Neither Akuto nor Miko knew that trouble was coming.
In the blink of an eye, it was Thursday again.
Tomorrow was the last day of the semester, and summer vacation would begin, so the students were in an excellent mood.
Miko was playing volleyball with other students in Health Class.
By now, Miko had initially been able to control her strength.
At the very least, while the volleyball she hit was still powerful, it wouldn't blow a classmate's head off like a cannonball.
That would indeed be quite terrifying.
Not far away, a twin-tailed loli was staring intently at Miko.
Yuria Niguredou had been observing Miko for a long time.
She was certain that Miko was the one who caused Granny Saegusa to close her shop and feel inadequate in her abilities.
Miko, just like her, was someone who "That could see."
Yuria had decided to have a showdown with Miko!
She could tell that Miko wasn't someone from "That World," so she wanted to be Miko's guide!
Thinking of this, Yuria felt a bit excited.
The bell for the end of class rang.
As Miko was about to leave, Yuria blocked her path.
"Um, could I trouble you for a moment?"
Miko looked at the ball in her hand and nodded slightly, thinking she was just helping to tidy up.
Although she felt Yuria was being a bit forward, Miko still helped her pack things up.
Students left one after another.
Miko also pushed the cart full of balls into the storage room.
Just then, Yuria appeared at the door and slowly pulled the storage room door shut:
"My name is Yuria."
Miko was stunned for a moment, then gave an awkward but polite smile.
"Nice to meet you."
Yuria closed the door completely, then looked at Miko with a somewhat strange expression.
"I've actually been watching you in secret, Miko."
"That... eh?"
Miko had no idea what this short girl wanted to do.
"Miko, you're someone from 'our world,' right?"
"What?"
Miko suddenly heard a noise behind her, turned around, and saw it was just a common Little Old Man, letting out a sigh of relief.
"You can see them, right?"
Yuria was full of confidence as she took a shiny bottle cap out of her pocket and threw it over.
"These little guys like shiny things. So I scattered some bottle caps here in advance."
"You can't hide it from me."
Yuria walked over slowly, looking at Miko with confidence."You haven't told anyone else that you can see, have you?"
Then, Yuria's expression dimmed slightly, "I can probably guess why. I was once ostracized and treated like a monster by others because I told them I could see."
At this, Yuria said excitedly.
"Don't worry! I'm the same as you!"
"Now that it's just the two of us, you don't need to hide it."
"Come on! Tell me your secret!"
Hearing this, an inexplicable fire of anger rose in Miko's heart.
Yuria only saw the Little Old Man, but didn't know that these little old men were food for many powerful Cursed Spirits!
Gathering these things would attract many terrifying monsters!
But before she could lash out, a hair-raising sensation suddenly came over her body.
"This feeling is... a Special Grade! As expected, it was attracted here!"
Miko's pupils shrank.
"You can see it, right? You can see those things!" Yuria pointed at the Little Old Man on the ground.
Miko swallowed hard, looking at the weirdo in front of her and trying to soothe Yuria in as gentle a tone as possible.
"Stop joking around, let's just leave."
As Miko was about to open the door, Yuria grabbed her hand.
"Stop it, you clearly can see!"
At this moment, Miko indeed saw it.
Not those little old men.
But a Special Grade Cursed Spirit with a square head, its body almost solidifying into substance, coming out from the other side!
The Special Grade Cursed Spirit grabbed the Little Old Man, stuffed him into its mouth, swallowed him whole, and then looked at Miko and Yuria.
"Don't tell me you can't see it!"
Yuria pressed closer, and Miko hurriedly waved her hands, constantly signaling with her eyes. "Yuria, this joke isn't funny at all, stop playing pranks."
By now, the Special Grade Cursed Spirit had walked behind Yuria, looking at the two of them excitedly, its saliva dripping onto the ground.
"Can you see me? Can you see...ME?!"
"I'm not playing a prank!"
Yuria completely failed to understand Miko's hints and said with a proud look.
"I'm not joking!"
"Don't underestimate my power! I possess an extremely special power!"
At that moment, Miko's face suddenly darkened.
"Special power?"
Miko suddenly found Yuria in front of her extremely ridiculous. "So she thinks seeing those things is some kind of glory? Something to show off?"
"So she used bottle caps to attract the Little Old Man, causing this Special Grade Cursed Spirit to appear at school."
"While countless people are losing their lives because of those things, and I'm fighting with all my might just to survive."
"She actually thinks of it as capital to show off?" Miko's anger was rising little by little.
"Is she an idiot? Or is her brain underdeveloped? This isn't a kindergarten, is it?"
"How can I get her to shut up? If she keeps talking, both of us will die here!"
While Miko was suppressing her anger, Yuria said proudly again.
"I've been able to see those things since I was a child. I know you can see them too!"
At this moment, the Special Grade Cursed Spirit slowly raised its claws.
"Can you see me! You can see!!"
Danger was imminent, yet Yuria was still talking incessantly.
"I've seen you before..."
At this moment, Miko could no longer endure her anger and slammed a fist hard into Yuria's chin.
Teacher Okuma had said that there are many nerves in the chin, and if attacked, one would likely faint.
"Stop talking to yourself! I told you to stop playing pranks, can't you hear me?!"
*Thud!*
Yuria felt a massive force coming from her chin. She looked at Miko in confusion, not understanding why she was so angry.
Then everything started spinning... When Yuria opened her eyes, she found herself lying on a bed in the Health Room for some reason.
"Great, you're awake."
Yuria heard a voice. The moment she turned her head and saw Miko, Yuria sprang up as if she had been electrocuted.
"Murderer!"
"I didn't kill anyone."
Miko's eyelids lowered, and she regained her poker face.
"Why did you say those things to me?"
Hearing this, Yuria immediately puffed out her chest. "Of course, it was to become a great Exorcist!"
"Shut up."
Miko's voice was gentle but filled with coldness.
Yuria looked up and found Miko's gaze had become quite terrifying, making her heart race involuntarily.
"Don't drag others into it with such a ridiculous reason."
"Exorcist?" Miko laughed in anger. "Sorry Yuria, I don't think you have that kind of talent."
"Being an Exorcist isn't a game; it's not a tool for you to prove 'you're better than others'."
"If you use such a ridiculous and childish reason again to joke with your own life and the lives of others, I will kill you."
Saying this, Miko turned and left.
She had to go see if that Special Grade Cursed Spirit would cause any major harm.
If any students died because of it, it would be bad.
Only after Miko left did Yuria snap out of it, clutching her blanket in terror.
"Was I... threatened?"
"How humiliating! I will never forgive her!"