Mana Suhara walks through the streets shrouded in night.

It was almost ten o'clock in the night, and there was not even moonlight, only a drop of starlight and street lamps on the street.

The road home was a little dim.

If it was in the past, maybe Manami would still feel scared and panicked.

But for some reason, the tree carving pendant hanging on his chest was close to his skin, and a faint warmth seeped through, which healed the fear in Manami Mizuhara's heart.

“…… Why does it feel so warm? ”

Such a question arose in the girl's heart.

"Could it be that it's really what the owner says...... Possessing occult potency that cannot be explained by reality? ”

Mizuhara Manami thought wildly, but soon Ye Gong was like a dragon and denied his conjecture.

“…… Hey, hey, how is this possible. ”

Manami herself couldn't help but laugh.

But at the same time, a more realistic conjecture suddenly appeared in my mind -

"According to the psychological principle of 'projection', a person can project his emotions towards a certain person onto a related object...... I would feel the pendant warm - is it because I ...... to the store manager"

Manami felt her breathing tighten all of a sudden.

Although there was no one around, his cheeks were still hot.

"Ah......h

As a young girl, Manami is not like a water.

She will also find handsome boys very eye-catching, yearn for beautiful and beautiful things, and fantasize about the male appearance of the occult or supernatural legends.

But...... At least until today, Manami Mizuhara has never had an emotion close to the level of "favorability" for male humans.

However...... Could it be ...... Do you finally have someone you like?

The warmth that was constantly transmitted from his chest surrounded his heart, and Manami's heart began to thump, and the mysterious but handsome face of the store manager came to mind, and his palms began to be soaked with sweat involuntarily......

"It's not like that!"

Manami almost jumped. But as soon as the words came out, he immediately realized his gaffe.

She hurriedly covered her mouth, trying to continue walking briskly off the street and back home—but just then, a few playful voices came to her ears.

——

His heart was suddenly clenched, and Manami looked around and discovered the source of the voices.

Using the dim street lamp as a light source, looking out at the side of the road, under the fence of garbage cans, several young girls are smoking cigarettes.

"That's ......"

Manami covered her mouth and felt her breathing suddenly tighten.

She noticed that several girls over there were wearing the same uniforms that belonged to the Jingtai School Park as herself.

- School bullying.

These words instantly poured into her mind, making Manami understand the current situation.

But because of this, Manami, who has lived in an almost greenhouse environment since he was a child and has not experienced too many twists and turns, began to sweat on his back.

From elementary school to now, although he has also been alienated by some people because of his hobbies and personality, he is only ridiculed and ridiculed at most.

School violence that is intuitively displayed like this is an area insulated from Manami.

"What's going on......"

Manami swallowed.

She remembered some rumors about Jingtai School Park.。

INTERVIEWER It is said that in Shizudai Gakuen, like many other high schools in Japan, there are some bad groups that take pleasure in inflicting violence and bullying classmates.

But until today's encounter, Manami never took this rumor to heart. As long as you don't see it, you will think it doesn't exist, and humans are very good at using excuses to cover up their animals, and she is the same.

But now......

"Do you want to escape?"

Manami trembled, and an urge surged in her heart to leave.

This is something that has nothing to do with you, so you don't need to be involved, just take an attitude of not knowing at all, and you can live a peaceful life as before......

That's what I think.

If it was her in the past, she might have cowardly turned away.

No matter how much you yearn for the bizarre world constructed by the occult and the supernatural, the foothold of reality is also cruel.

However, the warmth that comes from the chest transforms the courage that supports the heart.

Inexplicably, Manami held her phone and came behind the group of girls.

- "That ......"

The mantra of habit, Manami shivered and shouted to the bad girls:

“…… What are you doing? ”

The laughter of the bad girls suddenly stopped, and they collectively turned their heads and looked at Manami with angry expressions.

The delinquent girl at the head has blonde hair, wears high boots, and looks like her wheat-colored skin has been deliberately tanned.

Although she also wore the uniform of Shizunai Academy, she cut the uniform into a miniskirt style.

The blonde hair swept Manami Mizuhara with sharp eyes, and when she saw the uniform on her body, she raised her chin:

"This guy of yours is also from Jingtai Academy? Want to be a hero? ”

"Hey, what grade are you?"

