"Hey, is there someone on the balcony?"
Yukinoshita Yukino's bright eyes widened in surprise as she stared at the unfamiliar pair in front of her.
The rooftop had always been her secret sanctuary—no one ever came here during school hours. Yet today, two unexpected guests had intruded upon her haven.
And from the look of things… something was definitely off.
As someone known for her keen observation skills, Yukino quickly noticed the disheveled state of the couple. The boy hadn't even zipped up his belt properly. And there was a telltale smear of white at the corner of the girl's mouth.
"Ren!"Kasumigaoka Shiyu grabbed a bottle of mineral water from her bag and quickly rinsed her mouth, casting a flustered glare at Kurosawa Ren."Seriously… I can't believe you made me swallow all of it!"
"Swallow what?"Yukinoshita Yukino blinked in confusion.
Despite her top academic performance, she was completely lacking in knowledge when it came to things of this nature. She simply couldn't grasp what was going on between the pair in front of her.
Clack...
At that moment, the sound of footsteps echoed from the stairwell.
Yukino turned, startled, just as two more girls stepped onto the rooftop.
"Since when did this place get so popular?"Yukino muttered, puzzled.
"Ren-kun, I heard you hadn't had lunch yet," said Kitagawa Uimu brightly, though her voice faltered slightly as she surveyed the awkward atmosphere."Hui told me you came up to the roof, so I came with her to find you."
Even the usually carefree, bubbly blonde began to sense the tension in the air. She scratched the back of her head, clearly embarrassed, and quickly hid the carefully wrapped lunchbox behind her back.
Oh no.She had just wanted to share lunch with Ren—only to stumble into… this.
"Hello, I'm Kasumigaoka Shiyu, a senior. Pleased to meet you."
Despite being surrounded by three beautiful girls, the elegant long-haired girl didn't falter. She shot a quick glance at the lunchbox hidden behind the blonde girl and greeted her with effortless politeness.
"Phew…"Kitagawa Uimu let out a breath of relief.
She had half-expected this famously stunning senior to lash out in jealousy—but she turned out to be surprisingly composed.Ren-kun really landed an amazing girlfriend...
And yet, for some reason, her heart felt tight.
"Senior Kasumigaoka, Ren-kun… if you don't mind, you're welcome to have my lunch,"Kato Megumi chimed in quietly, blinking her wide eyes as she offered a delicate pink lunchbox.
"Oh! Me too!"Kitagawa Uimu quickly followed her friend's lead, finally bringing out her own lunchbox."If you don't mind… let's eat together?"
"Ren-kun, you haven't eaten yet, right?"Kasumigaoka Shiyu also took a beautifully wrapped lunchbox out of her school bag."I had the cafeteria make you a special pork cutlet rice set. Let's share it."
Interesting. Let's see how he handles this.
Yukinoshita Yukino watched with quiet amusement. Even she didn't have a good solution for this kind of situation.
Three lunchboxes from three different girls—all offered at the same time. How would this boy, who'd already caused such a commotion this morning, respond?
"Alright, I'll take them all. Let's eat together."
You think this is going to trip me up?
Please.
He opened one of the lunchboxes. The thick, golden-brown pork cutlet inside gave off a rich and savory aroma, enhanced by sweet soy sauce and caramelized onions.
Kurosawa Ren picked up a piece with his chopsticks and took a bite.
A satisfied sigh escaped him.
It was as if the blood of a King of Knights surged within him—his appetite royal and unstoppable.
"Ah, never mind. Take your time."Kasumigaoka Shiyu looked at her boyfriend in stunned silence.
When did he start eating like this?
"Yeah, it's really good," Ren said between bites, clearly enjoying himself.
The three girls barely managed a small taste—he practically devoured the rest by himself.
A King's appetite indeed. He ate enough for seven people and finally leaned back, full.
"Damn it! So this guy's the one who took the last pork cutlet rice bowl!"
