According to reliable information, Dolly and Kozaku Mitori have now been secured. Next up were the children in the Second Lab…
Surrounded by the kids, Shokuhou Misaki sat in the middle, half-watching TV, half-thinking about her next move.
"Look! It's the 'Hero'! The one who caused a scene at the research facility that day!" one of the girls whispered excitedly, pointing at the news broadcast.
Eh? Has Senior Kobayashi finally become everyone's idol? "Hero," huh… Who even came up with that idea?
Shokuhou Misaki thought silently—though she could be sure that turning the "Hero" into a sort of handyman, taking on random requests, was completely Kobayashi's own decision. Such a clumsy approach!
Even though she knew Kobayashi was covering for her actions, she still considered his method "inelegant."
To protect a single lie, he had to tell ten thousand others. And his approach, making the lie a reality,y was bold, if awkward.
He made his phone number public, became a "hero for everyone,ne" a volunteer "fixer" who accepted requests for free and actually carriedthemt out seriously.
Now, some minor media outlets were even tracking his daily activities, turning them into filler programs for slow TV slots.
Truthfully, it didn't have to be this meticulous. From the intel Shokuhou Misaki had gathered, the Second Lab's final "ideal ability" experiment was less than two weeks away.
Before that, she would destroy the Talent Workshop and rescue everyone.
At that point, her promotion to Level 5 could be publicly announced. And with irrefutable evidence against the Talent Workshop, no one would care whether Lin Wuming had told lies in the past.
In other words, even if Kobayashi did nothing and just stayed home to recover, the event would still resolve perfectly in two weeks; there is no need to run around doing petty tasks.
Yet, undeniably, Kobayashi's diligence had perfectly covered for her. Even Kudou Shunzo and Mihara Mugen suspected nothing about her secretly freeing Dolly and Kozaku Mitori.
Thanks to his complete lack of suspicion, Shokuhou Misaki could openly hang out with the other kids.
"Shokuhou, you know Nana-San?" Hanokaze Junko suddenly asked.
At once, the other girls perked up, curious.
"Yes," Shokuhou Misaki didn't hide anything. "I've seen him while he was helping the security teachers."
"What kind of person is he? Is he really like a hero?" another girl asked.
"How… he looks exactly like what you just saw on TV. Injured, sitting in a wheelchair… very ordinary."
To Shokuhou Misaki, Kobayashi's image on TV and in real life was the same. Beyond his broken limbs requiring a wheelchair, he was just a normal boy.
Of course, beneath that ordinary exterior lay a "traveler's" soul,l but that extraordinary trait could only be perceived by a Level 5 "mind controller" like Shokuhou Misaki.
For the girls who had never seen him, the "hero" on TV was undoubtedly much more impressive.
For these unlucky kids, it was easy to project their idea of a "hero" onto Kobayashi.
"I wonder if we can meet Nana-san in person?" Even Hanokaze Junko looked excited.
"Junko, even you?!" Shokuhou Misaki was surprised.
Influenced by her memory information, she had already treated Hanokaze Junko as a most trusted ally.
In the future, you'll even respectfully call me "Your Majesty," and there's no changing that. Yet now, you seem even more impressed by Nana-san!
Junko smiled. "I just want to see what kind of person he really is if you care that much about him, Shokuhou."
"Eh? Care… I never cared! When did I even care?!"
…
"Saryou, is it true? Is there really a hero?"
"A hero? Why would I care about that?"
In the empty dorm room, two light-blue-haired girls commented. The smaller one was quite enthusiastic, while the other, speaking roughly, seemed completely indifferent.
The girl being asked, Saryou, was busy with some craftwork, paying little attention to their conversation.
"Isn't it dangerous now? Then we just need to call the hero for help!" the small girl said.
"Aoga, you're too naive. How can you rely on some unverified guy?" her companion snapped back.
Nearby were two black-haired girls, watching as if used to this sort of argument. One was Saryou, still focused on her craft, while the other, Zengi, lay on the floor pretending to nap.
"It's rare to see Aoga get so excited," Saryou commented, placing down a just-finished shuriken.
The argument was over a piece of information she had brought back.
Zengi suddenly opened her eyes. "Saryou, are you sure about your info?"
"I'm certain," Saryou said. "I installed listening devices in the researchers' meeting rooms and offices. They've been arguing intensely lately, and one faction might act against Torahachi!"
"Eh~" Toumi, the girl being discussed, still wore her indifferent expression. "Am I really that dangerous? Those adults actually want to take me out?"
Even though Saryou was their closest ally, the other three had trouble grasping the gravity of the situation, as the information was just too shocking.
They had been fine at the lab, training their abilities, so why would the researchers suddenly want to kill them?
Moreover, the reasoning given was fear of Toumi's potential power,wer supposedly were capable of destroying the world.
In reality, Toumi had shown no signs of her abilities awakening; she remained a Level 0, powerless.
(End of Chapter)