[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 1): I didn't expect this from you, Yue-chan, stealing my line.]
[Ruri Gokou (Level 7, Stage 1): But seriously, the newbie's life is just miserable. Facing those terrifying things every day without being able to do anything… If it were me, I'd probably have broken down already.]
[Fumino Furuhashi (Level 6, Stage 9 ~ Level 7, Stage 1): Agreed. Miko is incredibly strong. Even now, if I saw those things, I'd probably be terrified. I really admire her.]
[Yuuki Asuna (Level 7, Stage 1): Miko's spiritual vision must be extremely high, right? Normally, people with high spiritual vision have great potential as Onmyoji. Is that the case for her?]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): That depends on the person. It seems Miko only has the ability to see spirits but lacks any real aptitude as an Onmyoji.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Alright, Miko is about to finish school soon. It's time for me to make my entrance.]
After posting her last message in the chat, Eriri shifted most of her attention away from the chatroom and back to the real world.
She was still sitting on Miko Yotsuya's desk, but she remained invisible and intangible, ensuring she didn't interfere with Miko in any way.
Turning her gaze to the girl sitting to Miko's right, Hana Yurikawa, Eriri observed her holding her textbook upright while secretly munching on a piece of bread.
The classmates who noticed her actions merely smiled knowingly, indicating that this was a common sight.
Through her perception, Eriri could see what Miko's spiritual vision could not—the life energy radiating from Hana Yurikawa, flickering around her like flames.
As Hana ate, the area covered by her life energy expanded, its intensity increasing.
This life energy was, in essence, a branch of conventional energy—a powerful vitality force.
Weak spirits that came into contact with Hana's life energy would be incinerated by its sheer power, reducing them to nothingness.
However, when facing stronger spirits, Hana's life energy was insufficient, requiring her to replenish it by consuming vast amounts of food—explaining her frequent hunger pangs.
The school was teeming with spirits, and her body constantly burned energy to ward them off, leading to her need to eat even during class.
Eating so much did have its perks—besides restoring her life energy, it had also sculpted an exceptionally well-proportioned figure.
Of course, this was due to Hana's natural talent; all the nutrients she consumed seemed to funnel directly to her chest.
For anyone else, such eating habits might have led to a very different outcome.
Having such strong life energy as an ordinary human was a rare trait, indicating that Hana possessed a unique physique.
If she were to step into the world of supernatural beings, she would undoubtedly be a prodigious talent with incredibly fast growth potential.
However, compared to the power levels of the chat group members, her potential paled in comparison—especially when faced with a bug-like existence like Eriri.
This unique physique also made her an irresistible target for spirits.
Just as there were weak and strong spirits, consuming Hana would grant them significant power boosts.
Yet, due to the "invisibility rule," spirits could not directly harm her. They could only gather around her, lurking for an opportunity.
In the original anime, while it was never explicitly stated how many spirits lurked in Hana Yurikawa's home, the fact that her bedroom clock frequently stopped at midnight suggested that a significant number of spirits gathered there, enough to interfere with reality.
At that moment, a spirit suddenly passed through the classroom door.
Like the others, this spirit exuded black smoke, with large portions of its facial skin missing. However, its tattered clothing hinted that it had once been a student.
Perhaps due to lingering attachments from life, it continued to roam the school hallways.
The spirit floated to the teacher's podium and let out a broken, halting voice:
"Teach…er, I… don't…under…stand… this…question…"
The spirit repeated this phrase over and over. But apart from Eriri and Miko Yotsuya, no one else in the room could see it.
Eriri turned her gaze toward Miko. The girl gripped her pen tightly, yet her eyes deliberately avoided the spirit's presence. Her ability to feign ignorance had clearly reached an impressive level.
However, when the spirit suddenly stopped speaking and began walking toward her desk, Miko's composure faltered slightly.
Tears welled up in her eyes, though she maintained a calm facial expression.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no! Why is it coming this way?!" Miko's mind screamed in panic.
Desperate to avoid revealing her ability, she refrained from making direct eye contact with the spirit, trying to quell her inner terror.
Then, she suddenly noticed the reappearance of the beautiful ghost girl from earlier, now sitting on her desk. That familiar fragrance wafted into her nose once more.
Caught off guard, Miko instinctively leaned back slightly—an action that, unfortunately, drew the spirit's attention. It locked its hollow, eerie eyes onto her.
"You… see me? You see me?! YOU SEE ME!"
