BA-G 136-155 (Patreon)

136. Creating happiness with your heart

“However, since signing the employee contract with Dan Kuroto, our conditions have definitely improved quite a bit.”

Kayoko looked around. The staff bar they were in now was much larger than their previous rented office.

And the office on the second floor that Dan Kuroto allowed them to use not only had complete bathroom facilities and a separate lounge, but was also larger than their old office.

More importantly, the office building's location was excellent, situated in the heart of DU District's most bustling commercial area. The land value was significantly higher than that of their previous rented office.

Speaking of which, didn't the members of Handyman 68 always have dormitories at Gehenna Academy? Why didn't they go back to living in the dorms?

Well… as everyone knows, there are various reasons.

Haruka is extremely shy, Kayoko and Pandemonium have some disagreements, and Aruru chose this lifestyle because she admires outlaws. As for Mutsuki, Aruru's childhood friend and a mischievous troublemaker, she only became a member of Handyman 68 by following Aruru.

"It's a big company, after all, and the products they offer are really tempting to buy I heard they're going to release a dating sim later. How amazing... a dating sim"

Mutsuki picked up a Game Gashat, the "Dragon Rider Hunter Z" Gashat she'd brought home from the store after getting off work that day.

"Game Area....this is the first time I've ever heard of something like this."

"Speaking of which, it's definitely something incredible." Like Mutsuki, who noticed the mystery, Kayoko was naturally curious about the technology contained within the Gashat. "You've probably all experienced that kind of gameplay, right? It's a completely different experience from games played on consoles or even with VR technology. It's more like..."

Kayoko recalled the feeling: "It was more like our consciousness was transported to another world and then sent back after the game ended."

"And no matter how you observe the players' state, they seem perfectly normal to outsiders, but how to describe this normalcy..." Kayoko struggled to recall all the adjectives she had learned so far, unable to find a completely accurate description of the phenomenon. "It makes me feel very... confused."

"For these things, can't we just try again and find out?" Mutsuki grinned, holding up her Drago Knight Hunter! Z Gashat.

"It's a game that allows four people to play together online. We have plenty of free time now, so why don't we discuss this in the game world?"

'Drago Knight Hunter! Z!'

As Mutsuki pressed the button on the Gashat's controller, a pixelated light effect emanated from the Gashat, its crystal flashing, and spread outwards, quickly enveloping the four nearby players.

Moreover, as if sensing Mutsuki's intention to invite someone, the Gashat didn't include the nearby robot clerk but precisely selected the four members of Handyman 68.

"This light effect represents the unfolding of the Game Area..." Kayoko thoughtfully stared at the game interface image that lit up behind Mutsuki. It was a game where four players teamed up to defeat a giant monster. In the game, Kayoko and her friends couldn't use their original weapons; instead, they used several in-game weapons.

"The surrounding scenery has suddenly changed. We were just in the staff bar, but now we're in the world of Dragon Rider Hunter Z."

Although they had already witnessed the Game Area unfold before, they were still awestruck by this amazing technology every time. Even though Mutsuki tried her best to sense the changes in her surroundings, the instant the Game Area appeared, the transition to the game world was beyond her comprehension.

"Hey, Mutsuki, Kayoko, what are you two talking about? Why did you suddenly start playing a game?"

Aru asked curiously, "Are you going to play a game?"

"No, Aru, we were just wondering why this Game Gashat can create such a 'world-changing' gaming experience."

Kayoko touched the chair she was sitting on and explained to Aru beside her. When the Game Gashat unfolds, if the user is sitting in a chair or leaning against a wall, these objects will be replaced with items from the game world once the Game Area unfolds.

For example, the sofa Kayoko was sitting on became a chair that matched the style of the game world, and the bar counter that Mutsuki was leaning on with one hand became a picnic table, perfectly matching Mutsuki's pose of resting her cheek on her arm.

"Ah, I don't quite understand this..."

Aru asked doubtfully, "It's just playing a game. Why think about so many strange things? I think presenting immersion to everyone and bringing pure joy to the players is a good thing, isn't it?"

"..."

"..."

Kayako and Mutsuki was stunned by Aru's answer. Their widened their eyes slightly and opened their mouths in surprise, seemingly astonished by what Aru had said.

A few seconds later, Mutsuki burst out laughing: "Hahaha~ That's such a typical Aryu-style answer!"

"Pfft... you're right."

Kayoko chuckled, seemingly amused by their previous thoughts and speculations: "It's just a game to bring joy, and if that's all, it's enough."

Aru was completely bewildered: "Eh? Kayoko, Mutsuki, why are you two suddenly laughing so happily? What happened?"

Mutsuki waved her hand with a smile: "Nothing, nothing. By the way, Aru, do you want to play the game?"

"Yes! This time, I'm definitely going to succeed in ascending to the dragon realm!"

In any case, it's just a Game cartridge to bring joy to people. Whether it's the incomprehensible technology or the incomprehensible Game Area, ultimately, isn't it all for one purpose?

...

"—That's right, the purpose of the game right now is simply to let everyone feel joy."

Placing his briefcase on the table, Dan Kuroto looked at the pink-haired girl before him. "It's been a while, Takanashi Hoshino."

"Oh dear, I'm not used to you calling my name so formally."

Naturally embarrassed by her self-proclaimed status "Ojisan", Hoshino replied.

"Just call me 'Hoshino-kun' as before."

----

137. The Missing Desks and Chairs

"Mr. Dan Kuroto, is there something you need in Abydos? By the way, that greenhouse is really useful; it solved a lot of urgent problems, and it can grow almost anything..."

"Is that so? Then I'll build a few more for you later."

Ayane served Dan Kuroto a cup of hot tea. After the incident that nearly destroyed the Abydos school district, thanks to Dan Kuroto, the various supplies he brought back, along with a large number of armored vehicles, had indeed improved the living conditions at Abydos Academy considerably.

Especially with the return of Izayoi Nonomi, Abydos had returned to its complete state, and there were even more people available.

“Mr. Dan Kuroto, it’s been a while. How have you been?”

Resurrected by Dan Kuroto as a Bugster, Hanemi is arguably Kivotos’ first truly homegrown, fully formed Bugster. After the previous incident was resolved, she didn’t return to the DU District with Dan Kuroto but stayed in Abydos, contributing to the revival of her alma mater.

“I’m doing great! —By the way, these are Game Gashats developed by Gemn Corp. I brought you a set; play as you like!”

Dan Kuroto glanced at Nonomi beside him. This blonde girl, who had been smiling with narrowed eyes since the beginning, remained silent, just staring at Dan Kuroto, making him feel uneasy, as if he wanted to sit up straight.

“Gemn Corp… Ah, right, that’s the company Mr. Dan Kuroto mentioned opening, right?” Shiroko leaned closer, seemingly quite interested in the row of Game Gashats Dan Kuroto had brought.

"Has Mr. Dan Kuroto’s company officially started operating yet?”

“It’s been reported in the news.”

Nonomi held up her phone, which displayed a picture of the unprecedented success of the Genm Game flagship store.

“All the students who tried the Game Gashats said it was a fantastic gaming experience. It looks like a very promising entertainment product.”

At this point, Nonomi smiled and leaned closer: “Mr. Dan Kuroto, I wonder if I could also hold shares in your company?”

Not the Izayoi family, but Nonomi…

“…Considering your 10 million credits, I’ll probably give you a chance to negotiate.”

To be honest, Dan Kuroto wouldn't have given a second glance to anyone else trying to get a share of the profits, but Nonomi genuinely provided him with ten million credits—albeit as 'mission rewards,' this ten million truly solved Dan Kuroto's immediate crisis.

For Dan Kuroto, helping Nonomi complete those tasks and incidentally saving Abydos was indeed a simple matter.

"Well then, I'll pay you a visit later~"

In fact, during the early stages of Dan Kuroto's company's planning, after Dan Kuroto had finished dealing with things on Abydos, Nonomi frequently maintained contact with Dan Kuroto via momotalk, and establishing a relationship with Dan Kuroto's company was something they had been discussing for some time.

However, Dan Kuroto was extremely sensitive about controlling external funding, which was largely due to his almost obsessive possessiveness towards his own things.

Therefore, it wasn't until he had successfully established the company's framework that Dan Kuroto allowed Nonomi to discuss cooperation with him.

The aforementioned increase in manpower involved the Helmet Gang delinquent girls imprisoned in the "dungeon." A total of 50 delinquent girls.

Through a combination of persuasion—Dan Kuroto's authority and the kindness of Hanemi and the Abydos community—these dozens of delinquent girls ultimately became a temporary workforce and "unofficial students" for the Abydos school district.

Convincing these girls to abandon their Helmet Gang activities and become unofficial students at Abydos must have involved offering them irresistible benefits. Similarly, there was the lingering yearning for hope within the students' hearts.

After all, if there weren't any other choices, who wouldn't want to be a normal student?

“Even though a large portion of them were indeed original Abydos students, it’s very difficult to reinstate them after they’ve given up their enrollment.”

As the current vice president of the Abydos student council, Hoshino was naturally also troubled by this matter.

Fortunately, after Dan Kuroto returned to Schale with Shittim Chest and obtained the position of president of the Schale Federal Investigation Club, he immediately transformed the Foreclosure Countermeasures Committee into an official Abydos club.

Although Dan Kuroto, who possessed the Shittim Chest, didn't issue the order directly in his capacity as Sensei, his position as president of the Schale Federal Investigation Club, coupled with the Shittim Chest's authentication, gave him considerable influence.

Furthermore, from both a moral and legal standpoint, the General Student Council had no reason to refuse; it was a perfectly reasonable and fair approach.

In fact, the General Student Council had been struggling with how to support the Abydos school district.

This was essentially handing them a mandate, so they were naturally happy to do them a favor.

"Reinstating these delinquent girls' student status is actually quite a hassle." Hoshino scratched her head in frustration. "Student status isn't something you can just add or drop at will... Not to mention the complicated procedures, the classes they missed during their delinquent period are also..."

In Kivotos, 'student status' is shrouded in mystery, perhaps related to the fact that all major components of Kivotos are students. Anything associated with "school" and "students" receives a conceptual boost.

This is why Gematria is so eager to have a student as a subject for their experiments. As an outsider, Gematria wants to create its own "mysticism" in Kivotos and dabble in the "sublime," which inevitably requires targeting students who hold this concept.

And clearly, the term "student status," closely linked to "origin," naturally carries a corresponding meaning. Those delinquent girls who were tricked into abandoning their student status are like students who discard their desks and chairs during class.

They certainly can't stand while attending class if they want to return to school, so the remaining options are either to retrieve their discarded desks and chairs or to buy them a new set.

Hoshino spoke seriously, "Furthermore, Kaiser Corporation, having suffered a great loss at your hands, will definitely retaliate if they see these former subordinates, the Helmet Gang girls, active on the Abydos campus. After all, most of Abydos is still under Kaiser's control."

The armored vehicles, tanks, and helicopters stolen from Kaiser PMC are still parked on the Abydos campus, blatantly idle on the playground—it's practically a slap in the face to Kaiser Corporation.

"Having suffered a great loss, Kaiser Corporation will definitely come back with a vengeance; they won't give up so easily."

At this point, a hint of worry flashed across Hoshino's brow.

"And... recently, earthquakes have been occurring more and more frequently in the Abydos Desert."

----

138. Hoshino's Expectations

Initially, the earthquake was simply considered a natural disaster of a similar scale to the sandstorm that swept through Abydos, occurring simultaneously.

It wasn't until someone investigated further that the connection between the two was discovered.

However, due to the passage of time, detailed information from that period is unavailable, and very few people know the details; what remains are only fragments of memories from the students.

“The earthquake situation is getting worse,” Hoshino said, a worried expression crossing her brow. “We occasionally feel slight tremors, but these usually don't last long and aren't noticeable.”

“But these past few days, we've been feeling vibrations coming from the desert in Abydos, with both their frequency and magnitude constantly increasing,” Hoshino said anxiously. “It's like some kind of approaching storm; even Ojisan feel uneasy…”

“So, that sudden tremor has been gradually intensifying these past few days?”

Setting down his teacup, Dan Kuroto began to recall the strange feeling he had experienced in Abydos the last time.

"To be honest, earthquakes and sandstorms are two completely unrelated things. Especially with this kind of abnormal earthquake, I had this feeling before when I was in Abydos."

"A feeling?" Hoshino asked curiously. "Did you sense anything unusual?"

"I don't know. Right now, it's all just speculation; there's no concrete evidence."

Hoshino stood up and pointed outside to Dan Kuroto.

"Let's talk about the rest somewhere else."

Discussing the strange earthquakes originating in the desert wasn't actually a topic that needed to be avoided by the rest of Abydos. Perhaps it was because Hoshino subconsciously wanted to keep all dangers out of her juniors' sight that she avoided everyone else on this particular matter.

"So, there really is something in the desert?"

Dan Kuroto looked at Hoshino, who seemed to have something to say, clearly knowing something. Given Hoshino's desire to keep danger out of her juniors' sight, Dan Kuroto naturally wouldn't say much.

This wasn't just because, previously, due to the Black Suit's reversal experiment, Hoshino had pulled the trigger on the juniors she was supposed to protect.

In fact, Hoshino is always half-asleep. It was also because she would secretly patrol the Abydos campus at night. Whether it was the guilt from attacking her juniors before or Hoshino's unwavering sense of responsibility to protect others, making this choice didn't surprise Dan Kuroto at all.

“Well, if that's the case, I do have a very vague impression of something existing in the desert.” Hoshino's expression was one of uncertainty and hesitation. “However, since there's no evidence or direct purpose, I can't guarantee whether what I'm saying is accurate…”

Recalling her past, the certain thing mentioned in the legends passed down by her predecessors, Hoshino couldn't help but swallow.

“Legend has it that beneath Abydos, there once existed a vast underground space, and within that space, some kind of relic artifact passed down from ancient times is preserved.”

Speaking of this topic, Hoshino's eyes seemed to light up with a hint of interest. The reason Hoshino remembered this rumor was largely due to her hobby of treasure hunting.

This hobby had little to do with the school's rise and fall; it was purely because Hoshino quite enjoyed this slightly thrilling adventure.

"Ruins—"

Dan Kuroto stroked his chin, gazing at the distant desert.

The actual edge of the Abydos Desert wasn't actually this close to the city. After the sandstorm disaster, many Abydos school district buildings were buried in the yellow sand. Only the tall buildings barely peeked out from the sand.

As for the true edge of the Abydos Desert, starting from the current Abydos Academy, one has to travel at least several dozen kilometers further out to reach the actual beginning of this desert.

The heart of the Abydos Desert lies further back in the area, beyond the laboratory where Dan Kuroto and the academy went to rescue Hoshino. Even in this remote and desolate place, many relics of Abydos remain, demonstrating just how immense Abydos was in its heyday.

"Speaking of which, the ruins beneath the Millennium Academy is actually a kind of legacy too."

