Regarding "Miss Mary" from the urban legends, Leo had a brief discussion with other members in the Classics Club after school.
However, he never expected—
That just taking a train home from school, an urban legend would find him!
"Let's go home first. Seems like I don't need to make too many special preparations." Leo shook his head lightly, not particularly concerned about the urban legend.
With his nearly maxed out "Exorcist" profession.
Among the many skills he mastered, dealing with the so-called Mary was incredibly simple. On the contrary, he was somewhat relieved that he was the one being targeted first.
If it had been Miko Yotsuya or Chitanda, the situation would be much more troublesome.
Call it being gentle with women.
After all, having finally transmigrated to a multiverse world, aside from grinding the proficiency panel, Leo's remaining time was spent collecting rent and enjoying daily life with beautiful girls.
He didn't let Miss Mary's phone call delay his normal schedule.
As he was about to return to the apartment building, Leo cast his gaze toward the nearby bustling street. He didn't have particularly high requirements for dinner.
But when his eyes glanced at the street's big three chains—Sukiya, Yoshinoya, and Matsuya—
He instantly lost interest.
Leo shook his head lightly. Time was a bit tight, and besides, he'd long grown tired of these Japanese fast food chains.
Simply getting a bento would be perfect.
Arriving at the 7-Eleven convenience store below the apartment building, the cashier on duty was a young woman. Though there were no ugly women in the 2D world, she couldn't be called particularly attractive either.
Noticing the owner of this apartment building had returned.
After all, that extremely rude store manager had to bow and scrape to this young man every month to discuss rent matters, so her attitude had to be proper.
A smile hung on her face as she proactively greeted him: "Leo-kun, you're back."
"Mm."
Leo naturally wouldn't give those around him a sour face. He smiled and nodded, then shifted his attention to the bentos currently being sold in the convenience store.
Just heat them in the microwave and they were ready to eat.
In terms of money, he wasn't particularly lacking in this area, so he picked fresh salmon, sushi, and other items that hadn't been discounted.
However.
He hadn't expected to encounter an extremely familiar figure here.
Silvery-white smooth long hair was braided into twin tails, hanging lightly in front of her chest. Even wearing loose loungewear, it was still difficult to conceal her perfect figure.
However, this charming woman was clearly in financial straits.
She was frowning, carefully selecting discounted bentos from the convenience store supermarket near evening, not noticing Leo beside her.
"Izumi-san."
As for the woman's appearance, she was basically a larger version of Sagiri. Leo was naturally quite familiar with Miori Izumi, this young woman.
A tenant in his apartment building.
The young, beautiful erotic artist woman, raising her shut-in daughter Sagiri Izumi alone—it seemed that due to changes in the world line.
She hadn't followed the original plot development.
Without remarrying, Miori Izumi and her daughter became tenants in this apartment building. As for the occasional rumors that Sagiri was rather small.
Was it because she was a test-tube baby?
"Oh... Leo."
Startled by the sudden greeting, but when Miori Izumi clearly saw Leo's handsome young face, a smile immediately appeared on her face.
Toward this landlord.
Her impression was also very good. When manuscript fees weren't paid on time, Leo never rushed her for rent, and when lights or drains got clogged.
He would enthusiastically help her.
Miori Izumi carefully looked at the bento in Leo's hand and the backpack on his back: "Leo-kun, did you just get back from school?"
"Yes."
Leo advocated for efficient communication. As for Miori Izumi's obvious behavior of selecting dinner, there was naturally no need to ask again.
Just seeing her selecting such extremely low-priced bentos.
He suddenly asked: "Izumi-san, has your manuscript fee not been paid yet?"
Clearly having her predicament seen through, Miori Izumi's gaze was somewhat evasive, but she still nodded seriously: "Leo-kun, you can rest assured."
"This month's rent definitely won't be delayed."
"That's not what I meant."
Leo really didn't care about the rent. Instead, he continued to suggest: "Izumi-san, you can actually consider what I mentioned before."
"I'm about to advance to the next grade, and academic pressure is a bit high."
"Where would I have time to clean the house? Plus, eating bentos every day isn't good for my health, so I still hope you could help me out a bit, Auntie."
"..."
With the key issue being brought up, Miori Izumi looked at the discounted bento in her hand. Right now Sagiri was at the stage of growing, eating bentos every day.
Her already hesitant heart tilted even more toward the other end of the scale.
Regarding Leo's family situation, Miori Izumi had a basic understanding—his parents died in an accident, so probably no one could take care of him in daily life.
Consider it thanks for Leo's care toward them.
Miori Izumi's delicate face nodded seriously: "Leo-kun, I'll seriously consider this matter. I'll give you an answer tonight."
"Alright."
Having a charming young woman take care of his daily life, Leo certainly had no objections. Moreover, Miori Izumi was the mother-daughter pair from his past life's anime.
He had quite favorable feelings toward them.
He smiled and nodded, noticing his phone vibrating briefly—another call from an unknown location. It was easy to guess it was the urban legend Mary.
He had no intention of lingering further.
After all, this was his first proper exorcism, and he still needed to prepare in advance. If that Miss Mary escaped, wanting to unlock a new profession early.
The difficulty would be infinitely extended.
He paid for those two bentos along with Miori Izumi's. Anyway, this small expense had no impact on his string of digits in his balance. Leo decisively returned to the apartment.
Taking the elevator.
He went directly back to the top floor. It wasn't a typical apartment layout—more accurately, the entire floor was his home, decorated very luxuriously.
Home theater, rooftop garden, swimming pool, even a place for karaoke—everything was available.
The only drawback...
Was that this large flat's area was too big. Every week he needed to hire a housekeeping lady to clean. Better to give this job to Miori Izumi.
"Still need to prepare a bit."
"Theoretically, I just need to wait at home for Mary to knock. So right here, I'll set up a forced exorcism formation in advance."
Leo decisively used his core skill.
As his palm touched the ground, it instantly flashed with pale blue light, finally condensing into a circular exorcism formation on the wooden floor.
No other preparatory work was needed.
Next, he just had to wait for that "Miss Mary" from the urban legends to come knocking!