The comments section all think I'm a really good person.

This is already a form of terror in itself.

I really don't know whether I should pull up my pants or run away first!

[If I faint, it'll be even more ridiculous...]

Kita Kirihara had seen this thing before, but she usually didn't rest or relieve herself outside her safe house.

After all, these kinds of morbidly humorous things are everywhere. A bomb with controlled power won't kill you, but it can still cause some minor inconvenience.

Surprisingly, the Hero College was still preserved.

She noticed that the toilets had been replaced with new ones, but some of the old traps and bombs had been left behind, seemingly intended for use by the B-class students in their mine-clearing practice.

But there's no need to keep even the ones in the toilet.

Kita Kirihara sighed softly, and, unnoticed by Inoue Teru, precisely removed a small, already broken firework while wearing gloves.

【Huh? Ahara can do that too?】

[Ah Yuan seems to be slacking off the whole time, but the few things he does find seem to be blind spots that Ah Hui missed...?]

Judging by this, he seems even more skilled than Ahui!

I sensed that A-Yuan seemed preoccupied ever since he arrived; he didn't say much during lunch.

Speaking of which, are there any details yet about A-Yuan's experiences before meeting the Chief?

You mean...?

Is it possible that A-Yuan attended the religious school that this school used to be? And judging from this, the religious school wasn't exactly innocent, was it? This would also connect with A-Yuan's experience of being hunted down.

[Furthermore, when A-Yuan came here before, his expression was also off when he noticed the location of the school. He was also observing the layout of the restaurant earlier, which may have been because he was comparing the restaurant to his memory of it.]

Although she didn't show it much, A-Yuan was indeed quite familiar with the school; she could even find the principal's office directly.

Holy crap...! Now that you mention it, it all makes perfect sense.

[So what's the situation with that basement? Does it contain Ahara's previous files?]

[…!! Exciting revelation of a dark past?!]

Not necessarily. If the door is opened carelessly, all the data inside will be destroyed, and very little can be salvaged.

But things are different now... Don't forget Yuko, her ability is incredibly useful. If you want to open a door, just find the right spot and write a word.

[…That makes a lot of sense! That makes a lot of sense! That makes a lot of sense!]

Does this mean that Ahara's origin story is about to be revealed?

[Hopefully so!]

At this rate, A-Yuan should find a way to sneak into the underground lab within the next two nights at the latest and destroy the data.

[This is getting exciting...!]

This is true.

Inoue Teru noticed that it was almost time and he should go prepare dinner for his young mistress, who had been sleeping all afternoon, so he bid farewell to Kita Kiri.

The latter nodded to indicate that he understood and intended to continue searching the area.

She took out her phone and called Saki Koizumi: "Saki? What do you want to eat tonight?"

Holding her phone in one hand, she chatted with Saki Koizumi about the evening's menu. After confirming that there were no surveillance cameras around, she approached the corner deep in her memory.

Saki Koizumi heard footsteps echoing from Kita Kirihara's direction, seemingly in an open area, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Kita Kirihara, where are you?"

"Matsu-sensei has assigned us a task." Kita Kirihara's voice was a little muffled, as the signal on the other end wasn't very good. "I plan to finish searching this place first, and then go out to buy ingredients."

The two exchanged a few brief words before having to end the call due to signal issues.

Saki Koizumi put her phone away and looked toward the entrance to the underground space she had discovered during the search.

...Let's go down and take a look.

That's what she thought.

125. “Good boy.”

Today, for the first time, viewers watching the live stream felt that Kita Kirihara was actually the protagonist of this storyline.

Because they heard Kita Kirihara's inner monologue. Accompanied by slightly shaky camera work, Kita Kirihara, as he reminisced about his past stories and went deeper into the basement, sounded so calm.

However, beneath the calm surface, the surging emotions are genuine.

The scene appears to be from Kita Kirihara's first-person perspective. His dark red eyes are fixed on a pitch-black area ahead, but Kita Kirihara continues to walk steadily forward, opening an old and familiar mechanism and silently venturing deeper underground.

