Don't use Type-Moon references in Oregairu!

"It's like what's mentioned in the light novels..." Yukino lowered her head shyly, her voice barely audible, "...kissing, and then sleeping together in each other's arms and stuff."

Yui secretly gasped: Wait a minute, aren't foreign novels usually quite explicit and violent? Oh, the domestic versions are more subtle... Yukino wouldn't read those non-serious, explicit works anyway...

She touched the sign of the cross as she gave Yukino her lesson on physiology, and forced a smile: "Well, you're right. Let's change the subject."

"Hmm..." Yukino also remembered some things from Lilith's memories, such as kissing to replenish mana, and couldn't help but spit inwardly.

Fortunately, even though Meltlilith lacks magic, she can still absorb magic through her ability to dissolve viruses. Otherwise, what would I do if I saw content about replenishing magic through kissing?

Beneath the pure snow, she had no idea that kissing was just a small matter in replenishing mana; the bigger stuff was yet to come.

"Huh? What are you all talking about?" Fujimaru Ritsuka asked, barging in uninvited.

"N-nothing, we didn't discuss having children or anything like that!" Yui quickly blurted out.

Fujimaru Ritsuka glanced at Yuigahama Yui, then at Yukino Yukinoshita, pondered for a moment, and said, "Do you need any help?"

"Pervert!"

103. I have humiliated Yui again today.

Fujimaru Ritsuka admitted that there was an element of gambling in what she said... well, it was something she blurted out without thinking, and it was definitely not the result of something she had been thinking about during the day and dreaming about at night.

However, being outspoken comes at a price, and he was given the cold stares of the two girls all day, as if he were a pervert.

Adding to the discomfort was the strange look in Kasumigaoka Utaha's eyes after she came out of the bath.

If he were Merlin, those masochistic looks would be a fatal blow, but unfortunately, he can't be replaced.

Only the adorable little angel Abigail, who had just woken up, knew nothing. She was being playful and cute with Fujimaru Ritsuka, setting the mood for dinner.

Incidentally, although the mansion had a kitchen, due to limited ingredients, everyone ended up ordering food from a nearby hotel.

The waiter looked puzzled, wondering why there was a Western-style mansion nearby.

When they actually went out to pick up their food, they kept subtly asking when people had started living in the mansion.

According to the deliveryman, the area within a radius of about ten kilometers has always been private property and is off-limits. Local residents can only see the mansion by the sea when they go out to sea, and they thought it had been abandoned for many years.

Everyone couldn't help but marvel at the Special Affairs Bureau's stinginess, or rather, their foresight, in finding a secluded location with few nearby residents as their base.

After dinner, Yang Nai rolled her eyes at Fujimaru Ritsuka, then picked up her notebook and returned to her room to attend a meeting between members of the [Reform Society] to discuss matters related to the Spirit Tomb Albion.

The new member who was supposed to join the organization would arrive tomorrow, as arranged by Yang Nai. So the four of them gathered together again to briefly discuss the procedures for tomorrow.

Although everyone was a little uncomfortable at first because of the jokes during the day, the atmosphere gradually warmed up when discussing the process of new grassroots members joining the organization.

After discussing for more than an hour, the details were roughly finalized. Yukino rubbed her eyes and put down the file in her hand.

This time, the Yukinoshita family finally put in a lot of effort. Although only two of the recruited members could use supernatural abilities and their skill level was not high, the others had certain combat skills and firearms skills, which avoided the predicament of having to train them from scratch.

“However, I think we should consider recruiting some new blood that we can train from scratch.” Yukino tapped the file in her hand thoughtfully. “These members have a certain combat capability, but they have also served in the military or other small organizations in the past. The two superhumans, on the other hand, acquired their abilities by chance.”

Fujimaru Ritsuka picked up the conversation, tapping the table lightly with her finger: "However, if it's a newcomer who's interested in this area, wouldn't it be more loyal to our organization if we trained them from scratch?"

Shi Yu pouted: Aren't you supposed to be very knowledgeable about people? Why did you say such things during the day?

Fujimaru Ritsuka, who had been labeled a clueless, clueless man, wagged his finger obliviously: "I can't do it..."

"If an ordinary person gains extraordinary abilities, whether it's an official special affairs bureau or other organizations with a long history, their reputation will be more attractive. We don't have that much room for selection. What we need to do is not to select the best of the best, but to poach talent from other places, just like a startup. Whether they are experienced or newcomers, they should be treated equally."

"Yukinoshita, you're getting too attached to appearances. Don't view our organization with an elitist mindset."

For the first time, Yukino pouted angrily, clearly unwilling to accept defeat.

Fujimaru Ritsuka smiled and reassured her, then said to the others, "Alright, alright, don't worry about it so much. Actually, we have a hidden advantage—if they are Awakened Ones, with strong abilities or related memories, they will definitely be interested in Chaldea. Even if they don't necessarily join, they will still have a natural affinity for us."

