Anime Crossover: Eating Evil in a Daily World — Chapter 44

Chapter 44: The Supernatural Society’s Image Ambassador

“Be careful on your way.”

Yui’s mother waved enthusiastically from the doorway. “Yozora, remember to come play again next time.”

“Okay, Auntie.”

Sabre squatted at the threshold, its golden tail wagging so violently it looked like a helicopter rotor preparing for liftoff.

“Woof woof!”

“I get what you mean.” Yozora crouched down, giving the dog’s head a thorough, rough rub before letting out a dry chuckle. “See you next time.”

Leaving the house behind, the crisp spring air brushed past them as they walked down the street toward the train station. Yui smiled sweetly, her bright eyes curving into crescents.

“Yozora, you seem to really like Sabre. Could it be… you’re actually a softie for small animals?”

Yozora raised an eyebrow, shooting her a sideways glance. “What’s with the ‘could it be’? Why does it sound like you’re hiding a punchline?”

“Ah, my bad, my bad.” Yui laughed awkwardly, scratching her cheek. “It’s just that you usually don’t give off the vibe of an animal lover. You’re more like…”

She trailed off, swallowing the rest of her sentence.

What she wanted to say was that Yozora at school was perfectly fine—a bit eccentric, maybe. But the second he came into contact with an Evil Spirit, he morphed into an entirely different entity. Forget liking small animals; he acted like a completely cold-blooded psychopath at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Just then, Yui noticed Miko’s gaze darting nervously toward the empty space directly behind Yozora.

“Miko, what’s wrong?” Yui asked, tilting her head. “Why do you keep staring back there?”

Miko flinched. A tense breath hitched in her throat before she forced a strained smile, waving a hand dismissively. “It’s nothing, nothing. I’m just a little too tired.”

“Is that so? Then you should definitely rest your eyes once we get to school.”

“Mm, okay.”

However, the reality of the situation was split into two vastly disparate dimensions.

From Yui’s perspective, the morning was picture-perfect: two lovely high school girls and an exceptionally handsome guy walking side by side down the street, accompanied by a gentle spring breeze and cherry blossom petals drifting lazily from the trees. It was a scene ripped straight from a romance manga.

But in Miko’s eyes, there was a fourth member in their little group.

Hachishaku-sama.

Standing nearly two and a half meters tall, draped in a long white dress, the towering entity followed silently behind Yozora on bare feet. Her unnaturally long black hair practically dragged against the pavement. She didn’t need to speak. Just her suffocatingly oppressive presence, the faint rustle of her hair against fabric, and the chilling aura she exuded were enough to twist a beautiful high school commute into a terrifying spectacle straight out of a Hyakki Yagyō.

Talk about ruining the mood.

Still, one silver lining kept Miko from losing her mind: Yui clearly couldn’t see the eight-foot-tall horror.

Thank goodness.

It seemed Yui’s brief stint of spirit sight was strictly limited to their time trapped in the Inner World of Kyoto. Miko knew all too well the heavy toll that came with ‘seeing’. Given Yui’s fragile psychological fortitude, living with this kind of vision would absolutely break her. Ignorance was bliss, and more, safety.

Miko let out a quiet sigh of relief.

After taking the train and arriving at Sobu High School, Yozora led the two girls straight to the Supernatural Quantum Mechanics Investigation and Research Club’s room.

Unsurprisingly, Rio Futaba was nowhere to be seen. It was barely past six in the morning; only a lunatic or a ghost would be at school this early.

Screech.

The moment Yozora approached the club table, a chair seemingly dragged itself across the floor, stopping at the exact perfect distance for him to sit.

To Yui, it looked like a neat little poltergeist trick.

But to Miko, it was Hachishaku-sama carefully pulling the chair out, bowing her head, and gesturing with a polite ‘please’—every movement dripping with absolute deference.

“Well done. I’ll give you a raise later,” Yozora said, casually crossing his legs as he sat down.

Seeing Yozora’s nonchalant attitude and the towering Evil Spirit’s pure, innocent smile of joy, Miko rubbed her temples.

Is this workplace gaslighting?!

The fact that a human could devour Evil Spirits to grow stronger was already absurd enough to shatter her worldview. Now she had to watch a human ruthlessly exploit an urban legend for free manual labor?

This scene is truly unmatched.jpg.

“By the way,” Yozora said, resting his chin on his hand as he looked over. “Yui, do you want to join the Supernatural Quantum Mechanics Investigation and Research Club? You’re basically an insider now anyway.”

“Eh? Me?” Yui blinked, visibly taken aback by the sudden invitation. “I… I don’t have your crazy abilities. I’m just an ordinary person. Would I even be of any help?”

“Don’t underestimate yourself.” Yozora shook his head, a faint smirk playing on his lips. “You just don’t understand the special talent you possess.”

“Special talent?”

Both Yui and Miko stared at him, utterly lost. Did Yui have a hidden power? Miko wasn’t trying to disparage her best friend, but Yui wasn’t exactly a genius, she possessed zero psychic awareness, and she was only average at sports.

If Miko had to pinpoint a talent… she was incredibly cute? Did that count as a supernatural ability?

Seeing their blank expressions, Yozora dropped the smirk and adopted an expression of deep seriousness.

“Yui has a very specific aura of clear-eyed stupidity.”

Yui froze. Her brow twitched, and she puffed out her cheeks in immediate indignation. “Are you praising me or insulting me?!”

“Praising you, obviously,” Yozora replied without missing a beat, his tone dripping with righteous sincerity. “You have to realize, the three current members of our club are viewed by the outside world as completely unapproachable weirdos…”

“Hold on a second.” Miko hurriedly raised a hand to interrupt. “My image at school is perfectly normal, isn’t it?”

She didn’t expect Yui to suddenly tense up. The pink-haired girl let out a hollow, awkward laugh and averted her eyes.

“Miko… actually, your reputation among the classmates isn’t really any better than Yozora’s.”

“How is that possible?!” Miko gasped, genuinely shocked.

Yui pursed her lips, her voice dropping to a cautious whisper. “Well… everyone says you always have this blank, expressionless face. There’s this inexplicable coldness about you that makes people feel like you’re totally unapproachable.”

Miko felt a metaphorical arrow pierce her chest.

She had never expected that to be the reason. Ever since her spirit sight awakened, she had spent every waking hour surrounded by grotesque, staring monsters. Forcing her eyes to remain dead and unwavering, locking her emotions behind an iron vault so she wouldn’t show a single flaw—it was her only survival mechanism.

Naturally, Miko had developed a chronic condition.

Commonly known as resting bitch face.