Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi:Volume 3 Chapter 4

Shigure Haruka and Saitohimea

Infiltrating the place still made his heart race a little in spite of knowing full well that there was no one there.

"............"

An empty teachers' room.

Test papers that were in the midst of being graded, half-drunk tea.

Despite the fact that there was no one there, a consequence of perhaps the teachers having gotten forcibly evicted from the school due to a passing demon, he still had a lingering anxiety towards the teachers' room.

Taito opened the door to the teachers' room, and entered.

And then as he looked around,

"If I remember correctly, Karino's desk is beside the window ~"

He murmured and searched for the desk of his homeroom teacher.

From behind him,

"Why are you speaking so softly?"

Asked Himea.

Taito then looked behind him.

"Ah erm, somehow."

"Eh?"

"The teachers' room is a place we can't normally enter, so I'm a little nervous."

Taito said, to which Himea tilted her head incredulously, unable to comprehend his feelings,

"Then I shall speak softly as well!"

She said.

Ok~, Taito made an appropriate response and started searching for the right desk. After looking around the room for a while, he noticed that each desk had a name plate attached and said,

"Ah, this makes it easier."

After scrutinizing over several name plates, he found the desk of his homeroom teacher.

Normally, Karino would be particular about the cleaniless of the class, and as a result, the rumor, he's definitely got A-blood, would circulate among the girls; somehow, he really seemed to be of A-blood, judging from how neat and tidy his desk appeared.

Looking down at the desk,

"I'm sorry Sensei, I'm going to rummage your desk."

He murmured.

With that, he opened the first drawer. But he couldn't find what he was looking for, and subsequently, he opened the next one. However, he still couldn't find it.

At that moment, from right beside him, Himea's head poked out and peered into the face of the Taito who was rummaging the desk,

"Hey hey hey, what are you looking for?"

She asked.

And Taito replied,

"Name register."

That's right.

What he was looking for was the name register which contained the addresses of the students of Miyasaka High. Even though Miyasaka High had also adopted the latest widespread privacy reason that they won't make name registers, there was no way that the teachers wouldn't know the addresses of the students, and that was what he was looking for.

And as he was rummaging the largest third drawer,

"Ah, here it is."

Taito murmured. He then took out from the drawer, a small booklet on which was written, 'Miyasaka High Address Records'. And started flipping the pages.

"Erm, what's the class number of that fella again......"

While saying that, he searched for Gekkou's address. And there it was, Kurenai Gekkou's name on the page of class 9.

Looking at that address. With a slight frown on his face,

"What, isn't this close to my house?"

He said.

Himea peered over at the register as well,

"Ah, are you going to Gekkou's place?"

She asked.

Taito nodded.

"There's something I wanted to ask him, but he had gone home right away before I could do that ~"

"Something you wanted to ask?"

"Yeah."

"What's that?"

"Huh?"

Taito looked up and looked at Himea. And then,

"Erm, a number of things."

As he answered, Himea's mischievous deep crimson eyes sparkled,

"Ah ~, sounds fishy ~."

She said.

"Something you need to hide from me?"

"No no, it's not that though."

"Then what is it ~?"

"No erm, don't worry about it, really. It's not something important."

"Ehh ~ you've made me even more curious now ~ C'mon, tell me about it. It's not good to keep things from me, you know ~"

Even as she pressed on, Taito could not reply.

Rather, there's no way he could tell her about it.

Because, what he wanted from Gekkou.

"............"

Because what he wanted from that stuck-up idiotic student council president was,

"In order to properly protect Himea next time when such a thing happens again, what kind of training should I undertake?"

An answer to such an embarrassing question of his.

That was why Taito frantically averted his eyes from Himea, secretly memorized Gekkou's address from the register, and put it back into the drawer.

And then,

"...... really, it's nothing important so don't concern yourself with it."

He said.

Of course, Himea couldn't accept that.

"...... hmm. Hmmmmmmm ~. Taito has something that he needs to hide from me ~"

"No no, it's really nothing ok?"

"Hmm."

"Really, I'm telling you."

"Hmm ~. Oh well. I'm also keeping some secrets from Taito anyway."

She said, and on hearing that,

"Is that so?"

Taito asked. Her very existence was an enigma itself, and even if there were one or two other secrets, it wasn't really anything to make a fuss about.

