CHAPTER 87: CHAPTER 8

Retsu settled back into her pristine chair behind the large, clean desk in the nurse’s office, letting out a measured sigh of relief.

The immediate threat was neutralized, and the evidence(body) of her intervention discreetly hidden in a sealed storage unit in the infirmary’s seldom-used basement.

Now came the administrative cleanup.

She needed to inform her superior—her grandfather—of the successful mission and hand off the more tedious task of body disposal.

She took out her sleek, non-descript phone and dialed a secure number.

It rang precisely three times before a deep, gravelly voice answered.

"Grandfather," Retsu greeted him, her voice immediately switching to a tone of polite, professional respect, utterly devoid of the warmth she occasionally reserved for Seijirou.

"Retsu," her grandfather replied. "About the mission. Has the source of the anomaly been dealt with?"

"Yes," Retsu confirmed. "I have already taken care of that little virus, and the localized psychic disturbance has ceased. However, I need assistance in dealing with the host it had chosen. I got... a little carried away, and his body is frankly wrecked beyond any conventional recognition. I require a discreet cleanup team to handle the disposal and the resulting paperwork."

Her grandfather’s voice remained calm. "Understood. I will dispatch the necessary personnel immediately. They will make it look like a runaway accident."

Retsu smiled, "Thank you, grandfather."

"Hmm." Her grandfather hummed, "Now... tell me about Kageyama Seijirou. Is he truly just an ordinary person?"

Retsu leaned forward, her elbows on the desk, her expression softening infinitesimally.

"Yes, Grandfather. I checked his body thoroughly—there are no signs of Karyoku or Ki latent within him. He is just a complete, unexplainable anomaly, a fluctuation of pure human potential without any trace of the spiritual or arcane. And that," she finished, her voice dropping to a seductive purr, "is precisely what I love about him."

Her grandfather wisely chose to ignore the final sentence.

"I see. A complete anomaly." Her grandfather sighed, before his voice grew serious. "Listen Retsu...people like him shouldn’t exist. They are a flaw in the fundamental design of the world. His very existence distorts the nature of this reality and generates unnecessary chaos. He must be completely removed."

The warmth vanished from Retsu’s face instantly. Her eyes turned cold, flat, and completely emotionless, mirroring the psychotic calm she had shown Shisou.

Her voice dropped, now carrying a lethal, undeniable threat.

"Grandfather," she said, each syllable precise and chilling, "if something happens to Seijirou, and I find out you had anything—anything at all—to do with it, even if we are family, I will not hesitate to nail you on a cross and bleed you dry. Do we understand each other?"

No, she won’t kill her grandfather. She will make sure he regrets every second of his remaining days if he ever lay his hand on Seijirou.

Dying will be mercy once she’s done with him.

Her grandfather went silent for a moment, the silence crackling with tension. Then, a long, weary sigh was heard over the line.

"Whatever, whatever," he conceded, backing down completely. "I am not interested in the hormonal relationships of you young people. I just want to enjoy my retirement soon, once you finally take over the family business."

Retsu’s coldness instantly vanished, replaced by her gentle, sweet-faced nurse persona.

"Thank you, Grandfather," she said, her voice genuinely warm. "You won’t regret it."

She then asked, "When will you have time to meet Seijirou? I promised him that I would introduce you to him properly. I guess he wanted to learn about ki and stuff."

"Anytime is fine," he replied quickly. He then paused, his tone becoming genuinely curious. "Retsu... are you absolutely sure that this Seijirou is the one you want to be with? Permanently?"

"Yes," Retsu replied, with absolute, unwavering certainty.

"I had my people investigate him, you know," her grandfather admitted, testing her reaction.

"Investigated him?!" Retsu snapped, the heat immediately returning to her voice. "You didn’t do anything malicious to Seijirou, did you? If so, I swear to you—"

"Calm down," her grandfather interrupted smoothly. "I just wanted to see what was so special about him that my own granddaughter, heir to our entire organization, would disregard family affection and tradition for a mere boy."

Retsu took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, relaxing the muscles in her neck.

Her grandfather continued with a dry assessment. "The reports are not flattering, Retsu. This Kageyama Seijirou is completely unreliable. He has been with many women, has ruined many lives, and is, by all accounts, a complete scumbag."

"Yes, I groomed him that way."

"You WHAT!?"

Retsu remained calm. After all, it’s the truth. She wanted to corrupt that innocent boy that stirred her heart, and she had succeeded, and they both are completely depraved, just like she wanted.

Her grandfather went silent for a few moments, before continuing. "Well, I can’t say anything to his wickedness, as my granddaughter is a complete sociopath, but I can’t understand why you, who is completely possessive, allows him to be with other women."

Retsu smiled, a slow, predatory expression blooming on her face, utterly unmoved by the damning critique, after all, she herself had long since accepted that she is a complete, depraved, sociopath.

"Grandfather, if you have the most beautiful, expensive diamond jewelry in the world, you obviously want to show it off to everyone, right?" She chuckled.

