Alright.
It's clear that familiar urban legends are easier to accept.
Shiraishikawa thought for a moment.
He then suggested, "Miss Mary, it's dangerous to answer the phone while crossing the road. If you're looking for me, come to Apartment 625 in Nagasu Sanchome."
"I'll be waiting for you in Room 1501 on the top floor."
"..."
The phone fell silent for a moment, then a chilling laugh emerged, with a scornful tone: "It seems you already know what's going to happen."
"But, you small fry~ you'll definitely encounter something even more terrifying!"
"Okay."
Shiraishikawa nodded slightly. This was his first exorcism experience, so it needed a sense of ritual. After some hesitation, he suggested, "Remember to wear something cute."
Chapter 2: I think Izumi Sagiri's mother is quite charming too.
Regarding "Miss Mary" from the urban legend, Shiraishikawa had a brief discussion with other members of the Classics Club after school.
He didn't expect that...
Just a simple train ride home, and an urban legend would find him!
"Let's go home first. It seems I don't need to do much special preparation." Shiraishikawa shook his head slightly, not particularly bothered by urban legends.
With his "Exorcist" profession nearing max level,
among the many skills he possessed, dealing with the so-called Mary was simply too easy. In fact, he was somewhat relieved that he was the first target.
If she had sought out Yotsuya Miko or Chitanda, things would have been much more difficult.
Consider it chivalry, perhaps.
After all, he had finally transmigrated to a world of various anime. Besides grinding his proficiency panel, Shiraishikawa's daily life consisted of collecting rent and spending time with beautiful girls.
He didn't let Miss Mary's call disrupt his normal routine.
As he was about to return to his apartment building, Shiraishikawa cast his gaze towards the bustling streets nearby. He didn't have any particularly high demands for dinner.
However, when his eyes fell upon the "Big Three" of the streets—Sukiya, Yoshinoya, and Matsuya—
he instantly lost interest.
Shiraishikawa shook his head slightly. Time was a bit tight, and he was already tired of the taste of these "Big Three" fast-food chains in Japan.
A simple bento would be perfect.
Arriving at the 7-Eleven convenience store downstairs from his apartment, the cashier on duty was a young woman. Although there were no ugly women in the anime world, she wasn't particularly beautiful either.
She noticed that the owner of the apartment building had returned.
After all, the store manager, who had an extremely bad attitude, had to bow and scrape every month to discuss rent with this young man, so her attitude certainly had to be respectful.
With a smile on her face, she greeted him proactively, "Shiraishi-kun, you're back."
"Hmm."
Shiraishikawa naturally wouldn't put on a sour face for those around him. He smiled and nodded, then shifted his attention to the bentos being sold in the convenience store.
They could be eaten after a simple microwave heating.
Financially, he wasn't particularly lacking in this aspect, so he chose fresh salmon, sushi, and other non-discounted items.
However,
he didn't expect to encounter an extremely familiar figure here.
Silvery-white, smooth long hair was styled into a dangerous hairstyle, gently cascading over her chest. Even in loose loungewear, her perfect figure curves were still evident.
However, this charming woman, still youthful in appearance, was clearly facing some financial difficulties.
She was frowning, carefully selecting discounted bentos at the convenience store as evening approached, not noticing Shiraishikawa beside her.
"Izumi-san."
As for the woman's appearance, she was a larger version of Sagiri. Shiraishikawa was, of course, very familiar with Izumi Miori, this young woman.
A tenant in his apartment building.
The beautiful and young erotic manga artist, raising her hikikomori daughter, Izumi Sagiri, alone. It seemed that due to a change in the world line,
the original plot did not unfold.
Izumi Miori, who hadn't remarried, and her daughter became tenants in this apartment building. As for occasional rumors, the reason Sagiri was relatively small was because of in vitro fertilization?
"Oh... Shiraishi-kun."
Startled by the sudden greeting, but when Izumi Miori saw Shiraishikawa's handsome young face, a smile immediately appeared on her face.
She also had a very good impression of this landlord.
When her manuscript fees weren't paid on time, Shiraishikawa never urged her for rent, and he would enthusiastically help her with things like broken light bulbs or clogged drains.
Izumi Miori carefully looked at the bento in Shiraishikawa's hand and his backpack: "Shiraishi-kun, did you just get back from school?"
"Yes."
Shiraishikawa advocated for efficient communication, so there was no need to ask again about Izumi Miori's obvious act of choosing dinner.
However, seeing her pick such low-priced bentos,
he suddenly asked, "Izumi-san, have your manuscript fees not been paid yet?"
Clearly, her predicament had been noticed. Izumi Miori's gaze shifted slightly, but she still nodded seriously, "Shiraishi-kun, you can rest assured."
