“Haa...”
Itsuka-kun let out a long sigh, looking incredibly exhausted for some reason. I wondered if something had happened, but he was too far away for me to ask.
Still puzzled, I watched as the attendance check began.
“Yes! Everyone’s here!”
Tamae-sensei’s expression looked strangely familiar. Where had I seen that look before...?
Ah, it was when Tohka and I transferred in.
“Today, we have a new transfer student joining this class~!”
My guess was right. The teacher announced the arrival of a transfer student, and the entire class immediately erupted into noise. How long had it even been since Tohka and I arrived? Another one already.
“Now, come in!”
At the teacher’s words, the door slid open. A girl stepped inside, and I couldn’t help but freeze in shock the moment I saw her.
She had long black hair, bangs covering the left side of her face, and twin tails cascading down her shoulders.
Wait, is that the young lady?!
It was the same girl I’d run into twice before. Her name was definitely...
“My name is Tokisaki Kurumi~”
Right, Tokisaki Kurumi.
The boys cheered the moment they saw her face. I couldn’t say I didn’t understand their reaction; Tokisaki-san was undeniably beautiful. Still, I didn’t think it was necessary to cheer that loudly...
“I am a spirit.”
With that single line, the atmosphere in the classroom turned icy. I was just thinking it was a bizarre self-introduction when I realized she had used a word that absolutely should not have been spoken aloud.
“A spirit?”
I looked around, and Itsuka-kun, Tohka, and Tobiichi all wore expressions of pure shock. Apparently, none of them had known either.
“Aha, that was quite a unique introduction, wasn’t it? Now, as for the empty seat...”
“Before that, may I ask one thing?”
The teacher tried to smooth things over in a hurry, but she failed. Tokisaki-san explained that since she was unfamiliar with the school, she would like someone to show her around after class.
“Leave it to me!”
Tonomachi-kun shot to his feet, hand raised high.
“I’ll pass.”
Rejected instantly, he sat back down with a dejected look. He’d teased Itsuka-kun before by calling him a [Sexual Beast], but to me, that nickname seemed to suit Tonomachi-kun much better.
Anyway, I shook off the useless thoughts and kept my eyes on the young lady. Suddenly, our gazes met.
When she gave me a playful, smiling look, I quickly averted my eyes.
Tap. Tap.
But as if she had already decided on her guide, footsteps approached. Soon, they stopped right beside my desk.
“Hieta-san?”
Her voice drifted over me. When I turned my head like a rusted machine, the young lady was standing right in front of me.
“H-hello... It’s been a while, young lady.”
I greeted her awkwardly. She looked at me, her eyes curving into that same smile, and whispered softly, “Would you mind helping me?”
The moment those words left her lips, a wave of killing intent flooded the room. The source was unmistakably the collective rage of every boy in the class.
“D-do I really have to be the one...?”
I felt that if I accepted too readily, I’d be buried somewhere in the school grounds by the end of the day, so I asked a question that was essentially a refusal. The young lady’s expression darkened slightly. “Is that not okay...?”
This time, the killing intent shifted, pouring in from the girls. If I accepted, the boys would kill me. If I refused, the girls would kill me. Caught between a rock and a hard place, I broke into a cold sweat and scrambled for a decision.
“N-no! Of course not! Yes, I’ll show you around!”
“Oh my, really?”
Her face brightened instantly, and the hostility from the girls faded. However, I couldn't relax; the boys' glare had only intensified.
Hahaha, I’m doomed.
While I was sighing inwardly, wondering how to survive the day without being murdered, the young lady turned to Itsuka-kun and made him the same offer.
“Would you mind helping me too, Shido-san?”
“Huh? Me? Isn’t Hieta enough?”
“Hmm... is that a refusal...?”
In the end, Itsuka-kun was also hit by her "dejected-attack" and had no choice but to accept the role of guide.
******
After school, as the other students headed home, I was receiving confirmation that the young lady really was a spirit.
[I've confirmed it on my end as well. I never thought she’d actually be a spirit.]
[Well, this is a good opportunity. Raise her affection while the AST isn’t interfering and make her fall for you!]
It was true that now, with the AST absent, was the best time. But my instincts told me things weren’t going to go that smoothly.
Why do weird things keep clinging to me?
