"Anyway, since you two both agreed, that's great." Kotoko Iwanaga said and her face lit up with joy, then she gently clasped her hands together and said with a cheerful smile, "Just today, when I returned from the dungeon, a few yokai came to ask for my help. They said that a particularly powerful and uncommunicative specter had recently intruded into the place where they originally stayed, and they wanted me to eliminate it so they could return to a peaceful and stable life."
Upon hearing that, Asuna Yuuki nodded and said noncommittally, "A specter, huh... Where is it? Tomorrow is Sunday, so there's no school. If it's within Tokyo, we should be able to resolve it on the same day, right? It'll be a good opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the new skills."
"It's within Tokyo!" Kotoko Iwanaga first said with a smile, then mentioned a certain place name, "That place is a high school in Tokyo — Toyogasaki Academy."
◆◇◈◇◆
The next day. Sunday, early in the morning, outside Toyogasaki Academy.
"Why..." Asuna Yuuki began as she looked at Kotoko Iwanaga, who was wearing a half-face masquerade mask, a white Gothic Lolita dress, and a beret, making her look both exquisite and gorgeous. Then she looked at Asagiri Utsunomiya, who was wearing an all-black outfit, consisting of a coat, long-sleeved shirt, and jeans, and also a half-face mask, which was the Job Diplomat's exclusive equipment, Ever-changing Mask.
She couldn't help but sigh and said, "Why... why are you two dressed so gorgeously, while I'm wearing a masker, sunglasses, and this baseball cap? I look like a perverted stalker!"
"Indeed." Asagiri Utsunomiya first agreed with a nod, then examined Asuna Yuuki, who was wearing a tracksuit, a white masker, sunglasses, and a baseball cap. If you ignored her bright flaxen long hair, it would be hard to even tell her gender. Then he said with a teasing smile, "You're completely different from me and Necro in terms of style. For example... we look like mysterious characters in a manga, while you... well, you look like you ran out of Rapelay 3."
"Although I don't know what Rapelay 3 is, from your tone, it doesn't sound like anything decent..."
"Impudent!" With a frown, Asagiri Utsunomiya first scolded Asuna Yuuki, then crossed his arms over his chest and said righteously, "That is a pioneering masterpiece that opened up a new era in both graphics and gameplay! How can you make such a judgment?!"
"The more you say that, the more I think it's nothing decent." Asuna Yuuki said and sighed slightly, then looked at the wall in front of her, which was nearly four meters high. She first stepped back a distance, then activated her skill, Wind Protection. With a burst of acceleration, she jumped and then stood on top of the wall.
Asagiri Utsunomiya, on the other hand, didn't even need a preparation. He just jumped directly, grabbed the edge with one hand, and pulled himself up in an extremely cool and stylish moves.
"Hey, wait..." Kotoko Iwanaga, still on the ground, called out while looking up at the two standing on top of the wall. Then she said with a speechless expression, "You two... you don't think I can jump up there too, do you?"
"Don't worry. I'll pull you up." Asagiri Utsunomiya replied while squatting down, then extended his hand to Kotoko Iwanaga on the ground and said with a smile, "Hand me your leg."
"Leg?" Asuna Yuuki said in confusion, thinking that shouldn't he be saying "hand me your hand" at a time like this?
Who pulls someone by handing over a leg? What kind of posture is that? An invincible handstand?
But Kotoko Iwanaga's next move made Asuna Yuuki dumbfounded.
"Okay." Kotoko Iwanaga first replied, then bent down, detached her prosthetic leg, and held it up, then handed the other end to Asagiri Utsunomiya. This way, she bridged the height difference. After being pulled up by Asagiri Utsunomiya, she began reattaching her prosthetic leg.
"No... you guys..."
Asuna Yuuki couldn't understand what she had just seen, but was greatly shocked.
There was this way to do it?
So, when you said "hand over the leg," that was how you handed over the leg?
Well, only Kotoko Iwanaga could do it, because one of her legs was prosthetic. It would be impossible for a normal person to remove their leg like her.
Asuna Yuuki wasn't surprised that Asagiri Utsunomiya would have such a strange idea. What shocked her the most was that Kotoko Iwanaga instantly understood what Asagiri Utsunomiya meant.
These two... really have good chemistry...
◆◇◈◇◆
After jumping to the ground on the other side and successfully infiltrating Toyogasaki Academy, Asagiri Utsunomiya looked around and confirmed that the location they had climbed over the wall to was the sports field of Toyogasaki Academy.
And according to Kotoko Iwanaga, the specter that terrified those yokai mostly wandered within the library of Toyogasaki Academy.
After confirming their location, Asagiri Utsunomiya led Kotoko Iwanaga and Asuna Yuuki forward.
Because it was Sunday, there were no teachers or students in the academy. Although some high schools open their facilities to the public during holidays, that's limited to public schools. However, Toyogasaki Academy, as a private school, naturally wouldn't do that.
Otherwise, the three of them could have just registered at the entrance to enter the school. Why would they go to the trouble of climbing over the wall and even having Kotoko Iwanaga perform a bizarre leg-detaching maneuver?
"Speaking of which, with our current strength... are we sure we can eliminate that specter?"
"No problem." Kotoko Iwanaga answered with a nod after hearing Asuna Yuuki's worried question. Then she explained calmly, "In the real world... no, I should say in our world, it's basically impossible for a specter as powerful as the Specter of the Drowned Corpse in the previous dungeon to appear. After all, if a Hotel had consecutive drowning incidents among guests, it would definitely be shut down for investigation, and no guests would continue to stay. During the search, the body submerged in the water tank would quickly be discovered, and after the body is dealt with, the specter would also dissipate."
◆◇◈◇◆
After arriving at the building where the library of Toyogasaki Academy was located, Kotoko Iwanaga was about to say something when a beast-like shriek suddenly came from the top of the stairs.
*Screech!!!*
In the next second, a black figure rapidly darted out from the top of the stairs, pouncing straight towards Kotoko Iwanaga, who was walking in front and had already stepped onto the stairs.
"Necro, look..."
Before Asuna Yuuki could finish, Kotoko Iwanaga slightly bent down and, with a very graceful, almost gymnastic movement, backflipped down from stairs, landing steadily on the ground and dodging the black figure's attack.
*Snap!*
And at the moment she leaped, there was also a crisp cracking sound from the prosthetic limb's connection, and it fell to the ground with a clatter.
She muttered, "It broke again..."
Asagiri Utsunomiya walked over, picked up the prosthetic limb, and handed it to Kotoko Iwanaga, saying, "Here, your leg."
"Okay, thank you, Captain."
After Kotoko Iwanaga took the prosthetic limb, she raised her hand to straighten her beret, standing there steadily on one leg. She raised her head and looked towards the stairs, at the terrifying monster that tried to ambush her before.
For the first time, Kotoko Iwanaga showed a very serious expression. There was no emotion in her deep purple eyes; she just looked at the black figure indifferently, speaking softly in a calm tone: "Both the human world and the yokai world must maintain basic order. I am the God of Wisdom who protects this order, and you... have crossed the line!"