Shota is surrounded by monsters!

After looking at the two people who were standing there in a daze, the Snow Woman suddenly remembered that these two seemed to be foreign monsters who had just arrived a few days ago, so she changed the subject and asked, "Young Master doesn't like us disturbing him."

The snow woman's words finally brought Shota back to his senses, and he was able to break free from the temptation of his appetite.

"Um, um, could you lend me 500 yen?"

Shota rubbed his hands together, looking embarrassed in front of the two yokai, and said, "I overslept today and almost missed school. I was in such a rush that I forgot my wallet. Now my little sister is going hungry... so, could you..."

"..."

"..."

Yuki-onna and Aota-bo exchanged a glance, then she asked him, "Do delinquents in human schools also like to borrow money this way? What's it called again?"

"Extortion," Aotabo replied, his gaze towards Shota losing all friendliness...

"It's not extortion! It really isn't extortion!"

The two people in front of me are high-ranking yokai from the Nura Clan—I read about them in a magazine last night. They're probably here to prevent anyone from harming their young master.

To clear up the misunderstanding, Shota quickly waved his hand and said, "I'll definitely pay you back tomorrow. You know my address, right? Besides, we're both little monsters, how could we lie to you here?"

As a ruthless glutton, feigning weakness consumes far less energy than fighting head-on—as for integrity, it's long gone after 30 years with Mashiro.

The Snow Woman and Aotabo exchanged glances and opinions, as if they had realized that the other had not lied to them. However, this was the first time they had ever seen a yokai looking so worried about 500 yen.

"Can't you find a way to make your own food?"

The snow woman asked a question that seemed rather strange.

"They have no skills, no survival skills..."

"Look, isn't there one over there that dispenses food automatically?" The snow woman pointed to the vending machine and said, "If you're hungry, just go get some, okay?"

"...That's illegal."

"Breaking the law?" Yuki-onna looked at Aotabo and asked, "Are there laws in the world of yokai?"

Qingtianfang shook his head and said, "There are no laws."

"Don't monsters have to abide by human laws? Stealing is a crime."

It's strange that it's Xiang this time.

Why should monsters obey human laws?

"Doesn't the beginner's guide say that you should obey the law and be a good monster?"

"Ah, ah, oh!"

Upon hearing this, the Snow Woman finally realized what was happening and said, "Yes, yes, we can't do bad things, um, we can't do bad things."

"..."

Shota fell silent. It turned out that the Nura Clan really was just a yakuza organization, and the so-called rules only applied to new yokai like themselves.

"Hey, Yuki-onna! Aota-bo! Why are you following me to school again?!"

"Oh no, the young master is coming! Run!"

Yuki-onna and Aota-bo quickly hid. Not long after, a bespectacled, seemingly frail brown-haired boy stormed over.

Chapter 9. Hitagi Senjougahara

"These two guys..."

Rikuo Nura—the future heir of the Nura Clan, a boy with one-quarter Nurarihyon blood and three-quarters human blood—walked over, glanced in the direction Yuki-onna and Aotabo had fled, and then looked at Shota and Mashiro.

"You two...are you monsters too?"

Rikuo Nura seemed to have discovered something new and asked Shota and Mashiro a question.

Shota nodded.

"You...are you students at this school too?"

Shota nodded again.

"Did you come here as students because you like human life?"

Shota nodded for the third time.

"Great!" Nura Rikuo smiled. Living in a yokai compound, almost everyone around him was resistant and puzzled by his coming to school. He never expected to meet two yokai who shared his interests, so he quickly introduced himself: "My name is Nura Rikuo, and I'm a first-year junior high student. And you two?"

"I'm a second-year high school student. I'm Shota Kousaka, and this is my younger sister, Mashiro Kousaka."

"Eh, second year of high school?" Nura Rikuo, having just noticed the other's different school uniform, said, "Senpai. So, you've been at school for a long time?"

“No.” Shota realized that the young master of the yakuza organization in front of him did not have the same feeling as other yokai. Instead, he seemed like an ordinary person. So he explained, “Mashiro and I just came from Europe... Before, we never went to school. We only studied human books on our own.”

"Mmm. I still think it's better to be an ordinary person."

Rikuo Nura nodded, expressing his strong agreement with Shota's desire for an ordinary life, and said, "By the way, you came to the junior high school... to find me?"

"Pretty much." Although Shota originally wanted to borrow money from the two bodyguards, he figured they weren't the type to carry cash, so he said to the seemingly easy-going young yokai in front of him, "Um... I forgot my wallet this morning, so, um, my sister doesn't have money for lunch... Could you lend me 500 yen first?"

Five minutes later...

"Hmm~~"

Mashiro held two packets of strawberry juice, slurping them through two straws while humming a strange tune, seemingly very happy.

"Looks like a pretty good monster."

