In Kobayashi's case, the only real fatal weakness was the bloody massacre in the underground training facility, which naturally made people wary.
After all, among the more than thirty researchers present at the time, quite a few—by the book—did not deserve the death penalty. Yet Kobayashi had wiped them all out in one go…
But aside from that, the right and wrong of the entire incident were actually very clear. No matter how one looked at it, Black Moon Technology was the guilty party.
Reexamining the whole affair, it wasn't hard to see that Kobayashi had initially been a victim. Everything he did afterward could be regarded as a form of "legitimate self-defense" and "retaliation." While not entirely legal, it was understandable.
At the same time, Kobayashi had indeed destroyed a large illegal experimental organization and successfully rescued more than two hundred children who had been unlawfully detained. This action indirectly helped the Security forces solve over a hundred "missing children" cases.
Because of this, the Security forces were actually grateful for Kobayashi's contributions. If not for the issue of "killing," they would certainly have awarded him a medal.
Now that the killings in the underground training facility had been concealed, the only remaining "crime" attached to Kobayashi was setting fire to the top floor of Black Moon Technology's building.
However, that could be explained as collateral damage caused during intense combat and would not be pursued.
"So… I'm in the clear now?" Kobayashi asked.
"Of course not," Yunchuan Seria replied. "As the price, you must join Judgment and accept management. Judgment and the Security forces will make proper use of your abilities."
"That doesn't sound bad." Kobayashi nodded. Though he would still be restrained and supervised, from another perspective, this was practically equivalent to securing a public servant position in Academy City—hardly a loss.
Torahachi Toumi wasn't as open-minded as Kobayashi. She cared a lot about being managed by others.
"By the way, who are you? Can you really make decisions like this?" she questioned.
She glanced at Yunchuan Seria's arm. "No armband—are you even part of Judgment?"
"I'm not part of Judgment," Yunchuan Seria said, "but I can represent Judgment's highest authority."
Yomikawa Aiho explained from the side, "Yunchuan-san is a representative of the Governing Board."
In fact, this was the first time Yomikawa Aiho herself had learned of Yunchuan Seria's identity—something that had shocked her greatly as Seria's teacher.
However, this girl had indeed been personally designated by Director Kaizumi Tsugutoshi and had also received confirmation from Yomikawa's own superior. Her identity could not be fake.
Although Yunchuan Seria was still just a first-year high school student, in this city, it was not unusual for teenagers to hold high positions.
"Yunchuan?" Hearing the surname, Nana immediately grew interested and carefully examined the girl before him.
Black hair draped over her shoulders, her bangs pulled back with a headband to reveal a broad forehead. Her looks were not especially striking, but she gave off an unmistakably intelligent air.
The surname Yunchuan, combined with the mention of Director Kaizumi Tsugutoshi earlier… There was no doubt. She was Yunchuan Seria. The brain and strategist behind Director Kaizumi, a girl with no esper powers who could nevertheless use psychology and rhetoric to achieve effects similar to "Mental Out." A natural enemy of Shokuhou Misaki.
An unquestionable genius girl, one of the hidden big shots lurking in a certain high school.
"Do you know me?" Yunchuan Seria asked sharply, noticing his gaze.
"I've heard of you," Kobayashi nodded, not denying it.
Like Shokuhou Misaki, lying in front of Yunchuan Seria was meaningless.
After giving Kobayashi a brief look, Yunchuan Seria quickly lost interest and returned to her listless demeanor.
"Hurry up and decide. Are you signing and stamping it, or do you want another couple of days to think?" she urged. "Either way, give me an answer soon. I want to go back to the dorm and rest."
Kobayashi asked his partner for her opinion. "Toumi, what do you think?"
Dark Side or Judgment—one of the two.
"I don't really care. I don't like either option," Toumi said. "So I'll just choose the same as you, Nana."
"Then this is it." Kobayashi shook the Judgment registration document, then said to the man in the black suit, "Sorry for making you come all this way for nothing."
The man in the black suit smiled bitterly. "Don't worry about it. Honestly, the moment Captain Yomikawa showed up, I was already mentally prepared."
Especially since the other side had even brought in a director to back them up—there was really no advantage left for him.
Next, Kobayashi decisively signed and stamped the document, officially joining Judgment, a bright and promising organization.
Moreover, judging from Yomikawa Aiho's intentions, once he graduated and became an adult, he could seamlessly transition into the Security forces, solving even his future employment problem. It was deeply reassuring.
Well, if he stayed cautious and avoided the original storyline's main events, surviving until university graduation shouldn't be a problem. He only hoped that Academy City… no, that the world itself would still be standing by then.
"Nana-kun, you made the right choice!" Yomikawa Aiho said with satisfaction after both the man in the black suit and Yunchuan Seria had left.
"One side operates in the shadows, unseen by the light. The other is a legitimate organization in the open," Kobayashi shrugged. "Unless you're forced into it, anyone would know which to choose."
Yomikawa Aiho, however, showed a helpless expression. "That may be so, but the Security forces and Judgment operate in the light, which means they must be bound by all kinds of rules. Lately, quite a few people dislike that, so they voluntarily choose the Dark Side…"
Especially teenagers in their rebellious years, many were persuaded to join Dark Side organizations.
That man in the black suit had recruited no small amount of fresh blood for the Dark Side over the past two years. Rumor had it that there were now even elite Dark Side units composed entirely of espers.
The teacher-based Security forces were naturally unhappy about this phenomenon, but there was little they could do. They even had to admit that such pure-esper elite units could be extremely effective for certain missions.
Moreover, as research into esper development continued to mature, powerful espers kept emerging.
Immature minds paired with superhuman destructive power—this combination often produced deadly results.
Recruiting those violence-prone espers into the Dark Side was, in a sense, a rational use of talent. While making use of their value, it also helped maintain the city's normal order—a win-win situation.
By that standard, killers like Kobayashi and Toumi really did fit the Dark Side's needs quite well.
The reason Yomikawa Aiho had run around so much, doing everything she could to keep Kobayashi and Toumi in the bright "surface world," also stemmed from her own personal feelings.
After all, she was Kobayashi's guardian. She couldn't just sit by and watch her child drop out of school and dive straight into the underworld…
(End of Chapter)
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