Early the next morning, on the Shinkansen train returning to Kyoto.
"Wait... why exactly do we have to get up at the crack of dawn to take the train back?"
Yui Yuigahama propped her cheek with one hand, yawning as she rubbed her still sleepy eyes, looking adorably confused.
"Can't we just fly back? I could have slept longer."
"Don't say such foolish things."
Rio Futaba explained with resignation.
"We came to Osaka by train, so naturally we need to return by train as well. It's the same principle as extending our room for an extra day - we need to leave records to prove our itinerary. If the police investigate and discover our group of high school students took the train to Osaka with the school but have no ticket records returning to Kyoto, we could become suspects."
"Eh?"
Yui Yuigahama blinked in surprise, her face showing shock.
"We... might be investigated by the police?"
"It's just a possibility."
Rio Futaba sighed helplessly, glancing at Ye Xing sitting on the other side before complaining with mild irritation.
"After all, someone did reduce Shitennō-ji Temple to rubble."
"Now, Futaba, you need to take responsibility for your words. It wasn't me who blew it up."
Ye Xing said indifferently.
"Actually, I got blown up pretty badly myself."
"Heh, serves you right. Hopefully, it'll teach you a lesson to remember not to be so reckless next time."
Rio Futaba retorted with a light hum before removing her glasses, rubbing her temples as she thought quietly to herself.
"But this battle did yield gains - the ability to guide out the twisted desires from people's hearts... and then transform them... Thanks to Touma-san, this is crucial intelligence. We finally have a general understanding of the enemy's capabilities."
Miko Yotsuya nodded upon hearing this, then turned to look at Kazusa Touma, her golden eyes showing traces of concern.
"However, Kazusa's appearance was also seen by that Izanami. If the enemy..."
"That won't happen."
Ye Xing interrupted from the other side.
"Unless the mastermind is foolish enough to believe Kazusa is Mask, they wouldn't act recklessly."
"How did you reach that conclusion?"
"Simple."
Ye Xing replied in a flat tone.
"The prerequisite for the mastermind to engage in so many rounds of games with me is that Mask has boundaries in their actions, while the mastermind doesn't."
"Judging from their methods, although their mind has become twisted, they're truly a clever enemy."
"Risking angering me, making me lose my composure, discarding all boundaries, and becoming utterly ruthless by targeting my associates? Before preparing countermeasures against me, the mastermind wouldn't dare take such action."
"Otherwise, when they had Seishu Akoya as their pawn, they could have controlled Akoya to act normally and kill Soichiro when they found him. But they chose not to do so."
"In simple terms, the mastermind fears Mask, and even more fears a Mask who has lost all reason."
Here, Ye Xing paused briefly before chuckling lightly.
"From the very beginning, the mastermind probably never intended to uncover our true identities. Our desire to keep our identities hidden is the prerequisite for them to contend with us. Without this condition, they would only lose more miserably."
"And the most important point."
Ye Xing looked out the window with a lazy expression, speaking softly.
"The mastermind right now... is probably already struggling to protect themselves."
Suddenly, Ye Xing's expression changed as he muttered to himself.
"Damn... damn..."
Seeing his expression, the other members felt their hearts sink. Considering Ye Xing's character of remaining abstract even if Mount Tai collapsed before him, for him to show such an expression now... could it mean some catastrophic disaster was about to occur?
But the next second, Ye Xing said something that made them all look helpless, not knowing where to begin their complaints.
"I actually forgot to take the sarira from the temple! Finished, finished! I was still thinking about tasting what a high monk's sarira would be like. What a pity, one oversight in a hundred precautions, one oversight in a hundred precautions indeed."
...
Meanwhile, people across Japan were focused on only one thing.
Shitennoji Temple in Osaka had actually been blown up - completely flattened to the ground, without even leaving debris!?
Needless to say, this news, explosive both in terms of shock value and literal meaning, instantly captured the attention of all of Japan.
"Regarding the destruction of Shitennoji Temple, a famous landmark in Osaka City, last night, police are conducting a full investigation. According to relevant spokespersons from the Osaka Metropolitan Police Department, the department has assembled the most elite investigation team in all of Japan, determined to find the mastermind behind this incident."
"Fortunately, amidst the misfortune, due to the sudden heavy rainfall last night, the temple's monks and staff evacuated in time. The final confirmed missing persons, who may have perished, number only about a dozen monks, including the current head priest of Shitennoji Temple."
Osaka's official television station maintained a relatively formal tone, aiming to reassure the public rather than incite fear.
Online media and private news organisations, however, were completely different in their approach.
"Sudden Century's Worst Rainfall! Golden Lightning in the Sky! Omen of Disaster?"
"Shitennoji Temple Destroyed! What Shocking Conspiracy Lies Behind This?"
"Sudden Catastrophe, or Deliberately Planned Terror Attack?"
