Fighting you is like being in jail.

Goto Ichiri: Eh?! Hachiman is an exchange student too? Where is he going?

Hikigaya: West High...

Goto Ichiri: What a coincidence, me too!

Hachiman: Hmm? What a coincidence? We go to the same school? Let's go together!

Goto Ichiri: Yay! Let's do it together!

Hiratsuka Shizuka: Hehe, it seems my decision was right! I immediately reported your names as soon as I saw them!

Hachiman: Turns out you're the real culprit!

Goto Ichiri: Huh! Why... Shizuka-sensei...

Hiratsuka Shizuka: We're so close now, let's hang out together!

Hikigaya:……

Goto Ichiri: ...

Kitahara Iori: Damn it! Why didn't I have something this wonderful when I was in high school?! I'm so envious!

Kazuma Sato: If I had Shizuka as my teacher, I wouldn't be a shut-in.

Leng Chang: You must be joking. It's all your fault, Zhen.

Madoka Kaname: I suddenly regret skipping a grade and graduating... but I think I'll just let it go. I'm fine as I am now.

……

A few days later, it was another bald morning.

Hikigaya, Goto Ichiri, and Yukino came to West High School as exchange students, accompanied by Hiratsuka Shizuka.

When Hikigaya brought Yukino to meet Goto Ichiri, Goto Ichiri began to convulse and tremble, especially when she saw Yukino, she collapsed to the ground.

"Ah! So dazzling! This is a positive angle! It's definitely a positive angle!"

"..."

Hikigaya's lips twitched as he looked at Goto Ichiri, whose face had completely collapsed and whose features were no longer visible. Yukino, on the other hand, tilted her head in confusion as she looked at the ailing Goto Ichiri.

"What's going on here?"

"No, it's normal."

Hikigaya gave a powerless complaint and a sorrowful sigh.

From the ground, Goto Ichiri said directly to Hachiman's convulsing body, "Hachiman, we agreed to be shady characters together. Why do you have such a righteous friend? Liar, traitor!"

"Huh? You two know each other?"

Yukino's eyes flashed with a sharp light as she looked sharply at Hikigaya, her eyes filled with vigilance.

Hachiman pouted, speechless, and said subtly, "We know each other, we're colleagues..."

"colleague?!"

Yukino was startled and stared in shock at Goto Ichiri on the ground.

The only people Hachiman can call colleagues are...

"hiss!"

Yukino gasped as she realized what was happening, and looked at Goto Ichiri with a hint of fear in her eyes.

He looks like just a timid student... how could he be a hot-blooded person?

Has thermal anomaly become so pervasive?!

She blinked in shock, then silently hid behind Hachiman Hikigaya, too afraid to show her face.

"Alright, alright, get up and get ready for class!"

At that moment, Hiratsuka Shizuka walked up with a cigarette in her mouth. Seeing Goto Ichiri lying on the ground, she felt a headache coming on. When this illness flared up, it was a bit uncontrollable.

"Hachiman, you traitor..."

Goto Ichiri, as if burned out, lay motionless on the ground in an unstoppable posture.

Finally, with no other option, Hiratsuka Shizuka and Yukino carried Goto Ichiri toward the classroom, leaving Hachiman speechless.

……

In the classroom.

Shinichi had barely sat down when he saw the teacher lead a few people inside.

"Today is the day the exchange students join, and these are the new exchange students."

“Goto Ichiri, Hikigaya Hachiman, and Yukino Yukinoshita.”

The teacher gave a brief introduction of the group, and everyone's attention fell on the three of them. However, they didn't realize that the pink-clad one's facial features had become somewhat distorted.

"Gurgle! Guh! Gugurgle!"

With so many people watching, Goto Ichiri was making incomprehensible noises, as if she were being roasted alive.

After the last few people took their seats, Shinichi looked around curiously, sensing that something was amiss.

"Shinichi, be careful. Something's off about them."

Mickey's voice suddenly rang out, startling Shinichi.

He quickly asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"

“Everyone has a unique magnetic field, and I can sense the difference between my kind and others through this magnetic field. But I can’t sense any magnetic field from that black-haired man and the pink-haired woman… it’s as if they don’t exist.”

"What!? Are they ghouls!?"

Shinichi suddenly remembered ghouls, his fists clenched tightly in fear that something bad might happen.

