In a classroom at Sobu High School, Chiba City, in Class F of the second year.
Hikigaya Hachiman propped his right hand under his chin and scanned the classroom before his gaze landed on a trembling shadow.
Ever since the first day of school three months ago, when he had saved a dog crossing the street and ended up in a car accident and hospitalized, he had discovered a system had appeared in his mind.
The full name of the system was the Exorcist System, which, as the name suggests, was meant to train its host into an exorcist.
At first, Hikigaya simply thought that his brain had been damaged by the car accident, causing him to hallucinate.
After all, where in the world would there be ghosts?
"Ding! Detection of a minor evil spirit nearby. Would you like to mark it?"
Just as Hikigaya was lost in his thoughts, a mechanical sound echoed in his mind.
"Yes."
He blinked and silently thought to himself.
"Marking successful!"
After a few seconds of silence in his mind, the mechanical voice returned, and a screen appeared in his vision that only he could see.
On the screen, it showed the layout of Sobu High School, with a green dot marking his location in the center. The red dot next to him was the minor evil spirit the system had just marked.
Looking at the screen, Hikigaya thought to himself, and his character panel automatically popped up.
Name: Hikigaya Hachiman
Age: 17
Occupation: Junior Exorcist
Spirit Power: 100/100
Ability: None
Weapon: Beginner Demon Slayer Sword
Spirit Coins: 150
Looking at the panel, which was barely better than a blank slate, Hikigaya couldn't help but sigh.
Minor evil spirits were not only rare, but they also didn't drop many spirit coins.
Plus, he had just been discharged from the hospital after lying in bed for three months, and as a result, he had only received the system three months ago and was still at the level of a junior exorcist, with only the Demon Slayer Sword as his weapon.
"However, if I take down this ghost tonight, I'll have enough for 200 spirit coins. Then I can exchange for a spell."
Thinking of this, Hikigaya's eyes glinted.
Once he had an offensive spell, he could challenge intermediate evil spirits.
The level of an exorcist was determined by the strongest evil spirit they defeated.
If they successfully exorcised a higher-level evil spirit, they would automatically level up and unlock more weapons and spells...
"It feels like I'm playing a game..."
Hikigaya muttered to himself.
Just then, an ugly, vengeful face suddenly appeared in front of him, a minor evil spirit that had unknowingly floated up to him.
"!"
Hikigaya was so startled that cold sweat broke out. He immediately jumped out of his chair, raised his hand, and slapped the evil spirit with his spirit power.
Take that for scaring me!
The evil spirit, slapped into the air, spun a few times before shaking its head, clearly disoriented.
Who was it? Where was it? What just happened?
In the classroom, the sudden movement of Hikigaya standing up caught everyone's attention.
After all, this was the mysterious, introverted student who had only shown up to school three months after the term started.
Noticing the gaze of his classmates, Hikigaya nonchalantly sat back down, resuming his usual lazy demeanor, as if nothing had happened.
Seeing this, the classroom burst into chatter once again.
"What was that? He suddenly stood up and did that, then pretended nothing happened and sat back down..."
At the back of the classroom, Miura Yumiko, with her impressive figure and long blonde hair, glared at Hikigaya Hachiman's back and shouted in displeasure.
She had been discussing after-school plans with the person next to her, but Hikigaya's sudden action had interrupted their conversation.
As the queen of the class, Miura naturally wasn't willing to let things go like that.
"Well, maybe he's got something on his mind?"
Hayama Hayato quickly stepped in to calm Miura's mood.
Hikigaya had already been isolated enough in class. If Miura gave him more trouble, it would be too pitiful.
"Yeah, yeah. Hikigaya might just be having a rough time..."
Hearing Hayama's words, Yuigahama Yui, who had even better looks than Miura, quickly nodded in agreement.
"You even know his name?"
However, because she was overly concerned about Hikigaya, Yuigahama accidentally let something slip, which immediately raised Miura's suspicion.
After all, apart from Yuigahama, none of the other six people here had remembered Hikigaya Hachiman's name!
"Ah, well... it's normal to remember the names of classmates, right?"
Miura's scrutinizing gaze made Yuigahama panic instantly. She quickly started coming up with excuses.
Fortunately, Miura didn't seem to care too much about this and soon shifted her attention back to what they should do after school.
"I heard there's a new milk tea shop near the station. How about we go there after school?"
...
Hikigaya Hachiman didn't notice what was happening in the back of the classroom, as it had nothing to do with him.
At this moment, his eyes seemed unfocused, but in reality, he was still staring at the evil spirit that had scared him earlier.
He was eager to get rid of it!
The last class of the afternoon was math.
Hikigaya, who was ranked third in the grade for humanities but at the bottom for science, painfully endured through the confusing math class until the bell rang for the end of school.
While packing his things, Hikigaya observed the evil spirit's location through the screen.
What he didn't expect was that after being marked, the evil spirit had wandered around the school and ended up right back next to him, attaching itself to his clothes!
It clearly thought of Hikigaya as its prey for the night.
This was perfect for him, and Hikigaya couldn't hide his excitement.
However, just as he was about to change his shoes by the shoe rack in front of the teaching building to go home, a ruthless, iron grip reached out from the air behind him and grabbed his collar, lifting him up.
"Eh?"
His body suddenly left the ground, and before he could react, he heard Hiratsuka Shizuka's terrifying voice.
"Hikigaya, where do you think you're going?"
"Of course, I'm going home."
Hikigaya answered without thinking. It was after school; if he wasn't going home, would he be going to Hiratsuka Shizuka's house?
"You seem to have forgotten what I told you yesterday?"
Hearing Hikigaya Hachiman's response, Hiratsuka Shizuka's forehead immediately bulged with veins.
If she hadn't kept an eye on him and checked the activity room, Hikigaya might have actually escaped.
Hearing the cracking sound of Hiratsuka Shizuka's clenched fists, Hikigaya's lost memory immediately returned.
He wiped the cold sweat off his forehead and immediately began flattering Hiratsuka Shizuka.
"How could I forget? Actually, I was just joking. I was planning to go to the activity room..."
"That's better..."
Facing Hikigaya Hachiman's poor lie, Hiratsuka Shizuka didn't choose to expose him but instead gave a cold snort.
Then, she grabbed Hikigaya's hand and dragged him toward the opposite direction of the school gate.
"Um, Hiratsuka-sensei, can you let go of my hand?"
Walking behind Hiratsuka Shizuka in the hallway, Hikigaya Hachiman felt the curious gazes of passing students and couldn't help but speak up.
"I won't let go until I take you to the activity room!"
Hiratsuka Shizuka refused Hikigaya Hachiman's request without even looking back.
"Fine."
Seeing this, Hikigayaan shrugged helplessly.
Since Hiratsuka Shizuka didn't mind, what was there for him to worry about?
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