That afternoon's classes proceeded as usual. The only peculiar thing was that Yukino's behavior patterns were still a bit strange. However, with slow adjustment, she would get better. Ren-kun had no problems at all.
After school, he returned home. As soon as he lay on the sofa, he opened the Chat Group. The group was in a heated discussion.
Exusiai: "Ren is very powerful! He can generate electricity and fly! [Image]."
March 7th: "Wow, what's it like to fly?"
Exusiai: "It's very cool, very awesome!"
Aqua: "This Goddess can fly too."
March 7th: "Really? Pom-Pom_looking_forward.JPG"
Aqua: "Cough, cough, I can't do it now."
March 7th: "Uh."
Saeko Busujima: "Exusiai, Ren-kun, thank you very much for your help."
Exusiai: "Haha, it's nothing. Those Dead Bodies are disgusting, but they're not strong. One shot, one kill."
Exusiai: "It's just that etched bullets are a bit expensive, and I don't have many."
Ren: "Perhaps you could use ordinary firearms, similar to a gun. They can still damage Dead Bodies and don't require Originium Arts."
Exusiai's gun, although called a gun, was actually a staff-like weapon that used Originium Arts. Etched bullets combined with Originium Arts could cause very powerful attacks. However, to deal with Dead Bodies, ordinary firearms were completely sufficient. If nothing went wrong, Shizuka Marikawa's friend's house was a small armory.
Exusiai: "A gun similar to a gun? I'm a bit excited!"
Ren remembered another thing; he wanted to warn Saeko Busujima.
Ren: "@Saeko Busujima."
Saeko Busujima: "What's wrong, Ren-kun?"
Ren: "Saeko, there's something I need to remind you of."
Ren: "Don't easily trust other strangers, and also tell your companions not to be bleeding hearts, especially Shizuka Marikawa."
She almost agreed to Koichi Shido's proposal at the time. Anyone with eyes could see that guy had problems.
Saeko Busujima: "I understand. If I encounter someone like Koichi Shido, I will kill him without hesitation, just like you. I will also be strict with Shizuka-sensei and the others."
Ren: "That's good."
Ren didn't dislike people with genuine compassion; in fact, he respected them. What he despised were hypocrites who sacrificed their own companions for the sake of strangers. There was a fundamental difference between the two.
*****
Not long after, the jeep arrived at Shizuka Marikawa's house. The mentally exhausted Miyamoto Rei had already fallen asleep. Because she was sitting next to Ren, her head unconsciously rested on Ren's shoulder. Ren, on the other hand, was closing his eyes to rest.
"We're here!" Shizuka Marikawa turned back to remind them. Seeing Miyamoto Rei and Ren's posture, a strange look flashed in her eyes.
Ren opened his eyes. Miyamoto Rei also woke up.
"..."
Their eyes met, and there was a moment of silence.
"!!!"
Miyamoto Rei quickly got up and apologized: "S-sorry! I accidentally fell asleep."
"It's fine." Ren didn't care about such trivial matters. He opened the door and got out of the car.
Miyamoto Rei walked behind him, looking at Ren's back. Thinking of that warm and secure shoulder, her heart couldn't help but skip a beat. She quickly shook off the strange thoughts in her head and hurried to catch up.
*****
Entering Shizuka Marikawa's friend's house, Saya Takagi looked at the boxes and boxes of firearms, bullets, and grenades, and a huge question mark appeared above her head.
"This is what you call a weapon?"
"Are you sure your friend's house isn't an armory?!"
"Mmm..." Shizuka Marikawa mumbled softly, "These all belong to my good friend, Rika Minami."
"..."
'So your friend is an arms dealer?' Saya Takagi was frantically complaining in her mind!
Exusiai, beside her, curiously picked up a pistol and examined it. After getting a feel for the conventional firearm, Exusiai genuinely exclaimed, "This is a real gun! How incredible."
"You all rest first. Saya Takagi, continue to contact your parents. Exusiai, Saeko, come with me." Ren finished speaking and led the two out. Leaving the three behind, looking at each other.
"Their relationship is very good." Shizuka Marikawa was very envious.
"Sigh, I really don't know how Senior Saeko met those two special people." Saya Takagi rubbed her forehead. She couldn't even imagine Saeko Busujima displaying supernatural abilities. When she killed the Dead Bodies earlier, she only relied on her swordsmanship, which wasn't a superpower.
"..." Miyamoto Rei glanced at the closed door, then lowered her head again.
"Mmm..." Shizuka Marikawa looked at Miyamoto Rei, who seemed even more dejected, and looked thoughtful.
*****
"Ren-kun, what are we going to do?" Following Ren out the door, Saeko Busujima asked her question.
Ren: "Do you remember the requirements of our Doom Companion?"
"Mmm, it seems to be to clear Dead Bodies as much as possible." Exusiai intentionally raised her hand and answered with a playful smile.
Ren: "That's right, I feel that Doom Companion might be similar to the Doomsday Game. If we kill enough Dead Bodies, we might get rewards." Ren stated his guess.
"I see, then let's go." Exusiai was already eager to try.
"I understand, I will also do my best." Saeko Busujima gripped the katana in her hand. She had considered whether switching to a firearm would clear Dead Bodies faster, but then she gave up the idea. She might not be used to firearms.