I have an unlimited number of shikigami

Ok.

It must be so.

Fujiwara Izaya has always been a carefree little monster. Even though such a nasty thing happened early in the morning, his mood was not affected much. After running a few steps, he started humming a song at the top of his lungs.

“A little bird fell into the water, fell into the water, fell into the water…and was swept away by the water.”

Behind him, the woman remained huddled on the shore, listening to his foreign folk songs and watching him disappear down the street.

Chapter 5. It's definitely not about money.

Back at Asakusa Shrine, Fujiwara Izaya took a shower and changed into his school uniform.

I found a broom and swept the entire worship hall, bagged the trash, wiped the dust off the tabletops and statues, and finally made a simple egg and ham sandwich and heated a cup of milk in the kitchen for breakfast.

"Remember not to run out of the shrine..."

"If you're bored, you can catch the cat next door and play with it..."

"If a stranger comes in, send me a signal immediately. Don't freeze them on your own..."

After repeatedly reminding him and confirming that the snow woman understood his meaning, Fujiwara Izaya slung his bag over his shoulder and walked out of the torii gate. He couldn't help but look back at her.

On the moss-covered stone steps, the Snow Woman raised her fair little hand and waved to him from afar.

As the morning light shines down, the body covered in ice and snow presents an almost transparent beauty.

"I'll work hard to earn points today!" Fujiwara Izaya loudly promised!

※※※※※

After leaving Asakusa Shrine, I walked for about five minutes to Asakusa Station on the Tokyo Metro and took the Asakusa Line subway.

After two stops, transfer to the Chuo-Sobu Line tram at Asakusabashi Station, and travel west through Akihabara, Ochanomizu, Suidobashi, and Iidabashi before finally getting off at Yotsuya Station.

This commuter route makes Fujiwara Izaya question his very existence every day.

Tokyo's train system is highly developed, convenient, and fast, making it the preferred mode of transportation for most people.

During the morning commute, students going to school and office workers going to work almost overlap, making it difficult to move even at any station during rush hour.

You could actually fly there.

However... young demons shouldn't be so arrogant!

cough cough.

Objectively speaking, this parallel but not entirely parallel world of Japan is definitely a peaceful and prosperous era.

In response to ghosts and monsters, the government has the Ninth Investigation Division, which is dedicated to handling paranormal crimes. Shintoism and Buddhism have also joined forces to establish the Onmyōryō (Bureau of Yin and Yang), with both sides concentrating their efforts on combating paranormal events.

Ordinary people are well protected, and ghosts and monsters are becoming increasingly rare... This has resulted in their existence remaining only semi-public in society—those who know are allowed to know, and those who don't know are prevented from knowing by the authorities, with methods including, but not limited to, banning the circulation of related videos, requiring those who have encountered ghosts to sign gag orders, and prohibiting clergy from using supernatural powers in front of ordinary people.

Moreover, generally speaking, apart from a few monsters that want to make a big splash, most monsters rarely have conflicts with humans.

They either live in remote, untouched forests, following ancient traditions; or they disguise themselves as ordinary people, mingling with ordinary citizens.

When monsters mingling in the human world don't use their demonic powers, their true identities are impossible to discern. Monsters aren't stupid either; as long as they don't break the law or disrupt society, no one will bother them.

As far as Izaya Fujiwara knew, there was a cat spirit named Natsume who wrote a bestselling book called "I Am a Cat" based on his own experiences and eventually became a literary master.

So...

When there is no need for conflict, Fujiwara Izaya chooses to be a diligent, law-abiding, and ordinary high school student.

Maybe I can write a book called "I Am a Mountain" or "I Am a Celestial Dog" someday, and after becoming a famous writer, I can use my status as a "cultured person" to go to various bars in Ginza or Harajuku for free.

"Ah~~"

Yawning, I emerged from the subway platform and hurriedly ran onto the ground-level tram platform.

"Please move to the area behind the yellow line to wait for your train."

"The tram is arriving at the station. Passengers transferring, please board and alight in an orderly manner."

An announcement came over the loudspeaker, and a yellow-painted carriage came to a smooth stop. Amid the shoving of the crowd, Fujiwara Rinya successfully squeezed into the Sobu Line carriage during the morning rush hour.

With a slight sway, the tram left Asakusabashi Station.

On the way to Yotsuya, cherry blossoms bloomed on both sides of the railway. The petals were so bright and luxurious that they seemed to be turning the entire carriage pink.

I got off at Yotsuya Station at 8:20.

I never met Naoko, nor did I ever meet Midori.

I did see quite a few high school girls with superb cold resistance who couldn't wait to put on summer skirts.

Fujiwara Izaya put on his headphones and walked alone along the bustling Shinjuku Avenue, embarking on a 300-meter uphill path leading to Kitagawa Academy.

This is the best private high school in the country.

Located on a high platform in Yotsuya, the school covers a large area and is surrounded by high stone walls. Upon entering the gate, you are greeted by a tall oak tree, at least a hundred years old, which is the emblem of Kitagawa Academy.

