Chapter 25

“Whew, I’m stuffed. The oden was seriously delicious too, thanks for the meal.”

“Is that so? I’m sure my mom will be glad to hear that.”

I stood up, picked up the pot that had held the oden, and headed toward the kitchen.

“Even so, I wonder if Shimizu-san hasn’t come back yet.”

“Yeah. I haven’t heard the door open, so I don’t think so.”

Since the walls in our apartment complex were thin, the sound of the neighboring room’s front door closing echoed quite clearly.

“Onitsuka-san, could I borrow the restroom for a moment?”

“Ah, go right ahead.”

The room layouts were identical, so Misa-chan opened the bathroom door and went inside without a second thought.

Meanwhile, I set about washing the pot.

Pouring a small amount of dish soap onto a sponge and reaching my hand inside the pot, it happened right then.

“Ngh…!?”

A chill ran, creeping up my spine.

I recognized this unpleasant sensation.

“I’ve detected a bad person…!?”

Tossing the sponge into the sink, I bolted out of the room.

I looked around outside, searching for a human figure.

The time was seven in the evening.

The surroundings were completely enveloped in the veil of night, and no shadow of a person was in sight.

Since the effective range of the evil detection spell was around a few hundred meters, it wouldn’t be strange for someone to be within my line of sight.

“Where…”

“Um, Onitsuka-san?”

A voice called out from behind, and when I turned around, Misa-chan was gazing at me with a worried look.

“Is something wrong? Is there something outside?”

“Ah, no…”

I could have brushed it off by saying it was nothing, but I didn’t want to keep secrets from Shimizu-san and her daughter, who had accepted my existence.

So.

“I’ve been using an evil detection spell, and I just got a reaction. I was checking to see what it was.”

I told the truth.

“Though nobody’s out there.”

“Is that so… Ah, please wait a second.”

As I tried to head back into the room, Misa-chan raised a small voice.

“Hm? What is it?”

“There’s someone standing in the shadow of that utility pole over there.”

“Eh.”

Prompted by her words, I strained my eyes.

“Ah, you’re right.”

Sure enough, a man was standing as if hiding in the shadow of a utility pole across the street.

The moment our eyes met, the chill grew even more intense, and goosebumps broke out all over my body.

There was no mistake—that’s him.

“Misa-chan, head back inside the room.”

“Eh, what are you going to do, Onitsuka-san?”

“I’m going to go talk to that guy.”

Depending on how the other person reacted, talking might not be the end of it, though.

“No way, that’s dangerous! If he’s a really bad person…”

“It’s fine. I’ll be right back.”

My level had risen to 4, and the man looked quite short in stature.

For now, I ushered Misa-chan back into the room, slipped my shoes on, and stepped forward toward the man.