Kobayashi decided that his next step would be to venture farther out into the world.
That said, he'd have to wait until the phone he ordered online arrived. Having navigation software and a positioning system ready was essential—just in case. At the very least, if things went wrong, he could always call Yomikawa Aiho to come pick him up.
And so, Kobayashi quite contentedly spent another full day holed up at home.
As a bonus, he successfully experimented with making ramen.
Since he'd kneaded far too much dough, he decided that not only lunch, but dinner as well would be ramen. It would also give Yomikawa Aiho a chance to experience what real "hand-pulled ramen" tasted like.
However, what Kobayashi hadn't anticipated was a phone call from Yomikawa Aiho in the evening, telling him she had to work a night shift and wouldn't be coming home for dinner.
No need to think too hard about it—there must have been another emergency with the security unit.
"Tch… Academy City really is so peaceful and tranquil," Kobayashi muttered with a hint of sarcasm.
Still, there wasn't much to worry about. When it came to handling incidents of all kinds, the security forces were Academy City's largest and strongest sanctioned force. Against ordinary criminals, it was almost always a one-sided suppression.
The only groups that could genuinely threaten them were other organizations with official backing.
For example… the Dark Side.
Under normal circumstances, the leaders of the Dark Side deliberately avoided direct conflict with the security forces. After all, one was a legitimate organization operating openly, while the other was a pair of white gloves doing dirty work in the shadows for powerful figures. If a head-on clash ever happened, it was obvious who would come out worse.
"And at this point…" Kobayashi murmured thoughtfully.
—The Dark Side probably wasn't that active yet. Surely things hadn't escalated to the level of the later "Dark Side Wars."
It wasn't until midnight that Yomikawa Aiho finally dragged her exhausted body back home.
Kobayashi, of course, was still awake, playing games while waiting for her to return.
"Welcome back. Want a late-night snack?" Kobayashi tossed the controller aside and maneuvered his wheelchair over. "I made ramen today. It'll only take a few minutes."
"N-No, thanks," Yomikawa Aiho said, dropping her bag and lunch box onto the floor before stumbling inside like a walking corpse. "After we wrapped up, I went to an izakaya with my coworkers. I've already eaten."
Kobayashi nodded. "Then hurry up and wash up and get some sleep. You look completely worn out."
"Of course I am! I was running all over the place all day—almost half of Academy City!" Yomikawa Aiho complained. "Actually… it kind of has something to do with you."
"Huh? Me?" Kobayashi was taken aback, then thought of something. "Did you find the mastermind behind the hired assassin who tried to kill me?"
"Not that," Yomikawa Aiho shook her head. "But your case was the trigger. Headquarters decided to carry out a citywide crackdown on illegal experimental facilities… A lot of the evidence was uncovered by accident while investigating your incident."
A classic case of losing something on one front and gaining on another.
Academy City had countless research institutes, second only to schools in sheer number. And due to the nature of the city itself, a significant portion of that research inevitably brushed up against taboo territory, often sitting just one step away from illegality.
On the surface, however, every registered research institute in Academy City was perfectly legal—until its darker side was exposed.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that whether something was "legal" or "illegal" depended solely on whether the security forces had obtained hard evidence.
And now that a mountain of evidence had been gathered during recent investigations, a large-scale "cleanup operation" was only natural.
As one of the elites within the security forces, Yomikawa Aiho had taken on a central role in the operation, which explained why she'd been working overtime so late into the night.
Seeing the homeowner collapsed on the sofa like a puddle of melted slime, Kobayashi shook his head and wheeled toward the bathroom. "I'll go run a bath for you. Try to get some rest tonight. Oh, and tomorrow's Saturday—do you still have work?"
"Nope," Yomikawa Aiho waved a hand lazily. "I'm off tomorrow."
"That's good," Kobayashi said with a nod. "Don't push yourself too hard at work. Proper rest is important, too."
"Don't lecture me, you little brat," Yomikawa Aiho shot back. "And since I don't need to get up early tomorrow, I'm going to enjoy myself properly tonight!"
With that, as if suddenly injected with energy, she sprang up from the sofa in a smooth kip-up.
She plopped down onto the carpet and grabbed a game controller.
"Hey—" Kobayashi sighed helplessly as he returned to the living room.
But Yomikawa Aiho was already completely absorbed in the game, clearly not listening to anything else.
"Tch… guess she really built up a lot of stress," Kobayashi muttered, shaking his head before heading to the kitchen to prepare some late-night snacks for her.
When under stress, Yomikawa Aiho had always had a habit of tidying up her room. But now that Kobayashi handled all the housework, that outlet was gone—so she'd replaced it with video games.
More specifically, management and city-building games.
It seemed she'd transferred the act of "organizing a room" into a virtual space, using it in much the same way to release stress.
When she played competitive games or RPGs with Kobayashi, it was purely for fun. But when she immersed herself alone in management and construction games, it was all about venting pent-up pressure.
After noticing this pattern, Kobayashi stopped trying to join in and chose to leave her alone in peace.
As for the source of that stress, he could more or less guess—it had to be related to those illegal experimental projects.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that during the process of shutting down such experiments, one could witness pure, distilled evil with one's own eyes. For anyone with a normal moral compass, it was a devastating experience.
"Illegal experiments…" Kobayashi sighed helplessly in the kitchen. "They really are despicable."
He himself was a victim of illegal experimentation. If his ability were stronger, he might have taken the initiative to personally destroy those facilities.
At the very least, some of the tragedies he remembered could have been prevented in advance.
Unfortunately, Kobayashi was only a Level 3 telekinetic. His strength simply didn't allow him to commit such a world-shaking act.
So, all he could do was lie low—and serve as Yomikawa Aiho's logistical support.
In her attempt to relieve stress, Yomikawa Aiho once again played games until three in the morning, finally collapsing in front of the TV.
In the end, it was Kobayashi who carried her back to bed. She hadn't even washed up, but at that point, she was far too exhausted to care. She wrapped herself tightly in the blanket and fell straight into a deep sleep.
(End of Chapter)