Chapter 3 - 3 – The Little Devil, Iroha Isshiki

After blurting out those words to Yukinoshita Yukino on a whim, an overwhelming sense of embarrassment washed over Hikigaya Hachiman as he walked toward the school gate with his bag slung over his shoulder. At the first corner of the corridor, as expected, he encountered Yotsuya Miko waiting for him. "I knew it. You can see them, huh?" Seeing Yotsuya Miko waiting for him, a faint smile appeared in Hachiman's eyes. This really was a relief. He had thought he was the only person in the world who could see those things. But now, with Yotsuya Miko here, he no longer felt so alone. "Aren't you afraid of it?" In contrast to Hachiman's relaxed demeanor, Yotsuya Miko was trying hard to maintain her composure, but Hachiman could still detect the nervousness in her subtle movements. "You mean this thing?" Hachiman gestured toward the spirit clinging to his body and asked Yotsuya Miko. "Yes! If you can see it, then you should know exactly what will happen tonight, right?!" Seeing Hachiman casually reach out and even tease the spirit, Yotsuya Miko thought the guy in front of her must be insane. Did he not understand the situation? He was already possessed by an evil spirit! Once the sun set completely, the spirit would tear off its harmless mask and reveal its fangs in the dark—ripping him to shreds! "Of course I know what happens at night." It just meant he'd earn 50 spirit coins instead of 500. It's not like it was that big of a deal—why panic and risk the spirit escaping? "Then why are you still—" Yotsuya Miko cut herself off mid-sentence, realizing something was off. From the moment she first saw Hachiman, he had shown no fear toward the spirit. He even had the leisure to toy with the thing she found utterly terrifying... "You... have a way to deal with them?" Clinging to a thread of hope, Yotsuya Miko cautiously asked Hachiman. "Of course." As he spoke, Hachiman drew the demon-slaying blade given to him by the system from thin air, right in front of Yotsuya Miko. Sensing the cold aura emanating from the blade, the spirit clinging to Hachiman abruptly darted into the shadows of the corridor. "Shhlick—" The spirit was fast, but Hachiman's slash was even faster. All Yotsuya Miko saw was a flash of white light, and the menacing spirit was cleaved cleanly in two. "Ding. One low-level spirit slain. Due to killing it during the daytime, spirit coin reward halved. Actual coins earned: 25." Hearing the system message in his mind, Hachiman sighed in mild frustration. This was exactly why he wanted to wait until night to deal with that spirit. The rewards for killing spirits during the day got slashed in half—who could afford that loss?! Still, this time, the cost was worth it... "You... you destroyed it!" Watching the spirit's corpse evaporate into a black mist under the sunlight, Yotsuya Miko covered her mouth with both hands to stifle her emotions. After being targeted by such a powerful spirit, she had already resolved to say goodbye to everyone today, including her friend Hana, just to avoid dragging anyone else down. But who would've thought? Right as she came to thank Yukinoshita Yukino for everything, she'd run into him—Hikigaya Hachiman! "Can I ask for your help? Whatever the reward, just name it! As long as it's something I can do!" Without hesitation, and convinced that Hachiman had indeed slain the spirit, Yotsuya Miko clutched his hand and pleaded. "Could you let go first?" With Yotsuya Miko suddenly so close, her faint scent filled his nose, and Hachiman awkwardly turned his head away, hoping she'd realize how it looked. After all, a beautiful girl with top-tier looks and figure suddenly saying she'd do anything... It was really hard not to misinterpret that. "No! If you don't promise to help, I'm not letting go!" However, Yotsuya Miko misunderstood his reluctance, assuming he didn't want to get involved in her mess. Immediately, she wore a pitiful expression—vulnerable, tearful, and full of helplessness—as she clung to him even tighter. Tap, tap, tap... Right then, footsteps echoed from the other end of the hallway. Hearing the steps, Hachiman's face froze. If someone saw them like this—especially with Yotsuya Miko's expression—who knew what rumors would spread through Sobu High the next day? He quickly reached out, trying to pull her hand off. Whatever misunderstanding might arise from being seen together, he had to at least create some distance to minimize the risk of social death. But to his dismay, the more he pulled, the tighter Yotsuya Miko held on. She now clung to his arm with both hands. "....." Realizing that his efforts only made her cling tighter, Hachiman began to panic. The footsteps grew louder, pounding like a drum in his ears. "No choice... I've got to do this..." Sensing that the person was about to round the corner, a flicker of resolve appeared on Hachiman's face. Channeling his spiritual energy, he quickly dragged Yotsuya Miko into a nearby classroom and held his breath. "Eh? No one here?" Rounding the corner, Iroha Isshiki's voice rang out with surprise as she looked down the empty hallway. She'd come to check because she'd heard strange noises. "So weird..." Muttering to herself, Iroha strolled further into the corridor. "I could've sworn I heard voices..." Suddenly, her eyes lit up as she spotted a nearby classroom door left ajar. "Don't tell me..." Images of scandalous stories she'd heard from upperclassmen rushed through Iroha's mind. She glanced down at the floor inside the classroom and, just as she suspected, found two sets of messy footprints in the dust. "My, my... those bold upperclassmen~" Iroha Holmes Isshiki's lips curled into a mischievous, devilish smile as she looked at the footprints. Of course, she wouldn't go so far as to rat them out to a teacher—after all, that didn't fit her persona as the cute kouhai. But letting those upperclassmen suffer just a little? That was fair game. For example, she could lock them in the classroom, make them panic thinking they were trapped... then sneakily open the door later... With that plan in mind, Iroha pretended to continue searching as she walked toward the classroom. Gulp... Watching Iroha's shadow approach the classroom door, Hachiman's heart started racing. He suddenly regretted his earlier decision. If he'd just let go of Yotsuya Miko back then, the worst that could've happened was a little gossip. But now? If they were caught in this position, it might be grounds for expulsion! "Guess there really is no one..." As if hearing Hachiman's desperate prayers, Iroha stopped just a step away from entering the classroom.