Sophie Asanami poked her head out from within the vacant gymnasium; her face obscured by a full mask, only her hair and eyes were visible.


    Unlike my exceptionally simple smiley mask, hers was rather acey, very elegant and aesthetic masquerade mask, like that of an opulent and high-ss woman; something I would expect Minami to own.


    In fact, she was the one who procured such a vanity item for me.


    Upon realising the situation''s severity and eximing anyhow, Sophie hurried to me without waiting for an answer.


    I was inwardly relieved at the newfound protection of who was fundamentally my bodyguard, and the primary reason for that was because my threat of blowing up the school was aplete bluff.


    It should be needless to say that I didn''t rig the school with explosives, are you kidding?


    What the hell do you think I am?


    The whole process of moving schools myself and then getting all the paperwork and stuff sorted for Selina to move schools after the fact would waste way too much of my time and energy for me to even consider that, not to mention that it isn''t even practical in the first ce.


    Ending such tiresome thoughts there, I admonished the girl.


    "Took you long enough."


    She shook her arms in an exaggerated shrug and disputed me.


    "How''s I s''posed to know the hell is goin'' on, huh? All ya told me is to ''stay quiet and stay hidden'', ya bastard."


    Indeed, I did.


    However, since she was here right now could only mean one thing.


    "Aha. So, seeing you now, it appears you couldn''t listen to that rather simple order after all?"


    "The hell? Ya shouted just then for me to hear ya ande, didn''tcha? If I didn''te now, you''d be a goner."


    She was so obvious that I could almost see the furrowing of her brows behind the mask.


    "Right. It''s called flexibility."


    "Huh?? You fu--..."


    The ability of adaptation, to act ording to the ever-changing and unpredictable environment or situation, is a valuable skill, and more than that, a quality much more vital in a vacuumpared to one such as extreme loyalty.


    I never said it was a bad thing, did I?


    "If I ever order something of you thatter turns out to be detrimental to my health, such as in a case like this where I would have otherwise been kidnapped or killed, then why should you not defy it?"


    There is no reason for her to obey amand of mine that leads to my demise, and I cannot imagine a situation in which the case is otherwise.


    "I always prioritise my life above all else. Remember that."


    It is the underlying reason why I do nothing that will gainsay that goal, such as intaking destructive drugs or medication, smoking and drinking alcohol, among others, and it is why I make sure to eat well and exercise to a certain minimum extent.


    I cannot and will not understand the fundamental reason these substances attract people any further than how these foreign chemicals and substances interact with the brain and human psyche.


    Prioritising one''s own life was both the natural and logical thing to do, but there were too many people these days who thought contrary to that belief.


    Well, I suppose that only makes it easier for me to look after my own if there are fewer who do so themselves, so why would Iin?


    In any case, I turned away from Sophie Asanami''s disgruntled look of confusion that followed my words and focused on what was at hand.


    These Warden grunts can''t really do anything to attack us, so we''re currently rxing in the encirclement.


    Use the chance to escape? Now, why would I do that before today''s goal is achieved?


    Until I kill one of the three Concepts currently working for these bastards, my work here stays unfinished.


    That is what I have decided upon for today.


    Whether it is Avon Laura, Saburou, or Azaki Kiryuuin that arrives to deal with me, they will die.


    It is clear the Wardens do not want me roaming free any longer, and thus I must weaken their forces which aim to prevent me from doing so.


    Crippling them at their core is the best way to fend them off effectively, at least for me.


    So, we waited for the main course to arrive.


    In the meantime, I raised my smartphone to look at the messages sent to me by the twins earlier on.


    [Sana: We have a wish]


    [Sona: What is a trick or treat?]


    Hm.


    Staring at the screen of my phone, I felt like I had seen right through their texts to the message hidden beneath.


    If I had to guess, they found out about the event of Halloween and its traditions via socialising with their ssmates, leading them to be curious about it.


    The Measurement of Truth confirmed my assumptions, upon which I sighed.


    It was obvious that they nned to ask me to take them trick or treating. Since I don''t want them to be wandering around any longer than 8:00, that means I would have to return home by 5:00 or 5:30 to have enough time for them to get ready so that they could leave before 6:00; two hours is enough time, right...?


