Chapter 155: Misfortune Deadly Enough to Kill
"Watch out!"
Stella reacted first and cried out.
Amane was someone who had forgotten to use magic for defense even against an ordinary person.
It was hard to expect him to react properly to such a sudden accident.
He had also admitted that he was only chosen as Kyomon's representative because his ability was unusual, not because he had undergone any real training.
If that freshly cooked food struck his face, second-degree burns would probably be unavoidable.
However, just as Stella prepared to stand and save him, someone suddenly grabbed the hand she had beneath the table.
The warm touch against her soft hand made Stella freeze instinctively.
And that brief hesitation caused her to miss the best moment to intervene.
Ikki reacted and suddenly pulled Amane into his arms, but that could only protect Amane's face.
They were seated beside the restaurant window.
Ikki happened to be sitting on the inside of Amane's row, while the bearded man blocked the path on the outside.
Whether Ikki pulled or pushed him, Amane could not escape being drenched.
Fortunately, an icy voice suddenly sounded from the restaurant entrance.
"Scatter into droplets, [Yoishigure]."
At those words, the cola seemed to come alive.
It wrapped around the scalding food and carried everything together into a trash can inside the restaurant.
The danger passed.
Everyone at the table looked toward the petite figure standing at the entrance with her Device planted into the floor.
"Shizuku?! Why are you here?"
Ikki stared at his suddenly appearing sister in surprise.
At the same time, he secretly felt relieved.
Fortunately, Shizuku happened to arrive. Otherwise, Amane would have suffered badly.
Ikki never suspected that Shiro or Stella might have deliberately chosen not to act.
From Shiro's position, he could not physically reach Amane in time anyway.
As for Stella, Ikki simply assumed her body had failed to react quickly enough.
"Alice said there's a famous dessert shop around here, so he dragged me along to try it."
"He went to the restroom just now. While I was waiting, I happened to see all of you through the window, so I came over to say hello."
As Shizuku explained why she had come all the way into the city, she pointed toward the distant public restroom.
"Phew... That scared me. I really thought I was finished just now..."
Only now did Amane recover from his daze.
After climbing out of Ikki's arms, he patted his chest with lingering fear.
"Thanks... You're Ikki's younger sister, Kurogane Shizuku, right?"
"And you are?"
"I'm Ikki's biggest fan. My name is Shionomiya Amane. Just call me Amane."
"I never expected to be saved twice in one day by my idol and his family..."
Shizuku merely nodded indifferently.
She did not particularly care about the person before her.
She had only acted to prevent her brother from being accidentally struck by the food.
Saving Amane had merely happened along the way.
For someone who could not even be called a friend, Shizuku would never go out of her way to save him.
At most, if she happened to pass by and saw him in danger, she might lend a hand.
"Are you all right?! I'm terribly sorry about that!"
After regaining his balance, the bearded man immediately grabbed Amane's hand and apologized sincerely.
"Ahaha, I'm fine. If anything, I've always been pretty lucky."
"But be more careful when you walk next time. Other people might not be as lucky as me."
"Yes! I'll absolutely be careful next time!"
"Please accept this as an apology!"
The man reached into the pocket of his jeans and eventually pulled out several scattered bills totaling tens of thousands of yen.
It was not an enormous amount, but it was all the cash he happened to be carrying.
Having spent many years in society, he understood that plenty of people maintained a friendly smile in public only to turn hostile the moment you left.
And judging by the clothes worn by this white-haired "girl"...
Although their uniforms differed, the person he had initially mistaken for a young girl was probably also a Blazer.
People like that were the most troublesome.
An ordinary person might only extort some money from you.
A Blazer could genuinely cost you your life.
Therefore, he chose the most practical form of apology.
Money.
"You really don't need to. I wasn't actually hurt."
"Besides, this person is my idol. Are you trying to make me embarrass myself in front of him?"
Amane pointed toward Ikki.
Ikki cooperated by showing an awkward smile.
Amane's refusal made the bearded man slightly anxious.
'Damn it. My boss before I got fired said the exact same thing.'
'"You don't need to bring gifts just for me. Are you trying to embarrass me in front of the boss?"'
But when layoffs came around, he asked everyone else and discovered that he had been the only honest idiot.
And who had been fired in the end?
The one person who had not brought a gift.
Terrified that Amane might settle the score later, the man rushed to the ordering counter and asked for paper and a pen.
He wrote down a long string of numbers and handed it over.
"As an apology, call this number if you ever need anything. If it's something I can do, I'll definitely help."
After saying that, he hurriedly fled the restaurant.
"Mm... It feels like he misunderstood something..."
Amane scratched his head in mild confusion, seemingly unconcerned with what had happened.
Everything appeared perfectly harmonious.
Of course, that was only if one ignored the almost lethal misfortune clinging to the man who had just run outside.
Shiro casually dispersed the misfortune around him.
His hand hidden beneath the table tightened slightly while he organized the information he had just obtained.
1. Shionomiya Amane was probably a causality-interference-type Blazer.
2. A person's instinctive response to danger did not lie, so his ability probably did not require detailed conditions to activate.
3. His ability had lower priority than the power of a Desperado.
4. Amane's physical ability was extremely weak, to the point that an armed ordinary person might be capable of defeating him.
5. Amane appeared to possess considerable "interest" in Ikki.
6. It was still possible that everything Amane had shown so far was an act.
But one thing could now be confirmed.
The fourth infiltrator hidden within Kyomon Academy had been found.
'Hm? What is this soft thing I'm holding again?'
The warm, supple sensation in his hand made Shiro unconsciously squeeze it again.
"Stella, what's wrong? Your face has been red for a while."
"Eek?! N-No... It's nothing!"
(PS: Sorry everyone, I don't usually share much about my personal life, but I'm currently facing a very difficult situation. As you may have heard, Nepal has been struck by a devastating flash flood. It's one of the worst disasters to hit the country since the 2015 earthquake. Unfortunately, I've also been directly affected, as I live here.
Because of this, I won't be active on Webnovel, Wat-tpad, or P-atreon for the time being. Thankfully, I had already scheduled uploads in advance for the next week or two, so you should still receive regular updates.
I'm posting this using my phone with an unstable connection, and I expect it will take me about a week to manage my personal affairs and reach the capital.
Thank you for your understanding, and goodbye for now—I'll be back in about a week, hopefully...)
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