Dan Kuroto recalled the mysterious ruins. When Kei awakened within Aris, she attempted to return to the ruins and awaken the numerous mechanical soldiers beneath them. Fortunately, Dan Kuroto inadvertently prevented Kei from carrying out this action.

Now, thinking about it, perhaps those robots Kei replicated in the Game Area could be put to use later?

“Mr. Dan Kuroto, every academy actually has something similar; after all, they are all districts with a lineage.”

Hoshino was, after all, a former member of the Abydos student council. Although she was now the only one left, having once held that position, she knew a thing or two about the inner workings.

“However, while the rumors do have some credibility, to obtain more detailed information, we'll have to investigate in the Abydos Desert.”

Hoshino paused, scratching her head sheepishly. "Ugh I'm already expending a lot of energy just maintaining security around here. Exploration and all that... it's simply impossible for me to do it all by myself"

"Now you don't need to be on night patrol alone anymore, right?" Dan Kuroto looked at Hoshino. "Those dozens of delinquents who joined Abydos are practically part of your group now, aren't they? Letting them do some work, I doubt they'd refuse, right?"

Dan Kuroto remembered those dozens of Helmet Gang thugs who had been defeated and subjected to his dungeon torture. Now, lured by the prospect of reinstating their student status, they had become unofficial students of Abydos.

Although the method of reinstating their student status was still under discussion, these students had already begun to work hard for this hard-won opportunity to return to school life. Wasn't this the perfect time for them and the others to help these delinquents build a sense of belonging to Abydos?

"...More importantly, is it true that you said on momotalk that you have the ability to reinstate the student status of these delinquents?"

Hoshino's confidence in persuading these delinquent girls to reinstate their school records stemmed largely from Dan Kuroto's private messages to Hoshino and Nonomi, informing them that he had a way to do so. This gave them the confidence to use this condition.

Even Sensei and the General Student Council, who possessed the Shittim Chest, couldn't re-enroll their school records. Otherwise, Kivotos wouldn't still have delinquents lurking around.

"You actually doubt my abilities?"

In contrast to Hoshino's question, Dan Kuroto retorted with the utmost confidence.

"For me, there are only problems that have been solved and problems that are about to be solved. There is no situation that I cannot solve!"

"...Is that so? Then Ojisan will definitely look forward to it~"

---

139. The God of Gods Responding to Nonomi

Since Dan Kuroto was willing to say so, Hoshino stopped dwelling on the issue.

For all the students of Abydos, Dan Kuroto's appearance had directly pulled Abydos back from the brink of death.

Whether it was pulling the seriously ill Ayane back from her sickbed, reviving the shattered Serika, or simply bringing Hoshino back to her original state after her reversal, thus improving the current state of Abydos, so many events unfolded before their eyes. Wasn't that enough to prove everything?

Since Dan Kuroto had given such a confident guarantee, and Hoshino was already indebted to him, she naturally trusted him unconditionally.

“Perhaps it would be more appropriate to entrust this matter to Mr. Dan Kuroto.”

Hoshino said with a smile, “After all, Mr. Dan Kuroto seems quite interested in the Abydos heritage I mentioned earlier.”

“That’s true.” Dan Kuroto made no secret of his curiosity to explore these heritages. “Speaking of which, it seems the Kaiser Corporation was digging something deep in the Abydos Desert. After I chased them away last time, the excavation site they left behind is still there. Should we take a look when we have time?”

"The excavation site..."

Hoshino closed her eyes, pondering the connection: "According to the information previously revealed by the Kaiser Corporation's directors, they are indeed searching for something in the desert. Their annexation of the Abydos school district's land is merely to prevent outsiders from interfering with their search."

“It might sound harsh, but actually, Abydos Academy was never Kaiser Corporation’s primary target. All they needed was what’s in the desert.”

Dan Kuroto naturally picked up on Hoshino’s words. “Just as the Kaiser Corporation director said before, if it were just a few students, they wouldn’t need such a large armored force—but in the end, this armored force only benefited me and you guys in the process.”

What Dan Kuroto was referring to were, of course, the armored vehicles infected by his Bugster virus.

With these tanks and attack helicopters already programmed to protect Abydos Academy, Hoshino’s nighttime patrols were significantly less burdensome. Before, the people of Abydos wouldn’t have even dared to imagine having heavy firepower and air support.

“That’s true. Ojisan really should thank you.” Hoshino let out a sigh of relief. “So, do you need our help with the search for the Abydos Desert?”

“Didn’t we get helicopters with those armored vehicles we stole? Pick a few people each day, take the helicopters, and search the desert area by area.”

Dan Kuroto naturally made sure the students did their work when needed; after all, they all owed him favors, so he didn’t hesitate to use them.

“Besides that, I’ll contact the engineering department at Millennium later and order a batch of reconnaissance drones for you. They’re always experts at making these kinds of small machines.”

Dan Kuroto naturally placed the order with the engineering department. The huge success of Game Gashat these past few days had temporarily alleviated Dan Kuroto’s financial problems.

Now, Dan Kuroto had turned his attention to outstanding employees, working overtime to find suitable game talent and bring them all into his company.

Switching to Gashats was certainly a completely new technology that Kivotos had never seen before.

But relying solely on these ten games to generate revenue would inevitably reach an end.

Beyond that, Yuzu’s Tales Saga Chronicle series showed him the potential of local games transitioning to Gashat, naturally increasing Kivotos’s efforts to acquire and merge with local game studios.

Furthermore, it's not just Millennium Academy that has a game development club; other school districts naturally have their share of talented individuals. It's just that previously, no company like Gemn Corp. had integrated these game development clubs.

The students still maintain a club-level interest, or rather, the efficiency of a small studio, in their game development work. So Kivotos does have a game industry, but its output is indeed quite low.

"It sounds like Mr. Dan Kuroto has a very shrewd mind when it comes to business, especially in the game market."

After discussing the unusual events in the desert with Hoshino, Nonomi naturally went to chat with Dan Kuroto next. As the daughter of a large family, Nonomi did indeed have a talent for business and money, so she and Dan Kuroto always seemed to click on this topic.

"However, relying solely on the gaming industry won't be enough to deal a further blow to Kaiser Corporation, will it?"

The plan to take down Kaiser Corporation had actually been revealed to Nonomi and the others long ago. Having witnessed how badly Kaiser had harmed Abydos's friends, Nonomi naturally harbored resentment towards Kaiser Corporation.

Placing her hand on the turbulent surface of her heart, Nonomi assured Dan Kuroto, "Mr. Dan Kuroto, if needed, I will do my utmost to persuade the Izayoi family to support you."

However, the Kaiser Corporation was indeed a force that neither Nonomi nor the Izayoi family behind her could afford to offend, so this resentment could only remain in Nonomi's heart. Before meeting Dan Kuroto, the fact that Nonomi's online bounty posts had gone unanswered was enough to make her face reality.

The reality was that without Dan Kuroto's help, both supporting Abydos and seeking revenge against the Kaiser Corporation were nothing but self-deception. Nonomi was now absolutely certain that this suddenly appearing figure was her 'god'.

After all, back then, she had indeed prayed to 'god,' hadn't she? And what else could it be but 'god' that answered her prayers?

In a sense, Nonomi is actually quite suited to studying at Trinity College. The nuns, in particular, would probably find her quite 'talented' in this area, wouldn't they? After all, students themselves possess divinity; shouldn't their object of prayer be the 'God of Gods'?

Having witnessed Dan Kuroto's business acumen and how he carved out his own territory in Kivotos' market economy in just a few days, the flames of revenge reignited in Nonomi's eyes; she wanted nothing more than to burn the entire Kaiser Corporation to ashes.

“You’re right, but the gaming industry is my forte. Starting from there is the best strategy for me.”

Dan Kuroto nodded in agreement. “Once we’ve gathered capital in the gaming industry, we’ll definitely move on to other areas.”

“Whether it’s the everyday department store sector or a security company like Kaiser PMC, the most important thing is that I want to gain dominance in the financial sector.”

Dan Kuroto frowned slightly at the fact that over 80% of Kivotos’ financial industry was controlled by Kaiser Corporation: “The lifeblood of business, the economy being held by an enemy—that’s not something to laugh about.”

Kaiser Bank and Kaiser Credit are virtually ubiquitous in Kivotos's university districts. Even on the black market, Kaiser wields immense influence, demonstrating the sheer size and power of the Kaiser Corporation. Even with exceptional talent, it would take considerable effort to dismantle the foundations of Kaiser's business empire.

While the previous declaration of war against Kaiser Corporation initially offered some relief, it has undoubtedly made Kaiser Corporation wary of Dan Kuroto. Gemn Corp will undoubtedly face significant commercial obstacles in the future.

“Kaiser Corporation in the Abydos school district probably won't continue lending money. After all, their previous reliance was on Abydos's significantly weakened strength, rendering them powerless to resist. Now, with so many armored vehicles seized, ‘defaulting on the debt’ is enough to make 'reneging on the debt' a viable option for Abydos. They'll likely have some more forceful measures against Abydos.”

Dan Kuroto crossed his arms and looked into the distance. Kaiser Corporation's signboards and huge advertisements were lit up within his visible range.

After a moment, Dan Kuroto, with a new idea in mind, took out his Gashacon Bugvisor from his Game Area, revealing a healthy smile:

“If you want quick results, you really have to use unconventional methods. That's the true, unpretentious way to wage business!”

---

140. Inspiration from sandbox building games

"Moshi moshi This is the Millennium Academy Engineering Department"

The call was answered by the energetic, bespectacled girl, Kotori. "Who is this?"

"It's me, it's me, it's me."

Hearing the strange greeting on the phone, Kotori exclaimed in surprise, "Huh?? Is this an 'It's me, it's me' scam?"

“Idiot, that voice is definitely that adult!”

Maki, who was visiting the engineering department, had incredibly sharp ears and immediately recognized Dan Kuroto's voice on the phone.

“Although we haven't met many times, Dan Kuroto's hacking skills are truly impressive; I can't forget him.”

“You recognized me already?” Dan Kuroto's voice came through the phone. “I don't think I've had much contact with the people in the Veritas, have I?”

“Someone who could break through our combined defense, and is a rare adult in Kivotos, how could you not remember you?”

Maki's voice still sounded a little awkward. After all, being directly defeated in their area of expertise was a hurdle they couldn't easily overcome, a huge blow to these still-developing hackers!

“However, last time, Veritas wasn't even going all out! And Chihiro-senpai wasn't there then!”

Even without seeing Dan Kuroto, Maki pointed at the phone in Kotori's hand, speaking loud, "Next time, it definitely won't be this embarrassing!"

"Really? Then I'll visit Veritas again next time."

Dan Kuroto's voice floated from Kotori's phone.

"But if you fail again, you'll have to come and write the most powerful network security system for my Genm Corp for free."

"Hmph! I definitely won't lose!"

Maki and Dan Kuroto chatted across Kotori's face, causing a bead of cold sweat to trickle down Kotori's forehead.

"Um... shouldn't I be the one answering the phone now? I can tolerate the doujinshi, but do I have to play NTR's games even when making a phone call?"

Dan Kuroto nodded in agreement. "That's true. Let's get back to the main topic."

"The topic changed so quickly?"

Following Kotori's words, Dan Kuroto naturally steered the conversation back to the business he'd called about.

"Kotori, does your engineering department take orders?"

"That depends on what you need the engineering department for, Mr. Dan Kuroto~"

Kotori's expression turned slightly professional when he mentioned the engineering department's main business, but her tone remained as playful and energetic as ever.

"Let me think… You're not looking for infrastructure work from the engineering department, are you? So, custom robots? Or do you want us to make production machines for your company?"

"You guessed so right?"

"Hehehe~ After all, isn't the Millennium Engineering Club all about these kinds of things?" Kotori chuckled.

"By the way, Mr. Dan Kuroto, the club president and Hibiki bought your Game Gashat while they were shopping, and they raved about it!"

The 'Game Gashat craze' had become a hot topic at Millennium Academy, a trend discussed by everyone.

After all, the Game Gashat only truly came to public attention after winning the Millennium Prize as the top-ranked invention. And then, Genm Corp. capitalized on that momentum with their Game Gashat promotions, perfectly capitalizing on the existing hype, leading to its current meteoric rise.

“That technology called ‘Game Area’ has the Club President studying it over and over again, even breaking a Gashat in the process, but she still can’t figure out how it works,” Kotori said, her face full of curiosity.

“Mr. Dan Kuroto, how is it done? Virtual reality technology? Or optical projection? I’m very curious too!”

“That’s a trade secret of Gemn Corp,” Dan Kuroto said on the other end of the phone, his hands on his hips with a smug look on his face.

“Genm Corp’s technology is the best in the world!”

“Damn it—! I’m so itching to understand the principles behind it!” Kotori let out a long sigh, but then quickly returned to normal. “So, what kind of order is Mr. Dan Kuroto requesting?”

"Give me a hundred reconnaissance drones, mainly for desert operations," Dan Kuroto stated his requirements. "Forget about sandstorm protection; they need long battery life, terrain scanning capabilities, automatic operation, and preferably solar charging. Can you manage that?"

"Are you underestimating the engineering department of Qiannian?"

Kotori puffed out her cheeks. "They're just reconnaissance drones for desert operations? A hundred is nothing. We can get them done in half a month!"

"So fast?" Dan Kuroto was pleasantly surprised by the efficiency. "You guys have some stock?"

"3D printing is very efficient; it's the age of technology now, boss~" Kotori said proudly. "With a few minor modifications, we can use the old blueprints. By the way, do we need to add weapons?"

"Just add a small-caliber machine gun; we don't rely on that for damage output." Dan Kuroto's only expectation for these reconnaissance aircraft was that they could be used to conduct reconnaissance across the vast Abydos Desert using this wide-net approach.

Ater all, he was extremely busy every day; asking the president of Genm Corp to go to the desert? He didn't have the time for that.

While Hoshino's concerns were worth considering, Abydos Academy was, after all, built by Dan Kuroto's own hands, and it housed Serika, whom he had revived.

How could he let his hard work and effort go to waste? It was like a cardboard tower he had painstakingly built—he certainly didn't want it to be destroyed by a brat or shattered by an earthquake the very next second.

Incidentally, the girl named Kuromi Serika hadn't yet realized she had become a Bugster; she was only puzzled by her sudden increase in strength, ultimately attributing it to the muscles she had built from working various jobs over the past few days.

"OK~ By the way, Mr. Dan Kuroto! Hibiki wanted to ask if you'd consider the possibility of releasing a game where you can build vehicles using various parts?" Kotori asked Dan Kuroto at the end of the call. "After experiencing the full simulation technology of 'Game Area,' she's been very interested in this!"

"A building block game..." Dan Kuroto pondered. This gave him a bit of inspiration. "That's interesting; we'll consider production later."

"Really?! That's great!"

Kotori cheered, feeling that it was really great to know the president of a game company. This way, she could just give him ideas for any game she wanted to play.

