Chapter 689: News and Invitation
Kazumi!
As Suken’s voice ran through the comms unit, Kazumi appeared on the screen. Beneath an accessory on her head, she had a dreamy smile, both in front of him and a bit silly. Satō Shin’ichi looked at his girlfriend on the other end of the screen, greeting her enthusiastically.
“What’s wrong? Is it inconvenient to type?”
Kazumi nodded in response. To make sure he could see her, she had specially bought a good phone stand and propped her phone on it, pointing it at herself. She then pulled out a notebook, which she usually used to record book information, and opened it.
“Cold words transmitted through the phone’s microphone,” she said.
“Mmm, there are some things that might not be clear when written in kanji, so I thought speaking would be more direct.”
Suken nodded slightly, responding. He sheepishly scratched the back of his head, his eyes sparkling.
He seemed to be practically glued to Kazumi’s face on the screen. Kazumi knew exactly what Suken had been thinking ever since he became her boyfriend – he just wanted to see her.
Suken said to the girl, “Chatting with this guy on video takes a lot of time and energy. Once I get busy, I don’t have any special time off. Although I’ve gotten used to Satō Shin’ichi’s presence this past month, I still want to see his face directly and feel his pure and fervent emotional fluctuations. I will still put most of my energy and attention on ‘mass-produced sources,’ which is affecting the girl’s daily thinking and calm judgment.”
Perhaps it was because of the increasing matters with the organization recently, causing the girl’s spirit to be constantly tense and a bit tired. For the past few days, Suken and Kazumi had only been having voice calls with Satō Shin’ichi, barely maintaining the minimum level of energy replenishment.
Suken’s lips curved slightly. He stared at his boyfriend on the screen, who practically had “Look at me!” written all over his face. Kazumi sighed inwardly.
She didn’t expose her boyfriend’s wish to be seen. The current situation was, after all, that she needed his help. And Suken’s “treatment” was also one of Suken’s resources.
“After all, I still have to give him some food. Moreover, seeing his undisguised joy, the little bit of cold ice in my heart also quietly melted.”
“Alright, let’s video chat then,” Kazumi said calmly, without any impatience.
“Great! Great!!” An unconscious cheer escaped. Satō Shin’ichi realized his lapse and quickly smiled twice more. Pretending to be serious, he sat up straighter, trying to salvage some of his image, but the corners of his smiling mouth wouldn’t go down.
“Ahem, it’s like this. Kazumi, we’re amazing! You guessed right! I asked the old man, and it turns out there’s another reason for school’s summer vacation.”
Her boyfriend’s obvious attempt to appear mysterious caused a blush to creep onto Kazumi’s face. She had already put on a graceful smile, though it quickly disappeared. Satō Shin’ichi, however, had seen the golden-haired girl on the screen, almost bouncing with excitement from her abundant energy, and his eyes eventually rippled with emotion.
Satō Shin’ichi continued speaking in an extremely enthusiastic tone, yet Kazumi couldn’t help but roll her eyes slightly.
“Are you still playing coy? Isn’t it obvious?”
“Isn’t it just obvious?” Kazumi interrupted him helplessly, her fingers idly twirling the pen in her hand. “It’s not summer vacation, and the school giving such a sudden two-week long break is hardly normal. Anyone with a little sense would find it strange.”
“Haha, that’s true.” Satō Shin’ichi chuckled sheepishly, then immediately composed himself, becoming much more serious. “But, Kazumi, the specific reason might be more serious than we imagine. The old man didn’t tell me the details, but I pestered him for a long time and combined it with some rumors I heard…”
He paused, as if organizing his thoughts. He then lowered his voice, as if revealing something that could be told to the girl in front of him.
“It seems the Association has received quite solid intelligence that there might be… from external forces recently. It’s said that they have resisted several important hero schools, including ours, launching large-scale attacks.”
Upon hearing the words “large-scale attacks,” Kazumi’s heart skipped a beat. She maintained a calm expression. Her slender arms tapped gently on the notebook, her mind whirring. This intelligence aligned highly with the “Darkness” organization or the Heroes Association’s actions. In fact, what Satō Shin’ichi said indirectly confirmed that Kazumi’s previous deductions were not wrong.
Now, some of the “Darkness” organization’s planned intelligence was precisely known to the Heroes Association, which had already made preparations and was setting a trap. This would undoubtedly greatly increase the risk and difficulty of the organization’s actions, and confirmed her previous judgment that this mission was almost certain death. However, this was understandable. Given the “Darkness” organization’s declining status, if there weren’t intelligence operatives within the organization that the Heroes Association had infiltrated, Kazumi wouldn’t have any questions.
