Although many in the Supernatural Society had now awakened the ability of Soul Materialisation, and even in Chiba, there was Haruno Yukinoshita, who showed little enthusiasm for exorcism, among all psychics, there were very few who could wield swords in combat like Ye Xing and Miko.
It wasn't due to physical fitness, swordsmanship skills, or even courage.
Onimaru Kunitsuna and Mikazuki Munechika were both famous swords possessing spirits.
As for whether these spirits were born through long years and inheritance, as in legends, or because being ranked among the Five Great Swords, enough people believed swords of this calibre would possess their own intelligence, which remained unknown and unimportant.
The key point was that since both Mikazuki Munechika and Onimaru Kunitsuna possessed spirits, it was highly likely that the other three of the Five Great Swords did too.
People and weapons needed to achieve mutual, equal recognition, just as with Onimaru Kunitsuna and Ye Xing, Mikazuki Munechika and Miko Yotsuya.
For Rio Futaba, Mai Sakurajima, Yui Yuigahama, Hina Amano, and even Haruno Yukinoshita, who had no interest in exorcism, gaining recognition from a famous sword wouldn't be difficult.
The real problem was...
They didn't recognise the famous swords, having no desire to use them.
With such feelings, even if Mai Sakurajima and the others obtained one of the Five Great Swords, the effectiveness they could display would be similar to that of an ordinary spiritual object long sword, or might even feel cumbersome.
Only those who wanted to obtain famous swords and fight with them could use them in battle.
It sounded somewhat philosophical, being rather idealistic.
In any case, since Kazusa Touma wanted to obtain Juzumaru Tsunetsugu, and she had such a desire, whether out of personal feelings or to enhance the overall strength of the Supernatural Society, Ye Xing would help her achieve it.
"That's wonderful."
Kazusa Touma intimately linked arms with Ye Xing, revealing a sly, scheming smile as she whispered.
"I looked it up online - Juzumaru Tsunetsugu is at Honkouji Temple in Amagasaki City, very close to Osaka, where we went last time."
"Mm, let's go tell Miko and the others..."
"No need."
Kazusa Touma interrupted directly.
"Yotsuya-san, Futaba-san, Mai-senpai and the others are all busy searching for valuable information and intelligence, right? They probably don't have time, and it's just retrieving a sword. Amagasaki is a small city, and Honkouji Temple doesn't have much security - we don't need the whole group to go."
Pausing here, Kazusa Touma pretended nonchalance as she murmured.
"Just bring Setsuna along."
"Kazusa."
"What is it?"
Ye Xing looked at Kazusa Touma's poorly concealed attempt, her true intentions lying elsewhere, and chuckled teasingly.
"You're becoming increasingly cunning these days."
...
That evening, at Kazusa Touma's home.
"Kazusa, your outfit today was so cool, absolutely dashing!"
Setsuna Ogiso exclaimed excitedly, showing Kazusa Touma her phone with a sweet smile.
"Look, look! I've set a screenshot of your appearance as my phone wallpaper! It's just too cool!"
"Stop it already."
Hearing Setsuna Ogiso's praise and seeing her own appearance in the video footage - even set as someone's wallpaper - made Kazusa Touma's cheeks flush red with embarrassment.
"Delete it right now, you hear me?"
"Hmph, being harsh with me won't work, Kazusa~"
Setsuna Ogiso pouted, resting her chin on one hand as she complained.
"Even if I delete it, that video of you all is still circulating online. There's even a high-definition version recorded with professional equipment, and screenshots are everywhere. I've seen people online saying they want figurines of everyone who appeared this time, even saying they'd spend all their savings to buy them and take them home for collection."
"Eh?"
Kazusa Touma frowned slightly, her expression showing confusion.
"Is it really that serious?"
"Is it really that serious? That question of yours is just..."
Setsuna Ogiso sighed and patiently explained.
"Kazusa, I really don't think you understand your popularity here in Japan."
"Last time you appeared publicly, it was only Ye Xing, Miko, Rio, and Mai-senpai - and the latter three didn't even speak, just served as background characters."
"This time, it's the first appearance of Mask alongside others in half a year. Not only has the number of assistants increased, but this time Kira was there too, confirming that Kira and Mask are allies from the same faction."
"And there's more - the shock caused by the destruction of Shitennoji Temple, the Metropolitan Police Department's two-month investigation that yielded no results... At a time when people were feeling oppressed, you managed to identify the culprit's true identity and issued a declaration that you would definitely eliminate them."
"With all these factors combined, it's only natural that you've sparked public discussion, become this year's first major news story, and seen your popularity soar. Honestly, if Mask were to say just one word now, I feel like it could directly spawn a new religion."
Hearing Setsuna Ogiso's words, Kazusa Touma showed no particular expression, only speaking softly.
