At this moment, Kaiser still didn't know that the troublesome individual Minamiya Natsuki had mentioned earlier had already quietly arrived at Itogami Island.
However, even if he knew, he probably wouldn't have done anything in particular. At the moment, he had no intention of actively engaging with those people, even though he had already anticipated that contact with them was only a matter of time.
Since he had decided to take it easy during this visit to the fantasy world, Kaiser naturally wouldn't keep his nerves tense. Instead, he was eager to enjoy himself, to be entertained.
So, when the luxury cruise ship named Grave of the Deep Sea arrived at Itogami Island's port, he had just gone to sleep, ending his night of staying up late.
Yes, Kaiser had stayed up late last night.
After having dinner at the Akatsuki residence, Kaiser returned home, locked himself in the computer room, and played games the whole night.
It wasn't until dawn was nearly breaking that Kaiser finally returned to his bedroom, lay on the bed, and fell fast asleep.
As a result, he hadn't slept long when the doorbell rang.
"Is it already morning?"
Kaiser sat up from the bed, looked at the dim sky outside the window, and felt like he had only taken a fake nap.
"Didn't I just lie down?"
Scratching his slightly messy hair, Kaiser eventually got up, went to the entrance, and opened the door.
"Good morning! Kai-kun!"
Outside the door, Akatsuki Nagisa cheerfully greeted Kaiser with a bright smile on her face, holding a bag of breakfast in her hand.
"Morning, Nagisa."
In contrast to the energetic Nagisa, Kaiser replied weakly, which made Nagisa widen her eyes slightly.
"Why do you look so tired, Kai-kun?" Nagisa exclaimed in surprise, then seemed to think of something, puffed out her cheeks, and said, "You didn't stay up late last night, did you? Let me see your face!"
Nagisa grabbed Kaiser's hand, staring at him with her round eyes as if trying to find dark circles under his eyelids.
But just as the girl leaned in, her forehead got flicked.
"Don't get so close all of a sudden. If Kojou sees this, it'll be endless trouble again."
Kaiser said grumpily, making the forehead-rubbing Nagisa look displeased.
"Kojou-kun's not even up yet. Seriously, I have to wake him up every day. Even when I do, he doesn't want to get up. If he's late and gets scolded by Teacher Minamiya, I'm not helping him," Nagisa nagged like a worried mother, then earnestly said to Kaiser, "Kai-kun, you mustn't be like Kojou-kun. Staying up late is bad for your mental and physical health. My mom often stays up late, and just the other day she was complaining that her skin condition dropped several levels..."
Seeing that the girl was about to go on and on, Kaiser resisted the urge to yawn and quickly interrupted her.
"Come in first, Nagisa. Don't just stand at the door. Give me a moment."
With that, Kaiser welcomed Nagisa into the living room, then went alone to wash up.
"I'm going to check on the cats, Kai-kun. I put the breakfast on the table—don't forget to eat it!" Nagisa's voice came from behind. "Oh right, can I turn on the TV to check the news? I mainly want to see the weather forecast. I don't want to get soaked again like yesterday when it suddenly rained."
"Go ahead," Kaiser's voice came from the washroom. "Do whatever you want, no need to ask for my opinion."
Upon hearing that, Nagisa first set down the breakfast, then ran to the cat room to look at the cats.
By the time Kaiser finished washing up, changed into his uniform, and walked out of the bedroom, Nagisa was sitting on the sofa, holding a drowsy cat in her arms and watching the news attentively.
Kaiser was just about to speak but was instead drawn in by the news content.
"Yesterday, a monk from the Western European Church suddenly launched a terrorist attack on the Keystone Gate. Despite interference from the Special Zone Security Force, he broke through multiple defenses and reached the lowest level of the Keystone Gate, nearly causing irreversible damage."
"According to the investigation, the monk is a magical arms exorcist—a high-ranking clergyman and also a Purger. Tasked with exterminating demons, he is the natural enemy of demon-kind and revered as a hero by believers of the Western European Church."
"Currently, the reason for the attack on the Keystone Gate is still under investigation..."
Upon hearing this news, Kaiser raised an eyebrow slightly.
"A terrorist attack?"
His muttering was overheard by Nagisa, who was attentively watching the news.
"To think something so serious happened just yesterday, it's hard to believe," Nagisa said with lingering fear. "And the target was the Keystone Gate. If the attack had succeeded, wouldn't we all be in danger?"
The so-called Keystone Gate refers to the massive structure at the center of Itogami Island, built at the junction of the four gigantic floating structures that form the artificial island. It serves as the foundation of the entire island.
