Haa... haa... haa...
In the safe environment, gasping like she was oxygen-deprived, her heart pounding as if it would leap out of her chest, Utaha finally lost the last of her strength.
One hand on the doorknob, the other gripping Akira's clothes, she slowly sank to her knees.
Akira squatted down and extended a hand to her. "Do you mind a bit of physical contact?"
Feeling her body had completely gone limp, Utaha weakly placed her hand in his. "Sorry to trouble you."
Then she realized—Akira was a liar.
He'd said it would be just "a bit" of contact, and the gesture had clearly been for support, yet once she agreed, he slipped his arm around her shoulders and lifted her into his arms.
Being held in a man's arms for the first time—there was no way she could stay calm. Especially not with her heart already pounding, and that face of his being way too good-looking.
To avoid revealing any "embarrassing" expression, Utaha tried desperately to distract herself and forced a complaint.
"Isn't your 'a bit' a little too much?"
"People have different understandings of vague quantifiers," Akira replied cheerfully, enjoying the softness in his arms.
"For example, my 'a bit more physical contact' refers to a zero-distance level."
Utaha got the meaning. Gritting her teeth, she asked, "Then what does 'full physical contact' mean?"
"That would be going all the way."
She turned her face away and forced out a few words through clenched teeth. "Pervert. Creep. Filthy…"
"So, Miss Kasumigaoka, how do you feel about losing your first time in a well-lit living room at a classmate's house?"
"I'm sorry, I was wrong."
Clearly, Miss Kasumigaoka wasn't feeling great about it.
Although she didn't think Akira would actually do something like that, she wasn't about to risk the consequences of further provoking him.
Akira was satisfied with how quickly she backed down.
He gently laid her on the living room sofa, with her head resting against the armrest—still a decently comfortable position.
"Call your classmate. That girl was pretty worried about you.
When Mr. Spencer called me, I could already hear her fussing in the background. Oh, and don't tell her exactly what you encountered."
Utaha took out her phone. Seeing that the signal had returned, she dialed the number.
"Wah—Utaha, are you okay?! What happened?!"
"Nothing serious. Don't worry. Ogiwara-san is already here."
"Then why are you at my house?!"
"I originally just wanted to watch Ogiwara-san perform the exorcism from the gate. But while I was waiting, someone unfamiliar approached, so I ran into your yard to hide… Sorry."
"You don't need to apologize for something like that! I'm just glad you're safe… So, so! Did you see a ghost?! What did Ogiwara-san do?!"
Remembering Akira's warning, Utaha mumbled vaguely, "Not sure… Um… I'll explain later. Ogiwara-san seems busy right now, wouldn't want to disturb him."
Eriri wasn't someone to pester or press too much. After confirming Utaha was okay and hearing her say that, she prepared to hang up.
Meanwhile, Akira had taken out a compass and was chanting something under his breath.
Then he walked over to the cabinet in the living room, picked up a wooden sculpture from it, and turned back.
"Don't hang up yet. Give me the phone."
Utaha told Eriri, then handed the phone to Akira.
He put it on speaker.
"Hello, Miss Sawamura. Your household's issue has been resolved. Your parents are with you, right?"
"Yes! They're here!"
"Turn on speaker. Mr. Spencer, Mrs. Spencer—I've taken the oddly shaped wooden sculpture from your living room.
Please refrain from bringing weird objects like that into your home again.
Especially those expensive or uniquely sourced collectibles. The more valuable they are, the more likely they're real."
"Wah—Dad! It was that weird thing you brought back that caused it! Got it! We understand now!"
As she listened, Utaha glanced at the sculpture in Akira's hand.
It was a vaguely humanoid object, faceless and twisted in form. It reminded her of the blood-soaked corpse she had seen earlier.
…Who would bring something like that into their house?
Akira wrapped things up.
"I'll reinforce your home a bit. As long as you don't bring strange things home again and haven't formed any special karmic grudges, you shouldn't have any more trouble."
"Thank you very much, Ogiwara-san," Mr. Spencer's voice came from the speaker.
"No need for thanks. I'm just being paid to resolve the problem.
This time, Miss Kasumigaoka was the one who bore the cost, and she also did quite a bit to help. Though really, she was just repaying a past favor."
"I understand. If she has the time, we'd be glad to have her visit again."
Hearing Mr. Spencer's words, Utaha felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from her chest, and she couldn't help but smile.
"Well then, I'll take care of some finishing touches. Everyone, get some rest."
"Sure. And if Ogiwara-san ever wants to join one of our parties, please let us know. We'll be sure to host you properly."
After a few more polite exchanges, Akira hung up and handed the phone back to Utaha.
At the same time, his gaze fell on her body.
Yes—her body.
The feeling of holding her earlier had been excellent.
All the right curves, not even a little chubby.
Soft from lack of exercise, but supple and springy from youth.
Visually, those slender, bony types might be ideal for fashion—but from a tactile perspective, Utaha was top-tier.
The pleasure that had waned recently from fruitless business dealings was stirred again.
Utaha had still been basking in the relief of resolving everything.
But when she looked up and met that invasive gaze, she instinctively shrank back, a little frightened.
"You… what are you looking at?"
"About stealing my job today, Miss Kasumigaoka—what do you have to say for yourself?"
She blinked and slowly processed the question. "Me?"
"Yeah. The house has been cleansed. I didn't tell Mr. Spencer the details because, well—either it'd sound like I was trying to take credit for your work, or I'd have to explain about the charms.
And I don't like too many people coming to buy charms from me. Whether I accept or reject them, it's a hassle."
"And also—congrats. You've settled your personal debt. Nicely done."
Utaha didn't agree. "I didn't do anything. It was all because of your charm."
"I already gave you the charm. How you use it is your business—whether to repay a debt or survive a future crisis.
Of course, those three charms were tailored to the disasters shown in your face reading.
Since you've used one, the next disasters will be harder to handle. The consequences are yours to bear."
"…Got it."
Her strength had somewhat returned. Utaha sat up, staring a little blankly at the two remaining charms in her hand.
She didn't have a solid concept of supernatural matters or how to deal with them, so everything still felt vague and confusing.
"That terrifying ghost… just disappeared like that?" she muttered.
Akira gave a snort. "You think that low-tier, non-corporeal ghost was something special? And what do you think my charms are?"
Utaha found it hard to think of that ghost as "low-tier." It had been scarier than anything she'd seen in horror movies.
"So was the ghost just too weak… or your charm too strong…"
Akira explained, "That ghost was weak. The type that can't even move when a house has people in it, only able to scare a lone girl when no one's around.
It even had to play tricks to stimulate fear. That's why I called it bottom-tier. One charm is enough to take it out."
"As for my charms… well."
He rubbed his chin.
"I don't really know what level my charms fall under. But in the past, after testing skills on some priests and monks, I'd compensate them with two charms each.
Not only did none of them bear grudges—they were even delighted, telling me I was welcome anytime…"
As a fellow otaku, Utaha understood what "testing skills" meant. She also got a general idea of what he was saying.
Still cautious, she asked, "Priests and monks from where?"
"Oh, places like Sensoji Temple, Kinkaku-ji, Fushimi Inari Shrine, Ise Grand Shrine…"
"..."
Sure, maybe the truly powerful people were hidden from the public eye—but if the supernatural really existed, there's no way every top-tier temple and shrine would be full of nobodies.
She finally understood what kind of position Akira held.
She lowered her head again, looking at the two remaining charms.
The lightness she had felt just moments ago was quickly replaced with a heavy weight pressing down on her heart.
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