The Morose Mononokean

Hanae Ashiya’s first days of high school are derailed when he ends up stuck in the infirmary, weakened by a baffling ailment that only worsens. The culprit turns out to be a mysterious, fluffy creature that latched onto him after he found it just before the school year began—and as Ashiya’s condition deteriorates, the creature keeps growing.

With nowhere else to turn, he calls an exorcist advertised as someone who can drive out youkai, only to be led to the Mononokean, a teahouse that suddenly appears beside the infirmary. There, the reserved Haruitsuki Abeno agrees to help, then promptly presents an exorcist’s bill Ashiya can’t pay. To work off the debt, Ashiya is drafted as an employee—an arrangement made even more awkward by the fact that Abeno is one of his classmates. Together, they deal with an array of peculiar and sometimes dangerous youkai, guiding them back to the Underworld.