Hikigaya opened his eyes, not knowing when he had actually fallen asleep.
Ever since he followed Tamamo-no-Mae's advice and continuously absorbed the surrounding light, he had gradually started to feel that this practice was slowly, albeit very slowly, having a positive effect on his body.
Combining his own experiences with Tamamo-no-Mae's knowledge and insight, Hikigaya had recently begun to understand the concept referred to as the "essence of life."
This was the key distinction between gods and non-god beings.
The reason gods were considered gods was precisely because their essence of life was fundantally different from that of other living beings. They were extrely "pure" in this regard, conceptually close to the very core and essence of "life" itself—so much so that they could freely alter the essence of their own bodies, and even with just a thought, without exerting any force, they could directly affect other living beings.
Though God Slayers hadn't reached the heights of deities, the ritual they underwent elevated their life essence above that of any creature on earth, nudging it toward godhood.
And Authorities were the manifestation of a God Slayer's life essence. In other words, changes in a God Slayer's life essence would be directly and noticeably reflected in their Authorities—although the changes in the latter were usually much more dramatic.
This also helped Hikigaya determine that the recent changes he was experiencing were signs of his life essence undergoing transformation. Even without fighting beings of equal status, his Authorities still changed, albeit only slightly—they had not stopped evolving.
These changes also reflected in his physical habits—for example, he now needed more food and more sleep than before.
Rubbing his eyes, Hikigaya sat upright again.
Looking around, he realized he was the only one who had fallen asleep.
Miura and Hayama were engaged in a pretty intense conversation, although one party was clearly more proactive than the other.
anwhile, the dynamic between the bespectacled fujoshi and the goofball Tobe was the complete opposite in terms of who was taking initiative.
Yuigahama was sitting nearby, chatting casually while fiddling with her phone.
Because of that, she was the first to notice Hikigaya had woken up.
"Ah, Hikki's awake~."
Was it just his imagination, or did this girl change the way she addressed him every so often?
"Sorry, did we wake you?" Hayama asked.
"No, not at all. I just nodded off for a bit," Hikigaya replied.
"Speaking of which, Hikigaya-kun, you don't usually chat much with people. That's kind of a sha," Miura suddenly chid in. "You're actually pretty handso, you know. Ever think about getting a girlfriend? You should hang out with us more!"
This girl… wasn't that a veiled jab?
How could you say that to a loner like him?
But considering she said he was "pretty handso," maybe he was just overthinking it.
"Yeah, and you're pretty skilled too. If more people got to know you, I bet a lot of them would look up to you," Hayama added with a smile that seed… a bit off. "Wasn't that the case back in Chiba Village? We all thought you were really impressive."
"It was just a little trick, nothing that special," Hikigaya replied. "A lot of people could do it."
That wasn't a lie. If you considered the whole world, there were indeed quite a few people who could manipulate their magical energy to that extent.
"Hachiman, there you are."
Suddenly, from the direction of the corridor, Seishuin Ena appeared.
"Sorry for interrupting," Ena gave a bow to the group before turning to Hikigaya and saying, "Hachiman, can we talk?"
As one of the original story's heroines, Seishuin Ena's appearance instantly drew everyone's attention.
It couldn't be helped—both her deanor and appearance were worlds apart from the average schoolgirl.
Even though she didn't show up at school often, she already seed to have amassed huge popularity among the boys.
"Ena-chan, long ti no see~," greeted Yuigahama, who probably visited the Service Club the most before joying.
"Mm, there were so family issues recently…" Ena replied with a flawless, friendly smile—but Hikigaya could clearly see the worry hidden in her eyes.
"Okay."
Hikigaya nodded, then stopped Hayama and Tobe from standing up. He pressed a hand to the small table in front of him and leapt forward. Naturally, he didn't touch anything—or anyone. In fact, he moved so fast that all others saw was a blur before he was already standing outside.
In this world, martial artists all shared the sa trait: if they could move in a straight line, they wouldn't bother with turns, and if they could jump, they wouldn't walk around.
Still, to Hayama and the others, this kind of movent wasn't sothing they often saw, so they were understandably amazed.
Then again, they seed pretty easygoing—just having the premise that Hikigaya knew martial arts was enough for them to lump all of it into the "cool and impressive" category.
The only one who seed to think a little deeper was Miura. Maybe it was because she'd been involved in that urn incident before—she was a bit more thoughtful than the others.
Her gaze toward Hikigaya and Ena clearly carried a hint of speculation, and her expression was a touch more strained than the others.
But no one present noticed this detail—not even Hikigaya or Ena.
Even for a God Slayer and a Shrine Maiden, unless they sensed hostility or were paying close attention, they wouldn't constantly keep track of everyone's reactions.
Under Tobe's mixture of encouragent and envy, Hikigaya and Ena walked to the end of the train car and entered the area between cars.
There, no one would be able to hear their conversation.
"What's wrong?" Hikigaya asked first.
"Well…" Ena looked hesitant, but also hopeful.
Looked like she'd run into sothing really troubleso.
So Hikigaya comforted her, "It's okay. If I can help, I will. What is it?"
"Hachiman…" Ena looked a little touched, then seed to summon her courage. After a deep breath, she said, "Um… can you save my friend?"
"Your friend? Save her?" Hikigaya tilted his head.
He didn't get it. Honestly, if you excluded deities and God Slayers, Ena should be one of the top-tier figures in Japan.
So it was weird that she was asking a God Slayer like him for help.
Could it be her friend offended another God Slayer?
As for the possibility of it being a god, Hikigaya didn't even consider it. Gods were direct and efficient—so efficient, you wouldn't even get the chance to ask for help. Either you beca a God Slayer or died before you even realized what happened.
Now that he thought about it, aside from himself, there was only one other God Slayer in Japan—Old Man Voban… Wait, that geezer showed up in Tokyo a while ago, didn't he? How could he forget!
"Did your friend piss off that old man Voban?" Hikigaya asked.
"No way," Ena shook her head vigorously. "My friend is a Shrine Maiden like . How could she possibly offend a King…? Eh? Why are you so sure this has sothing to do with Marquis Voban, Hachiman?"
"If it wasn't him, you would've handled it yourself, right?" Hikigaya said with a grin. "Your family's loaded, after all."
"Loaded…?" Ena smiled bitterly. "A few years ago, my friend was summoned by the Marquis to perform a very dangerous ritual. She was one of the few survivors. Now, the Marquis is summoning her again."
At this point, worry and anxiety were clearly written all over Ena's face.
"Rituals like that don't end safely every ti. Can you help save her? I really have no other options. People like us… we don't even have the right to speak directly with the Marquis."
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