"It's my dog."
"Can I pet him?"
Yurikawa Hana looked at him expectantly.
"Sure." Amamiya Natsuki nodded.
"Thank you, Amamiya-classmate."
Yurikawa Hana thanked him happily. Instead of squatting down, she braced her right hand on her knee and reached toward the Akita with her left.
Amamiya Natsuki suddenly felt a strange pull in the air, and his gaze drifted over before he could stop it.
Gravity tugged the collar of the girl's uniform slightly downward, revealing her delicate, lovely collarbone and smooth, snowy-white skin.
Objects with too much mass exerted a gravitational pull on everything around them. Newton's law of universal gravitation applied to celestial bodies, but apparently it worked on girls, too!
The sun was so white today...
No.
The sunlight was so bright.
In that fleeting glimpse, a Newton's cradle from the physics lab involuntarily surfaced in Amamiya Natsuki's mind.
"Stare—"
Yotsuya Miko, dark circles under her eyes, silently looked over. Her pink lips moved as she softly uttered two words:
"Pervert."
How was that perverted?
A Newton's cradle represented the beauty of physics. It was only natural that his gaze would be drawn to it. Even Newton would've been dazed!
After happily petting the dog for a while, Yurikawa Hana finally straightened up, reluctant to leave.
Amamiya Natsuki was about to head home when Yotsuya Miko suddenly invited him:
"Um... I bought some Strawberry Daifuku. Do you want to have some together?"
"Chihiro 3128141e9"
(PS: I remembered—please send a few recommendation tickets~)
### Chapter 24: Strawberry-Flavored Yotsuya Miko
"There's a quiz on Friday. If I get a bad score, Mom will nag me." Yotsuya Miko's voice sounded weary. "Hana will come too."
Amamiya Natsuki pondered. "It's a study session for you girls. Wouldn't it be inappropriate for me to go?"
"It's fine." Yurikawa Hana raised her right hand, beaming. "Just bring Pipi Taro along, Amamiya-classmate."
Wait.
What kind of ridiculous name was that?
Seeing Amamiya Natsuki look over in disbelief, Yurikawa Hana giggled. "That's what I named Aki. Pipi Daifuku is super delicious."
Enough already. Don't give pets such weird names!
And what even was Pipi Daifuku? With a name that awful, could it really sell?
"Then let's go."
Amamiya Natsuki agreed.
"Amamiya-classmate, can I hold Pipi Taro's leash?"
Yurikawa Hana clasped her hands at her chest and gazed up at him. Her hopeful eyes made her look like a little deer in Nara begging for a rice cracker.
"Go ahead."
Amamiya Natsuki didn't mind and handed her the Traction Rope.
"Thank you, Amamiya-classmate." The Blonde Girl cheered. "You really are such a nice person."
Amamiya Natsuki said expressionlessly:
"Please don't hand out 'nice guy' cards so casually."
"Don't worry." Yurikawa Hana giggled. "You and Miko are Childhood Sweethearts, so even if you get a nice-guy card, you won't be single forever."
"Like I said, being Childhood Sweethearts doesn't mean we're dating. We're just regular friends..."
Yotsuya Miko's cheeks reddened slightly as she weakly protested.
That was right.
Amamiya Natsuki and Miko really were Childhood Sweethearts.
When they were in their first year of middle school, Amamiya Natsuki moved with his parents. Their new home happened to be next door to Miko's, and after transferring schools, he attended the same middle school as her. He could say he'd watched Miko go from utterly ordinary in middle school to having the alluring figure she did today.
Girls really did change every day during puberty.
Their families got along well.
Amamiya Natsuki's parents were often busy with work, traveling all over the country on business trips. Miko's mother would sometimes invite him over for dinner... So it was fair to call them Childhood Sweethearts.
But they weren't dating.
They were simply good friends.
To be fair, real-life brothers and sisters didn't end up in "German hospitals," and Childhood Sweethearts rarely got together after growing up. In the end, they just became childhood playmates.
Soon, they arrived at Miko's house.
"I'm home."
Yotsuya Miko called out calmly, took out her key, and opened the door.
"Excuse us."
Yurikawa Hana led the dog inside.
Amamiya Natsuki stepped into the entryway and was about to take off his shoes when he suddenly heard a faint, wavering voice:
"Welcome home."
