"Kitahara-kun, are you prepared to come face-to-face with a deity?"
Shimizu Rin raised her eyes, her expression impassive.
"A deity?"
Kitahara stood with his hands in his pockets, his expression calm.
"By all means, let me see it."
Shimizu Rin's tone was as cold as ever.
"Excessive confidence turns into arrogance; do not compare mere ants to the Lord Deity."
Arrogance?
It was nothing but pure confidence.
Kitahara recalled an ability he had never used before:
[Ability: Are Kings and Nobles Born with Superior Blood?]
[Category: Active]
[Description: You may select a target to instantly elevate your own level of existence to match theirs. Note: If the target's level of existence is too high, your life force will burn out completely once the evolution ends.]
[Remark: Even a deity cannot look down on me!]
So what if it's a deity?
Even if it were truly a legendary deity, he was no helpless ant to be crushed at will.
"Let me see this deity you speak of, Shimizu-san."
Kitahara spoke in a nonchalant tone.
This conversation was only happening thanks to the groundwork laid by the succubus Sakiko over the past while.
In other words, without Sakiko's efforts, Shimizu Rin certainly wouldn't have revealed any information... Naturally, this was an opportunity not to be missed.
"Kitahara-kun, bend down."
Shimizu Rin remained expressionless.
"Huh?"
Kitahara was slightly taken aback but bent down as instructed.
She was likely acting so secretive because she intended to whisper into his ear.
As for the possibility of a surprise attack... Kitahara had no fear of such a weak entity—a mere creature with barely over a hundred HP.
But he soon realized he had been mistaken.
"The Lord's true name carries immense power; it cannot be spoken aloud..."
Shimizu Rin spoke again, her face still devoid of emotion.
"What do you mean?"
Kitahara raised an eyebrow in confusion.
The next second.
Shimizu Rin suddenly stood on her tiptoes and, with an impassive expression, planted a kiss on Kitahara's forehead.
Wait, what?
What was going on? There wasn't a shred of affection between them, so why did the girl with the eye patch lean in to kiss him?
Could it be some sort of curse?
"What are you doing..."
Kitahara quickly stepped back, preparing to check himself for any ill effects, when he suddenly felt a faint, buzzing sound in his mind. Out of nowhere, an obscure whisper—heavy with an ominous aura—surfaced in his thoughts.
Kitahara instinctively recited the words silently in his mind; immediately, an image of a colossal tree—towering from the earth to the heavens—manifested in his consciousness, making humans appear as insignificant as ants before it.
At the same time, a sudden realization dawned on him:
The Tree of the Abyss, Lord of Calamity...
...
Kitahara suddenly understood why the "Book of Answers" had displayed only black blocks and garbled text when he asked about the mastermind behind the scenes.
It was because a deity's true name carries power.
The moment you silently recite that true name, you draw the gaze of Calamity upon yourself.
And that gaze is no ordinary look; the deity's stare itself holds a strange, potent power.
Kitahara could clearly sense a barrage of grotesque images and frenzied ravings flooding his mind. An ordinary person with a weak will would have been driven completely mad in no time.
"This won't do..."
Noticing the frenzied, incoherent whispers in his mind growing increasingly intense, Kitahara furrowed his brows slightly and decisively activated his ability: "Sage Time."
As his soul entered a state of absolute calm, the distracting thoughts and whispers in his mind instantly melted away like snow, and the image of the Tree of Calamity quietly dissipated as well.
"Good news—even a legendary, god-level entity can't breach the abilities granted by the System..."
Kitahara exhaled softly and quietly deactivated "Sage Time."
"You really are special," Shimizu Rin's emotionless voice rang out. "To think you could snap out of it so quickly while under the gaze of God..."
"A god... truly terrifying." Kitahara raised his right hand and rubbed the space between his brows. "Anyway, thank you, Shimizu-san."
The importance of information went without saying.
Thanks to the intelligence Shimizu Rin had provided, the mastermind lurking in the shadows had finally been revealed.
Although the disparity in power seemed despairingly vast at first glance, only by understanding both the enemy and oneself could there be any hope of a desperate fight for survival.
