Chapter 19: Sayanomiya Kaoru's Thoughts
There are truly very few stupid people in the world; learning is a human instinct. Especially after a Campione moved to Tokyo, the "experience points" of the people here have skyrocketed.
A few years ago, the rumbling sounds over Tokyo Bay would have caused many to lose sleep. Now, however...
"Keep your eyes peeled! Until the matter over there is settled, no one is allowed to step outside even if the sky falls!"
Such were the voices echoing within many luxury estates and courtyards.
These places, labeled as "mega-rich" by many outsiders, serve as the hubs for power turnover in the Kanto region, but now their gates were tightly shut. The tragedy of a hundred thousand warriors across the ocean made many realize that the "Chiba Blood Night," which they used to mention whenever they were bored, actually didn't amount to a damn thing.
No matter how much noise was made outside, the choice of these people was to migrate to safe zones immediately and then close their doors, adopting a demeanor of completely ignoring everything happening outside their windows.
However, those who could do this were merely characters whose power wasn't great enough—limited only to being able to receive the news. For a core figure like Sayanomiya Kaoru, who held the power of the History Compilation Committee in the Kanto region, it was impossible to simply stay behind closed doors.
In a certain hall filled with electronic screens, Sayanomiya Kaoru, who had a penchant for male clothing, was dressed as usual in a men's suit, directing the subordinates busy in the hall.
"How is the civilian evacuation going?"
"Sixty percent complete. Some areas are difficult to enter."
Hearing this answer, Sayanomiya Kaoru first took a sip of coffee, thought for a moment, and said, "Then ensure the arrangements for the civilians who have already been evacuated first."
"Miss Kaoru, there are still many people left; it will be quite troublesome," a man beside her said, though judging by his expression, his sense of anxiety was clearly insufficient.
It was Amakasu Touma, looking as unkempt as ever.
"In this kind of weather, I trust people won't dare to go outside, and no one can see the scenery in the sky clearly anyway," Sayanomiya Kaoru responded nonchalantly. "We are Compilers; we manage sorcerers and spiritualists. Protecting the public is the government's responsibility. Doing this now could be considered an overstepping of our authority."
"That may be true, but after all, this is the center of the nation," Amakasu Touma said. "Wouldn't it be terrible if it turned into another San Francisco?"
"A runaway God, a distressed Goddess, and a Campione. Mr. Amakasu, why don't you tell me how we are supposed to interfere?"
"If we mobilize our people, I believe it's possible to move more people out."
This statement made Sayanomiya Kaoru let out a mocking laugh. She glanced at Amakasu Touma's lower body and seemed to mutter to herself: "The child from the Arakaki family has quite a bit of potential..."
Amakasu Touma's expression stiffened. He let out an unnatural smile and shut his mouth.
However, Sayanomiya Kaoru continued speaking.
"The Four Families have cooperated for many years; our relationship won't be affected by small matters. Mr. Amakasu should stop worrying about that and focus on doing his job. You've arranged so many girls, yet you can't even get close; that is a dereliction of duty."
"If the master doesn't like them, there's nothing a servant can do," Amakasu Touma said respectfully, as usual. "Lord Hikigaya is a martial artist; perhaps he still prefers women from martial families, especially 'Yomi' women."
After a pause, seeing Sayanomiya Kaoru reveal a pensive look, he added: "I heard our colleagues in Kansai are already considering this direction."
"Is that so? Then it's not just their bodies that are stiff, but their brains as well."
Though she said that, Sayanomiya Kaoru also knew that Kanto wasn't in much of a position to talk about Kansai. This kind of "shabby trick" was something Kanto did first. If Kanto had the nerve to do it, why wouldn't Kansai? If they succeeded, it was hard to say if Hikigaya might move to Kansai.
Regarding Hikigaya Hachiman's move to Tokyo, the Kanto faction was actually more happy than worried; they were just being coy about it. In their hearts, they wished they could "warm his bed" twenty-four hours a day.
This was easy to understand. Being close didn't necessarily mean being protected, but if you didn't even have that condition, there was even less hope. As for the possibility of Hikigaya Hachiman fighting a god or something right at his doorstep every few days, that mattered even less. After all, the Committee had plenty of ways to hide. And while Hikigaya had a bad temper, he wouldn't just start a fight with people for no reason; if he happened to be in a good mood one day and gave out some casual compensation, they would make a fortune.
To put it even more shamelessly, Hikigaya staying in Tokyo was Tokyo's umbrella. As long as the Kanto branch ensured no one bothered him, they could enjoy this protection. This was much better than the "Netherworld," where things only went in and never came out.
However, Sayanomiya Kaoru wouldn't say such things to Amakasu Touma. This fellow had been getting suspiciously close to the Kansai people lately and was also secretly running off to the Seishuin side. If she weren't worried that Seishuin Ena might ruin her brain from martial arts practice and come to argue with her, she would have killed this guy long ago.
In any case, digging at each other's walls and killing the "subordinates" being dug out had always been the daily routine between the Four Families.
The Kanto branch could not satisfy Sayanomiya Kaoru; her goal was to become the boss of the next Committee, and Seishuin Ena was currently her strongest rival.
Don't talk about tradition; that was back when Japan didn't have a Campione. Otherwise, the entire Yukinoshita family should be in the underworld eating a family hotpot right now, rather than just having a broken home.
Political beings are never worth sympathy. Sayanomiya Kaoru guessed that Hikigaya probably thought so too, but the problem was that in Hikigaya's definition of the people around him, there might not be a category for "political beings." No one had a clue about the extent of his protection. The Seishuin family had tried it once before; if not for Ena being capable, they probably would have tested the whole family to death.
Sayanomiya Kaoru didn't dare to gamble on the chance that if Ena came to her door to give her a piece of her mind, Hikigaya Hachiman might take it seriously. Sunbathing is fine, but "eating the sun" is out of the question.
Right now, she stared at one of the pitch-black screens, wanting to do nothing else. That was where the Campione and the two gods were located.
But as Sayanomiya Kaoru saw, this screen looked as if it had gone dark; there was nothing at all. Sayanomiya Kaoru did not feel disappointed by this; a black screen meant the matter wasn't over yet.
She hadn't ruled out the possibility that Hikigaya might be "reverse-pushed" by the gods this time. If that happened, she would immediately kill Amakasu Touma, then thoroughly screw over Seishuin Ena, and then go about her business as usual.
But overall, she still hoped Hikigaya Hachiman would win. The Committee had already realized the benefits of having a Campione in their country. They regretted immensely that they had reacted too slowly back then, allowing a bunch of Egyptian "country bumpkins" to take the lead.
Compared to being extorted by the Netherworld, kneeling before a Campione was much more comfortable.
The people in the hall were all very professional, so it was noisy, but Sayanomiya Kaoru acted as if she couldn't hear, fearing she might miss some change on that big black screen.
When she picked up her coffee to drink again, she found that it had gone cold. So she placed the cup to the side and said faintly, "Get me a fresh cup," and continued watching.
Just as she finished speaking, she noticed a change on the screen.
The blackness on the screen, which had previously shown no movement, suddenly began to fade. Within a few seconds, the darkness that had blocked everything vanished completely, revealing a vast sea.
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