As L looked at the various news reports on his computer, his attention wasn't focused on the content itself or on the heated discussions from police department higher-ups across Japan displayed on the large screen. Instead, he wore a thoughtful expression, pondering in his heart.
"Last time... during the Mikazuki Munechika theft incident... there was also an unexpected rainstorm without any warning..."
"This time... another rainstorm..."
"Is it Kira... no, is it Mask?"
L took out his mobile phone, swiped a few times on the screen, and pulled up those two news articles he had treasured for so long. What appeared before his eyes were precisely those two reports that marked the turning point in Natsumi Suga's career as a journalist.
One was an exclusive interview with Sunny Girl, along with the views of the Supernatural Society members on the Sunny Doll Killer, who had been rampant in Kyoto during that period.
The other... was a personal interview.
"Ye Xing..."
L's gaze scanned across, just catching Ye Xing's statement that Mask wasn't any real hero, but merely a dangerous individual acting according to his own whims.
"Is he the only sober one among the drunken masses... or... does he have clear awareness of his own identity?"
As if echoing L's thoughts, at that moment, a low voice came from a high-ranking police official on the large screen,
"Could this incident... be the work of Mask?"
Hearing this, Soichiro Yagami's expression remained unchanged, but his heart couldn't help but tremble.
First of all, if not one hundred percent, he was at least ninety percent certain that Ye Xing was connected to this incident.
No sooner had Toyogasaki High School and Sobu High School organised their joint school trip to Osaka than Osaka experienced heavy rainfall, and Shitennoji Temple was blown up. To say this had nothing to do with Ye Xing? Soichiro Yagami wasn't stupid.
The problem was that Soichiro Yagami could be one hundred and twenty percent certain that Ye Xing wasn't the culprit behind the temple's destruction.
The person he knew would never commit such exaggerated acts, nor would he use high-yield explosives - after all, as a genuine supernatural ability user, he had no need for such things.
Yet Soichiro Yagami's belief remained just that - he couldn't articulate his reasons.
What if this incident were truly suspected by these Metropolitan Police Department higher-ups as Mask's doing? Who knew what the investigation team might uncover?
After all, the nature of this case was far too severe. The entire population of Japan was waiting for answers from the Metropolitan Police Department. With all police forces and resources mobilised, the department was united in its determination to find the perpetrator. Who could say they wouldn't actually discover something?
Just as Soichiro Yagami was pondering how to clear Mask of suspicion and prevent them from becoming the investigation team's target, L, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke up.
"This incident was not committed by Mask. Do not misdirect the investigation."
Hearing L's voice, one of the Metropolitan Police Department's higher-ups snorted coldly.
"Hmph, how can you be sure there's no connection? Then again, though your Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is considered the main headquarters, you still haven't caught that Kira yet. It's hard to say whether it's due to incompetence or intentional protection of such criminals who undermine procedural justice."
"Please don't be so foolish."
Facing the Metropolitan Police Department higher-up's challenge, L responded with an expressionless face and flat tone.
"Without even understanding the criminal methods and behavioural patterns of both Mask and Kira, you're here spouting nonsense. I'm not speaking from any personal sentiment, but rather from a detective's professional perspective after thorough analysis."
"Might I ask - someone as foolish as you who engages in wild speculation, contributing nothing while actually hindering the investigation - how exactly were you identified as an elite detective qualified to participate in these discussions?"
"Is your Japan Metropolitan Police Department really so short-staffed that it's come to this?"
Confronted with L's words, the Metropolitan Police Department higher-up directly chose to remain silent.
It wasn't that he didn't want to refute, but that he couldn't.
Both Kira and Mask - whether considered Japan's two most famous criminals or anti-heroes - were known not just to the police departments governing Tokyo and Kyoto, but to all local police departments as well.
While their methods differed somewhat, both generally followed one principle.
They only targeted criminals, never harming innocents.
Even during the previous incidents - the Tokyo National Museum breach and Kira's televised broadcast - no police officers had died, with the worst being knocked unconscious without even sustaining serious injuries.
But this time...
The Shitennoji Temple had been bombed, with over a dozen monks killed. This was a completely, thoroughly heinous crime.
Just as L had said, this didn't match the behavioural patterns of either Kira or Mask.
"No more objections? Good."
L directly took control of the online meeting's discourse. He didn't care about the Metropolitan Police Department higher-ups' potential reactions, nor did he want to waste energy on such trivial social niceties.
"Given the extremely severe nature of this incident and its extensive impact, I recommend employing special measures."
"First, the Shitennoji Temple incident and Inspector Taniguchi's death case from several days ago should be investigated together as connected cases."
Hearing this, one Metropolitan Police Department higher-up questioned
"Why..."
"No questions."
L cut in directly.
"Such obvious logic - if anyone doesn't understand, review the case files privately later. Don't waste my time."
"First point: both cases are to be investigated together."