However, in a delighted manner,

"Are you bothered that I'm keeping secrets?"

She asked.

Taito then started,

"Erm."

"Are you bothered?"

"Erm...... yeah."

"But I'm not telling you ~!"

She said delightedly. In a flaunting manner, she puffed out her chest with her face saying, I have a secret.

Taito looked at her.

Her slightly bulging chest and her fair neck. And her lovely pink lips.

"............"

For some reason, when they came into his view, his pulse quickened suddenly.

Somehow, because of the series of events that had occurred just now, he had forgotten that he had just kissed her.

And it was also his first kiss. The very first since he was born. He had never once thought that such a kiss was so overwhelming for him that he thought that he could die from it.

But, they did kiss.

On top of that, she had confessed to him, and he had replied in kind.

"............"

He somehow just realized that it was pretty big thing.

Probably, to any normal high school student, it was bigger than anything.

And right now, he was alone with her in the school.

Well, of course, there were a number of personnel dispatched from the << Military >> who were carrying out repairs to the classrooms, but, in this teachers' room, no one else but the two of them were there.

Realizing that.

Realizing that, he nervously turned his gaze away from Himea's lips.

"...... eh ~, ah ~, well, I think it's about time for me to go back......"

He said in a faltering tone as if he were reading lines from a book.

On hearing that, Himea's expression turned into one of discontentment,

"Eh ~!?"

She said. Every time Taito said that he was going back, she would have that face. And her next words were,

"Well then, I'll follow Taito home......"

At that moment, he stopped her.

"No, you can't ~. Didn't I always tell you this, Gekkou had said that you need to stay in the barrier spread over the school, else you're gonna get attacked by the various organizations targeting you once you step out of the school, right? That's why you can't."

As he was saying that, he just remembered that even this school was just being attacked though...... that's why he felt anxious as well in having her stay here all by herself.

However, that's also why he needed to go.

He had to do something to prepare for the next time, when someone else comes to attack her again, he thought.

Rather, if he were to stay by her side now, he would just become a hindrance to her. With only his fifteen-minute conditional immortality, if a somewhat powerful monster appeared, he would just get killed numerous times readily, and in the end, he would be the one to be saved by Himea.

By Gekkou.

By Mirai.

A idiot like him getting saved.

In the student council which he belonged to, he was the weakest among all the men and women there.

Despite the fact that he had been doing karate for a number of years, as a student council executive member among his comrades, he was the one that could die most readily.

He couldn't stand himself remaining like that anymore, he thought.

That's why,

"...... a lot of things happened today, Himea, you're tired as well right? That's why you should get some rest. Even though I'm not like Gekkou, I'm also feeling a little sleepy ~"

He said.

And whenever he said that, Then let's sleep together, Himea would say, and frantically, No no, that'll really be bad, Taito would respond, and such a sudden exchange would be carried out between the pair of high school freshmen.

But, today was different.

"...... ah."

Said Himea, who for some reason, had a look of slight fear appearing on her face.

And then,

"...... that's right isn't it? You're tired. I'm sorry......"

She apologized suddenly, and Taito started frantically,

"Ah ~, erm no, that's not what I meant......"

But she shook her head. And smiled with a tinge of sadness,

"No. I'm also a little tired today. So Taito, it's ok to go back home. Sorry for holding you back."

She said.

However, there was no way he could go back after hearing that from her,

"Ah, ah, I think I better......"

"I say it's alright. See you tomorrow ~"

She smiled. With that, she skipped back and pulled away from him.

On seeing that, Erm, as I thought, it's better for me to stay by your side today right?, he wanted to say.

However, before he could say that,

"There's also something I need to do......"

Himea said.

"...... ah, I see."

Taito swallowed what he originally wanted to say.

"Then Himea, you're going back to your room?"

"Yeah."

"Then, I'll be going back."

"Yeah."

"Shall I see you to your room?"

On hearing that, she smiled. It's ok, she said and smiled.

And then,

"Taito."

"Yeah?"

"You know."

"Yeha?"

"Today, I'm really happy that you told me that you love me."

She said suddenly.

"I love you very much, Taito."

She said readily.

On hearing that,

"Ah ~, yeah."