"God is about to descend; when that happens, all sin will be cleansed."
Shimizu Rin remained expressionless as she turned coldly and walked away.
"About to descend... in other words, it hasn't descended yet, right?"
Kitahara frowned and looked out at the sun-drenched sports field, where many people were playing, freely pouring out their sweat and youth.
Even ordinary people basking in the sunlight harbored darkness and sin within their hearts; yet, the world was never simply black and white. Beyond that darkness and sin, the hearts of ordinary people also held kindness and beauty.
If the Lord of Calamity were allowed to descend, the world before his eyes would likely be destroyed in an instant.
"So, how do I deal with that god?"
An even thornier problem lay before Kitahara.
If he didn't want to watch the world be utterly destroyed, he naturally had to eliminate the source of the calamity.
The Lord of Calamity had not yet successfully descended. He recalled a rule he had learned from the "Book of Answers" earlier: the more powerful an entity was, the more difficult it was for it to descend from Otherworld. The reason they were spreading those "Cursed Fruits" was likely to use the flesh, blood, and souls of those who consumed them as sacrifices, thereby accelerating their descent.
"Should I take the initiative and strike before the entity fully descends—either destroying it outright or beating it back to Otherworld?"
"But even if I act first, success isn't guaranteed..."
Kitahara sighed helplessly.
Some philosopher once said that the more humans know, the more they tend to fear and dread things, whereas the ignorant are the happiest; that sentiment was proving true right now.
"At least I have the luxury of trial and error without consequence..."
When in doubt, consult the Book of Answers.
Kitahara had a hunch that now that he knew the Calamity's true name, the Book of Answers would no longer be filled with garbled text.
There was a downside, however: only he could ask the questions. He couldn't enlist the girls to help with the trial-and-error process, because catching sight of the true name in the book would draw the Calamity's gaze—something an ordinary person could not withstand.
He decided to act immediately.
Kitahara snapped his fingers lightly, decisively activated the "Silent Domain," and took out the Book of Answers.
"Question: If I gather all my forces and head to the location where the Lord of Calamity is descending, can I successfully destroy it?"
Flap, flap, flap.
The Book of Answers began flipping its pages rapidly, moving on its own despite the lack of wind.
This time, because Kitahara knew the Lord of Calamity's true name, the book displayed no unreadable gibberish; clearly, his hypothesis had been entirely correct. [You learned the true name of the Lord of Calamity and decided to strike first, notifying the Bureau. Although the Bureau was skeptical of your intelligence, they dispatched several fully armed tactical squads to join you, given your track record.]
[You arrived at the site where the Lord of Calamity was set to descend...]
[One minute later, the tactical squads were completely wiped out...]
[Two minutes later, your life force burned out entirely...]
[Three years later, the Lord of Calamity descended once more, bringing pain and despair to the entire world...]
The Book of Answers revealed a great deal of information this time, yet after reading it, Kitahara fell into a stunned silence.
The Lord of Calamity would descend again in three years; in other words, burning up his life force had ultimately been meaningless.
"Burning up my life force only buys three years. If I did nothing, the Lord of Calamity would likely descend very soon... but just how soon is 'soon'?"
"Once the entity descends, would hiding in the Onsen Dimension be of any use?"
"Even if I could hide in the Onsen Dimension, what about Hitori and the others?"
"..."
Kitahara gazed silently down at the school campus below, a whirlwind of questions churning in his mind.
Humans are inherently social creatures; no one exists in total isolation. Take Hitori, for instance: knowing Tokyo was on the brink of destruction, would simply whisking her away to the Onsen Dimension be enough?
Of course not—far from it.
Hitori's parents, her younger sister Futari, and even the family dog—none of them could be left behind.
Furthermore, Hitori had grandparents in the countryside, along with various other relatives—elders bound by blood. How could one be so cold-hearted as to turn a blind eye and let them meet a miserable end?
Nijika, Ryo, Kita... everyone had loved ones they couldn't bear to part with; it was impossible to simply look out for oneself.
