*****

The next day, Ren went to school as usual. He had gone to see Eriri early in the morning. Aunt Sayuri said Eriri was feeling unwell and needed to rest another day. The subtle, awkward expression on her face made Ren understand: Eriri had been too loud yesterday, and Sayuri knew about him and Eriri. He didn't care. What's done is done; there's nothing to hide. However, Eriri's discomfort was indeed due to him. After visiting Eriri, he went to school by himself.

Today's train was as crowded as ever. He lowered his head, scrolling through news on his phone, standing for quite a while.

"!!!" His body was bumped. He looked up. A beautiful girl with long blonde hair bumped into him. She looked somewhat like a gyaru, with long, beautiful nails, several rings, ear piercings, and earrings. Her school uniform was peculiarly disheveled, and she also wore a black lace choker around her neck. She was, in short, a very typical gyaru.

"Ah, I'm so sorry, I'm a bit sleepy and didn't stand steadily!" But this gyaru was very polite. Her voice was clear, cheerful, and pleasant to listen to.

"It's fine." The girl saw that Ren's uniform was also from Comprehensive High School. She couldn't help but size up Ren. What a handsome face! What a great physique! A perfect body for cosplay! When she saw Ren's golden eyes, her eyes instantly sparkled. She boldly asked, "Are your eyes also colored contacts?"

"Also?" Ren was stunned for a moment. Only then did he notice that the girl's pupils were red. From her words, they should be colored contacts. "My eyes are naturally golden, not colored contacts."

The girl's eyes brightened even more, and her cherry lips let out a soft gasp: "How amazing." He suddenly found this girl very interesting, very open and cheerful.

"My name is Ren Kazama, from Comprehensive High School, second year, Class 1. What about you?"

Only then did the girl remember that she had disturbed someone without introducing herself, and quickly said, "I'm Kitagawa Marin, from Comprehensive High School, second year, Class 5."

"..." Kitagawa Marin? Isn't she the heroine from My Dress-Up Darling?

"Nice to meet you."

"Mm-hmm, me too." It seemed that Kitagawa Marin quickly became familiar with Ren after just a few sentences. Their conversation also became bolder.

"Ren-kun, have you ever tried cosplaying?"

"Cosplay? I haven't really tried it."

Kitagawa Marin felt a sudden pang of regret. Such a perfect body, it would surely be great for cosplay, wouldn't it? It's such a shame! So she tentatively asked, "Then, Ren-kun, are you interested in cosplay?"

Ren stroked his chin and pondered for a moment. "Hmm, it sounds quite interesting."

Kitagawa Marin's eyes lit up. "Then Ren-kun, you can try being a model! There's a comic convention next weekend!"

"Alright, but I don't know much about it, so I might need Kitagawa-san's help then."

Kitagawa Marin smiled brightly and patted her chest. "Leave it to me." The two exchanged contact information. Whenever it came to things she liked, she was always very open. Her favorite thing was cosplay.

*****

"Ah!" Suddenly, a scream attracted everyone in the train car. Ren also looked over.

A black-haired girl, also wearing a Comprehensive High School skirt uniform, was sitting on the train floor, her eyes teary. She gave a wry smile, clutching her knee and muttering, "I fell yesterday, and my knee still hurts." Others realized, so that's what happened. But in Ren's eyes, it wasn't like that at all. The young girl's eyes were clearly filled with reluctance and fear. Because a terrifying evil spirit was emerging from the floor in front of her.

Yotsuya Miko. The girl who can see. She is Ren's junior. The reason she fell was that she was scared by the visible evil spirit. The reason she deliberately said her knee hurt was because the evil spirit kept repeating in the air: "Can you see? Can you see?" She said this specifically to hide the fact that she couldn't see. It's just that the terrifying evil spirit was standing in front of Yotsuya Miko.

"So scary! I can't stand up!" Tears welled up in Yotsuya Miko's eyes; she wanted to stand up, but her hands and feet were weak. The people around her just ignored her indifferently. It wouldn't be good if helping someone led to being blackmailed or mistaken for a pervert.

"Can you see?! Can you see?!" The evil spirit pressed closer and closer. Just as Yotsuya Miko was about to cry,

"Are you alright?" A gentle voice came. A hand passed through the evil spirit's body and reached her. In the eyes of others, this was just a simple act of help. In Yotsuya Miko's eyes, she saw the moment that hand touched the evil spirit. The evil spirit was instantly dispersed like smoke. She looked up in a daze and saw golden eyes, just like her own.

"Do you want me to help you up?" Ren asked gently.

"Mm..." Miko pursed her lips, and her small hand rested on Ren's hand. With Ren's steady and strong arm, Miko easily stood up.

"..." Her gaze kept glancing at Ren, looking as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

In response, Ren simply told her: "I am the same as you."

"!!!!" Miko's eyes widened. He is the same as me! He can also see evil spirits! And he just eliminated an evil spirit!!!

Ding! The train arrived at the station.

"If you want to know anything, come find me at the Supernatural Research Club, my name is Ren Kazama." Ren left a sentence and then exited the train.