Chapter: 94. After-Report (3k9) (12/46)
The next morning.
Akinji Hekawa, who was temporarily appointed as the head of the investigation for this incident, stared helplessly at the stack of reports in front of him.
Next to him, a petite girl wearing an oversized uniform that didn’t fit quite right sat in a chair enjoying an ice pop, her small feet swinging in the air out of sheer delight.
“Why is it me…” Hekawa scratched his head painfully, his normally neat gray hair now messily tousled, his light blue eyes full of fatigue, showing no signs of enthusiasm.
His actions made the girl beside him tilt her head in curiosity, and she immediately beamed at him while offering her ice pop.
“Want to try Mimai’s ice pop?”
“No thanks, I definitely don’t want to be seen as a creepy loli-con…” Hekawa firmly refused.
But as soon as he finished speaking, his gaze swept across the reports in front of him, and he spotted one that had a half-exposed corner, with the heading: “Perverted Student Who Targeted Young Girls”.
“Sigh… why do I have to deal with incidents unrelated to the End or the protagonist…” Hekawa sighed again, resigned to his fate as he pulled out the particularly fitting report from the stack.
Akinji Hekawa.
An ACE-level esper from Tsuki Academy.
His power was seen as an excellent countermeasure against the End.
So whenever a supernatural disaster involving the End occurred, he would always be dispatched to the scene by Tsuki Academy as soon as possible. He was also the first to be sent to Kawano City during the suspected resurrection of the End incident two and a half years ago.
This time was no exception.
When he arrived at the source of the magic wave detected—Ark Academy—there was no sign of the End.
Unlike last time, this time the resurrection of the End had not been stopped. Moreover, according to rumors, it had even taken away “Dirette,” which Tsuki Academy had been researching.
This was a very serious situation that required immediate action—
Yet somehow, he had been thrust into the role of the investigation chief for a string of events at Ark Academy.
In name, he was the overall head, but since information regarding the End and the “new protagonist” would not be disclosed to ordinary espers, he, as the “head” faced toward ordinary espers, could only handle matters unrelated to both.
This position should have originally belonged to the chairman of Ark Academy.
But unfortunately, he was both the perpetrator and the victim in this incident and was currently under investigation.
“Another container of the End… how much power of the End is still out there in this world?” Upon thinking of the chairman of Ark Academy, who was assisting with this matter, Hekawa couldn’t help but wear a serious expression.
A fragment of the End, disguised under the name of “Surviving Elemental Sovereign,” had deceived the chairman and concealed itself in Ark Academy.
Under the manipulation of this fragment, which temporarily went by “Nanjou Akane,” the chairman had believed its lies and actively invited a professor from Tsuki Academy to bring Dirette for academic exchange, ultimately resulting in the successful theft of Dirette and also allowing the End to descend upon him.
This was a truth that could not be disclosed to the public.
Fortunately, this disaster had someone suitable to take the blame; he just needed to complete this “final report” himself.
Thinking this way, Hekawa composed himself and temporarily set these matters aside.
Even if he was unwilling, he had to first address the malicious incident reported by many teachers and students of Ark Academy—
“A male student at Ark Academy, during a chaotic time, has lured a young girl into the wild under the guise of indecent exposure and engaged in close proximity skin contact… what kind of situation is this… why does a dignified ACE have to handle a report on a creepy loli-con—” Hekawa read and felt his earlier motivation vanish without a trace.
“Is it because they think you, as a fellow loli-con, might understand the other party’s thoughts, hence hoping you’d handle these incidents?” At that moment, a girl of similar age to Hekawa pierced through the door, which appeared to have been locked and was clearly ineffective against her.
Under the bright sunlight, this girl had skin as pure as snow, her waist-length hair shimmering with a rainbow of colors, as if crafted from exquisite crystal. Pairing this with her beautifully sculpted features gave her an almost ethereal presence.
“… ACE Space Performer.”
“So don’t call me by my title!!! Just call me by my name!” In an instant, this seemingly beautiful and ethereal girl revealed her true self, displaying a side that was a bit of a disheveled otaku.
Her overly fair skin was the result of spending all her time indoors.
“Those who immediately call others loli-cons have no right to say such things!” Hekawa retorted without hesitation.
The newcomer was Leia Hertzog, also an ACE-level esper from Tsuki Academy.
She had been sent two years ago to work with Hekawa on the resurrection of the End incident.
As a result, their relationship had become… better… or worse.
“Honestly, I came to tell you good news.” Leia pouted discontentedly at Hekawa.
“What news?”
“About the identity of the new protagonist.”
“… It’s the ‘Tsuki no Kanade’ discovered back then, right?”
“Yes, so do you know what he did in this incident?” Leia affirmed Hekawa’s answer with a nod and then pressed for more.
“He defeated the descending End and reclaimed Dirette from Ark Academy, right…” As Hekawa recalled the ghastly sight he had just witnessed upon arriving at the artificial academy island last night, he answered Leia’s question.
“That’s only part of it.”
“What else?” Hekawa’s expression turned serious: “Could it be that he is connected to the anti-esper organization? Or that his disappearance of Dirette is related to him?”
His mind was flooded with many possibilities about this “new protagonist.”
A person capable of repelling the existence of the End alone certainly wouldn’t be simple—what could he have planned during his time at Ark Academy?
“No, he merely abducted, molested, and exposed his skin in front of young girls.”
“Eh?”
Leia’s words transformed Hekawa’s image of the “new protagonist” in his mind.
From a person who was secretive and highly skilled, he suddenly turned into a shameless beast with a lewd grin.
“And there are some eyewitness reports indicating that he openly expressed his desires towards young girls in public without any concealment—” Leia continued, pointing to the document in Hekawa’s hands.
“—This is the one you’re holding now.”
