At noon, Luo Yu did not leave the classroom to find somewhere to eat. Instead, he simply took out his lunchbox and ate quietly at his desk.
Meanwhile, Yukino Yukinoshita picked up her own lunchbox and walked out of the classroom alone.
As Luo Yu glanced at her departing figure, he noticed the black cat-like vengeful spirit perched on her head turning to look back at him.
So it knows that I can see it… yet it isn't attacking.
That confirmed his suspicion that these were not the kind of evil spirits that attacked indiscriminately.
This only strengthened Luo Yu's belief that Yukino Yukinoshita was not in any immediate danger.
However, before he could finish his lunch, his phone suddenly rang.
Picking it up, he saw that it was a message from Miko Yotsuya.
Miko:
"Luo Yu! I just saw an evil spirit! It's attached to that girl in your class—her name is Yukino Yukinoshita! What should I do?!"
Yukino Yukinoshita?
Luo Yu paused for a moment before replying.
Luo Yu:
"I'm aware of it. She sits next to me. Did you run into her?"
Miko:
"Yes! I didn't bring lunch today, so I went to the cafeteria with Hana. We ran into her on the way, and it scared me half to death! I've never seen someone followed by so many evil spirits before—and they're black cats! Luo Yu… are you sure it's really okay?"
Luo Yu:
"Relax. It's fine for now. Those cat spirits noticed me too, but they didn't attack. I'll investigate the reason later, so just focus on eating. By the way, weren't you with your friend? How do you have time to message me?"
Miko:
"Hehe, I told her I needed to go to the bathroom. I'd better go now, I can't keep Hana waiting!"
Seeing Miko Yotsuya's messages, Luo Yu chuckled softly.
Now that the problem with her Spiritual Sight had been resolved, Miko Yotsuya could freely choose when to activate or deactivate the ability.
Outside of school, she usually kept it turned off, since cities often contained unexpected dangers—powerful evil spirits and cursed beings.
Inside the school, however, Luo Yu's presence made her feel much safer using her Spiritual Sight to observe her surroundings.
If she encountered something dangerous, she could always ask Luo Yu for help—just like today.
Ever since the burden that had troubled her for so long was resolved, Miko Yotsuya had become noticeably more cheerful.
Putting down his phone, Luo Yu smiled and continued eating.
At 12:45 in the afternoon, Yukino Yukinoshita returned to the classroom.
The three cat-like evil spirits were still clinging to her body, showing no intention of leaving.
Luo Yu observed briefly and confirmed that Yukino Yukinoshita's aura remained stable. Her condition was normal, and she appeared mentally alert.
As he flipped through the novel in his hands, Luo Yu began thinking.
From what he had learned recently, evil spirits were usually born in two ways.
One type formed when living beings died with intense resentment, causing their spirits to transform into malevolent entities.
Another type was created from the accumulation of countless negative emotions. These spirits were often far more grotesque and terrifying, rarely resembling human forms.
As for the cats attached to Yukino Yukinoshita…
They were probably once ordinary cats that had encountered something tragic before becoming evil spirits.
The real question was why they had attached themselves to Yukino Yukinoshita.
Could it be because she was such a devoted cat lover?
As Luo Yu continued thinking, a vague guess formed in his mind.
He would investigate it later.
Even though the cats had not caused any harm yet, that did not guarantee that nothing dangerous would happen in the future.
The afternoon classes passed one by one.
Occasionally, Luo Yu glanced toward Yukino Yukinoshita, making sure that her mental state remained stable.
Soon, the school day ended.
Since Miko Yotsuya would not be coming over today—her friend Hana had dragged her out shopping—Luo Yu simply bought some groceries and returned home.
After entering the house, it was exactly as he expected.
Ranni was not on the first floor.
After putting the groceries in the refrigerator, Luo Yu went upstairs and opened the door to the gaming room.
Inside, Ranni sat comfortably in her chair with a hitbox controller resting on her lap. On the screen, she was controlling Ken, relentlessly chaining combos against an opponent playing Akuma.
With a stylish finishing move, she secured the victory.
Only after the match ended did Ranni exit the game and turn to Luo Yu.
"King, welcome back."
Luo Yu walked over with a smile and gently pinched her cheek.
"You've been sitting here playing games all afternoon? You're about to become a gaming addict."
Ranni replied calmly,
"Games are indeed very entertaining—and quite addictive. However, calling me a 'girl' is unnecessary. I can't even remember how many years I've lived."
Pulling over a chair, Luo Yu sat beside her. Seeing that her rank had already reached Gold, he laughed.
"It's fine. As long as you look like one, it counts."
Then he added,
"By the way, I noticed something interesting at school today. It involves Yukino Yukinoshita."
"Yukino Yukinoshita?" Ranni blinked and asked, "King's deskmate girl? What happened to her?"
"She's being haunted by evil spirits. Three of them—and they're cat spirits."
After explaining Yukino Yukinoshita's situation, Luo Yu leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head while staring at the glowing computer screen.
"My guess is that she accidentally encountered some cats that had turned into evil spirits, and they attached themselves to her."
After hearing this, Ranni nodded thoughtfully.
"So, King… you didn't eliminate those spirits?"
Luo Yu laughed.
"They're harmless little things. All they do is hiss and meow to scare people. They could tell I wasn't someone they should provoke, so they didn't even dare growl at me. They just quietly sat on Yukino Yukinoshita's shoulders and head."
He continued,
"Normally, spirits like that wouldn't become evil spirits at all. Something must have happened to them before they died. Besides, I couldn't act freely inside the classroom. I'll observe the situation a little longer."
However, that very night, when Luo Yu finished his shower and returned to his room, he saw Ranni standing by the window, staring outside.
"What's wrong?"
Pointing outside, Ranni said,
"King, I see Yukino Yukinoshita. Something has changed about her."
"Hm?"
Walking to the window beside Ranni, Luo Yu looked outside—and immediately widened his eyes.
Under the night sky, a girl dressed in a white shirt and dark blue jeans was leaping swiftly across the rooftops nearby.
On her head were a pair of cat ears.
Behind her swayed a black cat tail.
With Luo Yu's eyesight, he instantly recognized her.
It was Yukino Yukinoshita.
"That's strange… Yukino Yukinoshita is just an ordinary person. Could those little cat spirits have influenced her somehow?"
This was the first time Luo Yu had encountered a situation like this.
"King, what do you plan to do next?" Ranni asked.
Exhaling slowly, Luo Yu grabbed his coat and put it on.
"Of course we're going after her. She was originally an ordinary person, so this sudden change might come with side effects."
He added with curiosity,
"And honestly, I'm very interested in the reason behind this transformation. Ranni, do you want to come along?"
Ranni nodded.
Moments later, the two of them left the house together, mounted Torrent, and set off in pursuit of Yukino Yukinoshita.