"People's expectations... To arbitrarily entrust such heavy things to people whose names and faces they don't even know... It's... I don't know how to describe it, too selfish."
Setsuna Ogiso smiled comfortingly.
"Not everyone can respond to people's expectations, especially such heavy ones. But when you successfully respond to them, there must be some sense of satisfaction, right? You're a gentle person, Kazusa. You might say things like that, but deep down, you don't really reject the idea of wanting to respond to people's expectations."
Kazusa Touma's eyes showed complex emotions as she whispered.
"Only you would call someone like me gentle."
"That's only because they haven't met the real you yet. If you open your heart to them, Miko and the others will surely come to see you as the gentle person I know, just like I do."
At this point, Setsuna Ogiso suddenly couldn't help covering her mouth with a light laugh.
"You know, Kazusa, you're quite like a hedgehog - all sharp spines on the outside, but with a soft belly underneath."
"You're the hedgehog here."
Kazusa Touma retorted irritably, then abruptly changed the subject.
"That thing tomorrow - come with me and Ye Xing to Amagasaki."
"Amagasaki? The city near Osaka?"
Setsuna Ogiso blinked in confusion.
"Why are you asking me? Though I don't know what you and Ye Xing are planning, I'm not a psychic. I'll only hold you back, won't I?"
"Don't ask."
Kazusa Touma placed her hands on Setsuna Ogiso's shoulders, looking directly into her eyes with a completely serious expression as she spoke slowly.
"You just need to know that if Ye Xing and I go to Amagasaki City alone and stay overnight there, I might die."
"What?!"
Hearing this, Setsuna Ogiso's pupils contracted in shock, her voice becoming urgent.
"Then if I go with you, will everything be alright?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Alright then. Though I don't understand why, I'll come with you."
Seeing Setsuna Ogiso agree, Kazusa Touma nodded with satisfaction, then added as if remembering something.
"Oh, you have a kimono, right?"
"I do, but why?"
"Bring it."
...
Meanwhile, in the operations conference room at Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department headquarters.
From the large screen connected to the dedicated line came the voices of several Metropolitan Police Department higher-ups, filled with righteous indignation, nothing but dissatisfaction and angry accusations.
"That Mask is getting more and more brazen..."
"To do something like this so openly, isn't this equivalent to slapping our Metropolitan Police Department in the face!?"
Compared to these venting words from those who felt their pride was wounded and were criticising Mask indiscriminately, there were still rational analysts among the Metropolitan Police Department's higher-ups, their voices filled with concern.
"The most frightening thing is the almost unanimous public support. Whether Rikka Sakuragawa is the criminal or not, without conclusive evidence, everyone already believes Mask's one-sided statement. If Mask and his assistants continue developing like this... someday he'll be unilaterally defining what constitutes evil, and people will believe his claims without him needing to present any evidence. This is truly terrifying."
Even Soichiro Yagami, who knew Mask's true identity, had to admit that if he didn't completely trust Ye Xing and know his character, he would share the same concerns as this Metropolitan Police Department higher-up.
"That's not quite right."
Just then, L suddenly spoke.
"Based on Mask's past behaviour, he only acts when the Metropolitan Police Department is powerless to resolve the situation. This time should be no different. Moreover, Rikka Sakuragawa is very likely indeed the mastermind behind the recent series of incidents. Mask's conclusion matches mine."
Hearing this, the Metropolitan Police Department's higher-ups not only failed to calm down, but someone immediately raised doubts.
"What do you mean 'matches yours'? Did you already know the mastermind behind this series of incidents was that woman called Rikka Sakuragawa? Then why are you only saying so now!? We brought you in as external support specifically because of your reputation as the world's greatest detective, and now you're making hindsight comments? Is there a problem with your abilities, or are you hiding something?"
"Hiding?"
Facing the Metropolitan Police Department's higher-up's emotionally charged questioning, L replied in a calm tone.
"Letting a small fish go to track the clues leading to the big fish - such methods and thinking should be understandable to all the experienced detectives present here."
Then, without waiting for the various Metropolitan Police Department higher-ups on the screen to respond, L continued speaking as if to himself.
"Moreover, as I've said before, among those attending this meeting right now, there might be people manipulated by Rikka Sakuragawa, just like Officer Akoya and Inspector Taniguchi. If I directly stated my deductions, it could alert the enemy."
"This time wasn't completely without gains. At the very least, it confirmed one thing for me."
L paused before slowly speaking a shocking statement.
"Within the Metropolitan Police Department, there is Mask's assistant. And not an ordinary investigation team officer, but someone with high-level clearance to access most intelligence and holding a senior position. Otherwise, they couldn't have reached the same conclusion as me that the mastermind is Rikka Sakuragawa. There's a traitor within the Metropolitan Police Department."
As these words were spoken, the screen instantly erupted in uproar.
"There's Mask's assistant among us?"
