"To tell you the truth, if you won't believe me, there's nothing I can do." Yunyi shrugged.
"Given who you are, you wouldn't leave your country lightly unless you had a very important mission, would you? But even if what you said is true, why did you come to Japan? What is there here that's so important to you?" Mayumi Saegusa frowned slightly.
Yunyi looked at the bewilderment flickering in her wine-red eyes and chuckled as he gave her a name.
When she heard what he said, the bewilderment in Mayumi Saegusa's eyes was quickly replaced by surprise.
"So you enrolled at First High School for..."
Yunyi nodded. "More or less. Actually, those weren't the only reasons I chose to enroll at First High School. I came to make friends with you all, but what happened that day involved you and Little Orange, Little Izumi. If not for that attack, you might only have learned who I was through some other means."
"What do you mean?" Mayumi Saegusa's frown deepened.
"That brings us to my plans, and I can't tell you about those things yet," Yunyi said.
As soon as he finished speaking, Mayumi Saegusa's expression darkened. Seeing that, Yunyi hurried to placate her. "Don't always look so serious. It's a waste of that pretty face of yours."
"Hey! You jerk!" Mayumi Saegusa was furious.
This jerk! How did he start teasing me again after only a few words? He's awful! Mayumi Saegusa inwardly accused Yunyi, forgetting that she was an expert at it herself!
Seeing her angry expression, Yunyi was also laughing inwardly. The Mayumi Saegusa he remembered was a noob with weak offense and even weaker defense, who was bad at the game but loved to play. She often ended up blushing when she teased Tatsuya Shiba and he answered with a word or two, which had left a deep impression on Yunyi.
While spending time with Mayumi Saegusa, Yunyi had hardly ever been teased by her. That was partly because Yunyi carefully avoided leaving openings in his words, giving her no opportunity, and partly because Mayumi Saegusa wasn't all that close to him.
But ever since he revealed his identity, Mayumi Saegusa's attention had been fixed entirely on him! Still, in their exchanges, how could a noob with such weak defense stand a chance against someone as uninhibited as Yunyi?
Seeing that Mayumi Saegusa was on the verge of getting angry out of embarrassment, Yunyi brought up a subject she was sure to be interested in.
"Mayumi, you know about the organization called Blanche, right?"
"How do you... Oh, no, I forgot who you are. Honestly, that information was supposed to be covered up, so how come you all know about it?" Mayumi Saegusa complained irritably.
"Mayumi, how about we make a deal?"
The deal Yunyi proposed did indeed pique Mayumi Saegusa's interest. She looked at him, signaling for him to continue.
"Some of the disturbances in Japan recently were orchestrated by the head of the Japan Branch of the international terrorist organization Blanche. The farce at First High School this afternoon was just a way to draw your attention."
"I think you and those people have probably already agreed to settle the dispute through a debate. And that will be the perfect time for Blanche to make its move. I can tell you what they want, but you have to leave the branch head to me. I have an important use for him."
"So you know the identity of the head of Blanche's Japan Branch, right?" Mayumi Saegusa pressed.
"Yes. His name is Hajime Tsukasa. He's the older brother of Kinoe Tsukasa, the captain of First High School's kendo club. He specializes in a degraded form of hypnotic magic that imitates Evil Eye, a consciousness-interference type non-systematic magic. He used it to control and brainwash Kinoe Tsukasa." Yunyi held nothing back, telling Mayumi Saegusa everything he knew.
"Then where is he now? If we can just catch him, won't First High School's troubles be solved?" Mayumi Saegusa asked, a little eagerly.
"Sorry, I really don't know where Blanche's Japan Branch is. The people in First High School's kendo club might know, but almost all of them are members of the Alliance of Volunteers. At a time like this, arresting them in secret could have a negative effect on what happens next," Yunyi said.
Hearing him say that, Mayumi Saegusa was genuinely a little angry.
"Yunyi! Why are you doing this? Do you know what the consequences will be? If the students at First High School..."
"Mayumi!" Yunyi sharply cut her off.
"Mayumi, you have to understand, even without me, they wouldn't let this opportunity pass. Because this is a plan they started putting in place a long time ago. And Hajime Tsukasa isn't my only target. Someone like him isn't worth my personal attention. What I want is the whereabouts of that old black bug hiding in the shadows!"
"But don't worry. I'll be there for the debate too. I promise you, I won't let anyone threaten the students of First High School."
Mayumi Saegusa gradually calmed down. She looked up at Yunyi, who was standing in front of her, and said softly, "I can trust you, right?"
"Ah, of course," Yunyi replied.
"Then it's a deal. But Yunyi, how much longer are you planning to leave your hand there!?" Mayumi Saegusa smiled, but there was a chill in her words.
Yunyi hurriedly took his hand off the top of Mayumi Saegusa's head and coughed a few times to cover his embarrassment.
"Although I can agree to your deal in private, if someone else catches Hajime Tsukasa first, there's nothing I can do. I can't negotiate with other people on your behalf. You understand that, don't you?" Mayumi Saegusa said.
Yunyi nodded. He naturally understood that.
"Tomorrow, you'll learn where Hajime Tsukasa is hiding from someone else. All you need to do is pass that information on to me. Leave everything else to me. Is that all right?"
"I understand. Then can you tell me what Blanche's target is now?" Mayumi Saegusa asked.
"Documents. As a high school affiliated with Magic University, First High School holds confidential documents and magic research materials. Those are the targets of Blanche's operation."
"You can set an ambush in advance or surround them after they enter the reading room. Either way works. But Blanche has support from other forces, and they should have some military supplies."