"That... something Hikari-chan... is this seat taken?" Standing beside Hikari, Nozaki Yuu pointed to the seat next to him and asked.

"No, but aren't there still plenty of tables here?", Hikari said.

"In the library, the only person I know is you, so I want to sit with you," Nozaki Yuu said expressionlessly.

"Then have a seat," Hikari had no objections.

Nozaki Yuu didn't say much more and sat down beside Hikari.

Nozaki Yuu, with two dark circles under her eyes and a face full of laziness, clearly wasn't good at conversing with others.

And Hikari also didn't feel like talking, lowering his head and seriously reading his book.

Nozaki Yuu also began flipping through the large volume she had borrowed.

The two of them quietly read their books.

During this time, Hikari's speed of rapidly flipping through pages caused Nozaki Yuu to glance at him curiously.

In fact, from an outsider's perspective, Hikari's reading style looked just like the legendary "quantum speed reading."

But Nozaki Yuu wasn't someone who talked much, so she didn't ask, simply reading her own book.

However, anyone else seeing this would definitely be shocked.

But Hikari naturally wasn't pretending to read just for the sake of it, he really did read that fast.

With his current physical abilities far beyond those of normal people, he was practically at the level of photographic memory, so his reading speed was naturally very fast.

Otherwise, with the memory capacity of an ordinary person, learning about the eight million gods of Japan, who knows how long that would take. He'd probably forget half while reading.

Closing the finished book, Hikari was just about to open the second one.

But he suddenly saw that the blue-haired upperclassman, Nozaki Yuu, beside him, had already slumped over the book, apparently asleep.

Light, even, and cute breathing sounds gently emerged.

Quite civilized, no snoring. If it weren't for Hikari's good hearing, the breathing wouldn't even be audible.

But come to think of it, with Nozaki Yuu's night-owl nature, "I can sleep anywhere anytime", if she snored while sleeping, she'd probably have been beaten to death by now.

Maybe out of a natural sympathy for small and cute creatures, combined with Nozaki Yuu's lazy yet strangely protective-inducing aura, Hikari thought for a moment and took off his jacket to cover her.

Unexpectedly, the lazy, sleep-loving Nozaki Yuu seemed quite sensitive. After Hikari placed the jacket on her, she struggled a bit and slightly lifted her head, looked at the jacket on her, then glanced at Hikari.

Her small head slightly nodded, "Hikari-kun, you're a good man..."

After speaking, she buried her head back into the pages, and the subtle, steady breathing returned.

Hikari smiled and shook his head.

"Hikari-kun~..." Hikari suddenly saw Serizawa Yukiha standing not far away, waving at him and softly calling without making a sound.

Hikari immediately walked over to her.

"What's up?", At the front desk of the library, Hikari asked Serizawa Yukiha.

"It's nothing, just a little bored and wanted to chat with Hikari-kun. Do… do you mind?", Serizawa Yukiha asked a bit nervously.

"It's fine," Hikari smiled.

"Hikari-kun, you've been borrowing a lot of books lately about gods, ghosts, and strange tales, are you researching yokai and eerie urban legends recently?"

"I'm not trying to pry into your privacy, I just happened to notice, and… got curious."

"If it's inconvenient for you to talk about it, it's totally okay not to answer," Serizawa Yukiha quickly said.

"It's fine. It's normal for you to ask. Nothing I can't say. Recently, I have indeed been quite interested in that area," Hikari answered with a smile.

"Wow! Then we actually have pretty similar interests," Serizawa Yukiha was overjoyed.

She seemed to have found a fellow enthusiast and cheerfully said to Hikari, "I actually took the library assistant job because I love reading too."

"And the type of books I love most are just what Hikari-kun has been reading lately. I'm super into those stories about gods, ghosts, and monsters. Especially all those bizarre urban legends, I find them super thrilling! Like the Pencil Spirit, the Slit-Mouthed Woman, the Eight-Foot Tall Woman, the Snow Woman..."

"It's just that I'm a bit of a scaredy-cat, so I've never dared to try any of them, hehe."

"By the way, Hikari-kun, which legend do you like the most?"

Hearing Serizawa Yukiha's question, Hikari thought for a moment, "Hmm... I don't really have a favorite. As for urban legends, I've only recently started learning about them. But if I had to pick one, probably Hanako of the toilet."

