Chapter 60 ~ Conspiracy

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

"Welcome home."

A small chuckle escaped his lips as he looked at the home helper android. Having such a cute maid that would welcome them home with such a cute, albeit still a bit flat and mechanical, voice and help them around with cleaning and tasks seemed to be the dream members of the Robot Research Club strive to accomplish.

"Class 1-E, Shiba Tatsuya."

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

"Authentication complete."

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

"Pixie, standby in suspended mode."

"Very well."

In response to his order, the android maid sat down on a chair which had been placed specifically for her by the door, and went into suspended mode.

The large glass sphere, as well as several other equipment attached to it that were used in the experiments by Suzune, Kei, and Koharu for the Thesis Competition, was placed at the center of the room. It was attached to a large metallic box through cables, which was in turn connected to a separate room through another set of cables, where the computers were placed.

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

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

He had been doing a lot of things recently, from helping the Thesis Competition team with their research and preparations, to researching 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 regular mage, he was still human. And perhaps, the fatigue had finally hit him.

He shutdown the computer 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 circulation system has malfunctioned. Please wear a mask."

"No need. Pixie, activate the forced ventilation system. There's no danger of fire."

"Now activating the forced ventilation system."

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

"Pixie, remain in monitoring mode and log the goings-on inside the room. Also, to prepare for the arrival of rescuers, I'm forbidding you from eliminating them."

"Understood."

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

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

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

He entered the glass room where the computers were and saw Tatsuya laying his head on the desk.

"...Shiba? Shiba, are you asleep?"

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

Then after confirming that he was asleep, he took out a rectangular device and plugged in a cable into the port of the computer.

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 saw who was there.

"C-Chiyoda?!"

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

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

"Who would've thought you were an academic-industrial spy, Sekimoto Isao-senpai?"

"Y-You're out of line, Chiyoda! I was only making a backup! That's all!!!"

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

"Backing up with a hacking tool? Not likely, is it… Shiba-kun?"

His eyes widened and turned back instinctively. 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 place it on the floor."

Kanon raised her left hand, revealing a red bracelet-shaped CAD, and placed a finger on one of the buttons, ready to cast a spell as she ordered the lanky, 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, and fell to the ground unconscious.

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

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

With Mayumi's overnight stay set in stone thanks to Aika and Erika's persuasion, the four relaxed together in the living room after dinner.

Freshly brewed jasmine tea served in beautiful, artistic ceramic cups and pot accompanied their relaxation along with a rom-com movie shown on the massive screen before them.

Mayumi sat silently, engrossed in the movie, while Aika laid her head lazily on Yuuji's shoulder, only semi-paying attention. Erika, who was never interested in the movie's genre and concept, was already ignoring it completely and was playing with her phone while she lazily rested her head on Yuuji's other shoulder.

Yuuji shared Erika's disinterest, but he wasn't as voided of any interest 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 melodious ring 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 on the table and looked at the name displayed on the screen.

"Ah, it's Tastuya. I'll be back."

"Uhn~ Return 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 late into the night…"

"Fufufu~ It's just the usual~ Yuuji and Tatsuya often talk with each other about secret stuff~"

"Mm… Well, considering they're both working closely together in FLT, I can see why they would be this close…"

"They sure are. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought they're brothers or something."

"Oh~! That might be true~! They're brother-in-arms~!"

"Brother-in-arms…"

Yuuji opened the large sliding glass 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 come along with autumn. But, it was nothing to Yuuji's divine physique and he calmly took the call and placed his smartphone beside his right ear.

"Hey, Tatsuya. What's up?"

"Yuuji. I'm sorry for bothering you at such a time."

"No problem. What's wrong?"

"Sekimoto Isao-senpai has been apprehended this afternoon as an academic spy suspect."

Silence fell for a few moments as Yuuji recalled the "event" in the anime that would be happening right around this time.

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

"...Are you okay? Did he use poison gas instead of regular sleeping gas?"

"I am fine. He used regular sleeping gas. Though, I'm ashamed to say I was caught off guard because I've forgotten about this event. My mind was still preoccupied with the incident related to the relic."

