"No need for thanks!" Kawashima Toya stopped Kato Megumi before she could speak. "It was just a coincidence."
"There's no need to thank me for this. You don't have anything I want!"
A pile of thanks was useless. Aside from wasting his precious leisure time, it served no purpose.
Sawamura Spencer Eriri and Kato Megumi fell silent. It was true; as Toya said, they had nothing he wanted.
Someone with the strength to slice a bullet in half wouldn't lack money.
What Toya needed was something they, mere students, couldn't possibly provide.
"Kawashima, does this mean I have to find a way to pay the price for being saved by you?" Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Kasumigaoka Utaha stepped forward to lighten the mood.
Toya waved his hand slightly and said calmly, "However, there is one thing you can do that would be a big help."
"What is it?" Eriri asked hurriedly.
She knew a life debt was hard to repay, especially since Toya was clearly not an ordinary person.
This kind of favor was too difficult to return.
Toya looked serious. "Do your best to protect yourselves. Do not contact any existence you don't understand."
"Do not believe in Evil Gods!"
If Eriri and Kato Megumi could help him, this was the only way.
Not long ago, the leader of the kidnappers had inadvertently revealed the term "Chosen Ones." Although he didn't know how they were chosen...
He could guess a little.
The only people taken to the broadcasting room were Utaha and Eriri.
Both were the two top beauties of Private Toyogasaki Academy, but that alone clearly wasn't enough to be targeted.
Looks alone were far from enough; there had to be something else.
The only noteworthy aspect of Utaha and Eriri was their identity as heroines.
"Although the male protagonist is already dead." Toya silently felt grateful for Aki Tomoya, whom he had slain.
If Aki Tomoya hadn't become an Evil God's minion, perhaps Toya wouldn't have concluded that the group of lunatics worshipping the Evil God were tracking the existence of the main characters.
Not long after, Eriri and Kato Megumi left one after another.
They felt like they might have made a mistake coming here. Otherwise, why would they receive such treatment?
"Should we have brought gifts?"
"That's right. It'll be more polite that way."
"We have this traditions too. Why did we forget?"
After returning home, Eriri immediately consulted her mother, Sawamura Sayuri, who pretended to be young.
Kato Megumi went into the kitchen, seemingly preparing to make something.
----
Trash Fox Detective Agency.
Utaha looked at Toya's handsome face with suspicion. "Kawashima, has something changed about you recently?"
"To think you'd say such cold words to beautiful girls like Eriri and Kato-san?"
Facing two beautiful girls who were in no way inferior to her—and even had their own unique charms—was it normal to have no thoughts at all?
"Who do you think I am?" Toya glanced at Utaha indifferently. "I'm not a dog in heat."
"And I really don't need their thanks. It was just a matter of convenience."
"If the owner of the apartment I live in hadn't been kidnapped, I might have just grabbed some popcorn and found a spot to watch the kidnapping at Private Toyogasaki Academy unfold."
Utaha rolled her eyes. "So that's how it is?"
"And here I thought you rushed to the rescue recklessly because your beloved—me—was kidnapped."
Toya scoffed but didn't explain further.
After the brutal training with Shishou Scáthach, he had almost forgotten about romance.
He had become a pure, cold warrior, fighting solely for victory.
Utaha was silent for a while, then suddenly asked, "Kawashima, what will the world become in the future?"
"Two possibilities." Toya thought for a moment and said, "The first possibility: we repel the Evil Gods."
"Expel all the mysteries, and the world returns to normal."
"As for the second possibility..."
Toya didn't finish, trusting Utaha knew what it was.
After a long while, Utaha raised her head, her wine-red eyes filled with seriousness. "Kawashima, I want to learn how to protect myself."
"Can you teach me?"
"Of course!" Toya was slightly stunned, then a exceptionally brilliant smile appeared on his handsome face. "If you want to become stronger, there is a shortcut."
"Go try it!"
"Do you see the Teigu Murasame?"
"Pick it up!"
Utaha looked suspiciously at Murasame, then at Toya. "Why do I feel like you're up to no good, Kawashima?"
"Is there something special about that sword?"
She felt Toya's smile was wicked, like he was watching a silly rabbit walk into a trap.
"How could that be?" Toya chuckled lightly. "As long as you pick up that sword, you'll be on a shortcut."
"A fast shortcut."
No matter how much she asked, she didn't get an answer. Utaha could only walk towards Murasame, preparing to try as Toya requested.
"It looks like an ordinary sword. Is there really something unusual about it?"