She then took out an acupuncture needle and began twirling it between her fingers,, "Even if other people touch it, even if other people borrow it for a while, it wouldn’t change the fact that the jewelry fundamentally belongs to you."

Her grandfather remained silent, already anticipating her conclusion.

Retsu finished her thought, her eyes gleaming with manic possessiveness. "It is the same thing with Seijirou. Even if there are countless women flocking around him, sleeping with him, being used by him, it doesn’t change the fundamental fact that he belongs to me. And no matter how far away he may stray or how many detours he takes, sooner or later, he will come crawling back, and I will make sure of it. In this life, Kageyama Seijirou can only belong to me."

"...I pity that boy."

Retsu simply grinned. Pity? No. You should rejoice for him. Is there any girl more generous than her? She’s letting her man have more woman!

*

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*

The abandoned storage house, situated at the back of the school grounds, was transformed into a sanctuary of laughter and shared secrets.

Suzune, Yukina, Emi, and Touka were gathered inside, their lunch boxes open, the serious atmosphere of the morning classes completely forgotten.

They were laughing heartily, trading jokes and gossip. Even Touka, though shy, offered tentative smiles as she listened to the banter of the three popular girls.

Emi, as usual, maintained a calm, almost empty façade, contributing minimal emotion to the conversation.

However, just as she was picking up a piece of rice, her phone vibrated with an incoming message.

She glanced down, and her mouth twisted into a subtle but definite grimace.

The message was from a certain someone she had successfully managed to erase from her daily thoughts—the boy who had humiliated her years ago.

She quickly blocked the account, her fingers moving in annoyance, but the message had already soured her mood.

She placed her phone down with a barely perceptible sigh of frustration.

Suzune, who possessed an acute sensitivity to the emotional states of those closest to her, immediately noticed the subtle shift.

"Emi, what’s wrong?" Suzune asked gently, setting aside her chopsticks. "You seem to be in a bad mood all of a sudden."

Yukina and Touka immediately turned their attention to Emi, curious.

Yukina struggled to see the change—Emi always looked so emotionless—but since Suzune had called it out, it must be true.

Emi shook her head dismissively. "It’s nothing. Just... that scumbag texted me again. Asking about me, asking to meet up."

"Scumbag?" Suzune blinked, recognizing the specific, venomous tone Emi used for this one person. "Oh, is that..."

Emi nodded.

Yukina’s purple eyes immediately ignited with a fierce, protective anger.

She slammed her hand down on the makeshift table. "That thing who asked you out on a date only to not show up? And even made bets on how long you can wait?"

Touka turned to Emi in shock, her own shy heart reeling.

Emi is obviously very beautiful, she thought. Someone actually stood her up? More than that, even made fun of her for waiting?

Touka, despite her isolation, had heard the reputation of the three gyarus.

She knew if the legion of simps who worshipped Emi like a goddess ever heard this story, they would likely hunt down that guy with ruthless efficiency.

Emi nodded, confirming the memory, but then shook her head, trying to downplay the incident. "Yes, him. But there’s no need to get worked up about it. I already blocked the account. It’s just starting to get annoying because he’ll just create another account to bother me a few days later."

"That’s dangerous, Emi," Suzune said, her brow furrowing with genuine concern. "That’s obsessive behavior. You should report it to the police."

Yukina waved her hand, dismissing the legal route. "Don’t bother with the police, Suzu-chan. That’s slow and messy. She should just ask Seijirou to beat the guy up until he forget how to type. Problem solved. Quick and clean."

Right on time, as if summoned by the mention of his name and the hint of violence, the door of the storage house opened and Seijirou walked in, looking relaxed and confident.

His eyes widened momentarily at the sight of the familiar faces. "Well, look who decided to grace us with their presence," he chuckled, setting his backpack down.

He looked pointedly at Yukina and Emi. "So, the community service stint is finally over?"

"Seijirou!" Yukina cried out, abandoning her lunch.

She immediately threw herself at Seijirou, wrapping her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.

Then, much to Touka’s silent, profound shock, Yukina planted a long, passionate kiss right on his mouth.

She pulled back, her purple eyes sparkling. "I missed you so much, Seijirou-kun!"

Eh? Eh? Eeehhh? Touka’s mind spun wildly, completely failing to process the sight. Wasn’t Seijirou-kun and Suzune-chan together? Why is Yukina-chan kissing him? Why is Suzune-chan acting like she didn’t even see it?

The relationship dynamics among the group now felt like utterly incomprehensible to her.

Of course, she didn’t dare voice her questions aloud, knowing nothing of the deep, twisted intricacies of their bond.

Yukina then pulled back from Seijirou, her smile fading as she remembered the topic of conversation.

She turned serious. "Seijirou-kun, we need your help. Emi is in trouble with some obsessive scumbag."

Seijirou’s playful expression vanished instantly.

He narrowed his eyes, his face becoming sharp and serious, already moving from romantic interest to tactical asset.

"Trouble?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous. "Tell me everything."