The Exorcism Tale of Hachiman

However, upon seeing the Buddhist prayer beads in Hachiman Hikigaya's hand, Rumi Tsurumi took them and remarked, "They're a bit ugly."

"Ugly?!"

Hearing Tsurumi Rumi's sarcastic remark about not appreciating her good fortune, Isayama Yomi's eyelids twitched.

Does she know the significance of this string of Buddhist prayer beads?

This is not only an extremely powerful magical artifact, but more importantly, it was given to me by Hachiman Hikigaya!

"Is not it?"

Seeing the strong reaction of Yomi Isayama, who had just saved her, Tsurumi hesitated.

Did she violate some taboo with her words just now?

But in her opinion, those prayer beads were really quite ugly...

"Well, because it was rushed to completion, it does look a bit ugly, but it's still usable."

Hachiman Hikigaya quite agreed with Rumi Tsurumi's point of view.

The prayer beads, which were infused with spiritual power but not modified by him, did indeed look rather unattractive.

"Remember, you must carry this string of Buddhist prayer beads with you at all times."

As he placed the Buddhist prayer beads on Tsurumi Rumi's wrist, Hachiman Hikigaya gave her a special instruction.

"Um... does this thing have some special function?"

Seeing the intense reactions of Yomi Isayama and Kagura Tsuchimiya to the prayer beads, and with Hachiman Hikigaya specifically instructing them not to lose them, Rumi Tsurumi instantly realized that the prayer beads in her hand must be quite precious.

"Yes, if you encounter something like this again, this string of prayer beads can completely protect your safety."

Children naturally have an adventurous spirit, which can also be interpreted as courting death.

Although Tsurumi Rumi has always shown a maturity far beyond her years since they met, Hachiman Hikigaya cannot guarantee that after he tells her all about the exorcising effects of the prayer beads, she won't deliberately search for evil spirits late at night just to show off to her friends.

Therefore, it was enough to simply tell her that the prayer beads could protect her from evil spirits.

"Can you only protect me?"

Upon hearing Hachiman Hikigaya's words, Rumi Tsurumi nodded thoughtfully, and then raised a new question.

"I'm sorry, I can only protect one person."

Thinking that Tsurumi Rumi really wanted to show off in front of her friends as he had feared, Hachiman Hikigaya nodded expressionlessly.

"Is that so?"

Hachiman Hikigaya's answer was quite firm, and Rumi Tsurumi did not expect that he might be lying to her.

After a brief moment of disappointment and hesitation, Tsurumi Rumi mustered her courage and looked up at Hachiman Hikigaya.

"Um, regarding the Buddhist prayer beads, could I ask for another string for my mother?"

"Eh?"

Tsurumi Rumi's words successfully surprised Hachiman Hikigaya and the other two.

They never expected that Tsurumi Rumi's earlier inquiry about the function of the prayer beads was for her mother's sake.

"Because my mom often works overtime at night and doesn't get home until very late, I'm worried she might encounter what happened tonight too..."

"Of course, if I don't have any extras, may I give the prayer beads I have to my mother?"

Seeing that Hachiman Hikigaya was silent, Rumi Tsurumi assumed that he was displeased because of her reaction.

She quickly waved her hand and changed her request.

“Since the prayer beads have already been given to you, you naturally have the right to give them to anyone.”

Seeing the bewildered and almost frightened expression on Tsurumi Rumi's face, Hachiman Hikigaya smiled slightly, placed his hand on her head, and gently stroked it.

Then, he took out the last string of Buddhist prayer beads he had obtained from Takeda Mie once more from his spatial storage. In front of Isayama Yomi and Tsuchimiya Kagura, he infused them with spiritual power and placed them in Tsurumi Rumi's palm.

"These are your mother's Buddhist prayer beads."

"Thanks...."

Clutching the second string of prayer beads that Hachiman Hikigaya had given her tightly in both hands, Rumi Tsurumi looked at Hachiman Hikigaya with gratitude, trying her best to etch his face into her memory.

"fine...."

Hachiman Hikigaya shook his head, then stood up and looked at the two people who were dumbfounded.

"Then I'll leave this child in your care..."

Having said that, Hachiman Hikigaya activated the seal on his hand, intending to summon a fox and ask her to take him home.