"This month's rent will definitely not be delayed."
"That's not what I meant."
Shiraishikawa wasn't really concerned about the rent. Instead, he continued to suggest, "Izumi-san, you should really consider what I said before."
"I'm about to go to a higher grade, and my academic pressure is a bit high."
"I don't have time to clean the house normally, and eating bentos every day isn't good for my health, so I hope you can help me out a bit."
"..."
When the key issue was brought up, Izumi Miori looked at the discounted bento in her hand. Sagiri was truly in a growth phase, and eating bentos every day...
Her already wavering heart tilted even further towards the other side of the scale.
Izumi Miori had a basic understanding of Shiraishikawa's family situation: his parents had died in an accident, and he probably had no one to take care of him in his life.
As a way of thanking Shiraishikawa for taking care of them,
Izumi Miori's delicate face nodded seriously, "Shiraishi-kun, I will seriously consider this matter and give you an answer tonight."
"Alright."
Shiraishikawa certainly had no objections to having a charming young woman take care of his daily life, especially since Izumi Miori was a mother and daughter he had a good impression of in the anime of his previous life.
He smiled and nodded, noticing his phone vibrate briefly. It was another call from an unknown number, and he easily guessed it was Mary, the urban legend.
He had no intention of lingering.
After all, it was his first proper exorcism, and he needed to prepare in advance. If Miss Mary got away, it would take much longer to start his new profession.
Paying for Izumi Miori's two bentos as well, since this small expense had no impact on the string of numbers in his balance, Shiraishikawa decisively returned to his apartment.
Taking the elevator,
he went straight to the top floor. It wasn't a typical apartment layout; to be precise, the entire floor was his home, and the decor was luxurious.
Home theater, outdoor garden, swimming pool, and even a karaoke room were all available.
The only minor drawback... was that the large flat's area was too big, and he had to hire a housekeeper every week to clean it. It would be better to give this chore to Izumi Miori.
"I still need to prepare a little."
"Logically, I just need to wait for Mary to knock on the door, so I'll set up a forced exorcism array here in advance."
Shiraishikawa decisively used his core skill.
As his palm touched the ground, a faint blue light instantly emanated, eventually forming a circular exorcism array on the wooden floor.
No other preparations were needed.
Now, all that remained was to wait for "Miss Mary" from the urban legend to pay a visit!
Chapter 3: Little Imp Mary, I, the Forced Exorcist, am here!
Shiraishikawa naturally ignored Miss Mary's calls, intending to use the constantly decreasing distance to create psychological pressure.
For an ordinary person, this would undoubtedly be terrifying.
The key is,
as an almost max-level exorcist, possessing an indestructible body fearless of evil spirits, infinite stamina like in H-anime, and purification abilities, he had already prepared in advance.
His current mood was completely unperturbed.
And Mary didn't make Shiraishikawa wait particularly long. With a brief, urgent knock on the door, he didn't even need to use the peephole to check.
A familiar voice came from outside the security door.
The tone of voice sounded like a naive young girl: "Shiraishikawa-kun, are you home? I'm Mary, who called you just now."
But with Mary's appearance,
a distinct chill immediately seeped from outside the door into the room, as if the temperature had dropped significantly in a short time.
Shiraishikawa, of course, didn't care. He decisively got up and opened the security door, but there was no one outside, as if it were a prank.
"I will make you feel immense fear. Be prepared."
A chilling laugh instantly resounded behind Shiraishikawa, but this was no different from what he had expected.
In the urban legend "Mary's Phone Call," the origin was an abandoned doll, an enraged doll full of resentment, who, after a phone call,
would follow the person closely until she appeared behind them.
"..."
With anticipation, Shiraishikawa turned around and saw the target he needed to exorcise tonight: a girl barely 1.4 meters tall, with white hair cascading to her waist.
The girl's azure blue eyes emanated intense resentment.
Especially seeing Mary's exquisite face, which was no different from his impression, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. She was wearing a white and red princess dress,
and her hair was tied with a dark red rose hairband.
"Hello, Mary."
Since this was his first encounter with an urban legend, Shiraishikawa gave her due respect and greeted her very seriously.
"..."
However,
noticing his attitude, it was Mary's turn to be stunned, because in Shiraishikawa's eyes, she couldn't find any trace of fear.
The power of an urban legend depends on the target's fear of it!
After all, she was a ghost.
She wouldn't let this prey go just because Shiraishikawa wasn't afraid of her. Her slender, pale hand gripped a red umbrella,
wanting to rush over and give this guy a thorough chilling.
But as Mary tried to step forward, the originally unremarkable ground, the exorcism sealing array instantly emitted a holy light, like a cage.