"Successfully defeated one General-level evil spirit, gained 3000 spirit coins." "Successfully defeated one General-level evil spirit, gained 3000 spirit coins." . . "Successfully defeated one General-level evil spirit, gained 3000 spirit coins." .........

The system notification sounded repeatedly five times in Hachiman Hikigaya's ears, and with it, his previously nearly depleted spirit coins balance rose back up to 16,000. Looking at the balance on the panel, Hachiman felt an unreal sensation inside.

Since when did acquiring spirit coins become so easy?

However, Hachiman's momentary daze was brief.

After a slight surprise, he immediately snapped back to reality.

He placed a concealment talisman each on himself and Yotsuya Mikako's back, then grabbed her hand and dashed out of the KTV private room.

Just minutes after the two left, the shadows in the room suddenly gathered together.

Then a figure abruptly appeared in the spot where Hachiman had just stood.

It sniffed the air and suddenly spoke with excitement, "This scent is… an exorcist?!"

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Hachiman had no idea what was happening after he left. At this moment, he was carefully weaving through the streets with Yotsuya Mikako, following the route designated by the system towards the exit.

"Can we rest for a moment?" Suddenly, Yotsuya tugged at Hachiman's clothes from behind, her face flushed red, and she shyly asked.

"What's wrong?"

Hearing Yotsuya's request, Hachiman instinctively frowned.

He looked up at the evil spirits drifting overhead, then looked down and encouraged her, "We're almost at the exit, just hold on a little longer!"

"No... I can't hold on anymore..." But after hearing his words, Yotsuya's face turned even redder. Not only that, tears welled up at the corners of her eyes.

"Can't hold on?" Hachiman tilted his head in confusion. What exactly can't she hold on to? With a questioning look, Hachiman sized up Yotsuya. She was clenching her legs tightly, looking down and shifting uncomfortably, like she wanted to say something but couldn't.

Hachiman: I think I understand what's going on...

"Let's go into the shop nearby..." Hachiman kindly placed another concealment talisman on Yotsuya, then pointed to a nearby shop, signaling her to go inside if she wanted.

However, Yotsuya didn't accept his suggestion. Her right hand pulled at the hem of her clothes as she tried hard to endure, but her other hand grabbed Hachiman's arm.

"Is there something else?" Because of propriety, Hachiman was about to patrol around, but he didn't expect Yotsuya to refuse to let him go.

"Don't... go far..." Her voice was so embarrassed it was barely audible, almost like a mosquito's buzz.

"Do you realize what you're saying?" Hachiman gave her a serious and helpless look. He was honestly scared by her words.

"Of course I do, but for safety, there's no other way..." Yotsuya whispered her explanation.

She knew how bold her decision was for a girl. But thinking back to the evil spirits that nearly made her lose control earlier, she decided it was better to have Hachiman stay close when she needed to go.

After all, staying alive is the most important!

"Alright then..." Hachiman twitched his face a little after hearing Yotsuya's reasoning. But she did have a point. The entire space was filled with evil spirits, and the best way to ensure her safety was to never leave her side. Since Yotsuya didn't mind, naturally...

"Splash~" The sound of flowing water came from beside them, and with only a wall between them,

Hachiman felt extremely embarrassed. Why did he agree to such a ridiculous request?!

Soon the water sounds faded away. Yotsuya, her face still bright red, walked out from behind the wall.

"Let's go..." Seeing Hachiman staring intently at her, Yotsuya immediately lowered her head and reminded him standing in front of her.

"Ah, ah!" Her words snapped Hachiman out of his endless regret. Looking at Yotsuya's flushed face, for some reason, his own face also turned red.

"Ahem, then let's keep going..." Taking several deep breaths to ease the awkwardness, Hachiman gathered his energy and continued heading toward the exit with Yotsuya.

However, what they didn't notice was that not far away, an evil spirit floated lazily towards the wall behind which Yotsuya had just relieved herself...

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About ten minutes later, just as Hachiman sighed with relief upon seeing an unremarkable-looking shop, a dark cloud of evil spirits suddenly appeared in the distant sky!

"Detected Special-class evil spirit..." "Detected High-class evil spirit..." "Detected General-class evil spirit..." . . .

The system's continuous notifications turned Hachiman's mind into chaos.

While desperately enduring the mental noise, Hachiman looked up to observe the suddenly appearing horde. Though he couldn't count them precisely, he estimated there were more than a hundred spirits—and all of high rank!

"Are they holding a meeting or something?"

Expressionless and staring at the crowd in the sky, a trace of helplessness flashed through Hachiman's eyes.

The exit was right in front of him, yet this sudden occurrence complicated everything; his mood could only be described as complicated.

"Hikigaya-san, look!" Suddenly, Yotsuya leaned toward Hachiman, pointing at the sky.

Following her gesture, Hachiman also looked up. A humanoid evil spirit slowly descended at the entrance of the shop that marked the exit, surrounded by other spirits, then summoned a weak-looking evil spirit from the group.

"Is the scent nearby?" Scent?!

Upon hearing this from the humanoid spirit, Yotsuya's eyes widened. If she guessed correctly, this group was coming for them.

But with the concealment talismans, they shouldn't have left any scent behind on their way here—so how did the spirits track them?

"Hikigaya-san, what should we do now?" Since meeting Hachiman, Yotsuya had grown lazier. Whenever she faced problems she couldn't solve, she instinctively tossed them to Hachiman.

But Hachiman didn't respond to her. He fixed his gaze on the humanoid spirit, fists clenched tightly, showing a defensive stance.

"Detected one Demon King-class evil spirit. Host, please fend for yourself..."

As always read ahead (60 chapters) on my pa tre on!

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