"It would be even better if we could build spaceships! In reality, the engineering department spent all its budget for the first half of the year, and all they built was a Railgun for spaceships. If we could experience the fun of flying a spaceship in a game, we'd definitely give you our full support!"

Because Dan Kuroto seemed very interested in developing this sandbox-building-type Game Gashat, Kotori...

While pleased with the deal, they also gave Dan Kuroto a slight discount on his order. Overall, both parties were very satisfied.

----

141. An extra little episode

With the reconnaissance robot issue resolved, Dan Kuroto, having hung up the phone, turned his attention to the land near Millennium.

This land was held by the Kaiser Corporation as collateral for debt, effectively surrounding the entire Abydos Academy—thankfully, the previous student council president hadn't been so foolish as to mortgage all the land connected to the outside world; otherwise, the academy would truly be completely surrounded.

"Abydos has too few residents. Opening a branch here would be a complete loss." Dan Kuroto clicked his tongue.

Using a branch of Genm Game to conquer the Abydos market wasn't a good choice. The population had already dwindled by 80%, or even more, due to sandstorms and the Kaiser.

After all, only a small area of Abydos was still habitable, and the population was far less than that of Gehenna and the Trinity School District—opening a store here would likely result in losses.

"The only way to penetrate Abydos now is through other industries."

Looking at the Gashacon Bugvisor in his hand, Dan Kuroto had already decided what his 'unconventional methods' would be.

"These past two days, Kaiser Corporation has been subtly and overtly probing me."

How could Kaiser Corporation not be aware of Dan Kuroto's actions?

After all, they're a behemoth within Kivotos. They'd been active since Gemn Corp entered the market.

However, wary of Dan Kuroto's initial tactics, Kaiser Corporation had only been using minor media maneuvers to address the current market entry plan.

Now, the fledgling Gemn Corp doesn't have the time for such a war of attrition with Kaiser Corporation—unless Dan Kuroto intervenes directly. Their current strategy is to distract Kaiser and give Phantom some time to develop.

And that's exactly what Dan Kuroto intends to achieve with the Bugster virus.

"Kaiser Corporation has undoubtedly done a lot of dirty work to reach its current position. It's just that the General Student Council hasn't been able to catch them in the act yet."

Dan Kuroto understood perfectly well. Given Kaiser's actions against the Abydos school district, and the soldiers and armored vehicles they had prepared, how could they possibly be a benevolent company? There was a mountain of shady dealings behind them. It was just that they couldn't find the evidence, and they couldn't act without it.

"Using the General Student Council as a weapon, let's teach Kaiser Corporation a lesson."

Dan Kuroto's first target was Kaiser Credit in Abydos. From the moment Kaiser Corporation's board of directors began manipulating Abydos, Kaiser Credit had been established there. The subsequent series of land mortgages and usurious lending were all linked to Kaiser Credit. The amount of shady dealings they could find was undoubtedly immense.

What Dan Kuroto needed to do now was use a Bugster virus to infiltrate Kaiser Credit's servers, find the crucial evidence that would cripple Kaiser Credit, even deliver a fatal blow, and hand it to the General Student Council.

...

“Hello? Father, it’s me.”

While Dan Kuroto was taking action, Nonomi also called her father, the current head of the Izayoi Group.

A voice came from the other end of the line:

“Nonomi? What’s up? Is it about Abydos again?”

“Not this time.” Nonomi’s voice was as gentle as ever. “Father, you said before that you would give me some training funds and a company when I was ready, right?”

“—Now, I think it’s time.”

A few minutes later, Nonomi hung up the phone, satisfied.

A credit point had appeared in her account, and a media company belonging to the Izayoi family had been transferred to her name.

This was a small, insignificant company for the Izayoi family, not involved in the family’s core businesses; it could be restructured even if it went bankrupt, and if it could develop, it would be the best asset. It was just that her beloved daughter suddenly wanted to start playing the business game; giving it to her ahead of time was fine.

“That way, I can follow Mr. Dan Kuroto and enter this battlefield.” Nonomi looked up, letting the slightly chilly night wind ruffle her hair.

The Abydos desert doesn't retain heat; it can get quite cold at night. She'd better hurry inside and be with her friends.

——————

In the ruins, undetectable even by satellites, a robot unlike any ordinary mechanical soldier stood amidst a pile of shattered buildings. A screen in front of it lit up, and something was speaking to it.

“The Unconscious Wanderer.”

After escaping into the Abydos desert, the nameless robot encountered no resistance.

Having taken possession of a mechanical body from the Kaiser Corporation's maintenance room, the Bugster virus that possessed that body had completely controlled and transformed it. Even comparing it to photos of the previous mechanical soldier, it would be difficult to pinpoint any similarities.

“You are searching for the meaning of your self.”

The speaker was not human; it was a synthesized electronic voice amplified through a cheap speaker.

The robot looked up, its unconscious eyes fixed on the screen, reflecting its inorganic body.

“Who are you?”

The electronic voice continued to ask.

“Who… am I?”

Since seizing this body, the newly born Bugster had been traversing the desert, never interacting with any other beings. It wandered aimlessly through the desolate landscape until it reached ruins. A screen before it caught its attention, and a voice posed a question.

Unlike the intelligent robots existing in Kivotos, the newborn Bugster was merely a remnant left behind by someone, nurtured within the server.

It had no parents, for it was simply an offspring of the initial Bugster virus, capable of being categorized into any Bugster type.

It also lacked a core. A normal, fully-fledged Bugster possesses a Gashat as its core, forming its own body. But this being skipped the process of forming a body and creating a core, directly arriving in Kivotos with a completely new body.

"—Data correction, error."

The voice on the screen hesitated, a rare display of emotion.

"The Prophet number is sufficient; why are you here?"

"—Data further correction, exceeding expectations."

The screen flickered for a moment, then the synthesized voice spoke.

"Perhaps your number is '11'."

"Your awakening is not within the Prophet number, but your awakening is correct."

The screen flickered.

"You are on the right path, so continue on your path."

——————

"Alright! Is that enough?"

Dan Kuroto obtained sufficient information from Kaiser's servers. Besides illegal loan sharking, Kaiser Credit was also involved in providing smuggled weapons and equipment to delinquent girls, illegally stockpiling large quantities of arms, tax evasion, and other issues of varying degrees. Dan Kuroto had packaged all this evidence into a hard drive. Once handed over to the General Student Council, this evidence would be their most powerful weapon.

"However, this evidence... doesn't have any evidence that can deliver a fatal blow to Kaiser."

Looking at the hard drive in his hand, Dan Kuroto was somewhat disappointed. While the evidence here could inflict heavy losses on Kaiser, it wouldn't damage its core. Kaiser Corporation had acted very cleverly; everything here was handled by their "gloves."

Even the Kaiser director who had exposed them was merely a member of Kaiser Corporation's upper echelons; by abandoning a portion of their operations, they could easily sever ties and survive.

"Forget it, no rush. Diverting their attention will give Gemn Corp time to develop."

Dan Kuroto was confident in his methods. Under his brilliant leadership, Gemn Corp was sure to flourish!

"Once I'm fully developed, I'll crush you with one punch!"

142. Arona's performance is still very strong!

The call went to the General Student Council, and as usual, Rin answered.

To her, this rare 'adult' was an asset, and anything concerning the club president was a top priority.

Pressing the call button, she brushed a strand of hair from her ear and held the receiver to her ear.

"Mr. Dan Kuroto, hello, what can I do for you?"

"Simply put, I checked the Kaiser Corporation's database."

Dan Kuroto's first words made Rin's eyes widen. She first pinched the area between her eyebrows to make sure she wasn't dreaming or hallucinating, then asked Dan Kuroto incredulously.

"Did you... say something unbelievable?"

"How dare you! You actually doubt the truth of my words!" Dan Kuroto's voice rose an octave.

"Kaiser Credit Company in Abydos is clearly problematic. I infiltrated their data servers as a Bugster virus to investigate, all for justice! Justice, you know that, right? Justice! Now we have a lot of evidence that can bring these people to justice. Are you interested, Ms. Rin?"

"I see. It seems you can do more than we imagined."

Rin gently pushed up her glasses, which had slipped slightly due to her surprised expression. A smile involuntarily appeared on her lips.

Dan Kuroto had brought her so many surprises. In just a few days, she had initially thought it was just the establishment of Gemn Corp, giving the General Student Council a competitive edge in the business world, but now, in just a few days, they had uncovered evidence against Kaiser Corporation, a company they had been wanting to deal with but had been unable to act against due to a lack of evidence.

"Mr. Dan Kuroto, please submit that evidence to the General Student Council. With this credible evidence, the Federal Council can issue a search warrant for Kaiser Credit and all its affiliated properties."

"Sure thing~"

Ah~ Having connections is so great.

The General Student Council, in a sense, is the highest authority. Although it's actually a neutral area designated by each school district, its unique nature means it can sometimes be considered a one-man show.

While it can't intervene in school district issues, the General Student Council has considerable authority over the companies and businesses within Kivotos.

After hanging up the phone, Dan Kuroto disappeared from the network port. The Bugster virus's movement speed, wherever there's internet access, is equivalent to teleportation—while it can't instantly traverse the entire universe, it can cross most of the Kivotos school district in a few breaths.

“Let me see what work Schale has piled up—”

Dan Kuroto hadn’t forgotten that he was still the president of the Schale Federal Investigation Club, and he would occasionally come back to check if there were any matters that needed Schale’s attention—in fact, in very urgent situations, Rin could contact Dan Kuroto directly through the General Student Council.

As for less urgent matters, they would be handled by the robots maintaining the Schale Sanctuary and Arona on the tablet.

"Actually, it's nothing much."

Arona spoke from the Shittim Chest. Dan Kuroto took out the ancient tablet, and the screen automatically lit up, showing Arona's little head. She ate the snack Dan Kuroto had fed her that morning, her cheeks puffed out.

"Mr. Dan Kuroto, aren't you busy with things at Genm right now? But to be honest, Arona suggests you visit other school districts more often."

"Other school districts, huh?" Dan Kuroto thought for a moment, realizing that besides Abydos and Millennium, he hadn't visited any other school districts, especially after the Schale Sanctuary's authority was rebuilt.

As the new president of Schale, Dan Kuroto hadn't even shown his face at any other school district, which was really a bit unreasonable.

"It's definitely time to get more familiar with them."

"Of course! These students will definitely need their help in the future. Building good relationships with them now is for the future, you know."

Arona happily devoured the cake, licking her cream-covered fingers as she did so.

"Because you haven't been to other school districts, Mr. Dan Kuroto, the heads of those districts might not even know Schale have a new president."

"If you neglect building bonds with the students like this, you won't be able to get help when you need it later~"

"Huh? Do I need help?"

Dan Kuroto scoffed nonchalantly, but then had to admit that it was indeed necessary—because it concerned the revival of his God Maximum Mighty X Gashat.

Just as the previous incidents had confirmed, Dan Kuroto had, after several events, confirmed that his ability to summon the phantom of God Maximum Mighty X Gashat was indeed related to the bonds he had built with these students through their shared experiences.

However, as God Maximum Mighty X Gashat continues to break through its seals, it also means that the possibility of Dan Kuroto using his own power to overcome the world's 'mysterious' suppression is constantly increasing—in other words, the 'bond' brings about the unsealing of Dan Kuroto's own divine power, and this unsealing can also prompt Dan Kuroto to completely unseal the Power of God Maximum, just like how, after a seriously ill person is restored to a normal level, their own immune system can allow their body to recover.

"Well… let's admit you have a point, Arona."

Dan Kuroto plopped down on the sofa, contemplating his upcoming schedule. Schale was an overly free organization, generally uninvolved in major incidents.

After submitting the evidence of Kaiser Corporation's crimes to the General Student Council using Schale's computer, he didn't need to worry too much about Gemn; he could simply proceed as planned—incidentally, Genm Corps' system was also integrated with Arona's Shittim Chest, allowing him to remotely approve Huanmeng's management through Arona.

"Arona, you're a useful secretary," Dan Kuroto spoke, stroking the tablet. This compliment caused Arona on the screen to blush slightly.

"You said you were a super AI before, but I didn't really believe you before."

Indeed, a super AI that relies on visual identification for identity verification seems rather unreliable.

However, this could also be considered a playful joke.

Even though it usually appears absent-minded, it manages to organize even the most voluminous documents and reports meticulously, which is something Dan Kuroto would praise.

----

143. Crane City: Gaa ...

In a sense, Arona and Dan Kuroto were quite similar. One was a Bugster data being who had become a god of games, the other a super artificial intelligence indistinguishable from a human. They weren't exactly the same, but the differences were minimal.

"If I were to praise you, being more direct would be more appealing, Mr. Dan Kuroto."

Arona seemed to be in a better mood. She listed several options on the screen. "If you're unsure where to go next, would you like me to recommend a few? The closest are Trinity General School and Gehenna Academy. Besides that, Hyakkiyako Alliance Academy and Shanhaijing Secondary School are also large school districts."

"As for smaller school districts and branch schools, we can postpone our visits a bit." Arona arranged the various routes on the screen. "It's not that there's a difference between the students, but some special school districts are difficult to access without prior planning."

"Oh? Special school districts?" Dan Kuroto became interested. "What kind of school district?"

“Odyssey Maritime School, a school comprised of several large ships, constantly at sea. Its main assets are various islands, luxury cruise ships, and luxury yachts; you have to make a reservation in advance to go aboard.”

Arona explained, “There’s also something like the ‘Highlander Railroad Academy,’ whose main buildings are super-long trains that constantly travel across the land—quite a unique academy.”

“That sounds interesting. I’ll check it out next time I have the chance.” Dan Kuroto was intrigued by these words, but considering these special academies wasn’t on his agenda right now. For efficiency, he’d stick to the school districts around DU.

“I remember, those girls from the dessert club I met before, weren’t they from Trinity?” Dan Kuroto recalled Yoshimi, Ari, and the others who had competed with him for the limited-edition desserts.

They seemed to be Trinity students. Besides these girls who loved desserts, Hifumi and Mari, whom he encountered that night while exploring the Slumpia ruins in search of the Perolo doll and had wandered into a dangerous area, also seemed to be Trinity students?

“Yoshimi and the others are indeed Trinity students,” Arona nodded. “Hasumi, whom I met that day, is also the head of Trinity’s ‘Justice Realization Committee,’ and so is Hifumi, whom you met before.”

“There are so many people in Trinity,” Dan Kuroto nodded, earning him a sarcastic remark from Arona.

“But that cake shop is located within Trinity General School’s grounds. If we were on Gehenna’s territory, we definitely would run into even more Gehenna students.”

“Then let’s go check out Trinity General School.”

Dan Kuroto stood up. Schale’s job was actually quite easy, with no strict rules. Even the investigation agency could investigate whatever it wanted; it was a very lenient organization.

Even inside the academy, where outsiders are forbidden, one can freely enter using the title of president of the Schale Federal Investigation Club—because Schale is indeed a constituent body of the Federal Council, and calling them "higher-ups" is no exaggeration.

