Chapter 77: The Duel Between Assassins

Wednesday.

To maintain his cool factor, today Jia Ji had written on his school uniform the third grievance of Sword Lord Twelve Grievances—“Third grievance: the river’s waves never cease.”

He was playing Go with Ashi in the activity room when he suddenly pointed outside: “Look, Haruhi’s here!”

While Ashi turned to look, he disrupted the board at a speed beyond human reaction.

“There’s no one outside… Wait, you bastard!”

Ashi was about to shout at him, but an unfamiliar voice cut him off.

“My name is Furusawa Kazuki… Please take care of me.”

Unlike Jia Ji, who transferred on the first day of school, the real mysterious transfer student had arrived—Furusawa Kazuki of Class 1-9, whose true identity was a psychic.

He gave off the vibe of a sunny, athletic boy—with a warm, accommodating smile, gentle eyes, and refined features—standing in stark contrast to the other troublemaker in the activity room.

As the saying goes: eyes half-closed, smiling—that’s never a good sign.

The guy who belonged in Suzuran High or vying for top dog at Bōfūrin, not Beikō, immediately decided to crush the squinty-eyed boy decisively in Go.

“The SOS Brigade has finally cleared the clouds!” Haruhi, who entered with Furusawa, raised her fist in triumph.

At last, all members were present.

——————————

One day, Asahina grabbed Ashi, sensing something wrong.

“Actually, I’m not from this era. I’m from the future…”

After hearing Asahina’s backstory, Ashi’s face twisted with complex emotion. “What the hell? This feeling that I’m the only normal person here.”

Soon after, Furusawa Kazuki arrived and dropped a single line: “That’s right—I have psychic powers,” sending Ashi’s instincts screaming to run.

After a long explanation, the ordinary high school student with no special abilities became “Ashi, frozen in place.”

“What kind of club is this? You’re ruining lives! Everyone here except me isn’t even human!”

Surprisingly, Furusawa approached Jia Ji. Facing the overwhelming pressure radiating from him, the psychic boy’s eyes flickered—as if he wanted to say something—but ultimately left with a complicated expression.

“What’s wrong?” Jia Ji frowned. He’d assumed Furusawa’s psychic power had mutated, manifesting as some weird purple muscular humanoid cafeteria hot sauce, just to show off.

The “Agency” to which these psychics belonged, and the “Organization” to which the future people belonged, should have their own intelligence networks—just like Yuki. After Jia Ji arrived in this world and openly revealed himself to Ashi, they knew he was the “otherworlder” Haruhi was seeking.

They should’ve kept to their own lanes. After all, no one knew if he had some hidden organization or special power behind him… True, he did have the “Manjukyō” behind him.

But as long as there was no direct conflict of interest, everyone maintained a surface-level understanding: just play along with Haruhi. Furusawa’s current hesitation clearly meant something had happened.

Since he didn’t speak up, Jia Ji wouldn’t press him.

One problem hadn’t settled when another arose.

After being approached by the otherworlder, alien, future person, and psychic—all of them—now a new type of character came to Ashi.

In Class 1-5, Ashi, once again tricked by a tiny note, met a beautiful girl whose right side glowed crimson from the setting sun, wearing a smile like a yellow tulip.

She was his classmate and class president—a girl smiling brightly at him, hands clasped behind her back, body slightly tilted, as if ready to begin some awkward romantic tale.

“I’ve grown tired of observing unchanging subjects… so…”

Speaking words that made no sense, she delivered her most sincere request in a light, cheerful tone: “Why not try dying once?”

Her hidden right hand flashed—metal glinted, slicing toward the spot where Ashi’s neck had been. Had it struck, it would have caused massive bleeding, severed his trachea, or worse—severed his head clean off.

Ashi, prepared from the start, rolled sideways like a lazy donkey, tumbling across the floor while shouting.

“Jia Ji! Save me!!!”

Before Ashi’s cry ended, a powerful force shattered the classroom wall. A towering figure stepped over shattered bricks and tiles, arriving in an instant to stand between them.

“Hohoho, so there’s a fight here too!”

That voice, which could easily incite rage, instead brought Ashi a sense of relief.

Correct—though this Beikō campus seemed like a typical teenage school drama, beneath the surface it was a sci-fi, fantasy, superpower spectacle teeming with hidden warriors; combat elements were inevitable.

For instance, the girl who just attacked Ashi—this one, rated AA+ by Taniguchi as a girl whose face alone proves she’s perfectly kind—is Asakura Ryoko.

The great class president… assassin expert…

A humanoid terminal under the Information Synthesis Consciousness, existing as Yuki’s shadow. When Yuki malfunctions, she activates as the backup system—a girl with more aggressive ideas than Yuki, known as the “First Blade Queen of Beikō!”

She kills to observe: “What reaction will Haruhi have when Ashi dies? What massive information surge will emerge? What will they detect?”

But Jia Ji’s appearance ruined her plan.

This human… no, is he even human!?

Asakura Ryoko’s eyes widened—reality itself seemed absurd. Her dagger, held in her hand, was now pinched between the two fingers of her classmate who had suddenly appeared—clamped so tightly, with such unreasonable force, that even her body, pushed to its absolute physical limit, couldn’t pull it free.

Not an inch.

Jia Ji, watched from both front and back, wore an expression of “heroic entrance.”

Yes, this moment—being attacked by Asakura Ryoko—was Ashi’s greatest crisis. Had Yuki arrived even a second late, death would have been certain.

Jia Ji would never let him be assassinated.

That very night, he exposed Asakura Ryoko’s identity and purpose, and warned Ashi in advance: if she approaches you alone, notify me immediately.

Ashi appeared to walk alone into danger—but behind him, a golden humanoid had been following all along.

“Ping.”

The military-style dagger snapped cleanly in two between Jia Ji’s fingers, clattering to the floor.

Asakura Ryoko leapt back several meters. Her innocent, adorable smile remained—but her posture was now battle-ready.

Furusawa Kazuki’s voice actor is Ōno Daisuke, the same as Jotaro.

Haven’t had a battle arc in a while—feeling restless. Let’s fight!

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(End of Chapter)