The Shura Field.
This simple two-word phrase contains endless risks.
From ancient times to the present, how many heroes have ultimately fallen at this stage?
In mild cases, it's like stock trading where a winner emerges, then watching the losers force smiles while their eyes brim with sorrow, making your stomach twist in pain.
In severe cases...
Heads roll, quite literally, with a 'split-up' on the rooftop.
So why do male protagonists, of all people, inevitably fall into this awkward Shura Field situation?
Is it because they're kind to every girl, like a central air conditioner?
Not so.
As someone who watched numerous romance anime in his past life, suffered repeated stomach cramps, and was a seasoned expert on 'White Album', Ye Xing had his own unique perspective.
There's only one reason.
Lack of decisiveness.
What is decisiveness?
Before emotional entanglements sprout, directly confessing to the most preferred girl, cutting off all potential complications, and turning it into a straightforward romance – that's decisiveness.
But here's the question.
From the very beginning, firmly deciding to choose everyone without exception – isn't that also a form of decisiveness?
In 'White Album 2', both Kazusa Touma and Setsuna Ogiso expressed their hope that the three of them could stay together forever.
Coincidentally.
Yui Yuigahama, sitting before Ye Xing, was also a girl who struggled to choose between friendship and love.
The answer lies in the question itself.
The three of them staying together forever isn't just a fantasy future.
It's actually the best solution to escape the stomach-churning cycle of the Shura Field!
At this moment, Ye Xing attained enlightenment.
An ending where no one got hurt had been achieved just like that.
As for building a harem in the everyday world?
Heh.
What kind of ghost-infested world was this anyway?
Even things like Nukekubi, Slaughter Demon, Tamamo-no-Mae, and Soichiro Yagami had come crawling out.
Soichiro Yagami: "How am I worthy of being mentioned alongside those legendary figures?"
Ye Xing: "You're just a nobody, but your son's pretty fierce. I hereby declare you the Li Jing of Kyoto."
To avoid ending up decapitated by a kitchen knife and going separate ways.
And to create a world where no one would get hurt.
More importantly, to maintain unity within the Society and protect the crumbling city of Kyoto under the watchful eyes of evil spirits.
Ye Xing made his resolution.
This harem... must be built.
"You seem like..."
Rio Futaba took a sip from her water glass, frowning slightly as she observed the subtle changes in Ye Xing's expression.
"...you're thinking about something strange?"
The members of the Society were currently seated in an upscale Western restaurant.
Normally, ordinary girls like Yui Yuigahama and Miko Yotsuya could never afford such a place.
And while Rio Futaba could afford it, she'd never had anyone to go with before joining the society - she hadn't even had friends prior to that.
But this time, Ye Xing had insisted on finding a quiet, sparsely populated venue to hold an internal meeting about the intelligence they'd gathered recently and their next steps.
So...
The meal would be paid for from the society's activity funds.
"Never mind that."
Rio didn't press the issue.
This was Ye Xing after all.
It would be abnormal if he wasn't being abnormal.
"I have a question."
Rio turned to Miko Yotsuya and asked softly:
"Miko, what did it feel like when you awakened your Soul Materialisation ability? Or rather, what kind of thoughts led you to awaken it?"
It wasn't just Rio - Yui was equally curious about this.
According to Rio's initial analysis, the prerequisites for awakening Soul Materialisation were first "recognising" the existence of evil spirits, then viewing them as "enemies" and developing the will to resist.
This theory had successfully helped Miko awaken her ability.
But after personally entering the Reverse World, Rio realised this was merely coincidental.
She didn't know about Yui's experience, but she could confirm she herself had met both conditions at the time.
Yet she hadn't awakened Soul Materialisation.
Rio desperately wanted to understand why.
"Eh?"
Miko seemed somewhat bewildered by the question.
"It's sudden to ask me to describe it... I'm not sure how to put it. At the time, I just felt I had to protect Yui, had to do everything to destroy the evil spirits. Then it was like a pane of glass shattered before my eyes - my vision became much clearer, and Hyakume's voice echoed in my head. That's all."
"Miko..."
Hearing that Miko had awakened her ability out of desire to protect her, Yui looked deeply moved and gave her a big hug.
"There there, good girl."
"I see..."
Rio Futaba frowned, her eyes revealing a contemplative expression.
Just why was this?
Miko Yotsuya's awakening process perfectly matched the theory she had deduced.
Could it be due to individual differences?
As this thought emerged, Rio's heart sank involuntarily.
Did this mean she would never awaken the ability of Soul Materialisation?
Deep down, Rio harboured another subtle concern.
If she couldn't become a true psychic and remained just an ordinary person...
Would the Society continue needing her forever?
Would there come a day when she'd be expelled for being unable to contribute?