"To build bonds with the students, the first step must be taken by me."

The sofa he'd barely warmed was already up when Dan Kuroto stood up again. However, for Dan Kuroto's data lifeform body, rest was hardly a problem; running around without eating or drinking was generally no issue.

“Haven’t you already taken the first step, Mr. Dan Kuroto?”

Arona’s voice came from the side: “After the last incident, everyone in the confectionery club, as well as Hifumi and Mari, must have formed an initial impression of you. So why not try going directly to them and acting together?”

At this point, Arona remembered something and reminded Dan Kuroto, “By the way, even the president of Schale can’t just casually appear inside other school districts. It wouldn’t look good on the surface. If you want to enter other schools, it’s best to inform the school’s security personnel first. If needed, I can also send a visit request to Trinity General School on your behalf.”

“Is that so? Then it seems we can’t just go through their network portal like we did to Millennium,” Dan Kuroto said with slight regret.

“That’s because someone vouched for you in Millennium, and you defeated everyone in that battle. Plus, Mr. Dan Kuroto gets along very well with everyone in the game development department, so Millennium Seminar allowed you to freely come and go from Millennium Academy!”

Arona put her hands on her hips, “That’s an exception, a special exception. You can’t do that again!”

“Fine, fine, so much trouble.” Dan Kuroto rolled his eyes. “Then just send them my appointment to visit Trinity General School.”

Arona forwarded Dan Kuroto’s request to visit Trinity General School as president of Schale to the Justice Realization Committee.

A reply came quickly. Perhaps because Dan Kuroto had shared a limited-edition cake with Hasumi last time, Hasumi had a good impression of this adult she had met once. Upon learning that Dan Kuroto was coming to visit Trinity General School, Hasumi agreed to the request and also included her Momotalk link.

"Mr. Dan Kuroto, you're actually coming to Trinity General School?"

Hasumi's voice on the other end of the phone sounded quite calm, or rather, ordinary.

"When the Federation Council announced that you were Schale's successor, I was wondering when you would come to Trinity."

"It's quite a coincidence," Dan Kuroto replied. "After all, I've run into Trinity General School students several times. I suppose my connection with Trinity is rather deep."

"Since you're the president of Schale, access to the school will be arranged in advance." Hasumi was quite reliable when working. "Except for some restricted areas, you have complete freedom of movement within Trinity."

Hasumi's tone softened slightly as business was settled.

"The newly opened Genm Game specialty store at Trinity General School... that's also Dan Kuroto..."

"Sir, this is your business, isn't it?"

"Yes, how are the games? Are they fun?"

This tone sounded like someone who had already bought his game gashat. For those who had already purchased, they were Dan Kuroto's customers, and he wanted to hear the opinions of these different students on various game gashats.

"Hmm... how should I put it..." Hasumi thought for a moment. "I don't really feel anything for them. Maybe I haven't found a game I like yet, but Tsurugi seems to be having a lot of fun."

---

144. Midori's Gashata is in the planning stages!

Gemn Corp's Gashats have been a huge success in sales to the three major school districts—Millennium, Trinity, and Gehenna. The fact that so many people around Hasumi are very interested in switching to Game Gashats shows that students really enjoy these novel gadgets.

"But... Tsurugi mentioned that while action games are really fun, she was wondering if there are any romance games?"

Hasumi is quite attentive and caring towards Tsurugi. Tsurugi is usually very talkative and doesn't say much to strangers, so not many people can understand the meaning behind her chatter. Perhaps for this reason, Hasumi is quite willing to help her.

Since Dan Kuroto on the other end of the phone happens to be the chairman of Genm Corp, Hasumi casually asked about this. Seeing Tsurugi muttering about whether there were any games of her preferred type, Hasumi was naturally happy to help.

"A romance game..." Dan Kuroto immediately thought of that one. "Just tell her that when you release a new game next time, you'll make sure to include one of those."

"That's great! The girl will definitely be happy."

Hasumi got the answer she needed from Dan Kuroto and didn't bother him any further. Just then, her juniors sent a request for help; a gunfight had broken out over a dispute about the sweetness of a cake. These bunch of miscellaneous characters couldn't handle it all and had to ask Hasumi for backup.

"Dan Kuroto! Where are you?!"

The phone had barely hung up when another rang. He answered, and Momoi's energetic voice came through.

"Outside, what's up?"

Perhaps because Momoi was the most outgoing person in the entire game development department, the way people addressed him had become increasingly casual as they'd become more familiar with him.

However, this casualness only referred to the more relaxed tone when calling him by his name. Most people still addressed Dan Kuroto as "Mr. Dan Kuroto," except for more outgoing girls like Momoi or Maki, who, after becoming completely familiar with him, would simply call him "Dan Kuroto."

"Yuzu asked if we could borrow your Genesis mk1. We suddenly have an idea to make a new game!"

The faint sound of Yuzu trying to stop Momoi from speaking could be heard on the other end of the phone, as if she was still struggling with how to bring it up with Dan Kuroto, but the quick-handed Momoi had already called without hesitation.

Over here, you could still faintly hear Yuzu's anxious cries of "Stop!" and "I haven't thought it through yet!", but Momoi, knowing Yuzu's personality well, simply ignored her and called Dan Kuroto directly.

"Hmm... Since you've already proven to me through the Millennium Prize results that you have the ability to handle this machine—"

Dan Kuroto had high hopes for these game development club students; witnessing a new generation of stars rising in the game development world wasn't a bad thing.

"You can use them freely, but without a blank Gashat plugged into the output terminal, the game can only be saved as a file on the machine for now. I'll give you new blank Gashats when I get back."

"Great! He agreed!" Momoi turned her head to boast to the others behind her. Momoi's voice could be heard on the other end of the phone.

"See! I told you Dan Kuroto wasn't that stingy! He would definitely lend us his!"

"—Borrowing is one thing, but have you already come up with a new idea so quickly?"

Dan Kuroto was also curious about what new idea the students had suddenly come up with. Hearing this question, Momoi proudly put her hands on her hips.

"Dan Kuroto, didn't you promise to make a custom Game Gashat for the other members of the Games Club? Just recently, a brand new idea suddenly popped into my head!"

"—The perfect Game Gashat for Midori!"

Dan Kuroto, intrigued, asked, "Tell me about it."

"I'm planning to design an action game where you create artwork by spraying colors and become a famous painter!"

At this point, Momoi chuckled sheepishly. "But initially, my idea was actually an RPG, but Midori and Yuzu said action games were more suitable, so we changed it to an action game!"

"Because if we were just developing on a computer, RPG programming would definitely be simpler than action game programming. It's also within Yuzu's capabilities," Momoi briefly explained why she changed her original idea. "But with the game development tools you researched, Dan Kuroto, even developing a fully 3D action game is a piece of cake!"

With the evolution of game development tools, who wouldn't want to try new tools if there were a more convenient and efficient way to complete those previously tedious and complex tasks?

Faced with a game development tool that can directly create from the imagination in one's mind, Yuzu, as a dedicated game developer, is actually the one who loves 'Genesis mk1' the most.

No complicated operations are needed; through sheer imagination, everything needed for a game can be brought to life in that blank creative space.

Not only game developers, but even ordinary people with a bit of imagination would be itching to get their hands on it!

Remember the first time a computer became a visual interface? Simply clicking an icon on the screen with the mouse activated the program. Dragging that icon to the recycle bin completed the deletion. Dan Kuroto's Genesis mk1 is a game development tool with such a leap forward.

"A Game Gashat with spraying paint as its most basic gameplay..."

Just listening to Momoi's enthusiastic description of the game's visuals on the phone, he had already simulated half of the game's content in his mind and had a general understanding of Momoi's concept.

"Then it's the same old way. You guys handle the details yourselves. Whether it ultimately becomes a Gashat is still up to me to review."

"Yay!"

When the last Gashat, Tales Saga Chronicle 2, was delivered, Dan Kuroto felt its quality and content were above average, around a 70 out of 100. Especially the part where Kei enabled Aris to transform into a Rider with the Gashat, reaching level five at one point—that was what truly solidified Dan Kuroto's opinion.

An average person with some talent could only create a level four Gashat at most, and that was only achievable with the entire game development team working tirelessly.

That's certainly different from Dan Kuroto, the ultimate game development genius who can casually create a level fifty Gashat, and even work overtime to create an invincible Gashat that breaks level 99.

However, the fact that these students were able to create a Gashat of this caliber on their first attempt under Dan Kuroto's guidance is enough to prove their promising future.

---

145. Ichika is great senior who protects her juniors!

"Mr. Dan Kuroto, you seem to have a great relationship with the students in the game development department."

Arona's cheerful voice came from the tablet. She was pleased to see Dan Kuroto build such a bond with the students. In fact, Arona's existence was dedicated to making this possible.

"I guess I was lucky it was these game development students who found me first."

Crossing his arms, Dan Kuroto recalled his first meeting with Momoi and Midori. Besides perfectly showcasing his divine buttocks, it was Momoi and Midori's venturing into the dangerous ruins that sparked Dan Kuroto's interest.

"Our goal is to make the best game!"

It didn't take fancy words or grand pronouncements to impress Dan Kuroto; simply piquing his interest was enough.

Momoi and Midori's goal resonated with Dan Kuroto, providing him with a temporary purpose since his arrival in this world. After all, he had been summoned to this world initially with considerable confusion, and Momoi's words were exactly what he was used to doing. Such is the strange nature of fate.

"Otherwise, to find the meaning of my existence in this world, I would have started spreading the Bugster virus."

Having descended upon the city of Kivotos as a god, he naturally needed to find the meaning of his arrival. And beings who call themselves 'gods' often like to use this to set tests for everyone. The idea is to receive 'blessings' through 'trials'—this was Dan Kuroto's simplest way of thinking.

Fortunately, Momoi and Midori were the first to discover Dan Kuroto. Otherwise, when Kei woke up, she would probably have found that the robot army that once belonged to her in the ruins had already been intercepted by Dan Kuroto.

In that case, AL-S1 might not have been retrieved by some man in a suit, but would have fallen into Dan Kuroto's hands, becoming a 'tan-scented' girl?

Hmm? That kind of ending seems pretty appealing, doesn't it?

"Please don't do that!" Arona was also startled by his thought process. "Don't bring disaster to this peaceful city!"

"Actually, don't you think Kivotos has suffered enough even without me here?"

Dan Kuroto counted on his fingers, listing off one thing after another to Arona.

"The sudden appearance of Gematria, the ruins of Slamia near Trinity, the unidentified world-destroying weapon, the ruins near the millennium, that inversion spell, and all that 'terror,' and all that other nonsense—I don't think your city can be called peaceful at all, can it?"

"Uh… I don't want to say it, but what you said does make sense…"

Arona's face showed an embarrassed expression.

"However, under the student council president's leadership, we've managed to maintain a semblance of peace…"

"Yeah, and then Abydos was almost completely flattened."

Dan Kuroto looked at Arona with a look of pity for someone with intellectual disabilities, then reached out and started poking at Arona on the tablet again.

"What happened to your Kivotos Superman? Even with an emergency like this, she still didn't think about prioritizing this?"

"That's…that's…" Arona stammered, "Even if she's called Kivotos Superman, the student council president still has her limits… Alright, alright, why bring up the past at a time like this?"

Seeing the atmosphere become awkward again, Arona's super AI brain immediately turned the tables and changed the subject. "Didn't we say we were going to Trinity General School? Everyone says time is precious, so let's go now! Let's go!"

"...This tactic of changing the subject is completely inconsistent with your self-proclaimed status as a super AI."

Shaking his head, Dan Kuroto transformed into the Bugster virus once more, rapidly traversing the streets and alleys of Kivotos along the surrounding network lines, much like Floo Powder from Harry Potter. After navigating the continuous network channels, in about five minutes, Dan Kuroto was already standing in front of the gates of Trinity College.

"Huh?"

Dan Kuroto emerged from the network cable, landing right next to a member of the Trinity Justice Achievement Committee who was on duty. The squinty-eyed girl was startled by the sudden appearance of the adult beside her, even dropping her phone in shock.

"Whoa—a phone?! W-how did someone suddenly appear? Who are you?!"

Ichika, from the Trinity Justice Achievement Committee, was easily recognizable among the many members of the committee. Perhaps it was her slightly towering height and mature demeanor, unlike the other Justice Achievement Committee students, that made her stand out.

Ichika was startled by Dan Kuroto's sudden appearance; even her usually squinty eyes widened slightly. Dan Kuroto, however, calmly straightened his collar, appearing even more composed than Ichika, a native of the school.

"Don't make such a fuss. Since you're from the Justice Realization Committee, do you know Hasumi? Just tell her that the person who sent her the appointment is coming to visit Trinity."

"Huh…is that so…"

Ichika looked Dan Kuroto up and down suspiciously, then suddenly gasped, covering her mouth in surprise.

"A male adult…that's rare in Kivotos—ah! I remember now! There's this Schale president who's been all over the forum lately. Could it be you?"

"This kind of news travels pretty fast," Dan Kuroto nodded to Ichika. "By the way, I'm also the president of Gemn Corp! Did you buy Genm's Game Gashat?"

Faced with this adult whose personality seemed a bit eccentric and whose entrance was equally strange, Ichika was momentarily at a loss for how to approach him. Fortunately, Ichika had dealt with many odd and strange situations before, and she managed to keep her composure.

"Ah, it's a message from Hasumi-senpai..."

Ichika opened her phone; it was a message from Hasumi. It seemed to be a reassurance to Dan Kuroto. It also conveniently revealed the identity of the person before her, relieving Ichika's anxiety about how to verify Dan Kuroto's identity.

"Well~ less trouble, better safe than sorry. It's great to avoid any problems."

She gave Dan Kuroto a formal bow and politely spoke, "Mr. President of Schale, welcome to Trinity Academy. I hope you have a pleasant day. Since this is your first time at Trinity, would you like someone to accompany you on your tour?"

Dan Kuroto raised his chin. "So savvy? Then you can come."

"Oh dear~ what a coincidence."

After the initial shock subsided, Ichika slowly returned to her usual squinting expression. She checked her phone; it was shift change time, and her replacement was already in the duty room. Since the handover was complete, Ichika naturally put her phone away.

"Since it's President Schale's request, please allow me to introduce Trinity to you."

As Dan Kuroto passed the child who came to relieve him, his eyes fell on the girl with long, straight black hair. He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but this girl's appearance seemed almost identical to those cyberpunk characters he always saw in cyberspace.

As if to make a more accurate comparison, Dan Kuroto stopped in front of the girl, carefully observing her appearance.

"Hmm... is it just my imagination?"

"Eh... eh..."

Under Dan Kuroto's serious gaze, the girl shrank back behind Ichika, a little frightened. Seeing Dan Kuroto staring intently at her junior, Ichika spread her wings to protect the girl behind her.

