Miura Yumiko kept carefully watching Kaito's expression, "The extra two million yen just think of it as my little token of appreciation"
She really wanted to cling to this golden thigh.
Even if nothing could happen between them, she at least wanted to maintain a good relationship.
After all, ordinary people facing evil spirits were as weak as babies, with no power to resist.
Although the long-haired evil spirit had been easily burned to ashes by Kaito's fire spell, Yumiko didn't think the spirit was actually some weak small fry.
Just its special effects when appearing, able to block electronic signals and control temperature, put it at least on the elite boss level in horror games, the kind with dedicated CG scenes.
No one ever knew when they might have bad luck and run into the supernatural.
Yumiko was just a freshman in college. Her life was still long ahead of her, and she couldn't guarantee she'd never encounter another terrifying evil spirit again.
Though there were many shrines and temples around Tokyo, who knew how many frauds were among them?
Meeting a truly capable spiritualist was a rare and lucky fate. Definitely not someone you should let slip away easily.
"Actually, you don't need to worry," Kaito casually glanced around the room and said, "The only evil spirit is already dead. There's no trace of any others here."
Evil spirits in this world were still quite rare, not some common thing you'd bump into on every street corner.
Most people probably wouldn't even encounter one in their entire lifetime, never seeing the other side of the world even at death.
That said, fear had always been a primal instinct of humans. Something not easily overcome.
Just like how everyone knows the ghosts in haunted houses are just staff in costume, but people still get scared.
Not to mention, Yumiko had encountered a real evil spirit.
"Forget it," Looking at the girl still wearing that bitter, pitiful expression, Kaito shook his head, "It's fine if I stay here for a night. Do you have a guest room ready?"
"Yes, yes, yes! Of course there is!"
Yumiko lit up with joy, her little head nodding furiously, almost shaking her brains loose.
Her voice was bright and lively, eyes sparkling, "Kaito-senpai, please follow me!"
The guest room wasn't anything special.
Although it was clean and tidy, with brand new bedding, perhaps because no one had lived in it before, it looked more like a hotel room. Lacking a sense of home.
After confirming the location of the room, Kaito returned to the living room.
As for Miura Yumiko
The girl was currently showering in the bathroom.
She had been so flustered when the long-haired spirit appeared, but once it was gone, she realized, belatedly, that she'd broken out in cold sweat. Add in the incident at the clubroom that afternoon. In short, her current condition could be summed up in six words: Strong smell, no need to elaborate.
Though it wasn't exactly unpleasant, and to certain people with specific tastes, it might even be stimulating.
But Kaito clearly didn't have that kind of weird kink.
To maintain her image, a shower was essential.
The process was calm and uneventful. None of those clich romantic-comedy accidents like "forgot the towel" or "slipped in the bathroom."
By the time Yumiko came out, more than half an hour had passed, and that was only because she didn't take time to dry and care for her waist-length blonde hair, worried Kaito would wait too long.
Otherwise, double the time would've been normal.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Kurumizaka-senpai," The girl had changed into a white camisole, revealing her pale shoulders and arms, her round chest forming a beautiful curve.
Below, she wore simple denim hotpants, exposing two long, snow-white legs like chopsticks.
Since she'd just gotten out of the shower, her skin was crystal clear with a few drops of water still clinging to it. Like a lotus emerging from clear water.
But even with this cool and refreshing outfit, Kaito only gave her a casual glance before looking away.
Yumiko was a little disappointed by his reaction.
Though she looked like the perfect example of a "gyaru" girl, blonde, fashionable, outgoing. Deep down, she was quite conservative. She'd never even held hands with a boy before.
Even when going out, she didn't wear revealing clothes. This camisole and hotpants combo was something she only wore when home alone.
She thought she could reclaim her image as a goddess this way, but Kaito's indifference made her doubt her charm.
'Aren't boys this age supposed to be full of youthful passion?'
Still, Yumiko quickly perked up again, determined to take a different approach.
Her mom once said: ("If you want to win a man's heart, first win his stomach.")
And she deeply agreed.
So, excitedly, she put on an apron, planning to let Kaito-senpai taste her cooking.
