Chapter 187: I'm Sorry, Miss

"...I'm sorry, miss, I can't hold back anymore." 

Hayasaka removed her maid outfit, untied her side ponytail, and braided a small section of hair at her temple. She unwrapped a lollipop, placed it in her mouth, and bit down on it.

Two days had passed, and the number of evil spirits in the villa had grown once again.

A headless ghost roamed the hallway.

An evil spirit with long hair was washing its hair in the bathroom sink.

And on the roof, a twisted monster crawled like a gecko...

To Hayasaka, these evil spirits were nothing more than trash and pests.

As a maid, it was her duty to clean up trash and pests whenever she encountered them!

Quickly, she changed into a new outfit.

A white sailor blouse, a blue pleated skirt, over-the-knee socks, and black leather shoes.

The cute schoolgirl, Hanamori, was back online.

"Amamiya-kun, excuse me, but could I borrow a few minutes of your time?"

"…"

Amamiya was deeply absorbed in a game, specifically the new release game 'Black Myth'. He had heard someone managed to beat the game in under 60 minutes—a truly terrifying feat.

Hearing his phone's notification sound, Amamiya glanced over at it.

Hanamori: "Amamiya-kun, evil spirits have appeared in my apartment again. School starts tomorrow, and I have so much to do. If I don't get a good night's sleep, I'll feel awful... If you have time, could you give me one of those evil spirit repellent stickers?"

Not bad.

As long as you don't start with the "are you there" nonsense and instead get straight to the point, we're good friends.

Amamiya replied, "Where are you?"

Hayasaka: "In front of the café tonight. My shift is about to end."

Amamiya: "Got it, I'll come to you."

"…"

After putting his phone away, Amamiya dressed and headed out.

It was past nine in the evening, and the residential streets were quiet.

Amamiya glanced up at the night sky. A silver moon hung high, and the cold moonlight spilled over the ground like molten mercury, casting a faint silver glow over everything.

Without Umi's usual chatter, the evening felt eerily quiet—almost lonely.

Pulling his gaze back down, Amamiya slipped his hands into his pockets and walked toward the café.

No words were uttered along the way.

Ten minutes later.

Amamiya soon spotted the adorable schoolgirl eagerly waiting by the café door.

"Amamiya-kun~" Hayasaka waved with a bright smile, her eyes gleaming as she ran over, backpack in tow. "Good evening."

"Good evening," Amamiya greeted with a nod.

"I'm sorry for messaging you so late and asking you to come out," Hayasaka said as she tucked her hair behind her ear. "I just finished my part-time job."

That was a lie.

In truth, she hadn't been working at all.

She had simply pretended to be a part-timer, using it as a cover to get close to certain people.

"Nah, it's not that late. It's not even bedtime yet," Amamiya replied, unfazed.

"Where's Umi-chan?" Hayasaka blinked in curiosity. "I don't see her anywhere."

"She went home," Amamiya answered casually.

"What a shame," Hayasaka said with a playful sigh. "I even bought some cream puffs for Umi-chan."

Another lie.

The cream puffs were nothing more than a casual snack. Her real intention was to steer the conversation toward her next goal.

"I saw Umi-chan's news earlier," Hayasaka continued, her face lighting up with curiosity. "That 'Role Play' skill sounds really amazing. Is the lucky coin that she used really that effective?"

That's right.

I, Hayasaka, want to toss that coin too!

Against evil spirits and monsters, grappling and fighting techniques were of little use—skills were what mattered most.

Unfortunately, she hadn't been lucky.

Whether it was today's blind box or the compensation gift from the collapsed copy, all she got were useless items. No skills at all.

"It does improve your luck, but it's not guaranteed to unlock a skill every time," Amamiya said, clearly understanding her intentions. He pulled the Coin of Destiny from his backpack. "Would you like to give it a try?"

Given that there were items that increased the chances of pulling good things from blind boxes, it was only natural to want to try. There was no shame in that.

Besides, the coin wasn't a consumable. It didn't lose its power after use, and if someone else tossed it, it would just help recharge it.

Hayasaka blinked, eyes gleaming with curiosity. "Can I try it?"

"Here." Amamiya handed her the coin. "Heads means good luck, tails means bad luck. You know that, right?"

Hayasaka nodded. "I do. Umi-chan once said that if you're cursed with bad luck, something unlucky will probably happen within the next half hour."

Just bad luck. It's not life-threatening. As long as I get something good from the blind box, it doesn't matter if I'm unlucky.

"Alright..."

Taking a soft breath, Hayasaka tossed the coin into the air.

With a swift motion, she clapped her hands together to catch it.

Amamiya didn't even need to check to know the result.

The coin's true purpose was to absorb the luck of others and store it, only returning good luck once it was fully charged. By noon, Umi had used up all the accumulated luck, so now, no matter who flipped it, there would be just one outcome.

"Darn it, it's tails."

Hayasaka muttered under her breath, puffing up her cheeks in frustration.

It's just bad luck. I'm already prepared for it. Let's just get it over with.

"Amamiya-kun, the coin landed on tails." Hayasaka returned the coin, nervously grabbing onto Amamiya's sleeve. Her eyes showed a hint of fear. "Does this mean we're going to be in danger?"

"Relax, bad luck doesn't mean you're about to die," Amamiya said, trying to reassure her.

Hayasaka: "…"

Is that supposed to be comforting? It sounds more like you're trying to scare me!

Amamiya continued:

"Bad luck can show up in lots of ways—like stepping on a banana peel, choking on food, or maybe something falling from the sky and hitting you on the head."

"Falling objects?" Hayasaka raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "That could actually be life-threatening!"

She scanned her surroundings nervously. "Thankfully, this is a commercial street. The tallest building is only two stories high, so there's no risk of anything serious falling."

"You're relaxing too soon." Amamiya's voice took on a teasing tone as he added, "The falling objects could also be... a bird's final biological product."

Hayasaka: "…"

Are you seriously talking about bird droppings?

Getting hit by bird poop is horrible no matter how you look at it!

"We should find somewhere to hide quickly." Hayasaka's face turned serious as she spotted a fast food restaurant nearby. "How about we head to the fast food place over there?"

"Probably not the best idea." Amamiya shook his head, sharing his hard-earned wisdom. "The more crowded the place, the higher the chances of something bad happening. From experience, open and empty places tend to be safer."

Hayasaka quickly suggested, "Then let's go sit in the park up ahead and wait for the bad luck to pass..."

Her words trailed off suddenly.

When Amamiya turned to her, he saw her clenching her fists, biting her lower lip, clearly annoyed.

"What happened?"

"I..." Hayasaka took a deep breath, her usual smile vanishing. "I stepped on something."

"What did you step on?"

Amamiya looked down curiously, but didn't see any banana peels. "Don't tell me…"

"It's chewing gum!" Hayasaka blurted out, clearly frustrated.

With every step, her foot felt sticky. It was definitely chewing gum.

Whoever spit this out is so gross and inconsiderate!