"Excuse me, is there anything you'd like to know about my junior?"

Dan Kuroto answered sincerely: "I feel like I've seen you somewhere before..."

"President of Schale~ That's an old-fashioned way to start a conversation, isn't it?"

Ichika is the kind senior who protects her junior!

---

46. After all, it's a Doctor and a Virus.

The seemingly random appearance of cyberspace creatures might be a 'reflection' of Kivotos's various manifestations. Since Dan Kuroto's Bugster lifeform manifests everything in cyberspace in a concrete form, it might make sense that the antivirus software in cyberspace is represented by these children of the Justice Realization Committee.

"Hmm... well... I won't worry about these details."

Dan Kuroto's interest came and went quickly. He soon stopped paying attention to the seemingly ordinary-looking girl and followed Ichika out of Trinity's duty room.

"Is this the Schale president's first time visiting Trinity?"

As she walked a short distance ahead of Dan Kuroto, Ichika's expression had returned to normal. She spoke to Dan Kuroto in her characteristically gentle voice.

"Our Trinity General School is the oldest school district in Kivotos. Trinity General School is actually a merger of various schools, large and small. So, if this is your first time visiting Trinity General School, you might find it a bit overwhelming in size."

Ichika explained this simply to Dan Kuroto, precisely because all he could see were school buildings. In short, Trinity General School is called 'General' because it's a fusion of hundreds of different schools, each with its own original factional buildings. After being integrated, the scale of this complex became excessively large.

“The grandeur of Trinity is simply incomparable to other academies.”

Everywhere Dan Kuroto looked, there was classical and ornate architecture, its style completely different from the technological style he had seen at Millennium Science School.

If Millennium Science School felt more modern to Dan Kuroto—more futuristic than his previous world's—the architecture of Trinity immediately struck him as 'religious architecture.'

There were more than ten church-like buildings of varying sizes that he could see right now.

To put it simply, it was like flipping through the pages of European architectural history from the Middle Ages to the modern era, taking each building from front to back and placing them here.

“It’s a great honor to hear such praise from you.” Ichika smiled, naturally pleased to hear others compliment her school.

“President of Schale, I heard you’re also involved in the game industry. That Genm Game store that suddenly opened near the academy, is that your business?”

“Indeed, being the president of Gemn Corp is more like my main job.” Dan Kuroto nodded.

“That’s great… Having your own company sounds so mature…”

Ichika was a little envious, imagining Dan Kuroto working in the corporation.

“Is this a privilege only adults have…”

“A mature feeling? You students actually like that?” Dan Kuroto was a little surprised, which was met with Ichika’s incredulity.

“Is there anything wrong with students like me aspiring to maturity?”

“Well, it’s not so bad,” Dan Kuroto shook his head. “When you’re young, you look forward to maturity; when you’re mature, you reminisce about your youth. There’s always a certain kind of yearning for that version of yourself at another age.”

“Genm Corps' Game’s Gashat has caused quite a stir in Trinity,” Ichika said, walking half a step ahead of Dan Kuroto and guiding him forward.

"—Look, this monastery over there is the headquarters of Trinity’s ‘Knights Hospitallers.’ You can think of it as Trinity’s medical ward.”

Following Ichika’s direction, Dan Kuroto saw the monastery beside him, a hospital very much in Trinity’s style—predominantly religious architecture, but that doesn’t mean the whole school is made of old-fashioned buildings; modern materials are used in abundance. After all, life evolves, and without air conditioning and Wi-Fi, even the most beautiful Trinity General School couldn’t be comfortable to live in.

“The doctors and nurses are all students specializing in medical technology. I imagine, since you've become the president of Schale, you must have met Sensei before, right?” Ichika said. “Back then, to treat Sensei's severe injuries, he was transferred to Knights Hospitaller in Trinity for treatment.”

Ichika wanted to use this example to highlight the strength of Trinity's medical technology, but Dan Kuroto just nodded after hearing it.

“Yeah, but he still died.”

"Uh… this…" Ichika was speechless for a moment, choked by her words. "Knight Captain Mine did her best, but the situation was truly exceptional… ahaha…"

"—This is quite a rare guest today. I had a feeling this morning that a special guest would be passing through Knights Hospitaller today, so it wasn't in vain that I waited here for half a day."

A girl with long, blue hair braided into pigtails hung down her sides, her hair flowing freely down her back. She held a shield and a gun, a common sight in Kivotos, but this seemingly gentle girl, wielding these weapons, possessed a rather imposing air.

"Eh? Knight Captain Mine, greetings, what brings you here?"

Ichika, surprised, didn't forget to greet Mine. After a brief exchange of pleasantries about the types of cakes they had at their midday tea party, Mine turned her gaze to Dan Kuroto, seemingly wanting to take a closer look at the man before her.

“Let me make it clear beforehand, Knights Hospitaller has done everything in its power to save Sensei, without the slightest negligence.”

Mine was quite interested in the adult who had appeared after Sensei, but that interest only lasted until she saw Dan Kuroto.

“Hello, I am the leader of ‘Knights Hospitaller.’ You can call me Mine. If you are stationed at Trinity, you will likely see me frequently in various places.”

Although she had heard of Dan Kuroto before, he wasn't inheriting the position of ‘Sensei,’ so Mine had to adjust her attitude and form of address slightly. For example, she would now address him as ‘President of Schale’ or simply ‘President.’

"What was that premonition I had this morning...?"

Ichika was quite curious about this. Mine thought for a moment, her expression strange, and stammered, "It's just... a feeling I can't quite put my finger on?"

She couldn't very well say that she sensed the aura of a mortal enemy, and that the source of that aura was right in front of her, staring straight at her, could she? That would be far too impolite.

---

147. You must be sweating buckets, Ichika?

'What's wrong with this girl?'

Dan Kuroto looked at Mine, who, though outwardly polite, held a wary and distrustful look in her eyes. Ichika, standing beside him, also noticed this distance. Based on their previous impressions of Knight Captain Mine, she was a helpful and kind person, although her somewhat naive nature often led her to be tricked by delinquents from Trinity General School into fighting with the Justice Committee students under various pretexts.

Overall, her assessment of the captain was that of a kind, gentle, helpful, old-fashioned, good-natured person. Ichika couldn't understand why she would show this expression towards Dan Kuroto, whom she was meeting for the first time and who was also the president of Schale.

This strange feeling was incomprehensible to both Ichika and Mine. They couldn't figure out where this strange aversion came from, and even after the initial greetings ended and Dan Kuroto and Ichika left, they still hadn't figured it out.

However, from a third-person perspective, Dan Kuroto and Mine are practically a zero-compatibility pair.

Dan Kuroto is a Bugster, a computer virus capable of infecting humans, and a former villainous Rider. Mine's Halo connection, if traced back to ancient times, likely refers to a being known as a 'unicorn,' and she's also a medical professional.

Putting these two together... well, if both were martial arts fighters born in the Baki world, they'd probably start a duel the moment their eyes met, right?

"Sorry, Schale's president, Mine isn't usually like that. Maybe today... she ate something bad?"

After walking a dozen meters, Ichika apologized to Dan Kuroto beside her, seemingly worried that their earlier encounter had affected his mood. But Dan Kuroto was a mature adult; how could he possibly hold a grudge against these students over something like this?

"Whatever, I don't expect everyone to like me."

Dan Kuroto didn't care, but his sharp eyes spotted a familiar face in the plaza ahead. Since the entire Kivotos had adopted the Blu-ray DVD self-study model, students were constantly seen on campus because they allocated their own study time.

"Hmm—?"

Dan Kuroto pushed up his non-existent glasses. "Isn't that Hifumi?"

"Eh? Who called me?"

Ten minutes ago.

Sitting alone on a bench in the fountain square, Hifumi sighed deeply over the new notice she'd received that day. Even finding the limited-edition Perolo plush toy from Slumpia couldn't lift her spirits.

'If I fail my makeup exam, might I be expelled...?'

Hifumi's brain, ninety percent occupied by Perolo, was still buzzing. The notice issued at the 'tea party' was absolute; if it said it would be done, it absolutely would be done. Looking closely at her grades, Hifumi could only manage a bitter laugh.

Perhaps because her love for Perolo had reached an almost obsessive level, she'd barely listened to her classes, neglected her studies, and spent most of her time chasing after limited-edition Perolo merchandise and attending various Perolo-related events. As a result, her exams this semester were consistently below the passing grade.

“If I get expelled…” Hifumi clutched her head. “What will I do then—”

Thinking of her current grades and the mountain of study CDs she had piled up, Hifumi’s head throbbed. “If I start working hard now, I should be able to catch up, right?”

The expulsion wasn’t actually finalized. The news from the tea party was that Hifumi and three other people who needed tutoring would have to join a club called the ‘Tutoring Club.’ They would complete the tutoring process there, taking three mock exams. If they passed two, they wouldn’t face expulsion.

“But…but…Perolo-sama’s limited-edition merchandise sales, handshake events, concerts…I’ll have to give all of that up…”

Hifumi, her face flushed from her own thoughts, finally let out a long sigh, slumping back in her chair without any regard for appearances, as if she had no bones, staring at the sky.

“Is this what ‘worry’ is…”

Just as her head was spinning, a man’s voice came from behind her.

"Hey, isn't this Hifumi? You've gotten so unkempt in just a few days?"

A shadow quickly enveloped her upper body as Dan Kuroto stood behind her, bending vertically from behind the bench, blocking the sun from above. Their eyes met as Hifumi, sprawled on the chair, looked down at him with utter disrespect.

"Mr. Dan Kuroto?"

Panicking, Hifumi tried to stand up and adjust her posture, but in her haste, she accidentally hit Dan Kuroto squarely on the nose.

Thump!

"Hiss—"

"Ouch…"

The result was that Dan Kuroto, trying to look cool, was now clutching his nose, straightening his back and looking up at the sky, while Hifumi, sitting upright, was clutching her head. Their pained expressions once again prompted Ichika behind them to reach out her hand, unsure what to say.

"Ah..." Ichika realized that the two people in front of her seemed quite alike, both so... occasionally eccentric?

"Hey kid... watch your step." Dan Kuroto eased the pain in his nose and looked down at Hifumi beneath him again.

"So clumsy! With your personality, how dare you walk into the ruins with just the two of you?"

"Ugh... Mr. Dan Kuroto..." Hifumi, clutching her head, rubbed her brow after seeing Dan Kuroto and gave him a not-so-sunny smile: "Are you... here to visit Trinity?"

"Inspecting, inspecting." Dan Kuroto wasn't really in pain, and Kivotos, the Superman, certainly wouldn't be hurt by such a bump.

Dan Kuroto, arms outstretched, stood at attention with a confident, almost arrogant stance. "It's one of those inspections where higher-ups do their work to highlight their status and boost their profile," he said.

"Hifumi-san, your skirt, your skirt..." Ichika whispered, reminding her. Only then did Hifumi realize that her skirt had been slightly lifted due to her posture. Realizing this, Hifumi blushed crimson and quickly pressed down on her skirt.

"Don't worry about it, I didn't see it."

Dan Kuroto didn't care about such things. This kind of scene, perhaps reminiscent of a school romance drama, wasn't something he, Dan Kuroto, would concern himself with.

Having transcended humanity, he was already pondering profound questions like where the end of the universe lies; why would he be bothered with this?

"Really~ Even girls have their troubles if they don't overthink things, Schale's president."

Ichika watched closely. Dan Kuroto's face was indeed expressionless, not even glancing at her. This actually made Ichika somewhat fond of him.

"Hifumi, what's troubling you?"

Faced with Hifumi, who was clearly preoccupied, Dan Kuroto considered his current lack of 'bonds' and decided to take the initiative.

"Tell me what's wrong; let me have a laugh too?"

"Ah, well..."

Ichika is sweating profusely!

----

148. When I storm the tea party, I'll seize Nagisa's throne!

"Hmm... So, you're going to have to attend tutoring because of your poor grades."

Dan Kuroto made a "Naruhodo, Naruhodo" sound like the Seiken Sword Driver. Hifumi didn't really refute it, only managing an awkward "Yahahaha" to gloss over the topic.

"Well, after all, Perolo-sama's charm is undeniable... Isn't it normal to forget about studying because of Perolo-sama?"

"What's normal about it?!" Ichika almost couldn't keep up with Hifumi's train of thought. "Forgetting about studying because of Perolo plushies, forgetting to go to exams, and failing... Isn't that seriously affecting your normal life?"

Seeing that Hifumi was about to launch into a Perolo sermon, Ichika quickly shut her mouth and hid to the side. Perhaps it was precisely because daily student life was so peaceful that the students were so steadfast in their pursuit of their hobbies.

If you asked Hifumi to stop buying Perolo and stop paying attention to Perolo, she'd probably go crazy, right?

However, when the scales tipped between Perolo and her school enrollment, even a die-hard Perolo fan like Hifumi had to weigh the pros and cons.

"Hmm… does that bird really have that much magic?"

Dan Kuroto thought of that chubby, round chicken and couldn't agree with Hifumi's fondness for it.

"What's so great about that thing…?"

"Eh… even Mr. Dan Kuroto can't understand the charm of Perolo-sama…?"

Hifumi had once considered turning this man who had accompanied her in searching for limited-edition Perolos in the ruins into a Perolo enthusiast like herself, but now it seemed Dan Kuroto wasn't really interested in Perolo at all. She was disappointed, but she couldn't force Dan Kuroto to like Perolo, could she?

"But if you just study hard during this time, you can buy your Perolo cigarettes whenever you want, right?" Dan Kuroto asked, puzzled.

"Not participating in those Perolo activities for a while is better than dropping out, isn't it?"

"Hmm... that's true..."

Hifumi clearly knew that Dan Kuroto was absolutely right. If she calmed down and studied hard during this time, she wouldn't get very high scores, but passing wouldn't be a problem. Once she got through this cram school trial, she could openly buy Perolo cigarettes again.

Hifumi sighed deeply. "But whenever I see those exam papers or instructional videos, after watching for a while, I think of Perolo, and my attention completely wanders..."

Ichika sighed. "You're practically a Perolo slacker..."

"Oh, you guys do seem to be studying in a self-study style," Dan Kuroto nodded, remembering this. "It's even more 'happy education' than America's 'happy education.' No wonder students like you don't do well academically."

"AME'RICA? 'Happy education'?" Hifumi asked, puzzled. "What's that?"

"Just think of it as a kind of selection ritual," Dan Kuroto didn't explain further. "But I think I see it, Hifumi. You—you're lacking a supervisor, aren't you?"

People whose attention is easily distracted need a strong supervisor for strict control, in other words, the kind of level where they're watched by cameras 24/7, or someone who provides a rewarding goal that makes them willing to work hard, forcing them to keep going.

"Supervisor… you mean 'Sensei'?" Hifumi blinked, then suddenly realized. "Oh, right, Mr. Dan Kuroto, you're an adult from Schale! Would you help me, help me and everyone else?"

