Chapter: 59. The Second Round for What Purpose
The bell signaling the end of the lunch break echoed throughout the entire campus.
Nagin also just finished her work.
“Then, brother, see you later~”
Amane gracefully stood up, pressing down on the hem of her dress behind her.
After waving goodbye to her, Nagin’s companion Garuda spoke up:
“She’s truly an elegant young lady.”
“Indeed, sometimes I can’t believe she’s my little sister…”
“Completely different from that fake one~”
“….. Are you talking about me, that ‘fake’?”
“You’re sisters, also young ladies from wealthy families… Having a pure heart really is important~” Garuda nodded human-like.
“Is my heart not pure enough! Look closely with your eyes!” Nagin, unconvinced, pat her chest.
“Though it may seem grand on the outside, unfortunately, the inside is already rotten…”
“The first half of that sentence is unnecessary!”
“So you admit you’re rotten as well, Master?”
After a long time of banter between the two.
Nagin tidied up the documents on her lap and slowly stood up.
The azure sky above looked even bluer against the bright sun.
Looking up at the sky, Nagin raised her hand to slightly shield her eyes.
“What a lovely day, looking at this sky makes me feel… life is truly wonderful.”
“If this plan succeeds, Master you…” Garuda hesitated.
“…..”
Nagin didn’t respond either.
It seemed they were both avoiding the question and the answer behind it.
—————–
Initiative.
Kanade felt he didn’t have any advantage in his confrontation with Kitano; instead, the other party held a leverage that could threaten both him and Nagin at any moment.
For this reason, he wanted to take the initiative into his own hands.
Only by obtaining that item would he have the right to communicate with the other party on equal terms.
To prevent any unforeseen events.
Kanade and Mana finalized their plan, intending to take action tonight.
If one were to point out the difference between Shikikan and other dormitories.
It was that Kanade had never seen a teacher in the dorm.
In emergencies, there should be a teacher assigned to stay with students for their safety.
However, upon reflection, one could understand why Shikikan was so special.
For those in the know, Shikikan was a base for criminals, making guards unnecessary.
For those unaware, a brief acquaintance with the current residents of this dorm would reveal that the students living here might be even stronger than the teachers.
For Kanade and Mana, it was a great opportunity not having teachers around.
Mana originally planned to accompany Nagin to sleep, then quietly slip out with Kanade after she dozed off.
However, Nagin kept shaking her head at Mana’s invitation.
This surprised Mana a little.
Nagin gave Mana the impression of being very clingy, often causing discomfort due to her naivety in understanding the distance between genders and her lack of guard against people.
So when Nagin said it was fine to sleep in her room alone.
Mana couldn’t help but feel, “It seems all this fear talk is just a lie, this child simply wants to stick close to Tsukimi-kun.”
…
Deep night.
When Shikikan fell silent.
Kanade slowly crawled out of bed.
To be safe, he changed into his school uniform.
This was to leave himself an explanation if the school authorities were to catch him.
At the same time.
Mana, also in uniform, reached the balcony through the intentionally left-open floor-to-ceiling window.
When she looked down, she happened to make eye contact with Kanade who had raised his head.
The two exchanged subtle nods.
The next moment.
Mana meticulously controlled her magical power, subtly activating her abilities.
With a sudden gust of wind, she leaped off the balcony, grabbing Kanade’s outstretched arm.
The two landed silently on the grass of the courtyard.
“(There are quite a few surveillance cameras and magic detection devices on the island, are you sure you want to use your abilities to get there?)”
Before they set off, Kanade asked uneasily in a low voice.
“(I’ve already figured out the locations of the magic detectors; the real issue is the omnipresent invisible cameras, so using my abilities to quickly reach Noah’s Hall is the best choice.)” Mana explained before asking, “(Tsukimi-kun, what’s your opinion?)”
To prevent possible cognitive interference.
The two agreed.
In this operation.
Every action taken by Mana needed Kanade’s affirmation.
“(In that case, let’s head to our destination in one go.)”
With a response, Mana recalled her magical power a little away from Shikikan.
As the light symbolizing her magic flashed in her eyes hidden in the shadows, the shadows beneath her seemed to come alive, wrapping around her and Kanade—
Their figures thus vanished into the shadows below.
“Though I don’t want to admit it, shadows are truly a convenient ability…” Kanade couldn’t help but sigh as he felt himself sinking into the shadows.
“Yes… So, are you ready?”
“Mm, I’m counting on you, Mana.”
As the pitch-black shadows began to race through the darkness.
At the same moment.