“Large-scale attacks?” Kazumi repeated the word “attacks,” deliberately injecting a hint of well-measured surprise and concern into her tone. She then guided the conversation. “Targeting academies? What’s the purpose? To cause terror? Or… targeting specific students?”
She wanted to know how much information Suken had, whether he had already identified the “Darkness” organization, or if there was more specific target information.
Satō Shin’ichi scratched his face, trying hard to recall. “He said the situation is quite tricky, and the other party might be serious, not just a small skirmish. So, for absolute safety, the Association and the school decided to evacuate students in advance and avoid this ‘wind,’ and at the same time,” he added, “it seems to be to facilitate their defense and counter-attack measures. If students are in the school, they would be restrained.”
He paused and then added, “As for the target, he didn’t mention anyone specific, it’s more like indiscriminate… or perhaps, it’s to challenge the Association’s authority? To destabilize Kyoto? That’s probably the purpose.”
He didn’t know the specifics either. The Association seemed to be taking it very seriously, mobilizing a lot of personnel.
“Challenging authority, destabilizing…” Kazumi murmured these keywords in her mind. The Association’s judgment seemed to lean towards another reckless act by the “Darkness” organization, aimed at proving its existence and disrupting order, rather than having a specific target, or perhaps it was still the same rescue operation as before?
“But Satō Shin’ichi, this guy can still see things from the perspective of an ordinary person. He hasn’t really explained it to me.”
This made Suken breathe a sigh of relief. “At least the Association’s attention might not be fully focused on the deeper intentions that might exist within the organization.” Suken’s statement meant that the defense network set up by the Association would be comprehensive and strong, covering all possible risk points indiscriminately.
Kazumi listened and nodded slowly, recording the keywords in her mind: “Large-scale, no specific target, Association highly values it, defenses are in place.” This was indeed as she had thought, and the situation might even be more severe. The Heroes Association was showing its readiness, waiting for the “Darkness” organization to run into them.
“Then, what are the key areas of defense?” Kazumi asked next.
Suken raised his eyes slightly, looking at his boyfriend on the screen, his tone filled with concern. “For example, are these places particularly dangerous? My place is quite close to the school. If it spills over here, do I need to evacuate in advance?”
Seeing that she didn’t have many assumptions, or rather, only considered her girlfriend’s safety, the young boy Suken was exceptionally serious. “The old man wouldn’t tell me the details. He said it’s classified. However…” He frowned, trying hard to think. “I heard him on the phone say that the school, the key defense facilities inside the school… oh right, and also several large energy supply points near residential areas, these are places where battles might occur. But Kazumi, you probably don’t need to worry about your place. By then, there will definitely be heroes and police responsible for the safety of the residents.”
Kazumi silently noted this information. It was very valuable. Although fragmented, it was enough for her to have a general idea of the Association’s defenses.
“I see. I understand. Thank you, Suken.” Kazumi’s tone softened, and she thanked him sincerely. “This information seems a bit trivial, but it’s the limit of what Satō Shin’ichi could do, and it might play a crucial role at a critical moment.”
“It’s nothing, nothing! Kazumi, don’t worry too much. Just let the Association keep an eye on things for you. The heroes will solve it, and your safety will be alright.” Hearing Kazumi’s thanks, Satō Shin’ichi immediately showed a brilliant smile and quickly sacrificed his shyness to respond to her.
In Satō Shin’ichi’s opinion, this was perhaps the price of Kazumi being too smart. While so many classmates were happy about the two-week long vacation, the thoughtful girl had dug out the deeper meaning behind it, causing her to worry about her own safety. However, this was nothing to Satō Shin’ichi. Kyoto, which he cared about, wouldn’t experience any major chaos anyway. Kazumi’s worries were just her concerns from an ordinary person’s perspective.
“Um…” Suken’s voice became smaller as he looked at the girl on the screen, his gaze drifting. “Kazumi, if you’re really that worried about safety issues, then…”
“Hmm, what is it?” Kazumi’s voice sounded a bit hesitant as she looked at her boyfriend, a hint of confusion on her face. “Is there any other important news?”
“Uh… it’s not really news…” Satō Shin’ichi took a deep breath, as if summoning courage, but still stuttered a bit. “Because of this matter, Kyoto might become very dangerous, right? My master… well, he arranged for me to temporarily leave Kyoto and stay in the surrounding countryside for a while.”
Suken couldn’t help but scratch his head, his eyes darting around. He then looked at the black-haired girl on the other side of the screen with a hint of anticipation. “So, Kazumi! Do you want to go together?”
