Suppressing her disappointment, Yotsuya Miko looked at Arthur with a hint of expectation.
"Um… may I ask, how do you manage to stay so calm in front of evil spirits? Aren't you afraid?"
"That's paid content."
Arthur gave her a mischievous grin.
"Huh? Paid?!"
Miko blinked in surprise.
Then, frowning slightly, she asked cautiously,
"…How much?"
Seeing that she had actually taken him seriously, Arthur's smile deepened, his eyes glimmering with amusement.
"Not much. Just one hundred million yen."
"…How much?!"
Miko's eyes widened.
One hundred million yen—and that was supposed to be cheap?!
Even if she sold herself, she wouldn't be able to pay that.
"Heh heh!"
Her dumbfounded expression made Arthur laugh out loud, his voice full of mirth.
"Wait—you…"
Hearing his laughter and seeing his face, Miko finally realized.
She had been playing!
She let out a silent sigh, a little exasperated.
Arthur then added with a chuckle,
"I was just joking. The real price isn't expensive at all. Just buy me some milk tea."
"How about that—pretty affordable, right?"
"Deal!" Miko agreed immediately. "Now tell me."
For Arthur to stay utterly unfazed by spirits in just a few days, there had to be a reason.
If she knew that reason, maybe she too could face spirits without fear, calm and collected.
"One word, then."
Arthur's smile widened.
"It's simple. Just have the strength to not be afraid of them."
"…Huh (⊙_⊙)?"
Miko froze.
Just have the strength not to be afraid?
That was the same as saying nothing!
But then—she caught the implication.
"Wait…"
Her brows knit together as she considered it.
So Arthur wasn't afraid of spirits… because he actually had the power not to be afraid?
Could it be…
Her golden eyes flickered with doubt as she asked softly,
"Who exactly are you?"
Someone who could deal with spirits.
Was he an exorcist?
But he had just said he'd never even met one.
That only made her more curious about his identity.
If Arthur really could handle spirits, then maybe she could rely on him too.
"You really want to know?"
Arthur arched a brow, smiling playfully.
"…"
Miko stared at his annoying grin. She wanted to say "no," but she held it back.
"Yes. I'm curious."
Her words were honest, though her expression remained calm—
as always.
That was just her personality.
Arthur could read her easily.
Most of the time her face looked close to blank, cool-headed and rational.
That was exactly why, even when she first encountered a spirit, she could hold herself steady on the outside and avoid danger.
Calm on the surface.
Panicking like crazy on the inside.
The description fit her perfectly.
Though he felt a little guilty for thinking it, Arthur actually wanted to see her cry out in fright, eyes tearing up from being scared.
Too bad there were no spirits around the school.
This morning, when he entered the gates, he had released his perception quietly, covering the entire Integrated Academy campus.
Surprisingly, he hadn't sensed a single spirit.
In the Mieruko-chan world, spirits were practically everywhere.
But this was a merged crossover world.
Fewer spirits, and other strange changes.
For example, when he was being stalked by the Claw Spirit, it had been unable to enter his home.
As if some invisible law was limiting them.
And unlike in the original world, where spirits could freely touch humans, here they couldn't.
If they didn't realize someone could see them, they couldn't even touch that person at all.
Like when the Claw Spirit had passed straight through him before.
His thoughts swirled. Then, under Miko's curious gaze, Arthur smiled.
"Me? Just think of me as a psychic."
"A… psychic?!"
Her golden eyes widened again.
So Arthur was a psychic?
But then she thought about herself.
She could see things others couldn't.
Didn't that count as a psychic ability too?
…So did that make her one as well?
After a short silence, she asked again:
"So, Arthur, your ability isn't just seeing spirits… it has other uses too, right?"
"Like… exorcism?"
He had admitted earlier that he could see them.
As for exorcism, she was still skeptical.
"You could say that."
Arthur nodded with a smile.
"You really can exorcise spirits?"
Her brows furrowed slightly.
It wasn't something she could believe without proof.
The spirits were terrifying.
If an exorcism failed, the consequences were too horrible to imagine.
"Of course."
Arthur nodded again.
Then, his smile grew meaningful.
"Miko, you don't really want to keep living in fear, do you?"
"…What do you mean?"
His sudden words made her frown and grow cautious.
Something about it sounded… off.
Still smiling, Arthur pressed on:
"Miko, don't you want to overcome your fear of spirits?"
"Don't you want to escape this helplessness?"
"And finally… don't you want the ability to exorcise them yourself, just like me?"
At this point, he almost sounded like he was selling something.
"What did you just say?!"
That last line shattered her calm façade.
She shot to her feet, eyes wide with shock.
The ability to exorcise spirits—herself?!
For a second she wondered if she'd misheard.
But she hadn't.
Arthur repeated it with a smile:
"I said—don't you want to gain the ability to exorcise spirits, just like me?"
"…Can you really do that?"
Her eyes widened further. Doubt battled with rising hope in her chest.
Arthur didn't answer with words.
He just smiled at her.
"…"
After a brief struggle, her heart won out over caution.
She couldn't help asking—
"…Then what's the price?"
There was no such thing as a free lunch.
She knew that much.
Even praying at a shrine required an offering.
And this was about gaining an actual power to banish spirits.
Of course there had to be a cost.
Still, she asked—
Because she had had enough of living every day in fear.
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