That's all Taito said. Since he was not prepared for those sudden words, those were the only words he could say, like a blockhead.

After getting fed up with himself, he started thinking about a more proper reply, and finally,

"Erm, I too....."

Duh, I'm being too cliche right......, he made a silent jab at himself, and he left it at that.

However, in response to that, ah-haha, she laughed.

"Alright! It's more than enough for today ~"

She said.

"Ok, I'm going back to my room. Take a good rest as well, Taito."

After saying that, she started going out the teachers' room to the corridor, and waved.

Taito waved back as well.

"Alright. See you tomorrow."

"Ok, see you tomorrow."

With that, Himea left.

Looking after her retreating figure.

"............"

Following that, a small feeling of anti-climax followed. It'd be bad if he didn't get home soon ~, he thought. But then again, after what had just happened earlier, maybe I should have stayed over, he had played around with the thought,

"...... no, it's not like I'm expecting anything right."

He said with a slight tinge of sadness.

And then, he started to move.

He tidied up his homeroom teacher's desk, returning it to its original state before it was rummaged, and left the teachers' room. He went back to his own classroom and picked up his bag. He then left the school and as he was walking, he flipped open his phone. He entered Gekkou's address into the GPS functionality to ascertain the location of his residence, it's seriously close, he muttered.

And then, while he was making his way to Gekkou's house,

"............"

He recalled the look on Himea's face when she left the teachers' room just now.

"There's also something I need to do......"

He recalled her slightly tired looking face while she said that.

Clearly, she was hiding something.

No, she had always been hiding things, it's just that Taito did not know exactly what they were.

For example, she returned the already dead Taito back to life without being concerned with her own life. Even when she knew that she was going to die, she said nothing about it and every day, she merely kept talking about how blissful she was to be with Taito.

"............"

But, Taito didn't think it was terrible of her to do that. Since, even if she had discussed it with him, the him right now.

The me who has neither power nor knowledge,

"...... can't do anything about it anyway."

That's why she did not ask for help from anyone, and decided to just sacrifice herself alone.

It was the most terrible thing to have happened when she was about to die before his very eyes.

On top of that, how in the world did that incident get resolved?

No, in the first place, what in the world had happened in that corridor?

For now, Taito knew not a single thing about them.

Of course, if he put together bits and pieces of the events that had taken place before his eyes, at a glance, Himea had lost her powers as a consequence of bringing Taito back to life, and because of that, the Tenma took advantage of that --- that's as much as he knew.

And with regards to the Tenma, what in the world are they?

How in the world did Gekkou drive away the Tenma, who were monsters that were mighty enough to even strike despair into Himea?

Is Himea really safe now?

Or are there still going to be worse situations?

And what the hell is Bahlskra and that other woman personality?

And what in the world is that magic known as << Bliss >>, which had given birth to that personality?

Well, with regards to all that, he needed to properly ask Gekkou.

But well, he was doubtful whether that student council president with a shitty personality would answer him honestly though.

But still, he felt that it was better to ask about the truth from him than from Himea.

Since she would probably hide a lot of things. Since she would probably do something stupid like hiding various things from Taito in order to not become a burden to him, there was no way he could ask her.

And then, he smiled wryly to himself,

"...... since I can't be trusted anyway."

He murmured.

"Well, there's a certainty since I have no power whatsoever......"

As he was saying that, he crossed the intersection.

He crossed the intersection where he was knocked down by a truck not long ago which led to him regaining his immortality power and his memories of Himea, and entered the shopping district.

The town looked the same.

As a result of him living in this town since he was a child, what he could only see among the evening bustling crowd in the shopping district were faces that he knew.

But yet, all that appeared to be different today.

Even though when he ascended to high school from middle school, he had never thought that the way he would be seeing things could have changed so drastically. Right now, all the things around him seemed to be totally different from what they were just not long ago.

Finally, he had started high school, but never would he have thought he would be starting high school in such a manner, he thought.

And then.

"............"

He passed through the shopping district and entered the residential district. And he passed by the front of his house.

And when he came to the neighboring house of his childhood friend, he abruptly stopped.

He looked at the plate which he was used to seeing, on which was written "Shigure". Following that, he looked up at the room of Haruka, a girl whom he had been hanging out with since grade six.

