Kaguya: Hayasaka, you're my god!

"I just asked Kaguya. She knows nothing about the Lake God and has no impression of the person who saved her. The only person who knows who he is is Miss Kashiwagi. She was the only one who remained conscious, so she should remember what he looked like."

"To find him, we'll need Miss Kashiwagi's help."

Kashiwagi Masao's brows furrowed deeply. He had also sent people to question the students who had been watching.

The man had entered the water from the other side of the Swamp at the same time as his daughter, Kashiwagi Nagisa. As a result, everyone's attention had been drawn to Kashiwagi Nagisa, and no one had gotten a clear look at the man.

Moreover, he had taken off his clothes beforehand, making it even harder to determine his identity.

The only thing they could be certain of was that, since he had been able to save Shinomiya Kaguya and the other two from the Lake God, he had to be a powerful Onmyoji! In other words, even if saving them had been his initial purpose, he definitely knew about the Lake God by now!

That was undoubtedly a tremendous hidden danger for them.

Shinomiya Gan'an clearly knew his son's ways and sneered.

"Find him, and then what? Kill him?"

Shinomiya Kōkō remained silent, but it was obvious that was exactly what he had in mind. When dealing with someone who knew their secret, the safest course of action was to send people to eliminate him!

Shinomiya Gan'an's eyes were filled with disappointment.

"If you really intend to do that, then you'd better sever your ties with the Shinomiya Family as soon as possible."

Shinomiya Kōkō's expression changed slightly. For Shinomiya Gan'an to say something like that was exceptionally severe.

Severing his ties with the Shinomiya Family meant he would completely lose his qualification to compete for the position of the next head of the Shinomiya Family!

Kashiwagi Masao asked tentatively, "Could he be from some Onmyoji family?"

Shinomiya Gan'an glanced at him and said flatly, "I don't even know who he is. How would I know that?"

Kashiwagi Masao frowned. "Then you..."

Shinomiya Gan'an said calmly, "The Lake God is dead."

Kashiwagi Masao and Shinomiya Kōkō's expressions changed at the same time. Shinomiya Kōkō blurted out, "Impossible! I sent someone to check on the Lake God. Its strength was damaged, but it was definitely still alive!"

"I sent someone to check as well. The Lake God's aura is still there. How could it be dead?"

Kashiwagi Masao also voiced his doubts, clearly finding it hard to believe.

A bitter smile unconsciously appeared at the corner of Shinomiya Gan'an's mouth.

"I sent a powerful Onmyoji to investigate. At first, he also thought the Lake God was still alive. But later, he discovered that what he sensed was merely the aura left behind by the Lake God. The Lake God's true body had long since died."

"The Lake God is really dead?"

Kashiwagi Masao's face was filled with disbelief.

Shinomiya Gan'an ignored him. He glanced at the dazed Shinomiya Kōkō, and the disappointment in his eyes deepened.

"Even if the Lake God weren't dead, the fact that the Onmyoji was able to save Kaguya and the others from it and even retreat unscathed already proves his strength. With someone like that, we should try to win him over. Only if that fails should we consider other options."

"But the first thing you thought of was killing him to eliminate future trouble. You've truly disappointed me."

Shinomiya Kōkō finally panicked and hurriedly tried to make amends.

"Father, I understand. I'll go win him over right away!"

"Enough."

The disappointment on Shinomiya Gan'an's face deepened further. He had even begun considering abolishing his eldest son as heir. He said flatly, "Your current condition makes you unsuitable to serve as chairman of Shuchiin Academy. Hand the position to Kumotaka for now."

"And don't investigate that person's identity."

"Since he hasn't come looking for us, that means he isn't our enemy."

"And since he left immediately after saving them, that means he doesn't want anyone to know his identity."

"President Kashiwagi."

Shinomiya Gan'an looked toward Kashiwagi Masao and slowly said, "You'll have to trouble yourself with your daughter. Don't let her expose that person's identity."

"Don't worry. I understand."

Kashiwagi Masao nodded solemnly, indicating that he had no objection to Shinomiya Gan'an's decision.

However, he had another guess regarding that Onmyoji's condition—

Although the man had killed the Lake God, he certainly hadn't come away unscathed. He might even have been seriously injured by the Lake God's final counterattack. Worried that they would retaliate, he had chosen to leave immediately.

Kashiwagi Masao glanced at Shinomiya Kōkō. Considering the eldest son of the Shinomiya Family's thoughts, that Onmyoji's concern was clearly justified.

Fortunately, none of that had happened yet, and their relationship with that Onmyoji had not reached the point of no return.

They definitely had to keep this secret. Once he returned, he would instruct Kashiwagi Nagisa not to reveal anything about that person to anyone.

But privately, he could still try to find him—

The Lake God was dead, so they needed to find a new guardian deity.

And the powerful Onmyoji who had killed the Lake God was the best choice!

If the man truly had been seriously injured, the Kashiwagi Family could provide him with the finest medical treatment.

Besides, Shinomiya Gan'an might well have had a similar idea. His claim that they should "not disturb that person" was nothing more than a smokescreen meant to steady him while he secretly contacted that person himself.

Kashiwagi Masao sneered inwardly. We're all thousand-year-old foxes. What kind of ghost stories are you trying to tell me?

Chapter 26: Kaguya: Hayasaka, You're My God!

Early morning.

