Ichinose Honami pulled her gaze away from the easy, friendly exchange between Sakayanagi Arisu and Kamuro Masumi a short distance away.
She looked instead at the two beside her — Shiranami Chihiro and Shiina Hiyori — both of whom had just finished comforting her, both of whom were now wearing the quietly haunted look of people still gnawed at by the thought of their negative scores.
She bit her lip.
Still not mature enough.
If I'd thought it through more carefully — acted more decisively — I wouldn't have ended up in a situation where the people who got hurt are the ones having to comfort me.
That was just how people like her were, she supposed.
Rather than point fingers at anyone else, they'd always default to shouldering every fault themselves — turning it over alone in the small hours of the night, chewing on the weight of it in silence. Feeling guilty over a possibility so remote it barely deserved the name.
But Ichinose Honami was, at the end of the day, the leader that all of Class B had come to trust.
And she knew this perfectly well:
Tears and words were the cheapest things in the world. Wallowing here wouldn't change a thing. What she needed was action.
She slapped both palms against her cheeks, forced herself upright, and walked with purpose to stand before the Black Sphere. When she looked up, her eyes had gone steady again.
"GANTZ."
"If I want to purchase the Gantz Suit — how does that work?"
Chris, who had been quietly reviewing the status of his various guests with his eyes closed, opened them and spoke up:
"Have GANTZ pull up the equipment list. Click into the item icon and confirm the purchase. That's it."
"Got it. Thank you."
Ichinose did as he said.
Ten S-Points deducted. A flash of blue light.
A black carrying case bearing her name materialized from thin air and settled silently at her feet.
She picked it up, cast a grateful glance at Chris — then turned to face the two wearing those troubled expressions, her eyes earnest.
"Shiranami-san. Shiina-san."
"I already have this equipment now. So... in the next exam, please take the points that would normally come to me first."
"Clearing the negatives from your accounts and making sure you're safe — that's what matters most right now."
"Eh? But..."
Shiranami Chihiro's eyes went red at the corners almost immediately. She was already starting to refuse — but a single look from Ichinose stopped her cold.
Even Shiina Hiyori blinked once in surprise, then gave a small, quiet nod. She didn't turn the offer down.
Seeing that, Chris thought it over for a moment — and decided he might as well stay in character.
"Technically it'll work the moment you put it on, but this thing seems to be tied to your mental state somehow."
"There's a real difference between using it normally versus going all out... honestly, I'm not sure how to describe it properly. You'll have to experience it yourself, Ichinose."
In truth, what he meant was: berserker mode. But Chris had always had a fondness for speaking in riddles.
"Hehe~"
Nearby, Sakayanagi Arisu chose to temporarily ignore Kamuro Masumi, who was still waging a one-sided war of wits against thin air. Her gaze drifted between Chris and Ichinose, bright with amusement.
"My, my. It sounds like Chris-kun has quite a bit of personal insight on the matter!"
"I suppose that means the two of you will have to make good use of the gap before the next trial — really take some time to explore how to use the suit properly~"
She paused, her tone gaining that particular edge of implication:
"After all... there are some things that can only truly be felt when you're actually wearing them."
Ichinose Honami didn't catch the insinuation at all. She simply gave a sincere, earnest nod.
It was Shiranami Chihiro, standing beside her, who suddenly seemed to remember something — her expression shifted — and she quickly leaned in close to Ichinose's ear.
"Oh, right! Ichinose!"
"When you go home to test it out... make sure you wear normal clothes over it! Just like Chris does — throw on a tracksuit or something to cover it up!"
"Eh?"
Ichinose blinked — and then, unbidden, a memory surfaced in her mind. That day. The equipment room. The moment she'd tried on Chris's compression suit, face burning the entire time.
The flush hit her cheeks like a wave.
She looked around, flustered.
Yamada Albert seemed to have left with Ryuuen Kakeru already. At this point, the only people left in the room were a few girls — and Chris, the one directly involved.
"...Phew."
Ichinose let out a quiet breath of relief, then ducked her head a little, lowered her voice, and shot Shiranami a look that was equal parts flustered and mildly reproachful.
"I would've known that without being told!"
"It's not like I'm some kind of exhibitionist..."
Fair point, really. Not everyone could handle wandering around in public wearing something that shameless — a second-skin latex bodysuit with basically zero modesty. That went for Chris too, for that matter.
Without a layer of normal clothing over it, what exactly was the difference between that thing and a bikini?
He genuinely could not understand how anyone could get addicted to wearing latex. And he especially couldn't understand why anyone would willingly sell wedding-dress swimsuit photos of their own harem members...
As if worried that something might show on her face, Ichinose didn't want to linger on this subject any longer. She picked up the case, turned to Chris, and gave a small bow.
"Um — Chris-kun."
"I'm not sure when the next trial will be... but just in case — I'd appreciate your guidance going forward."
Chris was quiet for two seconds, then gave a single nod of acknowledgment.
