The Exorcism Tale of Hachiman

"Oh, sorry, I was doing something earlier..."

Scratching his cheek, Hachiman Hikigaya casually offered an explanation for opening the door so late, then looked up at the open space behind Illya.

"No need to look, Mom's not here today, I came alone!"

As she spoke, Illya squeezed past Hachiman Hikigaya and, quite familiarly, entered his house.

Where is Sakura?

Standing in the open space in the entryway, Ilya took out her own 'personal slippers' from the shoe rack and put them on, while looking expectantly into the living room.

To her disappointment, Sakura had not appeared since the doorbell rang.

Sakura is still sleeping~

Hachiman Hikigaya wasn't angry at Illya's arrogant way of speaking. After all, the reason Illya became the way she is now was entirely due to his, Komachi, Sakura, and Irisviel's spoiling.

It's strange. Ilya is older than Sakura, so logically Ilya should take on the responsibility of caring for her younger sister.

However, the reality over the past month has been that Ilya has made Sakura, who is shorter than her, her pillar of support, showing absolutely no awareness of her role as an elder...

"Hey, it's already past nine o'clock, why is Sakura still sleeping?"

Ilya was shocked to hear that Sakura, who always gets up early, was still sleeping.

Whose fault do you think this is?

Seeing Illya's surprised expression, Hachiman Hikigaya's face showed a hint of helplessness.

If it weren't for someone's request to stay up all night playing games until 3 a.m., the three members of the Hikigaya family wouldn't be so lazy so early in the morning...

"Well..."

Noticing that Hachiman Hikigaya was looking at her strangely, Illya's slightly sluggish brain, dulled by staying up all night, finally realized that she was the culprit who had kept Sakura from getting up until now.

He turned his head away, his gaze flickering on the wall.

Ilya quickened her pace of changing her shoes, then jumped into the hallway and rushed toward the living room, trying to escape the topic from earlier.

However, just as she took a step to run away, Hachiman Hikigaya grabbed her by the collar and lifted her into the air.

"It's happening again! Let me go!"

The familiar sensation of her legs leaving the ground returned to her body, and Illya, filled with shame and indignation, immediately brandished her little fists, threatening Hachiman Hikigaya to put her down.

Chapter 286 People Who Could Threaten His Life

"Stop joking, your body is more fragile than most people's."

Seeing that Illya, whom he had lifted into the air, was still struggling, Hachiman Hikigaya frowned and said in a low voice.

"What's the big deal? I have magic anyway..."

Upon hearing Hachiman Hikigaya's words, Illya obediently stopped struggling, but she still retorted defiantly.

"You can't just use magic like that!"

Hachiman Hikigaya gently patted Illya's head, checked her condition, and sighed inwardly.

Ilya resembles her mother, Irisviel.

In terms of both appearance and personality, Ilya is like a miniature version of Irisviel, sculpted from the same mold.

Perhaps it was precisely because the mother and daughter were so alike that, not long ago, Hachiman Hikigaya discovered by chance that Illya's body was extremely fragile, like a delicate porcelain doll...

"I should try to avoid staying up late, as it's bad for my health..."

Although everyone had a great time playing games together last night, staying up late definitely took a toll on Ilya's health.

"I do not want it!"

When Illya heard that Hachiman Hikigaya was asking her to give up her precious nighttime gaming time, she immediately flew into a rage.

"But if you often stay up late, your body will weaken just like Irisviel's!"

Seeing that Illya was unwilling to cooperate, Hachiman Hikigaya immediately brought up the real-life case of Irisviel to intimidate her.

However, this time Ilya didn't buy it at all...

"You big liar! I asked Mom before, and the reason she's so physically weak is entirely because of the Holy Grail, it has absolutely nothing to do with staying up all night playing games!"

Recalling how she trembled with fear when she first foolishly believed Hachiman Hikigaya's claim that staying up all night would weaken her body to the point of being as weak as her mother, Illya couldn't help but grind her little fangs.

That kind of thing was better left unsaid; now that she's talked about it, she's getting angrier and angrier!

For someone as clever as Ilya, who had become the top student in the elementary school in just half a month, to be fooled by Hachiman Hikigaya's clumsy lie for a whole week, only realizing the truth last night when her mother accidentally let it slip, is simply...

"Awoo!"

Suddenly, Illya opened her 'blood-red maw' and bit down on Hachiman Hikigaya's arm in front of her.

"Are you a dog?"

Hachiman Hikigaya certainly wouldn't let Illya bite him, so he quickly shook the hand holding Illya's collar and sprinted towards the sofa with her in tow.

