I rely on the vest to become the lord of ghosts

Atsushi Nakajima looked at the strange combination in front of him, and Baihu, who still didn't understand the dangers of the outside world, weakly raised his hand...

"That... Excuse me..."

He looked at the three people in front of him, two teenagers in high school uniforms, and a boy with black hair and red eyes who was more ostentatious.

A lot of doubts popped up in Atsushi Nakajima's mind: Who are they?Is Hanako real?I am a blind cat, did I succeed in meeting a dead mouse?

"Name." Hanako didn't talk nonsense, he walked to his chair and sat down, tapping his fingers on the table: "I don't talk to nameless people."

"Naka, Atsushi Nakajima." The boy replied subconsciously.

Immediately afterwards, he immediately fell into self-doubt——

Wouldn't it be okay to just say the name directly like this?

More or less, the white-haired boy who had heard some urban ghost stories tightened his body and became tense.

"...You can just relax a little bit." Atsushi Nakajima in front of him reminded Yoshino Junpei of himself when he met Hanako for the first time.

Maybe it's the same fear...

The knotweed next to him moved closer to Junping, and asked in a low voice, "Is Hanako-kun going to do divination next?"

Junpei: "...It depends on the content of the next conversation."

However, he felt that the person in front of him probably didn't come for divination.

After all, the loud noise from his stomach just now...everyone heard it!

Nine times out of ten, I was desperate, so I tried to summon Hanako with the idea of ​​giving it a try, but I didn't expect it to succeed.

What happened next proved that Yoshino Junpei's guess was pretty close.

Obviously Hanako hadn't asked yet, but Atsushi Nakajima in front of him spoke like pouring beans——

"Well, I'm just too hungry. After hearing the rumors about Hanako, I wanted to try it. If I can summon Hanako, can you give me something to eat? I didn't expect that it was actually summoned. I'm sorry! It must be very boring for people to call!"

He spoke so fast and anxiously that Hanako didn't know how to answer.

And it was the first time he had seen someone like Atsushi Nakajima.

Nervously, the young man looked at the silent Hanako from the corner of his eye, as if he was some kind of devil who eats people without spit out bones, as long as he said something that displeased him, he would be buried in his belly.

Jiuyuan: ...It's the first time I saw an audience who gave face so much, even Yoshino Junpei didn't cooperate so much when he first met him.

Has this child ever lived in a very bad environment?

As soon as they met, they began to deny themselves constantly, knowing that they had reached a desperate situation because of hunger. Generally speaking, people would have a somewhat "fight it out" mentality at such a time, but Atsushi Nakajima obviously did not have such extreme awareness.

However, he also doesn't like to tease people, after realizing that the young man in front of him seemed a little nervous, Hanako said directly.

"In other words, you want me to help you solve your hunger problem."

Atsushi Nakajima bit the bullet and said: "...Yes."

Hanako smiled: "You don't need to be so nervous. People need food and water. It's a very normal need. I think you have no other way for the time being, so you will seek help from such illusory things as ghosts and gods and legends with a fluke mentality. Desperate pleas are often strong, or I wouldn't have heard them."

Sensing that Hanako's attitude was very soft, Yoshino Junpei looked at Atsushi Nakashima with some surprise.

Before he could think about why Hanako was so kind to Atsushi Nakajima, he heard Hanako say, "Yoshino-san."

"Ah, yes." He subconsciously walked over.

Hanako opened her hands towards him, and the boy's tender palms faced him——

"Money." He said, "I don't have any money, so I can only borrow it from you."

Yoshino Junpei: "...Huh?"

Hanako: "Take that child to have a meal. Only when he is full can he have the ability to think."

He looked at Atsushi Nakajima next to him, and asked, "What do you want to eat? You can't do it if it's too expensive."

After confirming that he heard correctly, Atsushi Nakajima said loudly, "Tea, chazuke!"

……

……

Yoshino Junpei and Kojo Yuhito took Atsushi Nakajima to a nearby restaurant, and as soon as they were seated, they hurriedly ordered a few bowls of tea and rice for Atsushi Nakajima.Hanako was unable to go with them due to limited ability, and could only transit through the toilet. When he came over, the ochazuke had already been served.

Hanako is short, so he sat on the chair with his legs still dangling in the air.

Looking at Atsushi Nakajima who was devouring, Yoshino Junpei said: "If you were hungry before... it's better to eat a little slower."

Atsushi Nakajima looked at the black-haired boy with a lisp: "Why?"

