The overwhelming difference... that incredible softness...
Every time Hana hugged her like this, Miko was reminded of it.
She couldn't help but mourn her own... shape.
Butafter meeting someone today with a figure similar to hers
She suddenly didn't feel so bad anymore.
Yukinoshita Yukino: "?"
Why did she suddenly feel a strange sense of malice directed at her?
"Hana, what are you doing here?"
Miko asked, puzzled.
"Isn't it because of you, Miko?!" Hana pouted and huffed.
Hearing that, her frustration bubbled up.
"You totally ignored me when I asked about your club! So, of course, I got curious and followed you!"
Miko scratched her cheek awkwardly.
'Well did I really have another choice? The Supernatural Research Club is basically a Devil's headquarters And Hana is just an ordinary person.'
She nodded to herself, convinced she had made the right decision. Hana couldn't see spirits, and it was probably for the best that she never did.
Bringing her into this place just seemed like a bad idea.
"And also"
Hana pouted again, her voice carrying a hint of grievance.
"Miko, you haven't gone shopping with me in ages"
Miko broke into a cold sweat.
'Hmm! Yeah I have been neglecting her lately.'
But what could she do?
She'd been spending every day grinding in the Apocalypse World to gain experience!
If she fell behind, things could get really bad.
"S-Sorry, sorry!"
All she could do was apologize.
"Alright! I forgive you!" Hana thumped her chest, acting all generous as she accepted Miko's apology.
"Huh?"
Miko blinked.
That was too easy?
She didn't even have to bribe her with sweets?
Something felt off.
"Hehehe"
Hana giggled mischievously. "But, in return, I'm joining your club activity today!"
"I heard everything! You're going on a haunted school adventure, right?! That sounds so fun!"
Her eyes practically sparkled with excitement.
Hana had one thought at that moment: this club sounded awesome!
She could spend more time with MikoAnd participate in fun club activities too!
Miko was completely dumbfounded.
"Huh?!"
'Hana wants to come along?!'
Miko opened her mouth to refuse
But before she could say anything, Hana gave her the most pitiful, teary-eyed look.
"Mikoooo~"
Miko let out a deep sigh.
"I've got a bad feeling about this"
SomehowShe had the eerie premonition that Hana was about to become one of Lynn-sama's Familia members too.
Best friends, huh? Was the promise to stay together forever a curse or a blessing?
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Miss Super Scary Ghost
"Is this really okay?"
"Bringing her along...a normal person?"
Yukinoshita Yukino sighed, her gaze unconsciously drifting toward Yurikawa Hana, who was happily chatting with Yotsuya Miko.
'She actually followed us all the way here.'
'She has no idea how serious this is. It's like she thinks this is some kind of elementary school field trip. Tsk!'
"..."
"Normal person?"
Lynn reminded her, "Aren't you one too?"
Yukino blinked.
'Ha? That's... true.'
But at least she knew what was going on, which made things a little different, right?
Lynn, however, didn't hold back. "It's just the difference between one burden and two."
Ouch. No way to argue with that...
Meanwhile, Kasumigaoka Utaha suddenly commented, "So it was you guys who took the 'Service Club' name first, huh?"
Yukino: "???"
"Wait, you mean"
"Yep," Utaha folded her arms and continued, "Our club president originally wanted to use that name, but you beat us to it."
"Someone else actually wanted that club name?" Yukino mentally sighed.
She glanced at the three uniquely charming girls of the Supernatural Research Club, then at Lynn, and said in a strange tone, "Well... I guess you guys really do live up to the 'Service Club' name."
"Heh, if you came up with that name, you're not exactly pure-hearted either," Utaha smirked.
As soon as they stepped into the old school building, an icy chill swept over them.
"Ugh"
Yukino and Yui shivered instantly, rubbing their arms for warmth.
"It feels even colder than last time." Yukino looked at the others.
They didn't seem affected at all.
Not even Yurikawa Hana, who was supposed to be just an ordinary girl?
"Huh? What's wrong?"
Hana leaned closer, curiosity shining in her eyes.
"You... don't feel cold?" Yukino couldn't help but ask.
Hana thought for a moment, then flashed a bright, energetic smile. "Not at all!"
"Heh, looks like you're the only normal one here." Utaha activated Taunt, and it was super effective!
Yukino gritted her teeth.
Lynn ignored the brewing rivalry between Utaha and Yukino.
Instead, he shifted his gaze toward Hana.
