Translator: imperfectluck Editor: Kurisu

  It was considered a mystery why Seigo Harano was so strong.

  Regarding the incidents involving him at the tennis club and basketball club, that could be still attributed to having overwhelming stamina. However, the fact that he single-handedly defeated the entire karate club by himself had far surpassed what could be explained by having excellent stamina. That was overwhelming strength as if he was a dragon, which was how he obtained the nickname of "Magic-devouring dragon."

  Yukari had personally witnessed his astonishing strength at the doujinshi convention… his cosplay "swordfight" had seemed too realistic and amazing. It was obvious that it was out of the ordinary.

  Many students in Genhana High School had discussed amongst themselves the reason for his strength before. They guessed various things such as whether or not it was related to his family background or if he had a hidden identity, such as being a former child soldier mercenary, special forces operative, assassin, and so on.

  The fact that he never joined any sports clubs in the end was something that was attention-inducing as well. Although Seigo gave an explanation for not joining any sports clubs, people found his explanation difficult to believe and interpreted it as him wanting to keep a low profile.

  And now, Yukari Asamiya learned the truth.

  Seigo Harano was no ordinary person. He was a Spiritual Ability user!

  Due to being a Spiritual Ability user, he had more power than ordinary people. Due to being a Spiritual Ability user, he didn't join any clubs in order to avoid drawing too much attention… everything made sense now!

  Seiji was rather astonished that Yukari believed him so easily. He even impulsively wanted to ask her why she believed him so readily.

  But, he suppressed this unnecessary impulse of his. After all, it was a good thing that she was willing to believe him.

  "I'm happy that you're willing to believe me." Seiji smiled. "To be honest, I was hesitating whether to tell you or not. Now, it seems like I made the correct decision."

  "Thank you for being willing to tell me your secret." Yukari smiled back at him.

  "You probably think that this is all really sudden. There's a reason for this. Last night…" Seiji gave her a rough explanation of the Midnight Spell and the situation with the night of one hundred demons, along with his own opinion of what was going on. "…Although I'm not certain whether or not it will happen again tonight, I'm rather worried. You could call it an ominous premonition. Although my power is limited, I still want to do what I can to protect all my friends within my power. And so, I came up with the idea of personal barriers…"

  Yukari silently listened to his full explanation.

  "Thank you for being so worried about me," she told him softly while looking into his eyes. "Now, I'm feeling like it's a wonderful thing that I fell in love with you."

  Another direct attack!

  Seiji felt that it was difficult to face her gentle expression head on, and lowered his head to sip on some more tea to conceal his embarrassment.

  Yukari could tell that he was embarrassed, which gave her a warm feeling inside.

  There was a moment of silence between them.

  "Barriers mean that things will certainly be safe, while without a barrier, there's only a risk, not certain danger, right?"

  "Yes."

  "In that case, I choose not to use a barrier," Yukari told him.

  "…Is it because it's too expensive?"

  "Indeed. Although you said that you'd pay for me, I don't wish to trouble you to such an extent." The purple-haired girl smiled. "We're only 'friends,' and I shouldn't have a friend pay so much money for my sake just because there's the chance of danger."

  Seiji was rendered speechless.

  He wanted to say something, but she said something first, "Of course, if you want to take care of me as your girlfriend, that's another matter. I'd happily use your money."

  "What are you saying…" Seiji swallowed down his original sentence as he revealed a helpless expression.

  "I like the way you do things—telling me directly so that we can discuss things together rather than hiding things from me and secretly purchasing a barrier for me," Yukari continued. "While that can be termed as gentle, that's all it is. Perhaps some girls will really like that, but I'm not that type. Compared to that type of gentleness, I prefer this type."

  Seiji looked at her.

  "If I don't give you the money and lend it to you instead… won't that work then?"

  "If there's certain danger, then I wouldn't hesitate. But, you said that the danger's only a possibility."

