In a crossover anime, do you believe that a machine spirit can defeat a fake human?

Incredibly, I actually became like a lovestruck character from a romance novel, caring so much about a boy.

Is he handsome? He seems a little, but not particularly handsome.

He has a good character; gentle yet not weak, strong yet not ostentatious. He will help those he can to the best of his ability... Even though he was just a stranger at the time, he chose to escape with me without hesitation, and later, when attacked by the fake humans, he was the one who stood in front of me.

His gaze was clear; unlike the occasional glances other boys gave when they were talking, his eyes never seemed to linger where they shouldn't.

Oh right, he also has many life skills: cooking, tea ceremony, housework...

If you only look at this side of him, he seems like a guy who's so outstanding it's almost unreal.

However, he can be somewhat abstract at times, and he can also feel nervous and tired. He can also be less cautious when it comes to things involving fake people, which makes Kasumigaoka, who secretly cares about him, feel anxious.

But all these factors combined made him the 'perfect' hero in her eyes.

A hero who doesn't exist in fairy tales, but exists in real life.

Will he have feelings for me? Will he... like me?

She wanted to seize the opportunity, so she decided to test the waters.

She sent a photo, a slightly seductive one.

Will he reply with a simple "Thank you for the meal" like the male protagonist in a light novel? Or will he just keep it to himself and save it quietly? Or...?

Ah, he was rejected with harsh words. Judging from the other party's reaction, this somewhat 'overstepping' action seemed to have really frightened him.

He even blocked her.

When Kasumigaoka returned home, she found that the other party had not removed her from the blacklist, which made her somewhat bored.

Kasumigaoka reflected that the plan to conquer Chen Yi had been somewhat hasty.

"Is it really necessary to be so angry..." she muttered to herself, recalling the plate of cookies he baked when they first met in the Service Department.

Brittany shortbread, very fragrant.

She decided to bake a batch to take to school tomorrow as an apology to him.

P.S.: Although I failed to get inspiration at midnight yesterday, I found it again this morning during driving practice (≧▽≦)/

Actually, it was because it was raining quite heavily when I was practicing driving today. The rearview mirror was fogged up by the rain, so I had to keep the window open, wiping the water with one hand and practicing parallel parking and reversing into a parking space with the other. Half of my body got wet, and then an idea suddenly came to my mind.

While it's good that inspiration has returned, the method used is somewhat questionable and can easily lead to catching a cold.

Don't do this!

Alright, as is tradition, please give me some recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, and tips!

If you don't have any, please leave more comments!

Department of Service: Chapter Forty-Nine: Worries

When I woke up this morning, my heart was pounding.

Did I not sleep well last night? Kasumigaoka wondered.

It seems... I really didn't sleep well. I had a nightmare in the middle of the night... I've forgotten the specifics.

"Looks like I need to adjust my schedule... I should try to cut back on staying up late to write books in the future." Kasumigaoka patted his chest as he went to the living room to get a glass of water.

"Is Shiyu awake? You don't need to go to school today." Mrs. Kasumigaoka poked her head out of the kitchen, holding a spatula in her hand.

"Huh? Why?" Kasumigaoka Utaha blinked, wondering if she was still half asleep.

It's not the weekend today.

"Go watch the news yourself, I'll finish frying this egg." Mrs. Kasumigaoka retreated back into the kitchen.

"News? What's Mom doing? She didn't say anything..." Kasumigaoka picked up her phone, unlocked the screen, and several news articles popped up in the notification bar.

The anomaly threat security course covers survival knowledge, celebrity infidelity, and fake human attacks...

"Chiba Municipal Soubu High School...a fake attack?" Kasumigaoka exclaimed in surprise.

"Well, the attack happened at night, and it's fortunate that no students were injured," Kasumigaoka's mother chimed in from the kitchen.

"At night?" Kasumigaoka asked in confusion, clicking into the news details page.

Around 7 PM last night, several monstrous, fake-human creatures suddenly appeared inside Soubu High School and attacked and killed the night patrol security guards... However, during the examination of the deceased's information, it was discovered that the deceased was a member of a terrorist organization. Therefore, the police initially suspect that the deceased planned the attack by the monstrous creatures, but the attack failed due to the language barrier...

In short, the members of the terrorist organization have brought this upon themselves.

After reading the news, that's pretty much it.

"How could this be?" The news that a fake person was hiding in the school was chilling.

However, since the outbreak occurred at night and no students were injured, it can indeed be considered a piece of good news amidst bad news.

"Right now, everyone online is condemning the school's leadership for their negligence and demanding an explanation from them," Kasumigaoka's father said casually as he came out of the bathroom after washing up.

"There are still countless fakes in the school; it'll probably be under lockdown for a while," he muttered to himself. "How could something like this happen in a school...? School lets out early, there's no way they could attack like that, why..."

No more school? Kasumigaoka wondered, and another question popped into her head.

How am I supposed to bring my cookies to my junior?

"Does Shiyu want to go out and play?" Mrs. Kasumigaoka brought out three breakfasts and placed them on the table, seeing right through Kasumigaoka's little scheme.

No, there isn't...

"Is it a boy?" the wife teased, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Be careful!"

"Which brat?" Kasumigaoka's father's expression hardened, and he made a move to grab the katana from the cabinet. "Utaha, I'm going with you today. I'm going to use Bushido to reason with him..."

"father!"

"Stop joking around, he's Shiyu's savior." Mrs. Kasumigaoka pressed her husband down, tucking him back into place. "Judging from Shiyu's manuscripts over the past two weeks, he's quite an excellent young man."