The others probably couldn't see it. But he could.
That overflowing life energy.
"Another talented one, huh?"
"Once this is over, I should find a way to recruit her into my Familia."
Then, he turned his attention back to the school building.
From the moment they stepped inside, he had been hearing a woman's voice.
It sounded like she was... complaining?
"Lately, more and more people have been coming to the old school building..."
A resigned sigh echoed from deep within.
Then, right in front of them, an old, worn-out chair suddenly floated into the air
And wobbled its way toward Lynn, as if preparing to attack.
"I-It's here!"
Yuigahama Yui let out a startled scream, then immediately clamped her hands over her mouth, afraid of making things worse.
But her body was already trembling.
"A ghost."
"A real ghost!"
Yukino, too, stopped arguing with Utaha.
Seeing the exact same scene as before, her pupils shrank in fear.
Meanwhile, Hana's eyes widened in excitement. "Whoa! That's so cool!"
Her enthusiasm left Yukino and Yui completely speechless.
Hana, on the other hand, just looked surprisedcompletely oblivious to how serious the situation actually was.
But while it was terrifying for them, the same couldn't be said for Lynn and the other Devils.
"Alright, here we go!"
Floating in midair was a tall, busty beauty with long, straight purple-black hair, pale skin, and narrow eyes. She was struggling to lift a worn-out chair, wobbling as she floated.
She muttered in a spooky voice, "Look, look! It's a floating chair! Hurry up and run, or the big ghost will eat you~"
"Run! I'm a super scary ghost hoo~~"
Lynn and the others: "..."
Kanoe Yuuko floated there for a while, but when she saw that none of them reacted, she let out an exhausted sigh and put the chair down.
"Ugh!"
"Damn it... are today's students really this fearless?"
She suddenly appeared right in front of them. "Hey! Why aren't you running away?!"
She floated up to Yukinoshita Yukino and shouted in her face, only to find that Yukino was just staring blankly at the now motionless chair.
"Huh? Why did it suddenly stop moving?" Yukino muttered in confusion.
She instinctively ignored Hana and others and turned to Lynn instead.
Kanoe Yuuko: "....."
"Well, obviously, because I got tired!"
Yuuko then sighed. As expected, no one could see her.
But she had to make them leave.
The big spirit upstairs was way too scary!
If they went in, things would get really bad.
Especially that one girl who had a strangely strong life force... it was so warm...
"Hmm? A guy surrounded by cute girls?"
Kanoe Yuuko subconsciously teased before waving a hand in front of his face.
"Can you see me? Can you? Can you? Hehe~"
No reaction.
She knew it was pointless, but she couldn't just stand by and watch these people walk to their deaths.
Recently, she had been stirring up a lot of supernatural incidents, scaring away plenty of students.
This time would be no different!
Just as she was about to leave
A warm, firm hand suddenly grabbed her arm.
"Eh?"
"Ehhhh?"
Kanoe Yuuko's floating body jolted to a stop, her eyes widening in shock.
"Miss... super scary ghost?"
Lynn smiled slightly. "Mind telling me what happened here?"
"Y-Y-You can see me?!"
Her red eyes widened in both surprise and excitement.
"Of course," Lynn nodded. "In fact, everyone here can see youexcept for those three."
He gestured toward Yukino, Yui, and Hana.
The rest were Devils, so naturally, they could see her.
Kanoe Yuuko's pale face immediately lit up with unconcealed joy.
She instantly clung to Lynn's chest, looking up at him with sparkling eyes as she repeatedly asked, "Really? Really? Really?!"
Lynn lowered his head slightly.
Her lips were so close that she was practically breathing on him.
Well, if spirits even needed to breathe, that is.
"Miss Ghost, we really can see you."
Kasumigaoka Utaha stepped forward, her expression unreadable as she forcefully pulled the overly affectionate ghost girl away from Lynn.
"Ahh~"
Kanoe Yuuko let out a blissful sigh.
It had been decades!
Decades of floating around in loneliness.
No one had ever been able to see her.
But today!
Not just oneso many people could see her!
So happy!!
She basked in her joy for a moment before suddenly freezing.
"Wait a second! If you guys can see me..."
"Then that whole scene just nowme pretending to be a ghost, moving the chair and everything..."
"You all saw it clearly, didn't you?!"
Yotsuya Miko and the others nodded.
Kanoe Yuuko let out a wail of despair.
