We escaped to a nearby park to avoid the commotion at Peach Blossom Spring.
Taking advantage of the aftermath of the incident, I brought Shun here.
I hadn't expected that Kirino, brimming with passion, would actually manage to quell the disturbance in the teahouse all by herself.
When the guards from the Black Tortoise Promenade arrived at the scene, they were stunned by what they saw.
"You stopped such vicious criminals. You must be an elite from Valkyrie. I never imagined someone would cause trouble for no reason. Thank you so much!"
"We weren't causing trouble for no reason!" one of the delinquent girls, now handcuffed, protested. "We just wanted to drink bubble tea, but this place didn't have any, so we were just arguing with the staff. Then this cop suddenly rushed in out of nowhere!"
The guards flew into a rage. "Who comes to a teahouse to drink milk tea? You were obviously picking a fight. And what do you mean 'arguing'? How do you explain the injuries on the staff member?"
Hearing that, another delinquent shouted, "We only took the staff as a hostage. The injuries on her were all caused by that Valkyrie cop!"
"…Huh?"
Kirino, standing nearby, muttered weakly, "Th-that was just an accident…"
"This cop was outrageous!" the delinquent said angrily. "She actually aimed her gun at the hostage on purpose. The barrel was practically pressed against her chest! We surrendered just to make her stop!"
Even delinquent girls causing trouble still had a basic sense of empathy.
At those words, the guards turned their bewildered gazes toward the silent staff member.
The injured staff forced a smile. "This Valkyrie student… probably meant well… I think?"
"…You wicked Valkyrie student!" one of the guards shouted. "You dared to come all the way to our Shanhaijing and harm innocent people under the pretense of justice, and now you stand there pretending to be thanked? Enough talk. Come with us!"
"Huh!? Wait!? I said it was just an accident!?"
Given Kirino's disastrous marksmanship, it was hard not to suspect intent, so I couldn't really defend her. Besides, I was with a de-aged Shun, so all I could do was distance myself from the next round of chaos and hope Kirino could clear up the misunderstanding soon.
At that moment, the Shun beside me looked a little dejected.
"Ugh… this was supposed to be a rare chance to relax and drink tea with sensei… but we kept getting interrupted. I'm so sad."
I was about to comfort her, but she quickly bounced back on her own.
"But it's okay. Shanhaijing is still so big. There are plenty of places to explore. Where should we go next?"
Her emotions came and went quickly. It really felt like her mind was gradually matching her childlike appearance.
"Um, Shun."
"Hm? What is it?"
The moment she responded instinctively, her smile froze, and she hurriedly tried to cover it up.
"W-why did sensei suddenly mention Shun? Ah, right, we're looking for Shun-nee, aren't we? Hehe, since I'm a kid, I got too carried away playing and almost forgot the important thing!"
Seeing her stubbornly keep up the act, I almost didn't have the heart to expose her anymore.
If I put myself in her shoes, if something embarrassing I did in private were suddenly brought into the open, I probably wouldn't handle it any better than she was now.
Fortunately, I've always been upright and aboveboard. Everything I do and think is simply an outward reflection of my noble character, which surpasses even my appearance.
In any case, even though I felt a bit soft-hearted and wanted to help her keep the act going, there was no turning back now.
"Yo, Shun, sensei," a cheerful and excited voice called from afar. "Sorry to keep you waiting!"
Turning toward the voice, I saw a girl wearing a black mask, though her eyes were still familiar, now dressed in casual clothes completely different from her lab attire.
She rode over on a skateboard, her long silver-white hair flowing behind her, mouse ears and tail swaying, and came to a smooth stop right in front of us.
Her arrival in casual clothes made Shun's face pale with fear.
SAUCE
"S-Saya!?"
The genius inventor from the Eastern Alchemy Society, the very culprit behind Shun's de-aging, Saya, took out a bottle of medicine.
"I brought the antidote. This should cancel out the side effects of the rejuvenation drug. Being able to make an antidote this quickly really proves I'm a genius!"
"Ah, thanks for your hard work. By the way, Saya, your casual outfit looks great."
"Heh heh… ah! Wahahaha! Of course it does, it's my taste after all!"
After laughing foolishly for a moment at my praise, Saya quickly switched back to her usual arrogant laugh, then looked at the conflicted Shun.
"Shun, try it and see how it works."
But even now, someone was still trying to struggle to the very end.
"…Shun-nee?" Shun put on an innocent expression while frantically signaling Saya with her eyes. "Shun-nee isn't here. I don't understand what you're talking about at all."
Shun seemed to believe that, given their friendship, Saya would understand her predicament.
Sure enough, Saya blinked her crimson eyes and replied in confusion,
"What are you talking about, Shun? I'm the one who doesn't understand what you're saying. Wait, could it be the side effects of the drug you took? Did you lose your memory too, Shun?"
In a single sentence, Saya said "Shun" five times, pushing the black-haired girl into deep despair.
She looked at me, then at Saya, hesitated for a while, and finally let out a heart-wrenching cry.
"You've got the wrong person!"
At the limit of her endurance, Shun shoved Saya aside and bolted, her small body bursting with surprising speed as she ran off, covering her face.
"Whoa!? That was dangerous…" Saya, whom I managed to steady just in time, shouted toward Shun's retreating figure. "Hey! Where are you going!?"
Naturally, there was no reply.
Turning back to me, Saya asked in confusion,
"I finally brought the antidote over, so what's gotten into Shun? Sensei, do you know anything?"
I studied her carefully and confirmed that she genuinely had no idea why Shun had reacted so strongly.
It seemed that whether someone was a fool or a genius, everyone had things they weren't good at.
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