"Wow~ So fast! Faster than Togawa's Maybach!"
Above Akihabara, Fujiwara Chika shouted excitedly from inside the invisible Ford car.
Asakura couldn't help but feel a headache.
He had been deceived by her quiet and gentle appearance when she first sat on the bed.
He thought he had finally met a dignified and serene pink-haired girl, as the pink-haired girls he had known before were all more or less… well, not very tranquil.
What? Bocchi?
Bocchi is socially anxious, not quiet.
However, he didn't expect her to become so lively and noisy after getting into the old Ford.
"You're too loud! Can you not shout so loudly next to someone's ear?" Asakura said impatiently.
"But, but, this is a flying car! This is the first time in my life I've ridden in a flying car!" Fujiwara Chika excitedly pressed against the car window and said, "When I saw a car suddenly appear outside the empty window just now, it felt really incredible! My room is on the second floor, the second floor!"
Specifically, because the old Ford remained invisible, what she actually saw was the sudden opening of the car door and its internal structure.
However, in a sense, this made it even more 'supernatural'.
"I say, can an ordinary person be so carefree after experiencing something like that?" Asakura sighed helplessly.
He had already learned about her experience from the girl just now; although the Evil Spirit was ultimately tormenting the girl, the root cause of everything was the 'Nonexistent Shrine'.
Therefore, for Asakura, only by figuring out the situation of that shrine could this exorcism be considered complete.
"I don't know about others, but after this profound lesson, I've come to a very profound conclusion."
Fujiwara Chika said seriously.
"Oh? Is it a reflection on the past and a doubt about reality or truth—"
"No, it's that I haven't played enough in the past! Before the next thing I regret happens, I'm going to play twice as much!"
"That's too shallow! Where's the profundity in that?!"
"Exorcist-san is still too young. Isn't there an old saying?" The pink-haired girl said cheerfully, "The most profound things in the world are the Mariana Trench and a woman's heart."
"..."
It seems this lesson wasn't profound enough.
The old Ford glided silently through the night sky.
"I remember that shrine should be somewhere nearby."
Fujiwara Chika looked at the terrain below, muttering with some doubt.
"If it were that easy to find, it wouldn't be a strange tale."
Asakura was in a good mood; he wasn't so eager for quick success. It didn't matter if he couldn't find it today. If worst came to worst, he could temporarily lend the 'Magic Eye Killer' glasses to the girl to seal her spiritual vision ability to see Evil Spirits. So he calmly said, "We need to be prepared for a long battle—"
"Found it! It's over there!"
"Cough, it seems your spiritual vision played a big role in this."
"It would be great if we could solve this and get home before eight o'clock."
"Is that your curfew?"
"No, it's my bath time."
"..."
"'It's this late and you're still thinking about bathing'—those words were written all over Exorcist-san's face."
Fujiwara Chika wagged her finger, making a 'tsk tsk tsk' sound. "Actually, it's not like that. Because I was entangled by that thing before, I had no strength to do anything, so the maid at home helped me bathe. If I can't go back by eight o'clock, the servants will find out I'm not home."
"It's okay. When the time comes, just ask to press the pencil that emits strange light (MiB reference)."
"Huh? Could it be that the Evil Spirit that was bothering me wasn't an Evil Spirit, but an alien?"
"It's a slight possibility."
"Seriously?!"
While the two were chatting idly, Asakura had already circled the sky, but he didn't know if the other party was deliberately hiding, or if it was inherently difficult to discover. At least from the sky, he didn't see anything unusual in that shrine, not even a single person.
Considering there were quite a few spirits on this mountain, perhaps describing it as 'not even a ghost' would be more appropriate.
After confirming there was nothing strange, Asakura controlled the old Ford to land next to the shrine.
"Is it really okay to park the car directly in the shrine?" Fujiwara Chika unexpectedly asked a very sensible question.
"It's fine. There aren't any 'no parking' signs nearby." Asakura was confident.
"That's because ordinary cars can't drive up the mountain path with steps at all!" Fujiwara Chika whispered.
"And there's no 'no pets allowed' sign here either. That's great, Pink-haired Miss." Asakura said cheerfully.
"Am I categorized as a pet?! And what's 'Pink-haired Miss'? My name is Fujiwara Chika! Chika, Chika, Chika!" The girl waved her small fists, protesting indignantly.
"Because if it really comes to a fight later, you can't help at all, can you?" Asakura squinted at the girl and said.
"Why are you assuming there will be a fight? Who goes to a shrine intending to defeat a god?!" Fujiwara Chika was shocked.
"Then do you want to stay in the car? Just a heads-up, this guy's durability is only 5 points." Asakura pointed to the old Ford and said.
"So low?!" The girl asked, "Just to be sure, what happens if the durability runs out?"
"Boom." Asakura made a blooming motion with his hand: "Ba la la la~"
"Then I'd better follow Exorcist-san." The girl said dejectedly.
"Speaking of you..." Asakura looked at Fujiwara Chika, "you look like a child from a strict, wealthy family, but you surprisingly know gaming terms."
"Although I can't play video games, I do play board games, and I'm even a member of the board game club at school!" The girl proudly puffed out her chest, which could make Chihaya Anon, also with pink hair, tear up, and said smugly.
"What's there to be proud of...?" Asakura muttered as he got out of the car, then turned around to see her looking at him with teary eyes.
It was then that he remembered that this girl named Fujiwara Chika had no sensation in her feet and was disabled.
Although it was a bit strange why there was no wheelchair in her room, it was impossible to drive back to get a wheelchair now.
So Asakura could only sigh, come to the passenger seat door, and half-crouched with his back to her.
Fujiwara Chika happily climbed onto his back, seemingly without the slightest resistance to a girl like her lying on a stranger's back.
Of course, Asakura didn't feel any flutter either. Although the two mochi on his back felt good, other parts were too thin, just bones, and felt uncomfortably bony...