The Exorcism Tale of Hachiman

Even Totsuka Ayaka herself didn't notice the hint of resentment in her tone as she spoke.

Upon hearing Totsuka Saika's light and melodious voice, Hikigaya Hachiman felt his entire body go numb.

"Sorry, ordinary people can't actually see her."

Forcing himself to calm down, Hachiman Hikigaya began to explain the world's evil spirits and other settings to Saika Totsuka.

However, at that moment, the Inari God, who had been watching the show from the sidelines, slowly walked over.

"Hachiman, if you don't mind, could you give this child to me?"

"Eh?"

Upon hearing what Inari said, Hachiman Hikigaya and Saika Totsuka looked at Inari almost simultaneously.

"This child has quite a good talent for seduction; I want her to be my priestess."

Seeing the questioning look in Hachiman Hikigaya's eyes, Inari God revealed his true intentions without any concealment.

However, before Hachiman Hikigaya could even speak, Saika Totsuka, the person involved, shook her head and said no.

"Becoming a shrine maiden? That's impossible. After all, I'm a boy!"

Although she had noticed something was wrong with her body, Totsuka Saika's common sense, honed over the years, led her to decisively reject the Inari God's proposal.

Is it really a boy?

Leaning close to Totsuka Saika, the Inari deity blew into her ear and asked her a question.

"Of course it's true!"

Her sensitive ears were being caressed by the hot air, and a strange sensation she had never felt before rose within her body. Totsuka Ayaka blushed and confirmed it.

"really?"

Seeing that Totsuka Saika clearly sensed something was wrong but refused to budge, the smile in Inari's eyes deepened.

You know, she's really good at dealing with girls who say one thing but mean another.

Using its tail, Inari shooed away Hachiman Hikigaya, who was peeking from the side, and then pulled the shy-looking Totsuka Saika into its broad chest. Immediately afterwards, a series of blush-inducing words such as "Stop it!" and "Don't touch there!" were uttered.

A few minutes later, Totsuka Saika, with a ridiculously exaggerated expression, and Inari, looking refreshed, reappeared in front of Hikigaya Hachiman.

"Could this guy be a lesbian?"

Seeing Inari God smoking a large pipe that he had somehow acquired, Hachiman Hikigaya suddenly seemed to understand why all of Inari God's foxes were female.

"Alright, Hachiman, I've explained everything to the child and made sure he understands."

Ignoring the strange look in Hachiman Hikigaya's eyes, Inari patted Saika Totsuka's shoulder and pushed her toward Hachiman Hikigaya.

"Um... can I change back?"

Looking down at the tips of her shoes, Totsuka Saika, whose face had already been explained by Inari, blushed and asked Hikigaya Hachiman in a low voice if she could return to her former self.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid this matter..."

Hikigaya Hachiman's tone was filled with remorse.

The system said there was no way to restore the bracelet once it was broken, and he was truly powerless to do anything about it...

"Is that so?"

Upon hearing Hachiman Hikigaya's answer, Saika Totsuka found herself not particularly upset; in fact, she secretly felt a sense of relief...

But thinking about it, it makes sense. Because she looks so cute, even though she has repeatedly emphasized that she is a boy, people around her still unconsciously treat her as a girl.

Therefore, even if she suddenly became a girl, it doesn't seem to have changed her life much.

Chapter 343 Changing for You

"Then, I'll take the child back first."

Ten minutes later.

Seeing that the two had finished dealing with everything, Inari walked up to Totsuka Saika with a smile, put his arm around her shoulder, and said to Hikigaya Hachiman.

"Eh?"

Feeling the weight on her head, Totsuka Saika blinked in confusion.

Then, in the next second, she and Inari God disappeared simultaneously before Hachiman Hikigaya's eyes.

"There shouldn't be any problems, right?"

Seeing Totsuka Saika being taken away like that, Hachiman Hikigaya felt a little guilty.

If Inari God hadn't revealed his yuri side, he wouldn't have been worried at all about Totsuka Saika being taken away.

After all, being chosen by a god is a very lucky thing.

Especially since that deity was an ally of Hachiman Hikigaya.

However, after Inari revealed that unknown side of himself, for some reason, Hachiman Hikigaya always felt like he had been tricked.

............

When Komachi woke up, it was already dark outside.

"Am I...at home? Was everything that happened before just an illusion?"

Opening her eyes, Komachi blinked in confusion as she looked at the familiar ceiling of her bedroom.

