‘Hey, hey, what’s with this sudden character a.s.sa.s.sination!?’

But… it even seemed reasonable on the surface. Seiji found it difficult to counter Hitaka’s statement.

Being so affectionate with a beautiful girl who he was still unfamiliar with… This indeed seemed like…

‘No, I’m not!’ he denied vehemently. ‘Perverts… have dirty minds! Mine is pure!!’

Hitaka regarded him coolly.

Seiji looked back at her, his expression calm.

Inwardly, however, Seiji was having a mental collapse.

"I still don’t quite understand." If this was a manga, there would surely be a series of question marks above the red-haired girl’s head.

"Then please don’t follow this line of thought anymore, and ignore it," Seiji begged sincerely.

"Alright."

"Thank you."

After a puzzling silence.

"What should we do now?" Seiji asked seriously, forcing himself to forget the little awkward episode.

Somehow, taking s.h.i.+ka Kagura to a hospital and returning home didn’t seem like a good idea.

"We’ll take her back to Milady," Hitaka stated.

Seiji nodded in agreement. This seemed like a reasonable development.

Seiji seemed to think of something else, as he looked at the cracked ground from s.h.i.+ka’s landing dubiously.

"Don’t worry; the ‘Cleaners’ will take care of it," Hitaka said.

‘Cleaners?’ Seiji raised his eyebrows in surprise.

This definitely didn’t sound like a janitor or anything like that…

‘Forget it; since Hitaka said it wasn’t necessary to worry, I shouldn’t think too much about it.’

A seemingly ordinary three-story building was located in the eastern part of Genhana High School’s grounds.

This was Natsuya Yoruhana, Hitaka Shuho, and… Rana Kirin’s residence.

More accurately speaking, this was their temporary residence due to the current situation.

Seiji looked outside the window as he slowly sipped from the cup of hot tea in his hand.

The warm tea slid down his throat, giving him a soothing feeling.

A short while after they’d left the park together, Seiji, Hitaka, and s.h.i.+ka were picked up by a black luxury car, the latter being carried in Seiji’s arms.

The driver was a brown-haired woman who wore dark grey professional clothing.

After getting on the car, the driver took them to this residence.

As Seiji lifted s.h.i.+ka out the car, he saw Natsuya awaiting their arrival outside the door of the building…

Footsteps sounded from behind him, interrupting Seiji’s musings.

Seiji turned around and saw President Yoruhana.

"How… is she?"

"Her injuries aren’t too serious. I’ve had them treated already," Natsuya stated in a light voice as she walked to the table, took a teacup, and poured herself a cup of hot tea from the kettle.

"At the same time, I also sealed her powers as a Spirit-branded Retainer."

After her red lips blew twice on the hot tea, she took a sip.

"After she wakes up, I have some questions to ask her…"

"Information gathering… Of course." Seiji put down his cup as he finished the tea. "But I doubt that she’ll have any useful information."

Natsuya remained silent for a few moments, before sighing.

"You’re probably right, Haruta-kun." Judging from the part she played in the enemy’s plot, as well as… the battle clothes she was wearing, it can be deduced that she was nothing more than a chess piece to be used and discarded by the enemy."

Seiji raised his eyebrows.

"Her… battle clothes?"

"The formal name for these clothes is ‘Standard Retainer Combat Equipment…’ As you saw for yourself, Hitaka was also wearing a similar type, but the specific… details were different," Natsuya explained.

"Their clothes did seem quite similar, just with different colors." Seiji thought back to what both of them had been wearing.

"This is the standard form, and most of them will greatly resemble each other. The differences come from… each Spirit-branded Retainer’s individual differences, so they normally have appropriate customizations." Natsuya paused for a moment. "I inspected s.h.i.+ka Kagura’s battle clothes closely and found no customizations whatsoever. Apart from the fact that she was wearing the correct size, it was just the standard basic model with absolutely no modifications."

"Not only that, it was also of rather low quality."

Seiji mulled over Natsuya’s words in silence.

Of course, he wasn’t familiar with the equipment that Spirit-branded Retainers used for combat, but it wasn’t hard for him to understand what the president had just told him.

s.h.i.+ka’s equipment was basically the lowest-level starting gear that was available!

In tandem with the role she played in the enemy’s plot, it was certain that she was nothing more than…

Seiji slowly began frowning.

Even though he already expected this, confirming it still gave him a sense of discomfort.

"She probably won’t have any useful information, but even the very basics are helpful to me since I still don’t know anything… If I can find out just this much, then our actions tonight won’t have been wasted."

Natsuya continued sipping from her tea.

"Such as your enemy’s name and ident.i.ty?" Seiji folded his arms.

An indescribable light flashed through Natsuya’s eyes.

"Yes, that’s the most basic information, and it’s what I am most eager to know."

"I’d also really like to know what type of b.a.s.t.a.r.d would use such a malicious plot," Seiji said lightly.

There was a momentary silence between the two.

"Haruta-kun, I can understand your anger, but…"

"I’m already deeply involved, President Yoruhana."

He looked deeply at her face.

"I feel that I can’t back out of this anymore… alright, fine, I don’t want to back out of this, and I want to get even more involved. That b.a.s.t.a.r.d used a plot which would have dire consequences for every teacher and student at our entire school! Just this alone means that I can’t just ignore this situation and idly stand by… This isn’t because I doubt your strength or Hitaka’s abilities, it’s just that I want to be able to do something as well, otherwise I won’t be able to rest a.s.sured."

"There’s also another reason—what happened to s.h.i.+ka Kagura was unacceptable."

"I sympathize with her, and I feel rage at the way she was treated… In summary, I want to give this enemy a vicious beating!"

Seiji unfolded his arms and clenched his fist; the sound of his knuckles cracking was audible.

"That’s why I wish to partic.i.p.ate to the end, even if there isn’t anything I can do. At the very least… I can give you some ideas."

Natsuya eyes were focused on his face.

"You’ve already done plenty, Haruta-kun. Without you, things would have…" She lowered her eyes slightly. "In the end, as a Yin Yang Master, I… sigh… but being depressed right now is nothing more than a waste of time."

Natsuya shook her head and forcefully injected some spirit into her voice

"This request of yours… I have no way to refuse you. Haruta… Seiji Haruta, I’m so sorry for getting you involved so deeply. I’m grateful for everything you’ve done so far, and… please continue to lend your strength to me."

She accepted his request.

Not only that, she even gave him a sincere invitation.

Seiji blinked as he smiled.

He definitely wasn’t wrong about Natsuya’s character.

"Thank you, President. I’ve received your request… and I’ll do my utmost to a.s.sist you."

Natsuya also smiled.

The sleek long black-haired girl’s smiles were always so moving.

Approximately 30 minutes later.

Hitaka reported that s.h.i.+ka had woken up.

However…

Seiji and Natsuya exchanged awkward glances as they went to the room s.h.i.+ka was in.

As they entered.

They saw that s.h.i.+ka was sitting on the bed and quietly looking out the window.

Hearing them enter, she turned her head around.

She quickly focused her gaze on Seiji’s face.

Then, a brilliant smile appeared on her face!

"Brother~"

Her voice was exceedingly gentle, and it sounded like she was begging to be spoiled.

After she spoke, she opened up her arms and gestured towards Seiji.

"Come hug me!"

Seiji and Natsuya were rendered speechless by this.

Just what the h.e.l.l was going on!?