Due to Natsume Mio’s interference.
Kitahara Minakaze could only temporarily give up the idea of checking his kidneys.
He lay back down on the hospital bed, but suddenly thought of something.
He turned his head back to look at Natsume Mio, carefully examining her.
Probably because her winter school uniform had been ruined in the battle.
She had changed into her summer uniform, looking much cooler and more refreshing than usual.
Her long, shoulder-length hair was tied up into a single ponytail.
The scrapes on her face had disappeared, as had the stab wound on her abdomen, and the scrapes on her thighs and arms…
Kitahara Minakaze’s gaze moved from top to bottom.
Finally, it rested on Natsume Mio’s slender, pale hands, which were pressing down on his right hand.
“Brother…”
Seemingly noticing his gaze.
Natsume Mio shifted uncomfortably.
She brought her long, pale legs together, her hands gripping Kitahara Minakaze’s right hand even tighter.
With a hint of surprise, Kitahara Minakaze asked, “You’re okay?”
Natsume Mio lowered her eyes and replied, “…I’m fine.”
“Is it really that amazing?”
“What is?”
“…Grandpa.”
Kitahara Minakaze glanced at the other patients sharing the ward.
After a moment of thought, he decided not to say it out loud.
“Mhm.” Natsume Mio nodded.
“Then why am I still lying here? Have Grandpa heal my kidneys while he’s at it…”
“Ah! Brother!”
Natsume Mio squeezed Kitahara Minakaze’s right hand with all her might, interrupting him.
She glared at him, looking as if she wanted to pounce and bite him.
It seemed she was on the verge of being driven mad by Kitahara Minakaze’s obsession with his kidneys.
“Ouch… I was just making a suggestion.”
Kitahara Minakaze tried to pull his right hand free, only to find he couldn’t.
“You’re not a priest, so Grandpa can’t do anything… Besides, you’re really fine! If anything happens, I’ll take responsibility! Stop bringing it up!” Her face flushed red, and even her pale arms seemed to take on a rosy hue as Natsume Mio glared at him again.
She looked fierce.
Kitahara Minakaze averted his gaze.
He happened to notice that the other patients in the ward were looking at him and Natsume Mio with suggestive gazes, faint smiles playing on their lips.
Kitahara Minakaze roughly understood why Natsume Mio was so embarrassed.
Discussing kidneys with a high school girl in public probably wasn’t very appropriate.
But inappropriate or not, weren’t these people being a bit too nosy?
Feeling their suggestive stares, Kitahara Minakaze was just about to say something.
Bang.
The ward door was suddenly pulled open with force.
A group of nurses walked in.
Then.
After a flurry of activity.
All the other patients in the ward, aside from Kitahara Minakaze, were wheeled out, beds and all…
Soon.
The ward was completely emptied.
There were a few arguments during the process, but they quickly died down.
The ward door was slid shut once more.
Kitahara Minakaze turned his gaze to Mio.
But the latter didn’t seem to know what was going on either.
After meeting his eyes, she shook her head.
Knock, knock.
A sudden knocking sound echoed.
Kitahara Minakaze gently freed his right hand from Natsume Mio’s grasp.
Giving her a reassuring look, he sat up in bed.
“Come in.”
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Kitahara Minakaze held his side with one hand, enduring the slight pain radiating from his abdomen as he answered.
“Excuse the intrusion. Hello.”
The door slid open.
Two middle-aged men whom Kitahara Minakaze didn’t recognize walked in.
The two got straight to the point.
As soon as they entered, they pulled out their bifold police badges and presented them to Kitahara Minakaze and Natsume Mio.
Seeing the information on the police badges clearly, Natsume Mio pursed her lips and lowered her eyes.
Subconsciously, she reached out and grabbed Kitahara Minakaze’s right hand again.
Kitahara Minakaze glanced at her and slightly shifted his body to shield her behind him.
He then turned his attention back to the two uninvited guests who had just put away their badges.
“Officer Fujiki and… Officer Miwa, right? Is there something you need?”
“Nothing major, really. Just a few questions.”
Fujiki Makoto smiled gently.
