While I was chanting a curse, the system said I was Xiao Yan?

When Haibara Yu and Nanami Kento arrived, they could hear the commotion from afar.

It wasn't the sound of fighting.

It was a blast.

Haibara Yu paused, looked up at the apartment building in the distance, and frowned.

His signature energetic smile faded slightly, replaced by a serious expression tinged with nervousness.

This is his fighting face.

"That...is that where Gojo-senpai and Natsuyu-senpai's mission is located?"

Nanami Kento stood beside him, his short golden hair gleaming softly in the sunlight. His expression was as composed as ever. His gaze fell on the building, he compared it in his mind, and then nodded.

"Um."

Several more explosions came from that direction, mixed with the loud cracking of something breaking, and even the ground trembled slightly.

Haibara Yu's lips twitched: "This commotion... is way too loud."

The two exchanged a glance.

Haibara Yu spoke first, his voice carrying an air of matter-of-fact certainty: "Gojo-senpai shouldn't need our support, right?"

Nanami nodded: "No need."

His tone was firm, without the slightest hesitation. Although they hadn't known each other for very long, he couldn't imagine that Gojo Satoru would need support.

Haibara Yu grinned: "Then let's go to Natsuyu-senpai's place!"

The two reached an agreement and quickened their pace, running towards the apartment building.

There were hardly any pedestrians on the street anymore. Even if there were, they had long been frightened by the commotion and had hidden inside their houses. Occasionally, a few cars would drive by on the side road, but they would all speed away without stopping to watch the commotion.

The two walked through a narrow alley, turned a corner, and the apartment building was already in sight.

Then Haibara Yu's steps suddenly stopped.

"etc!"

He reached out to stop Nanami, his gaze fixed on a figure not far away.

That's a woman.

Wearing a black and white maid outfit, with short hair, she was standing next to the side door of the apartment building, looking up at the building with an anxious expression, muttering to herself, as if she was waiting for someone.

But what truly alarmed Haibara Yu was not her attire, but the cursed spirit beneath her.

It was quite large, resembling a strange lion dog, with only one huge eye in the center of its head. The eyeball was cloudy and yellowish, slowly turning as if observing its surroundings.

Haibara Yu's hand was already gripping the short sword at his waist, his curse power began to gather, and his body leaned slightly forward, ready to strike at any moment.

"People from the Q organization?"

He lowered his voice, a hint of nervousness in it: "Why are there maid outfits? What kind of peculiar fetish is this?"

Nanami Kenji did not move.

His gaze fell on the cursed spirit, then lingered on the woman's face for two seconds.

Then he reached out and pressed down on Haibara Yu's shoulder: "Wait."

Haibara Yu tilted his head to look at him: "Hmm?"

"Not an enemy."

Nanami's voice remained steady, but her tone was a few decibels faster than usual, as if she were rapidly searching for information in her brain.

"That woman... I've seen her in the mission report."

Haibara Yu was taken aback: "Mission report? Is there a picture of this person in it? She doesn't look like Nen no Riko."

"What you're looking at is a briefing. It only contains a few important details. I memorized the main objectives and secondary personnel on my way here."

Nanami's gaze never left the woman's face: "It was mentioned in the mission to protect the Starmatrix that there was a person named Kuroi Misato who took care of the Starmatrix's daily life, but it was not mentioned that she was a sorcerer."

Haibara Yu blinked, his grip on the knife tightened, and he cautiously lowered his body, beginning to observe any potential enemies: "Was that person beneath her... being held hostage?!"

"Don't be nervous, it should be Senior Xia You's cursed spirit."

Haihara Xiong was stunned.

He turned to look at the one-eyed, dog-like cursed spirit, then at Nanami standing beside him. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately said nothing.

You make me look really silly~

Nanami ignored him and strode towards the woman.

Haibara Yu quickly followed, sheathing his short sword at his waist, but his hand remained on the hilt, ready to draw it at any moment.

Hearing footsteps, Misato Kuroi turned around abruptly, her expression shifting from anxious to wary.

She subconsciously took half a step back, and the cursed spirit beneath her emitted a low hum, its huge eye turning towards Nanami and Haibara Yu.

Her voice trembled slightly, but her eyes were firm, filled with a protective wariness: "Who are you?"

Nanami stopped and raised her hands to indicate that she meant no harm.

"Tokyo Higher Vocational School, Nanami Kenji".

His voice was steady: "They've come to provide support."

He tilted his head and gestured in Haibara Yu's direction: "This is Haibara Yu, he's here to provide support as well."

Haibara Yu stood up straight, flashing a bright smile: "Hello! We're here to help!"

Misato Kuroi's gaze swept back and forth between the two of them, her wary expression relaxing slightly, but not completely: "You...were you sent by Mr. Natsuyu?"

Nanami shook her head: "It was arranged by Professor Nocturne. We came to provide support after completing our mission nearby."

Misato Kuroi let out a long breath, her shoulders slumped, and she seemed to be released from a state of tension.

Haibara Yu took two steps forward, his gaze falling on the one-eyed cursed spirit, his eyes filled with a curious light.

"This... is Natsuyou-senpai's cursed spirit?"

Misato Kuroi glanced down at the thing beneath her and nodded: "Mr. Natsuyu was fighting up there and was afraid I would get hurt, so he sent me down here to have this cursed spirit protect me."

She paused, then forced a smile: "Although I was startled at first, it's actually quite docile."

As if in response to her words, the one-eyed cursed spirit emitted a low hum and swayed slightly, like a dog being petted.

Haibara Yu's eyes lit up: "Amazing! Natsuyu-senpai's cursed spirits can even be used as bodyguards! Cursed spirit manipulation is really convenient!"

Nanami ignored Haibara Yu's sigh and looked past Kuroi Misato to the broken window of the apartment building.

"What's the situation up there now?"

Misato Kuroi's expression tensed up again. She looked up at the broken window, her fingers twisting together.

"Mr. Natsume is up there... fighting those people in white. He separated Riko and me, letting me come down first, while Riko is still up there..."

Her voice grew softer and softer until it was almost inaudible.

Nanami nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

"Haihara."

"exist!"

"Let's go up."

Haibara Yu nodded vigorously, a smile returning to his face, radiating the fearless energy unique to youth: "Alright!"

The two walked towards the main entrance of the apartment building.

Misato Kuroi called out from behind them, "Be careful!"

Haibara Yu waved his hand without turning his head, his voice booming, "Don't worry! With us here, Natsuyu-senpai will be fine!"

Misato Kuroi: ...I don't actually care about him.