But then the sound of Hachiman Hikigaya's breathless voice from beside him pulled him back to reality.

"I wish what happened today was just an illusion."

Hachiman Hikigaya rolled his eyes at Komachi, who was clearly a little confused, then stood up, placed his hand on her forehead, and channeled his spiritual energy into her to check her condition again.

"Hehe, Onii-chan~"

After realizing that what happened today was not an illusion, Komachi stretched out of the covers and tightly grasped the hand that Hachiman Hikigaya had pressed against her forehead, while letting out a silly grin.

"What's wrong? Did you damage your brain during the fight?"

Seeing that Komachi's condition was obviously different from usual, Hachiman Hikigaya transformed into the cold and aloof older brother.

"That's such an unfair statement! Just now, Komachi was touched by how much her older brother cared about her..."

Upon hearing Hachiman Hikigaya's explanation, Komachi pouted and kicked the bed repeatedly to express her dissatisfaction.

"Oh, is that so?"

After gently flicking Komachi's forehead, Hachiman Hikigaya successfully withdrew his hand.

Hikigaya Hachiman sat back down in his chair, looking at the lively Komachi on the bed. He opened his mouth to speak, but Komachi stopped him.

"Ugh, Onii-chan, you're going to blame yourself for everything again!"

With her hands crossed in front of her, Komachi spoke up about his intentions before Hachiman Hikigaya could.

"I.........."

"If I could have gotten back faster, I wouldn't have been injured and unconscious, right?"

"Of course, right?"

Hearing his words spoken by Komachi, Hachiman Hikigaya lowered his head in disappointment.

Even though the distance between Tokyo and Chiba isn't far, if he, whose strength has already reached the peak of the Demon Emperor realm, were willing to rush back at full speed at all costs, perhaps his home would be in a completely different state by now.

"Well, Onii-chan has done more than enough for Komachi."

After climbing out of bed, Komachi leaned against Hachiman Hikigaya and continued speaking.

"But I could obviously have done better, couldn't I?"

Hachiman Hikigaya retorted.

He knew perfectly well how important Komachi was to him, but after all this time, Hachiman Hikigaya hadn't taken any other protective measures besides placing a protective barrier around her...

"It's because you, Onii-chan, always get stuck on things that a lot of things become a mess."

Hikigaya Hachiman's words made Komachi sigh.

Even though Hachiman Hikigaya has changed so much since he got the system, the most crucial thing has never changed.

Hachiman Hikigaya's current situation is just like when she ran away from home in elementary school.

Even though Hachiman Hikigaya wasn't in the wrong, this stubborn older brother insisted on taking the blame upon himself...

"Although Komachi thinks you look cool like this, I don't want you to keep doing this."

Komachi always thought it was incredibly admirable to take all the sins upon oneself as a noble act.

But if the person chosen to bear this burden is Hachiman Hikigaya, she would rather Hachiman Hikigaya become a little selfish.

"Feel sorry......"

Feeling Komachi leaning on his shoulder, Hachiman Hikigaya lowered his head, unsure of what to say.

"Another apology!"

Seeing Hachiman Hikigaya create a cage for himself and jump into it, Komachi was so angry she almost jumped up and bit him.

"It's because of your personality, Onii-chan, that building a harem is going so badly!"

Komachi didn't know what to say about Hachiman Hikigaya's personality, which she both loved and hated.

After all, if Hachiman Hikigaya acted like an ordinary older brother, she wouldn't be so clingy to him. But it's precisely because she now worries about everything for Hachiman Hikigaya that she dislikes his personality.

If it weren't for that personality, Hachiman Hikigaya might already be enjoying the harem life of a typical anime protagonist.

Is it because of my personality?

Hearing Komachi's angry words, Hachiman Hikigaya's expression changed slightly.

Suddenly, a red light flashed in his eyes, but Komachi, who was waving her finger and lecturing, did not notice it.

"That's right! It's because of your kind-hearted nature, Onii-chan, and your tendency to take all the responsibility on yourself that you've become the way you are now!"

To be fair, although Hachiman Hikigaya's dead fish eyes were innate, he actually had friends around him before that incident in middle school.

In addition, at that time, his dead fish eyes weren't powerful enough to make people completely ignore his relatively handsome face, so quite a few girls had a crush on him.

Therefore, Komachi called that period the peak of Hachiman Hikigaya's social life.