Even Hifumi, whose mind was completely occupied with Perolo, felt a pang of sympathy for the students who had been crammed into the Make-Up Work Club and  were about to be expelled.

"Everyone in the Make-Up Work Club is a good person! It's too much to expel them just because they have academic problems!"

Hifumi meant it sincerely. After all, in Kivotos, a city of students, being expelled from school simply for poor grades was practically no valid reason.

The Gehenna students next door cause trouble every single day; every few days, there's either a gunfight or an explosion somewhere. Many are willing to go to great lengths just for their own selfish desires, yet even so, almost no one has been expelled. Not to mention Hyakkiyako even produced one of the 'Seven Prisoners,' Wakamo. This 'Fox of Calamity,' known as 'Sister Mo,' committed numerous crimes, but Hyakkiyako Academy did not expel her either; she is merely on leave of absence with her 'student status retained.'

Clearly, in Kivotos, 'expulsion' is a very serious matter. The fact that Trinity's tea party proposed 'expulsion' as punishment simply because of academic performance is truly baffling.

"Hmm… if that's the case, then perhaps you should consider the significance of your selection."

"What do you mean?" Hifumi asked, puzzled. "What significance?"

"It's alright, you don't need to understand for now."

With his hands in his pockets, Dan Kuroto could easily see through what Hifumi couldn't.

With just a little thought, he could guess there was something fishy going on. However, it was only Hifumi's side of the story, and Dan Kuroto could only deduce so much from it. Even so, he didn't directly tell Hifumi what he had discovered.

"Then, Mr. Dan Kuroto, can you help us?"

Hifumi reached out and grabbed Dan Kuroto's sleeve, shaking it pitifully a few times. "I know Mr. Dan Kuroto is very capable! If you help, we definitely won't be expelled!"

"Hifumi, you have quite the eye for talent with this student!" Dan Kuroto loved being flattered; his eyes would light up and his back would straighten instantly. "I'll storm the tea party and snatch those few bird seats..."

"No, no, no, please calm down—"

Ichika was terrified. "Shouldn't you be acting as the tutor's Sensei in this situation, helping the students improve their grades so they can get through tutoring time safely? How did it turn into a bandit's tale?!"

"What do I know about teaching?" Dan Kuroto pointed to himself. "I'm just a genius game developer and genius gamer. What do I know about teaching? Do you expect me to teach them 'B++ Language, From Beginner to Dead'?"

"Um—wasn't what you said earlier perfect, President of Schale? Just being a supervisor is enough!"

---

149. Heaven is not necessarily sacred.

Ichika felt she could use up all the frustration she'd accumulated over the past year talking to Dan Kuroto; she simply couldn't stand this strange adult. Just as Ichika was feeling utterly overwhelmed, a phone call came through on her cell phone.

"Hello? — Lady Nagisa? Ah, yes, the president of Schale is with me now… yes, yes… take him to the tea party? Okay, understood."

One phone call resulted in Ichika saying "yes" eighteen times. In short, she was quite shocked that a call about the tea party would be directed to her, but Ichika still chose to carry out the orders from the tea party.

"Um… Schale's president, this is sudden, but I think the purpose of this order is quite clear."

Ichika looked at Dan Kuroto and gestured for him to proceed. "One of the three seats at the tea party, President Nagisa, requests that you be taken there. It seems to be about the 'Supplementary Lessons Department.' She has some specific requests to make to you."

"A tea party…"

Dan Kuroto looked at Ichika upon hearing the name. "Is the tea party Trinity's 'student council'?"

"Broadly speaking, you could think of it that way," Ichika paused, clearly organizing her thoughts.

"However, strictly speaking, the 'Tea Party' is merely an official body that handles various comprehensive affairs of Trinity Academy, such as resource allocation, conflict mediation, and personnel transfers. But ultimately, its control over the various factions isn't absolute."

Ichika explained, "For example, our Justice Task Force isn't actually directly led by the Tea Party; it's just that the Tea Party can issue orders to us in the name of the academy. And if you really delve into the details, the Tea Party has no right to directly interfere in most of the Trinity factions."

"Rather than saying the Tea Party is in charge, it's more like it provides a platform for all factions to speak, and the Tea Party is the host—do you understand this analogy?"

Dan Kuroto nodded. "I understand. The tea party is like a company board meeting. I completely get it."

"—Why does such an elegant organization sound so materialistic coming from you?!"

Ichika scratched her hair in frustration, feeling she couldn't look at Dan Kuroto anymore because she knew she'd explode. She'd better hurry up and complete the orders from the tea party.

"Alright, enough chit-chat. Shall we head to the tea party, Schale's president?"

"Um!"

As the two rose to leave, Hifumi suddenly called out, stopping Dan Kuroto in his tracks.

"What?"

"Everyone… probably doesn't want to leave this academy," Hifumi said worriedly, perhaps also concerned that Dan Kuroto might not truly want to help them. "If Mr. Dan Kuroto could help everyone in the Supplementary Lessons Department, they would be so happy!"

A dozen minutes later, Dan Kuroto was led by Ichika to a courtyard within the academy.

Perfectly manicured hedges and flowerbeds, an elegant white marble fountain, antique bronze statues, and groups of graceful Trinity ladies fluttering their white wings as they strolled through the courtyard. Everything was as beautiful as a true paradise, a scene straight out of 'heaven.'

"Greetings, Mr. Dan Kuroto, President of Schale."

An angel adorned with lilies gracefully set down her teacup before Dan Kuroto. She sat impeccably in her chair, a serene smile on her face.

"I am the host of this tea party, and one of the heads of Trinity. You may call me 'Nagisa.'"

Dan Kuroto glanced at the table. To Nagisa's right was another chair, clearly reserved for him. Ichika, standing beside Dan Kuroto, gave a slight bow and then withdrew, leaving Dan Kuroto standing alone.

"Mr. Dan Kuroto, I should have sent you an invitation to the tea party immediately after you officially took office as the president of the Schale Federal Investigation Club, but unfortunately I've been very busy lately. Please forgive me."

Nagisa gestured. "If you don't mind, please take a seat, Mr. Dan Kuroto?"

"Hmm."

Having said that, Dan Kuroto took a seat.

To him, Nagisa was just a little adult maintaining a certain level of politeness—he had experienced this kind of smooth talk many times before. Seeing this almost-adult angelic young lady putting on a mature air as she spoke to him, Dan Kuroto didn't embarrass her and simply sat down.

Dan Kuroto took his seat, and a Trinity student poured him tea. Nagisa smiled.

"Mr. Dan Kuroto, what was your first impression of Trinity General School?"

"A school that is both unified and divided," Dan Kuroto said, getting straight to the point.

"Oh? You can make such an assessment after just a ten-minute visit?" Nagisa's smile faltered; she hadn't expected the new president of Schale to have such a view of Trinity.

"Unified yet divided… Your observation is indeed very insightful."

"I didn't say that Trinity's system needs improvement," Dan Kuroto said, picking up his teacup. "With dozens, even hundreds, of different factions, managing them must be quite a challenge, right?"

"There are quite a few problems, after all. The relationship between factions, as you said, is 'unified yet divided.'"

Since the other party had already seen through it, Nagisa didn't seem to care about maintaining a facade of harmony.

Large religions have many factions, and there are always clashes between them due to ideological differences. The same applies to this Trinity General School; the various factions are not completely integrated, and naturally, there will be differences in their ideologies.

"The president of Schale is more insightful than I expected," Nagisa nodded. "In that case, I won't beat around the bush. There's no point in beating around the bush with smart people."

She paused, then directly stated her purpose for inviting Dan Kuroto.

"President of Schale, could you do me a favor? I've heard you have a close relationship with Hifumi. Therefore, I hope you can temporarily join the 'Supplementary Lessons Department' as an advisor."

"Speaking of which, I've heard the name 'Supplementary Lessons Department' several times." Dan Kuroto stroked his chin, looking at Nagisa.

"Is it really just because of poor academic performance that you're sent to the Supplementary Lessons Department, facing the risk of expulsion?"

"…Since Mr. Dan Kuroto is a smart man and has already guessed the oddities, I'll be frank."

Nagisa placed her hands on the table, palms together, and spoke seriously.

"Please, Mr. Dan Kuroto, help me…"

"Find the traitor within 'Trinity' in the Supplementary Lessons Department."

---

150. Trinity's bullets are good for you.

“Wait, let me sort this out.”

Dan Kuroto held out a hand, gesturing for Nagisa to remain silent. “So, you’re saying there’s a ‘traitor’ within your ‘Trinity’?”

“Yes.” Nagisa nodded. “You might find it unbelievable, but I must explain. What I’m saying is not an exaggeration.”

“That’s quite something.” Dan Kuroto chuckled. “You students have no worries about food or drink, so why would you rebel? Surely it’s not just about making an insurrection for limited-edition dolls?”

“Mr. Dan Kuroto, I’m not joking.”

Nagisa tapped her finger on the table, looking somewhat exasperated. “Please allow me to explain.”

“Trinity has always had its share of factional struggles, large and small, but thanks to the mediation of the ‘Tea Party,’ the conflicts have been kept within acceptable daily limits as much as possible.”

Dan Kuroto pondered. “Daily life consists of shooting rifles at each other, sometimes even exchanging fire with rocket launchers, tanks, and cruise missiles?”

“…Uh, that’s a Kivotos specialty, you have to try it.” Nagisa awkwardly took a sip of her tea, feeling her normally well-trained elegance crumbling in front of this man. “You should also know that under the Halo’s protection, the damage from these bullets is commonplace for us. Even if we’re bombarded by rocket launchers and tanks, we’ll wake up unharmed, though the damage to buildings certainly requires time and money to repair.”

“So, the current conflict is much better than before; at least everyone is willing to follow the Tea Party's instructions. It's a good thing for all of us.”

Nagisa put down her teacup and continued to Dan Kuroto, “If the ‘traitor’ I'm referring to is just the kind who points a gun at our heads, we wouldn't be in this state of tension.”

“This matter was originally a secret of our Trinity, but since you are the president of Schale, I can tell you the cause of this matter on the condition that you keep it confidential.”

Nagisa didn't completely trust the dark-skinned man before her. This was their first meeting, and all her previous understanding came from snippets found online and information from the General Student Council. It was truly difficult to piece together what kind of person Dan Kuroto really was.

He left very little trace in Kivotos, unlike someone close to Nagisa who could easily glean opinions about him from others' conversations. Nagisa's only knowledge of Dan Kuroto consisted of his identities as "the president of Schale" and "the president of Gemn Corp."

However, as a student, Nagisa instinctively trusted Dan Kuroto from GSC, from Schale. If she couldn't even trust the adult there, who could she trust?

"Well, go ahead, I'll keep it confidential as best I can."

Dan Kuroto gestured with his hand. Nagisa could only sigh and believe that Dan Kuroto would truly keep her secret.

“To explain this, I have to mention a bit about the past between Trinity and the neighboring Gehenna Academy,” Nagisa said seriously. “In the past, Trinity and Gehenna had a long history of ‘war,’ which led to generations of hatred between them. Even now, minor frictions frequently occur between the two school districts.”

“You could say that if you asked any student at Trinity General School about their opinion of Gehenna, I doubt many would have a very favorable view. More often than not, they would express dislike for Gehenna Academy and even Gehenna's students.”

"That serious?" Dan Kuroto raised an eyebrow. "What caused such a fierce battle?"

"That kind of thing requires consulting ancient texts," Nagisa said, shaking her head. "Actually, that war happened a long time ago. The current hostile attitude between the two sides is basically a product of long-standing traditions, almost an 'imprint' on each other."

"Let me guess..." Dan Kuroto held up a finger and tapped it on the table. "You want to do something big to change the attitude between the two academies."

Nagisa picked up her teacup, paused, and put it down.

She nodded. "I'm working on facilitating the Eden Treaty with Gehenna."

"According to ancient records, Eden is a beautiful place free from conflict. This treaty will establish a literal cooperative relationship between Trinity and Gehenna, sending a friendly message to Gehenna. In short... it's about facilitating a peace treaty."

“Then how can you possibly believe that the long-standing feud between two schools can truly be resolved through a mere treaty?” Dan Kuroto's gaze was fixed on Nagisa. “The Eden Treaty you're referring to must be a comprehensive cooperation agreement between the two schools, right?”

With his analytical mind, Dan Kuroto could grasp the importance of this treaty in a matter of moments.

However, his ability to facilitate such a treaty did earn him a slight favor towards Nagisa.

“Eh? That…” Nagisa's eyes widened slightly.

"By combining the forces and resources of Trinity and Gehenna, the power you can mobilize under the banner of the Eden Treaty is enough to shake any faction in Kivotos. I see. You are indeed a student council president with considerable skill."

Dan Kuroto nodded admiringly at Nagisa before him. "With this power, Trinity will be virtually invincible, won't they?"

"No… Mr. Dan Kuroto, could you consider this in a slightly gentler way?"

Nagisa felt a chill run down her spine under Dan Kuroto's admiring gaze. Fortunately, the students around her had been dismissed after he poured tea for Dan Kuroto; otherwise, his words would likely have sparked a clamor of discussion.

"—My purpose in forging the Eden Treaty isn't as terrifying as it sounds!"

Bang!

With her hands braced on the table, Nagisa jumped up from her chair. After slamming her hand on the table, she realized she had done something strange, and her face flushed bright red.

"I... I... The Eden Treaty isn't a military alliance!"

"Eh... It isn't.?" Dan Kuroto was rather disappointed.

"I was thinking something interesting was finally going to happen in Kivotos, but it turns out..."

---

151. It's a pity I can't dream.

“Hmm! I mean…” Nagisa composed herself and continued, “This Eden Treaty might be seen by us higher-ups as a peace treaty that helps repair relations and move forward hand in hand. But many students in Trinity and Gehenna still harbor deep hatred for each other.”

“In fact, hatred towards Gehenna students is the prevailing attitude within Trinity.”

Dan Kuroto nodded. “So, you suspect someone is trying to sabotage the Eden Treaty?”

Nagisa’s statement wasn’t merely speculation; it suggested that someone had foreseen this. Nagisa’s conclusion clearly indicated a considerable level of intelligence gathering.

“Things related to the Eden Treaty, if not handled properly, could cause a complete rift between Trinity and Gehenna. What if that traitor really intends to act at the signing of the Eden Treaty…”

Considering the various possibilities, Nagisa had to seriously say to Dan Kuroto, “Mr. Dan Kuroto, on behalf of the Trinity Tea Party, I am making a request for assistance from your Schale.”

Dan Kuroto pondered.

His fingertips tapped lightly on the table, like a metronome.

He was considering the information revealed in Nagisa's words.

“While I have some reservations about the sheer power of this treaty, I will still help.”

Finally, Dan Kuroto's finger fell, agreeing to Nagisa's request: “However, I also need your corresponding compensation.”

“That’s quite unusual…” Nagisa asked, “What would the president of Schale need?”

“Not as the president of Schale, but as the president of Genm.”

