In Tokyo, building the Holy Light Girls team

"Excuse me, Natsuki-sensei, Shiroshima-san, Sayuri-san, I want to become... like you, is that... possible?"

"???"

……

Chapter 61 A Series of Misunderstandings

"???"

Seeing the girl in front of them pursing her lips and looking determined, Sayuri and Shiroshima exchanged a glance, both looking somewhat confused by this sudden situation.

Natsuki was also taken aback for a moment, then frowned: "Rika-san, do you know what those words just now meant?"

Rika Kanzaki nodded emphatically, looking directly at Natsuki: "Of course I know, Natsuki-sensei!"

Even if we encounter more enemies like those we just faced in the future?

"Yes!"

Even if it means risking one's life?

"Yes!"

Hearing the girl's firm answer, Xia Mu seemed to sense her conviction. He couldn't help but ask her, and the girl then revealed her thoughts.

In fact, after learning about the purpose of that evil organization, the Illuminati, Rika had the idea of ​​joining Natsuki and the others, because she realized that if she missed this opportunity, she would not be able to take revenge if she encountered a similar enemy in the future!

Natsuki asked uncertainly, "Rika-san, are you talking about...revenge?"

"That's right!"

Rika responded, tears seemingly welling up in her eyes, but after taking a deep breath, she continued:

“That guy left behind something like that at the shrine a long time ago. Aunt Shimizu, the fishmonger, and Grandma were all victims. Even if that guy has disappeared, I will never let this organization that treats human life like dirt go to waste!”

As she spoke, although she tried her best to control her emotions, tears still streamed down her face.

Rika seems to have realized that the reason she lost someone important to her was probably inseparable from the shadow of the Illuminati!

"And most importantly, my mother is the closest person I have left. To protect her, I must have that kind of power, and I can accept any price to pay!"

As she finished speaking, Rika bowed deeply. Even Natsuki could feel the unwavering determination for revenge in her heart as she spoke those words that came from the bottom of her heart!

He thought for a moment, and after a moment of silence, finally replied, "I understand."

"Ms. Natsuki, did you agree?!"

Rika looked up abruptly, only to see Natsuki shaking his head.

That's not what I meant.

"why?"

Rika stumbled backward, not understanding why Natsuki had rejected her. But didn't Sayuri, her classmate, also possess that power?

Judging from her expression, Xia Mu knew that she seemed to have misunderstood, so he took out a clip with a whale pattern from his pocket.

Seeing this, Sayuri suddenly touched the little bear clip in her hair, snorted, and turned away to whisper:

"No matter what, the token of love that Teacher Xia Mu gave me is the most precious. You guys would never understand this feeling!"

Upon hearing this, Shiroshima blinked, then suddenly looked at Natsuki, a blush creeping onto her cheeks: "So that was... a token of our love?"

Xia Mu was unaware that his actions had caused both girls to misunderstand him.

If he knew, he would definitely turn around and give Sayuri a "love lesson" to completely correct those strange ideas in her mind!

"This is..."

When Natsuki handed her the whale clip, Kanzaki Rika examined it with a puzzled look.

It looks quite ordinary; only when you look closely will you notice the faint glimmer flowing across its surface, which then disappears in an instant, as if it were an illusion.

However, as if remembering something, when Rika's gaze fell on Sayuri and Shiroshima not far away, and the clips that seemed somewhat similar, she couldn't help but look at Natsuki, a look of surprise on her face.

"Could it be..."

Xia Mu touched his nose, not answering directly: "Just keep it with you. If you encounter such danger again, it should be able to protect you. As for joining us, let's talk about that after you've dealt with your mother's matter—"

As he spoke, he pointed to Rika's mother, who was slowly waking up not far away. The girl then realized what he meant and, after thanking him repeatedly, hurriedly ran towards her mother.

Natsuki had no reason to refuse the girl's request.

After all, given the potential threat posed by the Illuminati, even with Sayuri and Shiroshima as members, he is still quite weak and isolated, making the development of a team inevitable.

More people, more strength – this is a golden rule in any world.

Of course, this excludes certain fantasy worlds with high martial arts, where the supreme power that can destroy planets at the drop of a hat makes it no difference whether there are tens of thousands or hundreds of millions of helpers!

However, the problem facing Xia Mu now is that the prerequisite for using the [Holy Artifact] is to have a certain degree of resonance with the Holy Light, or simply put, the degree of compatibility with the Holy Light.

Previously, he had given the [Holy Relic] to Mikiko and Mai, but neither of them could activate the power of the Holy Light. It could only serve as a talisman when facing danger. Even Mizuno, the school doctor who had been possessed by a ghost, was tested by Natsuki and failed to produce any reaction.

At that time, he vaguely understood that not everyone could resonate with the [Sacred Artifact]. People like Sayuri and Shiroshima, who could enter a state of holy light as soon as they used it, were a minority and could not be sought after.

Therefore, although he did not object to Rika Kanzaki's idea of ​​joining the team, due to the aforementioned restrictions, he could only give her the [Sacred Relic] in this way.

