"But..."
Mitsuha struggled for a moment, then cautiously said, "It's not good to just leave it like that. If not, I better help and save it."
She had a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Whenever she saw a ghost, she couldn't help but want to purify it. If she didn't, she would feel uncomfortable all over. She'd think about it all day, possibly even losing sleep at night.
Although she knew it was best not to get involved, Mitsuha just couldn't help herself.
Mitsuha extended her finger: "Actually, what I meant to say is that I can help for free."
Haruto raised his eyes: "No need."
He paused for a moment and turned to look at the ghost of a young boy trailing behind him.
The ghost had been following him the entire way. Generally, people who attracted ghosts had some kind of connection to them.
But Haruto found that the person the ghost was following was not someone else, but himself.
He was sure he'd never met this ghost boy.
So why was it following him?
For that reason, Haruto rejected Mitsuha's offer of help.
Haruto waved his hand, waiting for the ghost to come closer, and said, "Lend me your pendant."
"This is it."
Mitsuha handed him the pendant without hesitation.
The pendant was a small jasper gourd. But it wasn't just a simple accessory. It was a magical tool inscribed with talismans and imbued with spiritual power.
For ordinary people, wearing this gourd pendant could strengthen the body and ward off evil spirits. However, its effects were quite limited.
Haruto examined the gourd and then stretched out his hand. The ghost boy suddenly turned into a puff of smoke and entered the gourd.
Seeing this, Mitsuha sighed in relief: "Kuromori-kun, are you planning to purify it yourself?"
Haruto replied casually, "I just want to know why it's following me."
Mitsuha choked and let out an awkward laugh, unsure of what to say.
"What are you two doing?"
Nino's displeased voice echoed, and she soon walked over, grabbing Haruto's arm: "Hurry up, Itsuki's about to cry from hunger."
Itsuki retorted, "I won't cry when I'm hungry!"
Nino asked nonchalantly, "What's that in your hand?"
"A pendant."
Haruto replied honestly, "It's Mitsuha's pendant."
'Of course, I know it's Miyamizu Mitsuha's pendant. The question is, why did she give it to you? You've only been talking for a few minutes. What did you say?'
Nino shot a wary glance at Mitsuha. The girl looked so cute, and at first glance, she could definitely be considered a "legal little girl!"
She heard that 80% of men in this world are "pedophile."
Could Haruto be one of them?
Nino's gaze shifted to Mitsuha's chest, and she couldn't help but grit her teeth.
They're huge!
When Mitsuha crouched down to tie her shoelaces, surely, her shoes weren't even visible!
Nino glared sharply at Haruto: "Did you bully Mitsuha?"
"Huh?" Mitsuha quickly clarified, "Kuromori-kun didn't bother me, you misunderstood."
Hearing her explanation, Nino's gaze grew even sharper.
The implication was clear: 'If you admit it, you'll get off easy. If you resist, things will get worse. She's defending you! Just tell me honestly, what did you really do to her?!'
That's probably what she meant.
Haruto thought for a moment and said, "Since I found an interesting ghost and had nothing to put it in, I asked Mitsuha to lend me her pendant."
"You pervert, Kuromori, are you trying to scare me?"
"It's the truth."
"Yeah! I'm just scaring you, how about that!"
"Ugh, wait for me!"
Who's scared of whom?
Haruto remained calm. Nino was just all talk.
After leaving the haunted house, their day at the amusement park came to an end.
Mitsuha didn't stay long and quickly left.
Although Miku had invited her to hang out, Mitsuha wasn't naive. She could sense Nino's hostility, so it was best to leave right away.
After lunch, Haruto and the group took the tram back home.
Haruto didn't get off the tram with the Nakano quintuplets; instead, he got off with the Nishimiya sisters. After all, today he was supposed to spend time with Shoko, but the quintuplets had joined in midway.
It wouldn't make sense to stick with the Nakano sisters now.
While walking toward a bridge, Yuzuru suddenly said, "Onee-chan, I just remembered I have something else to do, so I'll leave now."
After saying that, Yuzuru glanced at Haruto and quickly left.
She ran off so fast that only her back was visible.
Not long after, Haruto received a message from Yuzuru on his phone: "Don't come back too soon. Take Onee-chan for a walk around first."
"Also, Onee-chan seems a bit sad today. Idiot, don't you know how to comfort her?"
Haruto put his phone away and looked over at Shoko.
Noticing Haruto's gaze, Shoko turned to him with a soft and peaceful smile on her face. "Kuromori-kun, what's wrong?"
Haruto looked away. "It's still early. Do you want to feed the fish?"
"Huh?"
Shoko looked surprised, then nodded happily, saying, "Got it, I'll go buy some bread now."
Seeing her turn to run across the street, Haruto quickly pulled her back.
A car passed by.
Shoko leaned into Haruto's arms, looked up, and playfully stuck out her tongue: "Thankfully, Kuromori-kun stopped me, otherwise I would've been in trouble."
"Be more careful next time."
"Hmm~" Shoko responded softly and couldn't help resting her head on his chest: "Kuromori-kun's embrace is so warm."
"Kuromori-kun."
After a moment of silence, Shoko couldn't help but hold him tighter, then lifted her face to look up, her expression nervous with anxious anticipation.
"I like you."
"I like Kuromori-kun."
"So..."
Shoko tightly shut her eyes, blushing, stood on her tiptoes, and her warm lips met Haruto's.
For a brief moment, Shoko pushed Haruto away, looked at him with a flushed face, and then turned and ran off.