Sawamura Eriri was the eldest daughter of the prestigious Sawamura family, and her father lomat. She was undoubtedly part of the wealthy sed geion, so money was never an issue for her. Although 200,000 yen wasn't a small sum, it was something Eriri could easily afford. Without hesitation, she quickly transferred the moo Ryuji Hoshino.

  "Is it okay now?" she asked.

  "Of course!" Ryuji replied, gng at the transfer notification on his phone befiving a satisfied nod. He then waved his hand casually in Eriri's dire using his soul dev ability to absorb the lingeriive energy on her. "It's done."

  "???"

  Wait, what? That quickly? Eriri was stunned. Was he joking? She wasn't sure whether to trust him. Even Utaha, who was standing nearby, gave Ryuji a suspicious look.

  "I've already cleared the ive energy that the Skeleton Woma on you. You should feel a lot lighter now," Ryuji expined calmly.

  "???"

  Eriri blinked in fusion but soon started to realize something. After taking a moment to check herself, her expression shifted to one of surprise.

  "It's true!" she excimed, her face lighting up. The heavy, gloomy feeling that had been weighing her down all night was pletely gone. She felt light and refreshed, as if all the fatigue from her sleepless night had simply vanished.

  Ryuji had simply waved his hand, and just like that, she was cured. It was incredible. But wait... something didn't feel right.

  "Hold on," Utaha, who had been watg the eime, spoke up with a thoughtful look on her face. "What would have happened if we hadn't dealt with this ive energy?"

  That was a question they hadn't sidered earlier.

  Ryuji shrugged, seemingly uned. "It's nothing too serious. At worst, you would have to see the Skeleton Womaime you closed your eyes. You wouldn't be able to sleep, and you'd eventually beentally exhausted, paranoid, and maybe even lose your sanity. But you wouldn't die."

  His tone was so nont it made the situation sound far less terrifying than it actually was.

  "Wait, what?" Utaha's eyes widened. "That's really scary! What do you mean 'you won't die'? That's way too light!"

  Without missing a beat, Utaha immediately requested, "Please help me clear mioo!"

  As a bestselling author, she wasn't short on money, so 200,000 yen was nothing she couldn't handle. She quickly made the transfer without hesitation.

  Ryuji, of course, took the payment and performed the same "sing" for her. With another casual wave of his hand, Utaha felt the weight lift off her shoulders.

  As fumi, she remained silent. ing from an ordinary family, she didn't have the luxury of being able to shell out 200,000 yen on a whim. But despite her financial situation, Megumi didn't seem too worried, maintaining her usual calm and posed demeanor.

  "How about I help you pay for it?" Utaha offered, feeling somewhat guilty. After all, if they hadn't dragged Megumi along st night, she wouldn't have entered the Skeleton Woman in the first pce. It felt like her responsibility to help Megumi cover the cost.

  "No need," Megumi interrupted, shaking her head firmly. Her calm smile never wavered. "Don't worry about me."

  Seeing Megumi's posed attitude, Utaha rexed a little. Since Ryuji was here because of Megumi's call, she assumed they had some kind of retionship. Perhaps Megumi didn't o pay because they were friends.

  "Wait a sed!" Eriri suddenly excimed, as if something had just dawned on her. "While I'm grateful you helped clear my ive energy, what I really wanted from the start was for you to help Tomoya!"

  Ryuji smiled knowingly. He had expected this.

  "But," he said with a shrug, "I don't think saving him is really necessary."

  Both Eriri and Utaha looked at him, puzzled.

  "Acc to what you told me, Tomoya Aki has beeangled with the Skeleton Woman for quite some time, and she's already drained a signifit amount of his energy. Even if I get rid of her now, he won't have much life left." (How he knows all these still baffles me, but yeah let's just assume it's the MC privilege heh)

  In the supernatural sense, energy is closely tied to one's life force. Losing too much of it meant his days were numbered.

  "This…" Eriri and Utaha were both taken aback. They hadn't realized just how dire Tomoya's situation was.

  Seeing their silent shock, Ryuji tinued, "Don't feel too guilty. The Skeleton Woma attaeohout their own cooperation. Even if you pick up her token, as long as your willpower is strong enough, you won't fall victim to her. The Skeleton Woman merely amplifies the impulses already lurking iarget's heart."

  In other words, Tomoya's weakness and ck of resolve had made him an easy target. If he had been stronger mentally, this wouldn't have happeo him.

  "..." Both girls fell silent. They komoya well, and it was that his willpower wasly ironcd. In the end, this situation artly his own fault.

  "Hah!" Utaha sighed, letting the tension drain away from her body. "Well, that doesn't mean we shouldn't still try to save him."

  The thought of Tomoya and the supernatural events tied to him made her feel nauseous. It was time to leave that chapter behind. She'd try to see this as her opportunity to move on.

  "And me as well!" Eriri added, her voice firm. Despite everything, she and Tomoya had been childhood friends, and no matter what, she wasn't going to abandon him now.

  "Since you both feel that way, I'll ha," Ryuji said with a shrug, unfazed. In fact, he was already thinking about the bes. Clearing out the Skeleton Woman from Tomoya would allow him to devour another spirit and further increase his strength.

  But then, he smirked. "Two million yen."

  "... What?!"

  Both Eriri and Utaha were caught off guard.

  Of course, the moill o be earned, and he was going to multiply it by ten this time! The somewhat solemn atmosphere was immediately shattered.

  "So expensive?!" Now they didn't feel like saving him anymore! But in the end, the money was transferred.

  Looking at the bance dispyed on his phone, Ryuji was quite satisfied. Not bad!" Alright the's meet at the school gate after csses this evening. "Yeah!"

  After agreeing oime, Eriri and Utaha left. However, Megumi stayed behind, staring quietly at Ryuji.

  "Well, I'll head bad wait for you!" Sensing that Megumi had something to say, Miko, who had bee until then, didn't seem to mind. After saying a quick word, she also left the rooftop.

  For a moment, only Ryuji and Megumi remained on the vast rooftop. "Ryuji-kun's girlfriend is really pretty. "Looking in the direiko had left, Megumi suddenly spoke. Her tone seemed calm, but whether it was just Ryuji's imagination or not, there seemed to be a hint of jealousy in her voice.

  It's the same old story. Even though it's a cliché, resg the damsel in distress really does work.

  "What you should be ed about now is the ive energy on your body.

  "Ryuji hadn't yet sed the energy left by the Skeleton Woman from Megumi.

  "I don't have 200,000 yen."Megumi shook her head holy. Her family was ordinary; her parents were regur employees, and she wasn't an only child. She had plenty of daily expenses. She didn't have any side jobs either, so she really couldn't e up with 200,000 yen.

  "So, what do you have? "Following his principle of not w for free, asked.

  "Myself!"