"This... can't be possible, right?"
"Actually... what L said... does make sense..."
"But none of us, apart from L himself, managed to deduce that Rikka Sakuragawa is the mastermind behind this based on the available information. Could it be that Mask has an assistant with reasoning abilities comparable to L's?"
"That's highly possible. In the recently broadcast video, new assistants appeared around them... Some among them might be skilled in reasoning."
Meanwhile, Soichiro Yagami, the director in charge of the special investigation team, remained unusually silent.
He couldn't help but stay silent.
Soichiro Yagami was drenched in sweat.
Damn.
Had L discovered that he was Mask's assistant?
Impossible.
Because Soichiro hadn't been in contact with Ye Xing much recently, let alone passing on information collected by the Metropolitan Police Department. He hadn't done anything like that at all!
How could such an absurd thing happen?
Did they just happen to guess the correct answer while talking?
Or were there others in the Metropolitan Police Department's upper echelons besides him who were also Mask's assistants?
Ye Xing should have told him if that were the case.
Just then, Soichiro suddenly felt a gaze fixed on his face.
He looked up and saw L staring intently at him with those emotionless, frighteningly rational black eyes hidden beneath his dishevelled hair.
The moment their eyes met, a thought emerged in Soichiro's mind.
Damn.
I've been seen through.
But the next second, L averted his gaze and spoke calmly, while Soichiro grew so tense he began to experience tinnitus.
"Suspecting each other here is meaningless. The best way to restore the Metropolitan Police Department's reputation is to capture that Rikka Sakuragawa before Mask and Kira do. To achieve this, we need to do the following..."
Watching L's expressionless face as he emphasised how to track the criminal without even mentioning his name, Soichiro suddenly felt dazed.
He was certain that L's earlier gaze clearly indicated he had noticed something unusual about him.
To a detective of L's calibre, even the slightest change in expression was enough grounds for suspicion.
But...
He hadn't said anything.
Thinking of this, Soichiro suddenly recalled what a certain senior official of the Metropolitan Police Department had said earlier.
Even if Mask possessed all the Metropolitan Police Department's intelligence to pinpoint Rikka Sakuragawa as the suspect, rather than just narrowing it down to a general range, it suggested that among Mask's assistants was someone with reasoning abilities on par with L's.
Combined with L's recent behaviour, there was one explanation that, though unbelievable, was the simplest and most reasonable.
It wasn't someone with comparable reasoning abilities.
L was Mask's assistant.
Soichiro instantly relaxed, pulling out a tissue from the desk to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
Good grief.
After all that fuss, he's one of us.
...
The following afternoon, in Amagasaki City.
"This city, really..."
Setsuna Ogiso surveyed the surrounding low-rise buildings, taking quite some time before she could come up with an appropriate description.
"Hmm... there's a kind of rustic, simple beauty about it."
Though Kyoto couldn't compare to Tokyo, it was still a major city with plenty of tall buildings.
In contrast, Amagasaki City had few high-rise buildings. If one had to make a comparison... it actually felt somewhat like the countryside.
Of course, Setsuna Ogiso didn't really mind where they went - what mattered most was who she was with.
She glanced beside her at Ye Xing and Kazusa Touma chatting casually, and couldn't help but let a smile curl at the corners of her lips.
How nice.
After all this time, the three of them were gathered together again.
But when Setsuna Ogiso clearly heard what the two were discussing, her smile involuntarily stiffened.
"How do we steal it?"
"Hey, Kazusa, what do you mean by 'steal'? This is fundamentally a matter of mutual choice. A famous sword possessing spiritual wisdom, yet kept locked away in some high chamber, surrounded by monks every day, occasionally brought out for display - what is that? That's practically forcing virtue into prostitution! What we're doing isn't stealing, it's rescuing the famous sword."
"I see. So how do we steal it?"
"I've been wasting my breath on you."
Watching Ye Xing's utterly speechless expression, Kazusa Touma offered what seemed to her like a perfectly reasonable suggestion.
"How about... buying it with money? I remember you're quite wealthy."
"My dear Kazusa, trading in antiques is illegal. Even if you dared to buy it, those monks wouldn't dare to sell it."
"Then what should we do?"
"Let's go check out the situation first."
"Alright."
Listening to their conversation, Setsuna Ogiso was completely bewildered. Hesitantly, she asked, "You two... what are you planning to do? What antiques? What famous sword? And monks - you couldn't possibly be talking about..."
"Exactly."
Kazusa Touma nodded with complete seriousness.
"We're going to rescue Juzumaru Tsunetsugu, one of the Five Great Swords."
"Uh..."
Setsuna Ogiso originally wanted to say, Isn't this criminal behaviour? But upon second thought...
Kazusa Touma and Ye Xing weren't just lacking in legal awareness - these two simply had no concept of law whatsoever!