Chapter 130

Because it still follows the same rules, it will only attack humans who can notice it.

Can you see it?

"Can you see me?"

The Butcher Evil Spirit began questioning one person after another.

Hasegawa Izumi noticed this but made no move.

His gaze did not attract the attention of the Butcher Evil Spirit, as if it was he who had vanished, not the evil spirit.

He had already studied it during their last meeting; this evil spirit uses 'sight' and 'behavior' to lock onto its targets.

Therefore, all you need to do is reduce your presence so that the evil spirits can't perceive your gaze, and they will ignore you.

It's very simple, right?

"It appeared in broad daylight. Is it because of the Obon Festival, or is it simply not afraid of the sun? It seems to be the latter."

With one hand resting on his chin in a V-shape, Hasegawa Izumi looked thoughtful.

However, since we've already run into this, let's just deal with it.

It would be incredibly inhumane to ask girls who are taking a nap to come and try their skills at this time.

Therefore, he planned to wait for the right opportunity to strike and kill him.

Then, half an hour passed.

"Do we really have to ask each of these things one by one? Isn't that exhausting? Oh no... it's an evil spirit, so it shouldn't have the concept of being tired."

He covered his forehead with one hand.

Just then, an unexpected situation arose.

On the other side of the street, a girl with long, straight black hair, wearing a hoodie and short skirt, walked by. She was quite pretty and could be considered cute, but her most distinctive feature was her pair of amber eyes, which were particularly bright and Spiritual Energy.

"Huh?"

Therefore, when this girl appeared, she caught the attention of Hasegawa Izumi.

Yotsuya Miko, an ordinary JK (high school girl) student.

That's how I see it.

That was certainly true in her life before.

Until about ten days ago, the world before her eyes changed.

For some reason, she suddenly became able to see 'ghosts'; those legendary beings had actually appeared in reality!

But this was not a good thing; instead, it burdened her with a heavy responsibility.

When she first encountered the evil spirit, she nearly died at its hands.

Of course, this was only after she had been unaware of it.

Instinctively, she judged that she must not overreact when facing an evil spirit, but pretend to ignore its presence, otherwise unimaginable consequences might occur.

However, even the strongest patience has its limits.

If she continued walking this tightrope forever, she felt she would definitely break down one day.

Therefore, in order to increase the margin for error, or even to say goodbye to the existence of evil spirits forever, she set her sights on things like 'prayer beads' that can exorcise demons and Exorcism Supplies.

As luck would have it, she learned that during the Obon festival held by Kōmyōji Temple near Anpēji Town, the presiding monks would give out prayer beads for blessings.

Perhaps this was an opportunity for her, so she came over to see if she could try her luck or buy some Exorcism Supplies.

"If it's near a temple, evil spirits shouldn't appear, right?"

Yotsuya Miko that this was what she had come to mind, felt relieved.

Just as she was about to experience the local customs and stroll through the shopping street, she looked up and saw the evil spirit resembling a butcher, which immediately terrified her.

Is there no pure land in this world?

23. Miko drift through half his life, I only regret that I never met a wise teacher...

"Call..."

Yotsuya Miko took a deep breath to calm herself down.

It's okay, it's okay, don't be afraid!

Just ignore that thing!

Although the girl was scared, she knew that being scared was useless and would only bring danger upon herself.

Suddenly, the Butcher Evil Spirit seemed to sense a gaze coming from somewhere, and a pair of lifeless, dark eyes fixed on it.

In an instant, it made my heart stop.

We're about to be discovered!

Feeling a chill Yotsuya Miko displayed her strong will to survive, and at that moment she forcefully twisted her neck.

"Uncle, how much are these apples?"

She pretended to be nonchalant, but in reality, cold sweat was streaming down her face, which was turned away from the evil spirit.

"This one is about 200 yen each, miss. How does that sound to you?"

The middle-aged man rubbed his hands together and asked tentatively.

"Hmm... it feels alright."

Yotsuya Miko forced a smile and said.

How many do you want to buy?