After all, he had totally stir-fried her.

Hearing Hikari's answer, Serizawa Yukiha nodded and said, "I know Hanako. She was pretty popular at school not long ago. I heard someone saw Hanako behind the old school building. It was so scary, I definitely wouldn't dare to go look. I just like the idea, not the real thing."

"But recently I haven't heard anything. Maybe someone drove her away, hehe~"

"My favorite legend is the doll Mary."

"It's the one about the phone call from Miss Mary. Hikari-kun, have you heard of it?", Serizawa Yukiha asked Hikari excitedly.

"Tell me about it," Hikari had vaguely heard of the Mary doll urban legend, but seeing Serizawa Yukiha's excited face full of desire to talk, he cooperated and gave her the stage.

Hearing Hikari's reply, Serizawa Yukiha gleefully said, "Hehe! Then I'll tell you the urban legend of the Mary doll, also called 'Miss Mary's Phone Call."

"A long time ago in a town near Tokyo, a mother who worked as a family counselor received a payment and used it to buy her most beloved daughter a beautiful doll."

"The doll had big eyes, lovely silver-white hair, and a cute little face. It wore an exquisite gothic dress, with a slender, elegant waist."

"Because her parents were busy with work, the girl began to especially love playing with the doll. She played all sorts of games with it every day, named it 'Mary,' and treated it like a real friend, even eating and sleeping with it."

"But as the girl grew up and made more new friends, plus everyone saying only little kids play with dolls, she gradually neglected the doll."

"When she moved to a new house, having already lost interest in dolls, she abandoned it in the old home."

"The girl was very happy in the new house. The room decor had been carefully designed by her mother, in her favorite warm pink. She made many new friends and lived a very happy life."

"But on the seventh day after moving in, when the girl was alone in her second-floor bedroom, the phone suddenly rang."

["Hello, I'm Miss Mary. I'm at your front door."]

"A strange and unfamiliar female voice spoke. Before the girl could react—"

"The caller hung up after just that one sentence. The girl found it strange and set the receiver down, thinking it was a wrong number."

"However, not long after, the phone rang again, urgently."

["Hello, I'm Miss Mary. I've opened your door."]

"The strange voice sounded again, and again the phone hung up before she could speak."

"Perhaps it was her imagination, but the girl thought she heard light footsteps coming from the hallway outside her door."

"Her palm, clutching the receiver, began to sweat. Her heart pounded faster and faster, louder and louder."

"Then, the phone rang again."

["Hello, I'm Miss Mary. I'm at your bedroom door."]

"That strange voice once again came through the receiver."

"The girl, alone at home, was truly frightened now. She rushed to the door and locked it, but didn't hear anything outside."

"'Nothing happened... maybe I'm overthinking...' The girl sighed in relief. But then, the phone behind her rang again."

"She quickly went over, picked up the receiver, and held it to her ear."

"A strange voice, accompanied by a chilling wind, came from behind her."

["Hello, I'm Miss Mary. I'm right behind you!"]

When she finished, Serizawa Yukiha made a spooky face at Hikari, "Hehe! Isn't Miss Mary's story scary but fun?"

"Mhm mhm," Seeing Serizawa Yukiha make a ghost face so cutely, Hikari nodded perfunctorily, not wanting to ruin her vibe.

"How about I tell you another ghost story, Hikari-kun?", Serizawa Yukiha seemed not to have had enough.

Hikari shook his head, "Hold on."

As he spoke, he pulled out his vibrating phone from his pocket.

As his newly set ringtone Gokuraku Jodo played, it was clearly a phone call.

Seeing this, Serizawa Yukiha stuck out her tongue and quickly stopped talking to avoid disturbing Hikari.

Hikari assumed it was Yukino or Natsuha calling to chat…

Or maybe Kurashiki Reina urging him for something.

Hikari didn't think much of it.

Since they were still in the library, it obviously wasn't convenient to take the call.

So after giving Serizawa Yukiha a quick word, he turned and walked out of the library alone.

Standing just outside the entrance, Hikari casually pressed the answer button.

A clear and unfamiliar girl's voice suddenly came through.

["Hello, I'm Miss Mary. I'm currently at the school."]

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