The once slow-moving spirit suddenly shrieked in manic excitement. Its black aura churned violently as it lunged toward Miko.
"What do I do?! I've been exposed! I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'M GOING TO DIE!"
Her mind raced in sheer terror. Her face turned deathly pale, and the tears pooled in her eyes spilled down her cheeks.
Then, she witnessed something impossible.
The ghostly beauty on her desk extended a delicate finger. A beam of pink energy shot from its tip, traversing several meters in an instant and striking the aggressive spirit.
In the blink of an eye, the monstrous entity disintegrated into a wisp of black smoke, vanishing without a trace.
"It… It disappeared?!" Miko murmured in disbelief, staring at Eriri, who casually retracted her hand.
Inside, however, she was anything but calm.
She had previously witnessed a giant spirit devouring smaller spirits near a donut shop, but this was entirely different.
That was consumption—this was complete eradication.
It was just like an exorcist.
But a ghost performing an exorcism? That didn't make any sense!
And what was that pink energy? Was it spiritual power?
For the first time, a flood of questions overwhelmed Miko's mind.
At that moment, Miko found herself thinking that having Eriri around might not be such a bad thing.
Not only was she pleasant to look at, but she could also deal with the spirits that tried to attack her. With Eriri's presence, she wouldn't have to live in constant fear anymore.
However, she quickly snapped out of her thoughts and instinctively averted her gaze from Eriri.
Now that she had the idea of relying on Eriri for protection, Miko was even more determined not to let Eriri find out that she could see her. Strangely enough, she no longer minded Eriri's presence beside her.
In fact, a wave of deep gratitude welled up inside her. If Eriri hadn't intervened just now, she would have been devoured by that spirit!
Since Eriri had been facing away from her when she revealed herself, Miko assumed she hadn't noticed that she could "see." Otherwise, she wouldn't have remained so calm.
Just then, Hana Yurikawa, sitting to Miko's right, leaned over her desk and whispered, "Miko, are you hungry? Want me to share some of my bread with you?"
She sneakily pulled another wrapped bread roll from her drawer and gestured toward Miko.
It seemed that Hana had caught Miko's startled reaction earlier when Eriri appeared, and she had misunderstood the reason.
Miko shook her head gently and raised her hands in front of her chest, silently indicating that she wasn't hungry.
As her best friend, Hana immediately understood her response.
"Alright then!" Hana cheerfully retracted the bread, showing no sign of insistence. She then resumed eating what little remained of her current roll.
Since the teacher was busy writing on the board with his back turned to the students, he hadn't noticed their little exchange.
But even if he had, it probably wouldn't have been an issue.
Not only were their classmates used to Hana's habit of snacking during class, but even the teachers had seemingly accepted it. They never scolded her for it.
After dealing with Hana, Miko let out a small sigh of relief and stole a quick glance at Eriri, who was still sitting on her desk.
Eriri had now turned to face Miko directly, looking down at her with an enigmatic smile.
Miko, however, didn't detect anything unusual—she was too distracted by how breathtakingly beautiful Eriri's smile was.
A silent lament crossed her mind: What a waste…
...
Before long, the chime of the school bell signaled the end of class.
Since this was the last period of the afternoon, the bell also marked the official end of the school day.
"Miko, wanna hang out somewhere before heading home?" Hana asked as she tidied up her desk.
"I'll pass for today. We already planned to go shopping tomorrow, remember?"
It was Friday, meaning they had the weekend ahead of them, and Miko and Hana had made plans to visit the shopping district.
Miko had read online that prayer beads could ward off spirits, so she intended to buy a few for protection.
As for relying on Eriri to eliminate spirits for her, Miko let out a quiet sigh.
By the time class had ended, Eriri had vanished from her sight.
She had no way of knowing whether Eriri would suddenly reappear as she had before, so she wasn't ready to give up on the idea of buying the prayer beads just yet.
Miko Yotsuya and Hana Yurikawa did not participate in any club activities, so they left school immediately after classes ended.
Both of them lived a fair distance from the school—Miko took the bus while Hana used the subway.
They walked together until they reached the subway station, where they parted ways.
After watching Hana disappear into the station, Miko turned away and walked toward the nearby bus stop.
Since it was rush hour, she was not the only one waiting for the bus.
Moreover, she didn't see any spirits lingering around the stop, which allowed her to relax for a moment.
Taking out her phone, Miko searched for nearby shops that sold prayer beads, preparing for tomorrow's errand.