Maybe it's because Haruka hadn't reached home yet that the room was dark.

Looking up at that,

"............"

Really, he had really never thought that things would come to this, he thought.

For a long time, the closest girl to him outside of his family was Haruka. And because she was too close to him, he had never thought about whether they would become lovers or not.

Despite that, vaguely, the other party could be Haruka perhaps, he had thought. Of course, it was not like he had thought of it at the conscious level with complete awareness, but he would have a faint thought that perhaps she might be the one.

But yet, just now,

"............"

He had kissed another girl.

Of course, his feelings for Himea were probably real. No, since he was after all still a brat in high school, he wouldn't really know an adult thing such as whether his feelings were real or not, but, after all the things that had happened one after another, the feelings towards her which were given birth inside of him were real.

That's why he had kissed her and had told her that he loved her without any regret, but.

"...... I have to tell this to Haruka."

He murmured softly.

As he did that, he could feel a surprisingly slight pain in the deeper recess of his heart.

As to what kind of feeling that was, he could not get a firm grasp of its nature for now.

No, it was a lie.

He knew.

But, how should he put this.

"...... it just means that life is not so simple."

If he were to imagine what kind of face Haruka would make when he told her. If he were to imagine her reaction when he told her.

What surfaced in his mind was only a picture of her laughing, ah-haha.

In front of Taito, she would always laugh cheerfully. Whatever happened, she would cheer him on.

And this time round as well, she would probably say things like you've done it, or do your best, or I'll cheer you on, right?

Or will she instead.

Will she instead be crying perhaps?

"............"

No, he wouldn't be so conceited as to think --- Haruka was definitely in love with him.

However, since that fateful day when he was knocked down by a truck, too many things had changed suddenly, and if he were to her all that, Haruka would definitely be at a loss as well, he thought.

He continued looking at the dark room of Haruka for a while, and then,

"............"

He started walking again.

And besides, right now, he had a ton of things he needed to do, so he decided to run away from that matter for a little while and stop thinking about it.

At any rate, his life was already an anomaly.

Demons and monsters were rampaging, it was as if he got caught up in the world of some manga.

And he couldn't get Haruka involved in this dangerous, abnormal world.

That's why.

"............"

That's why.

After passing by Haruka's house for about five, six minutes, he came to that house.

Before him, that house of that person who excels in all sports, academic results, is popular with girls, and on top of that, kicks demon and monster ass in the shadows --- the student council president with an extremely flashy profile, was but a normal looking detached home.

A small yard and a mortar wall.

A very ordinary 2 story house.

Taito looked at it intently.

Just like the room of Haruka, he could see no lights switched on in the house.

"...... but, he did say he's going home to sleep."

He grumbled as he went through the gate. He then passed through the short entrance, and pressed on the intercom.

A common sounding Pinpon resounded,

"............"

But there was no response.

Once again, he rang the bell.

"............"

Pinpon, Pinpon, Pinpon, Pin......

And then, at that moment, from the intercom,

"...... stop that!"

Gekkou responded with an extremely annoyed voice.

On hearing that, ah-haha, sorry for waking you up, Taito was about to say, but before that,

"We don't need any preaching. We also don't need any canvassing. If you're delivering a parcel, treat it as if no one is around and deposit it into the mailbox. If you ring the intercom again and make up a ruckus and disturb my sleep, I'll kill you. That's all."

He said what he wanted and cut off the intercom.

"Hey, oiy Gekkou?"

Taito started, but since it was already cut off, his voice didn't reach him.

And then.

"...... well, I understand that you are sleepy, but do you do this every time a delivery man comes? That fella......"

While saying that, he pressed the intercom again. Once again, Pinpon, the bell sounded in the house, and following that,

"...... who is the one who wishes to die?"

Gekkou spoke.

Taito replied.

"It's me."

"Disappear."

"Erm, I have something to talk about."

"I don't."

"What does it have to do with whether you do or not?"

He tried saying, but,

"............"

A 'click' sounded and once again, the intercom was cut off. In response to that, Taito started,

"That bastard."

And just as he was about to ring the intercom again, suddenly, the door opened.

And from inside, the face of the aforementioned stuck-up student council president appeared. It seemed like he had slept in his clothes, seeing how his uniform was slightly wrinkled, and his usual stand-up collar that was always buttoned up all the way around his neck was half opened today.

