In the distance.
A rumbling sound suddenly erupted from a shrine!
"Eh? What was that?!"
Yui flinched at the noise and exclaimed.
Yukino frowned, hesitating for a moment. "That direction… seems to be Higurashi Shrine?"
She and Yui had been there before, so the impression was clear.
Just as she finished speaking.
BOOM!!
The rumbling intensified, and the trees on the shrine's mountainside began collapsing from top to bottom.
"It's coming…"
Miko's expression turned serious.
Suddenly, a monstrous centipede-like creature leapt out from the mountain!
Its body resembled a massive centipede, complete with hundreds of legs and a woman's face on its head. It looked utterly horrifying!
In front of it, a beautiful girl in a Shuchi'in Academy uniform was running for her life, tears streaming down her face.
"Help!!"
Yukino and Yui were stunned.
"That's… Higurashi-san?!"
Back when they visited the shrine, it had been Higurashi Kagome who welcomed them.
But—
What the hell was going on now?
There was no time to think.
Yukino and Yui instinctively rushed toward the scene.
Seeing this, Miko didn't hesitate either.
From her perception, the massive centipede didn't possess significant strength.
With the three of them, it would be easy to handle.
"Higurashi-san!"
Yui shouted, catching Kagome's attention.
When Kagome saw them, she was briefly stunned, then quickly cried out, "Don't come over! It's a monster!!"
She was kindhearted and didn't want to drag anyone else into danger.
That monster was clearly targeting her!
Yui blinked, touched. "Higurashi-san, you're such a good person!"
Giving her a good person card in this situation…
Kagome silently complained in her heart.
Feeling the foul breath approaching from behind, Kagome despaired.
Goodbye, mom!
Goodbye, cruel world!
But—
She hadn't even fallen in love yet!!
Dying like this was too tragic!!
Just then, she suddenly saw Yukino standing in front of her.
Kagome panicked. "Don't—!"
Before she could finish, she saw pale blue snowflakes forming in Yukino's palm.
Yukino swung her arm sharply.
Crack—crack—
The sound of freezing echoed instantly!
Boom!
The centipede demon crashed to the ground!
"Huh?"
Kagome's eyes widened in shock, frozen in place.
Yukino frowned. "Let's get out of here first."
"Ah, right!"
Kagome's execution was quick, she immediately moved away from the centipede witch.
Yukino fixed her gaze on the still-struggling creature.
With her current strength, she couldn't completely freeze it in one move.
But she could stall it with a partial freeze.
"Miko!"
"On it."
"Wait, I'll buff you first!"
Yui activated her [Harmonizer] skill.
Miko didn't hesitate, she released her magic and dealt a finishing blow.
As a Mid-Class Devil, this level of cursed spirit was no threat.
Soon enough, the centipede witch was completely dead.
"Phew…"
Yui exhaled in relief.
Among the three of them, she was the only one without a special ability.
But at least she could support her teammates with buffs.
Kagome stared blankly at the scene before her, a sense of surrealism overwhelming her.
What just happened?
A monster suddenly popped out of the well and a trio of superpowered girls saved her?
Mom, is this still the world I know?
"You all are…?"
Now that she was safe, Kagome cautiously asked.
Yukino glanced at Miko and Yui. Seeing neither intended to explain, she stepped forward.
"Shuchiin Academy. Supernatural Investigation Club."
"Huh?"
Kagome blinked in disbelief!
She'd heard of the Supernatural Investigation Club before.
After all.
It was a club made up of all beautiful girls.
And—
The only male member was the club president!
So the Supernatural Investigation Club was quite infamous at Shuchiin.
Especially among the boys, overflowing with envy and jealousy.
So—
"The Supernatural Investigation Club really… has supernatural powers?"
Kagome still couldn't quite believe it.
"Hmm… something like that," Yukino replied vaguely.
Then she asked, "What exactly happened?"
At that, Kagome couldn't help but complain. "It's that weird well again!"
"It makes strange noises every day. Today it got especially loud, so I opened it and took a look. And then…"
She paused, her face still full of fear. "You saw it. That monster crawled out of the well…"
"Um…"
Kagome hesitated. "Can your Supernatural Investigation Club solve the issue with that well?"
"This…"
Yukino hesitated, then replied, "This is our first encounter, so I'm not sure."
Kagome looked a bit disappointed.
"But—"
"Our club president will definitely handle it."
Yukino said firmly.
"Really?!"
Kagome's eyes lit up, and she quickly grabbed Yukino's arm. "Please! Please ask your president for help!"
Yukino hesitated. "But…"
"Our president charges a pretty hefty fee."
"Expensive?"
Kagome froze.
Yukino nodded. "Our Supernatural Investigation Club charges for any exorcism outside of school grounds."