"Hm?"
Amamiya Natsuki paused and looked toward the voice, surprised to see a man walking over from the living room.
More precisely, it was a transparent, middle-aged ghost, his body glowing faintly white.
"Uncle?"
Amamiya Natsuki recognized him at once.
Miko's Dad.
When he'd first transferred schools, Miko's Dad had still been alive. Later, Miko's Dad had fallen ill with an incurable disease and eventually passed away.
Over the past two days, Amamiya Natsuki had seen countless evil spirits, but this was the first time he'd seen a ghost like Miko's Dad. He didn't radiate the evil, chaotic, and deranged aura the others did. Instead, he gave off a faint warmth that made Amamiya Natsuki curious.
Yotsuya Miko secretly watched from the corner of her eye.
He really can see Dad... Wait!
Yotsuya Miko's eyes widened as she realized something serious.
Based on what she'd observed, Natsuki seemed to have awakened a strange ability that let him harm Vengeful Spirits. The weaker ones could even disappear completely.
Could Dad be in danger too?
At the thought, Yotsuya Miko's heart stopped.
Even as a ghost, Dad was still part of the family. If he got hurt because of her...
No!
She had to act fast!
At this crucial moment, Miko's thoughts raced. She suddenly turned around and threw herself into Amamiya Natsuki's arms.
A genuine embrace!
"Ehhh?"
Yurikawa Hana's eyes widened. She covered her cheeks with both hands, leaving a gap between her fingers. "And you say you're just regular Childhood Sweethearts? You're even hugging!"
Yotsuya Miko's cheeks flushed slightly. She couldn't worry about that right now. She quickly leaned close to Amamiya Natsuki's ear and whispered:
"Natsuki, don't hurt Dad."
A faint fruity scent drifted into his nose—the smell of green apple shampoo. There was also the scent of strawberry cake, along with the fragrance of Miko's makeup.
Amamiya Natsuki breathed in Miko's scent and quietly promised:
"I know."
The Evil Spirit Repellent aura could be turned on or deliberately shut off.
There were plenty of evil spirits in the real world, but they weren't packed into every street and alley. He only ran into one now and then.
So Amamiya Natsuki usually kept it turned off.
"Phew..."
Reassured, Yotsuya Miko let out a breath, released Amamiya Natsuki, and took two steps back to put some distance between them.
Under her friend's nosy gaze, Yotsuya Miko raised her right hand, tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and said as if nothing had happened:
"I slipped just now."
"You're lying. There's no water or banana peel on the floor. How could you have slipped?"
"I lost my balance."
"..."
Amamiya Natsuki silently changed into his slippers.
Meanwhile.
Miko's ghostly Dad had already walked over to the three of them. A pleased smile appeared on his face.
"Miko's finally grown up."
Then he looked toward Amamiya Natsuki.
"Natsuki, take good care of Miko. You two should get married after you graduate from high school."
Hey, getting married right after high school was way too soon, wasn't it?
You're already a ghost, so stop worrying about so much!
Hearing her father's words, Yotsuya Miko's pale ears reddened slightly. Her face remained as composed as ever, as if she hadn't heard a thing.
"Come on, let's go to my room."
"..."
They followed Miko up the stairs and into her room.
"Wow~ Miko's room is so ordinary."
Yurikawa Hana held her hands behind her back and gave her verdict.
"I'm sorry it's so ordinary."
Yotsuya Miko's tone was calm. She paid no attention to her friend's opinion, pulled a folding table out of the corner, and set it up in the middle of the room.
"I thought Miko's room would have a giant teddy bear bigger than a person..."
"Big teddy bears are super expensive, and they're hard to clean when they get dirty." Yotsuya Miko knelt down and took a Daifuku out of her schoolbag. "I don't like them at all."
Yurikawa Hana continued:
"Why isn't there a poster of a pretty girl on the wall? There's a World Map instead."
"Aren't posters of pretty girls something only boys like?" Yotsuya Miko said, dark circles under her eyes. "Sit down and study already."
Yurikawa Hana obediently sat down, stroking the Akita's head as she looked over at Amamiya Natsuki, her curiosity bubbling over.
"Does Amamiya-classmate have posters of pretty girls in his room?"
Before you continue