Chapter 13: Delicate Pretty Boy

"Wait a moment," Kaito reached out and gently tapped on the spot of the bloody handprint on the girl's ankle.

The bloody handprint indeed carried a strong yin aura and resentment. It was a kind of mark, or more like a curse.

Just like some confident criminals would send a warning letter to the victim before committing a crime, clearly telling you, "You've already been targeted by me."

Judging by the aura alone, the fierce spirit that left this handprint should be the strongest evil spirit he had encountered so far.

'However, it's not a big problem.'

Kaito had no intention of taking advantage, his mindset was more like that of a doctor facing a female patient, with his attention mainly on the illness.

Even so, Miura Yumiko's face still flushed red.

Ever since she entered elementary school, even her dad hadn't touched her feet.

The intense shame came second. In order not to make strange sounds, Yumiko had to bite her lip tightly, using the pain to warn herself, 'You must endure! You absolutely must endure!:

After confirming the aura of the bloody handprint, Kaito transmitted a strand of spiritual energy.

Like the first thaw of frost and snow, the aura left by that unknown evil spirit was easily crushed by the blazing spiritual energy, which was like the brilliant sun.

Since being marked by the bloody handprint, Yumiko had felt dizzy and weak all over, with a bit of chilliness, somewhat like symptoms of a severe cold.

After the bloody handprint disappeared, she felt like a shivering traveler in a harsh winter who had finally welcomed the warm spring sun.

While her body and mind felt comfortable, her whole self also felt much more relaxed.

"Mm…", Yumiko's beautiful brows slightly relaxed. Looking at her ankle, which had returned to its fair complexion, she twisted it a few times and was somewhat surprised, "It really disappeared?!"

There was no longer that heaviness, that feeling like she couldn't lift her foot. Her whole self felt more energized, as if she had just recovered from a serious illness.

"How much is the fee? I'll gather the payment as soon as possible," The girl quietly calculated in her heart. Her family was in decent condition, and since childhood, the pocket money she had saved up was no small amount. Taking out tens of thousands should be doable.

She just didn't know if it was enough.

"We can put the matter of payment aside for now," Kaito shook his head and added, "Although the curse of the bloody handprint has been lifted, the source of the curse is still there."

"You mean…", Yumiko snapped out of it, and her fair face, which had just regained some color, turned a little pale again.

"As long as that evil spirit who targeted you is still around, handprints like this will appear again sooner or later."

Kaito said calmly, "My act of erasing the mark might have already enraged that evil spirit."

"So…"

The girl swallowed hard, her emerald eyes flashing a hint of panic, "My current situation is actually more dangerous now?"

"Not quite more dangerous."

Kaito raised his head and glanced at the sky outside the window, the sun was about to set.

In Japan, there's a saying about the "twilight hour," meaning that onmyoji (exorcists) believe dusk is the time when ghosts and gods are most likely to appear. It's the time of day with the heaviest yin energy, when one is most likely to see things they shouldn't.

"In any case, let's go to your home and have a look first."

———

Half an hour later.

"This is my home."

In front of a high-end apartment, Miura Yumiko stopped and entered the code to open the door.

The layout was a typical 2LDK Japanese-style apartment, but the interior was delicately decorated. Upon entering, the kitchen and dining room were on the left, and slightly ahead was the living room. Since the lights weren't turned on and the curtains were tightly drawn, the interior was a bit dim.

"Since I live alone, there aren't any male slippers at home."

Yumiko apologized, "So, Kaito-kun, please just come in directly, no need to change shoes."

Kaito didn't mind such minor details and just nodded casually, letting his gaze fall on the various corners of the room.

Miura Yumiko followed beside him like a little wife, then suddenly furrowed her brows slightly and looked at the window ledge not far away.

"I remember I didn't close the curtains before leaving this morning…", She trailed off, stuck mid-sentence. She didn't know when it started, but suddenly a cold, ghostly wind began to blow through the room, icy to the bone.

Even though it was spring, the indoor temperature dropped close to freezing. Wearing only a short skirt and over-the-knee socks, Yumiko quickly began to shiver from the cold, "S-So cold…"

Even the most slow-witted person should realize something was off by now.

Yumiko clutched her arms, rubbing them for warmth, her voice slightly trembling, "Kaito-kun… i-is it here?"

Kaito didn't answer. He just slightly shifted his gaze to a spot beside the sofa not far away.

There was a faint, shadowy black figure crouched there. Its blurry outline vaguely showed that it was on all fours, reminiscent of something like a spider.

At the same time, a faint click sound came from behind them.

Yumiko instinctively turned around, only to see that the door, which had just been open, had now closed.

A dark room, bone-chilling wind, a door that closed on its own.

Everything was maxed out, every element was in place.

Yumiko tried to reopen the door, but the doorknob felt like it had been welded shut, completely immovable.

She then pulled out her phone, only to find that there was no signal at all.

She tried dialing the police, but only got the busy tone "doo-doo-doo."

Even though just downstairs was a bustling city full of traffic, this little apartment building seemed to be surrounded by some mysterious force, severed from the noisy real world, becoming a dead zone with no way to call for help.

"Kaito-kun…", Yumiko's voice was clearly laced with sobs.

After all, she was just an ordinary girl who lived in an ivory tower. At most, she was slightly popular in real life, and her biggest worry was probably that her crush didn't like her back.

Now, suddenly encountering such a horror movie-like bizarre situation, she finally understood what "so scared your legs go weak" really felt like.

But…

Thinking that it was because of her request that Kaito-kun had been dragged into such danger, Yumiko clenched her teeth, pulled a self-defense fruit knife out from the shoe cabinet by the entrance, and stood in front of the weak and delicate pretty boy from her class.

"Kaito-kun, I… I will do my best... do my best to hold it back…"

The figure of the evil spirit gradually became clearer.

Its thick black hair was like sticky ink, covering most of its body. Its eight limbs were thin like bamboo joints, sprawled across the floor, making one think of disgusting arthropods.

Yumiko's breathing became even more rapid, but she still took a deep breath. Like a knight buying time for her prince to escape, her pretty face showed determination as she turned her back to him, "So, please make sure to find the right moment—run!"

Kaito: "…"

'Although I appreciate the thought, Miura-san… aren't you underestimating me a bit too much?'

'Come to think of it, Miss Togawa was like this too.'

'Could it be I am born with a face that really makes people want to protect me?'

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