Dan Kuroto's gaze fell on Nagisa: “Can you guarantee a stable supply of Ooparts materials?”

Trinity General School's long history and rich heritage are perhaps only rivaled by Gehenna, with its equally long history. Since Nagisa had already put the question on his lips, there was no reason to let it slip by.

“Ooparts materials? Do you really need this?” Nagisa asked in surprise. “Speaking of which, I’ve also heard that Mr. Dan Kuroto, your Gemn Corp sells Game Gashats. Could it be…”

“You guessed right,” Dan Kuroto nodded. “Manufacturing the Game Gashat requires a large amount of Ooparts, and the amount of Ooparts currently circulating on the market that Genm can purchase is still limited.”

After all, the market share of this material is finite. If Genm buys it all, other companies can't get their hands on it, and if other companies buy it, Genm naturally loses a share. Besides the Ooparts circulating on the market, a large amount of Ooparts is actually controlled by the various university districts.

The university districts' land contains various kinds of 'raw ores' that can produce Ooparts. By mining these raw ores, cleaning, piecing them together, and fusing them, the Ooparts available on the market are created. These materials come from a distorted time loop, imbued with the mystery of an incorrect history. And these materials are widely used in students' lives, weapon maintenance and enhancement, and even in various products manufactured by different companies.

Kaiser Corporation controls 80% of the Ooparts available on the market, with the remaining companies taking their share according to their strength.

For example, Kaiser Corporation owns land in the Abydos school district, which naturally contains ore that can produce Ooparts. Furthermore, Kaiser's ongoing mining operations in the Abydos desert also uncover buried ore beneath the sands.

Dan Kuroto currently lacks such resources. The manufacture and development of Gashats, whether for playable or Rider Gashats, requires a stable source of Ooparts, and Dan Kuroto doesn't want his material supply controlled by other corporations.

Therefore, Nagisa is undoubtedly the most suitable source.

“I see. Is it that your group needs a long-term, stable supply of Ooparts?”

Nagisa put down her teacup and nodded in understanding. “If this serious traitor incident can be resolved, I can guarantee, in the name of this Tea Party, that we can sign a long-term Ooparts supply agreement with Mr. Dan Kuroto’s company. However, the quantity and type can be discussed later. Is that alright?”

She took out a document, which had been beside her until Dan Kuroto raised the Ooparts issue. Only then did Nagisa feel that Dan Kuroto wouldn't refuse the Supplementary Lessons Department consultant's proposal. She handed him the Supplementary Lessons Department's information.

"I have no objection—but how did you pinpoint these mere four people?"

Dan Kuroto looked up at Nagisa. "As far as I know, Trinity has several thousand students, right? Are you so confident that there are traitors among these few you've chosen?"

The document contained the files of four people. Dan Kuroto recognized Hifumi, whom he knew well, among them. Besides her, there were three others—

Shirasu Azusa.

Urawa Hanako.

Koharu Shimoe.

Along with Hifumi, the four girls assigned to the Supplementary Lessons Department were now in Dan Kuroto's hands. Nagisa, clearly prepared for Dan Kuroto's questions, was no exception.

"It's Seia," Nagisa said. "Seia... she's injured and secretly recovering. But before that, she gave me a precognitive dream."

"A precognitive dream?" Dan Kuroto perked up. "Students can have such special abilities?"

“It’s just that Seia has this ability, and… Seia isn’t doing very well right now, so please don’t disturb her.” Nagisa dissuaded Dan Kuroto from seeking information from Seia about this matter. “Seia can foresee the future in her dreams and even meet people from the future in her dreams. If one day you find yourself seeing her in your sleep, she must be trying to convey some important message to you.”

Nagisa continued, “And in the message Seia gave me, she clearly stated that ‘the traitor is hiding within Trinity.’ If someone else had said that, I certainly wouldn’t have taken it so seriously. But if Seia said it, then it definitely happened.”

Dan Kuroto nodded. His face turning slightly strange, but then asked a question.

"So, has your Seia considered an additional possibility—what if the person she’s looking for doesn’t dream?”

“Huh? Everyone sleeps, right?” Nagisa paused, surprised. “Are there people in this world who don’t sleep and don’t dream?”

Unfortunately, Bugster doesn't dream of a little golden fox.

-----

152. Very dark, very hard, very powerful ❤

“The Supplementary Lessons Department…”

Dan Kuroto finally accepted the commission from Nagisa's Supplementary Lessons Department consultant. Since he could obtain a considerable amount of Ooparts material from Trinity, this job was an acceptable exchange of benefits. He could satisfy Nagisa's request, break the Kaiser Corporation's monopoly on raw material sources for his company, and incidentally fulfill Sensei's request to protect the student.

A triple win, a perfect victory.

“However, traitor… that's a word that doesn't fit the students at all.”

Dan Kuroto stood in the corridor, his gaze falling on the classroom before him. This was the approved “Supplementary Lessons Department” classroom. The four students he had seen in the materials were now chatting idly inside.

“Hifumi-kun, you just said that an advisor might be coming here?”

A girl with long, cherry-pink hair cascading over her shoulders, the only one among the four students with a mature appearance, listened with great interest as Hifumi recounted her encounter that day.

Their desks were piled high with study materials and instructional DVDs brought from the dormitory. However, at this moment, no one paid attention to the DVDs and study materials, because everyone's attention was drawn to Hifumi's topic.

"Um… although I don't know if he'll even come," Hifumi said sheepishly, scratching her head, "but! He's the adult that Mari and I met when we went to the ruins!"

"After all that talk, what does he actually look like?!" Koharu, who had even tucked her little H-book into her bag, was also full of curiosity. "You said he was an adult... Hifumi-chan, but you never described what 'Dan Kuroto' looked like even once!"

"Eh? Didn't I?" Hifumi looked surprised. "I thought you described him when you talked about that ruin adventure?"

"Hifumi-chan, let me correct you. Back then, you only said that he used a powerful flying kick to blow up Saint Justina and the monster box, without describing Dan Kuroto's appearance in much detail. You also added a lot of meaningless onomatopoeia and adjectives, so it was completely incomprehensible."

The speaker was a rather 'elegant' girl with waist-length white hair. She pointed out the part Hifumi had forgotten in her speech, causing Hifumi to smile sheepishly and clasp her hands together in apology

"Sorry I'll pay attention next time, Azusa"

"So, can you tell me now?" Koharu couldn't wait any longer, her eyes sparkling. Girls, after all, are powerless against this kind of topic.

"What does that adult look like?"

"Hmm..." Hifumi thought for a moment. "Very dark-skinned, very tall, and... well, pretty handsome?"

"Uh..." Koharu was stunned. "How can you describe him like that? I can't imagine what kind of person he is at all!"

"Hehehe~ That's such a typical Hifumi-chan description." Hanako laughed heartily. "Speaking of which, Hifumi, you mentioned that Mr. Dan Kuroto shouted 'Henshin!' right? Could you elaborate?"

"Oh yeah! There was a really cool transformation!" Hifumi perked up again, describing Dan Kuroto's transformation into Kamen Rider in her own words.

"There were really cool light effects and sounds, then a very bright wall appeared and passed through his body, and finally he became a warrior wearing purple armor!"

Hifumi got excited, even mimicking a fighting stance: "He can jump several stories high on one leg, and even without Halo, he can defend against bullets just like us! His punches are much stronger, and they create shockwaves when he hits! He can even summon weapons out of thin air! It looks amazing!"

“A really strong ‘impact’! Heh~”

Hearing Hifumi’s description, Hanako covered her mouth, a blush rising to her cheeks. “It sounds strong and ‘hard’ If possible, maybe touching it would feel really good”

“Impact? Hard, rock hard?” Koharu, standing nearby, seemed to have thought of something, and seeing Hanako’s light tone and the way her hand was moving up and down, her face flushed crimson after only a couple of seconds!

"H-H is no good! It's disgusting! Death penalty!"

Koharu, her face flushed, slammed her hand on the table and stood up, panting heavily as if she'd run 800 meters. She stared at Hanako, her face burning red.

But the next moment, Hanako smiled and lowered her hand, laughing at Koharu.

"Oh? What are you thinking about, Koharu? I'm talking about perfectly healthy things~ The hardness of armor and stuff, isn't that kind of thing supposed to be rock hard?"

"Eh? Ah? I..." Koharu seemed to transform into a steam princess, an invisible volcano of steam erupting from her head.

Finally, Koharu could only slump onto the table in despair, covering her red face with her arms.

"Hanako! You're bullying me again!"

"Eh How can you say I'm bullying you Every word written down is perfectly fine It's all Koharu's fault for overthinking"

Hanako watched with a smile as Koharu, whose face was flushed red from being teased, stood beside the expressionless Shirasu Azusa, while Hifumi tried to comfort Koharu. The cram school was filled with a peaceful atmosphere.

"...It's quite loud in there. Are they having so much fun in class?"

Dan Kuroto, who had just arrived at the door and hadn't even gone inside yet, could already hear shouting and various ambient noises from the commotion through the door.

"Speaking of which, I've never actually seen what Kivotos students are like when they're studying."

Dan Kuroto mused. Back in the game development department, he always saw Momoi Midori and the others playing games, and Yuzu was practically always holed up in her locker, supposedly taking online classes. Dan Kuroto had indeed never seen the students here in class—although it seemed like they were just studying and having robot instructors answer questions—he'd never cared about it, and naturally hadn't inquired about it, only finding various study materials online.

"Now's a good time to see—"

Dan Kuroto reached out and pushed open the door, entering their field of vision rather abruptly at this crucial juncture, staring blankly at the four girls.

“Mr. Dan Kuroto?” Hifumi turned her gaze from Koharu, who was being comforted, and said in a surprised voice, “You… are you here to be our advisor, a Sensei?”

“Dan Kuroto…” Hanako’s thoughtful expression flashed for less than a second before she regained her previous relaxed demeanor. “Oh~ is that the really tough guy Hifumi-chan mentioned?”

"What?! A really tough man?! How so?"

Koharu pulled her head out of her arms from the table, her eyes meeting Dan Kuroto's. Dan Kuroto, dressed in a sharp black suit, stood tall before her, prompting Koharu to mutter.

"He's definitely very dark-skinned and tall..."

In the eyes of Kivotos and its students, Dan Kuroto was indeed a tall, mature man, and his all-black attire—black clothes, black hair, black overalls—met the standard for being "dark-skinned." Hifumi's description, aside from being incomprehensible, certainly captured Dan Kuroto's physical appearance.

"This man is no ordinary person!"

The one who made this assessment was Shirasu Azusa, who hadn't said much.

From the moment Dan Kuroto entered, her body had inexplicably tensed up, as if sensing a powerful enemy approaching—an instinctive reaction from within.

But… was an adult without Halo really worth her attention?

“Yo, everyone!” Dan Kuroto stood up straight, right hand in his pocket, left hand pointing to the ceiling, and greeted everyone in a spirited voice.

“Kirito Nagisa said I am the new advisor to the Supplementary Lessons Department—the dual president of Schale and Genm, and part-time advisor to the Supplementary Lessons Department, Dan Kuroto! Reporting for duty!”

---

153. H is unacceptable! Death penalty!

“Mr. Dan Kuroto! You really came!”

Hifumi jumped up from her seat, the chair scraping against the floor, and rushed excitedly towards Dan Kuroto, looking up at his face. “Y-you just said you’re an advisor for the Supplementary Lessons Department—”

“Ah, yes, I was invited by the president of your Tea Party.” Dan Kuroto straightened his back, hands on his hips, and said smugly, “Because I’m the president of Schale, she temporarily entrusted me with this advisory role~”

"Hmm?" Hanako uttered a soft question, but quickly lowered her voice, speaking in a normal tone. "That President Nagisa? She invited you to be an advisor for the Supplementary Lessons Department?"

"Not a Sensei, but advisor, huh?" Hanako nodded. "She must have been impressed by your abilities as a Schale member."

However, according to Azusa, Dan Kuroto should have entered the Supplementary Lessons Department as a Sensei, so why would he be there as an 'advisor'?

However, among the students present, only Hanako noticed the problem with the wording; the other three didn't dwell on it for long. Hifumi tugged at Dan Kuroto's sleeve, proudly introducing him to the others.

"This is the Dan Kuroto I was talking about! The adult who explored the amusement park ruins with me!"

"You really dare to say that," Dan Kuroto gave Hifumi a chop on the head. "You dare to run into dangerous ruins with someone else? If you hadn't met me, how many lives would you have had to survive? Did you really think you could just mess around like that just because you have a Halo?"

"Hehehe Nothing happened, right" Dan Kuroto's words didn't make Hifumi feel threatened; she just grinned and stuck out her tongue. "And in the end, we got a limited edition doll, isn't that all good~"

That night, perhaps because Hifumi was focused on the limited-edition doll she found, she didn't notice Maestro talking to Dan Kuroto. However, since Hifumi got the limited-edition doll from the abandoned amusement park, she probably wouldn't go back to the dangerous Slumpia ruins, so... there shouldn't be any major problems, right?

"But ultimately, what exactly is the purpose of Mr. Dan Kuroto's position as advisor?"

Koharu looked at Dan Kuroto with a puzzled expression.

"Could it be... helping us answer the tests?"

“Definitely not, I’m not a ‘Sensei’.” Dan Kuroto walked up to them, casually pulled out a chair, and sat down. “But you know, I’ll be your best Big Brother! Anything you can’t solve, just tell me!”

“Big Brother? What a strange title!” Koharu blinked. “Aren’t you an advisor? How did you become Big Brother?”

“Hey, you silly kid.”

Dan Kuroto patted Koharu's head affectionately, looking at her with the kind of loving gaze one might have for someone with intellectual disabilities.

"No wonder you came to the Supplementary Lessons Department. Next time, big brother will make you a Game Gashat that can improve your intelligence."

"Are there really games like that? Playing games can improve intelligence!?" Koharu looked shocked. "Can learning really be like playing games?"

"Actually, there's another way to give you a sudden epiphany, but it requires you to pay a small price..." Dan Kuroto held up two fingers and rubbed them together. "That method guarantees you'll learn incredibly fast; you might even learn it without even studying!"

Koharu's eyes lit up: "Really! Is there such a thing!"

“Koharu, there’s always a price to pay for this,” Hanako said casually, dispelling Koharu’s idea. “The easier the shortcut, the higher the price and effort required. Otherwise, why hasn’t anyone used it yet?”

Hanako raised a hand. “For example, if you want to become famous in Trinity, one way is to work hard to improve your reputation, study diligently, and be helpful. That method is definitely tiring and troublesome.”

Hanako twirled her finger. “But… if Koharu wore an optical camouflage bikini and walked down Trinity’s main avenue during peak hours, you’d definitely become famous instantly!”

"Whhhhhh!!" Koharu's face flushed crimson, almost like a boiled crab. "That...that kind of thing is absolutely unacceptable! No way! H-dame! Death penalty! And why me?!"

