"Now that's more like it."
Ye Xing smiled in satisfaction, standing up to walk over and pat Hina on the shoulder.
"As the saying goes, fine birds choose good trees to nest in, and capable ministers select wise rulers to serve."
"Amano-san, you're precisely such a capable minister."
Just as Hina was about to smile at the compliment, she noticed Yui Yuigahama sitting opposite her, wearing an expression that was extremely complicated and tinged with helplessness.
Only then did she properly consider the words.
Why did that sound somewhat... off?
She was the capable minister?
Then what did that make him? Her master?
Wasn't this just joining a club? Since when had it become pledging allegiance?
Before Hina could voice her thoughts, Ye Xing continued muttering to himself.
"OK, Pokémon Hina Amano, captured."
Hina Amano: "..."
Just what kind of person had she gotten involved with?
...
At Ye Xing's request, Hina quit her part-time job at McDonald's.
They agreed that she would come to Sobu High School at noon the next day, Tuesday, to begin her first day as a transfer student.
The Supernatural Society's membership had expanded from its original five humans and one spirit to ten humans and one spirit.
While Yui Yuigahama felt happy about this, she also found it somewhat overwhelming.
'I must awaken my Soul Materialisation ability soon.'
'Otherwise, I'll be left behind by everyone.'
"Eh... you two... are you going this way too?"
Seeing Ye Xing and Yui Yuigahama still walking beside her after leaving McDonald's, Hina Amano seemed somewhat flustered.
"Of course. We'll leave after seeing you home."
Hina Amano nodded, then smiled slightly.
"By the way, haven't you eaten yet? Though there's not much at my place, I can definitely cook you two some noodles."
"Great, great!"
Yui Yuigahama was the epitome of instant familiarity.
She immediately agreed, adding with a smile,
"Next time, you should come to my place and try my cooking."
Hina Amano had a good impression of Yui Yuigahama and nodded gently.
"Mm, it's a deal then."
Hearing this, Ye Xing, who had been silent all this while, gave Hina Amano a thumbs-up. Under her puzzled gaze, he showed genuine admiration and offered the highest praise he could think of.
"You're amazing."
...
Hina Amano's residence was just as Ye Xing remembered.
A shabby two-storey apartment building, one small single room, right next to the train tracks.
The living conditions could only be described as harsh.
Just looking at it made Yui Yuigahama feel heartbroken for Hina Amano.
As for Hina herself, she maintained her cheerful smile as she took out her keys and opened the door.
"Please come in."
"Excuse us."
Yui Yuigahama stepped lightly into the room and found that although the apartment building Hina lived in looked old from the outside, the interior, though small, was tidy and clean.
Small but complete.
Only...
This roughly 30-square-metre flat was indeed a bit too small.
"Please have a seat."
Such a small dwelling naturally didn't have a dining room or such.
Ye Xing and Yui Yuigahama could only sit on the floor around a small table.
Hina Amano took off her shoes, her pale little feet stepping on the floor as she smiled at them.
"I'll go cook the noodles for you. They'll be ready soon."
She first ran to the windowsill, picked up scissors, and murmured with a slight frown,
"Strange, why is the survival rate of the spring onions I planted recently so low..."
After carefully selecting, she found one that had grown relatively well, snipped off a section with her scissors, held it in her palm, and then hurried to the tiny kitchen to start cooking.
Watching her busy figure, Yui Yuigahama's expression turned complicated. She sighed and said,
"Hina looks younger than me, yet she's already mature enough to support herself and her little brother alone. It's really not easy."
As she spoke, Yui Yuigahama made as if to stand up.
"Let me go help her."
"You'd better sit still."
Ye Xing pressed down on Yui Yuigahama's hand.
Please, oh great Dango sage, retract your divine powers.
Good grief.
Hina Amano was doing just fine with the cooking.
If you got involved, would the noodles even be edible?
Just as Saints cannot be defeated by the same move twice,
Ye Xing couldn't possibly eat Yui Yuigahama's cooking twice either.
Just how terrifying was Yui Yuigahama's cooking?
Kyoto's top exorcist, the illustrious eroge marksman, Sobu High School's wolf Ye Xing—few things in this world could truly unsettle him.
Yui Yuigahama's cooking was one of them.
"Eh, Ye Xing, you..."
Yui felt the touch on the back of her hand and looked down to see Ye Xing's hand resting on hers. She froze momentarily before her cheeks flushed pink.
Instead of pulling away, she found herself—without quite knowing why—lightly turning her hand over and interlacing their fingers.
This completely threw Ye Xing off.
What had been a perfectly normal atmosphere instantly turned awkward and silent.
Several seconds passed before Yui snapped out of it, hurriedly withdrawing her hand as she stammered,
"N-No, sorry! I-I didn't mean to..."
"It's fine."
Ye Xing waved it off casually.
