There's a lyric that goes, "Just because I saw you one more time in the crowd."
The song describes a love story.
However, because this lyric is so versatile, it can apply to many situations in reality.
The evil spirit that had just gotten off the bus made complete eye contact with Rosen in the crowd.
Its scarlet eyeballs instantly locked onto the only living person who could see it.
As for the humans who couldn't see it, even if it performed a public striptease, it wouldn't attract a single glance.
Because it had previously suspected that a certain girl on the bus could see it, it, with some but not much intelligence, instinctively followed her.
The undead's instinct made it hope the woman could see it.
That way, it would be able to eat the living to fill its stomach.
Even though, as an undead, it had no concept of hunger.
Perhaps this undead had heard the proverb "You search high and low for something, only to find it by chance when you least expect it" when it was alive; as for whether it knew it after death, Rosen wasn't sure.
But he could now be certain that this undead was very eager to eat him.
What was the point of an undead, lacking the five senses and even a physical body, constantly searching for humans to eat?
Rosen had once heard a theory.
That is, tormented undead can, by killing, make the victim's soul bear their suffering instead.
While he was thinking, the undead had already lunged.
It was very interesting; when he couldn't see the undead before, he couldn't smell any strange odor at all, but ever since he could see them, he could even clearly smell that foul stench of decay.
When the distance between them was less than a meter, Rosen finally moved.
Sacred power surged from his body, striking the undead cleanly and decisively, and the result was like a synthetic sponge thrown into a furnace, instantly burning away completely.
Finally, only a wisp of black ash remained, gradually disappearing.
The passersby who had gotten off the bus walked in different directions, completely oblivious to the battle between a human and an undead that had just occurred.
Or rather... a crushing defeat.
A breeze, imperceptible to ordinary people, wafted in all directions.
Yotsuya Miko clearly felt the ripple of the wind.
But because she was too terrified, she didn't dare to look back at all, only forcing herself to suppress the urge to flee, pretending to be a quiet beautiful girl.
JKs like her were everywhere in the island nation; the undead that had been sitting next to her ever since it got on the bus had no reason to notice her.
Just like now.
Pretend not to know anything, pretend to be like before, playing on her phone while heading home.
However, just thinking that she still "kept" a few undead at home made Yotsuya Miko's mental state somewhat collapse.
"Excuse me, the person up front, stop for a moment."
It was as if she heard a call from behind her.
Just hearing the voice would make one subconsciously feel it belonged to a gentle and refined handsome man.
In the past, a girl who still held aspirations for love would definitely turn to look, and then share it with her good friend Yurikawa Hana on a messaging app.
However, Yotsuya Miko, having had a near-death experience, knew that undead could disguise themselves as ordinary people.
But this kind of disguise was very easy to see through.
Still, there were always times when one let their guard down.
Therefore, when uncertain, Yotsuya Miko never responded to anyone outside.
This time was no exception.
Rosen's greeting failing to elicit a response made some nearby passersby smile.
On the street bathed in the setting sun, in front was an expressionless JK playing on her phone, and behind, a handsome young man with a smile calling out.
It was like a scene from a school romance drama.
Rosen was awkward for a moment.
But he also knew roughly why.
If she really was Yotsuya Miko, it was normal for her to be very cautious.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have survived so many episodes.
And the reason he called out to her was also because the life tree had reacted.
It, currently only in the sapling stage, was reminding Rosen that the girl in front of him was a worthy candidate for a contract.
Naturally, he couldn't miss an appearing target.
Rosen quickly followed, while Yotsuya Miko clearly sensed something, a shiver immediately running down her spine, and she involuntarily quickened her pace, as if that would allow her to shake off the "undead" behind her.
However, being meticulous (and timid as a mouse), she also had a lot of experience with such situations.
After being targeted by an undead, any behavior that was too different from usual would attract more attention.
If she really wanted to escape, she could find a legitimate "reason."
"Oh! The supermarket has half-price potato chips today! That's a flavor I've been looking forward to for a long time, I can't miss it!"
Looking at her phone, she feigned a look of sudden realization, while also loudly speaking for the "undead" behind her to hear.
This way, Yotsuya Miko had a perfectly reasonable excuse to start running.
From the beginning until now, less than ten seconds had passed.
Rosen couldn't help but marvel at Yotsuya Miko's talent for disguise.
This JK was clearly terrified but overly calm.
However, Rosen clearly didn't like this cat-and-mouse game; after following Yotsuya Miko to a place with sparse foot traffic, Rosen darted forward, appearing in front of the girl.
He had a smile on his face and said in a tone laced with amusement, "Girl, would you like to make a contract with me?"