"Five... right?"

The middle-aged man beamed with joy; he was finally able to sell it!

In reality, the girl's attention was entirely focused on the Butcher Evil Spirit.

She discovered something: this thing was very sensitive to human gaze, and her gaze had just alerted it.

She understood that the current situation was like playing a game, but she only had one chance. She didn't think she would be able to fight back if she were discovered.

The Butcher Evil Spirit's pale, terrifying eyes swept around, scanning everyone who passed by. Finding nothing amiss, it stopped and began questioning the people around it.

Can you see it?

Can you see me?

After paying with money from her pocket, Yotsuya Miko took the plastic bag containing the apples and walked out of the shopping street without looking back.

If not now, when?

A woman should not stand under a dangerous wall!

"I've escaped death again!"

After she walked out of the shopping street, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest.

"Let's go somewhere else."

She muttered something to herself and prepared to walk to the other side of the street.

Suddenly.

Can you see it?

The same question came from behind me, completely catching me off guard.

'There are still some?! I'm so unlucky! Does anyone else even deserve a chance to live?!'

Yotsuya Miko contracted, her heart, which had just settled, immediately jumped again, and her body trembled involuntarily.

Do not answer!

Do not answer!

She tried to remain calm, pretended not to hear, and continued walking.

"Young lady, are you sure you don't want to talk to me?"

Seeing the other party's self-deceptive behavior, Hasegawa Izumi added another comment.

He did have a mischievous intention when he said that, and he was also testing the girl's resilience so that he could take different approaches.

Judging from this performance, although the other person is an ordinary person and is actually somewhat worried, he is able to remain calm in the face of danger, which makes him a promising talent.

If his Little Sister could reach that level, he would be able to help Little Sister awaken without worry.

"Huh?"

Yotsuya Miko was trying to hypnotize herself, but she heard a completely different sentence, yet it was the same voice.

Did I hear that right?

'Could I be hallucinating...?'

Or has the ghost become smarter?

The girl was initially skeptical, but after careful consideration, she realized that the voice wasn't gloomy at all, nor did it sound like a ghost; on the contrary, it was rather pleasant.

So, she casually turned her head, glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, and saw the handsome young man standing there with a half-smile on his face.

"It really is a person... Wait, what did he just ask? Could it be... that he can see that thing too?!"

Her heart began to pound.

On the contrary, the other person might be like herself, and the girl would want to tell them about her sorrows.

"Hello, I'm Yotsuya Miko. May I ask who you are...?"

She turned around, then ran back, and introduced herself first.

"I am Hasegawa Izumi."

The boy answered.

"Hasegawa, since you asked me that question, can you also see it...?"

Yotsuya Miko looked around cautiously, making sure no ghosts were around, before continuing, "You can see ghosts?"

"You mean the one that appeared on the shopping street? Of course."

Hasegawa Izumi without hesitation.

"That's great! So there really are other people in this world besides me who can see this! Oh... by the way, judging from your accent, you're probably not from around here like me, right? You're probably here for Exorcism Supplies too, right? We can become companions and discuss things together."

Yotsuya Miko looked delighted, Yotsuya continued.

The girl had clearly misunderstood their respective heights.

"Exorcism Supplies?"

He murmured a soft "hmm."

"Don't you know? It's those ritual implements, prayer beads, and the like, that are supposedly effective against ghosts after being blessed by monks."

Yotsuya Miko seemed to have found a sense of superiority in front of Shiro, and said with a beaming smile.

"That thing might be useful to you, but I don't need it."

He didn't take it seriously.

"Eh~"

Yotsuya Miko sized him up, as if wanting to ask him why he was so confident.

That thing clearly isn't something humans could handle, right?

"Yotsuya, actually I am an Ability User, or you could say an Ability User. I noticed you because you have a special pair of eyes... Awakening the Onmyo Eyes, there's no doubt you're a talented person, perhaps capable of becoming an 'Onmyōji'."

"Hasegawa Izumi," she suddenly said.

The girl was left speechless.