"Second point: all officers of the Osaka Metropolitan Police Department must submit their itineraries from the past six months within one week. To prevent anyone claiming they can't remember due to the time elapsed, write down what you clearly recall."
"Investigate all traffic artery entry and exit records around Shitennō-ji Temple in recent months. Investigate all suspicious vehicles coming and going to trace the source of the explosives planted there."
"Interrogate every monk and staff member at Shitennō-ji Temple one by one. When necessary, question them as criminal suspects."
"Compile all recent entry and exit records for Osaka City - vehicles, trains, planes, all transportation records. Then focus particularly on those who had long resided in Osaka but left the city without reason just days before the incident."
"Also, regarding the head priest who died in the explosion - I don't care what methods you use, whether questioning those around him or checking Osaka's surveillance cameras. In any case, trace his movements backwards chronologically, identify any anomalies, and report them."
"Under such heavy rainfall, vehicle transport would have been impossible. Therefore, the bomb that could level Shitennō-ji Temple couldn't have been transported that night - it must have been planted earlier. The only person who could accomplish this quietly was the head priest of Shitennō-ji Temple."
"That's all."
...
Meanwhile, at the Shinomiya residence.
"The explosion at Shitennō-ji Temple..."
Kaguya Shinomiya had been feeling unsettled ever since waking up and learning the news that morning.
Holding that old flip phone, she stared at the never-dialled number, hesitating for a long time before finally pressing the call button.
After the two longest seconds of her life, the call connected. From the other end came a voice that made Kaguya Shinomiya exhale with relief - the usual, flippant tone she recognised.
"Shinomiya-san, what's up? Looking for NTR Dojo resources?"
"You dare mention that to me?"
Kaguya's worried mood had vanished the moment she heard Ye Xing's voice.
Hearing him bring up that topic again, she couldn't help but grit her teeth in frustration.
"You... just what kind of things have you been telling me about!"
"That's art."
"What art... such sophistry."
Kaguya shook her head helplessly, then regained her usual calm tone and spoke plainly.
"By the way... my Adolescence Syndrome... has disappeared. Though I don't know the reason, thank you."
"You don't know the reason? I think you know perfectly well."
Ye Xing chuckled teasingly.
"It's just that after hearing my words, you realised that even if you lose, life goes on, right? The great Kyoto's number one eroge player has saved another beautiful girl's life - truly immeasurable merit."
"Yes, yes, didn't I already say thank you?"
Kaguya Shinomiya first said this, then, unable to restrain the restlessness in her heart, she broke from her usual demeanour and blurted out:
"You called me a beautiful girl... do you think I'm... good-looking?"
Ye Xing replied with utter exasperation.
"No, I'm not blind. You just want to hear me compliment you, right?"
Hearing this, Kaguya Shinomiya's fair face flushed slightly. She quickly raised her hand to touch her cheek and, after several seconds of silence, softly uttered two words:
"Hanging up."
"What a tsundere who says one thing but means another."
Ye Xing put away his phone and muttered to himself in complaint.
"Doesn't she understand that tsundere is out of style now?"
Hearing his words, Mai Sakurajima, sitting opposite him, couldn't help asking curiously:
"What are our plans next?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
Seeing the confused expressions on the members' faces, Ye Xing nodded very seriously.
"Yeah, nothing. Let's rest. Just carry on as usual, everyone do your own things. Occasionally have an orgy to relax. The matters from now on are the Metropolitan Police Department and that famous detective's responsibility."
Mai Sakurajima frowned slightly upon hearing this.
"Really? Are you joking?"
"You caught me."
Before Mai Sakurajima could respond, Ye Xing said with profound seriousness:
"Not occasionally having orgies - frequently having orgies."
Abstract King Ye consistently delivers as always.
...
For the next month or so, just as Ye Xing had said, everything was calm and peaceful.
Kazusa Touma's daily life consisted of preparing for the piano competition after the new year, and occasionally training spiritual power with Ye Xing.
Yui Yuigahama went shopping every day, occasionally went to Yukino Yukinoshita for tutoring, and sometimes trained spiritual power with Ye Xing.
Mai Sakurajima studied, cooked, then trained.
Hina Amano took Sunny Girl commissions and trained.
Miko Yotsuya and Rio Futaba performed exorcisms, then trained, occasionally training together, too.
The members of the Supernatural Society all had bright futures ahead.
In the blink of an eye, time came to December 30th.
"Happy New Year, old man, old Godmother."
Hearing this familiar voice, Oda Noto and Godmother Granny - already wearing winter clothes and sitting around the fireplace - looked up towards Ye Xing entering from the shop entrance, both expressing exasperation.
"Isn't the New Year only after tomorrow night?"
"Meh, just an early greeting."
"Tomorrow, I'm going New Year shrine visiting with beautiful girls, and by the way, seeing if I can unlock kimono CGs."
"Being able to give you two an early New Year's greeting today is pretty good already, so be content."