My friend before the possession was weird, then it was enemies, and now the AST and spirits were getting tangled up in my life. Well, I had gone looking for the AST quite a bit, but I certainly hadn't gone looking for spirits.
While I was lost in thought, staring blankly out the window, a voice called from behind.
“Hieta-san?”
“Ah, sorry. I was just lost in thought for a moment.”
“Then let’s get going~”
Itsuka-kun and I led the young lady out of the classroom to begin the tour.
“How about the cafeteria and the store first?”
“Yes.”
Itsuka-kun suggested it, but this was also an order from [Fraxinus]. The plan was for Itsuka-kun to make the first approach, and if he failed, I would take over. We introduced the cafeteria first and then moved on to the store.
“The popular item here is the yakisoba bread.”
“Is that so?”
“But my recommendation is... this, duri—ugh!”
Before Itsuka-kun could finish, I jabbed him hard in the side. He gasped and flinched, causing the young lady to look at him suspiciously.
“What are you doing...?”
“It’s Itsuka-kun’s fault for recommending something weird. Durian bread is on the same level as mint chocolate and pineapple pizza.”
“It’s not that bad...”
Itsuka-kun pouted and turned his head away.
“Eek!”
He yelped suddenly. I leaned over to see what was happening, and found the young lady standing right beside him, staring intently at his face. Yeah, that would startle anyone.
“W-what is it?”
“I’m sorry. I got distracted by the side of your face, Shido-san~”
“Huh? Distracted?”
[What are you going to do if he gets seduced?!]
With the commander’s exasperated tone ringing in my ear, we moved on to the next location.
[“What kind of panties is Kurumi wearing?” What the hell is that supposed to mean?!]
The commander’s voice came through the intercom, but the content was... strange. It sounded like she had been reading a choice and wondering about one of the options aloud.
“K-Kurumi, what kind of panties are you wearing right now?”
“Panties, you say?”
Itsuka-kun followed the commander’s "instructions" without the slightest suspicion. Immediately, the commander screamed in a flustered voice through the intercom.
[Idiot! That wasn’t an instruction! I was just wondering about the spirit!]
I pressed a hand to my forehead and shook my head. The commander, who had forgotten to mute her mic, and Itsuka-kun, who had blurted it out without a second thought—they were both equally hopeless.
“Are you curious about them~?”
“Huh?”
“It’s fine, if it’s you, Shido-san and Hieta-san.”
The young lady agreed. She stepped up the nearby stairs and brought her hand to the hem of her skirt.
“Young lady. Even so, teasing us like this is too much.”
I grabbed her wrist and stopped her. The young lady looked at me, smiled, and said in a regretful tone, “But I really don’t mind~”
“Haa... Young lady. Even with same-sex friends, you don’t just show your underwear out of nowhere. And we aren't even the same sex; we're the opposite. We aren't even friends yet. Please, have some modesty.”
[Wow, that was seriously old-man-ish. Hiki.]
Shut up, commander.
“By the way, what was that 'spirit' thing you mentioned this morning?”
“Hehe. No need to play dumb~ You know all about spirits, don’t you, Shido-san~?”
At that, both Itsuka-kun and I stiffened. Come to think of it, she had known Itsuka-kun’s name since this morning. Just who was she?
“How do you know about me?”
“That’s a secret~ The only thing I can tell you now is that ever since I met you, Shido-san, I’ve been in love with you~”
With that, the young lady stepped down the stairs and took Itsuka-kun’s hand in both of hers. Just as she was about to say something else—
Crash!
A nearby cleaning closet burst open, and Tohka and Tobiichi jumped out from inside.
“Why are you two coming out of there?!”
“Let go of that hand.”
I asked in disbelief, but they completely ignored me. That was just cold.
“I have a bit of anemia, you see. So the kind Shido-san is holding my hand for me~”
The moment Tobiichi heard that, she sank to the floor, claiming she had anemia too. I stared at her in disbelief, only for Tohka to start shaking her own body, insisting she had anemia as well.
“Commander. Can I just leave? Itsuka-kun is handling the guide role just fine, and the young lady doesn’t seem interested in me anyway.”
[No. And for some reason, your affection level is actually rising right now.]
At the commander’s firm reply, I sighed inwardly, wondering how on earth I was supposed to escape this place.
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