Yukinoshita Yukino stood alone in the corner, stomach growling, eyes wide with disbelief. Her fists clenched unconsciously.
"Is he some kind of bottomless pit? He eats like a starving ghost…"
Grrrrr…
Her stomach made an audible noise.
The four turned their heads simultaneously, looking at the red-faced black-haired girl with surprise.
So even this icy, composed young lady was hungry after all.
"Just you wait!"
Throwing a glare at her grumbling stomach, Yukino turned on her heel and stomped off, black-stockinged legs retreating briskly down the stairs.
After school.
Kurosawa Ren politely declined Kasumigaoka Shiyu's invitation to "hang out and game" at her place.
Instead, he followed Mizaki Naru to a cluster of abandoned buildings in the center of the city.
"This place…"Ren frowned at the looming structure ahead. It gave off a distinctly eerie vibe.
"How did you even find this?"
"You really don't know anything about supernatural factions?"Mizaki Naru gave him a weird look.
She pulled a small silver phone from her backpack and handed it to him.
"Since the resurgence of mysterious phenomena a year ago, the country has faced a flood of supernatural monsters. In response, private demon-hunting organizations and government agencies re-established ties and began cooperating."
"This app lists all major groups, their territories, and known supernatural threats. You can communicate with others with special abilities, accept bounties, and receive official rewards for eliminating threats."
"Wow… demon-hunting has gone digital."
Under Naru's guidance, Ren logged into the dark web, input his official access key, and downloaded the app: [Demon Hunting].
The interface opened to a forum that seemed newly launched, with features still under development.
Ren tapped the [Supernatural Locations] tab and looked up the details on the eerie gray building.
[Codename]: Black Tower[Risk Level]: B[Date of Discovery]: April 23[Discoverer]: (Codename: "Strongest Genius Grade Schooler in History")[Creature Classification]: Supernatural Entity – Level 2 Cursed Spirit[Danger Assessment]:Discovered this location by accident. Risk level is high—recommended to approach in groups and use anti-spirit gear. Not advisable to attempt solo exorcism.A Level 2 Cursed Spirit was identified here. Based on conjurer classification, threat level is significant.Unable to neutralize the spirit solo. Had to request aid from Tokyo Metropolitan College of Magic to seal the area for future resolution.
"Why couldn't the 'strongest genius grade schooler' exorcise a level 2 cursed spirit?"
Ren's face darkened. The information made his pulse quicken.
Cursed spirits… Tokyo Metropolitan College of Magic… Spellcasters…
This is like a mash-up of Dark Gathering and Jujutsu Kaisen!
So much for a peaceful everyday world.
"Because cursed spirits have physical form and substance," Naru explained. "And like any field, specialization matters. Spirit exorcists like our 'genius kid' can't handle cursed spirits without cursed energy."
She continued patiently, seeing how new Ren was to all this:
"In the supernatural world, there are two main types of entities: evil spirits and cursed spirits. Evil spirits are intangible and relatively weak—only those with spiritual sensitivity can even perceive them.
"Cursed spirits, on the other hand, are formed by concentrated negative energy—hatred, fear, rage. They're classified from Grade 4 to Grade 1, with Special Grade above all. These are the real threats, and only trained conjurers can handle them."
"So basically, exorcists can't deal with cursed spirits. But spellcasters can handle both."
Ren rubbed his temples, trying to digest the torrent of information.
"Then why hasn't anyone dealt with the cursed spirit in the Black Tower yet?"
Naru hesitated, then sighed deeply."Because a Special Grade Cursed Spirit appeared recently in Kyoto. The conjurer forces took heavy losses. If not for Gojo Satoru showing up and defeating it, the whole region would've been doomed."
"Now you get it. It's not that they won't handle the Black Tower—it's that they can't. With so many cursed outbreaks, they're spread dangerously thin."
"A Special Grade in Kyoto? But the news said it was a gas explosion…"