"What do you mean by 'stronger ability'?" Shiyu and Yui asked in unison.

Especially Yui, who didn't know much about Chaldea, found it strange—wasn't someone like Suzuka Gozen considered powerful? She was the daughter of a demon.

"Ah... for example, those Grand Rank candidates who can observe the past, present, or future; Count Flint, who inexplicably possesses an air of superiority and seems to have the script in his hands; and high-ranking deities who can communicate with human reason?" Fujimaru Ritsuka recalled for a moment, but couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Yui Yuigahama was defeated and could only squat in the corner drawing circles: "Waaaaah, that's right. Although she has computing power comparable to Mooncell when she's in supernormal mode, Suzuka in normal mode is not worthy of it, waaaaah."

Fujimaru Ritsuka wanted to comfort Yui Yuigahama, but couldn't think of anything to say, so she could only force a smile and say, "Don't worry about it... the Enchantment Eyes are still very useful."

"Wow, you're really going to use me as a hypnosis tool, huh? A-Teng, are you a dog?"

"Pfft."

Yui Yuigahama turned her head to look back. Utaha and Yukino were seriously exchanging files with each other, confirming how to group them.

They've all been following that stinky guy, Atō, around all day, and Yukino and Kasumigaoka have all gone astray!

Yui groaned inwardly.

Yukino coughed a few times and spoke in a slightly trembling voice: "Getting back to business, my sister gave us a few targets, and we've been filtering them, but there's one that's hard to decide."

Yui Yuigahama's inner monologue was screaming: Yukino, that's enough! You've been laughing the whole time, without stopping! [○?｀Д'? ○]

But she still obediently moved closer with Fujimaru Ritsuka to look at the documents Yukino had placed in the middle of the table.

The incident occurred at the medical school building of Chiba University. Several missing persons cases have occurred there recently, and there has been a frequent loss of bodies intended for autopsies.

The school suspected a thief had broken in and stolen the body to sell on the black market, and that the missing person was silenced after witnessing the crime. However, when the school investigated the black market through private channels, they found no relevant items for sale recently. Left with no other option, they reported the incident to the police.

"The police staked out the scene several times, but found absolutely no clues. On the contrary, bodies kept going missing from time to time, right?" Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at the case file, feeling puzzled. "But this one doesn't seem to be much different from the other case files."

He flipped through the files of other cases, including things like the tunnel-running old woman, the mind-destroying twisting monster on the beach, and the ghoul in the cemetery, which seemed to be even more dangerous.

Yukino nodded: "You may not know, but Chiba University's Faculty of Medicine is one of the six major medical universities in the old system."

"Most importantly, it is located beneath Japan's second-largest morgue."

104. The Sanzu River beneath Chiba University

The former six major medical universities refer to the six government-run universities established in postwar Japan with the goal of training medical students, and Chiba University is one of them. Although it cannot compare to the University of Tokyo's medical school, which is said to be "only aliens can get in," or the Kyoto University medical school, Chiba University has ranked fourth in medical programs across Japan at times.

However, whether it was Yukino who marked the file in red or Yukino who brought it out separately, it wasn't just because of its title.

Beneath the Chiba University Faculty of Medicine lies a vast underground space, which was once an underground river. After it dried up, the builders of Chiba University ingeniously designed it into a massive and complex [river channel].

The water flowing in these [rivers] is not river water, but formalin solution.

There were no fish swimming in the river, but rather a group of "silent teachers" sleeping peacefully. They would be pulled out and laid on the dissection table to teach their students during each anatomy class.

"Hiss... Who came up with this bizarre method?" Fujimaru Ritsuka was utterly astonished as she listened to Yukino's explanation of the structure beneath Chiba University's medical school.

The designer has an incredibly creative mind.

"According to some rumors, some true and some false, it's said that when they retrieved the cadavers, they used a small boat to fish them out." Yukino managed to maintain a calm tone, but a chill ran through her. "What...what did you think of when you heard this?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka and Kasumigaoka Utaha exchanged a glance, their expressions somewhat unpleasant.

Yui Yuigahama pondered for a while, then covered her mouth and exclaimed, "Isn't this just like the Sanzu River and the ferryman?"

The Japanese imagination of the afterlife is actually quite similar to that of their neighbors. They also believe that after death, people need to cross the Sanzu River or the River of Oblivion by ferryman or by finding their own way.

Those poor souls who cannot cross the Sanzu River will forever sink to the bottom of the river, where they will be corroded by the water and suffer endless torment, filled with resentment towards all the souls who can cross the Sanzu River.

Fujimaru Ritsuka couldn't help but applaud the [excellent] designer—you've really gone to the top! You've eaten up all the pandas' food. They were just peacefully donating their bodies to contribute to medical progress, and now you've turned them into prisoners with no chance of ever being reinstated.