“…..So the much-anticipated new protagonist is a perverted loli-con who abducts young girls and has a revealing fetish?”
Did the End not retreat from being defeated but rather was scared away by his perversion?
Is there really no hope for this world?
……
……
That was the worst timing.
Was it an urgent situation at the time? Or due to his careless negligence?
Kanade recalled that moment when he had just resolved his powers and, as if in a dream, stood before the now-alive Nagi, who had reverted to her past appearance as a primary school student.
Although he didn’t understand why she suddenly changed from a high school student back to a child.
Just seeing her alive was enough to make Kanade ecstatic, forgetting his surroundings entirely.
Not noticing that Nagi’s tiny body was entirely naked at that moment.
His clothes had vanished without a trace after battling Aki, Amane, and Nanjou.
However, during the fighting, his lower half was shrouded in black smoke, and he was fully invested in the battle, so he didn’t feel any sense of dissonance.
But once he resolved his powers, the black smoke dissipated as well.
—Did I actually confess to Nagi in that state!!!
Recalling that scene made Kanade feel an overwhelming sense of shame, wishing he could find a pit to jump into and bury himself.
That should have been a very touching scene. For him, it was a moment to express feelings that had accumulated over the years without reservation—
But thinking of how it would appear from a third-party perspective—
“Ugh, ugh, kill me…”
Being seen as a pervert and getting arrested was something Kanade felt was justified.
Though the shame from social death pained him, just remembering that Nagi agreed to be his girlfriend at that time…
The corners of Kanade’s mouth involuntarily curled up.
“Did Tsuki-kun show that expression when he faced Nagi-chan? It seems being labeled a creepy loli-con isn’t really a misunderstanding.”
“Not at all—!!!”
Time had moved to the next day.
Though Kanade was caught as a pervert loli-con by the teachers who rushed over worried about the students’ safety.
After an investigation, Kanade was found to be a student who had promptly gone to combat the extraordinary disaster, so he was exceptionally spared from imprisonment and underwent a thorough examination by Ark Academy.
Now, he was dressed in a white hospital gown, sitting in the hospital room of Zone Zero at Ark Academy, waiting for his next check-up.
With bandages wrapped around his head and arms, Kanade appeared somewhat tragic and comical.
However, his expression would transition seamlessly between happiness and shame, leaving Mana, witnessing the scene, feeling a bit nauseated.
As Mana was also involved in the incident, she had just completed all her examinations, which is how she found the time to visit Kanade.
Mana distinctly remembered that she had also been seriously injured at the time.
But the truth was, when she regained consciousness, her body felt more vital than ever.
The results of the body check-up were surprisingly healthy.
Totally unlike someone who had just undergone a supernatural battle.
Although this matter piqued her curiosity, it couldn’t compare to the events that had occurred at Ark Academy last night.
What Ark Academy was most concerned about now was—
The collective infantilization incident.
It seemed that influenced by the supernatural power from last night, many students, teachers, and even ordinary residents living on the island experienced cases where their bodies reverted to a younger state.
It was as though they had suddenly aged backward by 10 years overnight.
Many even transformed directly into the appearance of elementary school students.
Nagi was one of those affected.
From a curvy, full-bodied beauty, she had transformed into a petite and adorable young girl.
If anything had remained unchanged, it was that inexplicable allure.
That’s right, though she had lost her nearly overflowing sexy figure, as a young girl, she still emanated an air of alluring charm that made Mana feel a hint of forbidden temptation.
It made Mana question: Could this child really be the embodiment of allure?
Although younger Mana might not have noticed this, now that she viewed young Nagi from an adult’s perspective, she realized—
Could such an innocent-looking girl, who nevertheless exudes a mysterious charm, really exist? It would just lead to the emergence of all kinds of perverts in society, wouldn’t it?
Just like the childhood friend in front of her!
“Tsuki-kun, just turn yourself in.”
“So this is all a misunderstanding!”
“Then tell me where exactly the misunderstanding lies. You, who previously was indifferent and even overlooked your feelings for Nagi-chan, confessed without regard for the occasion upon seeing Nagi-chan return to the appearance of a primary school student.”
“Though it does sound like that’s what happened, the reasons behind it are really complicated. It’s absolutely not like what you imagine, little Mana!” Kanade tried to rise in a fluster, but a crisp sound rang from his waist.
The loli-con perverted boy, trying to defend himself, ended up slumping back onto the bed in an awkward position.
The Beast of Star-Eclipse’s power allowed Kanade to be invincible against Chimera and the End, but after returning to a non-“hunting” state, the excitement given to him by the blood of the beast began to fade.
As a result, he had turned into this battered and immobile state.
“Sigh~” Upon seeing this, Mana sighed lightly, intending to signal Kanade to rest up.
However, Kanade preemptively asked, “Is Nagi okay?”
“…..Yes, though a perverted loli-con, thanks to you, Nagi-chan is safe and sound. She’s likely undergoing a more comprehensive examination now.” Mana replied, although she didn’t believe Nagi would have any issues.
Because even Aki, who had died before her eyes, reverted to a child after being influenced by this mysterious force, surprisingly came back to life.
“Really… that’s good…” Kanade, relieved by her words, lay back down.
“Are you no longer disputing being called a loli-con?”
“…..Because I… like everything about Nagi-chan. If being seen as a pervert because of that… I have no complaints…”
“Ah, hello, yes, this is Tsuki Kanade. Huh? You’re asking about what he just said? That was a straightforward confession—”
“——Wait a moment for me!”
Kanade abruptly raised his head, realizing that a nurse had just entered the room, staring at him with an incredibly cold gaze.
“I see, so Tsuki-kun is that kind of person.” The nurse coldly remarked, checking off several items on her document.
“Wasn’t that just a very heartfelt moment!?”