The Onsen Dimension was limited in size and couldn't possibly accommodate so many people. Yet, if one abandoned their family to hide there with the others, survival would come at a terrible cost: the laughter and joy of the past would vanish forever, leaving behind nothing but endless pain and silence. "So, it turns out I really can't run away from this."
Kitahara tilted his head back to look at the sky, gradually sorting out his chaotic thoughts.
Running away wasn't shameful, but it clearly wouldn't solve anything.
"In that case, the only option is to resolve the problem at its source..."
Kitahara took a deep breath, his gaze slowly hardening with determination.
What was his greatest trump card?
It wasn't the "Book of Answers"—which allowed for zero-cost trial and error—but rather the System.
Even if his current methods couldn't solve the problem, that didn't mean his future self couldn't.
If he just kept drawing from the gacha, perhaps one day he'd get a massive stroke of luck, acquire an incredibly powerful ability, and easily defeat the Lord of Calamity.
"Kitahara-kun, come help us move some stuff."
Two male classmates walked over, asking for a hand.
"Coming."
Kitahara composed himself and stepped forward to help.
Meanwhile, in a dimly lit corner...
A girl with long pink hair and an ahoge (cowlick) atop her head had been about to step out, but upon seeing the others call Kitahara away, she hurriedly pulled her foot back.
"Kitahara-kun's expression just now... it looked so heavy..."
The morning flew by; thanks to the concerted efforts of the curious classmates, the haunted house was already taking shape.
Then came the lunch break.
Kitahara went to the clubroom and ate lunch with the others as usual, charging the Pandora's Box while he did so—though with something weighing on his mind, his behavior was inevitably a little different than usual.
"Is something on your mind, Makoto-kun?"
Tomori was the first to notice Kitahara's unusual demeanor; she looked up and asked softly. "It's nothing." Kitahara snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head gently. "You don't need to worry, Tomori."
As she ate, Anon remarked:
"Kitahara-kun is being a lot quieter than usual today."
Kitahara continued his meal at a leisurely pace. "One shouldn't talk while eating or sleeping, after all."
"I can't believe you'd say that." Anon stuck out the tip of her tongue. "When did Kitahara-kun turn into such an old fogey?"
"Exactly." Kita nodded in agreement from the side. "Kitahara-kun usually talks so much... Could it be that he's having 'one of those days'?"
"Huh?"
"I heard boys have 'those days' too." Kita raised a hand to shield her mouth and whispered, "Feeling down, getting irritable easily, loss of appetite... basically just like girls."
Give me a break! Don't listen to the nonsense from those clickbait accounts online; guys don't have 'those days,' okay?
Hitori quietly lifted her face to look at the chattering, gossiping Kita and Anon. She parted her lips, but ultimately stopped herself, swallowing the words that had been on the tip of her tongue.
(Since Kitahara-kun won't say anything... there must be a reason for it, right?)
After lunch...
Kitahara spent a little more time in the onsen with the girls—without teasing anyone this time—and once they finished, they left the club room together to head back to their classrooms and get back to work.
"Hitori-chan, was there something you wanted to say earlier?"
As they walked back to the classroom, Kita suddenly tilted her head and looked at her.
"Ah..."
The ahoge atop Hitori's head twitched nervously.
"Back when we were having lunch at the onsen, it was obvious you wanted to say something, Hitori-chan." Kita looked at her with bright, observant eyes, tapping a finger lightly against her lips. "Was it about Kitahara-kun?"
It's no surprise that Kita is a total social butterfly; beyond her cheerful and enthusiastic personality, her ability to read the room is absolutely top-notch.
Japan is a society that places huge importance on atmosphere; if you can't read the mood, there's no way you can be a popular socialite.
"U-Um..."
Hitori stammered, her guilty conscience written all over her face. "So, it really does have something to do with Kitahara-kun, then." Kita looked over earnestly. "Hitori, do you know why Kitahara-kun is so down today?"
"I... I did see something..."
Hitori hesitated for a couple of seconds before deciding to tell the truth.
For one thing, she didn't want to lie to Kita; for another, she wasn't very good at lying anyway.
"Huh? What did you see, Hitori?" Kita's eyes lit up with anticipation. "Tell me, tell me!"