But Mickey denied it, "No, if it were a ghoul, I would definitely recognize it. It's definitely not a ghoul, and it's definitely not human!"

"..."

A chill ran through the room, as if one had suddenly discovered that everyone around them was a monster—a truly terrifying thought.

Then Mickey couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "I thought there were only humans in this world, I never imagined there were other species besides humans..."

"Stop talking..."

Shinichi was afraid to continue listening, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

The events of the past few days have utterly humiliated his mature worldview, turning it into a reality parasite, a ghoul, and now something unknown.

He felt like he couldn't breathe.

Shinichi is currently under pressure that is beyond his years, wave after wave, giving him no time to breathe.

"Shinichi... are you alright? I can feel your heart beating fast."

"It's nothing, I'm just a little scared."

"Stay calm. They haven't spotted us yet, so we're safe for now."

"Um……"

Chapter 227 Is there anything in the world more desperate than this moment?

For Shinichi, this day's lessons were no longer just torture, but hell.

The thought of Hikigaya and Goto Ichiri, whose identities were unknown, not far away made his hair stand on end. What was worse was that he dared not do anything. If he were to attract even the slightest attention, it would be a real disaster.

At that moment, Shinichi couldn't help but empathize with the rats hiding in the sewers, who would peek out and disappear in an instant.

But it doesn't matter!

As long as you don't stand out, nothing is a problem.

So when school was over, Shinichi felt that his hellish days were finally over, and he quickly grabbed his bucket and ran away.

Even as I approached the gate, a certain phrase involuntarily popped into my mind.

Once we get to that place... once we get to that place!

When his feet touched the floor of the teachers' corridor, a feeling of boundless freedom filled his heart, and he walked towards the door without any hindrance.

The air even felt fresher.

Walking home, Shinichi was overjoyed and couldn't resist buying some snacks he usually wouldn't buy.

"They survived..."

He sighed with emotion, ate the snack in his hand, and felt how precious life is.

"Shinichi, I suggest you take a leave of absence."

Mickey's voice rang out.

"I'd like to... but... I'm afraid it's not possible."

"It's not a big problem, I can control your body temperature."

"Won't something go wrong? I hope they don't come to visit later... that would be terrible."

Shinichi felt a headache coming on just thinking about it. If the teacher suddenly had a brain fart and suggested a "showcase of the school's care and concern," he would be roasted like a duck on a hot plate.

"Let's play it safe then."

Mickey thought about it and realized he didn't know much about the school, so he had to give up.

……

At night, when Shinichi lay in bed preparing to sleep.

Mickey, who had transformed into tentacles and was studying in front of the computer, suddenly sensed something was wrong and immediately shouted at Shinichi.

"Shinichi, there's someone like you!"

"What!?"

Shinichi suddenly sat up in bed, his face hardening as he looked at Mickey.

They immediately realized that the situation was not good; if someone of their kind was approaching, wouldn't that mean their home was in danger?

He scrambled to his feet and quickly asked, "Where is it!?"

"Approaching, very fast! Fifty meters! Thirty meters! The location is the entrance!"

Mickey was also paying close attention and sensed something was wrong; it felt like someone was deliberately getting close.

He pulled his right hand back into Shinichi's, saying nervously and warily:

"They're coming here on purpose. I can sense them, and they can sense me too! Since they've already sensed me... and they're still getting closer, they must be up to no good! Prepare for battle!"

"Wh-what!?"

Shinichi looked panicked, never expecting that he would have to fight.

A moment later, Shinichi stood motionless in the entryway, holding a kitchen knife, his heart pounding with anxiety.

His face was full of fear and unease.

"arrive!"

Mickey suddenly reminded him, realizing that the other person was already standing at the front door.

No one opened the door, and strangely, the other person didn't move after appearing at the door.

"No movement? What's going on?"

Mickey said strangely, then cautiously approached the door and carefully observed the situation outside through the crack.

Shinichi, also curious, peeked out through the peephole.

At the entrance to the courtyard, stood a trembling man whose head had transformed into tentacles with blades, but his heart had been pierced through by a hand.

Blood splattered on the ground, and his body had completely lost its strength.

Immediately afterwards, a powerful hand reached out from the darkness and grabbed the tentacle!

boom!

The powerful hand crushed the tentacles, and the bloody hand instantly scattered all over the ground.