Chapter 241, Eve (Part )

"Haul, if you feel unwell, go home and rest after school. Don't force yourself."

On the side, Kyousuke Moritani, who was just accompanying Kanda, said to Zhuo worriedly.

Zhuo's relationship with him can only be considered average, or in other words, limited to acquaintance, and cannot be considered friends...at least that's what Zhuo thinks.

Moreover, the two of them had not spoken to each other many times, the last time being the time before.

"Thank you for your concern. I'm fine."

Zhuo nodded politely in response, without the perfunctory tone he used towards Ren, and answered calmly.

But in the corner of his vision, Sen Gu smiled somewhat stiffly.

Zhuo spoke in this manner out of politeness, but for Sen Gu, maybe he felt that this was a kind of alienation.

The other familiar Zhuo in the class is the kind of person who is introverted, doesn't like to talk, gets irritated when he speaks, and is a little difficult to get along with, because no one finds such an attitude strange.

But after seeing how he talks to his friends, you can tell the difference.

"...Are you in a bad mood?"

Kanda tried to smooth things over.

"No, I'm in a good mood. I'm just very tired and trying to hold on. After all, the exam is coming up soon and who dares to sleep in class?"

"Wow, so serious and handsome - do you think I would say that? When have you ever cared about exams? In your words, what does the upcoming exam have to do with you not getting enough sleep?"

"Kanda is right. And Kanda, don't you think that Zhuo has become more and more irritable recently, as if..."

"Hey, hey, hey, I'm still here." Zhuo interrupted the spell with a slightly louder voice, "You guys should be serious. The exams in our school are very difficult, so you should prepare for it and don't just play around."

Zhuo educates everyone.

"..."

"..."

Ren and Kanda looked at him in dumbfounded eyes, wondering if Zhuo had picked up the wrong script today.

"I'm preparing for the exam. I feel really motivated!"

"Is that so?" Zhuo responded.

"But you can let that person teach you~"

“…Even if you say so, there’s nothing I can do…”

"What's wrong?"

Ren stared at Zhuo, but Zhuo ignored him and took out the textbook for the next class from the drawer and put it on the table.

If we continue talking, it might lead to more topics about Zero, which Zhuo didn't want to talk about, so he ended the conversation. Then Zhuo sighed, pretended to be indifferent, and flipped through the textbook.

……

After school, Zhuo immediately left the school and prepared to go to the security room at the school gate to pick up Uesugi Erii, but he came to find her empty-handed.

As usual, Utsunomiya Shuo was waiting at the school gate for a car that might come out from a certain direction to pick him up, but this time the person he was waiting for was Kazama Ruri.

Unfortunately, he waited for a long time.

From the beginning, we had to give way to people leaving the school gate, but now almost no one passes by and no car has arrived.

Perhaps the security guard noticed that Zhuo was in a bad mood today, so he kept glancing at him from time to time while holding the thermos cup, wondering whether he should ask for help in making a phone call to his mentor.

As the sky darkened and the street lights came on.

Zhuo had to accept the fact that Fengjian Liuli was indeed an unreliable guy who failed to deliver at critical moments.

Then he walked out of the school gate in silence, went to the convenience store to buy a lunch box, and returned home.

As expected, no one was at home. The nightgown that Uesugi Eriya had thrown on the back of the sofa before leaving was still hanging there, and the indoor shoes that Kazama Ruri had worn were also on the shoe rack.

Zhuo sighed silently.

“It’s really useless.”

……

Time passed slowly, and the whole of Tokyo spent the last few days of October in peace.

By November, the situation had changed dramatically.

Kazama Ruri and Uesugi Eri did not appear again, and there is still no news about Zero.

One day on his way home from school, Zhuo was surprised to find that those who were following him finally lost their patience and began to block him blatantly.

However, relying on his familiarity with the road and the help of the great sage, Zhuo was able to steadily shake them off.

As for breaking through the door by force... Zhuo had considered this possibility.

Although modern society is law-abiding...but everyone knows that mixed-bloods are not afraid of that stuff.

Then, the person who was following him finally showed up one day. A cold, pale man in black wearing thin-framed glasses, and a man with an ominous aura, appeared with a clear goal, and came straight towards him.

In the car behind the two of them, a familiar black-haired girl was seen the moment the door opened.

Yes!

Crow Yasha Yabuki Sakura!
Yes!

The one who took action against him was indeed the Snake Eight Clan, and it was Tachibana Masamune who ordered the action! When Herzog learned that Uesugi Eriya had run away from home and hid here with Zhuo...his first thought was not to bring her back, but to take advantage of this opportunity to take action against him. Only he could quietly deal with the two strongest hybrids, Kazama Ruri and Uesugi Eriya.

After taking the two away, Herzog not only did not stop monitoring them, but intensified it, and finally he could no longer tolerate it after one day.

However, the scale of the action was far beyond Utsunomiya Shuo's expectations.

[Tokyo City Bunkyo District rehearses anti-terrorism operations and completely closes the city! 】

As this news spread throughout Tokyo, it seemed as if in an instant, the atmosphere of the entire Tokyo changed instantly.

The Self-Defense Forces were not seen during the activities. Instead, the gangsters who were active at night took to the streets in groups, holding various weapons and blocking the way at various intersections.

In the restaurant, people who were chatting no longer spoke loudly, but could hardly hide their panic as they whispered to each other.

Deep inside the house, the head of the family began to organize the stockpiling of supplies and discussed in low voices how to defend the doors and windows. When their eyes met, their worries seemed to be overflowing.

On the streets, the gangsters looked around, their tiptoes and excited expressions all showed their growing ambitions.

As for the government, banquets for high-ranking officials are held day and night, with guests coming and going in large numbers.

Everything seems to be as normal as before, but secretly the desires in people's hearts are growing wildly like weeds after rain.

With the help of the great sage, Utsunomiya Shuo took two hours to finally reach his home, instead of half an hour's walk.

Fortunately, no one was at home.

Temporarily shelter from the wind.

At the window, Utsunomiya Shuo saw the gangsters coming and going below from afar, and guessed that these people might not know where he lived... Although he didn't know why, Herzog didn't seem to leak his information, or rather, he only revealed information like his appearance.

Through the gap between the curtains and the windowsill, he secretly peeked at the restlessness and throbbing emanating from this metropolis.

The feeling that the entire Bunkyo district of Tokyo gave him was very similar to the evening study session after the strict head teacher fell ill.

The head teacher was recuperating at home, leaving the podium empty;
The monitor’s authority makes it difficult to maintain discipline;
The flirting couple secretly changed seats, looking at each other in a sweet way, as if no one was around;
The classmate who had no desires or ambitions rested his head on one arm, with the other arm hidden under the table, fiddling with his phone, perhaps reading a novel, perhaps sending a message;

The disciplinary committee tried desperately to maintain order, while threatening the notebook to report;

While everyone was reveling in private, they also tacitly maintained the volume, for fear of attracting the elusive head teacher who was wandering around the floors.

(End of this chapter)