Hoshino Gen now understood why the detector had shown a contamination source in this courtyard.
It turned out the iron gate was electrified, interfering with the detector.
Not only did they build such a high wall and install a gate with this terrifying design, but they also had to electrify it!
Was the owner of this courtyard a psychopath?
Hoshino Gen dared not linger around this area any longer.
There might be other traps waiting.
Once he was completely far away from that strange courtyard, the detector finally returned to normal.
Hoshino Gen decided to investigate elsewhere first.
The night grew deeper, and the streetlights on campus cast a dim, yellow glow.
Hoshino Gen lurked in the shadows where the light couldn’t reach, continuing his exploration of the school.
A couple of students, a boy and a girl, cuddled under a streetlamp.
The girl’s eyes were hazy as she leaned into the boy’s arms, a dazed smile on her face.
The boy had one hand on her shoulder, while the other hand secretly fiddled with a somewhat old camera, its lens faintly aimed at the girl’s collar.
“There are still a few too many people here…”
The long-haired boy murmured, his glasses reflecting a deep, eerie gleam under the light.
“I know a quieter place, where no one will bother us. Want to come with me?”
The girl let out a vague “Mm-hmm,” her body seeming completely limp, as if she had no strength to stand.
She staggered on her feet as the boy held her in his arms, leading her toward a more secluded corner of the campus.
They walked along a path where the light grew dimmer and dimmer, until the darkness made it nearly impossible to see each other’s expressions.
“Ito-kun, where exactly are we going?”
The girl finally asked, puzzled that they still hadn’t arrived.
“We’re almost there. Please be a little more patient, dear.”
The moment the word “dear” left his lips, the girl blushed deeply and continued to lean into his arms, saying nothing more.
Ito Kyosuke’s expression was subtle, his fingers caressing the camera’s shutter button.
The prey was finally hooked.
A few days ago, he had run into an accident in the eastern suburb forest.
He had been knocked unconscious and had lost his beloved camera.
Now, he had to make do with an old one.
But fate was strange like that.
He had lost a precious stash of photos, but what he had gained far exceeded his expectations.
With this, the things he could do went far beyond just taking pictures…
The two continued along a path lined with dense trees, where the light grew even dimmer.
“Dear, won’t you give me another kiss?”
Ito Kyosuke said with a smile.
“Okay…”
The girl replied softly, rising on her tiptoes and leaning her lips toward him.
Ito Kyosuke’s face lit up with joy.
He prepared to scoop the girl into his arms, but then his foot suddenly found nothing but air!
A dull thud, followed by a short cry of surprise, and Ito Kyosuke vanished from the ground without warning.
Splash!
A huge spray of water shot up.
The girl, now lacking her support, stopped in confusion, standing still.
Even though she was splashed with water, she seemed not to have realized what had just happened.
On what had been a flat path, a manhole gaped open, pitch black inside.
From below came the faint sounds of Ito Kyosuke’s furious curses and the splashing of water.
He was just one step away from succeeding.
But which irresponsible jerk had moved the manhole cover?!
This place was indeed secluded, dark enough for shady deeds.
But precisely because the lighting was so poor, Ito Kyosuke had failed to see the open manhole.
If he had been more careful while rushing to pick up the girl, he might have noticed that the manhole cover had long been missing, leaving only a dangerous gap.
From the shadows not far away, Hoshino Gen silently put away his detector, glanced at the hole, then looked at the girl standing there frozen.
He furrowed his brow slightly before melting back into the deeper darkness.
When it came to lovey-dovey couples, Hoshino Gen usually didn’t break them up—but that was a different story when the guy was a scumbag.
What really surprised Hoshino Gen was that Ito Kyosuke was still alive.
After he had knocked him out and tied him to a tree, even if the magic beasts hadn’t attacked him, he should have starved to death deep in that remote forest.
There were only a few boys in the class.
Endou-sensei had said Ito Kyosuke had taken an extended leave of absence with no word on when he’d return.
But Hoshino Gen knew Ito Kyosuke was never coming back.
So when Hoshino Gen spotted the guy sitting on the bench under the streetlight as the male half of that couple, he froze for a moment.
He had tied him to that tree tighter than a pig for slaughter.
How had he escaped?
Even more baffling was that not only had the guy come back as if nothing had happened, but he was also hooking up with a girl.
Hoshino Gen recognized this girl too.
Her name was something like Yuriko, and she was the submissive half of the only lesbian couple in the class.
But how had she suddenly become so infatuated with Ito Kyosuke?
Yet another unexpected situation left Hoshino Gen utterly perplexed.
So he decided to set aside the investigation into the dark energy contamination and follow Ito Kyosuke instead.
The manhole cover, naturally, was something he had taken away at just the right moment.
Yuriko stood frozen in place.
The foul smell from the sewage in the manhole kept assaulting her nose.
After about ten seconds, she seemed to snap out of it, but she was still completely bewildered.
“What am I doing here?”
“Why am I so dirty?”
Her head ached terribly, and she couldn’t remember what had just happened at all.
Then Yuriko looked down and was horrified to see a dark hole beside her.
From that hole, a long-haired monster had one claw gripping the edge and the other reaching toward her.
“Dear, give me a hand…”
Ito Kyosuke said, his voice trembling as he extended his hand.
“A monster! Ahhhhhhhh!!!”
Startled, Yuriko let out an ear-piercing shriek so loud that the motion-sensor lights in the teaching building flicked on.
Yuriko’s voice was sharp and piercing.
Even Hoshino Gen, watching from a distance, found it unbearable, as if a chisel were boring into his eardrums.
In a state of sheer panic, Yuriko kicked the monster that had just crawled out of the hole right back in, then ran off, still screaming.
Hoshino Gen wanted to see what state Ito Kyosuke was in now, but this place was no longer safe to linger.
The teachers at Chiyu Academy were very responsible, and the security was far more rigorous than it appeared.
That scream from Yuriko was so loud that even someone deaf would have heard it.
The campus security team would arrive soon.
If he stayed nearby, he’d definitely be caught.
It was getting late.
Time to go home.
Just as he was thinking this, Hoshino Gen felt his phone vibrate twice in his pocket.
During a mission, Hoshino Gen’s phone never received any messages from anyone—except one person.
He opened his phone, and sure enough, it was a message from his little sister.
“Big brother, when are you coming back? I’m so scared alone at home.”