"Looking for trouble with us?"

"you, send you to the bath!"

The bad girls clamored and laughed again. The blonde and his men began to approach Manami with bad intentions.

"It's so funny, this disgusting birthmark woman is tired of playing, and someone actually took the initiative to send it to the door to have fun."

"If you want to save that birthmark girl, just put them in the trash together, haha!"

Facing the laughter of the bad girl, the tremor on Manami Mizuhara became more and more intense.

But perhaps it was the warmth from the pendant on her chest that kept her calm. The girl held up her phone and showed the bad girls the call interface of the phone screen:

"Hey—I've called the police!

Manami's voice stopped the bad girls.

The girls looked at each other, and the blonde hair at the head frowned tightly.

She squinted at the call interface on Manami's phone, which undoubtedly showed the call interface of the police station's phone.

"That's a bad luck, tsk!"

She spat on the ground and beckoned to the little girls around her.

"Forget it, I have a nervous disorder today, let's go back first."

As he spoke, before turning away with the other bad girls, he glared at Manami with a cruel smile:

“…… Hey, I remember you - since you're in the same school as me, I'll find you soon. ”

Manami didn't say a word, and glared back at her firmly.

The blonde girl spat again, with a twisted smile on her face, and left with the bad girls around her.

Watching them leave quickly, their figures disappearing at the end of the street, Mana Minoru finally let go of his breath, with fear in his heart.

“…… Good thing the blonde girl didn't come and snatch my phone - if she found out that my call interface was just a screenshot and I don't know what to do......"

She trotted to the trash can, and the target of the bad girls' bullying was still leaning against the wall, lying down.

"Hey, you...... How are you? ”

Manami crouched down and looked at the girl with long black hair, like an enlarged version of a Japanese doll.

In his tone, it was difficult to hide his surprise.

Just squatting down and seeing the girl's face, Manami understood why those bad girls just now would say "birthmark girl" and "ugly girl".

Because—on both cheeks of the girl, there were large reddish-brown birthmarks, which could not be concealed even by long black hair.

If the birthmarks on both sides are removed, with her beautiful eyebrows, eyes and facial features, she may become a rare beauty. But the existence of the birthmark cuts off all possibilities of beauty at once, leaving behind a disgusting and alienating monster.

The girl who looked like a monster looked at Manami Mizuhara, who was staring at her intently, and did not show any uneasiness for the surprise in her eyes.

She was like an ice floe on the water, smiling quietly at Manami.

"You...... Saved me? ”

Although it is an interrogative sentence, it is in an affirmative tone.

"Well, that ......"

Manami looked down, noticing that the girl's exposed body parts, whether it was her neck, arms, or calves, were marked with large areas of redness and swelling.

And just under the red and swollen marks, there are still scars.

Some of the scars were new, some were old, and these scars were all over the girl's body, turning into scars, and there were bleeding wounds.

"These ...... hurts"

Manami could not hide her vacillation.

However, it was obviously a wounded person, but the girl did not show a miserable expression of empathy like her.

She smiled quietly as if the redness and scars were not there.

"Thank you."

Then, look up at the sky.

“…… Tonight, there's no moon. ”

Why do you care about the moon in the sky at such a time?

Manami couldn't understand.

The girl's eyes are like something out of this world.

The only thing she could understand was that the girl was injured and she needed treatment.

"Call an ambulance? But I don't have any money...... Or call the police, but it may take a long time for the police to deal with it......"

Manami thought.

But at this moment, the face of a young man appeared in the chaotic brain-

She let out a long breath.

"Hey, can you still stand up?" She helped the girl and stood up against the wall. The girl tilted her head and looked at her suspiciously.

"I know a place that might help us. Shall we go and ask for help now? ”

Minoru Mana took the girl's arm and walked forward step by step, asking the girl's opinion.

"Help......"

Neither affirmation nor denial, the smile on the girl's face had an incredible feeling.

"What's your name?"

"Me? My name is Manami Mizuhara......"

"Thank you, Manami. Mio Ito. ”

“…… Huh? ”

"—that's my name."

"Ah...... Oh, well. That one...... Okay, Mio. ”