Chapter 29: This is a Reward!

A dozen minutes later, in Komachi's room. "So that means, Onii-chan, you're an exorcist now?" After listening to Hikigaya Hachiman explain everything from start to finish, Komachi blinked and curiously sized him up. "That's right," Hikigaya Hachiman nodded. "Then... can you use spells? Like the hiyaah! huh-hah! kind..." As she spoke, Komachi animatedly swung her arms and acted it out. "As for spells, right now I only know one. And it's extremely destructive, so I can't show it to you." Seeing Komachi's hopeful expression, Hachiman gave a bitter smile and shook his head. There's no way he could show her the Spirit Flow Technique. That thing was way too powerful. A slight mistake could destroy the house. At that point, even a combo beating from the Hikigaya parents wouldn't solve the problem. Worse yet, he might be kicked out, forced to carry a backpack and wander the world. "I see..." Hearing she couldn't see any spells, Komachi looked a little disappointed for a moment. But then she perked up instantly at the thought that she was the only person besides Hachiman who knew his secret. "Ehehe..." With her head lowered, Komachi let out a weird laugh. "What's with that sound?" Hachiman flicked Komachi's forehead, signaling her to watch her behavior. "Hehe, not telling you!" Sticking out her tongue at him, Komachi jumped off the bed, holding her stomach and looked pitifully at Hachiman. "My stomach is gonna flatten from hunger..." "Then let's go eat." Looking at her expression, although he knew she was faking, Hachiman still felt a pang of guilt. If it wasn't for waiting for him, Komachi wouldn't be hungry... "Mm!" She nodded vigorously at Hachiman and skipped out of the room. Halfway down the hall, she seemed to remember something, suddenly dashed back, grabbed Hachiman's arm, and dragged him downstairs. "Hey, wait, running on the stairs like this is dangerous!" Watching Komachi recklessly rush down while dragging him, Hachiman quickly tried to stop her. But before he could even finish his sentence, Komachi's slipper slipped. A series of loud thuds and crashes echoed through the house. "Ugh... I messed up this time... Onii-chan, are you okay?" Sitting on Hachiman's stomach, Komachi rubbed her dizzy head and asked about his condition. "Can you get off me already..." Hachiman groaned, annoyed. "Hehe, sorry..." Embarrassed, Komachi stuck out her tongue again, her cheeks turning red—but she didn't get off him. Instead, she leaned over him, and after realizing she wasn't hurting at all, curiously looked down at him. "Onii-chan, what did you just do? Why didn't I get hurt at all?" "Of course, I wrapped your whole body with spiritual energy and used myself as a cushion." Grimacing in pain, Hachiman explained how he protected her. "Wow~ Hearing how Onii-chan protected Komachi like that, I'm so touched!" Komachi held her face in her hands and looked at him with admiration. "Now that you know, can you please get off me already..." "Nope!" A sly glint flashed in Komachi's eyes, and she grinned like a schemer who had succeeded. "Eh?" Hachiman looked confused by her words. Before he could react, Komachi suddenly leaned down and kissed his right cheek. "This'll be Onii-chan's reward!" Lifting her head, she explained awkwardly, cheeks flushed, as she saw Hachiman completely stunned. With that, she jumped off him and sat down at the dining table, patting the chair next to her to urge him to come over. Hachiman's mind was still spinning. He shakily got up from the floor, sat down at the table, and Komachi sweetly handed him a bowl and chopsticks. "Wait..." Feeling the coolness of the utensils, Hachiman suddenly came back to his senses. He stopped Komachi, who was about to dig in, and held out his hand toward the food on the table. "This should work, right?" Thinking as he spoke, Hachiman sent spiritual energy into the food. Within a few seconds, the once-cold food was steaming hot again. "Amazing!" Komachi's eyes widened at the change in the food. "Eat up..." A trace of fondness flashed in Hachiman's eyes. He picked up a piece of meat and put it in Komachi's bowl. . . . Later that night. Lying in bed, Hikigaya Hachiman's eyes suddenly snapped open. "Knew I wouldn't be able to sleep." His hand subconsciously touched the spot where Komachi kissed him earlier. A complex look passed through his eyes. To distract himself, he summoned the system panel and opened the Spirit Coin shop to browse the items. All sorts of spells, weapons whose names alone sounded powerful— Even futuristic tech that only existed in movies... He even found people for sale in the shop! But with only 200 Spirit Coins, all of it was just eye candy—nothing he could actually buy. After browsing for a while, crushed by the harsh truth that he was broke, Hachiman finally closed the interface and stared blankly at the ceiling. Meanwhile, the person sleeping in the bed next to his was sound asleep, dreaming sweetly... Early the next morning. When Komachi came out of her room in thigh-baring pajamas, yawning and stretching, she noticed Hachiman's door was still tightly shut. "So it really was just my imagination yesterday?" She froze briefly, then her face showed understanding. Sleeping in was what Hikigaya Hachiman was supposed to do, after all. Getting up early? That must've just been from having too much energy the day before, right? But as she walked downstairs and was about to go to the bathroom to wash up and start making breakfast, she suddenly saw a figure sitting on the sofa. "Onii-chan, what are you doing sitting on the sofa?" Looking at Hachiman sitting motionless like a statue, Komachi asked curiously. She had thought he was sleeping in again, but it turned out he had gotten up even earlier than her. Could it be that the exorcist system doesn't allow him to sleep in anymore?