"My savior...that exchange student?" Kasumigaoka's father was silent for a moment. "Speaking of which, I still owe him a formal thank you. When should I bring him over for a visit?"

"Then you'd better hide your katana well, lest you scare someone," Mrs. Kasumigaoka teased.

“One thing at a time.” Kasumigaoka’s father poked at the egg with his chopsticks.

"Dad! Mom!" Kasumigaoka was a little anxious, a faint blush creeping onto her cheeks.

......

"Beep—beep—" Seeing that no one answered the phone, Kasumigaoka looked up at Chen Yi's balcony.

"Is it really necessary? I just teased him a little... and he won't even answer the phone?" Kasumigaoka frowned, shaking his leg in frustration.

My arms are getting a little sore from carrying a bag of snacks.

After thinking it over, she decided to make contact with Chen Yi indirectly, through other people.

"President, can you get in touch with Chen Yi?" She first sent a message to Yukinoshita.

"Hiratsuka-sensei, Chen Yi has blocked me and isn't answering my calls. Could you please ask him to release me?" Then she sent another message to Hiratsuka Shizuka and waited.

'Chen Yi? Did you two have a falling out?' Hiratsuka Shizuka replied a few minutes later.

Um... that's hard to say...

'It's not a big deal. I wanted to apologize, but he's ignoring me now.' Kasumigaoka glossed over the main issue and sent the message.

"In that case, I'll ask around for you." Hiratsuka-sensei replied readily.

"He didn't see my messages either," Yukinoshita replied from the other end.

"I see, thank you, President." After thinking for a moment, Kasumigaoka added a word of thanks.

Anyone else have questions, Yotsuya-kun? I don't think I've added her on LINE...

How strange... Kasumigaoka's heart skipped a beat, as if she had a bad feeling.

Feeling a bit tired, I decided to go sit at one of the cafes over there. Looking around Kasumigaoka, I spotted a place where I could rest.

......

The coffee has gotten a little cold.

Kasumigaoka stared at her phone screen, at Hiratsuka-sensei's chat interface, where there were no new messages.

Does it really need to take that long? What's wrong with my junior?

"Chen Yi is in trouble." After a long while, Hiratsuka-sensei sent a message.

What...? Kasumigaoka blinked, staring at the cold line of text.

My mind went completely blank for a moment, like a stuck gear.

The stirring spoon slipped from my fingers and tapped against the rim of the cup with a crisp sound.

How could this be? It's only been one night...

Something seemed to have shattered inside her, and her hands and feet became somewhat cold.

'What... happened to him?' Numbly and mechanically, she sent the question, as if something was covering her eyes, preventing her from seeing the screen clearly.

The scene before me felt strangely familiar, like something out of a dream I had last night.

Am I still dreaming? She was somewhat dazed.

"She's in the hospital now. I just checked on her; it's nothing serious. You can come and see her yourself," Hiratsuka-sensei replied, sending a photo along with the message.

The image above shows Chen Yi lying on a hospital bed, eating an apple, with a strange girl next to him.

Judging from the photos, Chen Yi doesn't seem to have any particularly serious external injuries, and his limbs are not missing, but he looks a bit listless.

It seems alright...

A huge weight lifted from Kasumigaoka's heart. She instinctively wiped away her tears, her sleeve becoming damp.

"It's alright, it's alright..." She stared at the still-warm cup of coffee on the table, having lost her appetite.

Kasumigaoka got up, paid the bill, and quickly left the cafe, hailing a taxi on the street.

She wouldn't normally call a taxi, but she couldn't care less about that now.

She just wanted to get to Chen Yi's side as soon as possible.

P.S.: Thank you '[萝卜]乐' for the donation! Thank you, boss! Wishing you good health and all the best!

Service Department: Chapter Fifty Visiting the Sick

Chapter 50

"I'm here." Kasumigaoka pushed open the door and entered, fixing her gaze on Chen Yi, blinking her scarlet eyes somewhat awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, senior, I made you worry." Chen Yi suddenly realized that he hadn't removed Kasumigaoka from his blacklist, so he coughed twice to cover up his embarrassment.

"I baked some cookies...would you like to try some?" She placed a cardboard box on the bedside table, her intended expression of concern quickly turning into an unrelated topic.

"Thank you." Chen Yi's gaze lingered on the rather exquisite little box for a moment before turning away.

"And who is this?" she asked, looking at Rio Futaba.

"My name is Rio Futaba, you can just call me Futaba, I'm Chen-kun's..."

“Strategic partner,” Chen Yi replied, noticing Shuang Ye’s hesitation regarding the definition of their relationship.

"What is... a strategic partner?" Kasumigaoka asked, puzzled.

"Each gets what they need, and it's mutually beneficial," Futaba replied, defining the entire process of their interaction.

"And... a friendship?" Rio Futaba wondered to herself. "Chen-kun should consider me a friend, right?"

"Oh..." Kasumigaoka seemed to understand but not quite, and turned her gaze back to Chen Yi.

"Where are you hurt?" She hadn't noticed anything wrong with Chen Yi in the photos of Hiratsuka-sensei before, and now that she was at the scene, she still couldn't see any signs of injury.

Are you sick?

"Here." Chen Yi lifted his clothes, revealing the bandages wrapped around his body.

"I went back to school last night and was shot by that security guard." As she put down her clothes, her hand was suddenly grabbed by Kasumigaoka.

"What?" Unexpectedly, Kasumigaoka pounced on him, pressing one hand on Chen Yi's shoulder, and a faint fragrance entered Chen Yi's nostrils.

I'm not saying I'm just thinking about something, but I'm getting a little carried away.

Chen Yi's brain froze for a moment, then he immediately came to his senses.