During the year since Minamiya Chiya transmigrated into this world, he had not spent much time getting familiar with Osaka itself. Most of that year had been devoted either to cultivating Daoist arts and absorbing spiritual energy, or to handling supernatural incidents in the homes of officials and wealthy families so he could build a reputation and earn enough money to establish himself in this world.
Hoshizuki Kaede's home was in the southern part of Osaka. The location was fairly good, and it was not far from Chiya's luxurious "Daoist temple." By taxi, the trip only took about twenty minutes.
"So right now, it's just you and your sister living here?" Chiya asked as he changed into indoor shoes at the entrance.
"Yes, Chiya-kun. My parents both work overseas at the moment. Usually, they only come back once a year."
After their last two encounters, the relationship between Chiya and Kaede had already begun shifting from simple client and exorcist into something more familiar. After all, he was only a year or two older than her. Once they had gotten to know each other a little better, their old forms of address started to feel too distant.
"Master Minamiya," "Miss Hoshizuki," and "benefactor" all felt too formal now.
When they entered the living room, Chiya naturally sat down on the sofa as a guest, while Kaede went to make tea for him.
There were snacks and fruit on the table. By now, night had already fallen. Although Chiya cultivated the Dao, he was still built on the foundation of an ordinary human body. He still needed proper meals, and because his cultivation was still shallow, his appetite was actually quite large.
So he immediately reached for the snacks and fruit and started eating.
While he was chewing on a slice of pear, he suddenly heard footsteps coming from the wooden staircase beside the living room.
Turning his head, he saw another beautiful girl with the same hair color as Kaede step into view.
She was wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt and casual home sandals. Her appearance was strikingly similar to Kaede's, but there were also obvious differences.
The resemblance in their faces was almost uncanny, yet the atmosphere each sister gave off was completely different.
Kaede felt gentle and approachable.
This girl felt distant.
Her amber eyes swept over him with a quiet, detached look.
"…Who are you?"
Her voice was calm, and she tilted her head slightly, her expression filled with suspicion and a faint sense of guardedness.
Why had Kaede brought a strange man home?
Chiya remained perfectly at ease, wearing the composed expression expected of a proper exorcist.
"I heard from Kaede that you're interested in supernatural incidents and spirits?"
Although he certainly had his own thoughts about the Hoshizuki sisters, this was only their first meeting. There was no way he would act like some shameless fool right from the start.
Besides, if he won over Kaede first, would this sister who cared so much about her really be able to stay distant forever?
At least, that was what Kaede herself had told him. In this world, the sisters did not have any childhood-friend male lead hanging around.
Rin said nothing.
She only stood there, staring at Chiya with a serious expression.
He was calling Kaede by her name so naturally.
Had their relationship already reached that stage?
Was that why Kaede had brought him home?
As she looked at the handsome young man before her, Rin could not help letting her thoughts drift further in that direction.
Meanwhile, Chiya had his own thoughts as well.
For a moment, the two of them simply looked at each other in silence, creating a rather awkward atmosphere.
That was when Kaede's voice broke the tension.
"Chiya-kun, green tea is okay, right?"
Carrying a tea container and kettle, Hoshizuki Kaede stepped into the living room.
The Hoshizuki home was quite spacious. Since both of her parents worked abroad, their income was clearly substantial. The house was almost villa-like in scale.
And because of the distance, Kaede had not heard the brief exchange between Chiya and Rin.
"Green tea is fine. Even juice or something else would've been okay too."
Chiya shifted his gaze from the cool younger sister back to the gentle older one.
Rin might be cold now, but that was only because they had just met. Once they got to know each other better, she would not keep looking at him like that.
As Kaede sat beside him to prepare tea, Rin remained silent, her eyes moving back and forth between the two of them.
About twenty minutes later, Kaede finally began telling Rin about everything that had happened today, including how Chiya had accompanied her and resolved the supernatural incident.
Once Rin learned that Minamiya Chiya was the exorcist she had previously heard about, the expression on her face finally shifted. Her caution toward him also lessened.
This man had saved her sister's life.
That alone changed everything.
"…Thank you for saving Kaede."
After understanding the full situation, Hoshizuki Rin walked over and thanked him seriously.
"No problem," Chiya said casually. "But when are we eating? I've been hungry for a while."
"Exorcising spirits takes a lot out of you. You two had better make plenty of food."
He was very satisfied with the change in Rin's attitude and waved it off lightly.
In a two-dimensional supernatural world like this, aside from handling demons and ghosts, there was no reason not to enjoy life a little. Balancing work and rest was the real way to live.
