Paying no mind to Niguredou Yuria.
After Lin finished off the evil spirits, he was quickly led by Yotsuya Miko and Yurikawa Hana to that barbecue restaurant.
The barbecue restaurant was neither too big nor too small.
After chatting with the owner, Lin simply placed a maximum order.
The wait would be about forty minutes.
After paying a deposit, Lin took Yotsuya Miko and Yurikawa Hana to find a karaoke place nearby.
Their last karaoke session had ended in a rush.
This time, they could make up for it.
Meanwhile, Niguredou Yuria had followed the trio all the way to the karaoke place.
After hesitating for a while, she chose to leave.
Based on the school uniforms Lin and the others were wearing, she had actually already recognized them as students of Private United High School.
Although she wasn't from Private United High School herself.
However, Private United High School was undoubtedly the most famous among the high schools in this area of Tokyo; she had seen the data when applying for higher education.
Thus, she knew the Private United High School uniform.
Since she knew the school, she wasn't afraid of not finding them later.
Sensing Niguredou Yuria's departure, Lin smiled faintly; he had already completely memorized her aura.
He wasn't afraid of not finding her later.
Besides, he had already cast the bait.
It was just a matter of when the fish would bite.
Inside the karaoke box.
After Yotsuya Miko finished singing, she placed the microphone directly on the table, looked at Lin and Yurikawa, and said:
"I'm going to the restroom."
Before leaving, she shot Lin a meaningful glance.
Lin received it and responded with a smile.
As expected of his good wife, knowing to provide assists repeatedly.
Yurikawa Hana still had no idea she had been sold out by her best friend again.
Once Yotsuya Miko left.
Only Lin and Yurikawa Hana remained in the room, and the atmosphere quietly shifted.
A subtle mood began to permeate the air.
Yurikawa Hana, not knowing what she was thinking about, had a slightly flushed pretty face and flickering eyes, indicating her heart was far from calm.
Seeing this, Lin hooked the corners of his lips slightly.
He stood up directly and sat down beside Yurikawa Hana, launching his offensive.
"Lin, Lin-san?"
Seeing Lin deliberately sit next to her, Yurikawa Hana's heartbeat accelerated, and her hands tightly grasped the hem of her skirt.
Nervousness and shyness surfaced in her eyes.
Lin turned sideways, looked at her, and chuckled lightly:
"Yurikawa, would it be okay if I called you Hana directly?"
"I, I guess so..."
Yurikawa Hana's gaze drifted, blushing and not daring to look directly at Lin.
Although Lin hadn't done anything yet.
She felt her mind going blank from the tension and shyness.
"Hana."
Lin's voice was gentle.
Being addressed so intimately by a member of the opposite sex she had feelings for caused Yurikawa Hana's pupils to tremble and her heart to race.
She almost turned into a steam engine.
Lin continued speaking:
"Actually, I know everything."
Yurikawa Hana: "!!!"
Her eyes widened significantly.
Although he didn't explicitly say what he knew, she understood the meaning.
As for why Lin knew.
No need to think about it; it was definitely through her best friend, Yotsuya Miko.
"Hana, do you like me?"
Lin got straight to the point.
"Eh..."
Hearing such a direct inquiry, Yurikawa Hana's red lips parted slightly, her widened eyes filled with shyness.
Lin: "I hope to hear your answer from the bottom of your heart."
"I... I..."
Yurikawa Hana hesitated, words stopping at her lips.
She felt as if her face were about to bleed.
Sharing a boyfriend with her best friend—even if she felt moved, such a thing was hard for her to say out loud.
Taking in Yurikawa Hana's expression, Lin knew that at a time like this, he needed to give her a push.
So he leaned in directly.
"!!!"
Her mouth blocked, seeing Lin's handsome face close at hand, Yurikawa Hana froze completely.
Dumbstruck like a wooden figure.
Never mind pushing him away.
She currently had only one thought.
That was: her first kiss was gone.
Her first kiss had been taken by Lin with such a forceful attitude, yet surprisingly, she felt no revulsion in her heart.
Even though the two weren't a couple.
But starting from this moment, they should count as a couple, right?
Yurikawa Hana slowly closed her eyes.
Without any resistance, she instead began to awkwardly cooperate with Lin.
Lin easily pried open her teeth.
His left hand embraced Yurikawa Hana's waist.
Time slowly elapsed.
Unknowingly, ten minutes later.
Yotsuya Miko, who had gone to the restroom, finally returned to the karaoke box.
After opening the door and seeing the scene inside, Yotsuya Miko's eyes moved slightly; she smiled and spoke out:
"Haruki, Hana, did I come at a bad time?"
As she spoke, she closed the room door.
At this moment, Lin was holding Yurikawa Hana in his arms, his left hand around her waist, letting her sit on his left leg.
"Miko! I..."
Seeing Yotsuya Miko return, Yurikawa Hana's pupils trembled, and a sense of immorality subconsciously arose in her heart.
She wanted to leave Lin's embrace.
She didn't dare meet Yotsuya Miko's gaze.
However, Lin tightened his left hand, firmly pressing Yurikawa Hana, who wanted to leave, onto his left leg.
He looked at Yotsuya Miko and said with a smile:
"No, you came at just the right time. Come over, come here to me."
Saying so, he patted his right leg.
"..."
Hearing this, Yotsuya Miko gave Lin a light roll of her eyes, smiled somewhat helplessly, and walked toward him.
She sat on Lin's right leg.
Ignoring the right hand circling her waist, Yotsuya Miko looked at the flushed Yurikawa Hana beside her and said:
"~Hana, you don't need to think so much. From now on, we'll always be good sisters. Lin isn't an ordinary person."
Hearing Yotsuya Miko say this, Yurikawa Hana breathed a sigh of relief, and that sense of immorality in her heart began to dissipate.
Only hearing the last sentence, she couldn't help but frown slightly and ask:
"What exactly does that mean? Miko, you said it before too. How exactly is Lin... Haruki not ordinary?"
Although she knew Lin was excellent, she also vaguely guessed that what Yotsuya Miko was saying was different from her understanding.
It definitely wasn't 'not ordinary' in the conventional sense.
But in another sense.
"Haruki."
Yotsuya Miko looked at Lin.
Seeing this, Yurikawa Hana also looked at him.
Looking at Yurikawa Hana, who was still blushing, Lin smiled faintly and said:
"Hana, do you want to step into the new world like Miko?"
"New world?"
Yurikawa Hana was stunned.
Her large eyes were full of confusion.
Without waiting for her answer, Lin continued: "If you choose to step into the new world, you can't regret it."
"From now on, you will see things you are particularly afraid of from time to time."
"Things I'm particularly afraid of?"
Yurikawa Hana frowned tightly.
What was she particularly afraid of?
Wait...
Thinking of something, Yurikawa Hana's pupils constricted, and she looked astonished:
"Are you talking about ghosts and monsters?"
"Correct."
Lin and Yotsuya Miko nodded.
"How is that..."
Yurikawa Hana just wanted to say something, but in the next moment, her eyes widened in disbelief, and her words came to an abrupt halt.
She saw Yotsuya Miko extend her right hand.
A ball of cyan-blue Aura emerged on her hand like a flame.
"This... is..."
Suspecting her eyes were playing tricks on her, Yurikawa Hana blinked hard, yet that ball of cyan-blue Aura remained dazzling.
Both her eyes and mouth opened wide.
The materialist worldview she had formed since childhood began to collapse.
Note: The protagonist's name will be changed to Lin Haruki.
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