Opening the door to the darkened room of the Robot Research Club, Tatsuya was greeted by lights turning on iire room and a home helper android in the form of a cute girl with bob-cut brown hair in a maid’s outfit.

  “Wele home.”

  A small chuckle escaped his lips as he looked at the home helper android. Having such a cute maid that would wele them home with such a cute, albeit still a bit ft and meical, void help them around with ing and tasks seemed to be the dream members of the Robot Research Club strive to aplish.

  “Css 1-E, Shiba Tatsuya.”

  Upoifying himself, the cute android maid lowered her head into a bow and replied.

  “Authentication plete.”

  Tatsuya stepped inside and closed the door, walking past the android maid.

  “Pixie, standby in suspended mode.”

  “Very well.”

  In respoo his order, the android maid sat down on a chair which had been pced specifically for her by the door, a into suspended mode.

  The rge gss sphere, as well as several other equipment attached to it that were used in the experiments by Suzune, Kei, and Koharu for the Thesis petition, ced at the ter of the room. It was attached te metallic box through cables, which was in turn ected to a separate room through another set of cables, where the puters were pced.

  Tatsuya ehe room, took a seat, and began doing his task.

  After a while, Tatsuya began to feel a bit heavy-headed and pihe bridge of his nose as he felt slightly heavy-headed.

  He had been doing a lot of things retly, from helping the Thesis petition team with their researd preparations, to researg and learning about the ability of the Magatama Relic to hold magic activation sequences, and many more.

  Although he was much stronger and durable than a regur mage, he was still human. And perhaps, the fatigue had finally hit him.

  He shutdown the puter and stood up. But at that moment, the world around him suddenly spun as a heavy sense of sleepiness and dizziness hit him all of a sudden.

  Sleeping gas?!

  Tatsuya quickly covered his mouth and nose and held his breath.

  He turned around to leave the room, but the android maid girl named Pixie was already there before him, holding a tray with a gas mask on it.

  “The circution system has malfuned. Please wear a mask.”

  “No need. Pixie, activate the forced ventition system. There’s no danger of fire.”

  “Now activating the forced ventition system.”

  Multiple rge fans on the upper side of the left wall began to activate and spun with moderate speed, ventiting the room from the gas.

  “Pixie, remain in monit mode and log the goings-on ihe room. Also, to prepare for the arrival of rescuers, I’m forbidding you from eliminating them.”

  “Uood.”

  --------------------------------X--------------------------------

  The door of the Robot Research Club room opened, revealing a darkened room with the rge spherical equipment for the Thesis petition and the android maid girl sitting on the chair to the side, inactive.

  A pale, nky man in the school’s uniform entered silently and slowly, trying his best not to make a sound.

  He ehe gss room where the puters were and saw Tatsuya ying his head on the desk.

  “...Shiba? Shiba, are you asleep?”

  He whispered, trying to crify the state of the first year student.

  Then after firming that he was asleep, he took out a regur devid plugged in a cable into the port of the puter.

  But just then, a woman’s voice resounded from the darkness, startling him.

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  The light turned on and the man turned around in a panic. His already pale face turned paler when he saas there.

  “C-Chiyoda?!”

  Chiyoda Kanon stood by the door with her arms crossed, apanied by the android girl beside her.

  Seeing who it was, Kanon shook her head in disappoi.

  “Who would’ve thought you were an academidustrial spy, Sekimoto Isao-senpai?”

  “Y-You’re out of line, Chiyoda! I was only making a backup! That’s all!!!”

  Sekimoto Isao raised his voi rebuttal. But Kanon was having none of it.

  “Bag up with a hag tool? Not likely, is it… Shiba-kun?”

  His eyes widened and turned bastinctively. And there he saw Tatsuya, who was supposed to be asleep from the gas he administered into the room, standing up with a slight smile.

  “I-Impossible! T-The gas didn’t work?!”

  “Sekimoto Isao. Remove that CAD and pce it on the floor.”

  Kanon raised her left hand, revealing a red bracelet-shaped CAD, and pced a finger on one of the buttons, ready to cast a spell as she ordered the nky, pale senior.

  “N-Ngggh…! C-Chiyoda!”

  Isao stretched his hands forward in an attempt to strike first. But before he could do anything, a bright green activation circle appeared under his feet and traveled up. And in an instant, he felt a great sense of nausea and headache, ao the ground unscious.

  “Calling out your enemy’s name… How pointless. You try too hard to be cool, Sekimoto-san.”

  --------------------------------X--------------------------------

  With Mayumi’s ht stay set in stohanks to Aika and Erika’s persuasion, the four rexed together in the living room after dinner.

  Freshly brewed jasmiea served iiful, artistic ceramic cups and pot apaheir rexation along with a rom-ovie shown on the massive s before them.