Rio knew someone like Ye Xing would never do such a thing.
But feelings of security weren't something rationality could control.
"Have you considered..."
Just as Rio's thoughts hit a dead end, Ye Xing's seemingly casual remark jolted her awake.
"Summoning courage to resist evil spirits was indeed one condition for Miko's awakening, but it doesn't apply universally as you assumed. Perhaps you should ask what that act meant to Miko specifically?"
Hearing this, Miko murmured to herself.
"What it meant? That's... quite profound."
Pondering, she answered.
"Ever since the first day my Mystic Eyes awakened, perhaps I've always harboured the desire to resist evil spirits deep down. I just couldn't act on it due to fear and unease."
"Understand now?"
Ye Xing shrugged at Rio.
"It boils down to one sentence."
"Which is?"
"Be exiled to the Reverse World to confront your true self."
"My... true self?"
Rio wore an expression of confused bewilderment - the first time in her life she'd encountered something so incomprehensible.
Ye Xing wasn't surprised.
Rio was undeniably brilliant, but had one fatal flaw.
Whenever matters turned metaphysical - involving human nature and emotions - she became utterly lost.
After all, the human heart defies theoretical explanation.
Even Rio herself probably didn't truly understand the real Rio.
"What have you all been talking about since earlier?"
Yui Yuigahama propped her chin on her hands, looking utterly clueless.
"True selves? I'm just me - an ordinary high school girl. Surely it's not that complicated?"
Ye Xing thought to himself, 'Now that's selling yourself short.'
The complexity of Yui's personality rivalled Rio's entirely.
By contrast, Miko was the simplest to understand.
She refused to live in fear of evil spirits and took action to protect her loved ones from harm.
That was the real Miko Yotsuya.
Ye Xing understood both Yui and Rio's personalities well enough.
But the crux was whether they could face their true selves.
Even if he pointed it out, resistance would render it pointless - potentially backfiring.
A gentle nudge would suffice.
"By the way..."
Noticing the atmosphere growing somewhat heavy, Miko Yotsuya quickly changed the subject, turning to Ye Xing with a question.
"Today in the Reverse World, when facing Tamamo-no-Mae and those evil spirits under her command, why didn't you use your ghost hand ability?"
Hearing this, Rio Futaba froze, studying Ye Xing while thinking to herself.
Ghost hand?
What's that?
Is it Ye Xing's Soul Materialisation?
Rio suddenly felt rather curious.
What form would Ye Xing's Soul Manifestation take?
If she could actually see it, would that mean she was... observing his inner self?
The moment this thought surfaced, Rio abruptly came to her senses, giving a slight shake of her head to clear her mind.
Wanting to observe a boy's inner self - what a bizarre notion, almost like some obsessed fangirl.
No, no, Rio Futaba, you mustn't continue down this path.
"No particular reason. Just didn't need to."
At Ye Xing's words, Miko looked slightly puzzled.
"Then why did you use it last time in that unfinished building?"
"Why so many questions?"
Ye Xing rolled his eyes dismissively.
"That was a life-or-death battle with civilians present. I had to quickly eliminate all evil spirits. This time, I could tell from the start that Tamamo-no-Mae was just testing us."
"Of course, if her evil spirits and spectres had tried attacking Yui or Rio, I'd have gotten serious."
Miko pressed her lips together in a small smile, teasing him.
"You claim not to want to help others, yet you clearly care about their safety."
"Don't misinterpret things. Any veteran gamer wants a perfect clear."
"Hmph, excuses."
"Wait a minute!"
Whether to change the subject or because he'd genuinely remembered something important, Ye Xing suddenly looked grave.
Yui Yuigahama and the others rarely saw him so serious, and their hearts sank - had something catastrophic happened?
"It just occurred to me..."
Ye Xing turned to Rio with a solemn expression.
"Rio has officially joined the Society as one of our team members, but..."
"She still needs a codename!"
Yui Yuigahama, Rio Futaba, Miko Yotsuya: "..."
After all that buildup... this was the emergency?
From Ye Xing's dramatic manner, they'd thought the world was ending.
"Code name..."
Rio Futaba looked noncommittal.
"Just pick one randomly. I'm not too bothered about this sort of thing."
"How about Navi?"
"Navi? As in navigation?"
Rio tilted her head slightly in confusion. "Why that code name?"
Ye Xing grinned. "Because your surname is Futaba."
"What kind of bizarre reasoning is that? What are everyone else's code names?"
Yui Yuigahama took the initiative to explain.
"My code name is Dango, Miko's is Esper, and as for Ye Xing..."
Ye Xing declared with absolute conviction:
"Butter Shooter, Kyoto's Number One Exorcist!"
"No, no, no, that code name was vetoed ages ago! And even if you're combining two titles, shouldn't the exorcist part come first?"