"Well..." Hitori looked hesitant. "Kitahara-kun wouldn't say; he must have a reason for not wanting to tell everyone..."
"That may be true, but the less he says, the more curious it makes us." Kita put her hands on her hips, her red pigtails swaying gently in the breeze. "You can just tell me, Hitori. I promise I won't let it slip."
Hitori: "..."
(That sounds so familiar... Nijika-chan used to promise the same thing all the time, only to blurt it out the very next moment...)
(But... Kitahara-kun looked so heavy-hearted back then. He didn't want to tell everyone because he didn't want them to worry, right?)
(I really do want to help share the burden with Kitahara-kun...)
"Please, just tell me." Kita instinctively resorted to acting cutesy. "I'm begging you—pretty please?"
Hitori: "..."
A sudden silence fell over them.
Their eyes met.
Embarrassment and shame spread rapidly.
"Ahem, ahem...!"
Kita's pretty face flushed bright red, and she quickly turned her head away, coughing softly:
"I've been reading shoujo manga lately; what I just said was a line from one of them. Yeah, that's it! Don't take it to heart, Hitori!"
That was a lie.
Kita hadn't actually been reading shoujo manga. The reason she had instinctively acted cutesy was simply that she'd been doing it a lot lately... Ever since crossing that final boundary, she couldn't help but act coquettishly whenever she was alone with Kitahara; she had become a total pro at it by now.
"In that case, I'll tell Kita..."
After hesitating for a few seconds, Hitori decided to speak up.
"So, when I went to the restroom this morning, I happened to see Kitahara-kun and Shimizu-san chatting..."
"Huh?" Kita paused for a moment, then lowered her voice. "What were they talking about?"
"I don't know," Hitori shook her head. "They were too far away for me to hear, but... after they finished, Kitahara-kun had this incredibly grim look on his face."
"Everyone usually goes out of their way to avoid Shimizu-san—there's absolutely no interaction between them. For her to suddenly approach Kitahara-kun like that... Could it be that the plan was exposed, and she went over to threaten him?"
Kita rested her chin on her right hand and pushed up the bridge of her nose, adjusting glasses that weren't actually there:
"And with that grim look... maybe Kitahara-kun kept it a secret because he wanted to shoulder the burden alone? He didn't want us to worry?"
It has to be said—Kita is actually quite sharp. Despite having very little information, she relied on her keen intuition to arrive at the correct conclusion.
"When we run into trouble, we face it together. Anyone who chooses to shoulder it alone is an idiot." Kita clenched her pink fist and quickly made up her mind. "We'll tell everyone tonight while we're in the onsen. We have to get to the bottom of what Kitahara-kun is hiding."
Hitori stammered, glancing over timidly:
"Um... but Kita-chan, you just said earlier that you'd keep it a secret and not tell anyone."
"But I'm really worried about him." Kita stuck out the tip of her tongue. "Kitahara-kun is so capable; if it were just a minor issue, it wouldn't be so obvious to the rest of us. So, no matter what, we can't let him carry this burden by himself."
"..."
The day flew by.
Ten o'clock at night.
It was time for the pre-bedtime onsen soak.
Soaking in the onsen is not only comfortable but also great for the skin and relaxing for the mind. Unless something unusual comes up, the girls usually gather to bathe together before heading home.
When they first arrived for the trip, the atmosphere had been cheerful, but as Kita went around whispering to everyone, the mood quietly turned serious. After a brief discussion, they quickly reached a consensus:
They had to stage a proper "interrogation" to make Kitahara explain the situation clearly; they absolutely wouldn't let him shoulder everything on his own.
"What's gotten into you all today?" Kitahara quickly sensed the unusual atmosphere and couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.
"That's a question we should be asking you." Ryo crossed her arms over her chest and cut straight to the chase: "What did you say to that girl with the eye patch today, Kitahara-kun?"
Anon rested her chin on her interlocked fingers, wearing a stern expression as she played the role of a judge:
"Confess and be treated leniently; resist and face harsh punishment. Refuse to come clean, and you'll rot in a prison cell."