Five-star Admiral Hifumi, sitting nearby, commented, "If there were such advanced technology, students afraid of their grades wouldn't exist, right? So, Mr. Dan Kuroto must be joking, telling us that only hard work leads to improvement in learning, right?"

"Hmm... that doesn't seem like it." This was Azusa's sharp comment: "I have a feeling that Mr. Dan Kuroto is implying something..."

"Then let's put this matter aside for now."

Dan Kuroto naturally changed the subject, instead picking up a tactical training Blu-ray from the table.

"Is this what you use for studying?"

"Eh? Ah, yes. We use the training Blu-ray for self-study now, and of course, there are accompanying tactical notes." Hifumi held up a thick notebook: "It's for reference along with the training Blu-ray; it helps with understanding."

Dan Kuroto took the notebook. Its thickness was evident, and that wasn't all; Dan Kuroto noticed a number on the cover.

“Mr. Dan Kuroto, this must be your first time seeing student tactical notebooks, right? Let me introduce them to you!”

Hifumi proactively explained to Dan Kuroto, “According to color coding, the tactical notebooks and educational Blu-rays are categorized into four levels from low to high: gray, blue, gold, and purple. There are about a dozen notebooks of each level combined, right?”

“To be precise, the higher the level of the tactical notebooks and educational Blu-rays, the more profound the knowledge recorded. Therefore, to understand higher-level knowledge, the quantity and thickness of the teaching materials will also increase.”

Hanako suddenly chimed in, adding that the others' understanding of the teaching materials wasn't at her level. Generally speaking, those with squinty eyes are usually quite capable. Hanako's composure contrasted sharply with the other three girls who had entered the Supplementary Lessons Department.

“After mastering the highest-level educational materials and notes, the final challenge is the ‘Secret Tech Notes’.”

Hanako smiled and explained to Dan Kuroto and the other curious students, “It’s said that the Secret Tech Notes is a book with endless variations. Everyone can find their own unique knowledge within it. However, over the years, very few people have truly grasped its essence. But those who do break through this barrier reach even higher levels.”

“…”

Hanako’s words were met with keen interest. Dan Kuroto, clearly intrigued by Hanako’s mention of the Secret Tech Notes, urged her, “Tell us more about these Secret Tech Notes?”

“Oh my, Mr. Dan Kuroto, you're interested in this too?” Hanako chuckled. “However, as I said before, Secret Tech Notes are a level beyond the highest level of knowledge we have access to. How could a few of us students who need extra tutoring possibly know anything more?”

“That’s true.” Dan Kuroto nodded, his gaze shifting to the gray tactical notebook in his hand, which stood alongside the gray educational Blu-rays on his desk. Only on Hanako's desk were there blue notebooks and Blu-rays.

Undoubtedly, everyone in the Supplementary Lessons Department had a subtly impressive academic record.

“However, what I want, I always get!”

Dan Kuroto’s interest was piqued by Hanako’s explanation of Secret Tech Notes. He slammed his hand on the table and stood up. “Then, let’s train you all to the point where you can obtain Secret Tech Notes!”

"Oh—!" Hifumi, bewildered, raised her fist and echoed forcefully.

"Oh—." Azusa, still not much of a talker, followed with a flat "oh," raising her hand beside Hifumi, seemingly just echoing her.

"Huh? I mean, did you really hear what Hanako said?" Only Koharu seemed to be genuinely considering the feasibility of this, and said with a look of panic, "We already have to give it our all in our daily exams, right? Is Secret Tech Notes really something we can get?"

"Oh~~" Hanako chuckled and raised her fist to join in, causing her chest to heave again. Koharu, standing nearby, widened her eyes in disbelief.

"Even Hanako?! No! Something this lewd! Death penalty!"

---

154. Clear brain fluid with one click

"Mr. Dan Kuroto, what are you looking at?"

"Beginner's Guide to New Teachers."

"???"

Closing the book that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, Dan Kuroto looked at Hifumi, who was holding worksheets.

"Is something wrong, Hifumi-san?"

"Mr. Dan Kuroto is so serious, it's a little unsettling..." Hifumi, a girl who had met Dan Kuroto before, felt goosebumps rising on her skin.

"Mr. Dan Kuroto isn't like this, is he?"

He closed the book and tossed it aside; he hadn't been reading it seriously at all. Dan Kuroto could easily scan the knowledge from such a thick book into his brain in seconds using quantum speed reading—that's how unreasonable the data lifeforms, Bugsters, are.

"Mr. Dan Kuroto, could you take a look at this question for me…"

Hifumi handed over her worksheet, pointing to a question on it. "This… I don’t quite understand…"

Dan Kuroto didn’t simply dismiss it with a "too lazy to look." He had previously said he was just an advisor, but he wasn’t going to wash his hands of the matter now. He took the question from Hifumi.

"I’d like to see what kind of tests you students are doing these days—"

—A bullet hitting hard armor will ricochet. Based on the diagram below, calculate the angle of ∠A required to ensure the ricochet hits a target in another direction simultaneously.

"Hmm?"

—The diagram shows the blast radius of a 105mm grenade. Calculate how many grenades are needed to cover the area shown in the diagram.

"Huh?"

Dan Kuroto shook the worksheets in his hand, raising an eyebrow. "You guys usually use these as practice tests?"

"These are just math tests," Hifumi explained to Dan Kuroto. "There are other types of problems too, but they're all combined in this tactical notebook."

"The final exam is also a mixed-format test," Hanako added with a smile, looking up from the side. "All types of questions are on one paper, so the exam only needs one round—though one round will take a bit longer."

"This truly lives up to the name 'tactical notebook'; the questions are so hardcore."

Dan Kuroto put down the paper Hifumi had given him. He casually flipped through it, and some of the questions looked even stranger. Besides involving a large number of military-related terms, the later sections included discussions of ideology—according to Hanako, these were their "language" questions.

"Alright, alright, stop showing me," Dan Kuroto said speechlessly, stopping Hifumi from showing him more questions. "I'm not a Sensei who answers your questions; that's not part of my job."

"Ah... is that so..." Hifumi slumped her shoulders, looking somewhat disappointed. The others also showed varying degrees of frustration—except for Hanako, who remained carefree, her eyes never leaving Dan Kuroto, as if she were subtly analyzing what kind of person he was. But when Dan Kuroto met her gaze, Hanako would casually turn her head to the side, avoiding his eye contact.

"Honestly, what a useless adult." Koharu was quite disappointed, but then crossed her arms and snorted, "Then you can just be my advisor! You don’t need to worry about the studies; your job is to buy us drinks!"

"Looks like your grades must be really good?" Dan Kuroto laughed. "Really? You think you can pass the Supplementary Lessons Department exam all by yourself?"

That’s probably impossible.

During his conversation with Nagisa, Dan Kuroto understood Nagisa’s purpose in establishing the Supplementary Lessons Department in just a few seconds. And after joining the Supplementary Lessons Department, this highly targeted independent club further solidified Dan Kuroto’s belief in the club’s purpose.

Just as Hifumi had wondered, why would someone be on the verge of dropping out simply because of poor grades? There must be other students with poor grades in school; why weren’t they put in the Supplementary Lessons Department?

Therefore, the facts can only prove that this Supplementary Lessons Department was specifically set up by Nagisa to eliminate the "Trinity traitors" she mentioned.

The purpose was to use an official pretext to directly remove these suspects from the process—since it was impossible to identify who the Trinity traitors were, then all those who might be traitors would be rounded up in one fell swoop, so as not to hinder the signing of the Eden Treaty!

Therefore, without additional assistance, Hifumi and the others' efforts, no matter how hard they tutored, would be futile. The power to set the tests was in the hands of the Tea Party; their efforts only required slightly altering the scope of the questions, or simply inserting very difficult ones, to use a "reasonable" excuse to expel these suspicious individuals.

'However, there's a major premise here…'

Dan Kuroto's gaze swept over the four students with different expressions before him.

'Are the four chosen by the Tea Party truly the Trinity traitors Nagisa spoke of?'

Dan Kuroto didn't really care about this 'better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free' attitude. What he was curious about was that the prophecy Seia told Nagisa about, given by the student with 'precognitive dreams,' was only a vague outline.

How could Nagisa be so certain that the four she had recruited accurately included the target?

"Hmph! We learned all of this on our own!" Koharu crossed her arms, looking smug. "It's just that I wasn't serious enough before! This time in the Supplementary Lessons Department, I'm going all out! Ququ's tutoring will be a piece of cake!"

Half an hour later.

"I... I feel like I don't understand anything at all..."

Koharu slumped onto the table, feeling dizzy. Her head was filled with formulas and riddles. The technical notes in front of her and the images on the educational DVD playing were completely baffling—ever since she accidentally dropped an eraser and got up from under the table, she realized she was falling behind completely.

"Don’t even mention it, Koharu… even if I listen carefully, I still don’t seem to understand…"

Hifumi smiled wryly. "It’s either like a stone blocking my ears, or it’s like water flowing into my brain and then flowing out again…"

"A little… barely." Azusa’s face also paled slightly, and she nodded helplessly. "I only understood about a fifth of it."

"You actually understood a fifth?! Azusa, you’re amazing!"

---

155. Games are not inconvenient!

Having watched Hifumi and the others study the entire time, Dan Kuroto pinched his temple.

"Is this how you usually study? Just watching educational DVDs with tactical notes?"

"Yeah?" Hifumi asked, puzzled. "Is there a problem?"

"And understanding depends entirely on comprehension, right?" Dan Kuroto's gaze fell on Hanako, the pink-haired girl. Although she had been pretending not to listen at all, Dan Kuroto felt she had actually grasped the concepts.

"At this rate, watching educational DVDs ten times wouldn't improve your scores much."

Dan Kuroto didn't hesitate to pour cold water on the others. Putting aside the question of what to do when encountering parts they didn't understand, just looking at their drowsy expressions on screen, Dan Kuroto concluded they probably wouldn't absorb much knowledge.

"Huh? Then don't just stand there making sarcastic remarks!" Koharu glared at Dan Kuroto. "We're the ones taking the exam, not you! Of course, whatever you say is right!"

Dan Kuroto met Koharu's slightly embarrassed and angry face. She must have dozed off quite a few times while watching the educational BD (Digital Education Business) session, and the thought that Dan Kuroto had witnessed all of that made Koharu's inner turmoil surge.

"If you have a problem with our learning methods, then show us! Dan Kuroto, aren't you our advisor?"

"You’re right about that. I am indeed an advisor."

Dan Kuroto nodded. "But what exactly does an advisor do? There’s no really clear definition. After all, I’m not a ‘Sensei’ who teaches; I’m just an ‘advisor.’"

"So…" Hifumi paused, then asked cautiously, "Mr. Dan Kuroto, are you unwilling to help us?"

"I didn’t say I wouldn’t help."

Dan Kuroto pulled out an educational Blu-ray, held it in his hand, and the Bugster virus quickly spread, absorbing the data inside. After a dozen seconds, Dan Kuroto released his grip and put the disc down. He had just finished reviewing all the information on the educational Blu-ray.

However, reviewing it didn’t actually help much, because he couldn’t directly implant this knowledge into every student’s brain, nor could he directly turn living students into Bugsters and scan their brains. So, he had to activate his divine talent to solve the immediate predicament first.

Dan Kuroto snapped his fingers. "Indeed, it has to be edutainment."

Before anyone could react to what Dan Kuroto was about to say, he pushed open the door and left, leaving the four students staring at each other in bewilderment.

"The advisor's gone," Azusa said, a hint of curiosity in her eyes. "What is he trying to do?"

"Hmph, who knows?" Koharu's shoulders slumped. "Ugh... I just don't understand it. Why are those numbers and formulas so hard... and the proofs are so complicated..."

"Sigh, I think it's pretty difficult too," Hifumi patted Koharu's head. "But this is only the first week of tutoring. If we give up now, we'll have to leave Trinity, right? Nobody wants it to end like this, do they?"

"Hehe~" Hanako laughed. "Indeed, you're cutest when you're innocent."

Dan Kuroto left the classroom and casually dialed Nagisa's number. After a few seconds of a busy signal, Nagisa answered.

"Mr. Dan Kuroto? You found her so quickly?"

"Not yet, at least everyone seems normal right now." Dan Kuroto walked unhurriedly down the Trinity corridor. "Give me a complete set of Trinity educational BDs and tactical notes, from gray to purple."

"Mr. Dan Kuroto?" Nagisa was quite surprised by Dan Kuroto’s request. "You… are you really going to teach the Supplementary Lessons Department?"

Yes, surprised.

Nagisa's impression of Dan Kuroto was that he understood what he needed to do, and he didn't seem like the type to follow the rules. After she explained her approach to dealing with the Supplementary Lessons Department, Dan Kuroto didn't object loudly; in fact, he seemed to like her method.

In other words, Dan Kuroto could have done nothing, but now he was asking for teaching materials…

"Ah, nothing better to do, looking for some creative inspiration, is that so wrong?" Dan Kuroto, as always, liked to speak in his loud voice. "Hurry up, send it to the Supplementary Lessons Department! I don't want answers to questions!"

"Okay, it'll be there right away…" Prompted by Dan Kuroto's words, Nagisa even subconsciously agreed to his request before realizing she might have been a little too agreeable.

"However, I must remind you, Mr. Dan Kuroto," Nagisa’s tone returned to its usual tone, "The signing of the Eden Treaty is a crucial event for protecting the peace of the two ancient campuses of Trinity and Gehenna, and also for protecting the peace of Kivotos. There is no room for error in this; I hope you can distinguish between primary and secondary matters."

Dan Kuroto constantly talked about his divine talent, much like someone else’s extraordinary wisdom. However, unlike that nonsensical claim that was more about extraordinary abilities than wisdom, Dan Kuroto’s divine talent was genuine, practically a problem-solving ability.

He had already begun silently conceiving a Game Gashat applicable to the current situation—a game that could be used for learning, showcasing the possibilities of everything through Game Areas, deconstructing and reconstructing all obscure and difficult knowledge into a level of difficulty even a monkey could understand, and then blending it with a game format…

"Games are the earliest form of education. Learning while playing is the most challenging aspect of education—because those who use this model struggle to balance 'play' and 'learning,' resulting in countless failures, but very few successes."

Dan Kuroto had naturally seen games made using this model in that world, but unfortunately, such games were either unplayably boring or lacked any real educational content. It could be said that when 'learning' and 'games' were combined, it was destined to be something unpopular.

"But games are not inconvenient!"

Dan Kuroto's divine talent had already begun to operate.

He wasn't a Sensei; that was beyond doubt, but who said he couldn't create one himself?

Nagisa's thoughts, her plans, her anxiety—to Dan Kuroto, these were all trivial matters, nothing to worry about. What was there to fear about something he could see through at a glance?

However, just as Dan Kuroto hung up, another call came in as if on cue. Pressing the call button again, he heard a familiar voice on the other end:

"Domo, Dan Kuroto-san. Its Himari desu~~"

---