"Touch if you want. You can touch other places too."
"W-What are you saying?!"
Yui's face burned crimson.
'Other places'? What did he mean by that?'
But...
She stole a glance at Ye Xing. His physique was so well-defined—even in a short-sleeved shirt, the contours of his muscles were clearly visible.
He probably... had abs, right?
Yui couldn't help but wonder—what would abs feel like to touch?
Purely out of curiosity, of course.
No other reason.
"Still..."
Ye Xing swept his gaze across the cramped room and murmured,
"Don't you feel like something's off here?"
"Eh? Now that you mention it..."
Yui scrutinised her surroundings and realised something was indeed strange.
The withered, yellowing spring onions in the small pot on the windowsill exuded an eerie lifelessness.
While the rest of the room was spotless, the walls bore several black stains—like damp patches—shaped like slightly shrunken human silhouettes. Just looking at them sent chills down her spine.
Most importantly...
Ever since entering this room, Yui had felt suffocated.
She'd assumed it was just nerves from being alone with Ye Xing for the first time.
But now that he mentioned it... could it be?
"Exactly what you're thinking."
Ye Xing glanced at Hina Amano, who was humming cheerfully while busying herself in the kitchen, and said flatly,
"People with strong spiritual power—like Miko Yotsuya before she awakened, Hana Yurikawa from our class, and now Hina Amano—"
"To evil spirits and spectres, they're like delicious meals."
"That kind of temptation is impossible for them to resist."
"Not just them—even I occasionally run into foolish evil spirits trying to devour me."
At the last remark, Yui's expression turned worried.
"Even you get attacked by evil spirits? What happens then?"
Ye Xing gave her a deadpan look.
"What do you think happens? Obviously, I win. Unless you're talking to a ghost right now?"
Yui flinched at the word 'ghost', shrinking slightly as she mumbled,
"Y-Ye Xing... d-don't suddenly bring up such scary topics..."
"This is scary?"
Ye Xing scoffed.
'Your cooking is what I'd call scary.'
"Anyway."
He continued calmly.
"Hina Amano, I'm afraid evil spirits are targeting her."
"I've already concealed my Qi presence. Let's see if that evil spirit will come to us on its own."
"Then we can deal with it in passing."
Yui Yuigahama nodded obediently.
"Okay."
She couldn't be of any help anyway.
Supernatural matters should naturally be left to professionals.
...
"The noodles are ready. Eat them while they're hot."
Hina Amano brought two steaming bowls of soup noodles to the table. Though not lavish in ingredients, they looked incredibly appetising. She smiled as she said,
"Dig in, Yui, Ye... Ye Xing."
Yui Yuigahama picked up a strand of noodles with her chopsticks, blew on it gently, tucked her hair behind her ear with her left hand, and put it in her mouth.
"Mmm... Hot! But so delicious!"
Hearing Yui's praise, Hina beamed.
"I'm glad it tastes good."
"Mhm, mhm."
Yui murmured between bites,
"This way, there are three of us in the club who can cook."
Ye Xing questioned from the side,
"Three?"
"That's right."
Yui said matter-of-factly,
"Me, Mai-senpai, and Hina."
Ye Xing looked at her speechlessly.
"You really have no self-awareness."
He suddenly thought of a way to make Yui Yuigahama realise just how disastrous her cooking tasted.
All he had to do was take a bite himself, then kiss Yuigahama - that would leave her with nowhere to escape!
After careful consideration...
The sacrifice required for this method was simply too great.
Not worth it.
Seeing Ye Xing just sitting there without touching his chopsticks, Hina Amano asked curiously, "Ye Xing, why aren't you eating?"
"Oh, I'll be eating something else later."
"Something else?"
Hina didn't think too much of it, assuming the noodles she'd made were too plain for his taste. Resting her chin on her hand, she asked casually, "Ye Xing, I wanted to ask you something."
"Go ahead."
"Is your ability creating objects out of thin air?"
Ye Xing shook his head with a light laugh. "Not at all. That was just something I casually showed you."
"I see..."
Hina responded noncommittally, then suddenly seemed to remember something. "By the way, have you heard about that trending online story recently... what was it called... ah yes, the Mask legend?"
"Ahem."
Hearing the word Mask from Hina's mouth, Yui Yuigahama, who was eating noodles, choked.
Seeing her struggling to breathe, Hina immediately patted her back and handed her a glass of warm water with an exasperated expression. "Yui, slow down! Why are you eating so fast?"
Yuigahama took a sip of water, her expression complicated. "Mm... I know."
Ye Xing's expression remained calm as he nodded slightly. "Yes, I've heard that name before, but it's probably just a legend?"
"Eh, it's definitely not just a legend."
Hina paused, adopting a mysterious tone as she covered her mouth with her hand and lowered her voice. "My younger brother has a playmate who attends Kyoto Municipal Kindergarten. That child said they really saw a tall, mysterious figure wearing a black mask during that incident."