He was clearly tired. Though it was rare that he has a half awake expression with half closed eyes, and bed hair.

Looking at his figure,

"Ah, I'm sorry, you were sleeping?"

Even though he already knew that, for now, that's what he chose to say, and in response to that, Gekkou glared at him sharply with his half opened eyes,

"...... come in."

He said.

On hearing that, Taito was slightly surprised,

"Is that ok?"

"If you're not coming in, then go home."

"Erm no, I'm coming in though."

With that, Taito entered Gekkou's house. The entrance was dark. As the sun had largely set outside, the house was dark.

In that darkness, without turning on the lights, Gekkou proceeded inwards.

Taito then took off his shoes,

"Sorry for bothering."

"You're really a bother."

"Don't say that ok? After all, it's your buddy from the student council that's coming here to hang out."

He said.

With that, Taito looked around him and then followed behind Gekkou.

Gekkou opened the door at the inner part of the corridor, and entered it. He then switched on the lights to that room.

It was a dining kitchen. It was not a spacious kitchen and at the front of the kitchen was a dining table. Gekkou then pointed his finger to one of the chairs placed beside the table,

"Sit."

He said. He then opened the fridge and took out two bottles of cola. He tossed one to Taito and opened the other one.

"............"

Taito caught the cola,

"Ah, thanks."

He said.

Of course, Gekkou just ignored him. With that, he took a seat and a drink from his cola bottle,

"...... damn. I'm still sleepy."

He said.

Seeing how truly tired he was from his face, Taito felt a little bad, he then looked around a few times and said.

"...... erm, where's your family?"

Gekkou then replied.

"Not around."

"Not around?"

"Yeah."

"In other words?"

"Dead. Hinata killed them."

"............"

Taito became at a loss for words. And then, he finally understood the reason why his face was full of hatred when he was facing the monster called Hinata some time ago.

And also the reason behind his somewhat surprisingly audacious temperament.

"...... ah ~, I didn't know......"

But he was cut off by Gekkou,

"It was a long time ago. No need to worry about it."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"But still, I'm sorry."

"............"

On hearing that, Gekkou did not reply. He took another drink of his cola, and looked at him with his sleepy eyes.

And then suddenly,

"I know why you came."

He said.

On hearing that, Taito was surprised,

"Seriously?"

Gekkou then laughed cruelly, as if to mock him,

"After bringing that amount of trouble to me and Saitohimea, and if you still have a carefree attitude about it, that will just make you a piece of trash."

He said.

Taito then looked intently at Gekkou,

"...... yeah~"

He said. And then, with a somewhat self-deprecating smile,

"That's really the case right?"

"Yeah."

"...... since you've said that, then things became easier."

"It's because you're the one who's slow."

"...... haha. You're right."

After saying that, Taito unscrewed the cap of his cola bottle. And drank. The cola was a little too chilled and he felt a moment of brain-freeze.

"Can I sit?"

"Yeah."

Taito then put his cola on the table and sat down. Inside a normal kitchen of a normal detached home, and sitting opposite of the stuck-up student council president somehow made him feel a little out of place.

Looking intently at Gekkou, he said.

"Well, so as to speak, I'm not too sure where should I start from though......"

"Since an idiot doesn't even know why he was born in the first place."

"...... aah geez, let's not get started with that, shall we?"

Gekkou took another drink of his cola. Taito also took a drink. However, he felt so awkward that he could no longer taste the cola.

And then,

"Well but, there's one thing I'm most concerned about. That is, is Himea safe?"

That was the thing that was at the top of his mind.

While Gekkou managed to drive off the Tenma somehow, it doesn't mean that the Tenma won't come after her again, or maybe Gekkou merely staved them off temporarily.

Gekkou then said,

"I don't know much about the << Tenma >>. The << Military >> is investigating."

He answered rather seriously.

"Erm, then."

"Yeah. Whether they will attack Saitohimea again or whether they will come here again, I have no idea."

"Hey, then isn't that bad?"

"Yeah, it's bad. But, isn't that the reason why you came?"

Gekkou said.

Then, Taito then said,

"Yeah."

And nodded.

"That's right. I want to acquire the power to protect her if something like that happens again."