She walked down the steps, the sound of her shoes clicking on the stairs was crisp and clear, carrying faintly far away.

You can also hear the sound of dripping water.

The darkness was like an abyss with its gaping maw, waiting for its prey.

I'm back here.

His voice suddenly deepened, becoming more mature, and slightly hoarse.

[I haven't forgotten a single word that instructor said at the welcoming ceremony nine years ago.]

Viewers in the live chat could tell that the person speaking was not the younger Kita Kirihara, but the one closer to adulthood.

Both the aggressive tone and the colder, indifferent manner belong to another personality.

[He said: No matter how desperately you try to escape, the mark this place has left on you will never disappear. Listen carefully, monsters, from this day forward, your souls no longer belong to yourselves.]

However, Kita Kirihara fixed the camera on her first-person perspective, so the audience could not see her face and could only discern the personality shift from her voice and tone.

[I even told my partner that I didn't understand what that guy was saying.]

A mocking laugh rang out, and a hand reached out from outside the camera lens, slightly smoothing the bangs that were obstructing the view.

[Then, I came back here.]

The camera pans to the ground, its gaze lingering over the stark white bones that look like human remains.

I'm incredibly frustrated. No matter how hard I try to forget the past, those disgusting, sticky memories just won't leave me...

She then turned her gaze to the end of the stairs and saw a faint light.

The cold, underground laboratory's main entrance stood silently in the darkness, the faint light shining on its rusty metal surface, seemingly conveying a silent mockery.

It mocks Kita Kirihara's overestimation of his own strength in resisting fate.

[What did it feel like when I knew I would be spending four years here?]

She approached the door and then raised her injured hand.

[The wound hurts, and I'm scared. Like me, she doesn't want Saki to know about this mess...]

She placed her hand on the door, intently searching for the lock.

[Yes, we won't let Saki know any of this, we won't let the "past" be exposed to her like this, because only she can't know those things, can't hate us.]

Still focused on the search.

I know very well that she is a hero now.

Therefore, I will never let her know that the hands I use to embrace her were once stained with blood.

[...at least not now.]

With that in mind, Kita Kirihara spent a little time finding the correct entrance.

She used the "perfect impersonation" technique, and the outstretched hand transformed into another person's hand on camera, with larger bones and hair.

It's a man's hand.

[Dr. Will's fingerprints? Iris? Or Hayakawa's blood...? None of those.]

As Kita Kirihara murmured to herself, from a first-person perspective, one could see that her hands were undergoing subtle changes.

Even from the reflection of the metal door, one could vaguely see that her image was constantly changing.

[Then...this will do. Fifty percent should be enough.]

Kita Kirihara has transformed into a blonde, golden-eyed girl.

She disguised herself as Kitagaki Yuko.

Because the Inner Demon character card was used, and the appearance wouldn't be significantly different while using this card, viewers could see that Kita Kirihara transformed into Kitagaki Yuko's appearance when using his ability.

Then, I used the "divine touch".

[Holy crap?! Ahara's ability is actually in the adult Ahara?!]

[What kind of cheat-like ability is this...? It's too overpowered!]

Simply write the instruction to open the door on it, and the door will open wide in obedience.

However, the gate had been in disrepair for many years, and opening it made a lot of noise.

I knew very well that such a commotion would attract other people.

But let's take a gamble.

[Let's see if I achieve my goal first, or if that uninvited guest arrives before I've finished dealing with everything.]

With that thought in mind, Kita Kirihara stepped into the underground laboratory.

.

Saki Koizumi heard the sound.

This made her subconsciously speed up.

The entrance to the tower was some distance from the core of the underground laboratory; it would take an ordinary person three or four minutes to run there at full speed, but it was no problem for Koizumi Saki at all.

Her ears caught a sound in the distance, as if someone had found the correct entrance before her and had already opened the door to the underground laboratory.

So, ignoring the people following her, she appeared in the direction from which the sound came almost instantly.

She saw it—

—A very familiar blonde figure from behind.

[Devoted], [Obsessive], [Longing], [A stroke of genius], [Near-superhero], [In love], [Coffee addict], [Living alone]...