    ...What a pain.


    I thought I would have all day today to y with and crush whoeveres, but that n seems to have been crumpled and thrown out the window all of a sudden.


    Since the time is... Roughly 12:30, I have a maximum time limit of 4-and-a-half hours.


    Well, I don''t think I''ll need to be here for that long anyway.


    After sending them a message that described inyman''s terms what trick-or-treating was, they responded swiftly.


    [Sana: When will Ciphye home?]


    [Sona: We want to trick or treat]


    Of course. I saw thating from more than a mile away, but it was nevertheless an exhausting realisation that I would be stuck on a tight schedule from now on.


    In the future, I should make sure there are no two big events urring on the same day, to avoid timing shes like this.


    In any case, with a simple text that read ''I will be home in time'', I avoided specifying something that couldn''t be known unless you could see into the future and closed the messaging application.


    Then, I moved my fingers to tap on and open another application. Within an instant, a chat room appeared with a live feed disy just above it that showed the view from my cor.


    It was my livestream.


    [Who is this new girl??]


    [^^ @Truthseeker09 Tell us!]


    [^^ Mr Truth doesn''t even read chat anymore Sadge]


    [^^ Truth got a girlfriend. That''s why he stopped streaming.]


    [^^ No way, u serious?]


    [^^ It''s true?? Mr Truth is cheating on us??]


    [Why are people asking about some random girl and not the fact this guy threatened to terrorise a school? He really did it in the Arenast time, remember?]


    [^^ This is the inte, my brother. Need I say more?]


    [^^ Not an excuse. This guy should be banned anyway, is this website braindead?]


    Oh, that one had a good point―about why I''m not banned.


    The answer is simple, really.


    Minami''s colossal spider web of connections was a big help in preventing the government from forcibly shutting my stream down or banning my ount. Of course, the power of money yed a huge role too, but I wouldn''t even be able to send money to the right ces if it weren''t for her.


    In other words, it''s ''power''.


    [New entrants iing! Look at the crowd!]


    [^^ From the white sea of men???]


    [^^ Not funny.]


    Glimpsing a certain message in the chat, I raised my head.


    ...I see.


    [The girl from thest stream!]


    [^^ Is that her?]


    [^^ It''s her]


    [^^ *link* check vod, its def her]


    The viewers were right. In front of me, a certain white-haired woman slowly approached, donning white te armour and wearing a white scabbard at her waist. With the pristine and valiant appearance of a pdin, she red at me with the determined look of a holy knight set on vanquishing evil.


    [Return of the cool knightdy!]


    [^^ Did you see thest stream? She lost to a pair of kids lol]


    [^^ Wasn''t it just one kid? The other stood back and didn''t do anything]


    [^^ That kid was overpowered though, and she did her best in the situation]


    [I''m new here but she looks awesome, like a real knight!]


    [^^ Mommy]


    [^^ Mommy]


    [^^ Total mommy]


    [^^ I would let her ********** (Click to reveal)]


    [^^ What the fuck]


    [^^ This chat needs God]


    [^^ No they just need to touch some grass]


    [^^ Don''t lie to yourself. You are one of us.]


    [^^ Stfu coomer]


    [What happened to Mochizuki Minami?]


    Needless to say, it was Avon Laura. But that wasn''t all, as just beside her...


    [Who''s the other guy?]


    ―Was a man I had never seen before.


    His blond hair shone like gold under the early afternoon sun as it waved gently alongside the drifting autumn breeze. His sharp eyes of the same hue examining me from a distance, he seemed to estimate something in his mind.


    [Yo that guy looks sick wtf?]


    [^^ He looks cool]


    [^^ First it was the prettydy, now it''s the handsome guy. Where does he find these people?]


    [^^ Now hear me out...]


    [^^ I''m not gay but...]


    [^^ Guys you CANNOT keep acting like this! Where is your dignity and pride as seekers of the truth!? Have you no shame?!?!]


    Azaki Kiryuuin.


    That guy, who wore flowing clothes that gave him the appearance of a princely character, stopped his approach at the same time as Avon Laura beside him.


    They stood about ten metres away from me, or 33 feet.


    Measurement of Destiny.


    Measurement of Time.


    ...Let''s see which of you will fall here, then.