Chapter 242: Chiba City Official: "Why Does This Smell Like Blood?"
....
"It's obviously Class 1-E!" Kirito declared without a second thought. He was practically itching to toss Iori Kitahara and Kohei Kotegawa into a barrel of "tomato sauce" and let them soak.
"Perfect! Exactly what I was thinking!" Seito gave Kirito an approving nod. The guy was the Class 1-D resident prankster—he just got it. The two shared a grin before sprinting out of the classroom.
A few moments later, in the neighboring room:
"Holy sh*t! What are you two doing?!"
"Seito, I'm not into dudes! Get lost!"
The roar of Iori Kitahara and Kohei Kotegawa echoed through the walls. A few seconds later, Seito dragged the two of them into the hallway, one in each hand, while Kirito trailed behind with a manic, menacing cackle.
"It's been a week, brothers. Time to taste some of my homemade ketchup!" Seito dropped them and flicked his wrist, momentarily masking the scent of blood so they wouldn't notice before it was too late.
The two boys rubbed their necks, eyeing Seito with suspicion. They exchanged a look, both clearly baffled. Does 'tasting ketchup' really require a chokehold? Plus, there was something undeniably weird about Kirito's demeanor just now. But, after a tentative sniff, they couldn't detect any foul odor, so they let their guard down.
"Seito, you startled me with that sudden entrance," Iori said with a nervous laugh.
"So this is the ketchup? It looks a bit dark... is it even edible?" Kohei asked, peering into the two barrels of monster blood.
"Try it and find out!" Seito pulled out two boxes of fries. The duo took them, exchanged a look, and leaned toward the barrels.
Seito's eyes glinted with mischief. He didn't hesitate, lunging forward and slamming both their heads straight into the liquid!
SPLASH!
SPLASH!
Their faces were buried deep in the barrels. Seeing the carnage, Kirito erupted into uproarious laughter. "Hahaha! You absolute idiots! You actually tried to eat the ketchup? How is it? Delicious?"
Seito shot Kirito a bewildered look. They're literally drowning in monster blood and you're still mocking them? You're asking for a beating. With that thought, Seito activated Spatial Shift and vanished before the retaliation could begin.
Back at the barrels, Iori and Kohei surfaced, spitting and gagging. Their mouths were filled with the metallic, raw taste of monster gore, and they collapsed, retching uncontrollably. Once they recovered enough to hear Kirito's relentless, grating laughter, their fury boiled over.
They couldn't touch Seito, but there was no way they were letting "Little Kirito" get away with this!
Kohei's hands shifted into a claw-like grip.
"DRAGON CLAW!"
"AHHH!!!" Kirito felt like his very soul was being tested.
WHOOSH! Iori vaulted over and flanked him. "KAZU-STYLE: THOUSAND YEARS OF PAIN!"
"AAHHH!!!"
A scream that could shatter the heavens echoed across Sobu High!
8:00 AM.
By now, thanks to the combined efforts of Iori and Kohei (acting out of spite), every student in the first-year wing was thoroughly drenched in blood. Not just the students—the hallways and classrooms were completely stained as well.
Meanwhile, at the main entrance:
Sobu High School opened its gates, and a flood of visitors—students from other schools and members of the public—poured in to visit the festival. Chairwoman Minami stood by with her department heads, waiting for the city officials. As the most prestigious academy in Chiba, the city leadership had decided to pay a formal visit to experience the school's culture firsthand.
Moments later, several middle-aged men in sharp business suits walked through the gate. Chairwoman Manimi stepped forward with a practiced, standard smile.
"Mayor Kiru, you're finally here."
"Indeed," President Kiru nodded. "I've been stationed in Chiba, for two years now, but I haven't had the chance to visit Sobu High School until today. I look forward to the tour."
"Rest assured, our school festival will not disappoint you." Chairwoman Manimi gestured for them to follow.
As they walked, Chairwoman Manimi regaled them with tales of Sobu High School academic excellence and the various honors they had achieved over the years. Mayor Kiru nodded along. Since he was a notorious "foodie," he spent the first half of the tour stopping at every snack stall in the second and third-year areas.
Looking around, Mayor Kiru suddenly looked at Chairwoman Manimi with a puzzled expression. "Where are the first-year students?"
He had spent the whole morning listening to introductions about the students running the stalls, but they had all been second or third-years. He hadn't seen a single first-year student.
"The entire grade decided to collaborate on a single haunted house project," Chairwoman Manimi explained.
"A haunted house? Interesting," Mayor Kiru's eyes lit up. A whole grade-level working together? The scale must be massive. "Where is it?"
"Uhh..." Chairwoman Manimi froze. She looked around, confused. She hadn't seen any sign of the first-year haunted house at the location she had been told about yesterday.
The Grade 1 Director, sensing the awkwardness, quickly pulled out his phone and called the Class 1-A head teacher.
"Where is the first-year haunted house?"
"Emm... it's on the third floor of the main building."
"Why the sudden change? The leadership is here to visit it; we're bringing them up now."
"Director, are you sure you want to come?"
"Of course! That's that, hanging up!"
The Director slammed the phone down before the teacher could utter another word. Always so much chatter! He turned back to Mayor Kiru with a bright smile. "Leader, the haunted house is on the third floor."
"Very well, let's go take a look."
Mayor Kiru set off toward the teaching building, with the entourage scrambling to keep up.
Five minutes later, as they stepped into the second-floor stairwell, Mayor Kiru suddenly frowned.
"Why is there a smell of blood?"
He was baffled. He'd noticed a faint metallic tang the moment he stepped into the building, but hadn't been able to place it. Now that the scent was thick and pervasive, the realization hit him like a hammer: This is the smell of fresh blood.
The accompanying officials exchanged weird, nervous glances with Chairwoman Manimi and the staff. It wasn't just Mayor Kiru—the smell was unmistakable.
"Er..."
.....
Thank you for reading.