"Two Special Sweet Cream Olet Rice dishes, please."
"Coming right up."
Yukima Azuma turned with practiced ease and plated two servings of olet rice. Each dish was generously drizzled in a luscious white cream sauce. He carried them to the awaiting students, flashing a polished, picture-perfect smile.
"Enjoy your al," he said warmly.
The atmosphere in the classroom lifted noticeably with his presence.
As he moved to the next table, the two girls who had ordered burst into soft squeals.
"Oh my god, Yukima-kun is so hot!"
"That smile! Ugh, even just looking at him is worth the price of the food!"
"He's smart, gorgeous, athletic... how is he even real?!"
"I want to marry him so bad... I think I'm falling apart just watching him!"
Murmurs and giggles rippled through the room like a rising tide. In truth, the nu at Class 1-E's festival booth was laughably simple—just olet rice in various "styles." The "Special Sweet Sauce" was just cream. The "Tangy Sweet Delight" was tomato sauce. And the "Lively Love" was... tomato sauce again, just more of it.
But none of that mattered. Thanks to clever marketing and even better casting, the booth drew a line that never seed to shrink.
The secret weapon? Azuma Yukima himself.
Nearly the entire class budget had gone into costus and decor; the food was cheap, frozen, and easy to prepare. It was a marketing masterstroke.
From behind the temporary kitchen partition, Kato gumi poked her head out with a smile.
"Azuma-san is really popular, isn't he?"
She sounded amused, but also genuinely happy. The Azuma she knew always stood out—bright, magnetic, and impossibly competent. Watching him shine, even in sothing like this, was a joy in itself.
But not everyone shared her sentint.
Beneath her, Eriri also poked her head out from behind the counter, gnawing on her handkerchief like it was a lifeline. Her glare locked onto the giggling girls doting on Azuma. The jealousy practically radiated off her in waves.
By the ti the last plate was served, the entire batch of olet rice had sold out. The kitchen closed, and the class broke into cheers.
Azuma rolled his shoulder to loosen the stiffness. As he reached into his pocket, his phone buzzed softly. A notification appeared—a LINE ssage from soone he hadn't heard from in a while.
Yotsuya Miko.
The girl who could see ghosts.
Since that strange day in Shimokitazawa, she had never once asked him for help. She rely sent polite morning and evening greetings, like clockwork.
Azuma had respected her quiet strength. She endured terrifying spiritual encounters daily, yet chose not to burden others.
But today was different.
Miko: Sorry to trouble you, Yukima-senpai. I've run into sothing I can't ignore. May I ask for your help?
Azuma's fingers hovered over the screen.
Azuma: What kind of trouble?
Miko: It's... a problem with my new horoom teacher. I have to see him every day, and I'm at my limit.
Miko: Please, I'll do anything. I'll pay any price.
He paused, tapping the back of his phone lightly in thought.
Azuma: Let's et tomorrow to talk. Can it wait one day?
Miko: Yes! I can hold out for one more day!
Yotsuya Miko, the quiet girl cursed with second sight, had finally reached her breaking point.
Her life had always been shadowed by spirits. So pitiful, so twisted, and others utterly malicious. But she endured it all.
Then ca him.
Tōno Zen—the new horoom teacher who replaced their previous one on maternity leave.
Young. Soft-spoken. Elegant.
The girls adored him. Attendance skyrocketed. The school atmosphere brightened.
But to Miko, he was a walking nightmare.
Surrounding him were malevolent ghosts, hundreds of them. Most took the form of grotesque, misshapen cats. And towering above all of them was a massive humanoid spirit—a spider-like monster whose re presence exuded dread.
"Don't look! Stay away from him!" it would screech whenever anyone dared to make eye contact.
The pressure it exuded was suffocating.
Miko couldn't even lift her head during class anymore. Her grades began to slip.
But she had been willing to endure it all. Just a few months, she told herself. Tōno Zen was only a temporary teacher.
Then, everything changed.
Her best friend, Yurikawa Hana, began feeling... hungrier. She always had a large appetite, sure—but this ti, it was abnormal. She even fainted from hunger one day.
Through a stroke of insight, Miko discovered the truth: Hana possessed extraordinary life force. So powerful, it naturally repelled spirits.
But the malevolent entities around Tōno Zen were leeching it from her. Her appetite surged to compensate.
If this kept up, Hana could die.
Miko couldn't let that happen.
So, after agonizing for days, she sent her desperate ssage to Yukima Azuma.
Saturday arrived.
Azuma took the day off—everyone in his class supported him. After all, he'd practically carried them the day before.
He made the long journey to Shuka High School by bus, over half an hour from the city. That kind of dedication was... well, very him. If anything, it was a little too him.
At the school gate, he found Yotsuya Miko waiting for him.
"Yukima-senpai!" she called, bowing at a sharp 90 degrees.
He quickly helped her up. "Let's walk. You can tell the details as we look around your school festival."
Miko nodded eagerly.
The two of them walked together onto campus.
Heads turned.
Azuma drew attention like gravity. And beside him, Miko looked like she was floating.
It wasn't the stares that made her happy.
It was being by his side.
And sothing even more incredible was happening.
The malicious spirits usually crowding the school grounds—always visible to her—had vanished. Completely.
Yukima Azuma was like a walking purifying field. Spirits that had once clung to students, whispering "Can you see ?" now scattered the mont he approached.
It was as if the world had returned to normal.
For the first ti in ages, Miko felt peace.
She glanced at Azuma beside her, and her heart surged with gratitude and admiration.
Even if I have to be his dog, it's worth it, she thought.
She was so caught up in her thoughts that when Azuma said, "Yotsuya-san..."
She blurted out, "Yes! I want to be Yukima-sama's dog!"
The silence that followed could crush stars.
Azuma blinked once. Then—without missing a beat—replied:
"Everyone has their preferences. If that's what you want, I won't judge."
Miko's soul left her body.
Her face turned beet red.
At that mont, she truly wished she could die from embarrassnt.
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