"Haa... this feels refreshing..."
When I opened my eyes and sat up, I was looking at a ceiling I’d grown far too used to seeing.
"...Mm... Haruta..."
"Wow... what time is it? Why are you still asleep?"
Clack
"...There’s no Galaxy here..."
Back home, when you turned on a phone, the Samsung logo came up first. But in Kivotos, it was the Kaiser Group logo.
"Haa... even if you smash things like this to pieces, they just come back like cockroaches... That’s why I split the Kaiser Group in half."
"If this happens, all the work we did to bring the Abydos incident into the open becomes pointless... And Hoshino’s mental health is already bad enough as it is, not to mention how short she is...."
After thinking about that for a moment, I lay back down on the bed and looked to the side.
"She’s sleeping so peacefully... I should cover her with the blanket..."
Swish
When I pulled the blanket over Hina, her expression softened and she drifted into a more comfortable sleep.
"Sleep a little longer. I’m going out to get some fresh air."
Creak
"Ah... that’s nice. I feel alive again."
As soon as I breathed in the outside air, the stiffness in my shoulders eased away all at once.
"Then... should I do what I used to do a lot in Korea?"
Haruta had always been an early riser, and every weekend he used to get up at dawn and go on convenience store raids.
"Heh heh heh... there’s no ramen in Korea here, but... well, there are plenty of other tasty and fun things, so I guess I don’t really need to care?"
Sometimes he did miss Korean food or kimchi, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t keep longing for something that simply wasn’t here. And besides, there was plenty of food here that was delicious enough.
"Let’s see... the nearest... Angel24 is..."
After digging through the map for a while, I found the nearest convenience store.
"Huh... because this is Gehenna, it’s a little farther than I expected?"
According to the map, the closest convenience store was a depressingly long one kilometer away.
"...Should I just use my ability...?"
But I didn’t have enough mystery or fear to use it. The ability Haruta normally used was one that manifested power by combining fear and mystery, while also activating the authority of omnipotence contained in his own mystery.
Right now, though, I had no mystery at all, so I couldn’t use it in the slightest.
"...But my body still runs on fear, at least..."
That made it sound versatile and all-purpose, but fear was genuinely, disgustingly painful every time I used it, and sometimes I even heard hallucinations.
"Haa... I want something sweet..."
After walking and walking for a long time, I finally reached the convenience store, and there was more edible food there than I’d expected.
"Ohhh... as expected of a convenience store, there’s so much sweet stuff... very nice..."
With a few snacks and some ramen in hand, I headed happily to the register.
"Ah... later I should find something even sweeter and eat that too."
Beep beep beep
"Um... excuse me..."
The employee, who had been scanning my items for a while, looked at me and spoke carefully.
"Yes? Me?"
"Uh... could you maybe..."
...What is it? Don’t tell me.
Suddenly, a bad feeling hit me.
Click
If, by some microscopic chance, this person was someone trying to drag me back to the Correction Bureau, or someone who knew who I really was.
"Y-you’re Chaos... right...?"
"...Yes. Is there some kind of problem?"
My hand moved toward the gun I’d brought just in case. I wasn’t exactly good at shooting, but right now, intimidation would be enough.
"...I-I’m a fan!!"
"...???"
Had I eaten something wrong and messed up my ears? How could a criminal have fans?
"...Huh?"
"I’m a fan of Chaos!"
"...?"
"Could I maybe... get your autograph here...?"
"Uh... sure..."
Swish... scribble
"Wow... thank you so much!!!!"
"...?"
After paying, I sat at the convenience store table and started boiling my ramen, all the while doubting my own ears again.
"...Ugh... am I still half asleep...?"
If I was still half asleep, that had to be it. No, I really had to hope that was it.
"Now that I think about it, I want something sweet again... there isn’t any Melona here..."
There was ice cream, but nothing that looked especially good. Besides, I’d only come out for a bit, so I had to go back soon anyway.
"Yaaawn... oh, is the ramen done?"
The ramen had cooked better than I expected. After taking a bite, I was reminded all over again that Shibaseki Ramen really did make it well.
"Mm... nom... nom... still... chew chew... I’d eat it if you told me to eat ramen."
After demolishing three cups of ramen in no time, I left with a single candy in my mouth for dessert.
"...To think I have to walk all the way back to Gehenna..."
After eating for a bit and checking the time, it looked like I still had enough time to make it back.
"All right... should I head out?"
Boom!
To help with digestion, I hopped lightly over a building and headed back to Gehenna.
"...Come to think of it, when did the White Night Ego Gift stop showing up?"
Suddenly curious about the Ego Gift and the Paradise Lost I’d gotten for killing White Night, I pulled them out for a moment.
"...Huh?"
What I saw was the Paradise Lost I’d worked so hard to obtain split cleanly in half. The halo-like glow it had once had was gone completely.
"...Wait a second."
Ssssss
"...No way, seriously?"
When I squeezed it with my hand, it turned to dust and vanished.
"...Damn it, I—"
I was really about to swear, but I held it back.
"...Hoo... well, I still have a pair of wings left, so I should be able to fly."