"By the way, the base rate for any member's service starts at five million yen."
"F-Five million?!"
Kagome's eyes went wide and she collapsed to her knees with a lifeless expression.
It's over.
Her last glimmer of hope…
Destroyed by one word—poor.
Seeing her state, Yukino and the others realized she probably couldn't afford it.
After a moment of thought, Miko stepped forward and handed her a special Devil flyer, modified by Lynn himself.
Back when Lynn couldn't sense a summoning across worlds, he made improvements using [Devil's Summoning].
Now, even if he was in another world, he could still detect a call for help.
"This is…?"
Kagome accepted the flyer with a puzzled look.
"If you're ever in danger again, just shout: 'Devil-sama, please help me!' Someone from our Supernatural Investigation Club will appear."
"Of course, you might end up paying a different kind of price…"
Kagome quickly took the Devil flyer, bowing in gratitude. "I got it! Thank you!"
Although…
Why "Devil-sama"?
Kagome found it a little odd, but didn't say anything. She just assumed it was part of the club's quirky branding.
After settling Kagome's issue, the three girls stared at the massive corpse of the centipede demon, heads aching.
"So… what do we do with this?"
"Leave it here?"
"Should we ask the president?"
After seeing the message in the group chat, Lynn gave instructions: "Send it to the Black Bullet World. Give it to Muroto Sumire for research."
Consider it recycling.
Maybe she could figure something out?
But—
"Higurashi Shrine? Higurashi Kagome?"
Lynn narrowed his eyes.
"I didn't expect this world to include the Inuyasha universe."
The appearance of Higurashi Kagome was indeed unexpected.
So…
"Does the Bone-Eater's Well that connects through time also exist?"
Lynn's thoughts stirred.
If he recalled correctly, the well's connection was to 500 years in the past, right?
And during that period…
The Underworld should have been in chaos?
Curious, Lynn took a step and instantly arrived at Higurashi Shrine.
Back mountain, Higurashi Shrine.
A dried-up well stood quietly.
Lynn walked over and examined it carefully.
"There's definitely a spatial fluctuation…"
But without a time-space-type ability, Lynn couldn't confirm if it was truly temporal.
After a moment's thought, he simply jumped in.
Thud!
Landing at the bottom, Lynn fell silent.
He felt nothing, no sensation of traveling through time.
So…
He looked up at the moonlight above.
"Looks like I didn't go back five hundred years…"
Lynn frowned.
Was it not time yet? Or did it require the Shikon Jewel?
Or maybe…
It needed a specific person?
Thinking for a bit, Lynn's figure vanished.
The next second.
Higurashi Kagome's bedroom.
Lynn appeared without warning.
He looked around casually.
Hmm…
A very pink, very girly room.
And—
A beautiful girl in pajamas was sitting on the bed… picking at her feet?
"No! I was clipping my nails!!"
Kagome blushed and shouted in protest.
"Wait!"
She suddenly froze, then her eyes widened. "How did you get in here?!"
Lynn thought for a moment. "I walked in?"
…Why did that sound like a question?!
Kagome silently screamed inside.
Also—
"Who are you?!"
Kagome clutched her blanket tightly and scooted back into bed, looking on guard.
This man is super dangerous!
He just popped out of nowhere, this is definitely not normal!
Especially after encountering supernatural stuff today—her instincts were screaming.
"I'm the president of the Supernatural Investigation Club."
Lynn introduced himself casually.
"Eh?"
Kagome blinked, then muttered, "But… I didn't summon you?"
She glanced over at the Devil flyer on her desk.
Right.
She hadn't summoned him.
"Then just consider it a self-summoning."
Kagome: "?"
This is forced service, isn't it?!
Lynn asked, "You want that well problem solved, don't you?"
"Yes!"
Kagome nodded without hesitation.
"Then that's that."
Lynn nodded, picked her up, and walked toward the dry well.
"H-Hey hey hey—!"
Kagome yelled, flustered. "I haven't even changed clothes yet!"
"Not important."
"Ahhh…"
Midway, Lynn suddenly said, "Don't forget to pay me."
Kagome was dumbfounded.
"Why is this happening?!"
"Isn't that well yours?"
"Uh…"
"Aren't you the one who wants it dealt with?"
Kagome: "…"
She slumped weakly. "But…"
"You can clearly see how rundown this shrine is…"
Lynn grinned. "It's fine. You'll definitely be able to afford the price I want."
Kagome: "?"
(To be continued.)
***
Bonus for 600 PS, next bonus at 800 PS.
Junkdog's Note: Guys, I posted an auxiliary chapter and added images, but WN shadowbanned some, and I'm too lazy to repost. Help me fill those up onegai~
Also your PS goes a long way, throw them to me.