Yukino and Utaha, being the two more knowledgeable people, understood the meaning behind his silent applause, but they also felt a pang of sympathy, since the designer had completely ignored the significance of such a layout in order to create an interesting scene.

"On another note, have any connections been found between the missing bodies?" Fujimaru Ritsuka pressed for details about the case.

Honestly, compared to the location where this case took place, other strange occurrences are basically rubbish.

"Hmm... The police have changed their investigation direction based on our request. Before, they didn't consider any commonalities in the past cases of missing bodies; they were just focusing on the methods of theft and the perpetrators." Yukino glanced at the investigation report in the case file and irritably twirled her hair with her fingers.

But rationally, she also understood that she couldn't blame the police. If they hadn't considered the possibility that the body might move on its own, they would have only thought about the gender of the missing body or other physical indicators such as the preservation time.

Fujimaru Ritsuka breathed a sigh of relief. He also hoped that the police would catch the guy who was stealing the body, but his intuition told him that it was best not to be so optimistic.

"We only had a month to raid Chiba Prefecture, but we didn't expect there to be a big fish here." Shiyu sighed and slumped onto the table, her tone languid and dejected, thinking about the January appointment in London. "Yukino~ Can we invite some reliable people to come and solve this problem together?"

“Theoretically, yes.” Yukino’s words brought a glimmer of hope to everyone present, only to be extinguished just as quickly. “But have you considered how Chaldea would be looked down upon if, even if a terrifying event occurred—the appearance of the Land of the Dead on Earth—we invited people here before even investigating?”

Fujimaru Ritsuka also let out a regretful sigh, realizing she couldn't slack off: "Our sweep of Chiba is not only about creating a safe rear, but also about showing off our strength to attract allies and deter outsiders. Asking for help so early might make Chaldea look like a pushover to everyone."

He thought for a moment, picked up the dossier from Yukino's hand, arranged it into a stack, and solemnly placed it aside, deciding on a strategy: "How about this, we'll first inform the police of some of our ideas that we can tell them, and let them gather the information before we take action. Before that, we need to let the new members practice."

Yukino quickly pulled out a few files and placed them in the middle of the table: "Then I suggest we start with these. The Tunnel-Running Granny, the Cemetery Ghoul, and the Twisting Monster..."

These three oddities were already rumored in the city before, and recently their true forms have been witnessed by people.

In a tunnel in Chiba, due to years of neglect, some lights suddenly go out. However, if you enter this tunnel late at night, the lights will go out completely at some point. In the pitch-black tunnel, you can hear a rapid, clattering sound, like someone running in straw sandals. If the driver curiously keeps the lights on, they will hear someone knocking on the window—it will be an old face pressed against the glass.

The legend of ghouls in the cemetery has been around for a long time. Strange creatures resembling hyenas can be found sitting in front of tombstones, gnawing on bone-like things, in the early morning or late at night. However, if you come back at dawn, you will find that the graves are intact. It is said that those ghouls do more than just eat corpses.

As for the twisting monster, it is extremely close to modern ghost stories. It is a white and blurry humanoid shadow that can be seen by the human eye, writhing in a twisted posture on a deserted beach, which will make all those who see it and understand its true form completely stupid.

“Except for the last one, which seems rather dangerous, the others all appear to be physical entities.” Shiyu looked at the dossier and couldn’t help but admire it. “As expected of Yukino, I think it’s a good idea. The first few can train their courage and coping skills. With the two veteran members accompanying them, the danger shouldn’t be too great.”

"Hey, Yukino, but the last one is pretty dangerous, isn't it?" Yui Yuigahama pointed at the twisting and turning file.

"Well, with enough mental protection items, there shouldn't be any major problems." Yukino admitted there was an element of gambling involved, but she was still confident. "When dealing with the final target, let's choose the people who performed the best. If we continue like this for a few rounds, selecting the best of the best, we might be able to find subordinates who can work together on the Chiba University Medical School mission."

Fujimaru Ritsuka gave the final approval, agreeing with Yukino's suggestion: "Then let's wait for Haruno to bring the newcomers over, and we'll get started on the cleaning activities in Chiba as soon as possible."

105. Welfare and Newcomers

May 28th, 29 days until the Red Dragon's birth.

“This is a ceiling I don’t recognize…” Yang Nai stared blankly at the curved ceiling decorated with seashells and rocks, full of Rococo style, and was a little slow to react.

Ah, I think I had a meeting until midnight last night, so I stayed overnight at the mansion.

What meeting was it again? And whose mansion was it again?

She yawned and washed up listlessly when there was a knock at the door, as if someone was calling Yang Nai to have breakfast.

She opened the door to her room with a toothbrush in her mouth, seemingly unconcerned, wondering if it was her sister or the maid who came to call her.

Fujimaru Ritsuka:......

He looked me up and down, then nodded in satisfaction: "Oh, Sister Yang, you're so kind. Giving me a treat so early in the morning."