Chapter 6: An Ordinary Person
In the following days, Hikigaya led a rather uneventful life. He neither contacted the other gods slayers nor engaged with Yomi or other organizations; he merely went back and forth between school and home.
The rhythm of life was basically the same as before he entered Yomi.
The only difference was that before, he was a student; now, he was teaching others.
The pace of this quiet life was slow, yet time passed faster than Hikigaya had imagined. Unconsciously, July arrived, marking the end of Komachi's first semester of her second year in high school.
The Kanto region had also entered summer.
About two years ago, at this same time, Komachi had been roughly the same age. Because of her mischievousness, she went to watch two idiots fighting.
If it hadn't been for luck taking out Set, considering the durability of a Demon God Fist disciple generally wasn't very high, Hikigaya might now be lying somewhere in some corner—not killed by a living human's fist, but crushed in the internal struggles of Yomi.
When Yomi warriors didn't have human fists to fight, their greatest hobby was sparring with members of other factions. And since only their own faction counted as "official," other factions were trash, so killing a few heretics casually was nothing to be surprised about.
But these were just Hikigaya's personal reflections. For Komachi, entering summer vacation meant only excitement. She enthusiastically planned a trip to Tokyo, packed her things that night, and set off with her friends the next day.
Summer was the season for fireworks festivals. Girls would pin up their hair, wear yukata, and watch fireworks with someone they liked or were close to—it was considered the way to spend youth without regrets.
Tokyo, with its tradition of fireworks festivals dating back to the Edo period, made it easy for students living in the Tokyo economic zone to form groups and travel there using the well-developed public transport network.
In any case, Hikigaya didn't need to act as guardian for the time being.
After calling those in Yomi and instructing them to provide proper protection, Hikigaya temporarily freed himself from the role of guardian.
He wasn't worried about Komachi. First, he had confirmed her friends—these were the same girls he had met before. Second… after two years and so many experiences, his orders were fully executed across Japan.
After the Battle of Mount Nichirin, he had officially left the rookie village of the gods-slayer world.
For god-slayer, two years was a significant period. At least for the young slayers of this era, this time was used to gain recognition from their peers for control over their own "habitats."
The Battle of Mount Nichirin was a typical assertion of sovereignty by a god-slayer. The results were satisfactory; the other slayers accepted it.
In other words, from then on, Japanese sorcerers carried the label of "subordinate to a god-slayer."
They were no longer free. But with the loss of freedom came protection from their master. And since they had a "master," obedience was a basic requirement; if the master displeased, the servant could die.
This system wasn't something Hikigaya had discovered on his own—it had been told to him by Voban. How much Voban had mixed in personal bias was for Hikigaya to figure out.
He did notice, however, that from that point on, the Committee's behavior completely changed—they were obedient to the extreme, without causing any trouble.
Suddenly "single" again, Hikigaya found himself with a little free time. He decided to visit Yuko's small shop.
He had been keeping her under surveillance. According to the reports, she still hadn't met the person she was waiting for and continued running her little business.
A very interesting business: granting people their wishes.
For instance, if someone wanted to quit an online addiction, she would smash their computer with a stick. Hikigaya thought this approach to wish fulfillment was very down-to-earth.
Of course, some of her methods were more sophisticated, delivering objects imbued with magic—but those recipients tended to die later.
And in this, Japanese police officers remained as useless as ever.
Hikigaya set out for Yuko's shop around noon. It was the hottest part of the day, and he always felt other people's air conditioning was more comfortable.
But Yuko's shop had no air conditioning—it was still cool inside.
"Stay away from me! Don't cause trouble again!"
These words reached Hikigaya's ears as he approached the door.
They came from a boy nearby, whom Hikigaya thought he recognized.
Before he could figure out why he felt familiar, his attention was drawn to what was behind the boy:
A youkai…
Not a mature, solid-bodied youkai, but something like swirling mist. This youkai hadn't yet formed a physical body; its face couldn't even be seen clearly. It was still forming, and it was unknown whether it would become a single creature or a group once complete.
In this state, even in the magical world, one needed above-average spiritual awareness to sense its presence. This boy's awareness was clearly exceptional; he was even overwhelmed by the mist behind him.
It was actually quite unfortunate: despite having such strong awareness, able to perceive and endure the "weight" of an unformed youkai so vividly, the boy himself showed no signs of power.
In terms of strength hierarchy, he was an ordinary human.
Hikigaya walked over. The presence of a god-slayer caused the youkai around the boy to disperse instantly.
To it—or them—even if Hikigaya did nothing, his mere contact was a lethal threat, like a magical formation collapsing upon touching a god-slayer' skin.
The boy, suddenly feeling light all over, exclaimed "Huh?" in surprise. He climbed up from the ground with delight, shook out his arms and legs, then turned to see Hikigaya.
He wore the same expression as Hikigaya remembered: recognition tinged with familiarity.
Though his memory seemed better.
Because he immediately said, "You're the person from that day?"
"You know me?"
"That day at school—we met. You had a dog."
Boy, your glasses need recalibration. That day I had a fox, not a dog.
Hikigaya recalled where he had seen this boy: it was the day he first became a teacher. He met the boy in a small grove while being chased by a youkai.
Life really is full of coincidences.
"What's your name?" Hikigaya asked curiously.
"Kimihiro Watanuki. Thanks for that day—and today too."
Watanuki?
"You weren't born on April 1st, were you?"
"Yes," Watanuki said shyly. But the next moment, his expression changed drastically.
Hikigaya watched as he bolted toward Yuko's small shop.
"Hey, wait!" he shouted. Watanuki stumbled into Yuko's courtyard.
It seemed as though his upper and lower body had different control centers.
Compared to the lower body moving swiftly, the upper body seemed awkward; Hikigaya even saw him clutching a doorpost.
This boy was truly interesting.
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