"A small fry in his own small fry way, wants to struggle against futility?"

"Hey you, you really need to watch your tongue."

"I'm only speaking the truth."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah."

"I see. But I do want to struggle against futility ~"

Taito said.

On hearing that, Gekkou's sleepy half-opened eyes opened up a little,

"...... well, with that tenacious body of yours, it's not like there's no way at all."

After saying that, he stood up.

And then,

"Follow me. Let's first get back to the student council room."

"Right now?"

"Yeah. You want to train yourself up right?"

When he uttered the word 'training', Taito got slightly embarrassed,

"Yeah."

He nodded.

"Then, I will use a << Way >> to connect you to such a place. Go there and don't come back for a while."

Gekkou told him.

"For a while, you say, about how long?"

"Now. If you want to know everything, go back home and ask your Mama."

"...... you're really a hateful fella you know ~"

"Haha."

Gekkou walked in the direction opposite the entrance. He's probably going back to his room. He's planning to return to his room and get back to the student council room via the << Way >> that was connected to his room.

Taito followed along.

En route to there, there were a number of rooms, but as expected, there was no sign of anyone living in them.

The thing about his family getting killed by Hinata was really true......

"............"

Really true......

"............"

But, at that moment, Taito saw a room that had its door wide open.

A room that was made up of a bed, a bookshelf, and a desk.

On the bed was a overflowing number of plushies lined up, and the bookshelf was filled full with manga.

And hung on the wall, was a Miyasaka High sailor uniform, and below it, sprawled on the floor, were underwear that seemed to have been taken off hastily ---

"Hey!?"

Taito cried out without thinking.

Somehow, after realizing that he had seen an awfully adult scene, he cried out without thinking. And then,

"Huh? Eh? Hey, Gekkou?"

Gekkou turned around.

"What?"

"Erm, you know, could it be that you're."

"That's why I'm asking you what is it?"

"Are you living with a girl?"

He asked.

Gekkou looked intently at Taito and then he turned his gaze to face the room with the sprawled out underwear which Taito was looking at.

However, without looking the least bit flustered,

"Oh, you're talking about that room?"

He said.

Despite the fact that his same year school mate had caught him in a situation where he could be instantly expelled from the school if they knew of this, he had a relaxed expression.

"Y-you, you are really an adult with regards to those things huh."

Taito said.

However, with a perplexed face that said, what the hell are you talking about, Gekkou looked at him,

"......... haah."

He let out a sigh. And then, without bothering to explain anything, he started ascending the stairs in the middle of the corridor.

"You're not explaining that?"

Taito asked, but still, Gekkou did not reply.

"...... ah ~ but, it's that right? If that is a Miyasaka High's sailor uniform, that means you're living with one of our students right? Who is it? Do I know her......"

But, at that moment,

"Stop talking already......"

"No but."

"It's Mirai's room. She doesn't have a house in the human world, so I'm using that to rear her."

On hearing those words --- Taito started,

"You, are going out with Mir......"

"I'm going to kill you, you know?"

As Gekkou turned around,

"Kidding ~ But you know, I didn't expect that I can get through to you by engaging in high school student talk."

Taito smiled and in response to that, Gekkou seemed to want to say something, but,

"............"

After feeling it would become a troublesome thing, he sighed out again, and ignored Taito.

He was feeling really sleepy today. With that, he climbed up the stairs. While Taito followed after him,

"Hey."

"............"

"There's one more thing I wanted to ask."

"...... I'm already too tired to talk to you."

Taito smiled,

"But I'm going to ask anyway."

"Die."

"Haha."

And Taito asked,

"...... I've heard that Himea had made a huge sacrifice in order to revive me...... and because of that, today's incident took place...... what in the world, happened to Himea during the time when I was dead?"

On hearing those words, Gekkou turned around again, and showed him a face that said he didn't feel like talking to him anymore.

Then,

"...... did you hear that from Saitohimea?"

Taito shook his head.

"No, it was Himea's split personality who said that. A split personality that was supposed to protect Himea from the << Tenma >> ......"

"Split personality?"

"Yeah. His name is Bahlskra though. Ah, when I say Bahlskra, I'm talking about Himea."

"...... Bahlskra is Saitohimea......?"

