"Lolicon."
Seeing Haruto surrounded by three little girls, Kisara Tendo rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath.
Where did the third girl come from?
That would be little sister Ai.
She had also been brought over.
Meanwhile, Rentaro Satomi, who had gone off to take advantage of supermarket discounts, had finally shown up for work.
However, he looked as though the weight of the world was on his shoulders.
"So why is it that I've been registered as a Promoter for almost a year and still haven't been assigned an Initiator? Yet Haruto gets one assigned the same day he registers? Isn't something seriously wrong here?"
To their complaints, Haruto only responded with a cold sneer.
Lolicon, huh?
I don't accept that!
It's not that I like lolis—it's just that the people I happen to like are lolis.
As for the issue with Initiator assignments…
Rentarou was dirt poor.
And on top of that, he knew absolutely nothing about social cues.
The person in charge of assigning him an Initiator probably threw subtle hints until their tongue was raw.
All but had the phrase "Grease my palm and it'll be done" written across their face.
And this idiot Rentaro still didn't get it.
The poor staffer probably had their blood pressure skyrocket in frustration. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been delayed for an entire year.
The delay was entirely intentional—they'd been offended to death.
If it hadn't been for deliberate manipulation, the assignment deadline wouldn't have been pushed to its absolute limit.
"You! Rentaro! Go take a mission already! Our office can't go another month with zero results!"
Kisara redirected her frustration at Rentaro.
He was totally baffled.
Wait a sec.
That guy over there already has an Initiator. Why aren't you making him take the mission? Why are you sending me instead?
Does that sound fair at all!?
But in Kisara's mind, there was no way Haruto was going to bother running errands.
Someone who considers destroying the world an option wouldn't lift a finger just for a few measly achievements.
So, the only one left to exploit was Rentaro.Besides, if Haruto were to leave… Who would cook those delicious meals!?
Ever since she tasted Haruto's cooking, Kisara felt like she was becoming shaped like "Haruto" herself.
However, at that moment, Haruto unexpectedly spoke up:
"Pull up the mission list and let me take a look."
Kisara was stunned for a moment, but quickly brought up the missions available in the Tokyo area.
In truth, there weren't many.
Promoters and Initiators could only accept missions related to Gastrea or suspected Gastrea-related incidents. And within the Monolith Barrier, sightings of Gastrea were rare.
So, most missions were just suspected incidents.
Worse still, they were all cases that had dragged on for a long time. The objective was usually to uncover the truth, or identify a Gastrea involved.
These missions were practically impossible to complete.
Solving cold cases was no different from trying your luck. However, Haruto carefully scanned through the details of several long-standing cases.
He even examined on-site photos.
After a quick but thorough selection process, he accepted a few of the tasks.
Kisara leaned over for a look.
After seeing the ones he picked, her expression was full of confusion.
Some of these incidents dated back three months.
All murder cases.
The crime scenes showed signs that looked like Gastrea attacks—damaged walls, for example. But no one had been able to trace any actual Gastrea responsible.
These were considered unsolvable cases.
"Why are you taking these missions? They're impossible to finish," Kisara asked.
Haruto shook his head.
"The process is about to begin."
At those words, Kisara's pupils shrank.
The Process!
Rentaro, standing nearby, looked completely lost.
What process?
Sensing Rentaro's confusion, Haruto suddenly asked:
"Rentaro, if the world were about to be destroyed, but only good people would survive, would you try to stop that?"
Rentaro was caught off guard by the sudden, out-of-the-blue question.
He didn't understand why Haruto was asking. But after thinking for a moment, he still nodded.
Haruto wasn't surprised by the answer.
This former protagonist had a painfully twisted sense of righteousness.
"Good luck, then."
With that, Haruto left with Midori Fuse.
Rentaro stood there, dumbfounded.
And then Kisara promptly kicked him out of the office. She had him and Haruto split up to investigate the mission cases. After all, these were old cold cases—he was unlikely to encounter any Gastrea.
So even without an Initiator, it was no big deal.
Haruto, meanwhile, visited each of the crime scenes with Midori.
Then, he confirmed his suspicions. These incidents weren't caused by Gastrea. They were done by humans.
In the original story, there was a lunatic.
His name was Kagetane Hiruko.
He was a product of the New Human Modification Project.
Basically, a half-mechanical warrior and a retired kamikaze fanatic.
His body had been altered, and his mind was twisted by war. This guy wanted to destroy the world and drag it back into endless conflict.
Long before the original plot began, Kagetane Hiruko had already been active in the Tokyo Area, searching for a certain item.
Haruto planned to begin the next phase with Kagetane Hiruko.
He followed the trail through several locations. But too much time had passed, and reconstructing the scene was exhausting.
Using the World to rewind time would be too inefficient.
While Haruto was still tracking the trail—Kisara messaged him.
Rentaro had gotten into trouble.
Haruto's mouth twitched.
What the hell kind of protagonist-luck is this!?
When he arrived, he found Rentaro facing off against Kagetane Hiruko.
Haruto couldn't help but sigh.
What is this, some kind of destined rivalry?
But now that Kagetane Hiruko had been found, things got easier.
Haruto didn't stop him.
Instead, he let Hiruko leave.
He even cast an illusion spell to guide him to the item he was seeking.
Then Haruto went straight to the palace of the Tokyo Area.
Activating the World, he bypassed every security measure and appeared before Seitenshi.
With a snap of his fingers, time resumed.
Two unexpected visitors suddenly appeared in front of Seitenshi, startling her. But this woman, beautiful as a piece of art, did not scream or show fear.
Instead, she quickly composed herself and spoke:
"Who are you, and what is your purpose in coming here?"
Seeing her calm demeanor, Haruto nodded.
She wasn't just a decorative figurehead.
Her high cognitive rank was no coincidence.
She truly had talent.
In a normal world, she likely would have been an outstanding leader.
"Let's play a game," Haruto said.
Seitenshi instinctively frowned.
That casual tone gave her a very bad feeling.
Usually, when someone talked like that, they were either crazy—or perverted.
"You—"
She started to speak, but Haruto interrupted.
"The stakes of the game are the Tokyo Area, and even this entire world—World 450. If you lose, the world will be destroyed, and over 99% of humanity will die. But if you win, the Gastrea virus will be resolved, the Gastrea will vanish, and humanity will reclaim control of the world."
The moment Haruto spoke of the stakes, Seitenshi's heart trembled.
It sounded completely insane.
But coming from the man before her, it somehow felt disturbingly real. And the wager was well-balanced. It didn't seem like a joke.
"I don't have the right to wager humanity's fate," she said solemnly.
Haruto shook his head.
"That's fine. The outcome of the game won't be decided by you anyway—but by others. And besides, Your Highness, you don't have the right to refuse. And those who will decide… don't really count as 'humans.'"
His words made Seitenshi fall completely silent.
Since she couldn't refuse—She decided to listen first, then look for ways to counter this.
The man before her had effortlessly bypassed palace security and appeared out of nowhere. If she opposed him recklessly, it might provoke something uncontrollable.
As she thought this—
Haruto's next words shattered her composure completely.
"If my timing is right, someone should have already bypassed your security and obtained the Legacy of the Seven Stars. And this game… will revolve around that very relic which has already been stolen. The victory condition is either to reclaim the relic—or successfully resolve the crisis after it's unleashed."