Preparations for Battle

Garan no Dou, Shiki Ryougi finished supervising Fujino's work and returned to the office.

"Hey, how's the process going?" Touko asked, looking up.

"Smoothly? Try stuffing a mentally ill person in your head and see what happens." Shi practically collapsed onto the sofa, listlessly staring up at the ceiling.

"There's nothing I can do about it. Even the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception can't handle this, so I'm helpless too. It just so happens that you've run into it; it's just fate playing tricks on you." Touko said, taking a can of beer from the refrigerator and popping the tab open, releasing a malty aroma.

"Why did I have to encounter this?" Shiki Ryougi murmured, her thoughts drifting back to that night. Under the moonlight, in a fragile world entangled by the Lines of Death, the only one who had not died was like the moonlight in the sky.

"Touko If there truly is someone who is completely free of death, then what exactly is he?"

Touko downed his beer in one gulp, his gaze slightly thoughtful.

"The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception are abilities gained only after a soul has died once and glimpsed the 'End of All Things' at its Root. If such an existence truly exists..." She paused, lowering her voice:

"Either he was a being cherished by the entire world, and you cannot yet comprehend his death; or he was 'something' from a higher dimension. Neither is something you or I should concern ourselves with."

Touko's words carried an almost veiled warning. She shifted her attention to the Kebao statue beside her, shook her head, and changed the subject, saying, "If you can't shut that old man up, then make me some earplugs. Otherwise, your employees will turn into mental patients."

Touko nodded in agreement.

A moment later, the door opened, and Bai Mo walked in carrying a file bag. It contained the records left by Araya Souren in the hospital. Bai Mo brought these out on a whim.

"Touko, you've had some contact with Araya Souren before, right? He's the mastermind behind Fujino this time, and his target is Shiki Ryougi."

Touko raised an eyebrow and took the file.

"Tsk, of all times, it's this old classmate. What a hassle. This guy is so stubborn. Shi, you're really unlucky to be targeted by a bunch of weirdos."

Bai Mo sat opposite Shiki Ryougi and sighed softly, saying, "Kirie Fujou, who is in the hospital, originally found a job at a library after being discharged. After I went to her workplace to inquire, I learned that Kirie hasn't been to work for a long time."

"That's really bad, Shi. You should try not to act rashly from now on. Who knows what kind of surprise that guy has in store for you?"

"I'm actually looking forward to it. Once we get back, I'll leave the investigation and such to you."

Shi left without looking back. Bai Mo watched her departing figure, somewhat puzzled, and asked, "Who made her angry?"

Touko thought to herself: Who made her angry? The way she addressed me suddenly changed from Shiki to Shiki Ryougi. It's like when you go out with a friend and he suddenly stops calling you by your nickname and starts calling you by your real name. Anyone would feel something's wrong.

When talking about Kirie Fujou, people call her Kirie; in Japanese speaking, she uses her full name.

But this is for the best. It seems that Bai Mo at least knows that too much contact with Shiki Ryougi would only result in her being smashed to pieces, so keeping a distance may not be a bad thing.

However, Bai Mo was not actually aware of this at all. Rather, it would be more accurate to say that his view of women, apart from a few special cases, was the same as his view of small animals. The reason he changed his address was simply because he did not want to experience the feeling of being haunted by a ghost.

Looking at the Bai Mo, which was as white as stone, Touko breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's alright, it's probably because of that soul. By the way, could you run an errand for me?"

"I won't help you move all that messy stuff."

"No, it's because, like me, Araya Souren has some criminal records and history with this guy at the Clock Tower. I believe you can get what you need there, and the old man probably wants to see you too."

Bai Mo squinted at Touko Aozaki, who seemed to genuinely care about him, and asked, "So, is there anything you need me to do?"

This woman must have something on her mind, otherwise she wouldn't have asked him for help. Bai Mo understood. Touko Aozaki took out a briefcase and handed it to Bai Mo, smiling slightly, "Please give this to the guy over there who's in charge of Sealing Designation. After all, we might be going to have a big operation soon, so we need to get rid of all our restraints."

Bai Mo nodded, took the briefcase, and disappeared from the spot.

After a while, the last employee of Garan no Dou no To finally arrived on time. Touko looked at Mikiya Kokutou?" and said helplessly, "Looks like I'll have to figure out the specific work hours later."

"Then you'll have to be there on time for the Touko."

"Yeah, then let's forget about it."

Touko immediately abandoned the spur-of-the-moment idea and replied, "Bai Mo is going to the United Kingdom, and Shi has already finished his work and gone home. Mikiya, if you're free, could you help me investigate this person?"

Touko handed the files of Araya Souren and Kirie Fujou to Mikiya, instructing him, "Listen carefully, you can only investigate the most basic things. If there are any deep clues, you absolutely cannot investigate them alone, or you'll die."

Mikiya took the file and, while looking at it, said, "Does that mean we won't see Bai Mo and Caren for a long time?"

"At most one day. Bai Mo left five minutes ago, so he's probably already in the United Kingdom."

"Ah?"

Touko, with a serious expression, instructed Mikiya, "Don't think of him as someone like you. Yesterday, Fujino went berserk and tore some unfortunate guy's limbs apart, Bai Mo just moved a finger and restored him to his original state, even curing his original ailment. He's not even human."

"That's going too far," Mikiya said, somewhat displeased with Touko's comment.

"You're misunderstanding the situation. No one can cross half the globe from Japan to London in five minutes. Listen to Mikiya, he's different from Shiki. If Shiki is on the edge of humanity, Bai Mo has already walked down an inhuman path and disappeared from sight."

Mikiya couldn't refute it; what Touko said was all true.

"But you don't need to worry. Although Shiki will inevitably be attracted to him, they can't possibly end up together. You just need to continue dating Shiki."

"Touko, when did you become so gossipy?" Mikiya felt no unease or sense of crisis. Mikiya Kokutou deeply loved Shiki Ryougi; it was etched into his soul. But he wouldn't have any strange thoughts about such a thing.

Mikiya is different from Bai Mo. He is very sensitive to emotions and can clearly sense that Bai Mo has no such thoughts about Shi. If he weren't in trouble now, he probably would have left immediately.

"Bai Mo's relationship with Shi is more like that of a doctor and patient," Mikiya's words hit the nail on the head, and Touko wholeheartedly agreed.

"It's more accurate to say that he treats humans that way in general. I was worried that Shi might overthink things, but thankfully Bai Mo is very clear about where to draw the line."

Mikiya asked in confusion, "Draw a boundary?"

Touko chuckled as she reclined in her office chair and said, "He's started referring to Shiki as ' Ryougi ' or ' Shiki Ryougi ' now. That's like the fire's already soaked before it even gets started. Shiki is just a friend to him."

Mikiya's lips twitched; he seemed to understand why Shiki wasn't here today. After all, Shiki had very few friends, and being treated like this by Bai Mo would surely make her throw a tantrum.