What he was actually thinking was:
It's not like I'm some kind of demon. Why does everyone always assume the worst of me?
For the record, every enemy I've lined up for you all has been a genuine, bona fide enemy of humanity.
Even the Chimeras I'm planning to include next — creatures that were literally born that way — I'm still willing to give them an observation window first, so everyone can sidestep a whole pile of unnecessary moral headaches. Who knows, maybe I'll even earn a spot in Chaldea off the back of this...
Speaking of the Chimeras — there were really only two of them.
Charlie, the protagonist, and his brother Omeros.
The two of them had only been in this world for a few days, and they'd already speed-run their way into the arms of one of Japan's most extreme animal rights organizations. The only difference was that Charlie was actively planning terrorist attacks, while Omeros was playing passive — but not exactly resisting, either.
Given that, Chris's approach was straightforward enough.
Use the monsters who were already planning to target humans to sweep up the extremist terrorists in one clean operation. Then contain both the Chimeras and the extremists together, to serve as teaching material for the next exam.
Full-service, end-to-end. Everything handled.
In this entire world, how many people are as considerate as me?
That's right. None. There are none.
...Though the Chimeras, even if their base stats are above normal humans in the source material, would probably be outmatched by Black Sphere weapons without much of a fight...
I should add Goto to the lineup. Make it a proper bonus dungeon for next time.
Chris rubbed his chin, still thinking it over.
Meanwhile — aside from Horikita Suzune, who had apparently decided to torture herself by asking GANTZ to read out her own evaluation and was now breaking down over it by herself in the corner — everyone else who'd already been through this process before filed out without needing any more confirmation.
The room emptied quickly. Only a handful of people remained.
"Chris-kun."
Sakayanagi Arisu stepped forward without ceremony and looped her arm through his, leaning into him like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Chris looked down, puzzled. "...What's this about?"
Sakayanagi tilted her face up at him.
"I'm sure you heard what I said to Kamuro-san."
"I meant every word. I won't force her to participate in the next trial."
"So going forward... I'm afraid I really will have to rely entirely on you, Chris-kun~"
Chris let out a weary sigh. "With your abilities and your point total, you could recruit basically anyone you wanted, couldn't you?"
"That's not the same thing at all."
Sakayanagi smiled.
"Bodyguards are easy to find. Someone I can actually rely on — that's a different matter entirely."
"And besides — I'd like to think I'm not without a certain charm. So why won't you accept my invitation?"
She tilted her head, something playful gleaming in her eyes.
"Are you playing hard to get? Or... are you gay?"
"That's not it," Chris said flatly, a vein ticking in his temple.
"Hehe~ Then I'll take that as a straight answer. In any case — this is an exclusive privilege, reserved for Chris-kun alone!"
"So you ought to be grateful~"
She looked up at him, genuinely curious.
"By the way — you were looking a little vacant just now. Not like you at all. What were you plotting?"
Chris paused. "Nothing. I was just thinking about what to have for dinner."
Sakayanagi Arisu, to his mild surprise, found this completely reasonable. She lowered her gaze as if actually giving it thought.
"Mm. What should we have~"
...
Back on the rooftop of the academic building, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka shook off his brief moment of disorientation and made his way downstairs.
There, he found Hirata Yousuke — fully healed, his arm regrown without a trace of injury — standing in an unfamiliar corridor, staring at his own hands in blank, wide-eyed confusion.
"I — what happened to me?"
Hirata looked up, then looked around at surroundings he didn't recognize.
"I remember trying to draw those monsters away, and then I got badly hurt... and then what? What happened after that? Am I... dreaming?"
Facing Hirata Yousuke's questions.
Ayanokoji pressed his lips together.
He ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek — smooth, without a single trace of the wound — and shook his head.
"I'm not entirely sure either."
"All I remember is that after you lost consciousness, we ran into Ichinose from Class B, Ryuuen from Class C..."
"And something called the Black Sphere trials."
"The Black Sphere trials?" Hirata said. "Is that what I think it is?"
"Yeah. I took some photos — let me send them to you. You can piece it together yourself."
Partly to verify his own memory, partly to settle Hirata down.
Ayanokoji pulled out his phone and opened his camera roll.
His memories of what happened were hazy at the edges — but he had a vague sense that at some point in the chemistry lab, he'd been preparing for some kind of threat.
And then.
He scrolled to the most recent photo.
And Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's face — that face that had worn the same expression for as long as anyone could remember — finally changed.
The photo had been taken inside the chemistry lab.
Simple composition. Old lab equipment. Chairs pushed slightly out of place. And at the center of the frame — a completed Molotov cocktail, resting on the bench.
...A Molotov cocktail?
Ayanokoji's pupils contracted sharply. The wrongness hit him like a cold hand closing around his throat.
I remember making this. It was to defend against the zombies.
But...
Where did I actually use it?
Zombies? No — if it had been zombies, why do I have absolutely no memory of that part?
____
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