"Huh?"

Sensing a large shadow cast over him, Hikigaya Hachiman lifted his head and saw Miura Yumiko staring down at him with a blank expression.

"Do you need something, Miura-san?"

For some reason, being stared at by Miura Yumiko at this moment made Hikigaya feel a trace of nervousness. Even though he hadn't done anything guilty at all…

"Yui came to you again, huh."

When she spoke, Miura Yumiko's face carried obvious displeasure. And what's more, the way Yui addressed him had changed—from "Hikki" to the much more intimate "Hachi"...

"So?"

Swallowing nervously, Hikigaya cautiously asked back.

"It's nothing. I was just a little surprised seeing you actually fill out the entire test paper during the exam this morning, so I came over to take a look."

Arms crossed before her chest, Miura Yumiko spoke while maintaining a haughty posture.

"No no no, the things you just said don't match up at all, do they?"

Hikigaya retorted in his heart. She was just talking about Yuigahama, and then suddenly the topic turned to exams—wasn't that shift way too abrupt?!

"Weren't you the same though?"

Hikigaya replied expressionlessly to Miura Yumiko's question. Honestly, compared to him, Miura Yumiko's performance during the exam just now was even more surprising.

After all, up until last Friday she had always been in a completely relaxed state. Yet in just the two days of the weekend, she had apparently reviewed all the test content, and judging from the pace at which she was answering earlier, her accuracy rate should be quite high.

"Hmph, that's because someone tutored me!"

Lifting her chin slightly, Miura Yumiko's eyes carried a trace of pride. Having a neighbor who was in Tokyo University's Medical Department wasn't something just anyone could boast of.

And on top of that, he was a once-in-a-lifetime handsome guy, from an extremely wealthy family…

Thinking of Inoue Yasutaka's warm and gentle smile, Miura Yumiko felt her cheeks flush slightly. Jeez, why was she suddenly acting like some lovestruck girl? Wasn't the person she liked supposed to be Hayama…?

"???"

Watching Miura Yumiko suddenly cover her face with a shy expression, Hikigaya was utterly confused. He hadn't done anything at all! What on earth was she trying to pull, showing that kind of expression out of nowhere?

"Uh…"

Suddenly, a low, hoarse groan echoed in the classroom. Under Hikigaya's gaze, an evil spirit gradually condensed from the cluster of classmates whose faces were dejected—clearly those who hadn't done well on the exam.

"So this is how evil spirits are born?"

Seeing the birth of an evil spirit for the first time, Hikigaya was slightly surprised. But thinking about it, since evil spirits were essentially the collection of all kinds of negative emotions, it made sense that they would be born out of despair.

Bang!

Just as Hikigaya was about to make a move and eliminate this newly born spirit, he suddenly heard the sound of something falling to the floor beside him.

Turning his head, he saw that the previously blushing Miura Yumiko now looked tense as she stared at the spirit that had just appeared. Her figure—impressive enough to put most girls her age to shame—was trembling slightly.

The sound just now had been made when she accidentally knocked one of the books off Hikigaya's desk.

"No way?"

Looking at Miura Yumiko, a sense of absurdity flickered in Hikigaya's heart. The ability to see evil spirits was something determined from birth. And he had already confirmed before that Miura Yumiko could not see them.

But now…

Watching her forcibly act calm, Hikigaya abandoned the idea of striking down the spirit.

"I'm heading back!"

Taking a deep breath, Miura Yumiko deliberately circled around the front of the classroom and returned to her own seat on the other side, where she started playing on her phone.

But judging from her absentminded tapping at the screen, it was clear her attention was still fixed on the evil spirit in the classroom.

Fortunately, after lingering in place for a short while, the newborn evil spirit drifted out of the classroom, disappearing somewhere unknown.

.

.

.

Noon, on the rooftop of the school building.

Faced with the hearty lunch that Yotsuya Miko had prepared, Hikigaya Hachiman did not pick up his chopsticks. He was still thinking about the matter concerning Yumiko Miura earlier.

"Hikigaya-kun, could it be that you didn't do well on this morning's exam, and that's why you don't have an appetite?"

Watching Hikigaya deep in thought, Yurikawa Hana bit her chopsticks while staring eagerly at the bento in his hands.

"Don't you even think about it!"

But before Hana could finish her words, Yotsuya Miko reached out and knocked her lightly on the head. The bento Hikigaya was holding was something she had carefully prepared since early morning. How could it end up in Yurikawa Hana's stomach?

Besides, she had also made a bento for Hana herself!

"Hehe…"

Her little scheme exposed, Yurikawa Hana awkwardly turned her head away.

"Hey, Yotsuya-san, do you think it's possible for someone who originally couldn't see evil spirits to suddenly gain the ability to see them by chance?"

Hikigaya suddenly raised his head and asked Yotsuya Miko. After all, among the people he knew, she was one of the only two ordinary people capable of seeing spirits.

And compared to that unreliable little loli, he much preferred asking Yotsuya.

"Suddenly gaining the ability to see spirits?"

At Hikigaya's words, Yotsuya Miko exchanged a glance with Yurikawa Hana before shaking her head.

"Sorry, I don't really know anything about that."

"Yeah, yeah! Suddenly being able to see spirits would be way too scary, wouldn't it?"

Yurikawa Hana agreed with a nod. She was already terrified of ghosts. When she had first learned from Yotsuya that spirits actually existed in the world, it had taken her a long time to overcome her fear.

She really couldn't imagine how she would go on living if one day she suddenly became able to see them herself. Would she have to carry Hikigaya around with her all the time? But if she did that, wouldn't Miko get jealous?

"True enough."

Hearing the two girls' answers, Hikigaya realized that although Yotsuya had been dealing with spirits for a long time, she was still just an ordinary person—she actually knew even less than he did.

Did that mean he would have to go ask that downtown shaman lady again?

But after thinking about it, Hikigaya quickly dismissed the idea of going to see Takeda Mie. Her strength was limited, and even if he went, it would probably just be a wasted trip…

"Ah, that's right!"

Catching sight of the bracelet on Yotsuya's left wrist—the one he had crafted himself—Hikigaya's eyes suddenly lit up. How could he have forgotten Komachi's friends?

The families of Isayama Yomi and Tsuchimiya Kagura were said to have traditions passed down for hundreds of years. Surely they could answer his doubts.

But… what identity should he use to ask them? Hadn't he always been pretending to be just an ordinary person in front of those two?

Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee.com/varietl