He then raised his right hand, wrapping his middle finger over his index finger, and placed it in front of his nose, forming a hand seal.
A faint light seeped from the corners of his eyes.
“Please look into my eyes.”
Kitahara Minakaze looked into his eyes.
…Looks like he has eye boogers.
“Have you ever heard of the concepts of Resurgence and Chosen?”
Just as Kitahara Minakaze was debating whether to point this out to the officer named Fujiki.
Fujiki Makoto spoke.
Kitahara Minakaze roughly guessed the current situation and tried his best to feign a wooden, blank expression.
“No.”
“What is your relationship with Natsume Mio?”
“Stepsister.”
“Were you present at the incident that occurred this evening?”
“Yes.”
“Did you fight with the perpetrators?”
“Mhm.”
“Do you possess any extraordinary traits or abilities?”
“No.”
“One last question. Do you agree with the statement: ‘The so-called Chosen must either serve the gods or serve the government’?”
“What do you mean?”
“…Thank you. I’m done with my questions. That will be all.”
Officer Fujiki smiled and lowered his hand.
The light at the corners of his eyes gradually faded.
However, just as his voice fell.
Miwa Kei, standing beside him, suddenly interjected, “Wait, I have a question too.”
He revealed a frivolous smile.
Looking at Kitahara Minakaze and Natsume Mio—who was holding Minakaze’s hand with lowered eyes, hiding behind him—he asked in a flippant tone, “You two are stepsiblings, right? So, do you like your sister?”
“Stop making a fool of yourself here. Don’t bother them. Get out.”
Officer Fujiki shot his partner a glare and turned to leave.
“This is a heroic tale of an ordinary guy exploding with power to save a young girl. You’re not interested?”
“Not interested.”
“Tch, how boring.”
The two officers left the ward, chatting idly.
Aside from asking a few questions, they didn’t do anything else…
except for that last question.
Watching the two officers leave, Kitahara Minakaze breathed a sigh of relief.
Although they hadn’t done much.
The moment they appeared, Kitahara Minakaze had cast Insight on them.
The resulting data revealed their Tiers to be 37 and 45, respectively.
Although he didn’t know what the judging criteria for this Insight was.
Among the three people he encountered that evening, the highest was the miko, and she was only Tier 17.
So to say Kitahara Minakaze felt no pressure facing these two would definitely be a lie.
“I’m sorry, Brother.”
Natsume Mio had also heard Kitahara Minakaze’s sigh of relief.
Kitahara Minakaze asked, “Who were those two? Do you know?”
“Officers from the Special Countermeasures Division.”
Natsume Mio replied softly.
“That’s certainly a baffling term.”
Kitahara Minakaze sighed, turning his head to look at Natsume Mio, who was hugging his arm.
Natsume Mio happened to look up, meeting his gaze.
Kitahara Minakaze said seriously, “Even though I already told Grandpa, I’ll say it to you too… I want to talk to you.”
“…”
Natsume Mio looked up at him.
After a moment of silence.
She nodded.
“Okay.”
…
Meanwhile.
After leaving the ward, Fujiki Makoto and Miwa Kei didn’t linger, heading straight for the elevator.
The two walked into the elevator in silence.
Once the elevator doors closed.
Miwa Kei leaned against the elevator car and suddenly said:
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. He only suffered minor injuries, with the stab wound to his abdomen being slightly more serious, but compared to those three from the Taira clan, it’s practically negligible. Furthermore, his sister is clearly quite unqualified as a Chosen, and her reliance on him is incredibly obvious. Therefore, the main fighting force must have been that young man.”
“Mhm.” Fujiki Makoto nodded.
“Do you think that’s logical? An ordinary person beating three Chosen with just his fists?”
“It’s not logical. Actually, facing that young man, I kept getting a strange feeling.”
Fujiki Makoto pondered for a moment before replying, “So, we should keep an eye on him…”
Halfway through his sentence.
Fujiki Makoto suddenly stopped talking.
They had just descended to the second floor.
Fujiki Makoto pressed the button for the second floor, and once the elevator doors opened.
He looked out into the corridor, an intrigued expression appearing on his face.
“Oh?”