  "Although it's only a possibility, it's quite dangerous if you really do meet with a demon."

  "It's just a demon. I can take care of it with just my imposing manner!" The purple-haired girl raised her head proudly.

  Seiji was rendered speechless.

  "Just joking. If that really happens, then I'll have to ask you for help." Yukari chuckled. "At such a time, please come and save me as soon as you can, Mister Hero."

  "Yukari Asamiya-san…"

  "Are you thinking that I'm rather troublesome now? That's right, that's just how I am. Please take good care of me!"

  Seiji could only sigh at this.

  Although he indeed found it somewhat troublesome, he could still understand. After all, this was her way of being reserved as a girl.

  "If you meet with any demons, call me for help immediately." This was all he could say.

  "Yep, if I'm really that unlucky, I won't care about anything else and I'll call you immediately." Yukari then blinked. "Since you told me your secret, let me tell you one of my secrets as well."

  "Eh?"

  "Come closer, and give me your ear."

  Seiji was somewhat mystified, but he did as she requested.

  "My secret is…" The purple-haired girl got closer to his face and whispered in his ear.

  *Pucker.*

  There was a tiny sound.

  Seiji felt something warm and moist, which caused him to pause in surprise.

  His face turned red after he realized what just happened to him.

  "Heehee, ambush successful~"

  Yukari's delighted voice sounded next to him.

  Seiji looked over to see that the purple-haired beauty was blushing and her eyes were watery. She had a soft and seductive smile.

  "This is a girl's secret deposit, Mister Hero."

  Only a long while after Yukari left did the heat on Seiji's face finally dissipate.

  He had been kissed! Kissed! Kissed!!

  It was already tremendously fortunate that Sergeant Haruta wasn't instantly defeated by such an astonishingly heavy cannon attack.

  "What an amazing deposit…" Seiji sighed to himself in sincerity.

  After he finally calmed down, he called Kaho and learned that she had gone to another city together with her family to visit relatives.

  Since she wasn't in this city, there probably wasn't anything to worry about.

  Seiji chatted a little with Kaho before ending the phone call.

  He took a sip of his tea and thought of the Fuuma Family as he looked at the exquisite tea set that came from them.

  He was somewhat worried… so he gave a call to Airi Fuuma.

  Seiji learned that her entire family had returned to their hometown on New Year's Eve and wasn't staying in this city at all.

  Rather, Airi was concerned about her Seigo-senpai, since she had heard the news about demons appearing in the city.

  Seiji thanked her for her concern and wished her a happy New Year's.

  After finishing the call, he laid his head down on the kotatsu.

  Now, all he could do was wait…


  After dinner, Seiji received a phone call from Shizuka Saran. They agreed to meet in a private room at a coffee café.

  When he arrived at the agreed-upon location, he saw a woman wearing a gray jacket and long pants. She also had headphones and a white breathing mask on. The only physical characteristic of hers that she revealed was her light green eyes.

  "Hello, are you Saran-san?"

  The woman nodded. "Please take a seat, Harano-san."

  Seiji sat down across from her as she took out a black briefcase and placed it on the table. She opened it up and showed Seiji what was inside.

  Inside the briefcase were numerous light-yellow talismans with black ink. Each talisman was embedded with a crystal in the center that was roughly the size of a finger.

  "Everything you wanted is here, including an instruction booklet on how to use these," Shizuka told him in a soft voice. Then, she took out a card reader and pushed it towards Seiji.

  Seiji took out his bank card and swiped it to pay her with.

  Shizuka's card reader printed a receipt for him.

  "That concludes our deal… thank you for your business."

  Shizuka Saran pushed the briefcase towards Seiji, put the card reader back in her purse, and left.

  After watching her leave, Seiji looked towards the briefcase again.

  The neatly stacked talismans in the briefcase had an out-of-the-ordinary quality to them. The white and yellow crystals within the talismans were sparkling slightly.