Waking up early in the morning.
Miko opened her eyes to see the same evil spirit from yesterday still by her bedside, its eyeless sockets staring fixedly at her.
She got out of bed expressionlessly and walked into the bathroom.
As if remembering something, Miko returned to the bedside and picked up the finger.
To Miko, who was feeling intensely insecure, this finger was the only thing she could rely on right now.
Even if Mr. Finger was unwilling to help her.
Just seeing it was a form of comfort.
Akuto snorted in disdain at this.
There was no way he would help Miko again.
Showing Miko a glimpse of his power was enough; only when Miko found herself in a desperate situation would she be willing to swallow the finger.
Akuto wasn't noble enough to be content with being someone's tool for the rest of his life.
After washing her face with cold water, Miko felt much more awake.
"A handprint? Did Kyosuke leave it? I'll have to remind him next time."
Miko expressionlessly wiped the handprint off the mirror, then lowered her head to splash her face with water again.
When she looked up again.
A monster had suddenly appeared in the mirror!
The monster wore a suit, its skin was rotting all over, and its eyes looked like they were about to fall out of their sockets.
The evil spirit twitched a few times, then its neck suddenly elongated, wrapping around from behind Miko to her front, staring intently into her eyes:
"Can you see me…?"
Miko smelled that nauseating stench again. Her eyelids twitched, and she could barely keep her expression under control.
She immediately rubbed her eyes with trembling hands, her voice shaking with a hint of a sob:
"It hurts... I think something... got into my eye..."
After washing her face with water again, Miko opened her eyes tremblingly:
"This is bad, this is bad, this is bad, this is bad..."
"I've seen something horrible again... I absolutely cannot react..."
"I have to hang in there... and... and Mr. Finger..."
Miko immediately grabbed the finger from beside the sink and gripped it tightly, as if it could provide her with some sense of security.
"That's right, in horror movies, they usually disappear when you look a second time."
Miko lowered her head and then looked up again.
"Can you see me…?"
It was still there!
Trembling, Miko turned around and walked out of the bathroom as stiffly as a robot.
Fortunately, the thing didn't follow her out.
Miko leaned against the wall as if all her strength had left her, gasping for breath.
"Pfft, brat, what are you holding out for? This is just the beginning."
"You'd better not make a sound, don't show any reaction, otherwise..." Akuto gave a wicked smile.
"You'll be eaten."
Miko's eyes went dead again.
"Is this... Mr. Finger's twisted sense of humor?"
"Getting pleasure from scaring children and all that."
Akuto's smile froze, and he leaned back against the throne's backrest, his interest waning.
"What a boring brat."
"Miko, good morning."
A spiritual entity walked over to greet her, but Miko turned and left as if she hadn't seen it.
"Miko, you must throw away that ominous thing! It will bring misfortune."
Getting called out for no reason, several tick marks appeared on Akuto's forehead as he smiled cruelly.
"Hey brat, let me tell you a secret."
"The reason your house has so many evil spirits is because of this dead guy. He's a Benevolent Spirit, which is like a delicious cake to evil spirits."
"As long as he's in your house, he'll keep attracting evil spirits non-stop."
Saying this, Akuto leaned forward and said excitedly.
"How about it? Do you want me to help you kill him?"
Miko's footsteps faltered, her eyes twitched, and then she walked into the dining room as if nothing had happened.
"I..." Miko's dead father stood there, looking at his transparent hands with a face full of pain.
"Do I only bring misfortune?"
"You're just realizing that, you old ghost?" Akuto sneered. "With you in this house, evil spirits are endless. Even an idiot should know that by now."
"How about it? Get on your knees and beg this king to kill you."
"You can't leave anyway, right? Since you're a weak earthbound spirit."
"This king can give you a quick end."
Akuto bared his four canine teeth.
The Benevolent Spirit clutched his head in pain, seemingly struggling.
Miko's eye twitched, and the tip of her nose turned slightly red.
Then, as if she had a grudge against the food, she quickly stuffed it into her mouth and rushed out the door with a piece of bread in her mouth.
"Mr. Finger, please stop threatening my father."
"Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to throw you away."
Akuto curled his lip.
"Are you deaf? That guy is the reason why this house is attracting evil spirits, isn't he?"
Saying this, Akuto gave a playful laugh.
"Speaking of which, ordinary people who stay in contact with evil spirits for too long will get sick. It starts with a cold, then tumors, and finally cancer."
"Eventually, their whole body rots. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Think about your younger brother; how pitiful."
Miko pursed her lips and looked at a trash can in the distance.
In the end, she just took out a string, tied her finger, and hung it around her neck.
No one else could see the finger anyway.
"I'm saying, that dead father of yours is quite the pervert."
"Even though he's already dead, he still turns into a spirit to haunt his family. Mrs. Yotsuya is such a beautiful woman; if she brings a man home in the future, won't he be watching..."
"Shut up!"
A significant expression finally appeared on Yotsuya Miko's usually calm face.
Several tick marks appeared on her forehead, and her face flushed bright red.
Inevitably, many embarrassing things popped into her mind.
"Oh? It seems you understand."
"Hahahaha! I wonder how your dead father would feel seeing that?"
"Hahahaha!"
Akuto laughed all the way as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.
Because of Akuto's filthy thoughts, Yotsuya Miko also felt a bit of resentment toward her father.
The Yotsuya Family's situation wasn't particularly good either, even though they didn't have to pay the mortgage anymore.
But Mrs. Yotsuya had to raise two children alone, paying for textbooks, living expenses, pocket money, clothing, the car, insurance, and so on.
Mrs. Yotsuya was under a lot of pressure and often had to work late into the night.
Miko had also considered that it might be good for her mother if she remarried.
But now... she couldn't even look at the idea!
Miko's wandering thoughts didn't last long because as soon as she arrived at school, she was haunted again.
"Miko! Good morning!"
Hana waved energetically, her large chest swaying along with her.
Right then, a pitch-black head suddenly appeared in front of Miko.
"O... ha... you..."
"Tea... cher..."
"Ohayou..."
The evil spirit's head slowly approached, almost pressing against Miko's face.
"Our eyes met completely..."
"So scary, so scary, so scary, so scary..."
Although Miko remained expressionless, her bloodless hand tightly gripped the finger at her chest.
"Mi... Miko? Why are you staring at me like that?"
From Hana's perspective, Miko was staring at her without blinking.
"Are you listening?"
Hana waved her hand.
Meanwhile, in Miko's vision, the evil spirit completely blocked Hana, its mouth dripping with slimy saliva as it opened and closed, emitting a rotten smell.
"Can you see me…?"
"I... can't see..."
The evil spirit turned and walked into the wall. Miko almost collapsed to the ground, tears welling up, looking like she had just survived a disaster:
"It's gone... thank goodness."
Just as Miko was about to speak, she saw Yurikawa Hana bashfully fiddling with her fingers.
"Could it be... you're about to confess to me?"
Miko's eyelids drooped, and her eyes went dead.
"Not at all!"
"I'm really envious of Hana... she can't see them at all."
Akuto was looking at Hana, stroking his chin.
This big-chested woman... had a scent similar to Cursed Energy.
"Innate Technique? Well, she doesn't know how to use it at all."
What was inside Yurikawa Hana couldn't quite be called an Innate Technique; it was more like a talent that could harm evil spirits.
It was just that she didn't seem to know how to use it at all, causing the energy to be constantly wasted.
If Hana could control this power, she could probably take out those student evil spirits with a single punch each.
However, Akuto had no intention of reminding Miko.
This was not in Akuto's best interest.