Once the affection level is maxed out, the rivalry begins!

"Senior, you should realize by now that the ability to predict the future is not some reliable, omniscient cheat code."

Lu Xingyao sat cross-legged on the computer chair, arranging the tarot cards one by one on the black tablecloth.

"If things go wrong, it might end up like the time with Yin Chen, where my predictions turned out to be the catalyst for things to get worse."

She was anxious and lacked confidence.

Bai Ze calmly looked into the girl's clear, lake-like eyes: "I'll say it again, your previous predictions clearly had a positive impact—and I believe in you, haven't I always relied on your abilities?"

"...If I get praised, well, there's nothing I can do about it."

Lu Xingyao pushed the deck of cards, cut into three piles, in front of him, indicating that Bai Ze should draw a card from it.

The result was a soldier in black robes riding a white horse; the king fell beside the horse's hooves, and his crown fell to the ground.

"The upright Death signifies irreversible change, letting go of the past, and the end of a relationship..."

A strange fluctuation emanated from the girl, disrupting the threads of cause and effect that should have been invisible.

She murmured to herself, her gaze seemingly piercing through a veil, pointing directly to a deeper level of reality.

The power to foresee fate—that is the power she possesses as a witch.

After a moment, she closed her eyes and gave her answer: "First of all, although the phantom thief in the notice refers to himself in plural form, there is actually only one person, whose attribute is yin... that is, female."

It turns out he acted alone.

It's important to know that the strategies employed by the Phantom Thieves and the Lone Phantom Thieves are completely different.

"Secondly, she had a karmic connection with one of our staff members... This is what 'letting go of the past' and 'ending the relationship' refers to."

This information is rather vague; it's difficult to define even the scope of our personnel.

Does this refer to the people from the Spirit Disaster Bureau, or does it include Bai Ze and others, or even the external aid that Rhea mentioned?

The same principle applies to the existence of causes and conditions; hatred, blood ties, gratitude, and friendship can all be categorized within this framework.

"Finally, the phantom thief has entered Fuyuna City."

Lu Xingyao opened her eyes and summarized.

Although they couldn't directly identify the phantom thief, obtaining three pieces of information was still quite good.

"Senior, are you going to catch the phantom thief?"

She tugged at Bai Ze's sleeve, clearly having rekindled her mischievous spirit after emerging from her reclusive state, "I want to go too."

"The phantom thief isn't some rare insect... of course I'll take you with me."

Against such a well-hidden enemy, those with prophetic abilities would undoubtedly play a crucial role.

After agreeing to meet up with Leia together, Lu Xingyao began cleaning her bedroom.

"I have... been reborn!"

She declared this.

So Bai Ze pressed down on her shoulder, smiling amiably:

"Well said, let's go clean up the kitchen together then."

The girl trembled and slowly crawled toward the bed.

"I... I feel more comfortable staying here..."

"Is your freshman year so cheap?! If you don't go, I'll keep your bedroom door open and the kitchen door wide open too!"

"No! It'll explode!"

...What exactly did she put in the kitchen?

In short, Bai Ze forcibly dragged his junior to the living room, and they each equipped themselves with cleaning tools such as plastic gloves and masks.

We have more teammates now! We have enough courage to keep going!

He took a deep breath and opened that forbidden door.

What happened next can be seen in the interview records of Leia, an employee of the Bureau of Spiritual Disasters, with the neighbors around the Lu family villa before she made the memory alteration.

------------

"Aren't there omens before natural disasters?"

The victim recalled, "That's how it was that day. My dog ​​barked incessantly, the mother cat carried her kittens up a tree, ants and cockroaches fled their nests in fright, and even birds were circling around incessantly..."

"The first thing that spreads is the smell... If you had to choose, what's the most terrifying smell in the world?"

"Skunk farts? Canned herring? Or maybe chemical toxic gases like mustard gas or phosgene?"

"All wrong! The answer is the stench emanating from the living, wriggling kitchen waste that spills onto the street like excrement... Ughhhh!!!"

The victim screamed as he was dragged away and a calming spell was cast.

On the afternoon of October 6th, an anomalous "family-habiting slime" with serial number 997 appeared on [street name] in [district name]. Aside from a few victims suffering psychological trauma, it did not cause any harm to others.

[Investigation revealed that the mutation of a large amount of kitchen waste was caused by the leakage of magical radiation from a superhuman. The perpetrator and his accomplices subsequently captured and eliminated all the abnormal individuals, demonstrating meritorious service in making amends.]

【Please develop good living habits, Lu Xingyao.】

—Rhea's private notes.

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"...I never imagined it would turn into such a fierce battle with takeout scraps and fast food boxes."

Bai Ze returned home exhausted.

He felt it was much more tiring than fighting the White Knights again, mainly psychologically.

It even requires Rhea, who was originally there to receive the Phantom Thief's Nemesis, to clean up the mess.

However, she also told them that the outside helper they had hired to deal with the phantom thief had arrived, and the three of them agreed to meet him together—Bai Ze and Lu Xingyao would be using their status as unofficial employees of the Spirit Disaster Bureau.

When I opened the door, I had gradually gotten used to Lin Tingwan being at home.

As the highest-ranking combatant of the Disaster Management Bureau in the Winter Name area, she would occasionally go out alone to handle unusual incidents and return in the evening.

It's like having a cat that goes out to forage in the wild and comes home at night.

But when Bai Ze entered the room today, she was reading a postcard with a familiar design, and she hid it behind her back when she saw him return.

...The phantom thief's advance notice has been delivered to him.

This is also one of their unusual characteristics; the notice may be obstructed, but it will eventually be sent to the target who has declared the theft.

Perhaps for this reason, Lin Tingwan seemed somewhat absent-minded during dinner.

"Bai Ze... if you found yourself being targeted by a thief, what would you do?"

She carefully put forward her hypothesis.

"Yes, be more vigilant, and then try to strike first and catch the thief."

Lin Tingwan pressed further, "What if the thief announces that he's going to steal something you yourself are unsure whether you need it or not?"

Bai Ze frowned.

He originally thought Lin Tingwan was enjoying her job as a witch slaying demons, so he never considered letting the phantom thief try the option of stealing her power.

Has she recently grown tired of her identity as a witch?

Even if you don't need it, it's still something that belongs to you, and you can't let someone take it away for nothing.

After thinking about it, he still responded, "Besides, you can't trust a thief's words."

They say they're only taking away power, but who knows what irreversible effects it will have on Lin Tingwan herself?

What if I become a person with a personality breakdown and a vegetative state?