Chapter 65: Next is One-on-One Time
Time reverts to earlier.
In the dimly lit warehouse.
Only the moonlight filtering through the skylight above provides some illumination to this warehouse filled with goods.
“From the very beginning, Kitano never intended to let her live to trade,” Aoto said, his eyes locked tightly on Nagino, who lay on the ground, using a casual tone.
His voice echoed in the spacious warehouse.
In the next moment.
A strong killing intent shot from the shadows towards Aoto’s neck.
“What?!” Aoto, with senses beyond ordinary, suddenly turned his head to look at the shadow behind him.
It was an area where one could not see a hand in front of their face.
Darkness ruled that place.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” On the other end of the phone, Maria, sensing something was off, immediately switched to a different tone and asked in a lowered voice.
Meanwhile, Aoto, who had concealed the phone behind his back, remained vigilant, watching the dark area as his mind rapidly processed information.
“…Hello? Is anyone there? Help!”
Aoto switched from his earlier nonchalant demeanor back to that of a sincere and honest junior, shouting sincerely and speechlessly.
“Someone—” Although Aoto shouted, his ears were fully attentive, catching any sound: “A senior has fainted! Can someone help contact the teacher?”
At the same time.
Maria on the other end decisively hung up the call.
Seeing that his words did not have the desired effect, Aoto recalled the killing intent that had brushed past his neck.
His brain shifted gears and formed a new idea—
“This senior has lost a lot of blood! Quick, call an ambulance—”
Sure enough.
After Aoto changed to a more urgent tone, he could faintly perceive the magical fluctuations from the shadows ahead, although very subtle, they would have been impossible to detect without knowing of the suspicious presence beforehand.
“Who cares about the safety of Hoshimiya Nagino? Who could it be? Tsukimi Kanade and Hinata Mana should be at Noah Hall right now; could it be Higashijo Seiryu? No, according to that guy’s words, Higashijo Seiryu should be on our side now…” Aoto’s mind raced with thoughts.
Meanwhile.
A pair of eyes quietly observed from within the darkness towards the area illuminated by the moonlight.
“…Tsk, I got careless for a moment,” Amane thought inwardly, clicking her tongue.
She had only come to observe the scene slightly.
But when Amane heard Aoto’s recent words, she inadvertently exposed her presence.
Realizing that she had already been discovered, Amane decided to give up on hiding.
Because she was unaware of what her older brother’s plan was, but it was clear that keeping Aoto in a heightened state of alert would only impede Nagino’s plan.
“Who are you?” Amane sighed inwardly and then put on a serious face as she stepped out from the shadows towards the moonlit area.
She casually stole a glance in the direction of Nagino.
In the next moment.
Amane’s eyes met Nagino’s, who lay on the ground with her eyes barely open.
“…” Nagino’s gaze seemed to carry a sense of voiceless exclamation.
(…I’m sorry.) Amane could only convey her feelings of guilt through her eyes.
(Do you need me to pretend to retreat and leave you behind?)
(Nod nod)
—How could this child look like she was fainting and still manage to nod vigorously?!
Continuing to attempt communication through eye contact with Nagino, Amane was shocked by the latter’s stunning gestures.
“This outfit… Are you also a student from Ark Academy? That’s great.”
On the other side.
Aoto seemingly did not notice the eye contact exchange between the sister pair.
When he saw the familiar first-year school uniform slowly appearing under the moonlight, he let out a slight sigh of relief.
At least the newcomer was not Higashijo Seiryu or Hinata Mana; if it were either of them, Aoto would have to flee for his life immediately.
“You haven’t answered my question yet, who are you?”
Amane did not sidestep Aoto’s change of topic.
Her purplish-red eyes bore a vigilant look as they focused intently on Aoto.
“Ah, uh, it’s like this, I was just suggesting to a senior that we come here for a date tonight, and then the senior accidentally got hit on the thigh by the goods and didn’t know what to do—” Aoto casually concocted a story.
“A date?” Amane repeated, as if mimicking what she had heard.
(What? Brother, are you using a beauty tactic?)
(No way, no way! He’s talking nonsense!!!)
Amane conveyed her doubts to Nagino with a sideways glance, while the latter shook her head vigorously, more emphatically than before.
At the same time, Nagino shot a furious glare towards Aoto.
That gaze carried an intense hostility that even an onlooker like Amane could catch a whiff of the strong “I want to shove you into a concrete pillar and sink you into the Pacific Ocean” killing intent.
Yet Aoto appeared completely oblivious, focusing all his attention on Amane.
“Just like my brother, huh? My hiding skills are still in need of improvement…” Amane reflected inwardly before snapping back to focus.
“It’s a state of alert now. Don’t you know all students aren’t allowed to leave their dorms at night?”
“Y-yes… I’m sorry. By the way, why are you in a state of alert—” Aoto feigned ignorance and asked casually.
“Because this is a warehouse I rented, and I saw some suspicious figures intruding, so I specifically came to check it out.”
“…Suspicious figures?” Aoto froze for a moment, his gaze lifted slightly as he looked towards the shadows in the warehouse.
Then he caught sight of.
A small glimmer of reflective light.
It was the lens of a hidden camera.
Seeing his blunder had turned effective, Amane inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
If the opponent was unaware of the information in her words, she truly didn’t know what excuse to use to initiate a confrontation and then retreat.
In the next instant.
Aoto suddenly expanded the handcuff at his waist, and the artificial gear quickly unfurled.
Amane’s eyes also flashed with a crimson light, and the shadow beneath her feet began to wriggle.
At that moment of intense danger.
A powerful surge of magical energy erupted from afar.
Followed closely by a tremor reminiscent of an earthquake.
—————–
The collision of the power of Azure Thunder and the energy blended from the three elements.
Nearly turned the entire Noah Hall into ruins.
“Cough cough…”
The dust raised obscured Mana’s vision, making her cough a few times.
At that moment, she sensed someone approaching her amidst the dust.
Just as Mana reflexively raised her hand, the newcomer grasped her arm first.
“Mana, it’s me… Are you okay?”
“Kanade… kun, you?” Mana’s first reaction was one of disbelief.
In her inability to see clearly in the surroundings, it was actually Kanade, who lacked any special abilities, who found her first?
“I’m fine, but Kanade-kun, are you okay…?”
The next second.
Mana once again witnessed an unbelievable scene.
Although she had just shattered Seiryu’s attack, under the circumstances where Noah Hall was on the brink of becoming ruins, Kanade before her appeared to be completely unscathed except for being slightly dirtied.
“Ah, I’m fine too; my luck seems to be good. After the corridor collapsed, the beams above and the columns below just formed a hollow space…” Kanade explained, as he noticed the look in Mana’s eyes.
“And also… this thing just conveniently rolled right next to me.” Kanade raised his hand.
In his hand was the black box that had accidentally fallen during the impact.
“…Mana, take this.”
“What?”
To Mana’s surprise, Kanade again stuffed the black box into her hands.
Before Mana could question Kanade further.
He proactively spoke:
“Mana, take this thing and go retrieve little Nagino; I’ll stay back to hold off the Student Council President.”
“Right now, only his domain can stop me, so he will definitely stay to watch over me. So Mana, you are the only one who has the ability to take this out of the Student Council President’s domain and save little Nagino—”
“But he has the authority now—”
“Don’t worry, I’ve already confirmed one thing just now.” Kanade gently shook his head.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Next, it will just be me and him in one-on-one time.”
