All the Heroines are my Ex-girlfriends

Chapter 96: Yotsuya Miko: I Am Azuma-sama's Dog!

"Two special sweet cream sauce omelet rice dishes, please."

"Sure, just a moment."

Not long after, Yukima Azuma brought two plates of omelet rice drizzled with white sauce to the students who had ordered.

"Enjoy." Yukima Azuma flashed a commercial-grade smile as he spoke.

The atmosphere in the classroom became noticeably lighter.

When Yukima Azuma moved to the next table, the two female students who had ordered omelet rice couldn't help but squeal softly.

"Oh my god! Yukima-kun is so handsome!"

"That smile! Aaaah! Just looking at his smile is worth the price of the omelet rice!"

"He's so good-looking! Plus, he's smart! And incredibly athletic! How can such a perfect person even exist?"

"I want to marry him! What should I do? I can't control my thirsty for Yukima-kun anymore!"

The quiet murmurs of the female students buzzed through the classroom.

Yukima Azuma held the menu in his hand, making his way around the tables.

The menu, in reality, only featured omelet rice.

There were various "styles," of course, but in truth...

The "Special Sweet Sauce" was just omelet rice with white cream sauce.

The "Tangy Sweet Delight" was omelet rice with tomato sauce.

The "Lively Love" was Simply extra tomato sauce.

Yet despite this simplicity, the line outside the classroom seemed never-ending.

It's worth noting that the marketing strategy of Class 1E was undeniably brilliant.

Most of the budget for this school festival had been invested in costumes, with only a small portion spent on pre-made frozen omelet rice.

A true marketing victory.

"Azuma-san is really popular, isn't he?"

From the partitioned kitchen, Kato Megumi poked her head out with a smile.

The Yukima Azuma she had gotten to know always shone brightly.

Seeing him like this made Kato Megumi genuinely happy.

However, another girl didn't share the same sentiment.

Directly below Kato Megumi, Eriri also poked her head out.

Watching the crowd of female students glued to Yukima Azuma, she was nearly biting through her handkerchief.

After serving one last plate of omelet rice, the kitchen finally declared its operations closed.

All the omelet rice prepared beforehand had astonishingly sold out.

Everyone in Class 1E looked at Yukima Azuma with eyes full of amazement and admiration.

Yukima Azuma rotated his slightly stiff arm as his phone vibrated softly in his trouser pocket.

He took it out and glanced at the screen.

It was a LINE message, and the sender surprised him slightly.

It was Yotsuya Miko, the girl who could see spirits and ghosts.

Since their encounter in Shimokitazawa that day, quite some time had passed.

But she had never once asked Yukima Azuma for help.

Instead, every morning and evening, she would send greetings, It's no different than worshiping on time.

Yukima Azuma genuinely respected this girl.

Despite seeing spirits every day, she managed to endure and handle things on her own without troubling others.

Truly, a resilient soul.

But this time, it seemed she was genuinely in trouble.

Miko: "Sorry for bothering you, Yukima-senpai, but I've encountered a 'problem' I can't avoid. Could I ask for your help?"

Her tone was as sincere as always.

Azuma: "Tell me clearly first."

Miko: "Yes, the thing is... there's a problem with the new teacher in my class. It's... rather difficult to deal with."

Miko: "Since I have to interact daily, I've reached my limit."

Miko: "So, I'd like to ask for your help. I'm willing to pay any price I can offer!"

Yukima Azuma read Miko's summary.

His fingers tapped lightly on the back of his phone.

Azuma: "Let's meet tomorrow to discuss it. Is it urgent?"

Miko: "I can endure for one more day!"

Yotsuya Miko.

The girl who could see spirits and ghosts.

Since meeting Yukima Azuma in Shimokitazawa, her life had entered a new phase.

Even though she faced a world full of ghosts every day, she found a bit of solace amid the confusion and fear.

Just knowing that there was someone she could rely on in this world gave her an anchor to hold onto.

But Miko understood well.

She and Yukima Azuma weren't particularly close; theirs was merely a chance encounter.

If she asked for help too many times, it would undoubtedly annoy him.

So, despite constantly confronting the overwhelming presence of evil spirits in her life, Yotsuya Miko had never once asked for Yukima Azuma's assistance.

All she did was send him daily greetings—once in the morning and once before bed.

But recently, Yotsuya Miko had run into a problem she couldn't ignore.

Her previous homeroom teacher had gone on maternity leave and could no longer continue teaching. Naturally, the class needed a new homeroom teacher.

That new teacher was Tōno Zen—a young man with a delicate, gentle demeanor.

The female students in Miko's class were practically smitten with Tōno Zen. Attendance rates noticeably improved as a result.

But for Yotsuya Miko, merely facing this new teacher was a torment.

Why?

Because Tōno Zen was wrapped in a pitch-black, hellish aura—a horrifying tangle of vengeful spirits.

The number of malevolent entities surrounding him was staggering.

It was a living portrait of hell itself.

Even a glance was enough to send shivers down her spine.

Since gaining the ability to see spirits, this was the first time Yotsuya Miko had seen someone enveloped by so many terrifying entities.

In both number and sheer intensity, these spirits far surpassed any other haunting presence she had ever encountered.

Most of them appeared as warped, shadowy cats.

Beyond the massive swarm of ghostly cats, Tōno Zen was also overshadowed by a colossal humanoid spirit.

This being resembled a spider and was so large that it could fill an entire room.

