Chapter 296: Different Summer Vacation Lives
"...It really does seem to be that way."
Because she hadn't encountered an evil spirit in so long, Yotsuya Miko had almost begun to think they had vanished from the world entirely. Recalling now that the reason she couldn't see spirits in Chiba was entirely because of Hikigaya Hachiman, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"But it's still strange, isn't it? Even for Tokyo, the distribution of evil spirits is far too dense..."
She followed quietly beside Hachiman as they walked toward the station exit. It was only a distance of a few hundred meters, but in that short time, Miko had already seen at least five or six spirits of varying grades.
"The number of people who commit suicide at Tokyo train stations every year is quite high," Hachiman explained while casually dealing with the spirits they encountered, clarifying why the station was so infested.
By the time the two finally stepped out of the station and onto the main street, Hachiman had already earned nearly a thousand Spiritual Coins in side-income.
"Even if the high number of suicides makes it easy for evil spirits to brew, this amount is still far too much."
Looking at the Spiritual Coins he had harvested, Hachiman didn't feel happy; instead, a trace of worry grew in his heart. After all, if there were too many spirits in Tokyo, Chiba—right next door—would be affected to some degree sooner or later. Moreover, the Inari God had previously warned him that the Nine-Tailed Fox was about to awaken...
'Could the number of evil spirits be related to the Nine-Tailed Fox?'
Standing at the bus stop with Miko, Hachiman watched a spirit drift past him and chose to remain still. He had encountered far too many spirits along the way; if he tried to clear them all, he wouldn't have enough time even if he worked twenty-four-hour shifts without sleep. Therefore, Hachiman simply chose to ignore these low-level spirits that posed no danger to him.
On the other side, although Miko was terrified by the spirits around her, she felt much more at ease the moment she touched the bracelet Hachiman had given her.
After waiting for a while, the bus bound for Tokyo Tower pulled up to the curb.
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"Ah, why are there more and more evil spirits lately?!"
Casually slashing through a mid-level spirit in front of her, Isayama Yomi turned back to look at her companions, who were still struggling with spirits, and let out a complaint.
This was supposed to be precious summer vacation time. Since there was no school, she had wanted to go to the beach with Kagura, but from the start of the holiday until now, she hadn't had a single day of rest. Every day was spent weaving through the streets and alleys of Tokyo to deal with these loathsome spirits!
However, that wasn't even Yomi's biggest grievance. What truly frustrated her was that even though she and her colleagues from the Countermeasures Office were working incredibly hard to clear them, the number of spirits hadn't decreased. On the contrary, the population had more than tripled compared to the start of the summer!
"The intelligence team hasn't found the cause yet either..."
The bitter voice of Jinguuji Ayame , the head of the Countermeasures Office, came through the earpiece. As the head, Ayame was well aware that forcing her subordinates to maintain high-intensity combat for long periods was never a good thing. Yet, the reality of the situation forced her to issue such orders.
It wasn't just their side at the Ministry of Nature; even their rivals at the Ministry of Defense were on high-intensity duty due to the recent explosion in the spirit population.
"They still haven't found the cause..."
Hearing Ayame's words, Yomi felt a slight sense of surprise. In terms of raw combat power, the government was certainly no match for the exorcist clans, but when it came to intelligence gathering, the government's advantage was overwhelming. And yet, even after more than ten days of summer vacation, they still hadn't found the reason for the surge. This made Yomi feel a sense of vigilance.
"Could it be that guy's doing?"
The face of the mysterious boy she had met in the woods flashed through Yomi's mind for an instant. But she immediately dismissed the thought.
'How could that be possible?'
Even if that guy was incredibly powerful, he was undoubtedly still human. A human commanding evil spirits... that thought was simply too ridiculous.
"The next mission location is the top level of Tokyo Tower. The target is a Grade A evil spirit. Be careful to protect the tourists."
While Yomi was lost in thought, her companions had finished off the remaining spirits in the area. Without a moment's rest, having detected that the spiritual fluctuations in Yomi's area had completely vanished, Jinguuji Ayame immediately announced their next objective.
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"It's so high..."
Standing at the base of Tokyo Tower, Yotsuya Miko looked up at the towering structure.
"It is over three hundred meters, after all."
Looking at the data about Tokyo Tower he had just looked up on his phone, Hachiman didn't think the height was anything special.
"So, Hikigaya-kun, do you want to take a photo together?"
Miko pulled out her phone and waved it gently in front of Hachiman. Since they were out for fun, taking pictures was a must, right?
"I'll just take a picture for you."
Hachiman instinctively tried to decline. However, as he was speaking, Miko had already grabbed his arm and leaned in close to him.
With the "click" of the phone camera, a quickly snapped photo of the two of them appeared on Miko's screen.
"I look terrible in this."
Looking at his stiff, wooden expression in the photo, Hachiman looked away shyly. As expected, I'm just not suited for photos...
"No, I think it looks great."
Disagreeing with Hachiman, Miko carefully saved the photo. Then, she took the lead and began guiding Hachiman around the base of Tokyo Tower.
She spent some money to buy snacks for both of them, and after several more joint photos at Miko's request, Hachiman sat down on a bench to rest for a bit. It was then that he noticed Isayama Yomi and her team rushing over to handle a spirit.
At the same moment Hachiman noticed Yomi, the instincts honed through long years of combat allowed Yomi to discover Hachiman's presence as well.
A look of surprise appeared on her face. Yomi instinctively wanted to go over and greet Hachiman.
However, after noticing Miko's presence, a look of realization dawned on Yomi's face.
She abandoned the idea of a conversation and simply gave Hachiman a nod from a distance before leading her team toward Tokyo Tower.
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