Crossover anime, a daily life that begins with hunting supernatural beings.

The slightly cool shoulder bag she held in her arms offered some comfort to her nerves, which were on the verge of collapse.

Just as she drifted off to sleep in extreme fear and anxiety, a hand landed on her shoulder.

78. Come, let me take you home.

Is there anything to put on my shoulder?

Fumino Furuhashi froze, as if she had been forcefully pushed off the edge of a precipice.

My heart was filled with fear and unease.

As if it were the last straw that broke the camel's back of Fumino Furukawa's already fragile mental defenses, Fumino Furukawa completely collapsed.

She reflexively looked up and saw Sakurai dressed in traditional Chinese formal attire.

Tears welled up in her misty eyes and streamed down her face, soaking the shoulder bag she was clutching tightly in her arms.

She was just an ordinary high school girl, and finally, she burst into tears as if a dam had been broken.

The man's expression remained indifferent as always, showing neither disgust at her wretched appearance nor joy at his hard-won victory.

It seems that nothing can move him, not even a landslide or the destruction of all things.

He stared at himself quietly, his eyes fixed on himself, yet his attention seemed completely elsewhere.

It was as if he didn't care about anything in this world.

He was originally wearing a set of sportswear that allowed him to move around easily, but at some point he changed into a set of formal attire that priests would wear during festivals. His slightly crooked crown was turned upside down 180 degrees and placed on his head, with a few mischievous strands of black hair inadvertently escaping from the crown and being gently blown by the breeze.

The formal attire was loose and baggy, seemingly haphazardly thrown on. What should have been a solemn and dignified Shinto robe looked rather out of place on him.

just like...

The carefree Onmyoji reluctantly changed into formal attire to deal with the unpleasant guests who came to his door.

but...

Upon seeing this figure, Fumino Furukawa felt an unprecedented sense of peace.

The man didn't speak, but just stared at himself, his golden eyes reflecting his haggard and ugly appearance.

His hand remained on her shoulder, and Fumino could feel the warmth emanating from him even through her clothes.

The smell of musty clothes and the smoky, burning smell of burning clothes wafted into her nostrils on the breeze, but Fumino Furuhashi felt that she had never smelled such wonderful scents before.

An indescribable emotion surged into her brain, almost uncontrollably. She let go of the shoulder bag that had been the only source of emotional support before, grabbed Sakurai's hand on her shoulder and hugged it tightly, bursting into tears like a child.

Tears soaked Sakurai's clothes and the girl's cheeks.

Sakurai looked down at the blue-haired girl who was sobbing and crying, letting her hold his hand tightly.

He waited silently for her to release all her negative emotions through crying.

Sakurai, who couldn't empathize with her, felt that she could somewhat understand Furuhashi Fumino's current feelings.

Instead of rushing to take back the only emotional support the tearful girl had found during her long wait, Sakurai let her hug him.

Even without the sensation of pain, he was still inevitably somewhat exhausted from being resurrected time and time again in the battles against the Aragami.

Dejected, Sakurai plopped down on the girl's floor and pulled Fumino Furuhashi completely into his arms.

Without offering the slightest word of comfort to Furuhashi Fumino, Sakurai knew that the best comfort for the girl right now was tears.

After releasing her stress through tears, she was able to come to her senses.

Sakurai took out the spoils from defeating the Aragami from his pocket—a small, metallic black sphere—and tried to discern something from it.

In the end, Sakurai, having not discerned anything, gave up and haphazardly stuffed the small black ball back into his arms, even if only for a moment. Amidst the girl's cries beside him, Sakurai closed his eyes.

He needs to rest for a while; he still needs to send this girl, who is on the verge of collapse, back to the human world later.

Time passed second by second, and the girl who had been wailing finally stopped crying.

No longer crying, she stared at Sakurai, who was resting with his eyes closed, her eyes still red, her gaze refusing to stray even slightly from his.

She was afraid that Sakurai would disappear in the blink of an eye.

