The Exorcism Tale of Hachiman

Chapter 185 Shh, don't speak!

"Shh! Don't talk!"

Upon hearing someone call her name, Isayama Yomi quickly scrambled to her feet and hid behind a billboard.

As she peeked out to check what was happening ahead, she gestured for Hachiman Hikigaya to be quiet.

"???"

Looking at Isayama Yomi in front of him, dressed in a sailor uniform and knee-length black stockings, several question marks slowly appeared above Hikigaya Hachiman's head.

As a rare high-combat-power psychic, what is she trying to do by acting so suspiciously?

At that moment, Yomi Isayama, who was secretly watching Kagura Tsuchimiya and Komachi's actions ahead, suddenly realized what was happening.

Did someone just call her name?

And in Chiba, there were people she knew...

I turned my head cautiously, and sure enough, what came into view was Hachiman Hikigaya's signature dead fish eyes.

We're doomed...

In an instant, Yomi Isayama reviewed all the ways to die that she had accumulated over the years in her mind.

She actually dared to tell an exorcist to be quiet. This is something that can't be forgiven by simply committing seppuku.

The thought that he and his family would be severely punished for a single slip of the tongue made Isayama Yomi tremble slightly.

"Um... are you feeling unwell?"

Yomi Isayama's body was trembling violently, which made Hachiman Hikigaya suspect that she might have some serious illness.

After all, most people's bodies don't shake like that.

"No, no need. Thank you for your concern! I'm truly sorry for my offense earlier! If possible, please punish me alone!"

Isayama Yomi spoke very quickly, and not only that, after she finished speaking, she wanted to give Hikigaya Hachiman a dogeza (a deep bowing gesture) on the spot.

In public, a girl with exceptional looks and figure would suddenly do a dogeza (a deep, sordid gesture) on your behalf—something that would be utterly disastrous. Hachiman Hikigaya would never allow such a thing to happen.

A surge of spiritual energy coiled around Isayama Yomi's body, immobilizing her movements.

Just as Hachiman Hikigaya was about to ask her why she had such a strong reaction, he heard Komachi's voice beside him.

"Komachi?"

Since Komachi is here, then the one next to her must be Tsuchimiya Kagura, right?

Turning to look at Isayama Yomi, I saw that her face showed a tense expression, as if she was very afraid that her stalking behavior had been discovered.

To be honest, Hachiman Hikigaya couldn't understand what was so scary about this.

However, he still released the control over Isayama Yomi, and then he went to find the place where Komachi had made the sound, intending to say hello to them.

"Wait, wait a minute!"

Having regained his mobility, Yomi Isayama saw that Hachiman Hikigaya was about to go find Kagura Tsuchimiya and the others, so she quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him back behind the billboard.

"Um, Ms. Isayama, could you give me a reasonable explanation?"

Sitting down right next to Isayama Yomi, Hikigaya Hachiman felt the warmth emanating from the fabric of his clothes and his heart skipped a beat, but he asked with a blank expression.

Why did you secretly follow Komachi and Kagura Tsuchimiya?

Why can't Komachi and the others find out that she's following them?

And why not let him greet his sister?

Three questions came one after another from Hachiman Hikigaya's mouth, leaving Yomi Isayama speechless for a moment, unsure of how to respond.

"Um... we encountered a slight mishap during our mission yesterday..."

After hesitating for a moment, Yomi Isayama decided to reveal some information to Hachiman Hikigaya.

After all, given Hachiman Hikigaya's status as an exorcist, if he really wanted to know, the higher-ups would readily provide him with this information.

Are you sure it was just a minor accident?

Regarding Yomi Isayama's explanation, Hachiman Hikigaya stated that he was no novice.

What you call a tiny bit is probably a hundred million bits, right?

"Okay, Kagura and I ran into big trouble last night while on a mission..."

Seeing that she couldn't fool him anymore, Izayama Yomi sighed and recounted the events of the previous night.

A few minutes later, Komachi and Kagura Tsuchimiya had already left for their next destination.

Hachiman Hikigaya squatted in front of the billboard, pondering the information that Yomi Isayama had just shared.

"So, Miss Tsuchimiya developed psychological trauma after mistaking a corpse controlled by an evil spirit for a living person and killing it under duress?"

"That's how it is... Not only that, the mission location is your sister's junior high school, and among the corpses are classmates and teachers that the two of you knew."

"That would cast a huge shadow..."