"W-Why didn't anyone stop me?!"
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Advanced chapters are available at: patreon.com/_Coreal
Seeing the Real World
Yotsuya Miko blinked in surprise. "Wait spirits can get embarrassed?"
The sight of a spirit feeling awkward was oddly amusing.
Yuuko's toes practically curled in the air from secondhand embarrassment.
She immediately refuted, "we were humans too, you know!"
"Uh s-sorry, my bad!" Miko scratched her cheek awkwardly.
"Y-You guys are actually talking to a ghost?"
Yukinoshita Yukino's voice trembled slightly, while Yuigahama Yui shrank behind her, too scared to even peek out.
"Eh? Where? Where is she?"
Yurikawa Hana kept looking around, trying to spot the ghost.
Yotsuya Miko: ""
Classic Hana.
But unlike the spirits they had encountered before, this one was different.
Not only could she communicate, but she had also been actively causing disturbances to keep students away.
"A kind spirit, huh?"
Lynn glanced at the glowing [Devil's Piece] on his status panel, then back at the floating ghost in front of him, a strange look in his eyes.
A spirit could actually become part of his familia?
Expanding the diversity of Devils, huh?
Driven by curiosity and a dedication to researching the [Devil's Piece], Lynn felt it was worth a shot.
Once this request was over, he'd find a way to bring Yuuko along.
For now, he set the thought aside and focused on listening to her story.
Her name was Kanoe Yuuko.
She was an old spirit, or as ordinary people call her, a ghost.
She was a bound spirittied to this place.
Because she couldn't leave the old school building and had nothing to do, she spent most of her time asleep.
But one day, when she woke up again, something had changed.
The sky above the old building was swarming with Cursed Spirits.
They were all low-level spirits and couldn't actually harm her, but
They had invaded her territory!
Well, mostly, they were just disgusting to look at.
At some point, some kind of magical array had appeared in the old school building, trapping these Cursed Spirits inside.
SoKanoe Yuuko simply drove them all up to the second floor and moved the array to the stairway, preventing them from coming back down.
Eventually, these spirits started attacking each otherAnd then, one terrifying combined Curse was born.
Kanoe Yuuko shivered just thinking about it.
She never expected that driving them upstairs would result in something so terrifying.
If not for the array, she probably would've been done for already.
But now, the array was covered in cracks, and she wasn't sure how much longer it would last.
Still, she was oddly calm about it.
She'd already been a spirit for decades, just floating around with nothing to do.
If she disappeared completely well, it wouldn't be that big of a deal.
After hearing her story, Lynn quickly pieced together what was going on.
Someone was intentionally raising Cursed Spirits.
They had sealed them in an enclosed space, letting them devour each other to create a more powerful Curse.
Kanoe Yuuko's actionstrapping them upstairshad only accelerated the process.
No wonder Natsuki had called the student council idiots.
Sure, Cursed Spirits were easy to create, but they were a nightmare to control.
If things got out of hand, the consequences would be disastrous.
Lynn had Miko explain the situation to the three who couldn't see spirits.
Yukinoshita Yukino was surprised.
"So the floating chair was actually Miss Yuuko's way of keeping students away?"
An unexpectedly kind ghost?
But still
She looked up.
As expected, she couldn't see anything.
Frowning slightly, she sighed.
"Even if you tell me there's something terrifying up there it's hard to believe when I can't see it."
She glanced at Lynn and the others.
Aside from Lynn, everyone else could see it?
Was it something they were born with or was there a way?
After hesitating for a moment, she asked, "Is there a way for us to see it too?"
Lynn gave her a quick look.
"There is."
"But are you sure you're ready for it?"
"Once you see the real world there's no turning back."
His voice dropped into a low, serious tone, making Yukino and Yui break out in a cold sweat.
Yukino hesitated for a moment, then clenched her teeth. "Rather than being left in the dark I'd rather know the truth!"
"Utaha, give her a buff."
Utaha summoned the Devil's Grimoire at Lynn's command.
There were plenty of spells that allowed humans to see Cursed Spirits.
As the book materialized in Utaha's hands out of thin air, Yukino's pupils shrank.
This woman actually possessed supernatural powers?!
Utaha activated a spell from the Devil's Grimoire"Revealing Sight"on Yukino.
A golden beam of light shot directly into her eyes.
She instinctively shut them tight.
A strange sensation, as if something was washing over her eyes, flooded her senses.
