"'A Manual for Raising a Loyal Boyfriend'... There's actually a book like this?!"
Kaguya's eyes widened in disbelief.
It was her first time encountering the term "loyal boyfriend," but the meaning was clear enough: if you train your boyfriend like a loyal dog, is he still a boyfriend or just a pet?
"Where there's demand, there's a market," the blonde girl said casually, pulling the lollipop out of her mouth with a soft pop. Her slender fingers toyed with her hair as she licked the candy with her pink tongue, completely unbothered. "I also saw 'One Hundred Days to Make a Rich Woman in Tokyo Fall in Love with Me' and 'The Step-by-Step Guide to Winning Over the Neighbor's Wife' in the bookstore..."
"Wait, those titles are a little... questionable!" Kaguya couldn't help but shout.
It's one thing to pursue a rich woman from Tokyo, but conquering the lady next door is just too much!
"Don't worry about the details," the blonde girl tilted her head and gave Kaguya a sideways glance. "After all, you're a complete novice in love, aren't you? You should really study the methods in these books. Otherwise, you'll just stand by and watch while the boy you like gets stolen."
"You're overthinking it," Kaguya retorted loudly, her cheeks flushing slightly. "I don't like him."
"The volume of your voice doesn't make your argument any more convincing," the blonde girl leaned against the doorframe. "You've been losing your appetite lately, and you've even got dark circles under your eyes because of him."
"That's because..." Kaguya bit her lip.
She had told Hayasaka about the strange incident that happened two days ago, but Hayasaka didn't believe her. Without evidence, anything she said was useless.
"Forget it. Let's go home," Kaguya said, her tone calming.
"Are you going to read this book, Miss?" the blonde girl asked with a light tone. "If not, I'll just toss it out."
Kaguya hesitated for a moment before quietly taking the book and slipping it into her schoolbag with a composed expression: "Don't litter."
It didn't matter if it was about raising a loyal boyfriend. There had to be something in there she could use to her advantage. Maybe she could learn a thing or two.
Yes, that's right.
She was reading this book solely to make better use of him!
---
On the way home, Amamiya happened to run into Miko and Hana.
"Good afternoon, Natsuki-san!" Hana waved enthusiastically, her bright smile a stark contrast to Miko's indifferent expression. "Shall we continue studying together today?"
Miko raised her hand to cover a yawn, her dark circles even more prominent.
Amemiya approached them, glancing at Miko. "Didn't sleep well last night?"
"No," Miko replied, biting her lip in frustration.
The vengeful spirits could pass through walls, so closing doors was pointless. They were more annoying than flies or mosquitoes.
After Amemiya left last night, Miko had hoped to get some rest. But then, an evil spirit with eyes covering its entire face had crawled through her door and slipped under her bed like it was nothing.
She couldn't look.
She couldn't watch it.
Miko had no idea how long she lay there before finally drifting off to sleep. It was no wonder her dark circles were even darker today.
They chatted as they walked and soon arrived at Amemiya's house.
"Shall we study at Amemiya's place today?" Hana chirped, raising her hand in excitement.
Amemiya turned and replied slowly, "It's dangerous to go to a stranger's house."
"It's fine! Natsuki-san and I are friends now," Hana grinned, grabbing Miko's arm. "And with Miko here, Natsuki-san would never try anything funny."
Miko sighed and muttered weakly, "Sorry, I'd probably turn a blind eye."
"Hey, that's too much!"
"I won't do anything. Also, you can call me by my name. No need to be polite."
"Really? Then, Amamiya-kun! Also, please call me Hana just like Miko."
"Ok. Hana."
---
Amemiya unlocked the door and invited them inside. "Come in. The slippers are in the shoe cabinet, help yourselves."
Miko, having been over many times before, casually changed into her usual salted fish slippers.
"Thank you, Amamiya-kun," Hana said politely, after neatly arranging all their shoes. She then happily went off to pet the dog.
"What would you like to drink?" Amemiya asked, opening the refrigerator. "We've got barley tea, oolong tea, and cola."
He paused.
Inside the fridge, a ghostly head stared back at him. He had to admit, it startled him for a second.
"Barley tea," Miko said.
"Oolong tea," Hana chimed in.
Expressionless, Amemiya activated his ghost-repelling aura. The spirit in the fridge let out a faint scream before evaporating into gray mist.
He handed drinks to the girls and led them upstairs to his room.
"Excuse us," Hana said cheerfully, walking in after Miko. She looked around curiously. "Wow, it's so clean! I thought it would be messier."
"I just cleaned yesterday," Amemiya replied, dragging a folding table from the balcony.
"Eh?"
"The room is usually a mess, there's no place to step, and supernatural events often happen."
"Wait, usually it's a mess?" Hana asked, wide-eyed. "And do you mean... supernatural things happen?"
Amemiya's expression grew serious. "It was just recently. I woke up one morning and realized something important was missing. The windows were shut tight, and the door hadn't been opened. Yet, no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find it. It was as if it had vanished into thin air."
Hana whispered nervously, "Could it have been a ghost?"
Miko rested her cheek on her hand and bluntly asked, "What did you lose?"
Amemiya folded his hands and replied solemnly, "A sock. One of my socks just disappeared."
"Socks?!" Hana's eyes widened in disbelief.
"What did you think I was talking about?" Amemiya asked.
Realizing the joke, Hana puffed her cheeks in frustration. "That's not fair, Amamiya-kun!"
"I'm terribly sorry," Amemiya said, his expression unchanged. "But vanishing socks are one of the top three most common supernatural phenomena."
Hana's curiosity was piqued. "Really? What are the other two?"
Amemiya glanced at her and smirked. "So you really want to know?"
"Uh-huh!" she nodded eagerly.
But Amemiya merely shrugged and pulled out his workbook. "I'm not telling."
Hana pouted and turned to Miko. "Miko, Amemiya-kun is being mean! Help me out!"
Miko lay on the table like a defeated fish. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do."