He murmured softly.

On hearing that, Taito said,

"Oh, Gekkou didn't know?"

"...... I don't. That damn witch...... always hiding things from me......"

But Gekkou stopped in mid-sentence,

"...... but, it doesn't really matter probably. That will become known to me eventually when the ongoing investigation proceeds. I'm sending you off now and then getting some sleep."

"Hey answer my question duh. What in the world did Himea do to bring me back to life......"

But in response to that,

"The place where you're going is where you'll find out. So stop talking to me already."

As he said that, Gekkou quickly ascended the stairs. And entered the room that was just right beside the end of the stairs. That room appeared to be the room of Gekkou, with the exact same setup as the room he had seen across the << Way >> from the student council room.

A room with only a bed and a desk.

Upon entering the room, Gekkou murmured.

"Open."

And a rift opened up in the center of the wall in the room. That rift was connected to the student council room. the messed up student council room that has yet to be repaired.

Gekkou entered the student council room, and then once again,

"Open."

He said.

This time round, inside the student council room, a << Way >> that was different from the one that was connected to Gekkou's room opened.

Pointing at that,

"Here. This is the place that has what you are seeking."

Gekkou said.

Taito entered the student council room as well, and looked at this opened rift.

The place beyond the rift was a strange one.

No, a place that a << Way >> connects to is always a strange one.

Taito looked at the strange place beyond the portal.

"............"

On the other side of the rift, was an incomprehensible place --- inside the darkness, was a prism of colors that he could not make out exactly what they were, and they were squirming and spiraling in the air in a dancing fashion.

Looking intently at that,

"...... is this place inhabitable by humans?"

On hearing Taito's question, Gekkou nodded.

"No problem. I've been there a few times."

"In other words, you've also trained there?"

"No, I've been a genius since birth."

"...... wow."

"However, for one like you, who is useless since birth, it's the perfect place."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Besides, the thing you wanted to know is inside there."

"The thing I wanted to know?"

In response to Taito's question, Gekkou nodded.

"The one that has taken Saitohimea's power away from her and brought you back to life resides in there."

He said.

On hearing that, Taito began,

"...... which means."

"For only one time, if you're willing to pay the price, you'll be granted with something that matches up to the price. That's why, you shall go there as well, and receive the power you want. This is the fastest way for trash to become strong."

He said.

Once again, Taito looked at the other side of the rift. However, the more he looked at the glittering rainbow colors, the more dazzling they became.

"...... so you're saying I'll acquire power by paying some price, that's what you're saying right?"

Gekkou nodded.

"That's right."

"No but, it's that alright? That price, would be something awfully, terribly great right? After all, Himea had gotten to her current state because of that huh."

"Yeah."

"And yet, you're telling me to do it?"

On hearing his question, Gekkou smiled.

"Are you saying that you can't pay the same sacrifice as that woman?"

On hearing those words,

"...... no, I didn't say that though......"

Taito smiled as well.

And he looked intently at it again. He looked at that rift. He could see that there was some strange incomprehensible power squirming in a spiral, and he gazed into that portal,

"...... alright, I'll be going for a while."

"Right. Hurry up and go. I'll keep the << Way >> open, when you get back, just say, Close, and it will."

"Got it."

After Taito's acknowledgement, Gekkou once again started back through the << Way >> that was connected to his room.

"See you. As much as possible, don't die."

He said something like that, to which Taito smiled,

"Oh, it's unlike you to be worried about me."

As he said that, Gekkou made a are you an idiot face and said.

"If you die, there'll be no one to close the << Way >> and when the << Military >> sees it, they will call for an inquiry. It's just that I really hate that."

"I see ~"

"Now, quickly disappear. You're an eyesore."

"Alroight alroight. See you, and sorry for waking you up."

"You ought to be."

After saying that, Close, Gekkou uttered. Following that, the << Way >> that was connecting the student council room to Gekkou's room closed, and his figure disappeared.

After Taito ascertained that,

"...... now."

He said. He cracked his head, stretched his arms and loosened his body to deal with any possible danger.

"Well, it'll be fine if it's the kind of danger that I can deal with, but you seldom get what you want right?"

Upon saying that strangely old catchphrase, he passed through the << Way >>.

As he passed through the portal ---

---