”
Saying this, Hikigaya Hachiman turned around and ran.
As if the monster from hell had been provoked, it charged toward them ferociously.
A bone-chilling cold erupted from the depths of her heart, and her brain completely stopped thinking.
The pervasive fear made her shudder, but driven by the instinct to survive, Yotsuya Miko also began to move, running closely behind Hikigaya Hachiman.
‘When encountering a dangerous creature with a companion, you will be much safer if you run faster than them.’ That was the only thought remaining in her mind.
The chill behind her drew closer, adrenaline surged, and her pace became swift.
Just as the monster was about to catch up, she overtook Hikigaya Hachiman.