"Hmm..."
At this point, Hina looked at Ye Xing and smiled. "That mysterious person's height seems about the same as yours."
"Is that so?"
Seeing Ye Xing's disinterested expression, Hina continued murmuring to herself, "Since... special people like us exist in Kyoto City, do you think this Mask could be one of our kind too?"
"Perhaps."
Ye Xing responded noncommittally, looking at Hina with an amused expression. "So what's your opinion of this Mask then?"
"Well..."
Hina frowned slightly, resting her chin on one hand as she thought for a moment before answering. "If it's true what the rumours say - that Mask also did the Kyoto Municipal Museum break-in..."
"Er... but he did save the teachers and children at Kyoto Municipal Kindergarten - that's a fact."
"I'd say... an anti-hero who walks the line between good and evil? But definitely a hero regardless."
"As for the museum break-in, he must have had his own reasons."
Upon hearing Hina Amano's remarks, Ye Xing's expression remained unchanged, while Yui Yuigahama let out a relieved sigh as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
She thought to herself, 'They have no idea.'
The protagonist of urban legends was sitting right across from her.
Mask?
Yui Yuigahama recalled something Ye Xing had once said.
"The Metropolitan Police Department will give me a codename."
So this was how they came up with codenames?
Just then, the lights in the room suddenly began to flicker.
"Eek!"
Hearing Yui Yuigahama's startled cry, Hina Amano, while inwardly remarking on how easily frightened the other girl was, comforted her aloud.
"It's fine. Probably just some electrical work being done nearby. This has been happening a lot recently. It'll be back to normal in about half an hour."
Looking at Hina Amano's smiling face, Yui Yuigahama had already turned pale.
The other girl was unaware.
But she knew all too well.
If Ye Xing said an evil spirit was targeting Hina Amano, then it was definitely true.
Originally, Yui Yuigahama hadn't been afraid.
But now, the lights in the room were flickering!?
What did that mean?
It meant the evil spirit was close—and this one, like Hachishaku-sama, had a Gate fused within it, capable of affecting objects in the real world!
Despite Yui Yuigahama's usually carefree demeanour, the psychological scars from that incident still hadn't healed.
Not every girl possessed Miko Yotsuya's extraordinary mental fortitude.
Whoosh...
A sound resembling a faint breeze—or perhaps breathing—echoed outside the window.
"Brr... Why did it suddenly get so cold?"
Hina Amano rubbed her shoulders, shivering, then stood up and walked to the window to close the half-open pane.
But the moment she drew back the blackout curtains, the sight before her stunned her.
A crimson moon hung in the sky.
The train tracks outside remained, but beyond them swirled thick, churning black fog.
"What... What is this?"
Before Hina Amano could take a closer look, a gigantic bloodshot eye suddenly appeared right in front of her.
The sheer terror of it froze her completely.
She couldn't even scream.
The monstrous eye—like something from hell—was separated from her by nothing more than a pane of glass.
Then, the bloodshot eye retreated slightly.
Before Hina Amano could even exhale in relief, something resembling a sharp fingernail—only many times larger—shot straight toward her through the window.
"Hina!"
Yui Yuigahama cried out, trying to stand and pull Hina to safety, but her legs gave way, and she failed to rise.
At that critical moment—
"Shield."
With those two words from Ye Xing, an enormous black shield, nearly touching the ceiling, materialised in front of Hina.
Bang!
The nail pierced through the wall, colliding with the shield and shaking the entire room.
Hina Amano stumbled backwards, collapsing onto the floor, nearly fainting from sheer terror.
"That... what on earth is that thing..."
"Amano-san."
At the sound of Ye Xing's voice, Hina Amano turned her head with difficulty.
She saw him rise from his seat by the table, stretching leisurely with an air of...
Was it her imagination?
Looking at Ye Xing's expression, Hina couldn't shake the feeling he seemed...
Unaccountably excited?
Like someone anticipating a bountiful harvest?
"What you're seeing is precisely what our club exists to oppose."
Ye Xing stepped forward steadily, positioning himself behind the black shield before dismissing it with a wave.
Standing framed by the window, he stared directly into the bloodshot giant eye outside, his voice tinged with amusement.
"We call them evil spirits."
"Evil spirits are monsters consumed by twisted hostility towards humanity, enslaved by slaughter and madness."
"As for me..."
As he spoke, black flames enveloped Ye Xing's form.
Under Hina's disbelieving gaze, his casual clothes transformed into an unusual black outfit.
A pure black mask covering his entire face except for the eyes materialised.
Just like...
The protagonist from urban legends - Mask.
Ye Xing extended his right hand, accepting Onimaru Kunitsuna from the pale ghost hand. Gazing at the bloodshot eye outside, he stated calmly:
"I am their natural predator."