I'm finished.
I'm completely and utterly finished, orz.
Kaito collapsed into the chair of his new office, feeling as if his soul had left his body, floating in the air, watching how his physical form was being repeatedly fried in the hell known as "social death"
On his phone screen, the explosive heat of the Academy forum, comparable to a volcanic eruption, mercilessly burned his retina.
"It's so hot! My goodness! Has the strongest CP in Tracen history been born? The hero of the 'black assassin' is him! Come and enjoy something sweet"
"[ (EXPLOSIVE!) Deep Investigation Faction! From the 'Big Brother Declaration' to the 'Hero Declaration', a shocking, textbook-worthy confession that spans the entire track! So sweet it makes you faint (Q ﹏ Q) ]"
"[ (SHOCK!) That man, Kaito, the 'Hero Creator', how many secrets does he have that we don't know?! ]"
Among them, a video edited to rival an annual tear-jerking Hollywood romantic movie was spreading like wildfire.
One side of the screen showed him shouting "You are not a monster!" to Rice Shower in the rain, while the other side showed Rice Shower responding on the long-awaited racetrack: "I want to become Big Brother's hero!"
The two voices were perfectly intertwined, accompanied by that damn, passionate, and romantic symphony that gives you goosebumps.
"Kill me now! Please!"
Kaito covered his face with his hands and let out a silent groan.
However, compared to the public execution online, the closed-door trial was actually the true Hell Mode.
Inside the office, the air pressure was so low it felt as if they could squeeze the water out, and the air was frozen into ice fragments.
"Snap-!"
"A crisp, teeth-grinding crack"
Gold City's face was ice-cold.
With a slight effort from her slender fingers, she snapped a pure steel fountain pen into two perfect halves.
"(Big Sister! That was a pure steel pen! Is your grip strength monstrous?! ( ; ´ Д ｀ )"
"Heh, heh, heh... Oh, my despicable thief, you used the sweetest lies to steal the most dazzling glory that rightfully belonged to the protagonist..."
TM Opera O unfurled her magnificent folding fan, partially hiding her face, and recited an improvised and painfully bitter poem in an aria tone.
"(I beg you, stop reciting! I'm getting goosebumps! It sounds so embarrassing)"
"Mmm... According to the latest observational data, this high-intensity and clearly directional declaration of emotional bond will cause the dopamine secretion of the target individual (Rice Shower) to remain abnormally high for the next 48 hours"
"This seriously interferes with my quantitative research on the effects of 'links'... Kaito-kun, your actions are completely unscientific!"
Agnes Tachyon's hands moved in a blur across the keyboard; her glasses reflected a dangerous glint.
"You just want to use me as an experiment, don't you?! That's it! Don't think I don't notice your little plan"
Meanwhile, Manhattan Cafe in the corner remained silent, simply pulled out her drawing board, and quickly sketched a charcoal image: a large black Uma who seemed to have a terrible headache, surrounded by countless chirping little birds.
"(That Uma is clearly me! Hey! This is already turning into psychological warfare, isn't it? ヽ ( # ` Д ´ ) ﾉ" )
Just as he was surrounded on all sides, trapped in this low-pressure situation, the office door was timidly and carefully pushed open a crack.
Rice Shower's small head peeked in.
When she saw Kaito surrounded in the middle, her blue eyes, shining with the excitement of the race, instantly lit up like a lost kitten finding its anchor.
"Big Brother!"
She shouted happily, ran over, and immediately hugged Kaito's arm, seeking refuge and praise, completely unaware that she had just ignited four powder kegs whose fuses had already burned to the root.
"BOOM!!!"
"You bastard Kaito! Explain yourself! 'Hero'? 'Big Brother'? Do you think it's cool to play little couple in front of all Japan? Huh?!" Gold City was the first to explode, her golden twin-tails practically standing on end.
"The protagonist's script should be grand and full of mystery! How can it be stained by such cheap and direct high school drama clichés? Your taste is totally disappointing!" TM Opera O's fan trembled so fast it became a blur.
"This is destroying the purity of the sample! You are challenging the rigor of science! A punishment must be applied!" Agnes Tachyon righteously raised... a test tube.
"Wait! What's in there? It's not some weird mixture, is it? Σ ( ° △ ° | | | )"
The four "Big Sisters," like four great mountains, surrounded Kaito and the trembling Rice Shower hiding behind him, leaving no escape.
Kaito felt as if he were about to be compressed into a two-dimensional sheet of paper by this terrifying pressure.
Just then—
The office door opened "once more"
"No, this time it wasn't a 'push,' but an undeniable aura of supreme majesty that opened it slowly and solemnly"
The newcomer, dressed in the magnificent winning uniform that symbolized the ultimate authority and glory of Tracen Academy, seemed to possess an innate radiance and exclusive background music.
The Student Council President — Symboli Rudolf
Behind her was the "Empress," Air Groove, whose expression was stern and whose gaze was sharp as a knife.
Rudolf's powerful and dominant aura, simply by being there in silence, was like dropping a block of dry ice into a noisy pond, instantly suppressing all the heat and clamor.
Gold City's bristling fur flattened, and TM Opera O's aria got stuck in her throat.
Rudolf's emerald eyes didn't stop on them for even 0.1 seconds.
She ignored everyone.
Immediately, like an emperor inspecting her domains, she walked step by step toward Kaito, whose brain had completely collapsed.
She gave a slight nod, a polite but distant greeting from a monarch to a meritorious subject.
Then, using a terrifyingly calm tone, but one that made everyone present instinctively quiet their breathing, she spoke:
"Kaito-kun"
"I have personally witnessed your skill and the 'miracles' you are capable of creating"
"Now, in my capacity as Student Council President of Tracen, I formally present a personal request to you"
"!!!"
If the office had been just a pressure cooker before.
"Then Rudolf's words were... a miniature nuclear bomb dropped precisely into that pressure cooker"
The expressions of Gold City, TM Opera O, and Agnes Tachyon instantly became incredibly dramatic, a true festival of facial expressions.
Everyone read the same message from those calm emerald eyes:
That most troublesome and error-filled woman, who could even be called the "ultimate capture target" for all of them.
That legendary "Emperor"
She has officially entered the field!
"(My goodness! This is no longer a Four Halls Trial. Is it going straight to the Final Boss battle? ( / ω ＼ ) )"
"The content of my request is very simple"
Rudolf's gaze slowly turned to the "Empress" beside her, Air Groove, who had remained silent since entering, but whose expression was full of extreme impatience and restraint.
She looked at her most important friend with a complex expression mixed with expectation, helplessness, and a hint of almost imperceptible pain, and then told Kaito the request that was enough to unlock a completely new, Hell-level dungeon.
"Heal her"
"Heal my most important friend, who is also... my only 'heart ailment'"
Only one last thought remained in Kaito's mind.
"Help me, ahhhhh—!!!"