Flap!
"...Hmm... well, I guess I can still fly, even if not as well as before."
I could fly, but it looked like it would be a lot of work.
"For now... let’s just walk."
I was later than I’d expected, but thankfully I could still make it before Hina woke up.
"Wow... she really must be exhausted... Has the kid been asleep since yesterday... for about twelve hours now...?"
I hadn’t checked the time yesterday, but it was definitely very late.
"...Sigh... well... at least it’s her day off today. Ah, Sensei is probably working overtime again today."
Ring ring ring
"...? What is it... Hina’s phone?"
Carefully, so I wouldn’t wake Hina, I picked up the phone and answered. It was Ako.
"Where are you, Chief...?"
"What, is that you, Amau?"
"...You are... Chaos...?"
"No, damn it. I have a perfectly normal name, and you keep calling me Chaos!"
"Ah... sorry... you were definitely... Haruta, right?"
"Yeah, thanks for remembering."
"And why are you holding the Chief’s phone!?"
"Ah, Hina’s asleep right now, so I picked up for her."
"...Don’t tell me...?"
"No, absolutely not."
"How shameless!"
I really did do a lot of things that could be misunderstood, but I didn’t remember doing anything this bad.
"That’s not it, so just tell me why you called."
"Today is... supposed to be the Chief’s day off, but... there’s a job that’s difficult for just me, Chinatsu, and Iori to handle."
"...Got it. Stay there. Tell Iori to get ready to come out right now, and you and Chinatsu support from the rear. Get ready to move."
"What are you talking about! This is supposed to be Chief Hina’s job!"
"Haa... I just want to finish the job quickly and get some rest too, and I’m a member of the Prefect Team as well."
"Even so, to an ordinary member...!"
"Just shut up and wait, unless you want me to go there alone and turn all of you into half-dead wrecks."
"...Even so!"
"Don’t make me say it twice. The blade will be pointed at you next time."
"...I-I can’t just...!"
"Hina is with me right now. Quiet down and report in detail where the problem is and who’s causing it. Answer me."
"Tch... the Hot Springs Development Department is... trying to carry out blasting work near the Gehenna highway... The main suspect is Kanukawa Kasumi..."
"Send me the address. I’m coming there."
"W-what do you think you can do!?"
"No matter how badly I’m hurt, I can still crush Gehenna with one finger, so don’t worry."
"...I can take that as a threat, right...?"
"Do whatever you want."
After that, I left the phone beside Hina, who was sleeping soundly in the hospital, and stepped back outside.
"Haa... my body was already itching for something to do... and now there’s something perfect, huh...?"
Crack!
"What if it won’t open again?"
Crack!
"...Oh. It opened."
Beyond the portal, Ako was urgently shouting orders at someone.
"What are you doing?"
"P-pfft!? ...Haruta...?"
"Pff... that laugh... heh... heh... anyway, should I grab that one on top of the pile of bombs over there?"
"Yes... this time’s job is... no, sometimes she just tries to blow everything up with bombs... Haa... I don’t even know how many times this has happened..."
"Then should I make sure she can never do it again?"
"...Huh?"
"It’d be quite a sight if I tore off one arm and one leg so she could never pull this stunt again."
"...What... are you..."
"I’m joking. So I just need to subdue her, right?"
"Yes..."
"Stay here. If the bombs go off, set up as much defense as you can so the blast doesn’t spread, and make sure there are no casualties."
"...Even if we set it up..."
"Have you tried it?"
"...Understood..."
"Then I’m going ahead."
Boom!
I quickly put strength into my legs and shot forward.
"Wahaha! The blasting work is about to begin! This is just perfec—"
Whoosh
Crash!
Thud!
"Hieeek?! Chief Hina?! I-I’m sorry...!!!"
"What is she saying?"
"...? What? And who are you?"
"That’s none of your business. Just retreat quickly, and I’ll quietly leave you alone here."
"Ha! I’m not someone a guy like you can order around!"
Grab
"Are you threatening me right now?! That’s ridiculous! If you don’t back off this instant, I’ll start the blasting work right now!"
Boom!
Still holding Kasumi by the collar, Haruta moved her over to a nearby abandoned building and then said,
"Now... if you don’t retreat quickly from here, I don’t know what’s going to happen."
"Ha! What kind of threat is that!"
Boom!
With a careless motion, yet a perfectly clean one without a single wasted movement, Haruta drove his fist into the building behind Kasumi.
"...W-what... is this...?"
Grab
"Now... a technique stronger than that is going to get driven into your head... got it?!"
"I-I-I’m sorry! I’ll retreat right away!"
"Good. And if you bother me again..."
Swish
Haruta made a slashing gesture across his throat and glared at Kasumi.
"Hiiik!!! I understand... I’m sorry!!!"
"All right... then let’s go deal with the bombs..."
And so, thanks to the Hot Springs Development Department stuffing in far too many bombs, it took two full hours just to remove them all.
As a result, a rumor spread through Gehenna for a while that it took longer to deal with the bombs than it did to subdue Kasumi.
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