Before she knew it, ten minutes had passed.
During this short span, she had already decided on the shop she would visit. The beads weren't cheap, but if they could keep spirits away, she considered them a worthwhile investment.
At that moment, her Line app chimed with a message from Hana.
Hana: "Miko, did you get on the bus yet?"
Miko: "Not yet, but it should be here soon."
After sending her reply, Miko instinctively looked up in the direction where the bus would arrive.
And then, she froze.
Her left hand clenched the hem of her uniform skirt tightly.
A bloated spirit stood before her, its stomach grotesquely slashed open, exposing its internal organs. It stared directly at her.
Miko was all too familiar with this spirit—it was the very first one she had seen after gaining her ability to "see."
Though she had become somewhat accustomed to dealing with spirits, the fear in her heart was unavoidable. At least, she no longer reacted like she did the first time—when sheer terror had made her lose control of her bladder.
"Can you see me? Hey, you can see me, right?"
The bloated spirit repeated the same question as before.
Miko kept her eyes fixed on the distant road, avoiding direct contact with the spirit and silently praying for it to move on, as it had in the past.
But her prayers went unanswered. The spirit did not leave. It remained in front of her, continuously asking the same question over and over again.
Left with no choice, Miko decided to take action to distance herself from the entity.
"Ah~ The bus is really taking its time today," she said aloud.
While speaking, she tried to shift her gaze naturally, preparing to take a casual step toward a pair of girls standing on the other side of the bus stop.
However, before she could move, a familiar pink light flashed before her eyes.
In the blink of an eye, the bloated spirit vanished into a puff of black smoke—just like the one in her classroom earlier.
Miko's heart swelled with joy.
She immediately knew who was responsible.
And sure enough, in the next second, Eriri appeared beside her.
She had never imagined she would feel so relieved at the sight of a ghost. The sense of security Eriri brought made her want to hum a cheerful tune.
Eriri had never actually left Miko's side; she had merely remained invisible.
The only reason she hadn't immediately dealt with the bloated spirit was that she wanted to watch Miko's amusing "trying not to cry" expression for a bit longer.
Since the bloated spirit had been eliminated, Miko no longer needed to move toward the two girls.
Feeling grateful once again for Eriri's intervention, she turned her attention back to her phone, continuing her casual chat with Hana. She seemed completely unbothered by the fact that Eriri was standing less than a meter away from her.
Before long, the bus finally arrived.
...
By the time Miko reached her house, more than half an hour had passed.
She discreetly glanced at Eriri, who was still following her, and let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Taking out her keys from her bag, she was about to unlock the door when her movements suddenly stiffened.
She had just remembered—her father, who had also become a ghost, was inside.
Unlike the malicious spirits outside, her father still looked normal. But she couldn't be sure whether Eriri would perceive him as just another spirit to be eliminated.
She wanted her father to pass on peacefully, not to be forcibly erased.
But avoiding this encounter seemed impossible unless she stayed outside until Eriri left—which was clearly unrealistic. More than that, she didn't want Eriri to leave.
So she decided to take a gamble.
She would bet that Eriri would not destroy a benevolent spirit like her father.
"Miko, welcome home."
As she opened the door, a warm male voice greeted her.
Standing in the entryway was a middle-aged man with glasses, smiling kindly at her.
But Miko completely ignored him, acting as if he wasn't there. She calmly changed into her indoor slippers and walked further inside.
At the same time, she subtly monitored Eriri's reaction. To her immense relief, Eriri made no move to harm her father.
However, Miko did notice something peculiar—her father didn't seem to acknowledge Eriri's presence at all.
Could it be that even ghosts have different levels of awareness?
Unable to find another explanation, she simply accepted it as fact.
It was already 4:30 in the afternoon, but no one else in her family had returned yet.
She wasn't surprised, though. She had received messages earlier—her younger brother was playing at a friend's house, and her mother wouldn't be home for a while.
Time passed quickly, and soon four hours had gone by.
During that time, Eriri had stayed close to Miko, eliminating every spirit she encountered in the house.
With each spirit that was removed, Miko's gratitude toward Eriri grew stronger. Her dependence on Eriri deepened as well—she felt increasingly unable to part from her.
She had so many things she wanted to say to Eriri. If Eriri weren't a "ghost," she would have already poured out all her heartfelt thanks.
Aside from the spirits Miko had already seen, Eriri also eradicated those hiding in the house, including the grotesque entity that had once appeared alongside Miko's father.
