Haruto sat in the corner of his shack—if you could still call it that.The wind gently pushed on one of the walls, and the entire structure leaned like a nervous giraffe.
He stared at the floor with hollow eyes.
"In just two days… I went from having a shack… to being homeless again."
He gripped his head dramatically.
"This is the worst isekai I've ever seen. Where's my guild registration? Where's my dragon egg? WHERE IS MY MYSTERIOUS BUSTY ELF MENTOR?!"
He looked up at the ceiling, which responded by dropping dust on his face.
"Isekai is supposed to be wish fulfillment! This is low-budget cosplay fever dream garbage!!"
Suddenly—
POOF.
A cloud of gloom puffed into the room as Yue materialized midair, arms folded, face irritated.
"Can you not?!" she snapped. "You're disturbing my cursed spirit peace, Potato Maou! I'm trying to relax!"
Haruto ignored her, standing up and brushing off his tattered hoodie.
"I'm leaving."
Yue blinked. "Leaving, or got expelled for being a dumb potato?"She floated closer, smirking. "Because I'm not surprised."
Then—She froze.
"…Wait. What do you mean 'leaving'… mortal?"
Haruto sighed like a man already grieving his own future.
"That's what I mean. I'm leaving the village. The chief made it clear—if I stay, I'll drag everyone down with me. So, I'm gonna move on. Start over. Maybe get devoured by a sentient mushroom or die in a swamp. Y'know. Isekai stuff."
Yue stared.
Absolute horror spread across her face.
"…Wait, wait wait—WAIT!"
"Mmhmm?" Haruto replied absently, tossing his single cracked plate into his pack.
"If you leave… then I—wait no, we—I have to… that means… THAT MEANS I HAVE TO LEAVE TOO?!"
Haruto paused. "You… can't stay?"
Yue's face contorted in spiritual agony.
"NO, YOU DENSE VEGETABLE! We're contract-bound! Till death!! You can't just walk off like a poorly written romance subplot!"
She suddenly dropped to her knees midair, crying into the void.
"Nonononononono… not outside… not nature… not unfiltered sunlight!"
Haruto stared in disbelief.
"Are you seriously a ghost with hikikomori syndrome?!"
Yue's voice cracked. "Listen. I'm a cursed specter, not a backpack!! This violates my afterlife labor rights!!"
Then, tears still in her eyes, she looked up and asked with perfect, deadpan delivery:
"…Okay. New plan. Potato. Can you die? Like, quickly? That way I don't have to go anywhere."
Haruto's soul briefly left his body.
"…Are you a literal NEET phantom asking me to die so you can stay inside?!"
Yue nodded solemnly.
"YES."
Haruto's eye twitched.
Then—A slow, evil smile spread across his face.
"Huehuehue…"
Yue floated back a little. "No. Don't you dare."
"HUEHUEHUE~"
Yue paled.
"I don't like that laugh."
"Oh, Loli Phantom," Haruto said, grinning like a villain, "we're going on an adventure."
Yue let out the loudest, most despairing shriek ever heard in spectral frequencies.
"NOOOOOOOO!!"
She vanished into thin air, her scream echoing like someone unplugged her gaming PC mid-session.
Haruto smirked, adjusting his cursed hoodie like it was a hero's cloak.
"…Tch. Even ghosts are shut-ins in this world."
He grabbed his pack, turned toward the forest, and mumbled:
"And here I thought being an ex-pop idol NEET was bad. At least I went outside sometimes."
After some time.
Haruto's backpack jiggled slightly as he walked through the village paths toward the main gate—his only luggage packed with mismatched items from his crumbling shack: one cracked plate, a cursed rice cracker, and a vaguely threatening fork.
The sun peeked through the cursed forest canopy. His mood?
Somewhere between existential dread and sarcastic denial.
From the backpack came the irritated muttering of a certain spectral gremlin.
"Stupid cursed contract... stupid dumb potato... stupid air... my spiritual dignity... gone…"
Haruto sighed dramatically. "Oh wow, someone's awake. What a blessing from the underworld."
The ghostly voice hissed louder, vibrating the fabric. "This isn't fair! I had a peace treaty with the afterlife! I had blackout curtains!"
He grinned evilly, voice rising in pitch like a cartoon villain.
"Huehuehue… you actually had to come. Hikki Ghost-chan on her first real world field trip. My mood just got so much better~"
Yue went dead silent.
Not a single cursed whisper.
Haruto blinked. "...Too far?"
Still nothing.
"...Okay, that's a little scary."
As he reached the village gate, he paused mid-step.
There, standing in the morning light, was a figure.
A girl.
Orange hair swayed gently in the breeze, long and loose this time—not tied up in her signature twin-tails. Her shrine maiden outfit still radiated peak otaku-bait, but over her shoulders now hung a modest travel backpack.
She looked like a shrine warrior out of a hero anime intro.
Haruto stopped. "...Kohana?"
She jumped slightly at the sound of her name.
Her back stiffened. She turned around, and—was she blushing?
"H-Ha… Haruto?!" she stammered. "It's… it's not what it looks like!"
He tilted his head. "Then what does it look like? You're at the gate with a backpack."
"I-I just decided to go on a little trip," she said way too quickly. "You know, sightseeing! Ancient ruins, cursed fields, demonic landmines... normal things."
Haruto squinted.
"…So like, a vacation to a battlefield?"
"EXACTLY!" she nodded, a bit too hard. "Purely educational. Definitely not related to you or your quest or anything emotional."
She looked away, red creeping up her face like a rising heat bar.
Haruto rubbed the back of his head. "Hey… you don't need to come. This mess isn't your fault. You've helped more than enough already."
Before he could finish, she cut in fast.
"Don't get me wrong!!" she barked, arms flailing slightly. "I don't care if you live or die, idiot. I just… I have to go because of the moon rock. Yeah. Super rare. Moon science."
"…Moon science," he repeated, blinking.
"I'M WORKING ON IT, OKAY?!"
Before the conversation could get weirder, a voice cut through the moment:
"Potato, you are unbelievably stupid for not noticing a maiden's heart."
Haruto froze.
Kohana blinked. "Wait—what was that?"
She looked at the backpack in his hand, suspicious.
"Are you… bringing your familiar?"
Haruto sighed. "Yeah. Hikki ghosts need vitamin D too."
From the bag:
"I hope a forest boar eats you both. Slowly."
He ignored it. "Anyway. If you really want to come with me…"
He looked at her. For once, a genuine look on his face.
"I'd appreciate it. I really do. Especially since I… kinda suck."
Kohana's face lit up like a bonfire of embarrassment.
"F-Fine. But you better not hold me back, Potato Maou!"
He smiled. "Lead the way, then. Oh, brave shrine maiden of questionable fashion choices."
She turned quickly, trying to hide her expression.
They walked forward together into the cursed forest.
Backpack grumbling.
Fox tail swishing.
And the first real steps of a journey that neither of them was quite ready for.
But they were taking it anyway.
Together.