This structure is the tallest building on the island, shaped like an inverted pyramid. Inside are government offices, hotels, and commercial facilities, making it the top fashion hub of the entire island.
The Keystone Gate has twelve above-ground levels and forty underground levels.
The forty underground levels extend deep into the seabed and house the island's management facilities. With a diameter of less than two kilometers, this building serves as the connecting point, linking the four floating structures of Itogami Island into one unit.
Distortions, vibrations, and swaying of Itogami Island caused by ocean currents or wind are all absorbed and buffered by the Keystone Gate. Without its functioning, the island's four districts would collide and disintegrate.
Thus, the Keystone Gate is not only the symbolic structure of Itogami Island and the landmark of Itogami City, but also the foundational core of the artificial island. Any problem with it could lead to the entire island disintegrating.
Thanks to this, the Keystone Gate is highly prioritized by the Artificial Island Management Corporation and is a heavily guarded facility. Around 150 security personnel are stationed there at all times, each equipped with the latest weapons, capable of fending off even powerful vampires.
However, according to the news, the terrorist from the Western European Church broke through the security line and reached the bottom level of the Keystone Gate, 220 meters below sea level, touching the very foundation of the artificial island.
If he had done anything to the foundation, Itogami Island could have been destroyed.
Under such circumstances, it was no wonder that Nagisa had such a lingering sense of fear.
"Magical arms exorcist from the Western European Church..."
Kaiser murmured.
He vaguely remembered that there was indeed such a person in the original work—a villain who appeared at the beginning of the plot and was eventually defeated by Kojou Akatsuki, becoming the stepping stone for Kojou to awaken his first Familiar.
Unfortunately, unlike Kojou, Kaiser wasn't so warm-hearted and hadn't encountered the person. Naturally, he didn't get involved in this event or act as the shadow hero who saved Itogami Island.
"So what if he's just a foreign terrorist? Even without the protagonist stepping forward to fight him to the death, he still couldn't accomplish anything!"
A place as important as the Keystone Gate—how could it possibly be infiltrated by just a mere terrorist?
Even if he did get in, how could damage be done so easily?
If a Progenitor-level vampire had shown up, that would be a different matter. But some so-called clergyman who popped out from who knows where? Did he really think Itogami Island was some easy target?
The original even dramatized it like if the protagonist didn't step in, Itogami Island would've been doomed. But the truth proved that even without the protagonist, Itogami Island wasn't a place that any random nobody could mess with.
"Ah, Kai-kun, look!" Nagisa suddenly exclaimed and pointed at a photo on the TV. "Isn't that your and Kojou-kun's homeroom teacher, that super cute Teacher Minamiya?"
Kaiser was immediately drawn by Nagisa's words. He turned his head and the corner of his mouth twitched.
According to the news report, the person who stopped the Purger last night in the bottom layer of the Keystone Gate was none other than Minamiya Natsuki—guidance officer of the Special Zone Security Force, English teacher at Saikai Private Academy's high school division, and a national Attack Mage Officer.
"Well then, so it was you who stole the protagonist's spotlight, Natsuki-chan."
Kaiser made a sarcastic remark but felt it was quite reasonable.
Minamiya Natsuki was the national Attack Mage Officer known as the "Witch of the Void," also nicknamed the "Demon Slayer," who had once made demons throughout Europe tremble, having resolved countless magical crime cases.
With her stationed on Itogami Island, one might not say the crime rate was low, but no one would believe they could cause trouble here while bypassing her.
Since becoming an Attack Mage Officer, Minamiya Natsuki had arrested countless criminals. Because of this, she held a very special status. How could an average terrorist run rampant right under her nose?
Moreover, this legal loli wielded extremely high-level, high-difficulty space control magic, able to appear at any corner of Itogami Island in an instant and come and go freely. Forget being 220 meters below sea level—even if the intruder had gone ten times deeper, they couldn't escape the pursuit of the "Witch of the Void."
"You're working so hard, it makes me look like a total slacker of the Lion King Organization..."
Kaiser mumbled a few words, but didn't really feel much about it.
To be honest, he really had no interest in these so-called incidents.
As long as it didn't involve him or the people around him, he couldn't care less.
He honestly didn't believe that without the Fourth Progenitor or a special agent sent by the Lion King Organization, Itogami Island would collapse in the face of all the incidents from the original story.
You had to know, this artificial island wasn't simple either. Like Minamiya Natsuki, it had a very special background and secrets.
If a real crisis appeared, he believed those hiding in the shadows would come out and resolve everything.
And even in the unlikely case that something really did go wrong, Kaiser could calmly fix it all.
In conclusion...
"I'll just keep slacking off."
As for how long this mindset could last, that would depend... on whether certain people behaved themselves.