At the entrance of class 2-f’s classroom.
Ai stopped in his tracks, panting slightly.
Although his stamina was only 8, that sprint just now had been a bit much for him.
He adjusted his breathing, and his face, which had flushed slightly from the intense exercise, quickly regained its usual coldness.
[Malice Perception] was sounding an alarm frantically.
The sensation was like countless needles stinging his retinas.
He pushed open the back door of the classroom.
The classroom was empty, with only Yotsuya Miko sitting in her seat.
But at this moment, she was on the verge of a total breakdown.
Hunched over the desk in front of her was a massive, fleshy lump of a monster.
The thing was covered in eyes of varying sizes, each one rolling around erratically and emitting a nauseating stench of pus.
The “Hundred-Eyed Ghost”—it was stretching out a slimy tentacle, attempting to touch Miko’s cheek.
Miko’s body was as stiff as a stone, tears were already welling in her eyes, but she bit her lip hard, not daring to make a sound.
Her hands gripped her skirt tightly, her knuckles turning pale.
‘I can’t see it…
I can’t see it…
I can’t see anything…’
She chanted frantically in her mind, but the oncoming stench made her stomach churn.
Just as that tentacle was about to touch the tip of her nose—
“Yotsuya.”
A cold, clear voice broke the dead silence.
The voice wasn’t loud; there was no hot-blooded shonen roar or any holy incantation.
He simply called out a name plainly.
All of its eyes turned toward the door simultaneously.
It saw Ai.
To be precise, it saw the soul fluctuations on Ai’s body—fluctuations generated by his transmigration and system enhancement that were extremely “unpalatable” and “dangerous” to spiritual entities.
Ai walked in expressionlessly, heading straight for Yotsuya Miko’s seat.
His pace was steady, each step seemingly landing on a specific rhythm.
As he drew closer, his crisp, clean aura instantly dispersed the surrounding stench.
The “Hundred-Eyed Ghost” let out a piercing shriek—audible only to those with Spiritual Vision—that sounded like nails scratching a blackboard.
Then, like a cockroach encountering its natural predator, it quickly dissolved into a cloud of black smoke and fled through the gaps in the window.
The crisis was averted.
Yotsuya Miko felt as if all her strength had been drained, and she slumped into her chair.
She looked up, her eyes misty with tears, at the boy standing before her.
In the backlight, Ai’s figure wasn’t tall, but in her eyes, he was more dazzling than any god.
“Fu… Fujiwara-san…”
Her voice was hoarse, carrying a lingering sob.
Ai didn’t speak; he just pulled a pack of tissues from his pocket, took one out, and handed it over.
“Wipe your face.”
Yotsuya Miko reached out tremblingly, intending to take the tissue.
But her hand was shaking so violently that she couldn’t hold it, and the tissue drifted lightly to the floor.
“S… Sorry…”
Miko hurriedly tried to bend down to pick it up, and tears finally burst from her eyes.
The relief of surviving and the extreme feeling of vulnerability intertwined, causing her to break down completely.
Ai sighed.
He bent down and picked up the tissue.
Then, he performed an action that was slightly overstepping boundaries.
He reached out and gently pressed the tissue against the corner of Miko’s eye.
“Stop crying, it’ll make you look ugly.”
Despite the sharp words, his movements were unexpectedly gentle.
Yotsuya Miko froze.
She stared blankly at Ai, who was inches away.
The boy’s gaze was still that of his typical dead-fish eyes, showing no emotion, but the scent lingering at the tip of her nose—like a forest after the rain—caused her brain to short-circuit instantly.
[Ding! Yotsuya Miko Affection Value +40!]
[Current Favorability: 45/100.]
[Description: That moment of tenderness just now dealt a critical hit to her. She has begun to see you as more than just a safe haven; a sprout called “possessiveness” has begun to grow.]
Ai withdrew his hand and stuffed the tissue into her hand.
“Clean yourself up and go home.”
After saying that, he turned and walked back to his seat to grab his bag, as if nothing had happened.
Yotsuya Miko held the tissue that still carried his body heat, her cheeks turning as red as if they were about to drip blood.
She watched Ai’s back, her gaze gradually becoming somewhat dreamy and lingering.
‘Did Fujiwara-san…
come back just for me?’
‘His hand…
was so gentle…’
‘I want…
to be touched like that forever…’
…After school.
Ai did not go straight home.
He glanced at the mission in the system panel.