Inside a slightly dirty room . It was almost night but the place was dark and the street light was flickering with noise . The ambiance there was heavy and somewhat frozen .

  “.……Hmm?”


  Inside that quiet room, the confused voice of someone disturbed the silence .

  “So you finally woke up now . ”


  Noticing that Shibata opened his eyes, the man was sitting on the chair next to him spoke . Shibata raised his back from the bed and held his sleepy head .

  “Hm, Keisuke? …… What is going on in here?”


  Shibata tilted his head when he saw the man called Keisuke . He was obviously confused .

  “Did you forget? You got followed by a weird guy and—–”


  “Ah, right!! Right!! The guy who didn’t get influenced by my hypnosis!!”


  Shibata raised his voice the moment he recalled what happened to him . Keisuke let out a sigh after realizing that Shibata finally got back his memory and started flustering .

  “What happened to him!?”


  “I immediately brought you here with me when you lost consciousness . He didn’t follow us after that . ”


  Listening to Keisuke’s short report, Shibata felt earnestly relieved and laid back on the bed .

  “I told you to stop playing around, didn’t I? I don’t care about what you do at night, but doing it in the middle of the day is too careless . Why do you think we chose this place as our base?”


  “I can’t help it! It’s just too exciting and fun . ”


  Shibata rolled on the bed, apparently not reflecting on his miss . Both of them could acquire any place they want if they used Shibata’s ability, but Keisuke is a watchful person . He even chose this remote place as their base to stay away from public gazes as much as possible .

  “And besides, how would I know that someone like that could actually exist?!”


  Shibata lifted his head from the bed and complained with a displeased face . He must be vexed by the sudden appearance of that new ability holder . Keisuke agreed with him while raising his glasses with his fingers .

  “He is most likely an ability holder like us . I’m 80%, no, 90% sure that his ability is like mine; teleportation . ”


  While recalling the time when he coincidently passed by the off-street where Shibata was facing that person, Keisuke made a few conjectures about him . Though for some reason, Shibata wouldn’t completely agree with him and asked .

  “Then why didn’t my hypnosis work against him? Teleportation can’t block my ability, could it?”


  Keisuke contemplated a reasonable explanation for Shibata’s question, but he couldn’t come up with an answer that could make him agree . He did see Yato teleporting right behind Shibata before he realized that out . Therefore, his ability is either teleportation or something related to it .

  “Are you sure that you looked at him in the eyes?”


  “Yeah, I looked at him right in the eyes . ”


  Shibata replied without hesitation . If it weren’t Shibata’s fault, then why didn’t his hypnosis work against Yato? Keisuke took a while of silence thinking before he reluctantly opened his mouth .

  “There are two possibilities . He is either genetically immune to your hypnosis or he holds another ability that cancels yours . ”


  “Both of them are impossible man……”


  Shibata judged Keisuke’s hypothesis to be unrealistic . Keisuke did agree with him in that fact, however, those were the only two possibilities he could think of .

  “Anyway, it’s very possible that he will stand in the way of our plan . ”


  They both made it out of that hell . They can’t let anyway stand in their way now .

  “Let’s amend the plan a little bit . If everything went as planned, that would be good . If it didn’t, then we will see what to do at that time . ”


  Honestly, I don’t want this plan to get ruined by anyone . It’s for the best to end everything peacefully .

  Restraining the hatred lurking in his heart, Keisuke placed his elbow on his knee and raised his glasses again .

  ―――――――――――――――


  The next day after I encountered the murderer . I was walking back home with Saya and Lina while thinking about what happened yesterday .

  “By the way, Lina-chan . How did you do on the test today?”


  “I got a perfect score . ”


  Saya praised Lina who replied with a carefree attitude . As both of them were having a pleasant conversation, I kept quiet behind them while thinking about the murderer . After that, the police ended its investigation without any noticeable progress and the old man didn’t get any proof either . I thought that I can catch the murderer anytime, now that I know his face, but I can’t think of any way to do it . I did get a few useful information, like the murderer has skills and an accomplice . Though, all of them are useless to give to ordinary police .

  Annoying……

  I held my head while gazing at the sky . If the murderer were an ordinary person, I could have just apprehended him and handed him to the old man, but in this case, even if I catch him, nothing will get resolved . I can’t do anything about them now . Even if I could, I won’t do anything in the first place . The world will keep moving on even I didn’t exist .

  “Hey, Yato-kun…… Yato-kun!”


  I heard my name getting called two times by Saya and promptly turned to her direction and realized that both her and Lina were staring at me .

  “What are you spacing out?”


  “You’re always spacing out, but this time it’s too much . ”


  Saya asked me with a worried expression while Lina used that opportunity to make fun of me . I couldn’t disagree with her about the spacing out part, but was it that obvious, I wonder .

  “Sorry, I was thinking about something . So, what about the test?”


  “We were talking about how popular Karen-chan is with guys . ”


  Just how did they end up with that topic? They were talking about today’s test only a few seconds ago . Seriously, the development of girl’s conversation is too fast .

  “Well, even if you ask me……”


  Being her elder brother doesn’t mean that I know everything about her . As I thought of a good response, I noticed someone walking towards us .

  “That’s……”


  I could feel that something was off in him at the first glance . He was wearing normal clothes, but his eyes didn’t have any light in them and he walked with unsteady steps . It felt like he was forced to walk . Saya and Lina noticed the same thing and halted their conversation to observe that person with doubting eyes . At first, I thought that he some weirdo walking around, but not after I compared him to the person I saw yesterday . He was clearly getting controlled by someone else .

