Chapter 156 – Want to Sit?
"Done!" After sitting in Yurikawa Hana's room for an hour, Hikigaya Hachiman finally completed his work.
Looking at the bracelet on the table—completely transparent and crystalline, with no trace of its original prayer-bead form—Hikigaya Hachiman nodded in satisfaction.
"Is this the prayer beads from that old lady at the shopping district?" Hearing him, the two girls who had been studying leaned closer, curiously examining the bracelet in front of him.
"Mm, but I modified it. Yotsuya-san, try wearing it." Saying this, Hikigaya handed the bracelet over to Yotsuya Miko.
"Okay." Her face reddening slightly, Yotsuya Miko nodded, picked up the bracelet, and slipped it onto her left wrist.
"How is it? Do you feel anything?" Yurikawa Hana widened her eyes, watching Miko for changes.
But to her disappointment, nothing unusual happened.
"It feels... very comfortable after putting it on, and it gives me a strong sense of safety..." Wearing the bracelet, Yotsuya Miko glanced at a little old man spirit that had appeared in the corner, and suddenly she felt a deep certainty that it couldn't harm her.
To test her thought, she stood up and walked over to the little old man spirit, pointing the bracelet at it.
"!!!" The little old man, who had been playing with a coin, suddenly covered its face and let out a shrill scream upon seeing the bracelet.
The bracelet burst into a bright light, instantly purifying it. This time, the little old man didn't even leave behind black smoke.
"Amazing..." Yotsuya Miko looked again at the bracelet on her wrist and let out a sigh of wonder. With this bracelet, she wouldn't have to be afraid of evil spirits suddenly appearing at night anymore, right?
"The bracelet stores spiritual power. Each use consumes some of it..." In theory, Hikigaya's modified version could defend against several strikes from even a king-class spirit. Against lesser spirits, it could last for more than an hour.
Not only that, but the bracelet also had automatic repelling functions, the ability to release spiritual power to exterminate spirits, and even the effect of lowering the wearer's presence.
But since it was Yotsuya Miko's first time using it, she hadn't controlled the amount of power released.
Watching her burn through enough spiritual power to kill a high-level spirit—just to vaporize a barely low-level one—Hikigaya's lips twitched.
He reached out, took the bracelet back, and while replenishing its spiritual power, reminded Yotsuya not to recklessly activate it.
"Um, Hikigaya-kun~" Hana suddenly poked his arm, then put her hands together before her chest, looking at him expectantly.
"Don't worry, I'll make one for you too." With that, Hikigaya pulled out all the remaining prayer beads from his storage and let her choose one for him to modify.
Prioritizing looks above all else, Hana quickly chose the one she liked best.
Holding it solemnly in her palms, she carefully placed it into Hikigaya's hand and said with grave seriousness:
"Hikigaya-kun, I'll leave this child in your care!"
Hikigaya: "..." He had no idea why Hana thought of herself as the "mother" of prayer beads, but he began working on the modifications anyway.
And at her strong request, he had to make it a "sister version" of Yotsuya Miko's bracelet.
"That's so nice. I've always wanted to wear matching beads with Miko!" Having completely lost the mood to study, Hana lay on her bed, watching intently as Hikigaya worked on the prayer beads.
Previously, Miko had given her two strings of beads, but they had broken almost immediately. She had been disappointed for a long time after that.
"Are you planning on becoming monks?" Hearing Hana's words, Hikigaya couldn't help but retort. Other than monks and old people, who would buy prayer beads as accessories?
"I read online that prayer beads have some effect against spirits..." Blushing, Yotsuya Miko explained why she had bought them in the first place.
"Online?" Recalling that he himself had asked Kawasaki Saki to accept exorcism requests online, Hikigaya fell into thought.
As expected of modern society, huh? The internet really was omnipotent...
At noon, he freeloaded a meal at Hana's house.
Madam Yurikawa's warmth reminded him of Yuigahama Yui's mother. Back when he had gone to Yuigahama's house for a study session, he had been treated with the same hospitality.
After eating a truly lavish lunch—and witnessing Hana's true appetite—Hikigaya returned to the room to continue modifying the beads.
Finally, by a little after three in the afternoon, having drained the last bit of spiritual power from his body, he completed the sister version of Yotsuya Miko's bracelet!
"So pretty!" Receiving the bracelet as if it were treasure, Hana immediately slipped it onto her right wrist, then compared it to Miko's.
Seeing that the two looked identical in appearance, Hana excitedly hugged Hikigaya and jumped up.
Hikigaya: "???" Yotsuya Miko: "!!!"
"Ah, sorry, I got a little too excited..." Hana quickly realized her actions had been inappropriate. She stuck out her tongue, let go of Hikigaya, and instead hugged Yotsuya Miko.
"Well, since everything's done, I'll head back now." Though Hana's actions had been innocent, Hikigaya clearly couldn't stay in the room any longer.
Besides, he had already finished making both of their spiritual tools. Seizing the opportunity, he suggested leaving.
.
.
.
On the train ride home, Hikigaya let out a deep breath. To complete the spiritual tools for both Miko and Hana as quickly as possible, he had used up all of his spiritual power.
As a result, he now felt extremely tired, as if his entire body had been hollowed out.
"I'll just go to bed early tonight." He couldn't hold back a yawn. Leaning against the seat, Hikigaya closed his eyes, intending to nap for a bit.
But suddenly, he felt someone watching him.
Snapping his eyes open, he looked up to see Isshiki Iroha standing in front of him, curiously staring at him.
"What are you doing here?" Being stared at by a girl the whole time made Hikigaya uncomfortable.
"Shouldn't I be the one asking that? It's the weekend, senpai—you should be cooped up at home. Why are you out and about?" Because of her height, Isshiki had to stand on tiptoe to hold onto the overhead strap, so that the train's swaying wouldn't throw her off balance.
"Want to sit?" Seeing how tired she looked, Hikigaya asked if she wanted to take his seat.
But to his surprise, upon hearing that, Isshiki only stared at him in astonishment.
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