In a certain room of Shikikan.
He pulled out an emergency communication device from his pocket.
“Any findings?”
Once the faint red light on the device turned green, a girl’s voice came through.
“Tsukimi Kanade and Yoko Mana just snuck out of the dorm, as per your instructions, I’m reporting since Tsukimi Kanade left the dorm…”
“Yoko-san too… I understand, you did well.”
“Their goal—”
“—Ah, without a doubt, it’s Noah’s Hall.” The voice on the other end confirmed his assertion, “Tsukimi-san is quite an unsettled child…”
“Should I follow them?”
“….. No, I need you to help me with something else.”
“Something else?”
“Shikigami Nagin, she’s still in Shikikan, right?” Just from the voice coming through the device, he could feel the other party wearing a sinister smile.
“Do you mean…”
“It’s a transaction, when both parties have what the other wants.”
…..
“Master, are we not going to stop them?” Garuda looked at the quickly departing magical response from the balcony, then turned to see Nagin changing clothes in the room.
“….. No, I’m still troubled about how to retrieve the egg without raising suspicion.”
Nagin shook her head while fastening the buttons on the back of her shirt, her eyes glimmering faintly.
She had already taken off the pink pajamas she was wearing.
Turning, she picked up the white shirt hanging nearby.
“Just… I didn’t expect Kanade-kun could really perceive the black box.” Nagin murmured.
The black box.
An item that could not be perceived without knowing what was inside.
Coupled with Kanade’s mention of “the white space” and “the circular tree diagram” yesterday.
Nagin was almost certain.
—Kanade-kun is not in the first round.
Both were items that could only be obtained through multiple rounds in the original “Hoshi Biraki 2”.
But Nagin was a bit unsure—
How would the multiple rounds in the game be presented in reality?
If it were the game “Hoshi Biraki 2”, the so-called multiple rounds would be to inherit the save file and click to start the game again.
If it were reality.
—Kanade-kun, what exactly are you… trying to click “start game” again for?
“Master, though I may have asked a bit late, what are you doing now?” Garuda’s voice interrupted Nagin’s thoughts.
“What am I doing? As you can see, I’m putting on my school uniform.”
“Putting on a school uniform in the middle of the night is…”
“Because if I’m wearing pajamas, then if I get kidnapped later, I wouldn’t want anyone to see me exposed, right?” Nagin replied with an obvious tone while pulling up the zipper on her skirt.
Does the usual outfit of the master still allow for this kind of modesty? Garuda suppressed this retort in her mind.
“Kidnapped?”
“Ah, I don’t know who Kanade-kun’s enemy is, but clearly they also want the black box.”
“Mm, I must admit, even I can’t trace that guy down.” Garuda turned her head toward the opposite room.
“Then it’s reasonable to assume that the other party must want to find something to threaten Kanade to hand over the item, hence asking here—”
“What is it that means the most to Kanade-kun?” Nagin pretended to be cute, pointing her two index fingers at her cheeks.
“This way, I can figure out the other party’s true identity and can also subtly seize the black box during the money-for-goods exchange~”
“Afterwards, no matter who investigates the whereabouts of the black box, the blame can be put on the other party~” Nagin couldn’t help but let a grin spread across her face as she spoke.
“Um, Master, please manage your expressions…” Garuda felt a bit embarrassed.
“Cough, cough.” Nagin lightly coughed a few times, retracting her crescent-shaped sinister smile.
“By the way, has Hydra prepared themselves?”
“They said they have already memorized over 90% of the names.” Garuda shrugged human-like.
“Eh… is that too slow? They have nine heads after all.”
“That’s right, it’s not easy for a single head to memorize even one-tenth of the names.”
“Hah?”
“But don’t worry, at least you are definitely on the list they have memorized.”
“Sigh, it’s quite concerning, I hope they don’t mess up the timing…” Nagin sighed deeply.
Just as she was about to say something more, the sound of a door opening came from downstairs.
“(Master, what are you doing?)” Garuda asked in a hushed tone, confused.
“(What do you mean what? Letting you see, preparing to ‘sneak out’.)” Nagin acted as if she wanted to push the door open.
“(After all, if I’m all dressed up while sleeping, wouldn’t it raise suspicion if I got kidnapped later?)”
“(In that case, I might as well pretend that I ‘discovered Kanade-kun and Mana-chan hiding something and sneaking out at midnight, so I decided to secretly follow them,’ thus making it a chance to get caught, leading to my kidnapping—by the time Kanade-kun and Mana-chan figure it out, they would definitely feel guilty about it~)”