"grown ups!"

As the mark was activated, a small, snow-white fox leaped out from mid-air.

The three, including Isayama Yomi, who had absolutely no resistance to furry animals, stared wide-eyed.

"......"

After landing on the ground and respectfully greeting Hachiman Hikigaya, the little fox was about to ask why he had summoned her when she suddenly felt three pairs of malicious gazes.

Her tail instantly stood up, and with a 'whoosh,' she leaped onto Hachiman Hikigaya's shoulder.

"S-Sorry!"

When the little fox was trembling and clinging to Hachiman Hikigaya's shoulders, she realized that the person in front of her was not the gentle Inari God, but an exorcist among humans. The little fox then instantly let go of her paws and fell freely to the ground.

"......"

I have a feeling that this fox isn't very smart.

Hachiman Hikigaya reacted quickly, grabbing the little fox by the scruff of her neck and placing her back on the ground.

After surviving the ordeal, the little fox showed a relieved expression on her face. She secretly glanced to the side and, upon discovering that the three women were staring at her intently, she quietly moved a few steps closer to Hachiman Hikigaya before looking up and asking him why he had summoned her.

"Could you please take me back?"

Although he wasn't sure what he looked like in the eyes of these little foxes, Hachiman Hikigaya was certain that they knew exactly where his home was.

"No problem! Please wait a moment, sir, while I go and call some of the ladies nearby to help..."

Upon hearing Ye Qiu's request, the little fox nodded in agreement without the slightest hesitation.

A golden halo appeared before her, and she leaped up, preparing to jump to the nearest Inari shrine to seek help from her companions.

However, the usually smooth transmission encountered problems tonight.

An invisible barrier seemed to have appeared in the golden vortex, preventing the little fox from passing through.

The fox, which was slowly sliding down from mid-air in a starfish shape, shook its somewhat confused head and looked at the golden halo it had just activated with a puzzled expression.

"What happened?"

Hachiman Hikigaya, who had been silently watching the little fox's mysterious actions, asked curiously.

"No, I don't know why either. It's just that I suddenly can't teleport to the nearest Inari shrine..."

Chapter 194 It’s too late

"Unable to teleport to the nearby Inari Shrine?"

Hearing the little fox's words, Hachiman Hikigaya was slightly taken aback.

"That's right, I don't know why the spatial passage over there was closed..."

The little fox nodded.

Has this happened before?

"No! Our teleportation ability was bestowed upon us by the Inari God, and we have never had any problems before."

"So that means there's a problem now!"

Upon hearing this, Hachiman Hikigaya immediately had the little fox lead the way to the Inari Shrine.

Seeing this, Tsuchimiya Kagura wanted to go after them to help, but was stopped by Isayama Yomi.

"Yellow Spring?"

Kagura Tsuchimiya turned her head in confusion to look at Yomi Isayama, who was stopping her.

She didn't understand why Isayama Yomi would stop her.

"Kagura, haven't you figured out what that fox is yet?"

Shaking his head, Isayama Yomi stared at Tsuchimiya Kagura in a serious tone and asked.

"Of course I know!"

Kagura Tsuchimiya immediately retorted excitedly.

"Although I have never seen it before, according to the scroll, it should be a servant of the gods."

"In that case, are you still planning to go?"

Although the specific reasons are unclear, human psionicists do not have a good relationship with the gods.

If Kagura Tsuchimiya were to follow rashly, she might even be treated as an enemy by those divine servants.

Moreover, the servants of the gods are generally very powerful. If even they encounter trouble, what good would it do if Tsuchimiya Kagura and she went to help?

Are you trying to make things worse for them?!

"But they saved my life before..."

Kagura Tsuchimiya replied with a conflicted expression.

She had previously been entangled in the web of a mountain spider and lost her ability to move.

If she hadn't been accidentally swatted away and landed in the Inari Shrine, she probably would have been eaten by the mountain spider long ago.

"What we should do now is wait for our companions to arrive, and then take this little guy back..."

Seeing that her words were beginning to have an effect, Isayama Yomi softened her tone and walked to Tsuchimiya Kagura's side, supporting her shoulder as she continued to persuade her.

"Um..."

Kagura Tsuchimiya nodded slightly, abandoning her idea of ​​going to the shrine to help.