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Seiji started with a direct question. “How do you intend to defeat Natsuya Yoruhana?”
This time, there was a lengthy silence as Okubo fell into deep thought.
“I have a perfect plan… but I can’t tell you the details,” he finally responded in a grim, dark tone.
“You want me to help you but can’t tell me what your plan is?”
‘Is that your so-called sincerity?’
Okubo felt as if he could hear that implied question needling at him, and he was overcome by a sudden wave of anger and frustration.
‘This piece of garbage thinks he’s actually someone important! I was polite to him for just a little while, so he dares to question me!’
He was incredibly annoyed inside.
But he had to give Seiji a reasonable explanation.
“It’s because you might leak the information. Haruta-kun… it’s not that I don’t trust you, but you’re currently in the middle of that woman’s territory, so if I tell you anything, it’s highly likely for her to learn about it. It’s probable that… no, she’s definitely secretly placing surveillance on you!”
“Ah… that sounds logical.” Okubo heard agreement in Seiji’s voice. “But, in that case, how can I be of any help to you? I’m currently at Natsuya Yoruhana’s residence, and I’m under her surveillance, so I can’t do anything.”
“That’s not true! You can do many things as long as you follow my orders!” Okubo hurriedly stated. “Just follow my instructions, and you’ll be able to break free from your surveillance, and do… what you’re supposed to do!”
“If I follow your orders, I’ll be able to threaten her… Just like Shika Kagura, right?”
Okubo paused in surprise upon hearing the name of the temporary retainer he hired.
“What do you mean by this, Haruta-kun?” Okubo asked, inwardly wondering why Seiji had brought up that useless retainer’s name.
“That is the second question I wanted to ask you,” Seiji’s said coolly. “Shika Kagura, the temporary retainer that you hired, has the ability called the ‘Reaper’s Curse’, which will bring misfortune and calamities down upon other people. You ordered her to enter Genhana Middle School as a student, change places with your real Snow Girl retainer to confuse Natsuya’s retainer, and to have her lose and be injured on purpose.
“This was all to make use of the ‘Reaper’s Curse’ ability, and destroy Natsuya’s spell formation defending the combined Genhana Middle and High School… right?”
“…Indeed,” Okubo admitted.
This was a plot he had been proud of… well, he had been.
That was because the plot which he had been so confident in failed completely!
Genhana High School’s spell formation and Natsuya Yoruhana both took zero damage.
The ‘Reaper’s Curse’ ability and even the marvelous trap that he placed on Shika Kagura were all evaded by that woman!
He didn’t expect to be seen through to such an extent… His self-confidence, which had received a short-lived boost, had been cast down by yet another humiliation.
Okubo didn’t wish to dwell on the subject, but he felt obliged to respond since Seiji had asked.
“So everything Natsuya Yoruhana told me was true? You’re not going to deny anything at all?” Seiji asked in a surprised voice.
Okubo barely managed to restrain himself from yelling out loudly in anger.
Deny… He really wanted to deny Seiji’s words, yet he couldn’t. It was an indisputable fact that his useless temporary retainer had been taken captive and was locked up in the same residence that Seiji Haruta was currently residing at!
Since he knew that garbage retainer would tell them about him, denying his previous actions would only make him sound like a hypocritical liar.
That was why he could only admit it.
“No, I don’t deny it. It was my plot, but unfortunately she saw through it… That woman is really devious, which is why I need your help…”
“Wait a moment; I still haven’t finished,” Seiji interrupted him mid-speech. “Since you’ve admitted to that plot of yours, the next question is what I want to ask you the most.
“If your plot had succeeded, Natsuya Yoruhana’s spell formation would have been destroyed, and every student and teacher at Genhana Middle and High School would have had calamities befall them. Is that right?”
Okubo felt pressured by this question.
Even though the voice on the cell phone sounded calm about it, he felt pressured.
This was a critical question.
He knew that if he didn’t answer it well, it was likely that all his previous effort in convincing Seiji would go to waste.
He hated this sensation of pressure, especially because it came from an exiled piece of garbage, someone he didn’t even want as his teammate!
He needed to make use of this piece of garbage, which was why he tolerated his feelings of condescension and even deigned to personally invite Seiji to his cause.
But this bastard didn’t show any respect for him at all! This bastard didn’t know who he was talking to!
Okubo felt another urge to yell obscenities at Seiji, but he forced himself to tolerate it.
“Please answer, Yoshiaki-san.”
Seiji even had the gall to hurry him up.
“…Yes,” Okubo admitted reluctantly.
The ‘Reaper’s Curse’ definitely had the power to bring calamities down upon on everyone. Even if he denied it, it would be simple to call him out for lying.
“So you’ve admitted it again… In order to reach your goal, you’re willing to harm so many innocents… I feel that’s what evil is supposed to be.”
“Those people aren’t innocent at all!” Okubo’s voice rose in volume again as he hurriedly explained. “Those people provide Spiritual Energy for that woman’s spell formation and are all a part of her spell formation, so they count as part of that evil woman’s forces! Why should I care about them!?”
“They never did anything to you, and none of them know about what happened between you and Natsuya Yoruhana…”
“They’re all in that woman’s school, and are helping out that fucking bitch! That itself is a sin!!” Okubo almost shouted in a steely voice.
The other side of the phone fell silent.
Okubo was somewhat worried at Seiji’s silence. ‘Maybe I went a bit overboard,’ he thought.
But that was what he truly believed.
Why did he have to care about those people? Even if they were ignorant and innocent, that was their own fault.
Since they went to Genhana High School and provided Spiritual Energy for that evil woman, it only served them right to have calamities befall them.
Although Okubo truly believed this, he wasn’t stupid enough to voice his opinion.
“Oh, I might have gone off on a bit of a tangent. Haruta-kun, I should have said that everything was Natsuya Yoruhana’s fault. That woman took advantage of every teacher and student in that entire school, and they’d only come to harm because she took advantage of them, not because of me.
“The entire Genhana High School served as her spell formation, so it’s only natural for me to treat all the people there as her subordinates, isn’t it? I didn’t do anything wrong. If those teachers and students come to any harm, if they want to complain, they should hate her, not me.”
‘That’s right; that sounds like a good explanation.’
Okubo truly believed that his actions were just and Natsuya was evil.
The voice on the phone still remained silent.
“Haruta-kun, I know that the part you probably care about the most is that a calamity could’ve befallen you, since you’re also a Genhana High School student. But everything is just as I said: it’s all because Natsuya Yoruhana secretly took advantage of you guys. She’s the vicious mastermind behind everything!”
“Not only have you been taken advantage of as a student at her school, she’s even making use of your identity as a member of the Haruta family. It’s time for you to wake up now. Haruta-kun, as long as you help me…”
“One last question.” A calm voice interrupted Okubo’s words yet again. “Shika Kagura, the temporary retainer who listened to your orders, fought for you, and was injured and captured—what do you think of her?”
On the other side of the phone, Seiji’s eyes gleamed with a terrible, icy light.