But Yumiko clearly didn't have much cooking experience.
Before entering the kitchen, she was full of confidence. Even patting her chest, saying she'd give him a surprise.
Then she couldn't even figure out how to use a kitchen knife, and when trying to julienne a potato, she cut her hand instead. It was hard to watch.
"Um looks like I messed up."
Fortunately, the wound wasn't deep. After disinfecting, Yumiko carefully covered it with a band-aid.
The girl looked embarrassed, scratching her cheek awkwardly, "How about I change clothes, and we go out to eat instead?"
Watching all those cooking videos gave her the false sense that cooking was easy.
But actually doing it, she realized how hard it was. She wanted to julienne potatoes, but what she ended up with looked more like potato chunks, didn't it?
"Forget it. I'll do it," Kaito thought for a moment and rejected her suggestion.
Even though Yumiko's cooking skills were painful to watch, her house was well-stocked with ingredients, which made his fingers itch to cook.
'So, so skilled!'
Watching Kaito-senpai put on an apron and walk into the kitchen, Yumiko covered her mouth softly in amazement, her emerald eyes full of awe.
All kinds of heavy kitchen tools seemed to obey his every command.
Even the way he stroked the cutting board looked like a king inspecting his domain.
She couldn't help but feel that, if Kaito-senpai were to suddenly shout "Pots and pans, submit to me!" it wouldn't feel out of place at all.
And also
'S-so handsome!'
If his usual demeanor was elegant and reserved like a lazy, noble lion-cat, then now, wearing an apron and seriously cooking, he had an irresistible "husband aura."
Soft white lighting shone on his face, like an angel bowing to gently kiss his cheek.
Miura Yumiko leaned quietly against the doorway, staring without blinking, nearly greedy with admiration.
Who knew how much time passed, until her legs even started going numb, before the beautiful boy, wearing a cat-themed apron, finally stopped and smiled softly, "All done."
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Chapter 16: The Second Club Member
Guobaorou, fish-flavored shredded pork, spicy boiled beef, plus a crucian carp tofu soup.
A very typical three-dishes-one-soup configuration.
Miura Yumiko actually preferred sushi, with a lighter taste, and usually had to maintain her figure, so she wasn't very interested in oily and spicy dishes.
But...
She unconsciously touched the corner of her mouth, only to find her hand wet.
"Come and try the taste."
During the time she had been spacing out, Kaito had casually taken off his apron and carried all the dishes to the table in the living room.
"Th-thank you for the food, then," Even though she was in her own home, Yumiko felt inexplicably reserved, sitting obediently at the dining table like a primary school student, her back straight.
She gently picked up a slice of fatty beef roll with her chopsticks and put it into her mouth.
'Mm! So delicious!'
The girl let out a sharp cry in her heart.
At first, she wanted to maintain a ladylike demeanor, but she quickly couldn't resist the temptation of the food, and her chopsticks moved like a whirlwind sweeping up fallen leaves.
In the end, most of the dishes ended up in her stomach, and Kaito hardly ate much.
'Uh-oh I think I ate a bit too much,' Looking at the mess of plates, Yumiko lamented inwardly.
Girls more or less have the habit of maintaining their figure. After all, not everyone has a body type that doesn't gain weight no matter how much they eat.
Usually, her dinner would be a vegetable salad or just a few slices of bread to get by.
But tonight's cooking was simply too delicious. By the time she came back to her senses, she had collapsed on the sofa, without even the strength to lift a finger.
Beneath the cool camisole, her fair lower belly was faintly visible, forming a rounded curve.
She couldn't go back now.
The principle of "easy to go from frugal to extravagant, hard to go back" applied everywhere.
After tasting such supreme delicacies, asking her to torture her taste buds again for the sake of maintaining her figure would be way too cruel.
She really wanted to hire Kaito to cook for her for a lifetime.
But it seemed she couldn't afford that kind of salary...
After all, his actual profession was exorcism, and the fees weren't cheap. Each case cost hundreds of thousands.
If he took one case every three days, that'd be ten cases a month, with a net income of tens of millions.