Upon hearing that the incident occurred at Komachi's school, Hachiman Hikigaya's heart leaped into his throat.

However, the thought that Isayama Yomi and Tsuchimiya Kagura had already cleaned up the area made him relax.

With the danger at his younger sister's school location resolved, Hachiman Hikigaya began to ponder the issue of Kagura Tsuchimiya.

He personally killed his classmates and teachers whom he knew...

To be honest, Hachiman Hikigaya admires Tsuchimiya Kagura for having some psychological trauma.

"So, Komachi is taking her out to play this afternoon?"

Hikigaya Hachiman had a sudden thought and guessed that Komachi's purpose in suddenly wanting to go out after school today was probably to let Tsuchimiya Kagura relax.

"Okay, I understand how this happened."

After understanding that Yomi Isayama's purpose in stopping him was to prevent Komachi's counseling plan from going astray, Hachiman Hikigaya nodded in understanding.

"Is that so? Thank you so much!"

The fact that Isayama Yomi was able to persuade Hikigaya Hachiman so easily surprised her, but also made her feel a deep sense of relief.

"By the way, could you tell me about you psionicists?"

After deciding not to greet Komachi, Hachiman Hikigaya's original plan was to go straight home.

But when he looked at Isayama Yomi squatting on the ground, he suddenly realized that this was a good opportunity to obtain information.

Although it may be offensive to say this, the information that people in official organizations like Isayama Yomi have is far more reliable than that of Takeda Mie.

"........."

He looked up at Hachiman Hikigaya.

After realizing from the other person's serious expression that they weren't joking and genuinely wanted to learn about psychics from her, Yomi Isayama found herself in a dilemma.

As the team's top fighter and the next heir to the Isayama family, the information she possesses is highly confidential.

But if it's Hachiman Hikigaya, the exorcist, who wants to hear it, she doesn't seem to have the right to refuse...

Chapter 186 The Apprentice Shrine Maiden of Inari God

"and many more!"

Seeing Yomi Isayama's conflicted expression, Hachiman Hikigaya sensed something was amiss.

"I just wanted to ask some common information."

Isayama Yomi's expression looked as if she had made a solemn decision, which made Hikigaya Hachiman's eyelids twitch. Could she be about to tell him some confidential information?

"Is it just some routine intelligence?"

Upon hearing Hachiman Hikigaya's addition, Yomi Isayama's complexion improved visibly, showing that she had genuinely been considering whether or not to reveal the confidential information she knew.

More than ten minutes later, in a coffee shop, Hachiman Hikigaya listened to Yomi Isayama's words and nodded with an expression of understanding.

He now probably understands the state of the world completely.

In general, this is a world where humans, ghosts, and gods coexist.

Hundreds of years ago, the psionicists, as a human force, were weak, and the responsibility of fighting evil spirits mainly fell on the divine factions, primarily temples and shrines.

However, as time went on, the power of the psionicists grew stronger and stronger until the first exorcist emerged who was able to rival gods and spirits, and the situation became a three-way balance of power.

Then came modern times.

The dominance of the pantheon gradually faded, more and more exorcists appeared, and eventually, human power even surpassed that of the evil spirits, making humans the strongest in this world.

From this point on, evil spirits could no longer harm people at will, the gods had vanished, and exorcists and psychics had hidden themselves among ordinary people...

"You mean, God hasn't appeared for a long time?"

Hachiman Hikigaya thought of the rather dilapidated shrine from the previous night.

"That's true. They might have already disappeared."

Yomi Isayama responded with absolute certainty to Hachiman Hikigaya's question.

After all, according to the survey, the so-called gods are more conceptually the kind of gods worshipped with incense.

Now, apart from a few particularly large shrines, most of the shrines in Japan are in ruins.

In other words, apart from a few great gods in mythology who may still exist, the rest of the gods have disappeared because they no longer have incense offerings.

Those few deities that are suspected to still exist have not shown any miracles in recent decades.

The possibility of it existing is probably quite low!

"Has it never appeared?"

Thinking of the fox priestess who appeared to protect Miura Yumiko, and that three-tailed fox, Hachiman Hikigaya's face revealed a meaningful expression.

Perhaps in places unknown to psionicists like Isayama and Yomi, miracles have already quietly occurred.

However, Hachiman Hikigaya did not intend to remind Yomi Isayama.

Ultimately, the divine faction and the human faction are on the same side in the fight against evil spirits.

If the other side can grow stronger again, it can also reduce the pressure on humanity in fighting evil spirits.