A sorcerer? I am a Warhammer psyker.

Rio Futaba looked at Kenmei with a "you're defeated" expression. Her hand holding the fan trembled slightly, revealing the girl's inner turmoil.

"Should we increase the frequency?"

Rio Futaba, her face flushed, swayed her fair arms slightly up and down with the movement of the fan, while her other hand carefully wiped the sweat from her forehead with a tissue.

"No need, it's just right."

"Isn't this something that can be done?"

Sakuta Azusagawa, watching their interaction, smiled slightly, gave Futaba a thumbs-up, and then quietly opened the door and went out.

After being served by Futaba, Kenmei Isayama felt much more comfortable.

"Thank you, Futaba."

"These days, this place is still the most comfortable for me."

After being in the classroom for a while, Isayama Kenmei almost got high blood pressure from being scared by his classmates. It was much better in Futaba; no one bothered him, it was quiet, and he even had someone to take care of him.

Kenmei Isayama opened his eyes but found Sakuta nowhere to be seen, which was rather strange.

"Huh? Where did Sakuta go?"

Rio Futaba, who was thinking about applying for air conditioning from the school, heard Kenmei Isayama's words and spoke in a tone as if she had heard the name of a maggot.

"Who knows about that kind of guy?"

She was still angry just thinking about it. That guy's meaningful expression before he left, and his "good luck" gesture, made Rio Futaba both embarrassed and annoyed. Who asked you to worry about my affairs?

"Haha, poor Sakuta, being told that by one of his only two remaining friends, Futaba."

"What's wrong..."

Rio Futaba's voice was a little embarrassed, and her ears were red. It was because Kenmei Isayama had just placed his hand on her hair, as if stroking it.

Kenmei Isayama realized that his actions seemed too intimate and immediately apologized.

"Sorry, I saw some in your hair."

There was some dust, but it's been removed.

Kenmei Isayama sometimes really finds cursed spirits quite annoying. Just now, a cursed spirit drifted in through the window. Even though Futaba was there, Kenmei Isayama didn't want to kill it.

However, upon seeing Futaba's outrageously large figure, the cursed spirit let out a wicked chuckle and moved closer to her. So, Kenmei Isayama had no choice but to exorcise that thing.

The incident was just a minor episode. Rio Futaba took a deep breath and regained her cool demeanor. She sat down in her chair, put down her fan, and leaned back, as if calming her mind.

"Xianming, why haven't you come to school these days?"

“I’ve heard rumors that the school is going to expel you, but that’s not like you at all.”

"And you actually gave up the basketball you love."

Rio Futaba's expression was very complicated. She had a kind of longing for Kenmei Isayama that she shouldn't have as a friend.

Unlike her, who was always holed up in this cramped laboratory, Kenmei Isayama seemed to be shining brightly.

He has a great personality, is very considerate, and is not only handsome and academically gifted, but also incredibly athletic. Every time Kenmei Isayama represents Aoyama Academy in a competition, their basketball team always wins, and they are consistently ranked among the top ten strongest basketball teams in Japan by magazines.

On Rio Futaba's bedroom desk are photos of her, Kenmei Isayama, and "a certain insect," with the boy in the middle holding a huge trophy and smiling broadly.

But after Kenmei's sister died, everything changed. He stopped loving to study, and he began to skip his beloved basketball training. Eventually, even Rio Futaba couldn't find him at school.

Even after waiting until late at night, no lights were ever turned on in Xianming's house.

Having finally arrived at school, he seemed a little unfamiliar to Rio Futaba.

His youthful face hardened, and he became stronger. Yes, Xianming probably looked more reliable than before.

But there was one thing that made Rio Futaba very sad.

His eyes had lost their light, replaced by a weariness that shouldn't be present in a boy his age.

Experience is the best way to change a person. The death of his sister, with whom he depended on each other, and the two simulations of Warhammer Simulator, may have made Kenmei Isayama himself realize that he is getting further and further away from the simple person he used to be.

Rio Futaba watched the entire basketball game. He took every basket for granted, feeling no joy whatsoever. Like a ruthless scoring machine, he dribbled past opponents, dunked, and posterized them time and time again.

Unlike the young girls who were attracted to Kenmei Isayama's "mature" demeanor, Rio Futaba only felt heartache and even had an urge to hug him.

"Futaba..."

