"It really is a dragon! A terrifying dragon!!"
Seeing that scene, Miko's heart was pounding wildly.
At that moment, she felt the same kind of fear she used to feel when facing cursed spirits.
If she had been the one on the receiving end of Tohru's attack, her fate definitely wouldn't have been any better than that Grade 1 cursed spirit's.
Meanwhile, the airheaded Hana Yurikawa let out a shriek.
"Woooow! Tohru-chan is amazing!!!"
The moment Hana grabbed onto her arm and started showering her with admiration, Tohru's face lit up with a smug smile.
"Mhm~ Of course. I'm a great dragon. How could low-level trash like that possibly be a match for me!"
While Tohru basked in her own glory, Granny Takeda and Yuria were both completely stunned.
Granny Takeda had lived nearly her whole life, and this was the first time she had ever seen something like this.
She sat there trembling in her chair, cold sweat pouring down her forehead.
She had apparently just scammed a monster like this!!
At that moment, Granny Takeda felt like a giant flashing DANGER sign had appeared over her head.
What she didn't know was that Tohru had never cared whether she'd been tricked or not.
As far as Tohru was concerned, Granny Takeda had just said her love life would work out, so her impression of the old woman was actually pretty good.
Just thinking that, if she put in some effort tonight, she might really make it to home base thanks to that "fortune," Tohru was already itching to get moving.
"Takumi, we've already bought the groceries, so let's go back. This place is boring."
Brimming with enthusiasm, Tohru strode over, shoved Yuria Niguredou aside, and wrapped herself around Takumi's arm.
Yuria, who had been pushed aside, didn't get angry. She was still so stunned that she only just noticed Tohru's maid outfit.
"Y-you're a maid?!"
The keyword maid instantly triggered Tohru's urge to show off.
She turned around at once and proudly declared, "That's right. I am Takumi's one and only maid, Tohru. Now get out of the way, you low-level human!"
Yuria only heard the first half. Her eyes locked straight onto Takumi.
"A master this incredible is actually your maid, Takumi-senpai? Please take me as your disciple, Takumi-senpai!!!"
Without another word, Yuria grabbed Takumi's hand and begged to become his student.
Takumi looked at her with an expression that said he didn't even know where to begin, then turned toward Granny Takeda.
"Didn't you just try to apprentice yourself to her? And now you're immediately trying to apprentice yourself to me? That face-turn was way too fast."
Takumi's smiling, easygoing attitude let Granny Takeda breathe a little easier.
From the look of things, this handsome young man was actually the owner of that monster.
Cannot provoke him. Absolutely cannot provoke him!!
Granny Takeda instantly plastered on the most flattering smile she'd shown all day.
At the same time, her eyes couldn't help darting around the street. The pedestrians nearby acted as though they hadn't seen a single thing just now.
The more she looked, the colder she felt.
Ordinary people hadn't even gotten the chance to notice what had just happened. It was like their minds had been casually overwritten.
If she hadn't possessed at least a bit of cursed power herself, she probably would've ended up no different from them—never even knowing when she died.
Still oblivious to the fact that Granny Takeda was sweating bullets, Yuria excitedly ran over to the fortune-telling booth.
"Godmother, can I apprentice myself to him? Please!"
Yuria put on the most pleading expression she could manage, clearly hoping Granny Takeda would give her permission.
Granny Takeda stared at Yuria in speechless disbelief.
"I never took you in as a disciple in the first place. If you want to go apprentice yourself to him, then go do it."
She waved her hand dismissively, trying to shoo the chuuni girl away.
Hearing that she hadn't actually been accepted earlier, Yuria looked wronged for about half a second.
Then her whole face brightened with joy.
Sure, failing to become a disciple before had been disappointing, but now she had another chance!
"Please, Takumi-senpai, take me as your disciple!!"
Yuria smoothly dropped to her knees and grabbed Takumi's hand, begging as hard as she could.
She felt like this was her one and only chance. If she missed it, she'd never get another one.
"Hahaha~ You really are cute. But no, I'm not agreeing to take on a disciple. You can, however, come work odd jobs at my office for now. Later on, I can teach you a few things."
Yuria clearly wasn't qualified to be his disciple.
Still, Takumi didn't mind having a cute little assistant around to run errands and handle odd jobs. Maybe every now and then she could even kneel down and blow his flute to keep his spirits up.
Even though she hadn't successfully secured herself a master, Yuria was still thrilled out of her mind.
At the very least, she'd managed to get a foot in the door!!
"So it actually worked for her."
Miko muttered under her breath. Beside her, Hana held up her phone and linked arms with Miko as she said, "Since it's lunchtime, let's hit one last sightseeing spot. It's the abandoned Sankogudani Shrine nearby. They say it's really effective if you go there to make a wish..."
"Sankogudani Shrine? I was actually planning to go there too."
At that moment, Takumi suddenly spoke up and suggested going with them.
Tohru's face immediately drooped. Looking on the verge of tears, she turned to him.
"I'm just going over there for a bit to deal with something small. I'll be right back. I'm still counting on you to make lunch, Tohru."
As he said that, Takumi reached out and rubbed Tohru's head.
In an instant, Tohru perked right back up and nodded enthusiastically.
"Leave it to me!!!"
The moment she finished speaking, Tohru leapt into the air and flew off toward home.
After dusting off her skirt and climbing back to her feet, Yuria shamelessly tagged along.
"Takumi-senpai, what are you going there for?"
That question also voiced exactly what Miko had been wondering.
She also didn't believe for a second that Takumi was actually going there just to sightsee.
"There's a monster over at Sankogudani Shrine. I'm going to deal with it."
"A monster?"
Hearing that, Miko, Hana, and Yuria all immediately became interested.
Seeing the three of them looking like curious little kids, Takumi could only offer a vague explanation.
"Sankogudani Shrine functions kind of like a seal. Beneath it, there's something even nastier being suppressed. But the fox spirit of Sankogudani Shrine itself is also an evil spirit—it just happens to follow rules. From my point of view, that thing doesn't deserve to be called a 'god' at all."
He continued, "Looks like too much time has passed, so the fox spirit has lost a lot of both its power and its spirituality. Now it needs to find offerings to restore its strength. People like you, the kind who can actually step into that place as a sightseeing destination, are exactly the kind of offerings it's after."
As he finished speaking, Takumi looked toward Miko and Hana.
Both girls froze. They clearly hadn't expected that coming out for an ordinary little outing would turn into something like this.
Takumi, however, wasn't surprised in the slightest.
After all, Miko had a Protagonist Halo on her. If she didn't run into this kind of trouble, who would?
"Is it really that dangerous? Then... do we really still have to go?"
By now, Yuria was already starting to lose her nerve.
After getting slapped with reality by that Grade 1 cursed spirit, she finally understood just how little she knew and how laughably weak she really was.
...
For every 50 Power Stones → +1 extra chapter.