The Miura family was indeed somewhat well-off, but at best they were just middle class, not even nouveau riche, and definitely couldn't afford it.
Might as well pack herself up and sell herself, being a workhorse would be fine too, as long as it came with three meals a day.
Yumiko seriously considered the possibility of this idea.
Kaito, who wasn't daydreaming like the girl, happened to glance over and notice the PS5 placed beside the LCD screen, and was a little surprised, "You usually play console games?"
"Eh?", Yumiko looked over in response to the voice, and subconsciously answered, "That was something my dad bought when we first moved in. I've only played it a few times."
The console game industry in Japan was very developed, and among the three major game consoles popular worldwide, two were made by Japan companies.
"Since you've played before, then it's easy."
Kaito shook the controller in his hand, "Want to play a game for a bit?"
It was still early, just past 9 PM, and for modern college students, nightlife hadn't even started yet.
It's not like they were going to sleep at this hour. Finding something fun to do was perfectly normal.
And it could help with digestion too.
Of course, Yumiko didn't refuse.
There were quite a few games downloaded on the PS5, but most were single-player, with few online PvP ones.
In the end, the two of them picked an anime-style fighting game with beautiful visuals and flashy effects.
It was Kaito's first time playing the game. His character was totally random, but he still picked it up quickly.
In contrast, Yumiko was kind of stunned.
Even though Kaito was trying his best to hold back, and only used the hand speed and vision of an average person, he still easily pulled off a 1v3 sweep.
Then he even sent a head-pat emoji to encourage her.
It actually helped ease the girl's mood. Even if she lost, she wasn't angry. Instead, her fighting spirit was ignited.
Like that, they played for almost three hours straight before reluctantly putting down the controllers.
"That's enough for today," Looking at the blonde girl beside him who had already started yawning uncontrollably, tears even forming at the corners of her eyes, Kaito turned off the console and said goodnight.
But not long after he had just laid down in the guest room, the door was knocked again.
Yumiko stood outside hugging a blanket, looking weakly at him, "The light in the bedroom seems to be broken."
"..."
"Could I maybe stay in the guest room for the night?"
After a pause, Yumiko carefully added, "Um, I can just sleep on the floor"
She hadn't meant to bother Kaito.
But perhaps because of the long-haired evil spirit from earlier, the light in the bedroom had mysteriously broken, no matter how she tried, it wouldn't turn on.
Sleeping with the light off felt a little scary, like there were still evil spirits hiding in the darkness.
"Forget it, come in."
The girl's pitiful look was just too much. Kaito stepped aside and let her in.
"Thank you! That really helps a lot!"
Yumiko let out a sigh of relief.
If Kaito had rejected her, she would've had to make do on the living room sofa.
But how could the living room compare to the sense of safety next to Kaito?
The room returned to silence.
Though it was pitch dark, just listening to the faint breathing nearby gave a sense of calm and reassurance.
The girl closed her eyes and silently said goodnight to someone in her heart.
.
.
.
Time flew by, like a white steed passing a gap.
The club activity room on the fifth floor was still the same as always, just with one more new member.
Blonde hair, blue eyesit was Miura Yumiko.
Not long after that exorcism, the girl came knocking again.
But this time, it wasn't a request. She brought a club application.
Considering she was his first client and promised to help bring in more clients for the club, Kaito didn't refuse.
Thus, the Supernatural Research Club welcomed its second member, basically escaping the crisis of being disbanded.
"By the way, President, Gotou-senpai said she'd bring a friend today. Do you know any details?"
After carefully cleaning the room spotless and making two cups of black tea, placing one on Kaito's desk, Miura Yumiko showed no trace of her "Queen of Flames" tsundere self, and instead looked like a diligent little maid.
"No idea," Kaito shook his head slightly, his eyes never leaving the manga in his hands, "You curious?"
How could she not be curious?
Gotou Hitori. Miura Yumiko had heard of this quiet student.
She always carried a guitar bag, didn't talk to anyone, and at first glance seemed cold and aloof, but was probably just severely socially anxious, right?
In any case, a weirdo.
But this exact weirdo managed to surpass everyone else and became the first member of the Supernatural Research Club, even she had to call her senpai.
