Multi-Anime, Kira Yoshikage Yearns for a Peaceful Life

Although the efficiency of the Japanese police has never been high.

For a vicious case like a bombing, the police still gave it the utmost attention.

Nearby officers rushed to the scene immediately, sealing off the Exhibition Hall while trying to maintain order.

At the same time, the hospital dispatched ambulances without delay, entering the Exhibition Hall to treat the injured once the police confirmed it was safe.

So by the time Yumiwara Saki arrived at the scene following her superior, Terada Tokunosuke, the Exhibition Hall was already cordoned off.

Medical staff were carrying stretchers, loading those injured in the bombing into ambulances.

Terada Tokunosuke showed his credentials, crossed the cordon, and asked a nearby officer:

"Any findings?"

He had only asked offhandedly, not expecting to get any useful information from the other party. But to his surprise, the officer he questioned nodded with an unusually grave expression:

"Yes."

Terada Tokunosuke was taken aback for a moment, then heard the officer continue:

"We found a member of the Anti-Intellectual Cult at the scene."

"The Anti-Intellectual Cult?"

Yumiwara Saki, following behind her superior, changed expression slightly.

She had thought this was just a simple bombing case, but getting involved with the Anti-Intellectual Cult...

The nature of it became completely different!

The Anti-Intellectual Cult, to outsiders, was purely a terrorist organization, its members a group of extreme religious fanatics who believed 'thinking is a trap, knowledge is poison.'

But Yumiwara Saki's work allowed her to know more than others—for instance, that the Cult's goal wasn't simply to oppose thinking and education, but to eliminate supernatural phenomena through this method.

Although their aim was to destroy supernatural forces, it was completely at odds with the philosophy of their Fourth Division. And regardless, the Cult's actions were outright terrorist attacks...

Yumiwara Saki was still lost in recollection when Terada Tokunosuke said in a deep voice:

"Send him to the hospital immediately. Do whatever it takes to keep him alive!"

"I'll escort him myself."

Yumiwara Saki's expression turned serious as she volunteered.

No matter what the Anti-Intellectual Cult's true purpose was, this person was their only lead for now.

Whatever it took, she had to ensure his safety!

Chapter 19: Can I Ask You Not to Talk to Me?

Tuesday.

Shuchiin Academy, Mixed Division, Class C.

At 8:40, just before the first class of the morning, Kira Yoshikage arrived at the classroom.

Kira Yoshikage returned to his seat. Before he could even sit down, Kitagawa Marin, with her brilliant, soft golden hair dyed pink at the tips, walked up and greeted him cheerfully.

"Good morning, Kira-kun~!"

Kira Yoshikage glanced at her and replied:

"Good morning, Kitagawa-san."

Kitagawa Marin leaned on the desk with her palms, bending close to Kira Yoshikage's face, and asked with concern:

"Kira-kun, did you find a job okay?"

"No."

Kira Yoshikage shook his head lightly.

Jobs weren't easy to find, especially for a student.

"I see..."

Kitagawa Marin frowned slightly, feeling a bit worried for Kira Yoshikage.

"Kitagawa-san," Kira Yoshikage called out.

"Huh?"

The girl blinked, her bright eyes full of confusion.

Kira Yoshikage shifted his gaze away from her soft, pale little hands resting on the desk:

"Can I ask you to please not talk to me from now on?"

"Huh? Why?"

Kitagawa Marin blinked her big eyes, looking a little hurt and aggrieved.

Although Kira Yoshikage's voice was very soft, as if he didn't want the other students to hear, Kitagawa Marin still felt wounded.

Kira Yoshikage didn't answer. He simply swept his gaze calmly across the other students in the classroom.

Kitagawa Marin followed his gaze and saw that the entire class was looking their way, disbelief written on their faces.

That was only natural.

As one of the most popular girls in the class, Kitagawa Marin was not only beautiful but also had excellent social skills. Although school had only been in session for a few days, she had already managed to befriend everyone.

In contrast, Kira Yoshikage—who had been labeled with tags like "aloof," "delinquent," "unsociable," and "hard to get along with" from the very start—was someone everyone in the class went out of their way to avoid.

And now, the most popular girl was talking with a gentle smile to the most unpopular person, and their relationship appeared extremely intimate. How could that not draw attention?

Kitagawa Marin wasn't lacking in emotional intelligence. Noticing the shock in everyone's eyes, she quickly figured out why Kira Yoshikage had said what he did...

"Kira-kun hates trouble?"

Kitagawa Marin silently filed that away in her mind, nodded lightly, and said in a low voice, "I will. But only at school, okay?"

Kira Yoshikage looked down, staring at the girl's hand for a moment in silence, and gave no reply.

Kitagawa Marin took that as tacit agreement. With a lighthearted turn, she clasped her hands behind her back and returned to her seat.

"Kitagawa-san~"

A male classmate at the next desk couldn't help asking, "Are you dating Kira-kun?"

