Chapter 145: Come Be a Maid at My House~
Annie asked Katou Megumi where the incident had happened.
Upon learning that it was at school, she immediately set out there with Mikasa and Megumi.
Although Annie and Mikasa were ordinary people without any talent as exorcists, they had spent enough time around one to understand the basic habits of evil spirits.
With the right items, they were also capable of destroying them.
Whether for the sake of genuinely helping Megumi—their only real friend—or simply ensuring the safety of their own school life, it was better to resolve this incident quickly.
Especially during the daytime, when evil spirits lacked the advantage of darkness.
However…
Annie and Mikasa hesitated over whether they should tell Megumi that evil spirits truly existed in this world.
Eventually, Mikasa convinced Annie with a simple argument.
"Since she's already encountered one, there's no guarantee it'll only happen once."
The two exchanged a glance and nodded before asking Megumi for the details.
"Ah, I think it happened last week~"
Megumi rested a finger against her chin as she recalled it.
"I had classroom duty, so I left later than usual. A teacher also asked me to deliver some things to one of the special classrooms on my way out."
"And then?"
"The top floor of the special building seemed empty at the time."
Megumi continued thinking.
"The sun hadn't even set yet, but it somehow felt a little creepy."
"I remember… the sunset shining through the corridor. It was really pretty."
"And I don't think there are any music clubs on the fourth floor, but I could hear someone playing music."
After telling the security guard that they had left something in their classroom and showing their student IDs, the three entered the school.
"I was curious where the music was coming from, but I didn't think much about it."
Megumi continued, "I delivered the materials to the Art Club members, and I think that was when the talisman suddenly burned."
"It was a little hot, but fortunately, it didn't burn through my clothes."
"So it happened then?"
Annie rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
The talisman that spontaneously combusted had one specific function—to detect malicious evil spirits nearby.
In other words, Megumi had encountered something unclean on the top floor of the special building that day.
"Hmm. Come to think of it, Annie-san looks quite similar to Sawamura-san from the Art Club."
Megumi looked at Annie's blonde hair and blue eyes.
"Do you have European ancestry too?"
Annie raised her head helplessly from her thoughts.
"I'm not a Super Saiyan. What does bloodline have to do with anything?"
"Hm?"
Megumi tilted her head again, apparently confused by the mention of Saiyans.
She might very well live her entire life without ever investigating what kind of race a Saiyan was.
"Forget everything else for now."
Annie looked helplessly at the surprisingly carefree girl.
"Didn't you find it suspicious when the talisman suddenly caught fire?"
"Suspicious?"
Megumi thought about it.
"A little. But at the time, I assumed it was some prank Annie-san had prepared."
"So I stopped worrying about it. Annie-san wouldn't hurt me anyway."
At that moment, even Mikasa Ackerman—the overwhelmingly powerful Battle Maid who had surpassed the second level of Super Earthling—could not help commenting on this absurdly airheaded girl.
"Kanou-san, you seem a little… slow."
"It's Katou~ Mikasa-san!"
Megumi puffed her cheeks unhappily and looked away.
"And I'm not slow. Hmph. Even though we're friends, I'll still get angry if you say that."
'So it really is Katou.'
Mikasa firmly memorized the name once again.
"Sorry."
"It's fine."
'This girl is almost too easy to appease…'
Mikasa glanced at Megumi.
By then, the three had reached the entrance to the special building.
"It's unlocked."
Mikasa directly pushed open the glass door.
The corner of the door scraped with a harsh creak that sounded especially piercing within the silent school.
"Some club members still come to school for activities during holidays."
Megumi explained this basic piece of school knowledge to the two girls, who were somewhat disconnected from ordinary campus life.
Mikasa nodded without saying anything else.
She simply put on her exorcism tool—a pair of gloves.
Despite the hot weather, she always carried the knitted gloves with her as a precaution, precisely for situations like this.
Megumi once again stared curiously at Mikasa's strange behavior.
"Let's go upstairs."
Mikasa spoke directly.
"Mm."
Megumi nodded and led the way.
Although some club members did visit during holidays, it was a scorching afternoon and already around lunchtime.
The special building remained completely silent.
The only sounds were the three girls' footsteps and breathing.
"We're here."
Mikasa looked at the sign marked "Art Club."
"Should we go inside?"
Megumi asked.
"It looks like nobody from the Art Club is here. If we want to enter, we might need to find—"
"No need."
Mikasa interrupted her.
At the same time, the remains of the talisman hidden in her clothes completely burned into ash.
Having previously helped Luke with exorcisms, Mikasa applied an unknown liquid around her eyes.
She immediately saw the evil spirit standing nearby.
Annie did the same.
However…
"Ugh—!"
Despite never having participated in an exorcism before, Annie could now see the scene through the special medicine.
Her face immediately twisted with disgust.
"Are you okay, Annie-san?"
Megumi looked curiously at the normally expressionless Annie making such a strange face.
"I'm fine. I just saw something I really didn't want to see."
Annie rubbed her forehead.
"Ugh…"
A humanoid ghost surrounded by an unidentified black aura stood before them.
Its body swayed constantly, largely because its head was nearly twice the width of its shoulders.
That alone would not have disgusted Annie so much.
The real problem was that the evil spirit held several signs high above its head.
[Pretty ladies, I want to lick your shoes. Please sell them to me, and your socks too.]
'I feel sick.'
Annie turned her eyes away speechlessly.
Back when their household had barely been able to afford food, Luke's exhausted mental state and perpetually drained body had already shown her how difficult the exorcist profession could be.
But she had never imagined it could be difficult in this particular way.
Sigh!
She should have simply let Mikasa handle everything.
Curiosity had been a mistake. She never should have used that medicine.
"This is the first time I've seen Annie-san make so many different expressions."
Megumi calmly commented.
"If you could see— Forget it."
By the time Annie considered explaining, Mikasa had already destroyed the evil spirit with a single punch.
Annie immediately lost interest in telling Megumi exactly what she had seen.
No wonder an ordinary person like Katou Megumi had encountered a supernatural incident.
The spirit haunting her had been a pervert whose obsession had persisted even after death.
"So evil spirits really exist?"
Megumi watched Mikasa remove her gloves.
"Mm."
"Oh, I see~"
Megumi nodded.
"Then I'll treat you two to lunch."
Seeing Megumi act as though evil spirits were no big deal, Annie looked at her strangely.
"You aren't scared?"
"You and Mikasa-san will help me anyway, right?"
Megumi answered as though it were obvious.
Hearing that, Annie smiled faintly.
"Is that so? Then if you're treating us, I should warn you first."
"Mikasa eats a lot."
"That's fine. I still have plenty of allowance."
Megumi replied calmly.
"And if I spend too much, I can always get a part-time job."
"A part-time job?"
Annie grinned.
"Then sell yourself to my house and become a maid~"
"Hmm…"
Megumi actually considered it.
"That might not be such a bad idea."
"I was joking…"
Annie stared at her.
"We don't know the restaurants around here very well. You lead the way."
"Mm~"
Megumi smiled happily and walked several steps ahead, lightly swinging her arms.
Then she turned back while holding down the hem of her skirt.
"What kind of food do you two like?"
...
(Don't forget to vote, review, and leave a comment below! :D The more you vote, the more chapters I upload.)
...
Read more chapters(25+):
patréon.com/U22
(Note: Replace "é" with "e" on your web browser.)