In their previous encounters, Natsuki had noticed that Kanzaki Rika's subconscious reaction to the attack from the demon fox clearly indicated that she was a special human like them.

Thinking that the girl might also encounter attacks from ghosts in the future, Xia Mu gave her the [Holy Artifact] so that even if she couldn't activate the power of the Holy Light, she could still protect herself.

The girl's words still seemed to echo in his ears. Natsuki gave her a deep look, then turned to Sayuri and Shiroshima and said, "Let's go."

"Where to? Back to our home?"

Sayuri immediately jumped over.

The cross-shaped mark in her eyes had disappeared. After exiting the holy light state, she put her school uniform back on, exuding youthful energy.

As a result, Natsuki discovered her little scheme and directly covered her head with one hand, but Sayuri still stretched out her arm to try to touch her.

Xia Mu looked at Bai Dao, and as the girl approached, he suddenly remembered something. He glanced at the fox statue not far away, clenched his remaining fist, and said:

"But before that, we need to clean up the trash here..."

……

Chapter 62 Like...like?

Z's ghosts can create clone-like entities.

By possessing a clone of itself on a fox statue and absorbing the life force of the worshipper, the spirit nourishes its own body, thus achieving continuous growth and expansion.

Although Z has perished, his body has turned into soul crystals and been completely absorbed by Xia Mu!

However, to prevent the influence of any remaining power, Natsuki thoroughly inspected all the statues in the shrine until he was certain that they no longer had any trace of ghostly presence before leaving with peace of mind.

As for Rika's mother, after slaying the demonic clone inside the fox statue in the room, her life force seemed to return to her.

Although she was still a little weak, she was able to recover quickly in a short time, which was another pleasant surprise.

As they prepared to leave, it was already late at night. The black fog dissipated, bringing with it the gentle moonlight and the usual tranquil atmosphere.

It's hard to imagine that a fierce battle had just broken out in this shrine not long ago!

Isolated by the black mist, the commotion did not spread out at all. Only Xia Mu and others who experienced it firsthand clearly remembered the danger they had just faced.

"...Then we'll take our leave!"

He nodded to Rika Kanzaki, and Sayuri and Shirashima behind him waved goodbye. The girl didn't say anything, but bowed deeply to express her gratitude.

When Rika looked up again, Natsuki and the others had completely disappeared.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but after taking a few deep breaths, she clenched the whale clip in her palm, a determined look appearing in her eyes.

What she didn't notice was that as she gripped it tightly, a faint glimmer of light flowed across the surface of the clip again, as if responding to someone in some way.

……

Although both girls have now awakened the power of holy light and can face ordinary dangers on their own, even if ghosts attack, as long as they are not too troublesome, they will not be a match for the girls.

However, as a teacher and an adult male, Xia Mu still took on the important mission of escorting the girl home.

Sayuri's house wasn't too far away, so Natsuki quickly took her home. As for Shiroshima, her house was a bit further away, but fortunately, it was still about a half-hour walk away.

clap clap clap...

The two walked along the road, one on each side, their shadows cast long, long shadows by the soft lamplight.

Xia Mu glanced at the girl.

After leaving the shrine, she remained silent. Her quiet demeanor, while consistent with the girl's personality in his memory, still made Xia Mu worry and ask, "Shiroshima?"

It wasn't until his name was called several times that Shiroshima belatedly looked up: "What's wrong, Natsuki-sensei?"

"You've been so quiet since just now, can you tell me what you're thinking?"

Xia Mu directly voiced her doubts, and feeling the concerned gaze, Shiroshima paused for a moment before responding:

"Actually, I've always been concerned about whether Little Black... and the ghost on that man are both..."

When Shiroshima heard Natsuki talk about the origin of the ghost on Z at the shrine, this idea popped into his mind.

Since the Ghost Fox was forcibly bestowed, did the Black Shadow Armor, also known as Little Black, appear on his family's body in the same way?

Hearing Shiroshima's words, Natsuki couldn't help but sigh. Sure enough, with a girl's intelligence, how could she not have thought of this?

However, he did not immediately confirm this, but stopped and pondered:

"While this possibility exists, we currently have far too little information, and it's far too early to make such a judgment..."

Shiroshima nodded thoughtfully, seemingly guessing Natsuki's thoughts, and replied:

"I understand. When I get back, I'll talk to my father and the others about this. If there's any new information, I'll let Teacher Xia Mu know as soon as possible!"

clever!

Natsuki praised the girl in his heart. In a way, Shiroshima was indeed a very qualified teammate. In terms of both ability and intelligence, she was far superior to that twin-tailed girl!

So much so that he couldn't help but wonder if it was the right choice for him to entrust the [Sacred Relic] to Sayuri.

"And Teacher Xia Mu..."

Shirashima suddenly glanced at Natsuki, hesitated for a moment, then pointed to the hair clip on her head and asked, "This thing... is it really the token of love you gave us?"