Hearing that he was hungry, Kaede could only take Rin with her to the kitchen and start making dinner.
After they finished eating, it was already past eight in the evening.
"Do you have two bathrooms here?" Chiya asked.
"Yes," Kaede replied.
"Then Rin, you can wash up first and get some rest. There's still some lingering ghostly residue on your sister. I need to help her cleanse it properly."
"…Okay."
Rin's eyes shifted slightly, but in the end, she obediently accepted his arrangement and headed upstairs.
Kaede watched her go, then tilted her head.
"Chiya-kun, would it be a problem if Rin stayed and watched?"
"It wouldn't affect me," Chiya said honestly. "But it would probably make things harder for you. The cleansing process involves a medicinal bath, and I'll need to guide the treatment carefully. If you don't mind your sister watching, I can call her back down."
At that, Kaede's face immediately turned red.
"T-Then maybe that's not necessary…"
Compared with having both her sister and Chiya there, she would much rather avoid that kind of embarrassment.
In the short time that followed, Kaede took the medicinal bath packet Chiya had prepared for her and headed to the downstairs bathroom.
Meanwhile, Chiya stayed behind to help tidy up the dishes after dinner.
A real man doing housework now and then was nothing unusual.
After all, this place might very well become his second home in the future.
…
Inside the bathroom, Hoshizuki Kaede was already soaking quietly in the bathtub, looking a little dazed.
Her cheeks were flushed, and she lowered part of her face into the warm water as she looked at the cloth packet floating beside her.
That was the medicinal bath packet Chiya had given her earlier, saying that it would temporarily suppress the lingering ghostly aura on her arm.
"Chiya-kun is only seventeen, and he's already that amazing…"
"Those terrifying monsters and ghosts… he really isn't afraid of them at all?"
Thinking back to the grotesque female ghost she had seen beneath the streetlamp that afternoon, Kaede could not help shivering slightly.
She still could not understand why simply passing that street twice had been enough to attract something like that to her.
Was she just unusually unlucky?
Her thoughts did not last long.
The bathroom door opened.
"How is it? Does your arm still feel itchy at all?"
Minamiya Chiya walked in as naturally as if this were his own home, his expression calm and focused.
He looked at Kaede carefully, but his attention was on her condition.
Even setting appearance aside, her complexion was much better than before. The medicinal bath was clearly already taking effect.
"A little," Kaede said, sitting up straighter at once.
"That's good," Chiya replied. "It means the ghostly aura is fading little by little. I'll help guide the circulation through your arm today. After two more days of medicinal baths, the hidden danger should be gone completely."
He stepped beside the bathtub, took her pale hand gently, and began pressing along her wrist and arm with careful, controlled motions.
The technique was steady and deliberate, more like treatment than anything else.
Still, Kaede could feel her heartbeat becoming increasingly unsteady.
Whether it was because of the lingering fear from the day's events or simply because a boy so close to her was calmly holding her hand, even she could not tell anymore.
Sensing her nervousness, Chiya deliberately kept his tone relaxed.
"You should avoid deserted places for a while, especially unfamiliar ones. Osaka may become more dangerous soon."
Kaede looked up in surprise.
"Dangerous?"
Chiya's expression turned more serious.
Because of the system's notice about the upcoming "Hyakki Yagyo" instance, he could not be certain what would happen to the city next.
It was entirely possible that somewhere in Osaka, a far more troublesome spirit would emerge.
From the hints the system had already given him, he now had a much clearer grasp of how monsters in this world were ranked.
The ghost he had dealt with for Kaede this time had only been a low-level one.
Above that were middle-rank ghosts, great ghosts, demon soldiers, demon generals, and even stronger beings still.
As for what level of threat might appear once the "Hyakki Yagyo" truly began, even he did not know yet.
At present, the strongest things he could reliably deal with were great-ghost level entities.
Anything beyond that would require him to keep growing stronger by hunting more lesser spirits first.
"Will the city really become that dangerous…?" Kaede asked, clearly shaken.
"Don't worry," Chiya said. "As long as I'm here, you and Rin will be fine."
Then, after a brief pause, he added casually, "Though if that's the case, I may have to stay here for a while. Covering food and lodging shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Kaede's eyes widened at once.
"Really? You would do that, Chiya-kun?"
To her, it felt as if she had found someone reliable enough to lean on. If Chiya truly stayed in their home, then their safety would be far more secure.
"Of course," he said with an easy smile. "After all, Kaede and I are friends."
By now, he had already finished the treatment for the night and withdrew his hand.
There was still plenty of time ahead.
No need to rush.