"I see… That's good. Don't worry. As long as you're okay, then everything 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 particular, would like to know the details before she was hit by the news tomorrow."

"I'll leave that to you. Then, that will be it. Good night, Yuuji."

"Good night. Rest well, Tatsuya."

Yuuji slowly brought down his phone after Tatsuya hung up and quickly made his way back inside.

Once inside, Mayumi, Aika, and Erika turned to him and their expression turned into that of confusion right away.

"Hm? What's wrong, Yuuji?"

"Yuuji?"

"Yuuji-kun…?"

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

"Sekimoto Isao-senpai attempted to steal our data for the Thesis Competition… 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 chinatown of Yokohama.

The bright lights of civilization, commerce, entertainment, and liveliness of course couldn't reach every nook and cranny of this large part of the city. And in a dark, unlit, abandoned structure, a group of people have set its roots deep in the underground level of the long unused office building.

In a room filled with computers, servers, electronic communication devices, and various other technologies used in cyber warfare, digital communication, and data analysis, Chen Xiang Shan, captain of the Great Asian Union's special ops, sat behind his desk, where a bunch of documents and papers were scattered about.

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

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

"The situation has changed… Sekimoto Isao has failed his mission and has been taken into custody. He's being held in the Hachioji Detention center. Dispose of him."

"Yes."

With just a single word from the man before him, Chen knew that he would accomplish his order without a doubt.

Lu Gang Hu was one of the top ten close combat specialists in the world, an S-ranked individual from the Great Asian Union Special Operations team, the sharpest blade 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 recent past.

"...Be careful of the man in black. If he's aware of the circumstances around the First High School, then he might predict your appearance in the detention center 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 clenched, and behind him, he also clenched his fist tightly.

He shall repay the humiliating defeat ten fold and bring the man in black down beneath his foot.

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

Yuuji and Tatsuya stood before Chiyoda Kanon, chief of the Thesis Competition's security team, as she sat behind her desk. She rested her elbows on top of the table and crossed her fingers together, covering her lips.

"No."

"...Please tell me the reason why."

"No means no…"

"Again, why not? Applications to visit the detention center are made through the chairman of either the Disciplinary Committee or the Student council but the ultimate decision lies with the school. Being sent away packing for no reason doesn't sit well with me at all."

Tatsuya argued to the dark purple-haired second year senior. He had expected her refusal, since it happened as well in the anime, but he still needed to try and get permission to visit the detention center, where he knew Lu Gang Hu would come to get rid of Sekimoto Isao.

"...Because it will be a hassle."

"What makes you say that-"

"Then can you say with certainty that nothing will happen?! You don't seem to be aware of this, so I'm going to lay it down on you so it can 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 handle it, but paperwork would still come to me! So don't give me extra work when I'm already so swamped!"

"..."

Kanon slammed the table in a burst of outrage from the accumulated stress she had been going through the last few days with the Thesis Competition.

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 check on Sekimoto tomorrow. There wouldn't be any problem if they were to accompany us, right?"

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

"...Well, if they're going to be with you two."

"You don't have any objections 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 continued.

"In truth, I have also consulted this matter with the president. Right after Tatsuya told me about the incident yesterday, I contacted Mayumi-senpai and told her about it. I've also received her permission to come along with her visit to the detention center, and I came here to get yours. I'm sorry for troubling you, Chiyoda-senpai."

Kanon didn't expect the first year boy, popular and skilled as he was, to be this close with the student council president. She also sensed something amiss regarding the relationship between the rookie NSC ace and the president from the way he referred to the president. But, as she failed to put her finger on it, she decided to just ignore it and push it out of her mind, which was currently full of other stuff related to the Thesis Competition, 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 Committee HQ.

They shared a moment of silence as their feet continued to 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 similar hushed tone.

"Ah. We need to 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 resemblance and find out I was the one who saved that illegal and injured him last 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 glance at 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 can give her a somewhat believable excuse."

"It'll be a last resort. And if it comes to it, I will help."

"Mm."