Five minutes later, in the teachers' office.
Shizuka Hiratsuka eyed Ye Xing and Miko Yotsuya sitting across from her with a sceptical expression, her brow slightly furrowed.
"So it was just a sprained ankle, and you helped her up? Is it really that simple? Then why were you crying?"
Miko, who had already wiped away her tear stains with a tissue, still seemed dazed and out of it. Only after Shizuka repeated the question did she snap back to reality and hurriedly answer.
"That...it was because my sprained foot hurt so much, it made you misunderstand, teacher."
"Really?"
Miko Yotsuya nodded like a chick pecking at rice.
"Yes, yes, it's true."
Miko wasn't stupid.
She thought to herself that if she told Shizuka Hiratsuka the truth, there was no way she'd believe it.
In fact, she might even be labelled as a problematic student with strange tendencies.
Miko Yotsuya didn't want to leave such a strange impression on her teacher on the very first day of high school.
"In that case, you can go to the classroom first. Or should I have someone take you to the infirmary?"
Hearing this, Miko Yotsuya quickly waved her hands and forced a smile.
"Thank you for your concern, teacher. I'm feeling much better now."
With that, she hurriedly stood up and quickly left the office.
Watching Miko's retreating figure, Shizuka Hiratsuka's eyes flickered with a thoughtful expression before she turned her gaze to Ye Xing sitting in front of her. She sighed helplessly, rubbing her forehead, then picked up the peach wood dagger on the table.
"What is this?"
Ye Xing answered matter-of-factly, "A decoration."
Shizuka frowned, her slender fingers tapping the sharp tip of the dagger.
"Let's not even talk about how dangerous this thing is…"
She then picked up the silver nail on the table and dangled it in front of Ye Xing.
"This, at least, is definitely a prohibited item you shouldn't bring to school, right? And why are you carrying this around anyway?"
"For self-defence."
"Defence against what? This is a school. Both this and that wooden dagger are confiscated."
Shizuka placed the silver nail and peach wood dagger into a drawer, then hesitated for a moment before handing the stack of talismans printed with crooked, messy characters back to Ye Xing.
"These don't violate any rules, so you can take them back."
"Aight, thanks, teach."
Ye Xing thought to himself, 'You confiscated the two useful things but returned these utterly useless talismans.'
But he kept that to himself.
He still took the talismans and carefully tucked them into his pocket.
After all, he still needed to go find that old geezer who set up a stall in front of the shrine to get a refund.
"By the way…"
Shizuka hesitated but couldn't resist asking.
"Are talismans these days all printed with fonts like this? Can they even have any effect?"
Ye Xing nodded nonchalantly.
"Gotta keep up with the times. The printer ink's been blessed."
"I see."
Shizuka gave a noncommittal nod before speaking earnestly.
"You should head back to the classroom now."
"Aight."
After Ye Xing left, another female teacher in the office—dressed in a professional skirt suit, black stockings, high heels, with long cherry-blossom-pink hair—spoke in a composed tone.
"Shizuka, you're far too lenient with the students. If they're already causing trouble on the first day, what'll happen in the long run?"
Shizuka took a sip of coffee before waving her hand dismissively.
"Doesn't matter. Since neither student wants to talk about it, just let them be."
The pink-haired teacher, in an utterly calm voice, delivered a devastating blow to Shizuka.
"You're just worried that if you dig deeper, you'll hear some naive teenage love story and end up heartbroken, aren't you?"
"You—!"
Shizuka clenched her fist in anger.
"You're one to talk! Aren't you a leftover woman too?"
"I'm not like you."
The pink-haired teacher remained unruffled.
"I've long resolved to devote my entire being to properly guiding my students. That's the duty of an educator."
Shizuka rolled her eyes and waved her hand.
"Our philosophies are different. Whatever, let's drop it."
As both a colleague and a friend, she knew the other's personality all too well.
Mafuyu Kirisu was indeed a highly responsible teacher. Even if it went against a student's own wishes, she would guide them onto a path where they could fully realise their potential.
As for Shizuka Hiratsuka's teaching philosophy?
Grades were secondary. As long as students could gain something during their three years of high school and grow into mentally and physically healthy individuals, that was enough.
Thinking this, she opened the drawer with a complicated expression and glanced inside.
"That kid's mental state... seems I'll need to find time to counsel him after all."
...
Meanwhile.
When Ye Xing stepped into Class 1-A's classroom, the students who had been chatting in small groups instantly fell silent.
"Is he in our class too?"
"He's kinda handsome."
"Should I go say hi and make friends?"
"No need to rush. We're in the same class—there'll be plenty of chances later."
Ye Xing's appearance was exceptionally striking. Combined with his height of over 180cm, his physical attributes were truly excellent.
Meanwhile, Miko Yotsuya, who had already chosen and settled into her seat, couldn't help but tremble slightly when she saw him enter.
Her reaction was perfectly understandable.
What had happened in the club room had given Miko Yotsuya quite a shocking revelation.
Evil spirits... could actually fear humans?
And Ye Xing, as a human, could devour evil spirits?
Judging by how naturally it had happened, this clearly wasn't his first time doing something like that.
Miko's curiosity burned fiercely, but with so many classmates present, she obviously couldn't approach him with questions now.
Ye Xing scanned the classroom, recognising many familiar faces.
That's right—he was a transmigrator.
This was a world formed by the fusion of various slice-of-life anime.
Ye Xing had originally hoped to enjoy a peaceful daily life, interacting with beautiful heroines in this world.
Good news: there were indeed beautiful girls here.
Bad news: Miko Yotsuya was among them, and she'd brought along evil spirits as part of the package.
"So sleepy."
Ye Xing yawned without hesitation and headed straight for the seat in the back corner by the window.
Just as he set his bag down on the desk, a girl with long, straight black hair placed her slender, pale right hand on the chair.
Their gazes met midair.
The girl's cool, ethereal voice rang out: "I chose this seat first."
Ye Xing didn't back down, simply smiling as he replied.
"My bag's already down."
"You could pick it back up."
"Then you could remove your hand."
Seeing their standoff, a cute girl with a round hairstyle and somewhat gyaru-like fashion who'd been chatting with some female classmates quickly approached, mediating in a gentle tone.
"Classmates, it's just a seat—no need to argue, right?"
"Couldn't disagree more."
Ye Xing looked seriously at the round-haired girl and spoke with grave importance.
"You clearly don't understand the true value of this seat."