The next afternoon.

Shinjuku Ward, Kagurazaka, Akagi Shrine.

In the apse of the shrine, there is a huge cherry tree planted in the courtyard.

At this moment, the cherry blossoms are in full bloom and the flowers are at their peak.

In a few days, when the late-maturing cherry blossom trees have finished blooming, the annual cherry blossom season will come to an end.

The little bird Yuma sat on the verdant grass, and from time to time petals floated down from the cherry blossom tree behind her, and gently landed in the teacup in her hand, rippling slightly.

Opposite her, kneeling sat Kengo Yamada, who was talking about the sorrows of adolescence.

Sousuke Araki, on the other hand, sat under the eaves not far away, tilting his head back and smoking a cigarette.

"Your situation, Mr. Araki probably told me yesterday, and after what you just said, I have fully understood."

Putting down the teacup, the little bird Yu Zhengong said with a solemn expression and a calm tone.

"There are two kinds of situations in which you can see the 'spirit': one is when the 'spirit' actively allows you to see, that is, the situation that ordinary people encounter after being entangled, and the other is when the 'spirit' directly observes the spirit without the 'spirit' knowing."

After Sosuke Araki's special explanation, she was wearing a full shrine maiden costume today.

Although her face is a little immature, she looks like a professional shrine maiden.

"Your case is the latter. It should be that after being stimulated by the spirit and awakening the inspiration, the existence of the spirit will be seen. Although this phenomenon is rare, it does occur occasionally...... However, most of the acquired awakening inspiration can only see vague figures and some low-intensity spirits, and Yamada-kun's spiritual talent seems to be unexpectedly excellent. ”

The inspiration of awakening is naturally divided into strong and weak, and the stronger the inspiration, the more powerful the "spirit" can naturally be observed.

Hearing her words, Kengo Yamada immediately happily said to Sosuke Araki at the door: "Look, senior, I'll just say that I'm not paranoid. ”

Sosuke Araki covered his face depressedly and kept glancing at Yumako.

Hey, didn't I ask you to enlighten him on the phone yesterday and let him understand that what he saw was an illusion, why did he pull him into the abyss of feudal superstition.

"In the case of Yamada-senpai, I don't think that a single escape will solve the problem. The Spirit is a part of this world, and it really exists around us. Only by acknowledging one's own situation and acknowledging their existence can life go on. ”

Calmly facing Sosuke Araki's gaze, Kotori Yumako said sincerely.

In her mind, Mr. Araki, who knew more about these things, should have let herself answer in order not to reveal his identity as an "illegal soul slayer" and to maintain the pure friendship with his friends.

How to solve the confusion of Yamada's predecessors is also the "practice test" he gave himself.

If we can't even solve people's troubles, how can we resolve the obsession of the "spirit" and become a Buddha?

Therefore, like a student who focuses on the problem, Kotori Yu Zhengong seriously thought about various possibilities, and finally decided to solve the problem in a "straight to the point" way.

"However, if all I saw were ghosts, how did Araki-senpai see them before......

"Araki-senpai, naturally, you can't see the spirit. Maybe what you see today happens to be just ordinary people...... It is normal to be unable to distinguish between man and spirit when you have just awakened your inspiration. ”

Mr. Araki, naturally, can see that he is just trying to protect your friendship with good intentions.

With this thought, Kotori Yu Zhengong helped to cover it up with a serious face.

"You don't have to worry too much, ordinary 'spirits' can't hurt people, at most they will only make people unlucky. But...... If you see a resentful spirit with a black resentment, you must run away immediately, it is not something that ordinary people can deal with. ”

After a pause, the little bird You Zhengong reminded seriously.

Listening to her words, Kengo Yamada remembered the half-length woman who rode on him that day, and the black qi that lingered on her body.

That is, the Wraith?

"And this coin with black gas ......"

Kengo Yamada then placed the coin on the table.

Seeing the coin, the little bird Yuzhen bowed his brows and furrowed slightly.

"It's ...... Although there is very little resentment, it is indeed an extremely rare 'resentment'. Where do you get it? ”

"The ...... I got from the vending machine change"

The Yamada seniors in front of him, one after another, encountered female ghosts, awakened inspiration, and obtained resentment, whether it was luck or misfortune.

Looking at Kengo Yamada's blank face, Yuma Bow Totori explained for him.

"There is still no clear answer to the birth of 'resentment'. It is known that it is an entity that has been condensed by the remnants of resentment after the dissipation of some powerful being, and has various dangerous and unknown abilities, and is an existence that needs to be handed over to the authorities. ”

"For example, why do you lose all the numbers up?"

Sousuke Araki outside the door smiled.

Just now I listened to the self-justifying rhetoric commonly used by the "superstitious girl who was brought up by the grandfather of the magic stick", the little bird You Zhengong, and he was naturally very disdainful.

But thinking of Yutaro Kotori's request, he could only try to "spread science" to the other party.

"There may also be untapped features. Such a small amount of resentment exists around us in large numbers, and it is difficult for people to notice. This coin may be condensed by the resentment of people who always can't guess when they throw a coin......"

"Untapped features...... Question: Has Araki-senpai ever used Lina......" Hearing this, Kengo Yamada curiously picked up the coin and tossed it into the air while asking.

The coin fell from the sky, and this time it turned out to be "headed" upwards.

"Oh, it's not the numbers that are up this time, is it because you have to ask it questions to change?" Kengo Yamada said excitedly.

"Bastard, don't ask this kind of question all of a sudden...... Every time it falls, it's different, doesn't it mean that the previous situation is just a probability, it's just an ordinary coin? “

Sousuke Araki, who was sitting at the door, turned his head in panic and cursed.

"In addition to the resentment, the 'resentment' also has a characteristic that ordinary people can recognize, that is, the material is extremely hard, and it is said that it cannot be destroyed even if it is bombarded with missiles."

I didn't feel that Sosuke Araki didn't believe in him, but he felt that the other party was testing himself, and Kotori Yumato replied as seriously as if he was answering a question.

"Is it hard to destroy?"

Sousuke Araki walked under the tree, picked up the coin and looked at it curiously.

"However, the coin is already very hard......"

Saying this, Kengo Yamada, whose mood had stabilized a little, picked up the green tea on the table and took a sip.

"Click".

"Puff ......" The green tea in Kengo Yamada's mouth sprayed all over the ground, making the crisp grass even greener.

Before he finished speaking, he saw Sosuke Araki hold up the coin with his thumb and forefinger and break it forward.

The 500 yen coin was ruthlessly split in half between his fingers.

Under the cherry blossom trees, the air is suddenly quiet.

All that remains is the sound of cherry blossoms falling in the wind.

Kengo Yamada and Yumayuki Kotori cast monster-like eyes at Sosuke Araki.