Shota is surrounded by monsters!

"Oh!"

"What are you doing, you idiot Shota!"

"Hmph~ Hmph hmph hmph hmph~"

Shota, humming a little tune, wearing a yellow straw hat, walked hand in hand with Mashiro on their way to school.

"The sunshine is really nice."

"Ugh, how annoying..."

Along with Shota's sigh, there was also Yomi's weak voice. She dared not appear in the direct sunlight and could only hide inside Mashiro's body.

Ah, the long-lost days of youth.

Shota stretched contentedly. Lately, he had been getting involved in all sorts of strange events, which almost made him forget that what he loved most was this peaceful life.

"Oh, is Kousaka-kun here for school?"

"Hmm. Good morning, class monitor."

"Are you feeling any better? It must be really tough if you're always sick."

Thank you for your concern.

Nodding to the kind class monitor, Shota watched her walk away with even lighter steps, and then...

"Oh, Araragi-kun."

Before him stood Araragi Koyomi, who perhaps sensed his world gradually crumbling. Despite exuding an ordinary aura, his lips twitched slightly upon seeing Shota.

"...Turn the book to page 130. Why is there a cold wind blowing by?"

The teacher standing by the podium shivered and looked at the window with some confusion, only to find that all the windows were closed, so he had no choice but to continue the lesson.

"So that's how it is. There are so many benefits to being a ghost."

"Yes, of course. Many things that were impossible when we were human can now be done freely. For example, we can walk right through walls, but be careful not to suddenly walk into the men's restroom..."

"puff--"

"Not just ghosts, yokai can do a lot of fun things too, Ms. Isayama. I'll treat you to yokai cuisine next time!"

"Monster cuisine? What's that?"

"Don't worry, it's not made with human flesh, it's just some very ordinary ingredients. But since monsters don't have to be afraid of ordinary poisons, they can even eat pufferfish raw."

"I'm really looking forward to it!"

Shota pulled his hat down low, cold sweat beading on his forehead. Behind him, at the very back of the classroom, the leader of the Oni Girl Group, Yuuko, appeared out of nowhere with a row of ghosts to visit him—or rather, to visit Yomi. They were now taking advantage of the fact that ordinary humans couldn't see or hear them, and were having a blatant tea party.

"Come on, Mashiro-chan, would you like to try some Ghost Juice?"

Yuuko waved to Mashiro, who then stood up excitedly...

"Kousaka, Kousaka Mashiro, do you have any questions?"

The teacher looked at Mashiro, who had stood up, and showed a puzzled expression.

"Oh, no!"

Shota quickly pulled Mashiro back to her seat, and under the astonished gazes of the whole class, he held Mashiro's head firmly to prevent her from turning around.

"This older brother is really naughty."

Geng Xizi made a sarcastic remark there, clearly dissatisfied.

"Is this guy a freak?"

Huang Quan added a sarcastic remark without hesitation.

"You guys are so annoying!"

Shota finally couldn't stand the constant chatter that had been going on for an entire class...

"Kosaka-kun."

The teacher pushed up her glasses expressionlessly and said, "Are you saying I'm annoying? Come to my office after class."

"Hahaha, Xiao Xiangtai is going to get a scolding."

"Let's go watch later~"

I hate those unscrupulous ghosts the most.

"Have you heard? The Nura Clan's top yokai leader is going to get a lecture from a human teacher."

"Really? What kind of human is so bold!"

"Want to come together?"

"Of course we have to go and see!"

As a result... for various reasons, all the monsters that had gathered at the school ended up at the office door watching Shota get criticized.

"Oh! This guy's finally gotten what he deserves."

The snow woman said happily, "But isn't it too embarrassing to be scolded by humans?"

"Oh dear, poor Mr. Taotie."

Kurotabo pressed himself against the window, holding the headless corpse in front of him—his body was completely too big to fit through.

"The teacher knows you're not feeling well, but clap clap clap—"

"……Yes"

"The teacher knows you're smart, you always do well on tests, but... *clap clap clap clap*"

"……Yes"

"You need to set a good example for your sister. Wait, Kousaka-kun, what was that delinquent-like look you just gave me? Hmm?"

"……nothing."

Shota secretly gave the middle finger to the door, wondering which big mouth had attracted so many monsters to watch him.

"Also, Kousaka-kun, hats aren't allowed in class..."

As she spoke, the teacher reached out and took the straw hat off Shota's head...

"For the sake of world peace, please, teacher, don't do this."

Shota said very seriously, "If you take off your hat, the real world will collapse, and the world of darkness will erode your surroundings, teacher!"

"I never thought I'd encounter someone with chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) while teaching high school..."

"It's not chuunibyou!"

From that day on, chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) became inexplicably and forever linked with Shota, and because of this, many students who also had chuunibyou gathered around Shota...

"I'm really not a chuunibyou!"

Chapter 119. The Daily Life of a Chuunibyou (A Teenage Student)

"Eh... is it chuunibyou? I didn't expect Kousaka-kun to be hiding it so well."

"No wonder I found Kousaka's sister a bit strange. Whether it's her tone of voice or anything else, she must have been influenced by her chuunibyou brother, right?"

"Does that mean that frequent hospitalizations are also due to injuries sustained in battles against dark forces?"

"Oh, so this must be the feeling?"

Listening to the whispers of his classmates, Shota felt utterly ashamed to face anyone.

"A real man..."

Seemingly realizing her own shyness, Mashiro nodded earnestly to Shota, offering him encouragement.

"A horizontal angle coldly faces the thousand bulls' thrust..."

"Snapped."

Shota tapped Mashiro on the forehead, signaling her to stop showing off her flawed knowledge.

"Hey, Isayama, what is chuunibyou (middle school syndrome)?"

The leader of the Ghost Girl Clan, the ghost girl Yuuko who gave Shota a headache, brought her face close to Shota's left side, seemingly trying to see the words "chuunibyou" (a Japanese term for someone with delusions of grandeur) on his face.

"It seems to be a metaphor for the overly self-righteous and other peculiar behaviors of Japanese teenagers during puberty."

Huang Quan stood to Shota's right, pondering as she answered her old-fashioned senior's question.

"What are its characteristics?"

Even so, Geng Xizi, who lived fifty years ago, could not understand the meaning of this gift.

Wow... Shota secretly glanced at Yuuko's chest, then looked at Yomi... Even though they're both ghosts, the difference is still quite obvious.

"Snapped--"

Noticing Shota's rude gaze, Yomi tapped Shota on the head with her paper fan.

"Here it comes! That sudden head-bow just now was probably him pretending to be attacked by a ghost, right?"

"A true acting talent! A genuine acting talent with a touch of chuunibyou!"

"..."

I can't hear anything...

Shota simply lay down on the table, ignoring everything.

"Common characteristics include liking to talk about their past lives, wandering aimlessly through the streets at night after eating, believing that anything can be done, using physical exercise to deplete sexual desire, and acting as if they have experienced things they have not, hoping that they or others will think they are very mature. Oh right, there is also a popular setting recently, which is believing that they have experience fighting against dark forces in the shadows."

"If that's the case, then Shota is a perfect fit."

Geng Xizi nodded as if she understood, and Huang Quan agreed, saying, "In some ways, that is indeed the case."

"As expected, it's chuunibyou (middle school syndrome)."

"Yes..."

I can't hear anything...

"I think I heard girls talking coming from Kousaka-kun's place."

"Oh? Is that so? Kousaka-kun must be lying on the table, using ventriloquism to whisper a sound like a female ghost, right?"