“I’m home~”
“Welcome back.”
Mitsuki and Peach entered the lounge space in unison, where Kousuke and the others were gathered.
They weren’t waiting for the two, it was just that everyone’s schedules happened to align.
Besides, no one was thinking that anything would happen to Mitsuki and Peach.
In response to their voices, Kousuke, representing the group, replied, “Welcome back. How was it?”
“It was nothing special. It was almost a wasted trip~”
After confirming Peach’s dejected expression, Kousuke looked at Mitsuki.
“Indeed. The original objective, Peach’s training, was barely accomplished.”
“Oh my. Did Mitsuki jump in too?”
Kousuke’s question was based on the assumption that the training became ineffective because Mitsuki joined in addition to Peach, but both of them shook their heads from side to side.
“That’s not it. We were able to infiltrate too easily, so it was meaningless.”
“They seemed like they wouldn’t notice us no matter how long we waited, so we revealed ourselves~”
As Peach and Mitsuki spoke with great disappointment, Kousuke couldn’t help but look up at the sky.
“Oh my. That’s unexpected, or rather, unplanned…”
Kousuke knew Mitsuki’s abilities were outstanding, but he didn’t know the exact difference between her and others.
It was understandable, as Peach herself didn’t know, so there was no way Kousuke would.
As a result, this was the answer they got.
Mitsuki, nodding at Kousuke, put on a slightly remorseful face.
“For now, we need to rethink Peach’s development plan.”
“Um. I think that way of putting it is a little… questionable~”
“What are you talking about? That’s the same phrase Peach uses when she’s training Miku, isn’t it?”
As Mitsuki said that with a poker face, Peach averted her gaze from Mitsuki.
Peach didn’t ask how Mitsuki knew that. She figured it was only natural for Mitsuki to know.
More importantly, what mattered to Peach now was Kousuke and the others’ exasperated gazes directed at her.
“R-Right, they promised not to come to the tower anymore~. So, for now, I think we can rest easy.”
At Peach’s obvious attempt to change the subject, Kousuke sighed once and then nodded.
“Ah, is that so? That’s good… I suppose?”
Kousuke’s hesitation in the latter half was because not all the darkness and shadows within the tower would disappear.
It wasn’t just one dark entity or shadow operating within Amamiya Tower; they had only driven away an organization that had a direct reason to target the children this time.
It was just that no organization had done something so foolish so far, and the danger hadn’t entirely disappeared.
Thinking this, Kousuke crossed his arms and muttered, “…Hmm. Thinking about it that way, maybe it would be better to just drive them all out?”
“I think it’s better not to. More accurately, it’s impossible~”
Kousuke tilted his head at Peach’s words. He assumed that with Mitsuki and Peach around, it would be possible to drive them out of the tower.
Peach, as if to elaborate for Kousuke, added, “If we were to truly drive out all the darkness and shadows, we’d have to drive out people like the owner of that food stall from this time.”
Even for Peach and Mitsuki, they couldn’t discern that someone was part of a particular organization just by observing them.
Of course, they could tell if someone had learned dark techniques through their movements.
However, they couldn’t know if that person was truly connected to an organization.
Furthermore, it wasn’t limited to those who had undergone such training to belong to the dark side or shadows.
The darkness and shadows Kousuke envisioned were based on the succubi of the village.
As such, they were trained to be capable of a range of tasks, from information gathering to shady work.
This was due to the traditional training methods, whereas the modern mainstream was generally to specialize and train in specific areas.
Among them were individuals who lived perfectly normal lives and were responsible for bridging between missions.
These individuals weren’t raised from scratch by the organization; they often utilized ordinary people, making them very difficult to distinguish.
After explaining this, Peach looked at Kousuke and asked, “If Kousuke-san were to dispose of those civilians as well, it wouldn’t be impossible, but would you really do something like that~?”
“Ah, right. I see. It’s better not to do that.”
Kousuke replied with a bitter smile to Peach’s words. He understood that investigating whether each person was truly a civilian would be an incredible hassle.
Kousuke had no intention of ordering such a cruel act.
Besides, he reasoned that since the operations had been running smoothly so far, it was better not to meddle unnecessarily.
Kousuke thought he shouldn’t say anything unnecessary outside his expertise, and then looked at Mitsuki and asked, “Then, that’s fine, but what about Peach’s training?”
Originally, they had gone into enemy territory specifically to prompt Peach’s self-awareness, but if that had no meaning, another method was needed.
“Regarding that, I was thinking about it on the way back. Time might solve it.”
“Hmm? You mean if enough time passes, Peach will notice on her own?”
“No. It’s not like that.”
Mitsuki shook her head from side to side, leaving Kousuke confused.
Seeing Kousuke’s bewilderment, Mitsuki looked back and forth between Peach and Kousuke before continuing, “In a few more years, Miku might gain the ability to truly chase after Peach, so maybe we can just wait for that?”
“…Ah, I see.”
As Miku’s abilities grew, the gap between her and Peach would surely narrow. Mitsuki’s idea was that if Peach saw Miku catching up, she might be able to gauge her own strength.
However, while Kousuke was convinced, Mitsuki’s idea wasn’t without its problems.
“Um. I don’t intend to be caught up by Miku that easily, though…?”
As Peach said, if Peach grew faster than Miku, it would be meaningless.
But Mitsuki shook her head at Peach’s words.
“It’s alright. The goal is for Peach to learn her own strength, not for Miku to surpass her. Besides, if Peach continues to grow to the point where she can’t even notice Miku’s growth, then even I won’t be able to keep up with her?”
Mitsuki had a mischievous smile as she wondered if Peach would grow to that extent.
Mitsuki’s words left Peach looking taken aback, and she raised her hands in a gesture of surrender, shaking her head.
“That’s definitely impossible~.”
“No, no. I think Peach could do it, don’t you think?”
Kousuke interjected, as if egging them on, causing Peach to shake her head even more vehemently.
“Impossible! I said it’s impossible!”
“Is that so~?”
Seeing Peach’s reaction, Kousuke responded with a grin. Kousuke’s smile conveyed not only teasing Peach but also the possibility that she might actually be able to do it.
However, Peach, convinced it was absolutely impossible, didn’t notice that.
Peach’s ability assessment has been postponed until Miku grows stronger.
Whether Kousuke’s final “(￣▽￣)” will come to fruition remains to be seen lol.
This concludes Part 13, Chapter 1.
(What should I write for the next chapter?)
