Yusei, wearing black shorts and a white shirt, with a pair of sandals on his feet, was strolling down the street.
Walking through Tokyo streets that differed somewhat from his memories, Yusei occasionally bought snacks from roadside stalls and stuffed them into his mouth... appearing extremely relaxed.
If one didn't know his goal was to kill a god, he really just looked like a food-loving teenager out for an evening stroll.
But in reality? Yusei really was just strolling.
There was no other way, circumstances forced his hand. After thinking about it all afternoon in his hotel, Yusei still hadn't figured out where to start.
Use the Sharingan to control high-level officials? But those officials don't just appear within his line of sight, and they usually stay in specialized buildings to work.
On top of that, they have their own security. Unless it's some public outreach event, he can't get close to them.
You say you're an admirer coming to pay respects? Then why do I think you have ulterior motives and are a terrorist trying to harm me?
The reasoning was simple. Furthermore, many country's political world was essentially hereditary. In simple terms, the upper and lower levels were disconnected, and it wasn't easy to reach the higher-ups.
The lower levels were useless, the higher levels couldn't be reached.
So Yusei just stopped worrying about it.
Anyway, things will work out eventually. First, eat, drink, and have fun, then see how the situation develops.
And so, he came across a rare cotton candy stall and immediately went over.
Yusei looked curiously at the multi-colored cotton candy. He hadn't eaten this stuff in a long time either… not since his transmigration, and it had been a long time before that too.
Finally, Yusei settled on a multi-colored cotton candy.
"Boss, I'll take this one!"
"Boss, could I please have one of these?"
A male and a female voice spoke simultaneously.
After speaking, they were both momentarily stunned and looked at each other.
Entering Yusei's field of vision was a schoolgirl with beautiful chestnut-colored long hair. She was very pretty and naturally exuded a gentle, peaceful aura.
Seeing Yusei look over, the girl quickly bowed.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you wanted this one too."
Yusei didn't say anything about the girl's excessive politeness, only falling into slight thought.
Because he remembered seeming to have seen this person somewhere before, 'If I wasn't mistaken, this girl was probably also a character from some plot, right? But I really couldn't quite remember the specifics anymore.'
Yusei had no reservations and directly asked the girl outright.
"Do you know what Campiones are?"
A flash of unease and surprise instantly crossed the girl's face. It was brief, but Yusei caught it.
"I... I don't know. Um, if there's nothing else, you can have this cotton candy. I need to go now."
Saying this, the girl with the same hair color as Asuna picked up her schoolbag and jogged away from the spot.
Yusei watched her retreating back but did not pursue.
"Jounan Academy, huh?"
"So she's a student."
After paying, Yusei silently picked up the cotton candy and walked off in another direction.
The next day, at Jounan Academy.
Mariya Yuri, in class, was restless.
Last night, that young man had suddenly pressed her about [Campiones]. That words brought back some unpleasant memories for her.
That ritual that had nearly cost her her life.
She had immediately reported the incident. The higher-ups knew and said they would secretly send people to protect her.
But for some reason, the young man's calm expression from yesterday kept appearing in her mind.
"Mariya-san?"
"Mariya-san!"
The teacher's gradually intensifying tone made Yuri's heart jolt, and she immediately stood up.
"Here!"
"What's wrong with you? It's class time, you need to pay attention. Alright, answer this question, please."
The teacher at the podium pointed to a math problem on the blackboard.
Seeing the teacher wasn't reprimanding her too much, Yuri breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at the problem on the board, found it wasn't too difficult, and smoothly began to answer.
However, just as she was about to go up to the podium to write the answer on the blackboard, her peripheral vision caught sight of a student in the front row of the class. Then, her pupils abruptly constricted.
There, the young man who had constantly appeared in her dreams last night was looking at her with great interest.
Seeing her look over, he even waved a greeting.
"Yo, Mariya Yuri-san."
Mariya Yuri was startled, stepping back and pointing a trembling finger at Yusei, her voice shaking with fear.
"You... how are you here? Wh-where are they?"
"Them? You mean those people outside protecting you? They've been taken care of. But thanks to them... I found out you have such great talent."
The look Yusei gave Yuri was like looking at a massive treasure of gold.
Yuri remembered this greedy look clearly.
It was a familiar gaze. That Campione who had ordered them to summon the Heretic God back then had looked at her with exactly the same expression.
Sure enough, Yusei's next sentence was:
"Mariya Yuri-san, can you help me find a Heretic God? If there aren't any Heretic Gods in Japan, then could you please summon one for me?"
His tone was consultative, relatively gentle. But to Yuri's ears, it was a death sentence.
When she was a child, all the Miko who performed the ritual together to summon the Heretic God had died, and she was the sole survivor.
That fear meant that no matter how nicely or gently Yusei phrased his words, to Yuri, they sounded like coercion and threats.
"N-no, I won't." After saying this, she suddenly felt that the surroundings were very wrong.
It was only then that Yuri realized the other students and the teacher were continuing with the class as normal. It was as if none of them noticed anything amiss.
Noticing Yuri's gaze, Yusei shrugged and said, "They're safe, don't worry. I can't be bothered to use such methods to pressure you either."
"But I also hope you can understand me. Help me summon a Heretic God. Just name your reward..."