Rentarou Satomi had tried everything he could, yet still couldn't find either Kisara Tendou or Enju Aihara. Finally, he decided to seek help.
The first person who came to mind was Miyori Shiba of Shiba Heavy Industries, someone he had a cooperative relationship with.
But now he was told Miyori wasn't in – apparently she'd left, as though on purpose. Asked when she would return, there was no definitive answer.
Rentarou's face darkened. Kisara and Enju had been missing for an hour already, which pointed to serious trouble.
"Phew…"
Even lacking powerful allies, he had to keep searching. Just as he was preparing to enlist the help of other Promoters, his phone lit up with an odd message:
[Seitenshi has decided to enact a Cursed Children Human Rights Protection Law, with a non-anonymous, 12-hour referendum for all of Tokyo!]
[Whether or not the law takes effect will be decided by the people of Tokyo, in a fully public display!]
"?"
Everyone in Tokyo knew who Seitenshi was. Rentarou also recalled that not long ago, she had tried to push a new Gastrea law, granting certain protections to Cursed Children.
Unfortunately, that law wasn't yet finalized when massive public protests began. And now, so soon after all that, she was directly introducing a new law again?
What's more, it would be determined by a referendum across all of Tokyo's 787 wards? And there were three choices: "approve," "oppose," or "abstain."
"…"
Rentarou read the news, gave a slight shake of his head, and put away his phone. Not that he didn't want to vote in favor, but he could already predict the law's fate: there was no way it would pass the referendum.
Right now, all that really mattered to him was continuing his search for Kisara.
…
Meanwhile, across the Tokyo Area, most people had gotten the news through various media outlets.
Many resolutely opposed it, and some had even begun organizing protest marches.
Some people, unwilling to stir up trouble – especially because it was a non-anonymous vote – opted simply to abstain.
Government officials who knew about it likewise hesitated to speak out. They were waiting on someone else's stance.
That person was Kikunojou Tendou.
Kikunojou, Kisara's grandfather, was the head of the Tendou family as well as Seitenshi's deputy aide.
He had climbed to the pinnacle of political power. Officials might ignore Seitenshi because she was young and lacked seniority, but they absolutely couldn't overlook Kikunojou Tendou's attitude.
The man was a genuine, shrewd schemer, deeply trusted by Seitenshi. In many politicians' eyes, his real status exceeded Seitenshi's.
Right now, Kikunojou Tendou's aged brow was knotted in worry. He had yet to make any statement.
He was Seitenshi's most trusted adviser in office, and outwardly, he supported Seitenshi's plan for the new Gastrea law – apparently out of genuine respect for her.
Yet in truth, behind the scenes he was the one orchestrating and stirring up public opinion so the masses would violently oppose it.
That was one reason the new Gastrea law had failed. Thanks to his political influence, once other officials picked up on his position, they lined up accordingly.
Ultimately, aside from the nominal support from Kikunojou, Seitenshi had no one on her side. In reality, he was the most twisted figure of all.
Kikunojou himself came from the "Stolen Generation." His wife had died in the Gastrea War, and so he loathed both Gastrea and the Cursed Children.
Even so, this time, he did not immediately pretend to back Seitenshi. Declaring his support under his real name would only lead people to misread his stance, encouraging them to follow blindly.
With the status he wielded, any move he made would tip the scales – and the last thing he wanted was for this law to actually pass.
The biggest problem was that Seitenshi's move had come with no warning, and no official meeting had even been convened – an abrupt and peculiar move.
Not even a cunning old fox like Kikunojou Tendou could lay the groundwork in advance.
"Someone come. I need to see the Princess."
…
As for why Seitenshi had made such a decisive move, there was a reason. Not long before, a mysterious figure had abruptly appeared in her conference hall, just like how Rei Ao and his entourage teleported in elsewhere.
A woman – in fact, numerous women. Several dozen in total!
They had all been summoned by Rei Ao.
Rei Ao: "@Everyone, it's time for a grand cleansing of this world. Volunteers, come forth."
Aside from everyone in the main group, along with Yukino and various others close to him, a number of them volunteered to join. Among them:
Saikyou Nene, who simply found this world's people unpleasant.
The sisters Yotsuba Maya and Shiba Miya – sympathetic to the plight of the Cursed Children, and also for Miyuki's sake.
Yukinoshita Haruno.
Yes, Haruno's appearance surprised Rei Ao. After all, many complete ordinary people – like Mrs. Yuigahama, Kasumigaoka Utaha, and Ogata Rizu – hadn't come at all. Yet Haruno had.
Among the crowd, someone noticed her:
"Sis? Why…why are you here?"
Yukino stared, stunned.
"…"
Haruno's expression was sly: "Heehee, Yukino-chan, your big sis wants to be a great hero now!"
"But you're just an ordinary person! Hurry up and go home!"
It was the first time Yukino had shown real worry. But that single anxious remark deeply pricked Haruno's heart, freezing her usual flippant smile on her face.
She had seen, through the livestream, the horrors of the Gastrea, the corruption of that other world, and how Rei Ao planned an astonishing "cleansing."
Still, it felt remote from her as an ordinary person. Haruno, with her adaptability, had treated it like some sci-fi movie.
However, when Rei Ao invited everyone to come along, alarm bells rang for her.
She dashed to Yukino's bedroom. Empty. She clearly remembered Yukino had taken a bath and then gone to her room, not reemerging. So Yukino had gone to another world!
"…"
Haruno panicked, her thoughts in turmoil. Would Yukino be hurt? Would she ever return? And so on.
Anxiety mingled with fear of not seeing her sister again. She bit her lip so hard her teeth left imprints.
Ultimately, she made a bold decision:
She would go too. She had to see for herself.
Even if she was just an ordinary person.
~~~
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