  The man approached us, driving Saya to hide behind Lina, then he suddenly stopped in front of me .

  “.…… We need to talk . ”


  Uttering only those words, the man passed by us and continued walking unsteadily . Lina and Saya looked confused by his strange attitude and asked each other, but I was the only one who guessed what he wanted ……

  So he wants me to follow him, huh .

  “.…… Well, let’s accept the challenge . ”


  Honestly, I can only see a trap waiting for me if I followed him, but I can’t get more information if I stayed here .

  “Eh? Yato-kun? Where are you going?”


  “I’ve got some business, just go back without me . ”


  I left those words behind and walked in the opposite direction, leaving Saya looking at me while tilting her head . She tried to follow me but was stopped by Lina who already guessed the situation .

  While appreciating Lina’s considerate behaviors, I quietly followed the strange man .

  ―――――――――――――――


  After that, I was made to turn a few corners to the left and right while following him . The man didn’t show a sign of stopping somewhere . Eventually, we reached a deserted district that was almost devoid of people . The man stopped there and turned around .

  “You gave us quite the trouble yesterday . ”


  The man started talking in slight monotone .

  What is this guy talking about?

  I stared at the man while wondering on my own until I guessed his identity from the way he spoke .

  “You’re that guy from yesterday . ”


  “That’s right . My name is Yanagi Keisuke . I’m using this man to talk with you now . ”


  So, apparently, this man is hypnotized by that murderer that I encountered yesterday .

  The voice I’m hearing is probably this man’s, but the one who is actually talking is the other guy with glasses . I calmly analyzed the situation and prepared for any possible surprise attack . Come to think of it, the fact that he turned to look at me means that he can share his vision too . This hypnosis skill is so convenient .

  “How about you come to talk to me directly instead of hiding like that?”


  “Sadly, I’m a wary man you see . ”


  He probably saw me knocking off Shibata yesterday . That’s why he’s wary of me . Unlike Shibata, he seems to be overcautious . As a proof of that, he has already cut right to the chase without wasting any time .

  “Let me get right to the point . We won’t lay a hand on you . And in return, don’t get in our way . ”


  I got a little disappointed when I heard him proposing a passive suggestion instead of setting me into a trap .

  “Then why did you say that you will make me pay yesterday?”


  “I got a little emotional at that time . We’ve got a lot of problems here too . And besides, I’m not intending to fight an ability holder like us . ”


  What are these two planning to do?

  I felt something off in the way he spoke to me as if to not make an enemy out of me .

  “Is that why you called me here?”


  “Yes . ”


  “Did you really have to bring me all the way here just to tell me that?”


  “Yes . that’s how big our plan is . ”


  He must really want me to stay away from him . I don’t know what are they planning to do, but it must something of considerable since they asked me to not get in their way .

  “What is your plan?”


  “I can’t answer that question . ”


  Well, I guess there is no way he is going tell me……

  I judged that he wasn’t intending to tell me anything about their plan . I understand that they asked me to not lay a hand on them, though, I’m not that good of a person to agree to protect that condition .

  “Do you really think that if I accept your condition, I will actually follow through the promise?”


  I asked Yanagi in a provocative attitude . A verbal promise is meaningless in this kind of situations . I’m sure that Yanagi is aware of that fact as well since he replied to me without changing his voice tone .

  “My partner’s ability is to control anyone he sees in their eyes . He could even use it through a phone screen . ”


  Yanagi halted his words for a short moment then continued .

  “If he were to order your family or your friends to commit suicide, they will immediately do it . ”


  The conclusion he is implying to by those words was quite simple . He was basically threatening me . If you get in our way, we will murder your friends and family . That’s what he’s implying .

  A threat, huh……

  I muttered to myself in a quiet voice . I was expecting him to do something really serious, but it turned out to be a threat . Yanagi and Shibata are probably thinking that they could restrain me by that weak threat .

  That’s not enough……

  “Don’t underestimate me……”


  The next moment, the air surrounding me changed in aspect .

  “You’re making a big misunderstanding if you’re thinking that you are threatening me . ”


  I casted an intimidating aura while speaking in a low tone . The man in front of me started trembling from the coerced ambiance that dominated the place . He made a step behind despite being ordered to keep standing still .

  “A threat is something the strong cast on the weak . Two mere ricefishes like you who can only teleport and hypnotize people can’t stop me with that much . ”


  I revealed a grin and kept on turning the mood tenser . The man couldn’t stop his shivering limbs .

  “Your only option is to move while avoiding to lay a hand on my surroundings . The moment you break that condition, I will personally crush your plan . ”


  I will use all my skills to find you . The first thing you need to set in that plan of yours is to not get close to me or the people I know .

  “Do your best in protecting that condition . ”


  I removed the tense ambiance around me . The place returned to its quiet vibe and the man crumbled on the ground like a marionette that got its strings cut . He didn’t move anymore . Apparently, the hypnosis influence got interrupted . I wonder if they are alright . Even if they have a skill, they are still not much different from an ordinary person . Maybe I shouldn’t have acted that way .

  “Well, I’ll deal with them if we meet again . ”


  I carried the man who lost his consciousness and walked away . I can’t leave him here alone, so I will just put him somewhere else until he wakes up .

  In the end, I couldn’t find out their plan . Let’s ask Meru to gather some information about them later . Maybe she can find something useful .

  Deciding on what to do next, I contemplated a plan to end this predicament as soon as possible .

  ―――――――――――――――


  Bonus

  Actually……

  “Well then, what should I do with this man……”


  Oh my God, I can’t move from the intense fright……

  The man was actually awake while being carried by Yato .