Shota was still struggling with his stomach. Although he had successfully borrowed 500 yen—and the other party said he didn't need to pay it back, and that they could just be friends—it was only enough for Mashiro. The school didn't sell compressed biscuits, and other things were too expensive, so he was destined to go hungry.

Besides, buying a little bit of food is worse than not eating at all.

"Want some?"

Seeing that Shota had nothing to eat, Mashiro put her finger to Shota's mouth.

"Snapped."

Shota tapped Mashiro on the head and said, "Drink it yourself."

"..." Mashiro pouted, then took a deep breath, puffing out her cheeks, and aimed her little mouth at Shota...

Shota quickly covered Mashiro's mouth to stop her from spitting it out.

"Ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh ugh..."

"Shh, something's coming."

Shota gestured for Mashiro to be quiet and looked towards the corner.

A purple-haired girl walked over, saw the two of them, and left without saying a word.

"Strange fellow," Shota muttered. He found this reclusive crab-like youkai quite odd. Senjougahara Hitagi—the name of the youkai girl he had just seen—was a very strange name. Even though Shota had only been there for a day, he had already learned quite a bit about her. She was the class's acknowledged sickly girl. Naturally, she didn't participate in physical education classes, and she even refused to attend the school-wide morning assembly and school-wide gathering, citing anemia as her reason, instead standing alone in the shadows.

She frequently visits the hospital and the infirmary, and left school early yesterday. According to her male classmates, being late, leaving early, or being absent is commonplace for her. Coupled with her slender figure, which gives her an almost ethereal appearance, the boys in her class call her "the sheltered young lady." Even so, her grades seem to consistently rank among the top, making her a true academic achiever.

He was very quiet and reserved; even when called upon by the teacher to answer a question, he would only whisper, "I don't know." It seemed as if he had no friends and no one to talk to.

Even as a youkai, this is a bit abnormal. Wasn't the point of coming to school to experience human life? It would be better to just stay in your nest all day. Besides, she's not some clueless youkai like Mashiro who's just started living here. There are also classmates who have spent a lot of time with Senjougahara.

"Don't you think so... Hey, don't spray juice in my face!"

Mashiro chuckled as she looked at Shota, whose face was covered in strawberry juice. Was this guy getting revenge for her splashing water on her face with the tap this morning?

Oh no, he's gone astray in just one day. I can't even imagine what he'll become in the future.

"what."

Mashiro opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to lick the juice off Shota's face again.

"Once you've vomited it out, don't expect it back."

Shota pushed Mashiro's little head away, ran to the pool to wash his face, and then led Mashiro towards the classroom.

"Study hard. The day you can do your homework by yourself, I'll buy you a whole juice feast."

"My brother is rich now?"

Mashiro countered with a question.

"...No money." The Kousaka family's financial situation is truly a troubling problem. Shota sighed. Maybe he should go home and research how to make cut cake today?

Thinking of this, Mashiro tugged at her sleeve.

"what happened?"

Mashiro pointed to Shota's feet.

"Oh, where did this thumbtack come from?"

Shota lifted his foot and saw that a thumbtack was embedded in the sole of his shoe. After he pulled the thumbtack out, he found some stationery.

"Honestly, we just cleaned it up yesterday, and it's already here again today."

Shota and Mashiro continued picking up stationery on their way back, but halfway through, he realized something was wrong.

Even if it were Mashiro, she wouldn't drop her stationery while walking, right? Or did someone put it here on purpose? Besides, this is one of the places with the fewest students coming and going from school.

That crab woman from earlier?

No, no, why would a crab girl throw away stationery? She's not a stationery monster.

However… Shota glanced at the corner in front of him. Since she was still there watching him, she definitely couldn't escape. What a strange youkai.

To maintain a peaceful coexistence, Shota and Mashiro had no choice but to put the stationery back in its original place—after all, these stationery items couldn't possibly be some kind of magic array, and might just be that monster's strange personal quirk.

"Hey, brother, can we sell these things for money?"

Mashiro looked at the brand-new compass in her hand. She now knew that with money, she could buy endless amounts of juice. The little monster was now completely absorbed in imagining herself lying on coins, which would then turn into delicious juice one by one…

"You're obsessed with money. Get out of there!"

Shota woke Mashiro from her delusions and put everything back in its original state, only to find that the monster was long gone. So he had no choice but to take Mashiro back to the classroom.

"Haragihara, Senjougahara-kun. Did you leave early?"

The homeroom teacher glanced at the empty seats, showed no surprise, and continued taking attendance.

Shota yawned and started daydreaming, while Mashiro held the ballpoint pen in her hand and curiously drew juice boxes on the book.

"That's a nice drawing."

Shota quietly praised Mashiro, and Mashiro smiled, then turned the page and began to sketch the prototype of Shota's Taotie with a ballpoint pen, drawing according to the image of Shota in her mind.