The feeling of dread usually proves to be accurate.
Of course, some argue that this is because negative emotions are harder to forget, making us more likely to feel validated when our premonitions come true.
However, in Kousuke’s case, he felt his bad premonitions had stopped being wrong ever since he became an Avatar.
And this time, too, shortly after he felt that familiar sense of dread, something happened.
Unusually, Peach entered the laboratory looking a bit flustered.
Currently, Isunani was on the Fifth Floor, so Kousuke was the only one in the laboratory.
As a side note, the Golem creation room was a separate room that had been deliberately built.
Because of this, Kousuke and Mitsuki were in the laboratory when Peach’s demeanor made them exchange glances, wondering what had happened.
“Peach, what’s the matter? You seem so rushed.”
“Mr. Kousuke, please come with me. It’s urgent.”
Without waiting for Kousuke’s reply, she grabbed his arm and left the laboratory.
“W-wait a minute, what happened?”
“It’s better if you hear it directly from the source than from me~”
Peach said this, perhaps having calmed down slightly as they walked.
Kousuke was inwardly trembling, wondering what could have caused Peach to be so flustered, but for now, he silently went along with wherever she was leading him.
Mitsuki, of course, came along behind them.
Peach led Kousuke to the meeting room where they usually held their regular meetings.
This room, which was rarely used except for regular meetings, was occupied by three people.
Two of them were Shurein and Floria.
The remaining person was not a management member, but one of the high-ranking officials from the Executive Branch of the Fifth Floor.
Kousuke remembered him, as he had been present at the previous regular meeting.
Kousuke tilted his head, unable to think of a reason why he would be here, not for a regular meeting.
“What’s wrong?”
“Kousuke, you’re here.”
Seeing Kousuke, everyone’s expression visibly relaxed.
This made Kousuke realize that something was indeed happening.
The high-ranking official who was present also looked visibly relieved upon seeing Kousuke.
At Shurein’s prompting, the official began to explain the situation.
As Kousuke listened, his face began to twitch.
The incident began when Kouhi visited the Fifth Floor to pick up Golem materials she had ordered from Schmidt.
The material pickup itself went smoothly, without any issues.
The problem arose afterward.
For reasons unknown, Kouhi did not return to the management layer immediately after picking up the materials, but instead began to look around the Fifth Floor.
Kouhi was well aware that her appearance attracted attention.
Using her looks, she gathered rumors about the town.
Among those rumors was the very thing that became the cause of this incident.
Simply put, it was a series of rumors denigrating Kousuke.
Upon hearing these rumors, Kouhi did not react immediately, but proceeded directly to the Executive Branch.
Initially, they responded without knowing who Kouhi was.
However, a high-ranking official who happened to know Kouhi’s face passed by and turned pale.
He understood the situation in an instant by the look on Kouhi’s face at that moment.
He was immediately taken to a separate room, placed under Alec’s care, and after obtaining Alec’s permission, came directly to the management layer.
Having heard the story, Kousuke knew he had to deal with the immediate issue.
“Mitsuki, please, don’t just charge ahead like this.”
At Kousuke’s words, everyone except Mitsuki turned their attention to her, breaking out in a cold sweat inwardly.
Although her expression was pleasant, it was clear to everyone that she was angry.
“Oh? Why is that?”
“First, stay put until you understand the situation properly. Alright?”
“Hmph. …Understood.”
Mitsuki nodded reluctantly.
Seeing this, the rest breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Kousuke with admiration.
Their gazes likely expressed their expectation that Kousuke would handle Kouhi, who was currently causing a storm.
“…I knew my bad premonitions would come true…”
Thinking such trivial thoughts, Kousuke headed to the Fifth Floor with the high-ranking official.
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“Ah, impossible. This is impossible.”
These were Kousuke’s words the moment he saw Kouhi’s face in the Executive Branch.
Alec’s expression upon hearing that was a sight to behold, but Kousuke had more pressing concerns.
“Kouhi, let’s calm down first.”
