Receiving the information transmitted by Little Kuro, Caleb's expression gradually soured. How could this be? After he had incinerated Hajime Tanaka, another person possessing the ability to hypnotize had appeared. Disregarding the rest of the morning assembly, Caleb left the ranks amidst the curious and surprised gazes of the surrounding students.
"Teacher, I'm not feeling well. I'm taking the day off." He found the supervising teacher. Without waiting for a reply, he took off running. The supervising teacher opened his mouth, raising a hand to stop him, but in the blink of an eye, Caleb's figure had completely vanished.
Caleb's departure was discreet, yet it was noted by Souna Shitori, Akeno Himejima, and others. Caleb couldn't worry about what others thought right now. He ran at full speed toward Aiho Academy. If he hadn't forgotten to retrieve Little Kuro last time... Cough, cough. If he hadn't been extra vigilant last time, wanting to observe for a bit longer, the situation this time would have been truly troublesome.
Ten minutes ago, Aiho Academy was also holding its routine Monday morning assembly. However, the one standing at the podium in the middle of the stage was neither a teacher nor a student representative, but a sleazy-looking fat man wearing flat, rimless glasses.
"Silence." The sleazy fat man looked at the noisy students below, a red light flashing in his eyes, transmitting the power of hypnosis through the microphone across the entire indoor gymnasium. Everyone immediately fell silent. Only Sakura Miyajima and the Takamine sisters felt a dizzy spell, instinctively wanting to say something, but an unknown force prevented them from opening their mouths. It was as if their bodies didn't belong to them, completely out of their control.
It was at this moment that Little Kuro, in its spirit state, trembled violently. Before the sleazy fat man could utter his next sentence, it decisively flew out of the indoor gymnasium.
By the time Caleb rushed to Aiho Academy, the assembly had ended, and students were heading to the academic building in small groups, chatting and laughing. If one ignored their words, everything seemed so ordinary, so normal. Yet, the more ordinary and normal they seemed, the more chilling their words sounded.
"A Sex Instructor? This is the first time I've heard of it."
"Right? But since they were sent by the government, it must be fine. Don't worry about it."
"You're right. I'm so jealous of the couples who were kept behind just now. They don't have to attend class today, they just get to receive Sex Guidance."
"I know! It looks like we should hurry up and find a boyfriend (girlfriend), so we can enjoy the government benefits sooner."
"But I heard there might be a trial guidance course for those without partners in the future..."
"Mhm, I really hope that day comes soon."
Similar conversations were taking place all over the campus. Neither the boys nor the girls found it strange. On the contrary, they looked eager to be selected for the Sex Guidance. Caleb hid in a corner, his heart sinking to the bottom. However, upon hearing that only couples were kept behind, he felt a slight relief. The Takamine sisters and Sakura Miyajima should be safe. It seemed this replacement was just like Hajime Tanaka, fond of performing Cuckoldry, and the method of hypnosis for Sex Guidance was identical. Was everything he had done a complete waste under the convergence of the worldline...?
Impossible. Caleb immediately dismissed the thought. This world had already undergone many changes due to his influence. This time, he must have missed something. If he could find the root cause, he could definitely prevent the plot from happening again.
There was no time now to slowly contemplate why a replacement for Hajime Tanaka had appeared, causing the plot to restart. The immediate priority was to find a way to lift the hypnosis and deal with that sleazy fat man. Caleb followed Little Kuro toward the indoor gymnasium. He didn't know how to break the hypnosis, but he could certainly eliminate the one who cast it. Perhaps eliminating the sleazy fat man would naturally undo the hypnosis.
Arriving at the gymnasium entrance, Caleb saw three familiar figures.
"Sakura-senpai, and Ayame-san and Sayuri-san?!" He lowered his voice in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Akira!"
"Caleb!"
Ayame Takamine and Sakura Miyajima looked at Caleb with equal surprise. Except during their Dual Cultivation, Sakura Miyajima usually still called Caleb by his surname. Ayame Takamine wanted to call him Master, but Caleb had vetoed the suggestion, not wanting to be viewed as a pervert by others outside. He preferred her and Sayuri Takamine to treat him like a younger brother in public, not their Master.
Sayuri Takamine looked at Little Kuro fluttering beside Caleb. "Akira, did this little guy notify you?"
"Mhm. You three weren't hypnotized?"
"So it was hypnosis..." The three girls looked enlightened, finally realizing the source of the problem.
"A Sex Instructor is just too weird. Especially the idea that if we wanted to get intimate with you, we'd have to let that fat guy demonstrate first—it just doesn't make any sense!" Ayame Takamine complained. "But everyone else around us seemed to think it was normal, so the three of us decided to investigate ourselves."
Caleb's eyes narrowed. Just "weird"?
"Was that all you thought?"
"Mhm. We planned to confirm something was wrong before notifying you, but this little guy beat us to it," Sakura Miyajima said, looking up at Little Kuro.
Caleb exhaled, his mood heavy. It seemed they were still affected. This was only indiscriminate hypnosis. If the sleazy fat man noticed them and performed targeted, secondary hypnosis, the three girls probably couldn't resist either. It was fortunate that Little Kuro was here. Otherwise, Caleb might only have discovered the anomaly at Aiho Academy when he tried to Dual Cultivate and was rejected due to their strange reactions. By then, who knows how many girls would have already been violated.
Little Kuro, as a Lesser Devil Familiar, was highly sensitive to mental effects. Although not strong, it detected the anomaly instantly and fled the hypnosis scene immediately to report the situation to Caleb.
Caleb noticed the three girls' slightly abnormal state but couldn't fix it right now.
"The three of you, take the day off and go home now. I'll handle this." He stared at the girls' delicate faces, speaking seriously. "You are not to come back to school without my permission."
"Caleb, what happened? We can help!" Looking at the Kendo beauty's reliable expression, Caleb shook his head with regret. "You can't help. Staying here will only make things more difficult."
"It's just hypnosis. We weren't affected, were we?" Ayame Takamine complained. "Just let us stay. I want to see how supernatural beings fight."
Weren't affected... are you sure...? Caleb looked at the oblivious girl, feeling uncomfortable. If they truly hadn't been affected, the first to notify him should have been the three of them, not Little Kuro.
"Stop talking nonsense. Hurry and go." Caleb knew that talking was pointless without breaking the hypnosis. Sensing the energy fluctuation inside the gymnasium, he stopped wasting time. Ayame Takamine wanted to whine. Caleb glared at her sternly, saying with a deep voice, "I don't want to have to repeat myself a third time."
Normally, Caleb was easygoing and generally indulged them. But once he made a decision, he wouldn't easily change it. If a woman tried to sway his resolve, he would rather lose out than agree. Ayame Takamine understood Caleb's nature and, seeing his expression, dared not continue whining. She obediently listened and left.
Watching the three girls depart, Caleb took a deep breath, deciding to confront this replacement. From all indications, this replacement was also a lecher and unaware of the Hajime Tanaka incident. Caleb had handled Tanaka's case cleanly. Coupled with Akeno Himejima's cooperation, no police investigation had ever occurred. No ripples were stirred at Aiho Academy, as if the person had never existed.
Caleb pushed open the large door and walked in. The first sight was a few familiar figures. Excluding the sleazy fat man who was conducting secondary hypnosis, there were ten people in total: five men and five women, apparently five couples. Four of these couples were known to Caleb.
Caleb slowly walked toward them, consciously suppressing his killing intent to maintain a harmless demeanor. Covertly, he activated all his abilities, aiming for an instant kill, just like last time.