Chapter 28

It was another day, just like always, peaceful and calm.

"Peaceful and calm... peaceful?"

I checked on my smartphone.

Peaceful means "nothing unusual happens, and everything is calm." Yeah, it's not like every day, but today is truly peaceful. I'm not wrong about that.

"Master, are you okay?"

Nia, my smartphone, spoke out of concern. Something unusual just happened.

Yes, the peace is over.

"Ah, I'm fine, Nia. And try not to talk in front of others."

"Understood."

It was good that the class just ended. The classroom was buzzing with the after-class atmosphere, so no one seemed to hear Nia's voice.

"Still, peaceful, huh..."

My life plan to live a peaceful life has been off track lately.

I've been forced to participate in Yin-Yang magic matches, attacked by people with special abilities, and even met a god after dying.

"Wait a minute? Compared to that, a talking smartphone is pretty normal."

Yeah, the last thought was a mistake. Today is undoubtedly a peaceful day.

"Kyouya, are you there?"

"!!"

I turned toward the voice, and a delinquent with a well-defined undercut was peering into the classroom.

That's the delinquent with the undercut from before!

"Kasai is looking for you. Kyouya, where are you?"

Takigawa and Ishida were bowing in my direction. These heartless guys!

"Here, here."

I raised my hand timidly while glaring at the heartless duo.

"Can you come over for a moment?"

The delinquent with the undercut led me to the back of the gym.

Yes, the peace is over.

◇

"When you first entered, I scared you in the back of the gym. I'm sorry."

"Huh?"

I thought I would be humiliated in front of the delinquents again, but only the delinquent with the undercut, Akari, and Shizukanae were there.

And the delinquent with the undercut bowed his head in apology. What? What's going on?

By the way, the delinquent who called me had already left.

"Sorry, Kyouya. Can you forgive me? Despite his scary face, Soji is really sorry."

"Akari, his face is the problem. Besides, you guys told me to apologize..."

"I'm really sorry, okay!"

"...Ah, yeah, you're sorry."

Akari is amazing, she can make the delinquent with the undercut bow.

"Please raise your head..."

"Kyouya, you're the same age as us, so you don't need to use polite language with Soji or us."

"Ah, then..."

I'll speak casually without hesitation.

"I'm not holding a grudge, so please raise your head."

"Will you forgive me?"

"Yeah."

Thanks to the days far from peace, I don't really care about the first day of school anymore.

Well, it was a bit traumatic, so I'll accept the apology for that.

"Got it. Sorry... see you."

"Ah, wait, Soji! Sorry, Kyouya. See you."

It seems they called me here just to apologize.

"If it's just to apologize, the hallway would have been fine."

"Soji is just awkward..."

Shizukanae responded with a wry smile to my mutter.

Akari also returned to the school building, chasing after the delinquent with the undercut, so now it's just Shizukanae and me.

"By the way, what's your relationship with... Kasai?"

I asked Shizukanae about a question I had been curious about.

They don't look like siblings, and it feels a bit odd for Shizukanae to be with them.

"Kasai and I are childhood friends, I guess. We're not related by blood, but we're like siblings."

I see, that's how it is.

At least, having such a cute childhood friend is annoying. I should have made them apologize sincerely.

"Let's head back, then."

"Okay."

After that, we chatted and returned to the school building together.

◇

"Shizukanae, is something wrong?"

On the way home, Akari noticed Shizukanae's downcast mood and asked.

"Onee-chan, we're not really normal, are we..."

"Not normal?"

"Yeah. When we were talking about parents on the way back from the gym, I couldn't say anything..."

"Shizukanae..."

As Shizukanae said, they don't have memories of their parents. They don't even have parents.

"It's okay, Shizukanae. We don't have parents, but we have each other. We three are a family."

"That's right. We'll always be together."

Hearing their words, Shizukanae's mood improved a little.

"Thank you both."

"...You're making me blush."

"Really, Soji can blush?"

"Shut up! And you, Akari, are blushing too!"

On the way home by the river, their cheerful laughter echoed...

◇

"Ah, sorry to interrupt the good mood..."

However, no one noticed the voice until it was too late.

"I'll take you in."

The fact that someone was trying to ruin their peaceful moment had already approached from behind...

◇

"Ha... I messed up."

On the way back to the school building with Shizukanae, the topic turned to parents, and Shizukanae's expression clearly darkened.

I quickly changed the subject, but I might have made her uncomfortable.

"Probably, there were complicated family issues..."

"Master, are you okay?"

Nia, worried about my downcast mood, spoke to me.

Since it's just making me feel uneasy, I decided to tell Nia about the situation.

"If Master feels bad, I recommend apologizing."

"Yeah. But it's after school, so I'll have to apologize tomorrow."

"No problem, I'll guide you."

"Huh?"

Guide me?

"I just checked the city's security cameras. Shizukanae is over there."

"..."

Nia, who had transformed, extended her arm and pointed in the direction where Shizukanae was.

"Thanks, Nia. But it's not right to look at security cameras without permission."

"Understood."

It's wrong, but since I've already seen it, there's nothing I can do. I decided to follow Nia's guidance and go see Shizukanae.

◇

When the three of them turned in surprise, a burly man stood there.

"Sorry, I ruined the good mood."

The man approached them with a half-hearted apology.

"Dies... why are you here!?"

Soji hid Akari and Shizukanae behind him and questioned the approaching man, Dies.

"Oh, you know my name. You must be Kasai, right?"

"That's not important. Why are you here!?"

"Why? To capture you. Did you really think you could live peacefully after escaping the organization?"

The moment he said that, Soji activated his ability to the fullest.

His ability is called 'Thermal Control,' which allows him to manipulate temperature by absorbing and releasing heat.

"Hot!"

Dies quickly backed away.

Soji had evaporated a puddle, causing a large amount of steam to rise.

"Akari! I need your help!"

"I know, 'Enhancement'!"

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Akari enhanced Soji.

Her ability 'Enhancement' can boost another person's physical abilities.

"Oh, that's the famous 'Enhancement.' I can't do that, so I'm envious."

While muttering, Dies tried to approach through the steam. But he immediately noticed something wrong with his footing.

"Whoa, it's slippery!"

To stop Dies' advance, Soji had frozen the ground.

"Man, this is a hassle."

However, Dies used his leg strength to stomp on the ground, breaking the ice and advancing forcefully.

"Tch, you're a monster."

"Well, I'm ranked A, so a C-level trick won't do much. So, why don't you surrender quietly?"

"No way!"

Soji's strong response was echoed by Akari and Shizukanae.

"What's wrong with being in the organization? You get three meals a day and a warm bed to sleep in."

"But we don't have freedom. We want to live our lives on our own terms!"

"Right, you were born and raised in the facility. The world you see is different from mine, who joined the organization from the outside."

Dies' eyes, which had been cold, made the three of them shiver.

"I can't kill you, so I'll hold back. But expect to break a few bones."

"I'm now a B-level ability user. I won't go down easily!"

The 'Enhancement' ability can also boost the user's own ability, not just physical functions.

Therefore, Soji's 'Thermal Control,' which is normally C-level, was enhanced to B-level.

"By the way, no one will come to help you."

"What?"

"I have agents around, so even if you make a fuss, no one will see."

"What!"

The three of them only now realized that the riverbank, which should have been bustling during the after-school hours, was empty.

"Then, struggle as much as you can."

The battle between Soji, now enhanced to B-level, and Dies, who has an A-level ability, began.