After getting plenty of sleep, Kira Yoshikage opened his eyes and picked up the phone buzzing on the table. He glanced at it. There were several unread messages on LINE:

Miura Yumiko: "Good morning, Kira-kun. No matter how busy you are, remember to eat a proper breakfast~"

Kitagawa Marin: "Good morning, Kira-kun. Working part-time must be tough, right?"

Yuibihama Yui: "Morning, Kira-kun. Are you awake?"

Shimazaki Yuna: "Kira-kun, here are the remaining illustrations. Is there anything that needs changing?"

Aoyama Nanami: "The hourly wage here is 1,500 yen, and the manager is a woman who's easy to talk to. Are you really not coming?"

Kira Yoshikage replied to each message and politely declined Aoyama Nanami's offer as well.

Although an hourly wage of 1,500 yen was indeed quite good, it was still somewhat lower than the 2,000-yen hourly wage he earned as a waiter. Besides, after working there for the past few days, Kira Yoshikage had gradually grown adept at the job, so he had no plans to change jobs for the time being.

After washing up, Kira Yoshikage drank a glass of milk and immediately left the apartment for the nearest subway station.

A few more unread messages arrived on LINE on the way. They were from Kitagawa Marin:

"Kira-kun, are you free this weekend?"

"If you mean a gathering, I'm not."

"No, I want to ask Kira-kun for help with something personal. Is that okay?"

"I have to work overtime."

"Then can you come after work?"

Kira Yoshikage's fingers tapped against the screen. Kitagawa Marin sent another message:

"I'll pay you the minimum hourly wage. Would that work?"

Kira Yoshikage was silent for two seconds. He cleared the text box and typed again:

"I'm free in the morning."

He worked in the afternoon and took a part-time job in the morning. This was what they called a master of time management.

"Then it's settled, Kira-kun~!"

"☆(≧?≦*)?"

Ding-dong~!

The train slowly pulled into the station. Accompanied by the crisp announcement, the carriage doors opened.

Kira Yoshikage followed the crowd out of the subway. Shuchiin Academy was not far from the station, and several students in black uniforms stood by the school gate, yellow armbands wrapped around their arms.

The black uniforms indicated that they were students of the school, while the yellow armbands identified them as members of the Disciplinary Committee.

This was not strange.

The student council of Shuchiin Academy was basically made up of Pure Academy students. The occasional Mixed Academy students were usually there just to make up the numbers.

As children of wealthy families, Pure Academy students had always placed great importance on their appearance.

Therefore, the Disciplinary Committee sent people to guard the school gate every morning, specifically to catch students whose clothes were untidy, such as delinquents with their collars open or delinquent girls who had shortened their skirts without permission.

Step!

The moment he saw the Disciplinary Committee members, Kira Yoshikage stopped in the distance.

There had been Disciplinary Committee members guarding the school gate before, but this time was clearly different.

Among them, a short-haired girl was seriously inspecting every student who passed by her.

Unfortunately, that girl's name was Kashiwagi Nagisa.

Her father was the president of Kashiwagi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., the largest shipbuilding company in Japan, while her grandfather was a director of the Japan Economic Federation, one of Japan's "three major economic organizations." Her family background was among the most distinguished in Japan's upper class. She was absolutely a first-rate heiress.

More unfortunately, Kashiwagi Nagisa had also been one of the people involved in last week's "Pure Academy student accidentally falling into the water" incident.

And there was a high chance she had already memorized Kira Yoshikage's appearance.

Kira Yoshikage's instincts told him that Kashiwagi Nagisa had appeared here specifically to find him—

Otherwise, there was no way to explain why this heiress had guarded the school gate for an entire week. She was clearly lying in wait for someone.

Perhaps she wanted to express her gratitude, or perhaps she wanted to ask about the details of the incident. Regardless of what she wanted, none of it was good news for Kira Yoshikage, who only wanted to live a peaceful life.

Getting involved with an heiress like that would only turn his peaceful life into a complete mess.

Once he understood this, Kira Yoshikage stopped. Instead of taking the stairs leading to the school gate, he took a long detour and made his way to the wall beside Shuchiin Academy.

While no one nearby was paying attention, Kira Yoshikage skillfully climbed over the wall and jumped down onto the lawn.

But just as he was about to leave, he heard the sound of someone following him over the wall.

He turned around. A blonde girl with a side ponytail had already landed lightly on the ground.

Perhaps sensing the man's gaze, the girl subconsciously raised her head and happened to meet Kira Yoshikage's eyes.

The two stared at each other for several seconds, making the atmosphere somewhat awkward.

Kira Yoshikage's face remained expressionless, but inwardly he was already considering whether he should restart.

If he restarted, he would have to call Miura Yumiko over within an hour...

At that moment, the blonde girl took the initiative to break the silence and asked casually, "You're a Mixed Academy student, right? Why are you here?"

The girl glanced at Kira Yoshikage's uniform and patted the dirt and grass clippings from her palms. At the same time, she approached Kira Yoshikage, her tone carrying a hint of aggressive pressure.

Looking at the girl with her jacket tied around her waist, colored contacts in her eyes, and nail art on every finger—a girl dressed like a gyaru—Kira Yoshikage roughly guessed why she had climbed over the wall. He replied calmly, "Just taking a stroll and enjoying the scenery."

The blonde girl echoed him without showing anything on her face. "What a coincidence. So am I."

Then she casually introduced herself. "My name is Smithy A. Hasaka. What's yours?"

Kira Yoshikage stared at her for two seconds.

"Kira Queen."