"Miko, what's up with you today? You've been acting weird all day."
"Still shaken from the spatial quake?"
Lying facedown on her desk, Yotsuya Miko felt a hand pat her shoulder.
Her best friend, the ever-cheerful Hana Yurikawa, spoke up beside her with her usual bubbly energy.
Miko lifted her head and gave her a strained smile in response to Hana's concern.
But the very next moment, her smile froze stiff on her face.
Right behind Hana, an evil spirit radiating thick black miasma loomed—its grotesque form barely resembled a human anymore—and it was glaring straight at her.
Miko felt like crying.
Why did you have to wake me up?!
When she was napping, she didn't see any of this!
"Miko, why do you look more like you're crying than smiling? And why are you just staring at—"
Before Hana could finish, Miko quickly cut in.
"Because… I just remembered something really sad."
Her lips trembled and her voice shook, making her genuinely look pitiful.
Hana panicked, thinking something terrible must've happened at Miko's home.
Just as she was about to offer comfort, Miko continued.
"I… I accidentally went into the wrong bathroom earlier."
"I ran into the boys' bathroom by mistake…"
"And I even bumped into a boy…"
Though it was a deeply embarrassing, socially scarring moment, Miko blurted it all out like she was finally letting off days' worth of pressure.
Hana went silent for a moment.
Yup, definitely sounds traumatic…
But still—why did it feel like Miko looked relieved… maybe even… kind of happy?
"Miko… do you know the guy you ran into?"
"No… I think he's from the class next door."
Miko tried to recall the handsome face she'd briefly seen. He looked somewhat familiar.
"Then why do you look kinda happy? Don't tell me you awakened some… questionable new kink?"
Hana looked horrified.
Miko fell silent, her lips twitching helplessly.
She didn't know how to explain the mess she was in.
Compared to what she'd been through these past two days, getting embarrassed in a bathroom felt like a blessing.
Two days ago—
She suddenly gained the ability to see evil spirits.
And every single one of them exuded pure malice.
They would whisper near her ears, constantly asking, "Can you see me?"
Miko had to resist the urge to scream. Deep down, she had the ominous feeling that if she ever exposed her ability to see them, something horrible would happen.
The mental strain had her losing sleep every night.
She had hoped that coming to school would help.
But instead—there were even more spirits here!
There was a girl ghost in the girls' bathroom who looked suspiciously like the urban legend, Hanako-san.
When she fled to the boys' bathroom, she ran into a disembodied head leaning against the toilet lid.
She had held it in all day and still hadn't managed to go.
"I'll just try a bathroom in another building after school…"
Miko squeezed her slightly plump thighs together, praying for the final bell.
Two painful periods later—
"Miko, I've got something after school, I'm heading out first!"
Hana's words brought immense relief to Miko.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have known how to explain anything to her ghost-magnet best friend…
Miko quickly left the classroom.
As she passed by the neighboring class, a deep, magnetic voice called out.
"Yotsuya-san…"
Miko instinctively turned her head.
And her gaze met directly with Kuzeha Yuu's.
It was him—the guy she ran into in the boys' bathroom.
He knows who I am?!
A thunderous boom echoed in Miko's mind.
A delayed wave of embarrassment swept over her like a tsunami.
Her cheeks flushed a deep red within seconds.
"Ah… ah…"
Miko opened her mouth, but could only let out garbled syllables.
"Let's talk outside."
Kuzeha Yuu smiled gently.
Miko nodded blankly, following him to a secluded corner. It was only then that she started to come back to her senses.
She stared nervously at her toes peeking from beneath her skirt.
What… what does he want?
To mock me? Bully me? Blackmail me?
Or maybe…
Miko clamped her thighs together, and not-so-safe-for-school scenarios began to play in her mind.
"Yotsuya-san, I think you can see this."
Kuzeha Yuu's voice brought her back to reality.
She looked up on reflex.
Right in front of her, the grotesque spirit from the boys' bathroom was floating in Kuzeha Yuu's hand like a kickball.
Miko's pupils shrank. She instinctively took a step back.
"Don't worry, I'm not a spirit. I'm Kuzeha Yuu. You could say I'm… something like an exorcist."
The handsome boy gave a calm, reassuring smile.
It soothed Miko's frayed nerves in an instant.
"An… exorcist…? They're real?"
She blinked, her heart a jumble of awe and disbelief.
Over the past few days, she'd tried searching online and even asking around in real life.
But all she ran into were fakes and scammers.
Hearing her question, Kuzeha Yuu just nodded without denying it.
Even though the world was chaotic and full of supernatural phenomena, ordinary people with no connections had little chance of getting real help.
"Kuzeha Yuu-san, did you call me here to silence me?"
Miko asked cautiously.
She vaguely remembered hearing his name before.
It often appeared on the school's top-ten honor roll.
A top student—someone seen as diligent and model-like.
Who knew he was also an exorcist?
He's probably the type who'd be super generous with hush money…
Miko thought gloomily.
All her allowance lately had gone into buying spiritual bracelets—and they were all fake.
She was broke!
"Silence you? Of course not."
"Yotsuya-san, you've got talent. That's why I've decided to take you as my disciple!"
His voice sounded like something out of a dream—distant, ethereal.
Miko stared in disbelief.
"Take… me as your disciple?"
Kuzeha Yuu nodded with conviction.
That's right. He'd just obtained the Spirit Binding and General Summoning entry. No way he wasn't going to test it out!
The Spirit Binding part was decent…
But if used well, General Summoning could become an absolute game-changer!