  Mayumi sat silently, engrossed in the movie, while Aika id her head zily on Yuuji’s shoulder, only semi-paying attention. Erika, who was never ied in the movie’s genre and cept, was already ign it pletely and ying with her phone while she zily rested her head on Yuuji’s other shoulder.

  Yuuji shared Erika’s disi, but he wasn’t as voided of any i at the movie. And since Mayumi seemed to like it, he tried his best to see the appeal in the movie and paid attention.

  Just then, the melodi of Yuuji’s smartphone resounded, snapping everyone’s attention from the movie, or phone in Erika’s case.

  Aika and Erika stopped leaning on Yuuji’s shoulder and sat up right as he reached out to his phone oable and looked at the name dispyed on the s.

  “Ah, it’s Tastuya. I’ll be back.”

  “Uhurn soon~”

  “Sure.”

  “Oh?”

  Mayumi looked at Yuuji curiously as he walked away to take the call.

  “I knew Yuuji-kun and Tatsuya-kun were close, but I didn’t expect them to call each other this te into the night…”

  “Fufufu~ It’s just the usual~ Yuuji and Tatsuya often talk with each other about secret stuff~”

  “Mm… Well, sidering they’re both w closely together in FLT, I see why they would be this close…”

  “They sure are. If I didn’t know aer, I would’ve thought they’re brothers or something.”

  “Oh~! That might be true~! They’re brother-in-arms~!”

  “Brother-in-arms…”

  Yuuji opehe rge sliding gss door, stepped out, closed it behind him, and walked towards the edge of the swimming pool.

  The night wind blew softly, bringing with it the chill that would e along with autumn. But, it was nothing to Yuuji’s divine physique and he calmly took the call and pced his smartphone beside his right ear.

  “Hey, Tatsuya. What’s up?”

  “Yuuji. I’m sorry for b you at such a time.”

  “No problem. What’s wrong?”

  “Sekimoto Isao-senpai has been apprehehis afternoon as an academic spy suspect.”

  Silence fell for a few moments as Yuuji recalled the “event” in the ahat would be happening right around this time.

  His rexed smile immediately turned into a worried and solemn expression.

  “...Are you okay? Did he use poison gas instead ur sleeping gas?”

  “I am fine. He used regur sleeping gas. Though, I’m ashamed to say I was caught off guard because I’ve fotten about this event. My mind was still preoccupied with the i reted to the relic.”

  “I see… That’s good. Don’t worry. As long as you’re okay, thehing will be fine. Have you asked for Kyoko-nee’s help?”

  “I just did.”

  “Alright… Well, I guess I’ll tell Mayumi and the others about this as well. I think Mayumi, in particur, would like to know the details before she was hit by the omorrow.”

  “I’ll leave that to you. Then, that will be it. Good night, Yuuji.”

  “Good night. Rest well, Tatsuya.”

  Yuuji slowly brought down his phoer Tatsuya hung up and quickly made his way baside.

  Onside, Mayumi, Aika, and Erika turo him and their expression turned into that of fusiht away.

  “Hm? What’s wrong, Yuuji?”

  “Yuuji?”

  “Yuuji-kun…?”

  He let out a sigh, direg his gaze towards Mayumi. Then, with a tired smile, he revealed.

  “Sekimoto Isao-senpai attempted to steal our data for the Thesis petition… He has been apprehended by Tatsuya and Chiyoda Kanon-senpai.”

  “...What?”

  --------------------------------X--------------------------------

  The dark, starless, night sky stretched far beyond the horizon, casting its shadow onto the brightly lit atown of Yokohama.

  The bright lights of civilization, erce, eai, and liveliness of course couldn’t reach every nook and y of this rge part of the city. And in a dark, unlit, abaructure, a group of people have set its roots deep in the underground level of the long unused office building.

  In a room filled with puters, servers, eleiunication devices, and various other teologies used in cyber warfare, digital unication, and data analysis, Xiang Shan, captain of the Great Asian Union’s special ops, sat behind his desk, where a bunch of dots and papers were scattered about.

  On the opposite side of the table, the maing tiger, Lu Gang Hu, stood at attention with his hands behind his back.

  Upon receiving the most ret news regarding his… iive tools, Xiang Shen had called the S-ranked fighter and captain for a new order.

  “The situation has ged… Sekimoto Isao has failed his mission and has been taken into custody. He’s being held in the Hachioji Detentioer. Dispose of him.”

  “Yes.”

  With just a single word from the man before him, khat he would aplish his order without a doubt.

  Lu Gang Hu was one of the top ten close bat specialists in the world, an S-ranked individual from the Great Asian Union Special Operations team, the sharpest bde he currently has in his hand to cut down his enemies.

