A hero who wants to help others wants to live a normal life

Chapter 38 School Response

A week had passed since the last disappearance, and, as expected, another missing person case occurred.

“Another one?”

“But doesn’t it seem quicker this time?”

“Yeah, it’s faster. Maybe they got a taste for it, or they’re just getting cocky, thinking it’s easier than they thought.”

The previous incident happened two weeks apart, but this one took only a week. If I had to guess, it’s because they’ve refined their methods, decided it’s safe, or they’ve started underestimating the academy’s security.

I wonder what’s going on with the school’s security right now? I haven’t heard anything from the seniors yet, but surely they’ve put some measures in place, right?

So far, only students outside the honors class have been targeted, but no parent would want to keep their child at a school where disappearances are happening. If this keeps up, the parents of the honors students will surely raise hell.

Maybe something’s already stirring behind the scenes, but if an honors student goes missing, it’ll be a far bigger deal than it is now.

To avoid that, I’m sure the people “up top” are doing something… Maybe I should give one of the seniors a call?

“There’s no point hanging around the school. It’s dangerous. We should head home.”

I think we’d be fine even if we were attacked, but it’s better not to be in that situation at all. The disappearances seem to be happening within the academy grounds, so heading home is probably safer for now. Besides, it’s hard to make a call while we’re still at school. We should just head out.

“Too bad! I’ve got student council today. You know, the council that my dear brother forced me into.”

Oh yeah, I forgot Inori had that. I only have to show up about once a week, so it’s pretty easy for me, but Inori’s got council duties every day.

Especially now, with all the commotion about these attacks, she probably has even more to do. Even though this doesn’t seem like something a fellow student would do, it’s still happening on school grounds, so of course, the student council has to respond.

But, well, all things considered, I’m glad to see she’s taking it seriously, even though I forced her into it.

“Looks like you’re working hard. Good for you.”

“Wow, you sound so detached. It’s annoying.”

“Well, I do feel a little guilty about forcing you into it, but if you’re handling it well, that’s good to know.”

“If you felt guilty, you shouldn’t have made me join the student council in the first place…”

Inori complained with a hint of frustration, but honestly, I still think getting her into the student council wasn’t a mistake.

At least this way, she’s learning to engage with others. Hopefully, she’ll start to develop some sense of what it means to be a “normal person.”

“Well, do your best. If you grow, that’ll make me really happy.”

“…Well, since I’m already part of it, I’ll do it properly.”

Inori sighed in resignation, turning away as she spoke. She’s serious and dutiful in moments like this. That’s just how she is.

“Alright, I’ll be going. Be careful on your way home!”

“Want me to wait for you to finish?”

“Nah, it’s fine. Even if I go home alone, there’s no real danger for me.”

That’s probably true, but I’d still prefer if she didn’t let her guard down. Still, knowing her, she’ll be fine. With that in mind, I watched Inori leave the classroom before grabbing my bag and standing up.

I glanced around the classroom and noticed it was almost empty. Most of the students must have gone to their club activities or out to town.

Kiriya, for example, is diligently involved in the kendo club, and my other acquaintances are also engaged in their own activities.

As I thought about going home alone, I started to wonder if maybe I should’ve joined a proper club or made more friends.

But most of the clubs here rely on the use of special skills, so it’s probably better I avoided them to make sure I don’t slip up.

As for friends… making friends in this class is pretty difficult. Since I don’t live in the dorms, I commute to school, and many of my classmates come from wealthy families or prestigious lineages. The difference in our backgrounds makes it hard to find common ground. Even though I’m from an ordinary household, I grew up in a unique way, so the fact that I managed to make a friend like Kiriya who’s easygoing is already a blessing.

Besides Kiriya, I do have a few people I can chat with around campus, even if I wouldn’t call them friends.

For now, I should be content with the way things are. I thought that as I walked out of the classroom…

“Hm? Hoshiguma? You haven’t gone home yet?”

As I opened the door, I ran into Hoshiguma.

I thought she left quite a while ago, so what’s she still doing here?

“Huh? Oh, Seiichi! Yeah, the student council called me for a bit. And hey, are you still calling me Hoshiguma?”

“Ah, right, Toko. But the student council? You’re not even a member, right?”

As far as I know, the only first-years in the student council are Kujou and Inori. Maybe they recruited some extra members later to help with tasks or something?

But that wasn’t the case. Hoshiguma explained with a wry smile.

“Yeah, that’s true. But you know that missing student case? There’s a rumor that it’s not just disappearances, but that someone’s behind it.”

“I’ve heard that rumor.”

I’ve been informed that the current disappearances might be connected to “Qliphoth,” but the students don’t know that much. They’re just speculating that these abductions seem strange because unrelated students keep disappearing, and rumors are circulating that it could be a kidnapping case.

Well, with this many students vanishing, it’s no surprise they’d start thinking that.

“They asked me to help with this supposed culprit. I figured it’d be bad to refuse, so I’m on my way now,” Hoshiguma explained.

“Handling a culprit? Isn’t that something for teachers or security to deal with?”

That’s really a job for law enforcement. But this academy’s situation is complicated. Even though it’s in Japan, it’s in a sort of neutral or unaffiliated position. Japan is technically just managing it—or rather, they’ve had the responsibility thrust upon them. If a national force got too involved, it could cause political issues with other countries.

Plus, the academy has strict rules about letting outsiders in, even for investigations. I get that. But if it’s really a criminal organization behind this, it’s still risky to have students dealing with it.

“They’re handling it on their end, but they can’t cover everything, right? So, they’re picking some capable students to do patrols and help with investigations. It’s not like we’re confronting the culprit directly, more like scouting around to see what’s going on,” Hoshiguma added.

So, it’s more about gathering information than confronting anyone… Maybe that’s not so bad? But still…

“They’re probably short on manpower for full security coverage, but isn’t it risky to pull students into this?”

“Well, I come from a family of warriors, so it makes sense they’d call on me. Besides, even if there’s danger, all we’d be doing is reporting any suspicious activity, not actually fighting anyone. So it should be fine,” she said with a confident smile.

Yeah, if students with her level of skill are the ones patrolling, they could at least avoid serious danger. Even if someone connected to Qliphoth was involved, it’s not like they’d be sending Blessed individuals, right?

“But hey, from the sound of it, you didn’t get called, huh? You’re strong, so leaving you out seems like a mistake,” Hoshiguma teased.

“Well, even if my sister’s well-known, I’m still technically just an average student.”

I haven’t really stood out in classes or anything, so there’s no reason for them to call on me for something like this.

“True, but still… Oh! Want to come with me? I can probably get you in on the patrol.”

“No, showing up uninvited doesn’t feel right. If they call me, I’ll help out then. I made that promise, after all.”

“Yeah, good point. Okay then, I’ll call you if something comes up. Later!” Hoshiguma waved as she walked off.

As I watched her leave, I couldn’t shake a feeling of unease. Will everything really be okay? Nothing’s going to happen, right?

“Having students run the investigation… It’s really turned into a big deal. I hope it gets resolved soon, but it probably won’t be that easy.”

Even if students are conducting the search, I don’t think they’ll solve it so easily. Maybe I should call my seniors to check on the situation.

Knowing what’s happening doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll take action, but there’s a big difference between being informed and being completely in the dark if something goes wrong.