The next day.
A train pulled into the station, and four figures stepped onto the platform.
Several pedestrians couldn't resist glancing in their direction.
Most of their attention was drawn to one especially striking girl.
Her long, silky black hair contrasted sharply with her smooth, snow-white complexion. Dressed in a neat sailor-style school uniform with dark over-the-knee stockings, she looked like an ordinary high school student at first glance.
Yet her exceptional beauty was enough to make even adults turn their heads.
That beautiful girl was clinging intimately to a man's arm, making their relationship rather obvious to anyone watching.
They were either relatives or lovers.
"Don't tell me that shorty Kisara sold herself to some rich patron," Enju Aihara whispered to the person beside her.
Ever since she had first met the president of the Tendo Civil Security Agency six months ago, she had never seen Kisara behave like this.
That woman was actually willing to cling so closely to someone. Even stranger, her struggling company had recently gained an unidentified source of financial support.
Today, she had summoned Enju and Rentaro, only to spend the entire trip holding another man's arm like they were a couple.
Enju didn't believe for a second that Kisara had simply fallen in love.
The man had to be the reason her company had recently become so wealthy. He was probably her secret patron.
Given that Kisara's company now had mysterious backing, yet she was willing to go this far for him, it was hard not to imagine some kind of private arrangement between adults.
"Stop talking nonsense."
Rentaro Satomi glared at the girl.
Even so, he couldn't entirely dismiss the possibility.
Kisara was willing to do almost anything for revenge. If selling her dignity could give her the power she needed, she might genuinely make that choice.
After all, the target of her revenge was the Tendo family.
The last time Kisara had met members of the Tendo clan, Rentaro had noticed something deeply disturbing about her behavior. She had been desperately restraining herself.
At first, he thought her body was acting up and that it was time for another dialysis session.
However, after the Tendo family members left, Kisara had murmured that she was barely able to stop herself from killing them.
The expression she wore at that moment had made his scalp prickle.
She had looked like someone who had just crawled out of hell. Her eyes were filled with bottomless darkness and a hatred that wanted to destroy everything.
Rentaro had always vaguely understood the turmoil within her heart, but that moment was the first time he realized how much worse her condition was than he had imagined.
Kisara had never believed her parents' deaths were an accident. She was convinced they had been murdered as part of a conspiracy.
Judging by her recent behavior, she might have finally obtained evidence, which would explain why she was making such drastic moves.
"Enju, you certainly have a lively imagination. Would you like me to sew your mouth shut?"
Kisara stopped and looked back at the girl with a chilling gaze.
Enju instantly clamped both hands over her mouth.
As for why Kisara was acting so intimate with Kain, she was doing it deliberately.
For one thing, she knew that Rentaro, whom she regarded as family, harbored special feelings for her.
Unfortunately, Rentaro was an uncompromisingly righteous person. Someone like him could never truly walk the same path as someone consumed by revenge.
Sooner or later, their opposing beliefs might turn them into enemies.
It would be better to sever those feelings now. If they eventually stood on opposite sides, she would be able to kill him without hesitation.
Another benefit was that Kisara would not need to invent an elaborate background to legitimize Kain's identity.
She could simply present their relationship this way and allow everyone else to believe whatever they wanted.
Their apparent relationship would also prove useful once Kain demonstrated his power.
People would become more cooperative when she began investigating the Tendo family and exposing their corruption.
Simply killing them would be far too merciful.
Kisara wanted to destroy everything they possessed. She wanted their crimes exposed, their reputations ruined, and the public to revile them.
She would drive them into an abyss from which they could never escape and strip them of every last shred of hope.
Still, if Kisara hadn't witnessed one of those unusual private broadcasts and seen how experienced Kain could be, she might have mistaken him for a block of wood.
A beautiful girl had clung to him throughout the entire journey, yet he had remained perfectly calm. His expression had barely changed.