“Ah, Master is here. I will crush the insolent ones, so please wait.”
*Wait, you don’t need to crush them,* the words formed in Kousuke’s throat but ultimately went unspoken.
It was because he knew it would be futile.
“Alec. What’s going on?”
The spread of rumors denigrating Kousuke within the Fifth Floor. That was the root cause.
Kousuke couldn’t believe Alec would stand by and do nothing in such a situation.
Alec sighed.
“These kinds of rumors haven’t been nonexistent before, but recently, it feels like they are being intentionally instigated…”
Kousuke quickly interjected with advice in response to Alec’s seemingly justificatory words.
“Alec, I don’t care about political maneuvering. You don’t seem to understand, so I’ll tell you: it’s already too late. If you don’t say what needs to be said, you’ll get caught up in this too.”
At Kousuke’s words, Alec abruptly stopped moving and looked at Kouhi.
He understood perfectly what Kousuke meant. He also knew that his current words were treading on dangerous ground.
Alec was, of course, aware of the rumors.
As he had mentioned earlier, he had a general idea of who was behind the intentional manipulation.
His plan was to gather concrete evidence and leverage it politically, but Kouhi’s existence had completely overturned his strategy.
As Kousuke said, if left as is, not only he, but the entire Executive Branch, would become the target of Kouhi’s wrath.
Even though it was the Executive Branch of the Fifth Floor, Kouhi would likely show no leniency.
“…The individuals involved here have already been identified. And roughly who is pulling the strings…”
“Tell me,” Kouhi replied curtly.
“Lady Kouhi, if you use this situation to your advantage, this town’s position will become even more…”
Alec tried to dissuade her by explaining the benefits, but Kouhi ignored it all.
“It’s irrelevant. Are you going to tell me or not?”
Understanding that these were her final words, Alec immediately handed a document to Kouhi.
“Here is the information we have gathered so far.”
Kouhi took the document and left the room immediately.
She was likely heading to the Defreya Clan to verify the information.
Even Kousuke could tell that much.
Seeing Kouhi leave, Alec sighed.
However, looking at Alec, Kousuke said with pity, “Alec, I’m sorry, but it’s too early to relax.”
“Huh? What do you mean…”
Alec was about to ask what he meant, but upon seeing Mitsuki standing beside Kousuke, he immediately understood what Kousuke wanted to convey.
Alec gulped and looked at Mitsuki.
“Well, regarding this incident, I’ll let it slide as it’s the first time. But if you do this again… I suspect Kouhi will act even if I don’t.”
For this matter, both Kouhi and Mitsuki felt anger towards Alec.
More precisely, it was towards the Executive Branch.
The Executive Branch had deliberately overlooked the rumors that unfairly denigrated Kousuke.
Their intention was to expose those who spread the rumors intentionally and gain political advantage.
However, both Kouhi and Mitsuki considered overlooking the rumors to be complicity.
The fact that they were overlooking it this time was solely because Kousuke placed great importance on Alec.
“…Understood.”
Alec bowed his head to Mitsuki, and Mitsuki withdrew.
Kousuke, also concerned about Kouhi’s movements, couldn’t stay there any longer and left the Executive Branch immediately.
After Kousuke and the others left, Peach said to Alec, “For Lady Kouhi and Mitsuki, Mr. Kousuke is clearly a tiger’s tail, so it’s better not to think about using him carelessly~”
“…I wish you had told me that from the beginning.”
“Oh my~ I thought you would have understood from the incident with Floria the very first time.”
Reminded by Peach, Alec finally remembered that past event.
“…Indeed.”
To the dejected Alec, Peach offered words of comfort (?).
“Well, the situation is different from that time, so it can’t be helped, but you should thoroughly ensure that the methods you used until now cannot be used here anymore~”
“We will do that.”
Alec nodded gravely in agreement with Peach’s words.
This became a bit long, but since it didn’t end at a natural stopping point, we’ll conclude here for today.
This story will continue tomorrow.
Where did Kouhi head after confirming with the Defreya Clan…?