Its horrifying aura far exceeded that of the malicious spirit Miko and her best friend had once encountered in a narrow alley.

Every day, this spirit loomed over Tōno Zen, shielding him.

If anyone dared to look at Tōno Zen, the spirit would immediately roar:

"Don't look! Stay away from him!"

Its ferocious screams were powerful enough to obliterate weaker spirits nearby.

Since Tōno Zen's arrival, each school day had become pure agony for Yotsuya Miko.

She could only try to keep her head lowered, her gaze fixed firmly on the textbooks in front of her.

She didn't even dare to look up.

This had even started to affect her academic performance.

If that was all, Miko might have gritted her teeth and endured it.

After all, Tōno Zen was only a substitute teacher.

Once the previous teacher returned from maternity leave, he would leave.

A few months—perhaps she could get through it.

But what Miko couldn't bear was discovering a terrifying truth.

Her best friend, Yurikawa Hana, had started feeling hungrier and hungrier ever since the new teacher arrived.

Miko had long noticed that Hana tended to eat much more than an average person.

At first, she thought her friend simply had a big appetite.

But recently, through a chance encounter...

Yotsuya Miko discovered an important fact.

Yurikawa Hana, her best friend, was an extraordinary girl with a vast amount of life force.

Every day, a large amount of life energy radiated from Hana, creating a protective effect against all evil forces.

This was why Yurikawa Hana always had an enormous appetite.

However, recently, the reason Hana had been getting hungrier than usual was because of Tōno Zen.

The malevolent spirits surrounding Tōno Zen, along with the massive, terrifying presence of the spider-like humanoid vengeful spirit, drained Hana's life force whenever it came near her.

This week, Hana had even fainted from hunger once.

This was not something that could be solved by simply ignoring it.

In desperation, Yotsuya Miko had sent a distress message to Yukima Azuma.

When sending the message, Miko also prayed fervently, hoping that Yukima Azuma wouldn't refuse.

If he did, she truly wouldn't know who else to rely on.

Fortunately, while Yukima Azuma didn't immediately agree, he still accepted her request to meet and discuss the matter.

Yotsuya Miko sighed in relief.

She glanced at her friend Yurikawa Hana, who was completely unaware of what was happening, and silently made up her mind.

Whatever Yukima Azuma might ask, she would agree to it as long as she could.

She couldn't let her friend fall into danger.

Yurikawa Hana, with a suspicious expression, looked at Miko, whose hands were clenched in the air.

She felt that her friend had been acting strangely lately.

Ever since their encounter in Shimokitazawa, Miko's sudden shift into a "masochistic" behavior had shocked her.

Fortunately, after that event, there didn't seem to be any other odd situations.

Day after day, as they went to and from school together, Yurikawa Hana didn't see her friend sneaking to the love hotel or anything like that.

...

And so, time quietly passed, leading to Saturday.

Yukima Azuma had taken a day off.

Everyone in class was understanding, since Azuma had been busy all day the previous day.

His dedicated attitude was more than enough.

Shuka High School, where Miko studied, was really far from Shibuya Station.

Yukima Azuma took more than half an hour by bus to get there.

One could only say that it was truly a Bocchi move—avoiding meeting acquaintances during high school by enduring such a long commute every day.

What a decisive person!

When he arrived at the gates of Shuka High School, Yukima Azuma saw Yotsuya Miko walking slowly toward him.

"Yukima-senpai!" Miko called out loudly, bowing at a 90-degree angle.

The incredibly respectful gesture left the surrounding students confused.

Yukima Azuma immediately helped Miko straighten up.

"Let's go, we'll talk while walking and, while we're at it, check out your school festival."

Upon hearing this, Yotsuya Miko eagerly nodded repeatedly.

The two of them entered the Shuka High School campus together.

Many students turned to look at them.

Yukima Azuma's striking appearance truly drew attention.

As for Yotsuya Miko, she was walking on air.

So happy!

It was such a thrill!

It wasn't because she was being noticed that she felt excited.

Yotsuya Miko didn't have such particular preferences.

It was because she was walking alongside Yukima Azuma—this was just amazing!

Normally, one could spot a few malicious spirits scattered around the school.

But right now, nearly all of them had disappeared.

The young man beside Yotsuya Miko seemed like a moving barrier.

From the moment Yukima Azuma appeared, Miko had noticed this.

The malicious spirits that usually latched onto people, asking, "Can you see me?"

As Azuma got closer, it was as if they wanted to grow two more legs, frantically running away as fast as they could.

In her sight, an almost spirit-free zone had formed.

There was no trace of any malicious spirits left.

Walking beside Yukima Azuma, Yotsuya Miko even felt as if she had returned to the time before she could see ghosts.

A normal, mundane life.

In Miko's eyes now, it was like a blessing from the heavens, as sweet as honey.

Even being Yukima Azuma's "dog" would be far better than the days of facing those terrifying things!

While Miko was lost in her thoughts...

"Yotsuya-san..."

"Yes! I want to be Yukima-sama's dog!"

Hearing Yukima Azuma call, Miko responded quickly, but she accidentally blurted out what was truly on her mind.

Yukima Azuma paused for a moment and then responded:

"Everyone has their own preferences. If Yotsuya-san really desires it, I won't object."

Preferences can be vivid, but people might die from embarrassment.

At that moment, Yotsuya Miko just wanted to find a hole to crawl into.