Chapter 70: Yurikawa Hana’s Mind is Only on...

"Can you come to my house tonight?" When Yotsuya Miko said this to Hikigaya Hachiman on the rooftop at noon, Yurikawa Hana, who was happily enjoying her food nearby with a blissful smile, was so shocked she dropped her chopsticks onto the ground. "Even though I know you two have been secretly dating behind my back, isn't moving in together a bit too fast?" "Who's moving in together?!" Yotsuya Miko, having finally mustered up the courage to say what she just did, now found her resolve shaken again by Hana's interference. Ah, seriously! It's all that idiot Hana's fault! Thinking that, Yotsuya Miko started to play with Hana's round face, as if trying to vent all her embarrassment through this action. "Uh, Miko, don't play with me like that. If you keep squeezing, I... I won't be able to hold on..." "..." Hikigaya Hachiman silently watched Hana, whose face had turned slightly red as she was gasping for breath. She clearly had a pure, lively, and cute face. So why did those kinds of words just come out of her mouth? "Ah, I'm ruined..." A few minutes later, Hana, released by Yotsuya Miko, lay back on the rooftop with a pitiful expression on her face. The two sitting nearby simultaneously ignored Hana's antics. "Why did you suddenly invite me to your house?" Yotsuya Miko tidied her school uniform and sat back down in front of Hachiman, who had finished his lunch, and curiously asked the reason. In Japan, if a girl invites a boy to her home, it can easily cause misunderstandings. Previously, Kawasaki Saki had invited him over, but that was because of a malevolent spirit in her house. Now Yotsuya Miko risked being misunderstood — could it be that she had evil spirits at home as well? "Actually..." When asked the reason, Yotsuya Miko's face visibly darkened as if recalling an unpleasant memory. "I realized there are quite a few evil spirits in my house..." Originally, Yotsuya Miko didn't plan on asking Hachiman to exorcise the spirits. After all, aside from the evil spirits, she vaguely felt some spirits were quite friendly towards her. That was probably why she had survived living in such a haunted house. But she really couldn't take it anymore! Every morning when washing up, the spirit in the bathroom either scared her or deliberately blocked the mirror, wasting her precious time before school. The giant spirit outside the window appeared every time she opened the curtain, ready to enjoy fresh air with a good mood. Of course, those were minor annoyances. What really annoyed her most was that every night, an adult-sized spirit would crawl into her bed, lie on her stomach, and kept calling her "mom"! Before meeting Hikigaya Hachiman, Yotsuya Miko had no way to deal with the spirits, so she just endured. But now... "So please, I'm asking you — come to my house! You don't have to do much, just get rid of those three annoying spirits!" With her hands clasped together and eyes closed, Yotsuya Miko earnestly pleaded with Hachiman. "Well, if it's something like that, I can't just stand by..." Hachiman naturally couldn't refuse after hearing the spirits were disturbing Miko's life. But after last night's events, he figured Yukinoshita Yukino would probably drag him to answer a bunch of questions in the afternoon, so he might not be free to help then. "That's fine. How about this Saturday at my place?" Yotsuya Miko immediately noticed Hachiman's hesitation. "Saturday?" Hachiman thought carefully about the time Yotsuya suggested — he usually spent his weekends lying at home watching TV all day. "Alright, Saturday works for me!" Nodding, Hachiman accepted the request to come to Yotsuya Miko's house for exorcism on Saturday. "Thank you so much!" Hachiman's response made Yotsuya Miko breathe a sigh of relief. "Miko!" However, just as she was about to start another conversation with Hachiman, Hana, who was pretending to be dead on the floor and ignored by everyone, got up alone and hugged Yotsuya Miko with a face full of grievance. "What's wrong with you now?" Miko was helpless towards this lively troublemaker by her side. She knew she was working hard to conquer the ultra-difficult boss that was Hikigaya Hachiman, and yet this idiot not only didn't help but also made things worse! "Are you going to abandon me next Monday..." Hana asked pitifully. "Why would I abandon you next Monday?" Yotsuya Miko looked at Hana in confusion, while Hachiman, watching the scene, leaned in with interest. "Because if Hikigaya-kun goes to your house this Saturday..." Hana didn't finish the sentence, but both Miko and Hachiman understood what she meant. Miko felt a rush of anger and wished she could pinch Hana's chest right there in front of Hachiman. All the nutrients really must have concentrated there for this idiot's brain to be so barren as to think only about that kind of thing?! "I'm just simply inviting Hikigaya-kun over to exorcise the spirits!" Gritting her teeth, Miko explained to Hana clearly and carefully. "Is that so?" Hana's face showed disbelief. She had been Miko's best friend since childhood, so she just couldn't believe Miko's claim that the invitation was only for exorcism and nothing else. "Of course it is!" Seeing Hana's doubtful expression, Miko angrily pounced on her. "Thanks for the hospitality, I'm heading out..." Watching the two girls roll around on the rooftop, Hachiman quietly packed his lunchbox, put it beside Miko's seat, said a soft goodbye, and immediately left the rooftop without looking back. "Why did you say those things earlier?!" No sooner had Hachiman left than Miko pinned Hana down and stopped her from fooling around. "What did I say just now?" Realizing she was at a disadvantage, Hana immediately played dumb. "Oh? Is that so? Then I guess I need to remind you of what you said earlier..." Hachiman was already gone, yet Hana still dared to deny. Yotsuya Miko gave her a scrutinizing look and then smiled strangely.