As the girl slowly leaned closer, Kenmei Isayama could smell the sweet fragrance emanating from Futaba.

"Talking about sad or bad things can make you feel better."

The girl's hand gently stroked his face; Rio Futaba was very careful not to hurt Kenmei.

"When you encounter difficulties, you should occasionally rely on us, your friends, instead of bearing it all alone."

"Friends are those you can rely on when you're in trouble."

But at this moment

"Xianming, Shuangye, thank me!"

With a smug look on his face, Sakuta Azusagawa slammed open the door to the science classroom, walked in without even glancing inside, and shouted loudly at the two people inside.

"I bought some popsicles from the convenience store and came back."

But when Sakuta Azusagawa walked in and saw his friends doing their own things as usual, his mind went blank and the plastic bag in his hand fell to the ground.

God, what have I seen?

Futaba, she... she almost leaned into her best friend's arms.

The sudden appearance of this third party startled Rio Futaba, whose eyes had been red just moments before. Now, not only were her eyes red, but her fair face was instantly covered in a crimson blush.

Rio Futaba, whose CPU was overloaded, even had steam rising from her head. She then, with lightning speed...

After standing up, she grabbed the white coat from the chair, covered her face without saying a word, made an embarrassed "woo-woo" sound, and rushed out.

Before leaving, Rio Futaba couldn't help but glance at Sakuta Azusagawa, the murderous intent in her eyes instantly making the guy, who felt guilty for ruining the atmosphere, feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

"Xianming, did you see the look in Shuangye's eyes just now?"

Sakuta's tone was strained, and his trembling finger pointed in the direction Futaba had left.

"She really wanted to kill me..."

"Good luck, and may you find the best of luck."

Isayama Kenmei, with an equally complex expression, got up from the ground without saying a word. As he passed by, he patted Isayama on the shoulder and said...

"Oh, and don't forget to lock the door."

"Futaba just messaged me; she went home today."

After saying that, Kenmei Isayama walked out without paying any attention to Sakuta behind him.

"Wait a minute, Xianming."

After Kenmei Isayama had walked a distance, a mournful sound came from afar behind him.

"At least... at least take one popsicle with you, otherwise eating three in a row will definitely land me in the hospital!!!"

"This idiot."

Kenmei Isayama shook his head helplessly, looking outside at the approaching dusk and the crimson sunset, and let out a long sigh.

"Beep...beep...beep..."

The sharp ringtone broke Kenmei Isayama's thoughts. He picked up his phone and saw that the contact was "Mr. Akutagawa," so he immediately answered the call.

"Xiao Ming, we have an operation tonight."

Soon, a calm voice came from the phone; Kenmei Isayama replied.

"I understand, Mr. Akutagawa."

After a soft "hmm," Kenmei Isayama hung up the phone. Their conversation ended in just three sentences, without any further pleasantries.

"Is there work coming in... Perfect timing."

Kenmei Isayama put his phone back in his pants pocket and muttered to himself.

"I hope this 'job' will give me more points."

Kenmei Isayama clearly knew

Only by becoming stronger can he have a future.

The current Kenmei Isayama cannot make promises to anyone, nor can he take responsibility for the future of others.

"Futaba..."

Kenmei Isayama touched the spot on his face where the girl had just touched him, and disappeared down the corridor.

As he walked, the low-level cursed spirits with terrifying appearances, Wuhuo, were relentlessly burned by the spiritual fire beside Isayama Kenmei.

His mind was in turmoil.

Chapter 15 Scavenger

"Woo~ woo"

The sirens of fire trucks and police cars blared through the night sky, and a thick plume of black smoke rose straight up from Tokyo's bustling night market—a highly unusual occurrence.

"what happened?"

People on the roadside watched as special vehicles with sirens blaring and flashing red and white lights roared past one after another, and they discussed it among themselves.

"It's probably another underground natural gas pipeline explosion somewhere..."

"Screeching, crackling (radio noise)..."

"From the Ministry of Defense's Supernatural Countermeasures Headquarters Command Center to the First Special Tactical Operations Unit."

"The target is heading south along Metropolitan Expressway 5, moving at top speed in Kita-Ikebukuro."

"Received, Special Operations Section 1 Mobile Squadron."

"Close all highway entrances in the area and direct all vehicles on this section of road to leave."

"Issue control orders and information coordination orders to all news organizations, with the content being wartime control and first combat preparation."

“Very professional.”