"So, yesterday, he stayed in the bathroom with you for half an hour?"
"You two... you two..."
In the kitchen, Rin stopped her older sister, her expression full of disbelief.
So Kaede really did have some kind of relationship with that exorcist, Minamiya Chiya. Otherwise, how could something like bathing even involve the two of them? It had been a long time since she had even shared a bathroom moment with Kaede, so Rin's feelings were a little complicated right now.
"Rin, Chiya-kun is going to be staying here for a while. As long as he's here, we'll be safe."
"From now on, whatever you do, you need to stay with me. Got it?"
Hearing Rin bring up what happened in the bathroom last night made Kaede feel deeply embarrassed, but for the sake of both their safety, she felt she had to explain things clearly. Otherwise, with Rin's personality, there was no telling what kind of fuss she might stir up.
While the sisters were talking, Minamiya Chiya had already finished washing up and came to the dining area.
He had slept in a cold, empty guest room last night, but he was confident it would not be long before he found his way into Hoshizuki Kaede's room instead.
Ten minutes later, the three of them sat down together and finished a simple breakfast.
"Chiya-kun, then Rin and I are heading to school now."
"Mm, go ahead. I'll spend the morning checking the area around your house first. Around noon, I might head over to your school too. Oh, right... there aren't any ghost rumors around your school, are there?"
Chiya had received Kaede's "live-in personal bodyguard mission." For the sake of the future safety of what he was already mentally calling his future home, he planned to scout the surrounding area that morning and see if there were any hidden monsters or spirits nearby.
Even though today's weekly exorcism mission from the system was due to activate, idle time was still idle time. He might as well make the first move himself. Better that than let too many demons and ghosts pile up until he could not handle them all later.
Halfway through asking, he suddenly remembered the issue of the sisters' school.
Generally speaking, on this island nation, schools were places with a notoriously high chance of supernatural incidents. And this was not just any world, but a hidden-world, adult-anime-style dimension at that. On top of that, Hoshizuki Kaede and Hoshizuki Rin were both basically human-shaped beacons.
So Chiya could already foresee that he would have to spend a great deal of effort on these two sisters in the future.
"I don't think so," Kaede said after thinking for a moment. Then she turned to her sister. "Rin, do you know anything?"
"Recently, people have been saying the old school building is haunted. Some even claim they saw something there. But whether it's true or not, I have no idea."
Rin answered softly. Since it was Kaede asking, she was willing to say more than usual.
"Oh? A haunting in the old school building? Could it be something related to Hanako?"
Chiya stroked his chin and looked at Rin. As far as school ghost stories went, there were only a few classic possibilities he could think of.
"Hanako-san, the ghost from the urban legend?" Rin looked back at him as she answered. "I don't know. But it could also just be someone's prank."
When it came to this man who might one day become her sister's boyfriend, Rin felt she probably should not stay overly cold toward him forever.
The conversation did not last much longer.
If the sisters delayed any more, they would be late for school.
As for school itself, Minamiya Chiya wanted no part of it.
There was no way he was going to attend school in this island nation. His original world had already given him more than enough of that misery. Why would he sign up to go through it all again here?
After the sisters left for school, Chiya also headed out and began checking the area around the Hoshizuki house. But after spending most of the morning searching, he failed to find even the faintest trace of demonic or ghostly residue.
That dealt him a slight blow.
After accomplishing absolutely nothing, Chiya could only hope that the system would eventually provide some kind of demon-tracking function. Otherwise, searching blindly like this was going to exhaust him to death sooner or later.
By noon, Chiya headed over to the sisters' school to take a look.
After meeting up with them and sharing lunch, Hoshizuki Kaede used her authority as student council president to bring him inside the campus.
As they walked, Kaede chatted with him, while Rin trailed along beside them. Her expression remained less than cheerful the whole time, as if she were annoyed that Minamiya Chiya was stealing her sister away.
Because this school was one of the more famous middle and high schools in Osaka, the campus was far larger than that of an ordinary school. The place Rin led Chiya to was the old campus site of Osaka First Academy, dating back several decades.
The farther they walked in that direction, the fewer students they saw on the road. Eventually, weeds began appearing along both sides of the path, with dry yellow leaves scattered about and the hedges and lawns left untended.
"This is the place. When the ghost rumor first started, someone said they saw a spirit in that building."
Because Chiya had said he wanted to investigate the school, Kaede had spent the day asking classmates and teachers for any related information.
"Mm. This definitely has the right atmosphere. You two should head back now. I'll go in alone from here. Get back to class early."
Minamiya Chiya's interest flared up at once.
At this point, he was interested in every kind of demon or ghost there was. These things were resources for his cultivation. The more he killed, the stronger he became. There was no way he would pass up a chance to exorcise evil.
"Chiya-kun, then be careful. We'll head back first."
Kaede very much wanted to see him exorcise another spirit again, but for the sake of both her and her sister's safety, and so as not to trouble him, the blue-haired girl could only pull Rin away and leave first.
Watching the sisters go, Chiya suddenly realized something.
Sooner or later, he was going to have to make protective talismans for both of them. The system had already given him one, but the two he had his eye on were a pair of sisters. Obviously, one was not going to be enough.
Besides, there was no way he could follow them every second of every day.
Thinking about making talismans, Minamiya Chiya stepped toward the old school building overgrown with weeds.
The place was clearly built in the architectural style of several decades ago, and much of the structure was still wooden. As a result, every step he took inside made the floor creak and groan beneath him.
As he walked deeper into the old building, Chiya's thoughts drifted.
Judging by the information Rin had given him, the spirit haunting this school was very likely Hanako.
This kind of ghost not only appeared in anime, but also in films, novels, and manga. It was the sort of spiritual entity that often lurked in human buildings and enclosed spaces.
Generally speaking, Hanako-type ghosts were not particularly strong. At most, they usually ranked around the level of a mid-grade ghost.
But exceptions always existed.
Especially since the dungeon-like instance he had entered, Hyakki Yagyo, seemed to be gradually shedding its restrictions.
"If it's Hanako, then it's usually a female ghost..."
"Come to think of it, there are stories like that in certain late-night genres too..."
"Still, let's deal with the real problem first."
Chiya's gaze swept over the dim surroundings, and the corners of his lips lifted faintly.
When it came to the great path of cultivation, the matter before him now was simple.
Find the ghost.
Deal with it.
Get stronger.
With that thought in mind, all traces of sleepiness vanished from him.