The surrounding students all looked over at once, ears pricked to eavesdrop.

"Huh?"

Kitagawa Marin seemed a little surprised: "No, I'm not. Why would you ask that?"

The boy asked cautiously:

"Because... Kitagawa-san looks like you're on pretty good terms with him..."

"It's not like that~"

Kitagawa Marin explained, "It's just that Kira-kun didn't come to the party last week, right? So I was asking him why. It's not a dating relationship at all."

By the end, the girl's voice seemed to carry a hint of annoyance.

"I see."

The boy immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and the others also looked visibly relieved.

That's right. How could Kitagawa-san possibly be dating a delinquent like that?

Even if she really were dating him, it would have to be under coercion!

Miura Yumiko glanced casually at Kitagawa Marin, looking not at all surprised by her situation.

And Kira Yoshikage was no longer the center of attention, just as before.

Everything returned to calm, as if nothing had ever happened.

Listening to the occasional laughter and chatter from his classmates, Kira Yoshikage felt as though he was once again being ignored, isolated. And that feeling was—it was wonderful!

Kira Yoshikage's heart felt perfectly at peace.

"Another peaceful day."

Kitagawa Marin and Miura Yumiko's little group laughed and chatted as they walked out of the classroom, enthusiastically discussing how Ministop near campus had a buy-one-get-one deal on double-scoop ice cream today.

Kira Yoshikage brushed past them, walked straight down the stairs, changed into his outdoor shoes, and headed toward the school gate.

Near the gate was a huge dead lake. The surrounding land was overgrown with all kinds of dark green weeds, and the center of the lake was thick with green water plants, making it look like a muddy swamp.

And around this swamp, there wasn't even a single barrier. It looked like an accident waiting to happen.

If this were an ordinary school, such a large area of "swamp" would have long been filled in—both to avoid wasting land and to prevent students from "accidentally" falling into the lake, which would cause the school a lot of trouble.

If a student drowned, the entire school would be shut down for rectification, or even closed for good.

But Shuchiin Academy was different.

For one thing, as the most famous private school in all of Japan, Shuchiin Academy had a huge campus. It could accommodate more than ten times the number of students of an ordinary school without feeling crowded, and was even larger than some universities.

Compared to that, the swamp's "tiny" footprint was completely negligible.

For another, this swamp had existed since the founding of Shuchiin Academy. For the school, it had become a kind of landmark.

Far from filling it in, the academy actually organized first-year students to clean the swamp every year. This seemed to have become a kind of unspoken "entrance ceremony."

At that moment, the swamp was surrounded by students holding various tools, cleaning it.

These students wore black uniforms with an old-fashioned yet elegant design, with only the collars and cuffs in white.

And in the distance, many other students wearing the same uniforms were looking at them with envious eyes.

Because they were Hon'in students. Even though they wore the same uniform, everyone knew they were different.

And a task like cleaning the swamp—seemingly thankless and laborious—was a "rite of passage" exclusive to Hon'in students.

"Kira-kun!"

A clear, familiar girl's voice reached Kira Yoshikage's ears.

Just as he was about to turn around, a series of startled cries erupted from the crowd in the distance.

"Someone fell in the water!"

"Help! Is anyone here to save them?!"

"Ah! The lake... there's something in the lake!"

"Something black in the swamp!"

"Ah—! What the hell is that thing? Koyasu-senpai is caught by it!"

"Save her! Someone, help!"

"I... I can't swim..."

"Me neither..."

The students in black uniforms gathered around the swamp, their faces full of panic, watching helplessly as the girl who had fallen in at the edge was inexplicably sinking toward the center of the lake. Not one of them lent a hand—they just stared in terror.

Though they all claimed they couldn't swim, among so many students, it was impossible that not a single one knew how. Yet every time they thought about jumping in to help, a nameless fear rose from the depths of their hearts, making them too afraid to approach the lake's surface with its massive shadow.

A girl with long black hair tied into looped braids with a red bow took two steps back, took a deep breath, and without hesitation leaped into the swamp—its greenish glow covered with the corpses of countless tiny organisms.

"Shinomiya-san!"

The surrounding students cried out her name, watching with a glimmer of hope as the girl swam fiercely toward the center of the lake.

"Shinomiya-san, you can do it!"

The girls clenched their fists, eagerly hoping Shinomiya Kaguya would successfully rescue the fallen Koyasu Tsubame.

And Shinomiya Kaguya lived up to their expectations. Amid the foul-smelling lake water, relying on her strong mental fortitude, she swam to the center, held her breath, and dove under the surface, intending to untangle the water plants wrapped around Koyasu Tsubame's legs.

Koyasu-senpai can swim—she must be caught by weeds, that's why she can't get free—

That's what Shinomiya Kaguya thought.

But when she submerged down to Koyasu Tsubame's feet, enduring the danger of foreign objects entering her eyes as she prepared to untie whatever was binding her senior's legs, she was stunned to find nothing there at all.