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The teaching building, Class 1-F.
As Miko Yotsuya was packing up her books, she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw a message from Max.
"See you in half an hour."
Her golden eyes flickered slightly.
After agreeing to meet him last night, she'd accidentally fallen asleep.And like always, she was jolted awake in the middle of the night by another nightmare.
After that, she couldn't get back to sleep at all.
That was why she had dark circles under her eyes and kept nodding off in class every day.
Now that she knew Max could also see ghosts, she hoped he might have some answers—something that could help her.
She, Miko Yotsuya, had had enough of living like this.
"Okay."
She replied with just one word.
"Hey, Miko! Lunchtime!"
Her best friend, Hana Yurikawa, bounced over with her usual bright smile, carrying a huge bento box.
"Mm."
Miko nodded lightly and took out her own lunch.
Meanwhile, somewhere else—
Max, who never bothered to bring his own lunch, left the classroom and headed toward the school cafeteria, Man Shiju.
It was April 14th—the third week of the new semester.
From the very first day, Max had never once packed a lunch.
In one word: lazy.
He always just ate at the cafeteria.
To be fair, the cafeteria at Tōgō Academy was actually great. They served all kinds of international dishes, with chefs from the countries the cuisines came from.
Because of that, about half the students chose to eat there every day.The other half still preferred homemade bento.
After arriving, Max ordered a bowl of twice-cooked pork rice.Not bad—pretty tasty.
He blinked, and before he knew it, twenty minutes had passed.
Back in Class 1-F—
Miko finished her lunch, packed away her bento box, wiped her mouth, and looked at Hana.
"Hana, I'm going out for a bit."
"The bathroom? I'll come with you!"
Hana immediately stood up.
"Uh, no…"
Miko shook her head quickly. "I've got to meet someone. I'll be fine on my own."
"Meet someone? Do I know them?"
Hana frowned slightly, her big eyes blinking in confusion and curiosity.
"You… do."
Miko hesitated under her friend's gaze. In the end, she couldn't bring herself to lie.
"Who is it?"
Now Hana was even more curious.If she knew the person, why wouldn't Miko take her along? Was there something she wasn't supposed to find out?
"Max."
"Wait—Max?!"
Hana froze, eyes widening in shock.
"Yeah. Him."
At this point, Miko could only nod.
Before Hana could ask anything else, she stood up abruptly.
"I'm going."
And without giving her friend a chance to respond, Miko hurried out of the classroom.
There was no way she could tell Hana about the ghosts.
Even setting aside whether Hana would believe her—just imagining how terrified she'd be was enough.If Hana knew, she'd probably be on edge all day, every day.
"Ah…"
Hana watched Miko's back as she left, opening her mouth to say something but closing it again.
She just stood there for a few seconds, blinking in confusion.
She could feel Miko was hiding something from her.
Frowning slightly, she began to think:
"Why would Miko go see Max by herself?""And why hide it from me?""Don't tell me…"
Remembering what happened yesterday, a sudden thought hit her.
Could it be that Miko had actually fallen for Max?
Was it love at first sight?!
—
Meanwhile, Miko had no idea what was running through her best friend's head as she made her way to the student council office.
About five minutes later, she arrived.
Knock, knock.
After waiting a few seconds, she turned the doorknob.
"Excuse me, sorry to bother you."
She stepped in—and immediately spotted Max sitting on the sofa.
"Come sit."
He smiled lightly at her.
Miko's golden eyes flickered as she closed the door and walked over to sit across from him.
For a moment, they just stared at each other in silence.The air between them felt oddly tense.
Seeing that, Max broke the quiet first.
"Miko, didn't you say you had a bunch of questions?""If not, I'll be heading back to class."
"Wait."
She hesitated for only a second before starting to voice all the questions that had been eating at her since last night.
Max listened, then chuckled.
"All right, let's take it one at a time. I'll start with the first one."
"When did I start seeing evil spirits? Honestly… just a few days ago."
"What—just a few days?!"
Miko blinked at him, her face saying, Are you kidding me? Do I look that dumb?
He'd always looked so calm in front of ghosts, acting like they were nothing. She'd assumed he'd been able to see them for ages.
And now he was telling her it had only been a few days?Yeah, no way.
She'd been seeing these things for over a month and still got terrified every time.
Max, on the other hand, looked like a total pro when facing them—definitely not some newbie.
"What, you don't believe me?"
Catching her expression, Max didn't even have to guess what she was thinking.
Miko just gave him a look that said everything: →_→
He smirked. "You can't judge everyone the same way. People are built differently, you know. Don't underestimate me."
"Anyway, on to your second question."
"Is there a way to not see them anymore? The answer is—yes."
"What is it?"
Her eyes lit up instantly, hope and excitement replacing all doubt.
Max smiled faintly. "There's definitely a way. I just… don't know what it is yet."
"Uh…"
Her shoulders slumped in disappointment.
"Third question," Max went on. "Are there real exorcists in this world?"
He paused dramatically.
Miko's eyes widened, her fists clenching lightly.Not because she was angry—just nervous and eager.
"Yes," he said finally, smiling. "But I've never met one myself."
Before his "golden finger" appeared, Max had tried all sorts of ways to deal with that clawed evil spirit.
He'd looked for exorcists, visited several shrines, and tried every possible method.None of it worked.
Still, he was sure people like exorcists or spirit hunters really did exist somewhere in the world.
He just hadn't met one yet.
Like that "Eye of the Gods" from the old district—
"I see…"
Hearing his answer, Miko sighed softly. The tension in her hands eased, and a flicker of disappointment crossed her face.
She'd already expected that answer.
After all, she'd tried those things too—visiting shrines, seeking out exorcists, wearing charms and prayer beads.
None of it helped. Not even a little.
"....."