"Isn't Butter Shooter more prestigious than Kyoto's Number One Exorcist?"
"Honestly, you're impossible."
Yui massaged her temples with a sigh of resignation.
"He calls himself Butter Shooter and Kyoto's Number One Exorcist, but we all just call him Captain."
Both Yui and Miko Yotsuya studied Rio, sitting across from them, their gazes making the latter somewhat uncomfortable.
"What code name should we give you? Glasses?"
Before Rio could respond, Miko shook her head in refusal.
"That won't do. It doesn't sound good."
"Lab Coat?"
"Sounds like some mad scientist. Vetoed."
"Grey Curls?"
"...Great suggestion. Maybe you should stop suggesting."
Miko thought to herself that this was typical of Yui, who'd named her dog Sable.
The code names she came up with just kept getting more ridiculous.
"Quantum. As in quantum physics. How about that?"
Hearing Ye Xing's suggestion, Rio murmured:
"Quantum from quantum physics... Not bad. I can accept that."
"Then it's decided. Your code name is Quantum from now on. Now let's eat."
Ye Xing thought to himself - Why make such a fuss over code names?
Just say whatever comes to mind - it's just a code name after all.
It's not as if they'd need to recruit someone specifically skilled at naming things in the future...
Actually, there was one suitable candidate who even came with their own code name.
But that was something to consider later.
"Are you ready to order, everyone?"
The waitress at this high-end Western restaurant was very professional. Though prompting them to order, her tone remained perfectly pleasant and unobtrusive.
"Um..."
Yui and Miko hesitated before speaking in unison:
"Just spaghetti, please."
"Two spaghettis... And for drinks?"
"Water is fine."
Before the waitress could acknowledge, Ye Xing cut in with a disapproving click of his tongue.
"What's this spaghetti nonsense? And water? Can we show some class here? Spending money, understand? Spend!"
Without waiting for the girls' response, he addressed the waitress directly:
"You have king crab?"
"Yes."
"Get one of those. Australian lobster?"
"We have that too. One portion?"
"Make it two."
"Very good, sir. And drinks?"
"Non-alcoholic. Plus four desserts, and whatever else you'd recommend."
"Certainly."
The waitress was stunned.
She had seen plenty of customers at this Western restaurant who had ordered these dishes before.
But it was her first time encountering a high school student who could spend money so lavishly, treating cash as if it meant nothing.
As for dining and dashing?
The waitress glanced at Ye Xing, then at Yui Yuigahama and the others.
How could such a handsome and well-mannered young man, dining with three beautiful girls, possibly skip the bill?
Good looks equalled justice.
After the waitress left, Rio Futaba stared at Ye Xing's profile and sighed softly.
"That meal you just ordered... ten thousand might not even cover it. Maybe I should pay later as my treat for joining the club."
"No need."
Ye Xing waved his hand dismissively with a smile.
"Tomorrow's Saturday. Time to collect money from the old man. There's a big payout this time."
Yui Yuigahama couldn't contain her curiosity.
"How big? Bigger than last time?"
"Tsk, much bigger."
Ye Xing chuckled softly before revealing a figure that made all three girls pale.
"Five hundred thousand."
"Five hundred thousand?!"
Even Rio Futaba, who came from a wealthy family, was shocked by this amount.
Miko Yotsuya blinked in confusion, frowning slightly.
"But this week... We didn't take many exorcism requests, right? The rewards shouldn't be that high. How is it more than last time?"
Ye Xing waved his hand carelessly.
"The five hundred thousand is just for one exorcism job at that abandoned building. There were some smaller payments too - twenty or thirty thousand here and there - but I couldn't be bothered counting those."
"This..."
Miko found it hard to comprehend.
While that abandoned building had indeed been the most dangerous location she'd encountered since becoming an exorcist, far beyond her capabilities...
Had Ye Xing not been there, that building would have merged with the Reverse World by now, becoming an uninhabitable ghost realm in Kyoto.
The problem was...
There wasn't actually much correlation between an evil spirit's danger level and an exorcism request's reward.
For example...
Take Hachishaku-sama: if she targeted the grandson of some major corporation's chairman versus some ordinary family's child, which party would offer higher payment?
The answer was obvious.
Exorcism rewards mainly depended on the client's financial situation, the incident's severity, and their belief in exorcism itself.
It had little to do with how powerful the evil spirit actually was.
Still, five hundred thousand was an astonishing figure.
After all, ordinary people were unaware of evil spirits. Even as a last resort, they wouldn't normally offer such exorbitant sums for exorcism requests.
"Originally, it was just one hundred thousand," Ye Xing took a sip of water before continuing calmly.
"But after we resolved it, the old man messaged saying the client voluntarily added another four hundred thousand."