  Failure wasn’t even on his mind when he chose to assign this mission to him.

  That is… until they experienced an unforeseeable event in the ret past.

  “...Be careful of the man in bck. If he’s aware of the circumstances around the First High School, then he might predict your appearan the detentioer just like he did in that alleyway. Dispose of him if possible. If not, retreat as soon as you dispose of Sekimoto Isao.”

  “...Yes.”

  Lu Gang Hu answered in a graver tone. His teeth ched, and behind him, he also ched his fist tightly.

  He shall repay the humiliati ten fold and bring the man in bck dowh his foot.

  --------------------------------X--------------------------------

  October 24, 2095. First High School Disciplinary ittee HQ.

  Yuuji and Tatsuya stood before Chiyoda Kanon, chief of the Thesis petition’s security team, as she sat behind her desk. She rested her elbows on top of the table and crossed her fiogether, c her lips.

  “No.”

  “...Please tell me the reason why.”

  “No means no…”

  “Again, why not? Applications to visit the detentioer are made through the chairman of either the Disciplinary ittee or the Student cil but the ultimate decision lies with the school. Bei aag for no reaso sit well with me at all.”

  Tatsuya argued to the dark purple-haired sed year senior. He had expected her refusal, si happened as well in the anime, but he still o try a permission to visit the detentioer, where he knew Lu Gang Hu would e to get rid of Sekimoto Isao.

  “...Because it will be a hassle.”

  “What makes you say that-”

  “Then you say with certainty that nothing will happen?! You don’t seem to be aware of this, so I’m going to y it down on you so it be obvious! Shiba-kun, Yuuji-kun, trouble loves you! No, they actually gravitate towards you! I know the two of you might have the ability to ha, but paperwork would still e to me! So don’t give me extra work when I’m already so sed!”

  “...”

  Kanon smmed the table in a burst of e from the accumuted stress she had been going through the st few days with the Thesis petition.

  But then, Mari, who had been standing around the room to hear what Yuuji and Tatsuya had to say, interjected and tried to calm the agitated girl.

  “Now now, let’s calm down a bit. It just so happens that Mayumi and I are going to che Sekimoto tomorrow. There wouldn’t be any problem if they were to apany us, right?”

  Kanon looked at the chairwoman of the Disciplinary ittee for a moment before the gears in her mind turned quickly, processing and sidering her suggestion.

  “...Well, if they’re going to be with you two.”

  “You don’t have any objes either right, Tatsuya, Yuuji?”

  Tatsuya nodded with a slight smile while Yuuji gave his agreement in a more verbal manner.

  “Of course. Thank you very much, Mari-senpai, Chiyoda-senpai. We will do our best to live up to your expectations and… not cause any trouble.”

  He then tinued.

  “In truth, I have also sulted this matter with the president. Right after Tatsuya told me about the i yesterday, I tacted Mayumi-senpai and told her about it. I’ve also received her permission to e along with her visit to the detentioer, and I came here to get yours. I’m sorry for troubling you, Chiyoda-senpai.”

  Kanon didn’t expect the first year boy, popur and skilled as he was, to be this close with the student cil president. She also sensed something amiss regarding the retionship between the rookie NSC ad the president from the way he referred to the president. But, as she failed to put her finger on it, she decided to just ig and push it out of her mind, which was currently full of other stuff reted to the Thesis petition, and replied tiredly.

  “Hah… Is that so…? Well, just please don’t cause any trouble for the chairwoman, the president, and me.”

  “Of course. Then, please excuse us.”

  Yuuji and Tatsuya lowered their heads and excused themselves before exiting the Disciplinary ittee HQ.

  They shared a moment of silence as their feet tio take them away from the room they were previously in.

  And after a while, Tatsuya broke it with a hushed whisper.

  “Lu Gong Hu will definitely be there to get rid of Sekimoto Isao-senpai. We should be prepared for battle.”

  Yuuji nodded and replied with a simir hushed tone.

  “Ah. We o protect Mari-senpai and Mayumi as well. But… If possible, I don’t want to fight him in a melee. We’ve fought once before, and I’m sure he’ll notice the resembnd find out I was the one who saved that illegal and injured him st time. I don’t want to paint a massive red target on my back, on Aika, on Erika, and on Mayumi.”

  Tatsuya nodded and turned his head ever so slightly towards Yuuji to g him.

  “Don’t worry. He won’t reach us. If it gets dangerous though…”

  “Yes. I won’t hesitate to use Gravity too. Mayumi already knows about it. As for Mari-senpai… Well, I hope I still give her a somewhat believable excuse.”

  “It’ll be a st resort. And if it es to it, I will help.”

  “Mm.”

  VergsX