Chapter 37

After finishing dinner with Roll, I came to the boss's room.

In front of the boss, who was leaning on the office desk, I stood straight.

"I see. So that's what happened."

I told the boss about Seiki.

The boss's reaction wasn't indifferent, but he didn't seem particularly surprised.

I didn't feel like I was about to be scolded either.

"…Yes. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

I bowed my head in apology, having also conveyed my hesitation about whether to tell him or not.

I thought it was better to tell the boss because I owe my life to him.

It's also important to share any information that could benefit Anonymous, as you never know what might happen.

Even if he is a close friend, an enemy is an enemy.

I am trying to protect myself even if it means killing many people. I can't survive with a weak resolve.

"You did well to tell me. It was a wise decision."

"…!"

I felt relieved inside when the boss said that.

"But, you have taken on a burden."

"What do you mean…?"

"I consider that man to be very dangerous.

I would go as far as to kill him right now."

"…Yes."

That's true. My "Sound Strike" had no effect on him. Even Shido would retreat. The boss himself couldn't capture him, given his abilities.

It's clear even to a monkey that it's better to eliminate him for sure.

"But, I want to leave the decision to Death Sound.

This might be a foolish decision for me…

However, it could promote your growth. In a sense, it's an investment."

"…So, I can decide what to do with Seiki?"

"Yes. But don't misunderstand. The order I give is to 'kill' him. It doesn't matter if he is a close friend.

…But I'm leaving it to you because it's difficult to carry out an order against your will.

Death Sound still lacks experience and strength."

"I see…"

"You are enemies. You are destined to kill each other. How you perceive and decide on this is up to Death Sound.

However, as long as Death Sound is in Anonymous, you are destined to kill him. I want you to remember that."

"…Understood."

That can't be helped. I'm grateful just to have some time.

If I didn't want to be enemies with Seiki, I could leave Anonymous. The boss probably suggested that as an option.

"Just to be clear, if you encounter him during a mission or the situation changes…"

"You will kill him. I understand that well."

"Yes."

I didn't come here to tell you not to kill Seiki.

If I encounter him during a mission, I will fight with the intention to kill, regardless of whether I can actually do it or not.

I could have done it during today's mission as well.

"Well, that's about it. You can go now."

"Thank you, boss."

I bowed and left the boss's room.

---

I came home. I lay on the bed and closed my eyes.

It felt like a very long day.

Destroi went wild, Roll fell asleep, I was shadowed by the boss, and it was revealed that Seiki was in the Self-Defense Force…

But I'll go to bed now. I have school tomorrow.

I'll take a bath… but it's too much trouble, so I'll get up early tomorrow and take one.

I managed to set my alarm and then fell into unconsciousness.

The next morning. I woke up before the alarm went off, went for a morning run, and took a shower.

School starts today. I might surprise everyone because I got quite tanned during the summer training.

I thought about this as I put on my uniform, which I hadn't worn in a while.

The only concern is Seiki.

Can I act normally with him?

After finishing breakfast, I took my bag and left the house.

It's about a 15-minute walk to school. It's a distance where riding a bike to school is almost prohibited, so I sweat quite a bit during this season.

Looking up at the sky, I saw floating ability users smoothly flying towards school.

I used to envy them, but not anymore.

Abilities are nothing but trouble…

"Hey, Kaze!"

Seiki's voice came from behind, and I turned around with a start.

"Good morning, Seiki."

"Wow, Kaze, you're tanned. Did you go somewhere alone during the summer? Where did you go?"

"I went to the town four blocks away. I didn't do anything special, so it's embarrassing to talk about it."

"Come on, tell me!"

"No. What about you, Seiki? What did you do during the summer?"

"Me? I basically just played around. Oh, by the way, I got a confession from Hitomi's sister."

"Really!?"

"Yeah, really. I turned her down, but since she confessed in front of Hitomi, I got dragged into a big sister-brother fight."

"That was tough…"

Hitomi's sister is the complete opposite of Hitomi in personality and was famous in middle school.

She's supposed to be entering our school next year. Honestly, I don't want her to come.

Anyway, I'm talking to Seiki normally.

…By the way, I couldn't hear his sound yesterday, but how about now?

I suddenly wondered and turned on my ability to listen to Seiki's sound.

Seiki's eyes changed, and he looked around.

I quickly turned off my ability.

That was… clearly the Seiki I saw yesterday.

"Seiki, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just felt like someone was watching me…"

When I turned on my ability just now, I could hear Seiki's heartbeat. I couldn't hear it yesterday.

So, is Seiki's ability always active, and he switches it on and off?

No, if he noticed I switched on my ability, he himself isn't switching it on and off.

The boss said Seiki's ability is probably a deflecting ability.

If it can deflect abilities like the boss's, which can be used at any time, it might be able to detect when an ability is used on him.

In other words, Seiki detected that I used my ability to listen to sound.

But since he didn't know where it was coming from, he looked around. Is that what happened?

Then, what was I doing when I couldn't switch on and off?

Well, I was wearing a control ring then, and I never paid attention to Seiki's sound.

So, Seiki probably didn't notice anything.

Anyway, it's better not to do anything unnecessary.

"Kaze, it seems to be getting dangerous lately. According to rumors, Anonymous is becoming more active."

Seiki said this to me with a very serious face.

"…So it seems."

"See, we are non-ability users, right?

Since we don't have a way to protect ourselves, we should be extra cautious."

"True."

We are not non-ability users, though…

I felt guilty now.

Even though he doesn't know, he is worried about me, his enemy.

If he wasn't my close friend and just a regular classmate, it would be so much easier.

"Changing the subject, Kaze, did you finish your homework?"

"More or less."

"I barely finished it yesterday. Well, I haven't finished the ones that aren't due today."

By the time we finished talking, we had reached the classroom.

There were already quite a few classmates in the classroom, and I greeted them, whom I hadn't seen in a month, and took my seat.

Roll had already arrived.

Since there was still time before the morning assembly, the usual group gathered around my desk.

School started.

Chapter 3 ends.