Ryoji, bored and restless, let his gaze wander aimlessly until it landed on a peculiar-looking passerby. Normally, if something in your pocket was hindering your stride, you'd take it out and carry it in your hand. But this man was doing the opposite.
'Was he determined to keep it hidden, no matter what?'
"Sweating a lot," Ryoji muttered, narrowing his eyes. His sharp vision cut through the crowd, focusing on the construction worker's neck, where heavy beads of sweat streamed down.
Though it was the height of summer, the night air had cooled considerably. Given the man's light clothing, there was no reason for such profuse sweating. Yet, lost in his thoughts, he made no move to wipe it away.
Ryoji's gaze shifted to the man's right hand.
Ding-boom!
The red light switched to green. Pedestrians quickened their pace, crossing the street as usual. The plumber hesitated for a moment, then hurried after the pedestrians. His right arm didn't swing naturally; instead, it slowly reached toward his right trouser leg.
His breathing suddenly quickened, his chest heaving violently.
No one around seemed to notice his strange behavior, except for Ryoji, who was observing him intently.
Ryoji's eyes narrowed, and he immediately prepared to rush forward.
"Wait a moment! Wait a moment!"
But just then, a slender figure suddenly darted out from the side, blocking the plumber's path with a look of intense urgency.
"You can't do something like that! No matter how desperate you are, you can't hurt people in a place like this!"
'Huh?'
'Could it be that that person noticed something was off?'
Toudou Touka stared in astonishment at the slender figure.
If Junior Brother hadn't alerted her, she might never have noticed the plumber's suspicious behavior at all.
Someone had actually discovered him before they did and even tried to stop him?
"Judging by his age, he must be a student too," Ryoji mused.
He paused, his expression gradually relaxing.
They were near Kyomon Academy, so it was natural to see students on summer break in the city.
If this person had noticed the man's suspicious behavior early on, they were likely a Student Knight capable of subduing a plumber.
'Let them deal with it then,' Ryoji thought.
If he intervened, he might expose himself, turning their date into a fan autograph session.
The two men were arguing in the middle of the road, drawing the attention of nearby pedestrians and causing a stir.
"Get out of my way!"
The plumber looked up, revealing a haggard middle-aged man with bloodshot eyes.
"If you try to stop me, I'll kill you too!"
He furiously yanked something from his right pocket, holding it aloft where it caught the colored lights of Japan's street lamps, refracting rainbow hues.
It was a Rambo knife, an American military wilderness survival knife, dagger-sized, not only razor-sharp but also exceptionally fast at drawing blood.
"Aaaah!"
Screams erupted as dozens of pedestrians scattered in chaos.
The plumber drew his Rambo knife, his eyes gleaming with malice, and swung it down at the slender figure before him.
The short-haired figure looked like a boy.
"Woah!"
Ryoji had assumed the boy was at least a Blazer, even without using a Spiritual Item (Device), he should have been able to handle ordinary criminals. But to his surprise, the boy suddenly cried out in alarm, flailing his hands wildly as he stumbled backward in panic.
'Isn't he a Student Knight?'
'Why's he trying to play hero? Does he even know how to spell "death"?'
Ryoji braced his feet against the ground and, in an instant, closed the dozen-meter gap, placing himself between the two figures.
Slap!
He raised his palm, fingers splayed wide.
With a grip as firm as an iron clamp, Ryoji seized his opponent's wrist.
"Wh-what?!"
The man stared, dumbfounded, at the sunglasses-wearing figure who had materialized between them as if teleporting, his mind still struggling to process what had just happened.
"Ah!"
But shortly afterward, a bone-cracking pain shot through his wrist, forcing him to cry out and involuntarily release the Rambo knife, which fell into Ryoji's hand.
Then a sudden, overwhelming force yanked him off his feet, sending him sprawling to the ground.
"B-Blazer?"
He sat on the ground, fear etched across his face, daring not to resist.
"Oooh! Amazing!"
The young man who had frantically backed away seemed to finally snap out of his panic, his eyes now brimming with admiration.
"I've already called the police. Don't even think about running, Mr. Criminal," Toudou Touka said, approaching the fallen man with a disarmingly friendly smile.
Hearing this, the assailant slumped onto the ground, his face ashen.
Clap, clap, clap!
Applause erupted from the crowd. Pedestrians who had scattered earlier returned, showering the heroic trio with praise.
"Amazing!"
"He looks like a student, doesn't he?"
"I recognize the guy next to you, he's Raikiri from Hagun Academy!"
Ryoji patted his face mask to make sure it hadn't fallen off.
Thankfully, he was so thoroughly disguised that he hadn't been recognized.
Soon, the police arrived, took brief statements, and, with eyewitness testimony, easily confirmed that the group had simply acted heroically.
As for the plumber, police interrogation revealed that he had recently been fired, his wife had divorced him, and even his children had been taken away. His job and family had collapsed overnight, leaving him utterly despondent under overwhelming pressure.
Driven to despair, he had resorted to indiscriminately attacking people on the street. After the killings, he had intended to commit suicide, but the passersby had intervened just in time.
"Um, excuse me, could I get your autograph?"
A police officer shyly pulled out his notepad and handed it to Ryoji.
To prove his identity after getting into the police car, Ryoji had removed his disguise, naturally causing the officers inside to gasp in unison. The atmosphere suddenly warmed considerably.
"It's not for me, it's for my daughter, she's a huge fan of yours!"
Flustered by the astonished glances from his colleagues, the officer quickly added, his face flushing red.
"No problem."
Ryoji readily agreed and handed him a signed autograph.
Soon after, the group was released from the police car.
"Nangou-kun, you're amazing!"
As soon as they stepped out of the police car, the slender youth turned to Ryoji with an adoring expression.
"I'd been hoping to run into you by chance, but I never expected it to actually happen! My luck must be truly incredible!"
"Who are you?" Ryoji asked, turning to the youth beside him.
'Hmm... He's definitely a boy, right?'
The youth's physique was remarkably slender, and his delicate features only added to the ambiguous impression. Long lashes framed pale blue eyes, lending him an androgynous air reminiscent of Ryoji's own appearance half a year ago.
"I'm so excited, I forgot to introduce myself!"
The youth scratched his head bashfully, then extended a hand. "I'm Shinomiya Amane, a first-year student at Kyomon Academy and one of its six representative contestants this year. I'm also a huge fan of you, Broken-Winged Angel-sama!"
(End Of This Chapter)
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