The school path leading to the school building is under the oak tree, and both sides are lined with cherry blossoms.

Walking along the asphalt road stained pink and white by the petals, Fujiwara Izaya once again exclaimed: There are so many cherry blossoms in Tokyo.

Arriving at the shoe cabinet, I took out the school's standard white flat shoes and, unsurprisingly, found a pink envelope inside.

As Fujiwara Izaya threw his indoor shoes on the floor and shoved his feet into them, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind: "When you talk about high school life, you think of roses; when you talk about roses, you think of high school life. People almost habitually regard high school life as rose-colored."

Is that really the case?

Thinking about this question, I slowly walked towards the classroom of Class 2-F.

As an ordinary high school student, Fujiwara Izaya does not subscribe to the "love above all" ideology, but he also does not necessarily intend to never date. This idea can be extended to all aspects of his studies and life.

Not particularly positive, but not negative either.

To be more precise, it means doing what you think is necessary and avoiding unnecessary things.

Back in the classroom, Fujiwara Rinya sat down by the window. With a few minutes left before class started at 8:30, he took out yesterday's homework to check.

His mother considered it essential for him to be a competent "good student," so he dared not slack off in his studies.

"Good morning, Fujiwara." Ikeda Seiji greeted him as he walked in after finishing his club's morning exercise.

"Good morning."

Fujiwara Izaya answered with his head down.

This person was a friend of his from the first year of high school. They would usually eat together, discuss anime, games, sports, beautiful girls, and so on, and also share all kinds of erotic pictures and short videos.

Besides being an ordinary high school student, Seiji Ikeda is also a hereditary monk of Zenkokuji Temple. His ability to advance to the intermediate novice monk rank is quite respectable, making him a promising young monk.

Ikeda Seiji sat back in his seat, then turned around and leaned on Fujiwara Izaya's desk, grinning obsequiously.

"Hey, Fujiwara-kun, you look even more handsome today."

Fujiwara Izaya stood with his hands in his pockets, expressionless: "What is it?"

Based on his understanding of the young monk, what followed was nothing more than that Shan Guo Temple received a request to exorcise a spirit, and the old monk, in order to train the young monk, let him complete the task independently. However, the young monk was afraid of death and planned to spend money to hire outside help.

“It’s nothing serious, just a small request.” Ikeda Seiji paused, then continued, “There was a murder at a bread factory near my house last night, and a lot of spider silk was left at the scene. My old monk went to check it out and can basically conclude that it was the work of a spider demon that had just advanced to the middle level.”

"So he had you, who was almost promoted to a mid-level, eliminate the spider demon?"

"Huh? How did you know?" Ikeda Seiji asked in surprise.

"It's always like this every time I contact you before..." Fujiwara Rin glared at him irritably, "Go on."

"The old monk used all sorts of shameful methods, including coercion and bribery, to force me to get rid of that spider demon tonight," Ikeda Seiji continued. "So, I'd like to ask Fujiwara-kun to come with me tonight."

Fujiwara Izaya looked at him expressionlessly.

"There's a reward," Ikeda Seiji said hastily, "One million yen!"

After a year of studying together, the young monk had basically figured out the little priest's habits. He knew that the little priest was not interested in any nonsense about love and hate stories; all the little priest wanted was to make money.

Fujiwara Izaya nodded: "Okay!"

This isn't about money!

The main reason is that Yuki-onna just advanced in rank, and we want to test her strength.

“It’s settled then,” Fujiwara Izaya smiled with relief, looking at the little monk. “I’ll come to Kagurazaka to find you after school tonight.”

Seiji Ikeda smiled with equal satisfaction.

The junior priest is short of money, while the junior monk is rich. Isn't that a perfect match?

After all that, the junior priest made money, and the junior monk didn't have to face the dangerous monsters; perhaps the junior priest made some money, but the junior monk definitely didn't lose out either... After all, the junior monk's money was given to him by the senior monk.

"Don't worry!" Fujiwara Izaya patted his chest and assured him, "As a priest full of a sense of justice, I will definitely eradicate this harmful monster!"

Seiji Ikeda chimed in, like a straight man in a comedy duo: "Fujiwara-kun is so handsome!"

“I’ve got it,” Fujiwara Izaya emphasized, “this is absolutely not about money!”

"For justice!"

Ikeda Seiji looked at Fujiwara Izaya with admiration, while muttering to himself: I don't believe you for a second, you little priest are so greedy!

Chapter 6. I'd like a dozen of these daily tasks.

The lunch break bell rang.

Fujiwara Izaya tidied up his desk and walked down to the courtyard.

The midday sun in April was bright and gentle, and his handsome figure was reflected in the glass windows of the corridor. Girls passing by didn't look where they were going, but were all looking at him.

Good afternoon, Fujiwara-kun!

"good afternoon."

Have you had lunch?

Not yet.

"Want to go to the cafeteria together?"

"Thank you, I like eating alone."

On the way to the courtyard, girls wearing pleated skirts and bows would greet Fujiwara Izaya from time to time, after all, he was Kitagawa's recognized star student.