In truth, if Eriri wanted to solve this world's spirit problem, it would be incredibly easy.
She could erase the spirits at their source, altering the fundamental rules of the world with a mere thought.
A more direct approach would be to completely eliminate supernatural energy from the world. Without that power, spirits wouldn't be able to exist at all—souls would simply vanish upon death, leaving no lingering ghosts behind.
Eriri chose not to intervene drastically in this world because it belonged to Miko Yotsuya. These were challenges Miko had to face herself.
...
Miko Yotsuya was feeling both troubled and embarrassed.
Right now, she was soaking in the bathtub, completely naked, while Eriri sat on the bathtub's edge, staring directly at her.
Miko was someone who valued cleanliness—taking a bath daily was essential for her. Otherwise, she wouldn't feel comfortable.
Since Eriri hadn't followed her to the restroom earlier, Miko assumed that she respected personal space and wouldn't intrude on her private moments.
However, to her shock, Eriri nonchalantly followed her into the changing room before her bath.
Since Eriri showed no signs of leaving, Miko hesitated briefly before ultimately choosing to proceed with her bath as usual. She undressed completely and entered the bathroom without trying to cover herself.
After all, Eriri was also a girl, so while the situation was embarrassing, it wasn't something Miko felt she was necessarily losing out on.
Of course, the end result was that Eriri got quite the visual treat.
To prevent any unexpected interruptions, Eriri discreetly used her energy to lock the changing room door, setting it so that it would remain locked while Miko was in the bath and unlock upon her exit.
Miko then proceeded to wash herself under Eriri's watchful gaze, creating a rather suggestive scene.
It had to be said—Miko's figure was quite remarkable. While some might say her bust was small compared to Hana's, it was still well-proportioned to her slim and delicate frame.
Hana's size was exceptional, even comparable to well-known figures like Haramura Nodoka.
In reality, Miko's proportions were quite balanced. Her bust was neither too large nor too small—just right for her body type.
Throughout the bath, Eriri occasionally made comments about Miko's physique, causing her face to redden. Yet, Miko had to maintain a calm expression and refrain from covering herself.
After finishing her shower, Miko slipped into the bathtub, leading to the current situation.
There she was, lying naked in the warm water, while Eriri sat beside her on the bathtub's edge.
From this close distance, Miko could fully take in Eriri's impossibly flawless face, her luminous white skin, and the golden hair that cascaded over a meter in length, draping elegantly over the tub's exterior.
A sweet and intoxicating fragrance filled the entire bathroom, making Miko feel increasingly overwhelmed.
If she stayed in this situation any longer, she was sure something inappropriate would happen. So she quickly shut her eyes, cleared her thoughts, and after a few minutes, hastily got up from the tub.
After drying herself off in the bathroom, Miko dressed in her pajamas in the changing room before heading back to her bedroom.
She knew that her bedroom had a lingering child spirit. Normally, she disliked spending too much time there because of it.
But with Eriri by her side, she no longer had anything to fear!
However, when she lifted her blanket, she found that the child spirit—who had appeared on her bed almost every night—was nowhere to be seen.
What now? She had been hoping that Eriri would eliminate the spirit so she could finally get a good night's sleep.
Still, Miko quickly brushed off the thought. If the child spirit didn't appear tonight, that was fine too. So long as Eriri remained by her side, the spirit would inevitably be dealt with sooner or later.
What Miko didn't realize was that Eriri had already eliminated the child spirit long before she even entered the room.
At this point, Miko was starting to see Eriri as her personal guardian spirit—perhaps even a divine savior rather than a ghost!
After all, only a being as ethereal and beautiful as Eriri could possibly be a goddess.
Without the looming threat of terrifying spirits, Miko happily snuggled into her blanket, feeling more at ease than she had in a long time.
But then, her gaze subtly drifted toward Eriri, who was floating effortlessly in midair. She had no idea how ghosts spent the night, but at this moment, she found herself completely unbothered by the idea of Eriri sharing her space.
In fact, if Eriri decided to slip under the covers with her, Miko felt she would be honored beyond belief.
People were naturally drawn to beauty. It wasn't just boys who adored beautiful girls—girls did, too.
And Eriri wasn't just any beautiful girl; she was on another level entirely. To Miko, sharing a bed with someone like Eriri would feel like winning the lottery.
The thought sent a wave of anticipation through her, and she couldn't help but look forward to what might happen next.
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