After breaking up, my ex asked me to win her back

An inexplicable chill blew through, stirring the branches overhead, causing the leaves to shiver with a rustling sound.

A dark cloud obscured the sun, casting shadows over Kagura Hikaru's head, mirroring his current state of mind.

Mizuno Yuna?

That Shrine Maiden who disappeared thirty years ago?

She looks so young... not at all like a young girl who would have been nineteen thirty years ago, but rather like a nineteen-year-old living right now.

What on earth is going on?

"Hey hey, don't make such a scary face, I'm not a bad person, sister... Uh, how old are you?"

"... Seventeen."

"I knew it, I'm the older sister, no mistake!"

The Shrine Maiden clapped to herself, wearing a triumphant and somewhat foolish grin.

If she was trying to bewitch others with her smile, then clearly Kagura Hikaru was not fooled.

He became even more cautious, and tentatively threw a mind-reading probe her way.

If it be man or ghost, as long as it possesses the ability to think, then it should have a 'mind' to read.

However, the reality was not that simple. Kagura Hikaru's ability passed right through the girl who claimed to be 'Mizuno Yuna.'

As if there was never a person there to begin with, it vanished into the air without a trace, no echo to be heard.

Kagura Hikaru fell silent once more.

Using his ability, yet not able to read anything she was thinking—this was a first.

He belatedly realized that his 'sense of smell,' which could differentiate between truth and lies, also seemed to be failing, unable to judge the Shrine Maiden's words.

... Does this mean that the 'person' in front of him really isn't a person?

"Eh, did you just do something to me?" the Shrine Maiden asked in surprise, thoughtfully touching her chest, "Right here, it felt like something... some kind of psychic attack?"

"..."

This is bad.

Kagura Hikaru broke out in a cold sweat; he had never imagined his mind-reading could be detected, not even Komori Ai could do that.

If she took this as a hostile act, it was all over for him—he had no confidence in overcoming a ghost, no, a Vengeful Spirit that had been brooding for thirty years!

"Eh, did little brother do it just now? Could it be that you're a Supernatural Power User? Like those in the comics, the one who can exert powers!"

The Shrine Maiden struck an embarrassing pose, reminiscent of the 'Kamehameha,' and uttered a "Haah!"

... Well, how should I say this...

Kagura Hikaru could sense that this person was a bit off the mark.

Now that I think about it, were people already watching Dragon Ball thirty years ago?

Suddenly, he felt as if all his previous tension was like dueling with the air, and Kagura Hikaru relaxed his guard and sighed.

"Shrine Maiden Miss, you said your name is Mizuno Yuna?"

"Yes, is there a problem?" the Shrine Maiden queried curiously.

"Do you know what year it is now?"

"Huh?"

The Shrine Maiden was taken aback, then burst into laughter while clutching her stomach, "Puhahaha... Little brother, you don't think I'm one of those Vengeful Spirits who doesn't even know they're dead, do you? That's not right at all. If anything, I'd be considered an earthbound spirit—I'm rational and don't bite people, not like those Chinese Zombies, you know!"

Zombies?

Indeed, when talking about biting monsters, modern people would likely say 'Zombies,' but during Mizuno Yuna's time, it was probably Chinese zombie movies that were popular.

"I'm aware, you know, that I'm already dead. Even though I didn't do well in school, I'm not so muddled to be unaware of something like this."

Mizuno Yuna looked at the dilapidated shrine behind her, her eyes filled with nostalgia, "Unknowingly, it's already been a hundred years..."

"No, it's only been thirty years."

"Huh?"

Kagura Hikaru, squinting his eyes, and the stunned shrine maiden exchanged glances.

"Ah... ahahaha, I see, I see, yes, that's right. It seems becoming a ghost still affects the brain, yes, yes..."

The shrine maiden subtly shifted her gaze away and scratched the back of her head, her pursed lips wriggling like a caterpillar as her face blushed with embarrassment.

This girl, she really is an idiot, isn't she?

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"It's my first time seeing a natural airhead in real life, so interesting! Hey, hey, let's tease her some more! Heehee!" said Komori Ai, next to him, gleefully taking pleasure in the other's misfortune, incessantly tugging at his hand.

Unlike him, who only thought it, she said it out loud.

"To say it out loud like that, how mean!" the shrine maiden protested with wide eyes.

Hmm, I figured she would feel that way.

......

...

...

Wait a second.

"You can see her?" Kagura Hikaru asked, pointing at Komori Ai.

The shrine maiden looked puzzled: "Huh? Isn't that obvious? My eyesight isn't bad. By the way, that little sister is quite pretty, is she your relative?"

He looked at Komori Ai and saw that although she had a smile on her face, there was also a hint of surprise in her expression.

This ghost wasn't affected by mind-reading, and even Komori Ai's 'Lie' couldn't deceive her.

So then... she really wasn't a supernatural power user with some special ability, but an actual ghost.

It wasn't until this moment that Kagura Hikaru truly believed it.

Over the years, he had encountered more than one or two supernatural events, like awakening memories of a past life, acquiring mind-reading ability, and meeting Komori Ai.

But this was the first time he had encountered a ghost.

Perhaps due to a premonition from his subconscious, Kagura Hikaru suddenly remembered the fortuneteller grandma with a strange aura he had met at the bridge on the night his mother got married, not long ago.

From her, he had acquired a skill he'd never seen before called 'Clairvoyance'.

At first, Kagura Hikaru thought it was an ability similar to Yin-Yang Eyes, but after trying it for a long time, it was of no use.

Looking at it now, it could simply be that he had not encountered a suitable situation for its effect.

Kagura Hikaru tried to turn off the clairvoyance ability.

As expected, the shrine maiden's figure vanished abruptly from his sight.

When he activated clairvoyance again, her figure returned, as if she had been there from the start.

Kagura Hikaru was somewhat enlightened, realizing that if he hadn't stolen that ability that day, he most likely wouldn't have been able to see Mizuno Yuna today.

As for Komori Ai being able to see her without clairvoyance, Kagura Hikaru wasn't actually surprised.

Though they said they were of the same kind, there was actually a fundamental difference between him and Komori Ai.

Komori Ai was a genuine psychic, a naturally extraordinary human, while Kagura Hikaru was initially just an ordinary person. His uniqueness came from Golden Finger and not from himself; it was not strange that they displayed differences.

Just like this ghost who had been missing for thirty years, Komori Ai was also a part of the shadows hidden in this world, and Kagura Hikaru had no intention of delving into it.

More than this, he was curious about the truth behind the case.

What exactly happened thirty years ago, why did shrine maiden Mizuno Yuna die, and where is the culprit now?

All of this could be answered by Mizuno Yuna herself for him.