I Refuse, Don’t Come Near Me

Upon entering Shouko's room, Haruto noticed some unusual fluctuations.

They were very faint and would be completely undetectable unless someone was very close.

Haruto frowned, "This is troublesome."

The current situation was the worst-case scenario. It was related to an oddity, and he hadn't even realized it.

After a moment of silence, was this a backlash from the oddity?

And why did the oddity choose Shouko?

How did the oddity select its target and act so discreetly that it remained unnoticed?

Haruto paused and observed the small bedroom, but unfortunately, he didn't find anything.

"Has Shouko already been pushed towards the oddity?"

He didn't hesitate any longer, turned around, and left, walking out of the Nishinomiya house. Haruto walked to a secluded street, the sky rippled, and his figure vanished.

Oddity.

There was no sun visible here, only a blood-red moon hanging high in the sky.

There was a ripple in the void, and Haruto's figure appeared out of nowhere.

Last night, he had sensed something, reaching out to the oddity, but had realized nothing.

Looking back now, he had actually found a clue.

Soon, Haruto spotted someone. However, it was a middle-aged man, not Nishimiya Shouko.

A middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes, holding a briefcase in his hand, staggered forward with a look of anxiety and fear.

The city here was still in ruins, but after the last battle, the original ruins had become even more dilapidated, and only the buried remnants of walls could be seen.

Looking around, there were no tall buildings in sight.

Hearing footsteps, the middle-aged man turned and looked frightened. When he saw that it was a young man, he felt relieved.

"Did you hear the voice too?"

"Voice?"

"Yes, it's a voice that echoes in your ears at night and gives people nightmares."

The middle-aged man recalled with a fearful expression.

"Like the whisper of a demon, seeping through the cracks of a human soul!"

The middle-aged man swallowed hard, "I remember it clearly. Every time I hear that voice, I have nightmares."

"Then, you end up coming to this place out of nowhere."

"It's terrifying!"

The middle-aged man turned with hope in his eyes, "Um... do you know where this is?"

Haruto didn't disappoint him and nodded, "I do."

"That's great."

The middle-aged man was overjoyed, "I knew you looked so clean, not like me at all."

Indeed, this middle-aged man was very disheveled.

His body was covered in mud, and even though he had patted it off with his hands, his briefcase was still stained with mud.

"Please, take me out of here. I still have work to do. If I don't finish it tonight, my job will be over."

He was still thinking about work at this moment, truly dedicated!

But the pressure on Japanese corporate workers was indeed very high.

Unless you're extremely skilled, there's basically no such thing as job-hopping. Once you graduate from college and join a company, it's almost a lifetime commitment.

If you lose your job in middle age, such pressure is more terrifying than death.

After sending the middle-aged man away, Haruto moved forward.

It seemed like nightmares, and there were more than one person.

Haruto had heard from Yukino and the others a few days ago that Shouko had fallen ill due to nightmares.

It turned out the clues had already begun to show?

Soon, Haruto encountered a few more people.

In fact, it couldn't be said that he found them, but rather that they came here intentionally.

These people, like the middle-aged man, had inexplicably arrived at the oddity.

And they too had heard voices that sounded like the whispers of a demon.

"Kuromori-kun?"

After sending someone else away, Haruto moved to the other side. Not long after, a voice full of surprise suddenly sounded. He turned to see Ichika, paused for a moment, and said with a subtle expression, "Good morning, Ichika."

In the oddity condition, because of the enormous barrier, no one could escape detection when he actively checked.

However, under normal circumstances, the oddity's barrier only functioned as a warning system for oddities and current events.

With such a vast oddity, it was naturally impossible for him to search aimlessly. Therefore, he had found Ichika and Shouko.

What Haruto didn't expect was that Ichika was only wearing a bath towel!

No wonder she was hiding and couldn't come out.

"This is not good. Not good at all."

Ichika pressed down on the bath towel with one hand and walked quickly, looking distressed, "When I woke up, I wasn't in a soft bed, or under a warm blanket, and I was in this terrible place."

Imagine how scared and desperate she must have been at that time.

Because she was only wearing a bath towel, even though she saw other people, she didn't dare approach them at all and could only choose to hide.

Because no one knew what would happen if the string of sanity snapped in this strange and frightening place.

Now, seeing Haruto, Ichika finally sighed in relief.

When she was scared and anxious, meeting a familiar and reassuring face was a feeling that was hard to describe.

Haruto comforted her, "Don't worry, it's okay."

"No, it's too cold."

Ichika shivered, and in the next moment, she threw herself into Haruto's arms and hugged his waist without hesitation.

Ichika's muffled voice sounded, "Kuromori-kun's embrace is so warm, I'm safe…"

Haruto initially wanted to push Ichika away. After all, Ichika was only wrapped in a bath towel now. He wasn't made of stone, so it was naturally impossible for him to remain indifferent while holding her.

Was he made of wood?

But when he reached for Ichika's shoulders, Haruto felt Ichika's body trembling.

Not out of nervousness, but out of fear.

Haruto remained silent. Few normal people wouldn't be scared facing something strange like this. This even applied to chuunibyou patients.

After all, people with chuunibyou are only immersed in their own world, but it doesn't mean they can't distinguish reality.

Ichika lifted her head, her eyes sparkling, and she squinted with a smile, "Kuromori-kun is also a man, right? How is it? I have a good figure, don't I? If Kuromori-kun can't hold it in anymore…"

Ichika's voice was enchanting, "When I get back, I can give those stockings to Kuromori-kun."

'Who cares about your stockings? Although, according to statistics from a certain website, many young men do want to receive stockings as a gift from women, a serious person would definitely refuse! As expected, being gentle with you was my biggest mistake!'

Haruto's face darkened slightly, feeling like Ichika was a cat and he was the cat's toy.

"Get up."

"Sorry, Kuromori-kun smells so good, and it's so cold."

"Stop pretending to be pitiful, get up quickly."

"Kuromori-kun is bullying me."

Ichika pouted and continued to cling to him, but she quickly realized something. A blush appeared at the base of her ears and then quickly spread across her cheeks.

She withdrew from Haruto's embrace and looked at him with a flushed face, "Kuromori-kun, you pervert."

Haruto kept a serious face, "I'll let you help me finish this!"

Ichika immediately surrendered, "Sorry, I was wrong."

Although teasing Haruto was fun, it wasn't good if the fire ended up burning herself.

And there was no one else here. If Haruto turned beastly, Ichika wouldn't be able to resist at all.

This was a wild place. The first time should be on a soft sofa.

But in the next second, Ichika shivered. She crossed her arms over her chest, her face turning pale, and shuddered, "It's so cold."

She couldn't hold on any longer!

Ichika looked at Haruto, who firmly extended his hand, "I refuse, don't come near me."

Ichika: "😮"

The other party actually rejected her.