Yuzu Yujin explained: "Because the capacity of the stomach will be compressed when you are hungry, right? Sudden intake of a large amount of food will stretch the stomach."

Atsushi Nakajima let out a "hmm", but he still didn't stop grilling the rice.

Looks really hungry.

Yuzu Yuhito looked at a bowl that had been quickly emptied by Atsushi Nakajima.

(...Could it be that he has been living in an environment where food is scarce?)

Looking at his ill-fitting clothes again, Katsuobu Yuhito became more and more convinced of his guess.

"...No one will rush you and no one will take your food away, so it's okay to eat a little slower."

Atsushi Nakajima swallowed a big mouthful of food.

Gudong.

His eyes were bright and he said "... Oh!", which was regarded as a response.

Seeing that he was still eating at a high speed as always, Yoshino Junpei thought that the comfort method of knotweed might not have worked.So the black-haired boy tried to interrupt Atsushi Nakajima's rhythm. He asked, "It's...Mr. Nakajima, right? May I ask what difficulties you encountered?"

Hanako shouted in her heart: goodjob!

That's exactly what he wanted to ask too.

If Atsushi Nakajima hadn't fallen into a predicament because of being hunted down or other shady reasons, he felt that he could absorb the other party as his employee.

As for the food issue... you can take a look at the high school these few days.

"...Actually, I was kicked out of the orphanage."

Atsushi Nakajima also slowed down his eating speed because he wanted to talk. After putting the last ball of rice in this chazuke into his mouth, he said: "I thought that even if I was kicked out, I could support myself, but I couldn't find a job at all... I accidentally fell into such a miserable situation."

After finishing speaking, the boy scratched his head in embarrassment.

"Actually... I still have the idea of ​​stealing the wallets of passers-by, but before that, I want to try one last time..."

"So that's how it is." Hanako said, "In such a desperate situation, I didn't expect to really summon me."

"Yes..." Atsushi Nakajima still doesn't quite believe this is reality.

(It’s probably not Tanuki’s sorcery... For example, all I ate were leaves...)

The boy even quietly touched his stomach, which was a little protruding from the food, with his hands under the table.

Knotweed curled his fingers under his chin, tilted his head and said "um..." and then commented: "It's like a plot that only appears in comics. When you are desperate, you encounter a turning point that can change your destiny. From then on, life changes. A sea change."

Yoshino Junpei agreed: "I agree with that too."

For him, the appearance of Hanako is the first turning point in life.

The boy's life went from having normal colors to falling into the gray abyss, and being rescued by those hands again-then, he had new friends, they could talk, they had common hobbies, and everything seemed to be fine. getting better.

Although the current Yoshino Junpei can't judge whether his new life is a road to a bright future, it will not be worse than before.

"Then, do you want to work part-time in my shop?" Hanako asked him. "Until you find a suitable new job, you will be provided with food and housing."

Atsushi Nakajima asked in surprise: "Is it possible? But why is it a part-time job..."

"Could it be that you want to hang out with monsters all the time?" Hanako chuckled and said, "After all, we and human beings have different paths. We can meet for a short time, but we can't be together forever."

Knotweed asked: "Why? Will Hanako-kun leave?"

"No... Even if I don't leave, we will have a day to part." Hanako said, "It's life, Knotweed-kun."

Hanako pointed at the ceramic chopstick rest next to her and said, "We are immortal beings. In other words, as long as the legends don't disappear, we will live forever. If we have deep friendship with human beings, it will only bring us harm..."

Yuzu Yuhito listened quietly, and Hanako continued: "Once there is unnecessary emotion and bondage with human beings, human beings will eventually leave before us, and in the end, who will bear the pain?"

Yoshino Junpei muttered: "...the ones who were left behind."

Those who stay will remember the memories of the past, and torture themselves with memories over and over again.

In this way, memories become painful tortures instead of sweet longings.

Hanako overturned the chopstick rest on the table with her fingers—

"Yes."

For teenagers, parting, death, longevity theory, and the separation of yin and yang are all topics that they occasionally think about at this age, but want to avoid.

Especially the gap between human beings and non-human beings is so clearly placed between the two by Hanako.

"But..." Knotweed had a different opinion, and the young man said, "It would be a pity if I gave up the bond for this reason."

Hanako looked at him: "Huh?"

"Because it's not easy to meet someone you get along well with. Compared to worrying about the pain of parting before you start building a bond..." The pink-haired boy scratched the hair on the back of his head and expressed his thoughts: "It's better to go Cherish and enjoy the time spent with friends more...? I think, if the happiness you get is enough to make up for the regrets in the future, this is a very worthwhile encounter in life."