His lack of reaction was so complete that someone might have begun questioning whether he was interested in women at all.
Then again, perhaps there was another possibility.
Maybe the women in the worlds he had visited had simply distorted his standards.
The women from Asseylum's world were all exceptionally attractive.
The women in Saeko Busujima's world were even more exaggerated.
Miori's figure was already considered extremely striking by normal standards, yet some of the women Kain had encountered made even her seem ordinary.
Kisara couldn't help wondering whether something was fundamentally different about that world for so many women to possess such extraordinary figures.
While she was lost in those thoughts, they reached the registration desk under the curious gazes of the staff.
After registering under the name of the Tendo Civil Security Agency, they entered the elevator and eventually arrived outside the room marked First Conference Hall.
When the doors opened and they stepped inside, the previously noisy room fell silent.
Nearly everyone turned to stare at Kisara in surprise.
Some might have been wondering why she was still alive. If so, one of the people involved in yesterday's attack could be present among them.
Others were merely shocked that the young lady of the Tendo family had entered while clinging so intimately to a man.
"Oh my, Kisara. Aren't things moving a little too quickly? Don't tell me this is because of what happened last night..."
Miori's astonished, suggestive voice immediately inspired all kinds of inappropriate conclusions.
Kisara's expression stiffened. Heat rose to her face as she turned to glare at Miori.
That woman had come to the meeting as well.
She was clearly determined to get revenge for the humiliation Kisara had caused her the previous night.
At that thought, Kisara glanced at the man beside her.
Kain remained completely unmoved.
He truly seemed to have forgotten last night's embarrassing incident. He didn't care that his clothes had gotten caught up in the mess.
Correction, he hadn't forgotten it. His expression simply hadn't changed even while it was happening.
After Kisara brought him home for the night, he had remained on the living room sofa until morning, apparently reading to pass the time. He had barely moved a single step.
His composure should have prevented her from feeling awkward.
Instead, it only made her even more depressed.
Suddenly, a tall figure carrying a massive sword stepped forward and blocked their path.
The man was a Promoter partnered with an Initiator, one of the Cursed Children.
The reason he had stepped forward was obvious. He looked down on a tiny Civil Security Agency like Kisara's and had come over to provoke them.
"Hey, since when did little brats..."
His deep voice abruptly stopped.
Kisara noticed that his entire body seemed to have frozen.
She quickly understood why.
The man had met Kain's eyes.
To everyone else, it appeared to be an ordinary exchange of glances. However, the Promoter must have sensed the terrifying danger hidden within Kain.
He had become like prey pinned beneath a predator's gaze, unable to move a muscle.
"What's wrong, Shogen?"
Kisara smiled faintly as she asked the question.
Shogen Ikuma obediently stepped back and cleared the way.
Half of his face was concealed beneath bandages, but beads of sweat could still be seen forming on the exposed half.
"Don't be shy, Shogen. Why are you suddenly acting so well-behaved?"
"You looked ready to pick a fight a second ago. Now you're as obedient as a little dog."
Mocking laughter and sarcastic remarks sounded throughout the room.
The others were trying to provoke Shogen into attacking. They wanted to use him to test Kisara's mysterious companion and discover exactly what Kain had done to frighten him so badly.
Unfortunately for them, Shogen remained silent and refused to take the bait.
The crowd immediately lost interest.
Kisara was disappointed as well. She had been looking forward to seeing the fool attack and get beaten half to death.
A scene like this needed at least a little blood to make it entertaining.
The realization that she had genuinely entertained such a thought briefly left Kisara speechless.
Then again, there would probably be blood soon enough, assuming the masked man appeared to steal the item as expected.
After walking a little farther, they reached the seats assigned to the Tendo Civil Security Agency.
There was only one chair.
How were the two of them supposed to sit?
Kisara already had an answer.
She remained close beside Kain, curious to see whether he could maintain that robotic composure for the entire meeting.
(End of Chapter)
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