The atmosphere became heavy after he finished speaking.

Seeing that the three people in front of him were not speaking, Matsuo panicked and hurriedly added:

"Also! I'm very familiar with the environment of this abandoned school building!"

“I grew up in Twilight Village. I was born here. When I went to school, this school building was still standing, and I lived in it for several years.”

"So if you take me with you, at least I can help you give directions!"

"I won't hold you back... When you're doing the exorcism, I'll stand far away!"

"None of us are worried about that."

"Villiers said casually."

Regardless of their personalities, the three main characters in the comic are undeniably powerful. The reason they hang out together is because of their shared arrogance.

Coincidentally, the same is true for Willy.

"That……"

Matsuo looked over with hopeful eyes.

"Didn't the police already search several times? Perhaps the child has already been eaten, so there's no trace of his remains," Yukimura Masashi's cold voice rang out.

Upon hearing his words, Matsuo's face turned deathly pale. He forced himself to speak, "You...you said it was just a possibility, maybe he'll be alright?"

"There are very few cannibalistic ghosts in those fictional works, right? Maybe this ghost is just hiding Ahui!"

"It's not impossible."

As if deliberately going against Masashi Yukimura, Kanade Kii spoke slowly and softly.

“The ghost… Yoshida Yuta died in an earthquake thirteen years ago in the old school building and has been wandering around here ever since.”

"Isn't this equivalent to a bound spirit?"

"The old school building was his home. It's perfectly normal to renovate it a little, change the layout of the rooms, and hide that poor child, right?"

"..."

Masashi Yukimura didn't want to argue with him and looked away.

But Kanade Kii insisted on confronting him head-on.

"Did the Investigation Bureau issue a clear report saying that Hasegawa Teru was eaten?"

"……No."

Masashi Yukimura remained silent for a long while before answering.

Kii Kanade laughed, her eyes crinkling as she turned to Vili.

"Vili, why don't you come with me on the next mission?"

He didn't say a single bad word about Yukimura Masashi, yet it seemed as if everything was understood without being said.

Yama-Ying hugged a cookie and munched on it, her eyes almost unable to take it all in.

Then, she took out her notebook and added a point for Kii Kanade.

"Uh..." Matsuo sensed the awkward atmosphere, but he forced himself to speak, "So, can you take me inside?"

"I have another question!"

Ignoring the two people beside him, Vili raised his hand.

"You could have waited until we dealt with the ghost before coming in to look for the person, why did you have to choose today?"

Matsuo took a deep breath, his tone firm.

“Every day Ah Hui stays inside, the danger increases. I… I really can’t rest easy.”

"The police had cordoned off this place before and sent people to patrol day and night for fear of disturbing the scene, so I couldn't go in to look for people. After they left, an adult set up a barrier here, and I can't even get close."

"What if..." He licked his chapped lips, which were probably sore from being too anxious these past few days, as blisters had formed at the corners of his mouth. "What if it wasn't a ghost hiding Ah Hui, but Ah Hui actually escaped?"

"But he either hid somewhere and passed out, or he was injured... In short, the police couldn't find him."

"That's possible, isn't it?"

"I know this place well, I'm sure I can find him!"

"..."

Kii Kanade and Yukimura Masashi both looked at Vili, waiting for his decision.

The boy nodded his cheek with a hint of distress, staring at his shadow on the ground, when suddenly he remembered something.

"Positive or negative?"

He asked Matsuo.

The latter froze, stammering, "Wh...what?"

Suddenly, a coin appeared in Willy's hand. He tossed it up and it fell back down, gleaming silver in the moonlight.

Matsuo was stunned to see that he actually intended to decide such an important matter in this way, and subconsciously looked at the other two.

Kii Kanade's smile deepened as she stared intently at Vili, seemingly in a very good mood.

Masashi Yukimura, however, remained indifferent and did not raise any objection to the play's attitude.

"...On the contrary, the opposite."

Matsuo spoke with difficulty.

As he finished speaking, the coin was tossed into the air and fell straight down, where it was caught in the palm of Wei's hand. His slender, fair fingers slowly opened, revealing the final result.

"You're very lucky."

Willie smiled and nodded, then put the coin away.

It seems his divination skills... haven't declined at all.

Upon seeing the result, Yukimura Masashi remained silent. The parchment, encased in flames, suddenly appeared in the air, which he grasped and handed to Matsuo, who was clutching his chest and letting out a sigh of relief.

"This...this is..."

Upon witnessing such a supernatural sight for the first time, he froze on the spot, unable to react.

"The agreed-upon contract," Masashi Yukimura said succinctly.

"You must not reveal our exorcism process... otherwise..."

Kii Kanade's voice was gentle, but her words were like falling into an ice cave.

"Bang!"

They were unwilling to bring Matsuo in, not because they were afraid of breaking the rules, nor because they were worried about not being able to protect him and causing him to die.

Rather, it's because—

The first and most important rule of Yumishi's code is the principle of confidentiality.

If these people were to discover that the "righteous" exorcists in their eyes were actually using the power of demons, and even capturing these things, they would be incredibly uneasy and might even try to eliminate them in order to protect themselves.

They clearly haven't done anything wrong.

The ultimate benefit for Master Yumi is always himself.

"Put your hand on the paper."

Ignoring Kii Kanade's childish threats, Yukimura Masashi urged in a calm voice.

It's already been a long time, are you getting impatient because you haven't seen Willy yet?

Despite the fear, there was no turning back at this point.

Matsuo shakily raised his hand, feeling the heat rising the instant his palm touched the paper. Immediately afterward, he felt a sharp pain in his palm, blood flowing onto the paper, and the parchment suddenly burst forth with a bright light, revealing chains in the void.

"Click".

A soft click of the lock sounded, and the contract was finalized.

Masashi Yukimura took the parchment back.

"Okay, I hope you can really make a difference."

Kii Kanade stretched out her palm and pressed it against the peeling wall. Even though she didn't do anything else, Matsuo could feel that the atmosphere of the entire school building had changed.

This means the ban has been lifted.

Next, Masashi Yukimura took out the key given to him by the village chief, inserted it into the lock, and pushed the door open completely.