"...It's really an optimistic and positive idea." Hanako said, "I don't hate your optimism, but... Knotweed-kun, after all, I was the one who was left behind, how do you know the happiness I get? Is that enough to make up for the pain I'm going to have?"

Yoshino Junpei said: "...Since we finally met under the arrangement of fate, it would be a pity if we just give up, right? At least we have to try to know how much this happiness really has."

Hanako was a little surprised now.

He looked at Yoshino Junpei: "Yoshino-san's style has also changed..." The former him probably wouldn't say such a thing.

Yoshino Junpei: "Probably... because of the influence of Knotweed-kun?"

That's right, Hanako nodded.

The chemistry between the teens is hilarious, each one guided by the other into something completely different from who they were yesterday.

"However, although what you said is very reasonable." Hanako looked at Atsushi Nakajima with a smile, "mixing with monsters will not be a good thing for Nakajima-kun. What he really needs to do is to reintegrate into this society and adapt to the society." In this society, he is a human being, he was born a human being, and he will die a human being naturally, so what he has to do is to live correctly like a human being, and being with me will only derail society."

He continued: "What I can provide is just a buffer time. How to choose the rest of your life is the freedom of Atsu-kun Nakajima."

"——Then let me ask again, is Nakajima-kun willing to work part-time in my shop?"

After listening to their humane conversation just now, Atsushi Nakajima's last bit of wariness dissipated.

He nodded—

"Then please teach me more."

……

……

After getting Atsushi Nakajima as a new employee, Hanako quickly made him shine, starting with the handling work.

Jiuyuan first took out the daily supply pool, but all the furniture came out today, so he asked Atsushi Nakajima and Junpei Yoshino to help move the things into the store, and redecorated Hanako's shop. , Wujo Satoru also came to see it.

He looked at the empty shelves and asked, "Don't you sell anything?"

Hanako said casually, "It will be there in a while."

In fact, he hasn't figured out what to buy from the prestige store yet.

Those that are too buggy definitely won’t work, but those that are too ordinary won’t work either. If you want to make a name for yourself, you must have some special products.

The children behind were still busy, while Hanako walked up to Gojo Satoru and asked, "Is there anything the conjurer likes?"

"Huh? Me? Sweets or anything fun."

Hanako: "...This is only for you, right?"

Gojo Satoru thought for a while and said, "Sleeping pills?"

Hanako: "..."

Gojo Satoru said with a smile: "As far as I know, there are quite a few conjurers who don't sleep well. The influence of the curse is in all aspects. Over time, if there is no suitable way to relieve stress, it will cause psychological burden sooner or later. At this point, he put away his playful smile at the beginning, and gradually said in a serious tone: "If there is any way for the magician to maintain a healthy mental state, that would be great."

Hanako looked up at him: "Is this based on your experience?"

Gojo Satoru said vaguely: "It's sort of it." He didn't want to talk about this issue, but changed the subject and said: "If you really have a product that can target this aspect, I will advertise it for you."

"Free?"

"Of course~"

Now that Gojo Satoru had said that, he turned around and searched for it.

……

……

Although it is said that the food can be eaten in the canteen of the college, but the place to live is not.Nakajima Atsushi was sent to Jiuyuan's house by Hanako, and before leaving, he told him: "When I don't need to open here, just help look after the shop, and I can make some money."

Only then did Atsushi Nakajima discover that this shop actually sold books, and they were second-hand books.

In an orphanage with few resources, he did not have the opportunity to get in touch with so many books.

So after Hanako left, the boy casually browsed through the bookstore on the first floor. Although most of the books he picked were simple and easy-to-understand books and picture books, the boy also found it quite interesting.

Until the night approached, Hanako brought him another set of clothes and told him, "I can't sleep tonight."

Nakajima Atsushi who just took a shower: "...?"

Hanako took out the bell used to summon souls from the warehouse and handed it to Atsushi Nakajima.

"At twelve o'clock in the middle of the night, go out and stand at the crossroads, and shake this wind chime."

Atsushi Nakajima, who was originally in a relaxed mood, slowly raised a question mark.

...Seven or eight scenes from horror movies have already appeared in his mind.

Atsushi Nakajima glanced at the direction of Hanako who had already left, and then at the wind chime in his hand, thinking——

...I'm not being tricked by a monster, am I?