"You're the one who's like a dog!"

Hearing that Hachiman Hikigaya even called her a dog, Illya's resentment, which was already quite intense, intensified.

Using the momentum of the swaying motion, Illya hooked her legs around Hachiman Hikigaya's arm, then used her hands and feet to cling to his arm like an octopus, before opening her mouth wide and biting down hard!

"what!"

As the sofa drew closer, a sudden, sharp pain shot through his arm. Caught off guard, Hachiman Hikigaya screamed in agony.

"Onii-chan, Illya, you're making too much noise."

Lying on the sofa, Komachi, who was anything but ladylike, scratched her snow-white belly hidden under her clothes, and without turning her head, signaled to the two fools to stop disturbing her while she watched the show.

"........."

As if a silencing button had been pressed, after Komachi reminded them, Hachiman Hikigaya and Illya immediately stopped their playful antics.

The two, one big and one small, stared at each other for a few seconds, silently observing those dead fish eyes that exuded a rotten smell yet gave people an unparalleled sense of security. Then, Ilya reluctantly let go of his mouth and slid down Hachiman Hikigaya's arm to the floor.

"I'll let you off this time for Komachi's sake!"

With her hands on her hips, Ilya raised her head and uttered her signature tsundere statement.

"You only stopped because you were afraid of Komachi, right?!"

Upon hearing Illya's words, Hachiman Hikigaya's lips twitched slightly.

To be able to talk about following one's heart as if she's doing something out of pure kindness, what exactly did this arrogant little girl learn at school?

"Humph!"

Sensing Hachiman Hikigaya's strange gaze, Illya made a face at him and then jumped onto the sofa, sitting right next to Komachi. Komachi, engrossed in a television program, quite naturally pulled Illya into her arms...

Standing to the side watching this harmonious scene, Hachiman Hikigaya suddenly felt a strong sense of déjà vu that he was the outsider.

Shaking his head to clear away the strange thoughts from his mind, Hachiman Hikigaya then continued his day as a couch potato in a corner of the sofa.

.......

"Ding dong!"

Just as if to oppose Hachiman Hikigaya, the doorbell rang again more than ten minutes after Illya arrived.

"Onii-chan~"

Upon hearing the doorbell ring, Komachi immediately let out a seductive moan that could send shivers down one's spine.

However, Hachiman Hikigaya, who was sitting in the corner of the sofa, clearly did not want to give up his lazy life so easily. He lay quietly on the sofa, as if he had not heard Komachi's cries.

(I was the one who opened the door just now, it's your turn now!)

Noticing Hachiman Hikigaya's silent protest, Komachi raised an eyebrow.

Then she shifted her body on the sofa, slowly approaching Hachiman Hikigaya...

"boom!"

Two forces, one strong and one weak, attacked Hachiman Hikigaya from behind again.

Hachiman Hikigaya, who was already prepared, nimbly turned around and dodged the two men's sneak attack.

(I won't fall for the same trick twice!)

Seeing that he had perfectly dodged their attacks, Hachiman Hikigaya felt a surge of pride. However, he suddenly sensed a faint killing intent permeating the air...

"!"

With a somersault, Hachiman Hikigaya jumped up from the sofa and sprinted to the entrance, opening the door.

"Hikigaya-kun?"

Following in her daughter's footsteps, Irisviel, who had also come to visit the Hikigaya family, saw the door open and was about to raise her hand to greet Hachiman Hikigaya when she saw him looking like he had just escaped a disaster.

Is there anyone in this world who can threaten him?

Having a clear understanding of Hachiman Hikigaya's strength, Irisviel was immediately filled with doubt and curiosity.

The reason for the visit in Chapter 287 was that the air conditioner was broken.

"Irisviel?"

Hachiman Hikigaya also looked at the woman in the snow-white dress standing in front of him with curiosity.

What's going on today? This mother and daughter, who've been living like shut-ins since they arrived in this world, are both visiting his house on the same day! And after staying up all night playing games...

"Good morning, Ilya should be here by now, right?"

Sensing the doubt in Hachiman Hikigaya's tone, Irisviel placed her hands together on her lower abdomen and gave an elegant aristocratic greeting.

If Hachiman Hikigaya hadn't known her true nature at home, he might have thought she was some noble lady from somewhere.

"Ilya has arrived. Please come in."

With that, Hachiman Hikigaya stepped aside to let Irisviel into the house.

"So, Irisviel, is there something you need from me?"

As he closed the door, Hachiman Hikigaya watched Irisviel pull out her signature slippers from the shoe cabinet, just like Illya had done. His expression was rather strange.