She will once again be alone in this terrifying other world.

“Well done. Even if I tell you you’re safe after experiencing the threat of death firsthand.”

"He managed to stay at the haunted spot for so long without breaking down."

"You are remarkable among ordinary people, at least more courageous than the vast majority of people in this world."

"Among the ordinary people I know, you are one of the better ones."

Although I don't seem to know many ordinary people.

"The primordial god at the deepest part of this haunted spot has already been defeated."

“The girls who died because of it in the past have now found eternal peace and liberation.”

"You're safe now, your life is no longer in danger."

"You don't need to worry anymore."

"You can rest assured now."

Sakurai, who hadn't fallen asleep, opened his eyes and, after confirming that Furuhashi Fumino had calmed down a bit, began to talk to himself.

"I will send you back to reality, so that you can go home, hug your family, and have a good cry."

"Then take a shower to wash away all the negative emotions, temporarily forget about what happened tonight, cover yourself with the blanket and get a good night's sleep."

"When you wake up, eat some cake and chocolate; sweets can make you feel better."

"Then have your family take you to a place called Ruri Shrine, which I think is quite famous in this area."

"Given your family's circumstances, you should be able to find out where it is."

"If your family doesn't understand, it's okay to go alone, but remember to be careful on the road."

"Once we get to the shrine, the people there will have a way to persuade your family."

“They are professionals in dealing with psychological trauma like yours caused by being accidentally involved in paranormal events.”

"After resting there for a while, if the exorcism is successful, it should be difficult to encounter a similar situation again unless you are extremely unlucky."

Unlike Yotsuya Miko, who is "visible," Furuhashi Fumino was completely targeted by ghost stories by accident. As long as she removes the "dark aura" from her body, she should not be unlucky enough to be dragged into this world again.

Before long, she will be blind.

"If you're still scared, the shrine has corresponding amulets, which should be quite effective."

"I remember there are some good calming talismans. If you have nightmares at night, you can ask for one or two."

Sakurai kept rambling on and on, explaining all of Fumino Furuhashi's plans for the future.

He has repeated this process many times over the past month.

79. Dawn broke.

"Understand?"

"If you understand, then get up."

Standing up, without the slightest lingering affection for the girl's soft embrace, Sakurai turned away and stared blankly at Fumino Furuhashi, who was sitting on the ground.

With his eyes narrowed, he picked up the shoulder bag from the ground, slung it over his shoulder, and then held out a hand to Fumino Furuhashi.

They were about to help the unfortunate young lady up.

"May I ask your name...?"

Fumino Furuhashi stood up with her head down, using the hand Sakurai offered to her. She asked softly for her name.

actually...

What she wanted to ask was whether she could see Sakurai after that.

But after hesitating for a long time, the shyness and hesitation unique to young girls prevented her from asking the question no matter what.

The only solution is to change the approach to asking for the other person's name and then finding them.

She remembered that the boy was from the same school as her.

"Sakurai, Sakurai Eito."

"It's okay not to remember it. It's fine to treat tonight's events as a dream."

"We probably won't need to see each other much in the future."

"By the way, if you see me on the street, don't just rush up to me."

"It could be very dangerous."

"I think you should understand that the world I live in is more bizarre than you can imagine."

"I think you probably don't want to get involved in similar incidents again."

I pounded my temples, I don't know why...

He had felt inexplicably tired since just now.

It felt empty, as if something was missing.

He pounded his head again, temporarily putting his confusion aside.

Maybe they were just too tired.

This time, it can be described as a truly massive disturbance.

With that thought in mind, Sakurai slung her shoulder bag over her shoulder and walked straight toward the bus.

"Fumino Furuhashi, my name is Fumino Furuhashi."

Fumino Furuhashi shook her head vigorously, making those four words deeply etched in her heart, and followed closely behind Sakurai.

Sakurai didn't turn around. Not believing that Fumino Furuhashi could drive a bus, he took out a rusty kitchen knife from his shoulder bag and stabbed himself.