"Miss, why are you standing here all alone?"
"Wanna have a little fun with us?"
...
...
The three thugs appeared without a sound, immediately causing Naruse Mio to frown.
Compared to them, Hayashi—who had walked out from the commercial street and merely stared at her for a moment—seemed positively restrained.
Naruse Mio's expression turned icy cold as she fiercely glared at the three thugs.
"Don't come near me. If any of you do, I'll kill you a hundred times!"
Faced with her harsh threat, the three "thugs" instantly stretched their mouths into ear-to-ear grins and let out low, excited growls.
"You can see me!!"
"You can actually see me!!"
"Haahhh!!!"
Their bodies twisted and warped before her eyes, reverting into their grotesque Cursed Spirit forms.
Naruse Mio's pupils contracted as she sucked in a sharp breath.
Encountering such a scene for the first time, she felt like her heart had stopped completely.
Her footing gave way, and she fell back on the roadside with a thud.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!
At that moment, three slender beams of light shot forth, piercing the bodies of the three Low-Grade Cursed Spirits.
Magic imbued with holy attributes instantly evaporated the spirits into ash.
Standing not far away, Hayashi retracted his hand.
Ever since awakening his Devil Bloodline, he had also acquired a sort of "spiritual sight" similar to the Spirit Sight Eye.
These low-grade Cursed Spirits had startled him at first, but he later realized they were laughably weak.
[Ding! Points Card +0.03]
Seeing the point notification pop up, Hayashi looked slightly surprised.
"I haven't acted as a Hero in years—how did I suddenly earn Points again?"
"Could it be because of the Fallen Angel Bloodline? Am I now considered part of the Fallen Angel faction?"
The thought flashed through Hayashi's mind, but he didn't bother thinking too deeply about it.
After all, earning Points wasn't a bad thing. At worst, they could be used to repay debts or save his life—this was real hard currency.
The only pity was that these low-level Cursed Spirits didn't even drop Traits. Killing them yielded no real benefits.
Exhaling softly, Hayashi walked over to Naruse Mio, who was still sitting on the ground.
"You alright? These low-grade Cursed Spirits like to deceive people—you'll want to be more careful from now on."
He extended a hand and helped Naruse Mio up.
The streetlamp cast a glow over her thigh, revealing a faint shimmer of moisture.
…Did she pee herself?
Hayashi was momentarily stunned before thoughtfully pulling a few tissues from one of the bags in his hand.
"Hmm?"
Looking at the tissues he handed over, Naruse Mio, still recovering from the shock, blanked out for several seconds.
A faint blush spread across her stunningly beautiful face, even reaching her ears with a soft pink hue.
"Th-Thank you~"
She spoke softly, then bit her lip and lowered her head, accepting the tissues.
Seeing that Hayashi made no move to leave, she shot him a shy glare and turned away to clean herself up.
As her panicked thoughts slowly calmed, Naruse Mio began to regain composure.
"Who are you? Why… why did you suddenly save me just now?"
Considering her current situation, she asked with a hint of caution.
Still, Hayashi had saved her. Even if it had caused her deep embarrassment, she still spoke with sincere gratitude.
"Let me introduce myself.
I'm Shinryu Hayashi. My main job is being a student, and I moonlight as a half-time Hero, exorcist, monster exterminator, and so on.
I just arrived in Kuoh Town today and was out picking up some supplies. Ran into you along the way.
And you?"
Listening to his long list of part-time titles, Naruse Mio was dumbfounded.
You have that many roles? Even if I don't understand them all, you sound pretty amazing.
But when Hayashi asked for her name in return, Naruse Mio hesitated.
She didn't know how to explain—her own story was quite bizarre.
She had originally been just an ordinary high school girl, until monsters suddenly began hunting her. Then she was rescued by someone who called herself a subordinate—"Maria."
Eventually, she learned that she was a descendant of the Gremory clan, one of the 72 Pillars of Devil nobility.
The Devil family Gremory was one of the few surviving pureblood lineages.
Which meant she had more than her fair share of enemies in the Underworld.
The problem was, the Gremory clan hadn't officially acknowledged her as one of their own.
This left her in an awkward position—neither fully accepted nor completely cast out.
Only Maria, a Succubus, had come to protect her.
And that was only because Maria's mother insisted—otherwise, she wouldn't have bothered.
Later, Naruse Mio started referring to Maria, now going by "Naruse Maria," as her sister, and the two came to Kuoh Town seeking shelter.
The past six months had felt like a dream.
Just half an hour ago, Maria said someone had sent her important information, and she went to receive it.
But since she left, there had been no sign of her.
To put it bluntly, Naruse Mio was beginning to feel like she'd been abandoned.
As her thoughts wandered, tears the size of beans welled up in her eyes.
"Eh—hey, I just asked who you were. No need to cry…"
Seeing her tear up so suddenly, Hayashi was at a bit of a loss.
"I'm not crying~"
Stubborn as ever, Naruse Mio shook her head and forced the tears back down.
Then she lowered her head and mumbled softly, "My name is Naruse Mio. Right now… right now…"
At that point, she faltered.
She didn't know how to explain everything that had happened to her.
But for Hayashi, just hearing her name was enough for realization to dawn.
It really was Naruse Mio!
But clearly, her situation was complicated.
There was no Toujou Basara in the Hero village.
And from the looks of it, she seemed homeless, with her circumstances not matching his memory at all.
After thinking it over for a few seconds, Hayashi took the initiative and said, "If you don't have anywhere to go right now, why don't you come stay at my place for a while?"
Inviting a girl he'd just met home late at night—this was a first even for Hayashi.
Hearing this, Naruse Mio's lips parted slightly, a glimmer appearing in her eyes.
Even though she felt shy and that it might not be appropriate,
At the moment, the only person she could rely on—the only one she felt she could trust—was Hayashi.
At the very least, based on the current situation, he meant her no harm.
"Well, well~ I was only gone for a little while, and Mio-sama's already getting swept away by a man?"
A playful, sweet voice rang out from behind, snapping Naruse Mio out of her thoughts.
Hayashi turned his head to see a white-haired loli dressed in gothic lolita fashion.
Her features were exquisitely adorable, her skin porcelain-smooth and delicate.
Her long white hair flowed gently over her shoulders, the slightly curled ends paired with two round hair ornaments that added a cute, playful charm.
The black dress hugged her petite frame perfectly. The lace trim on the hem and the purple ribbon accents made her look even more girlish and sweet.
The knee-high boots lent her a hint of maturity, while the delicate curves of her legs gave away her small yet well-proportioned body.
At a glance she looked pure and lovable, but on closer inspection, she exuded a subtly seductive allure.
A violent desire surged within Hayashi's heart—he wanted to ravage her thoroughly.