Kaito truly had no reason to attend high school. Not only was it annoying since his real age was far beyond that point, but it was also extremely inconvenient if he wanted to move around freely.
That was why Rias agreeing with his proposal to leave school was a good thing. They did not even care much about the reason, believing a simple "I'm not interested in going."
It had to be said that although the anime only mentioned it in passing, here Kaito was able to truly see the difference in treatment between Rias and other demons. Not only toward her subordinates, but toward those close to her in general.
An ordinary demon would have been deeply offended by a rejection. No, there would not even have been a chance to reject it in the first place. After all, for most demons, their peerage was basically made up of slaves, so they would never ask someone's opinion before turning them into a member of their peerage. But even if they had given him the benefit of the doubt, a rejection would have ended with his death or at the very least constant surveillance.
But not only did Rias avoid taking much offense, something Kaito was certain came from being surprised that someone rejected her personally rather than her identity as a demon, she even continued treating him like a friend.
Thus, the next day, while the rest of the cast was studying, Kaito was inside a house in the city.
It was neither particularly large nor particularly small, containing everything necessary along with a few extra luxuries. It had neither especially unique architecture nor especially boring architecture. It was located in neither a poor neighborhood nor one of the best. In every sense of the word, it was a completely ordinary house that stood out in absolutely nothing.
Besides Kaito, there were six other people there.
Mashiro, Ai, Kaguya, Lala, Chika, and Megumi.
Including Kaito, this was the arrangement they had decided on for coming to this world.
Kaito had not chosen it, they had.
"I still don't understand this arrangement" Kaito said as he looked at the girls gathered there.
"You seriously don't understand?" Kaguya asked, not believing him. "Don't you notice any pattern?"
"Of course I notice it. I just don't understand 'why' we would divide ourselves like this" Kaito explained.
"Kaito has to rest" Mashiro replied.
"Rest?"
"Yes" Ai said. "First you spent seven years in Shiho's world. As soon as you came back, my kidnapping happened along with everything related to the currently rebuilding Shinomiya family. Barely a day later came everything involving the Sins. The next day you went to Deviluke. As soon as you returned, you went to the next Tower world, and after returning from there you disappeared for three weeks, or who knows how long from your point of view, inside the Cemetery."
Kaito listened to what Ai said and blinked in surprise for a moment before speaking.
"When you put it that way, it sounds pretty chaotic" he had to admit.
"It 'is' pretty chaotic" Ai corrected. "So during this world, you'll do nothing but rest while we handle everything else."
"And the grouping?" Kaito asked as he looked at all the girls present.
"Everyone knows resting is different for a man than it is for a woman!" Chika declared as she sat beside him. "So during this entire world, just enjoy the life of a harem protagonist."
Clearly excited as she answered, she happily sat beside Kaito on the sofa and wrapped her arms around one of his.
"So that's why it's only you girls" Kaito finally understood. "Although..."
"I asked to come too" Megumi said, knowing what he was about to ask.
"Really?" Kaito raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"I'm trying to improve."
"Between this and how she told us about your problems before and organized all of us to help you, Megumi has been trying really hard lately" Ai said with a smile.
Everyone looked at Megumi and nodded in agreement, causing her to avert her gaze in embarrassment with slightly flushed cheeks, although she smiled faintly upon realizing that her efforts had been noticed.
"Are you alright?" Since the subject had come up, Mashiro decided to ask Kaito.
Kaito did not answer immediately. He thought for a moment and even looked surprised.
"I'm... alright?" he said in confusion.
"Why do you seem surprised?"
"Well, I don't remember doing anything, but I don't feel bad anymore. I actually feel fine, as if I don't have that problem anymore."
"You got over it without realizing it?" Chika asked in surprise.
"...I think?" Kaito was just as confused as they were.
"Based on your memories, I think it happened when you entered the Cemetery."
A red-haired girl with horns wearing a yellow dress suddenly appeared among them, almost immediately lying down on the sofa with unsettling naturalness.
"Who is that?!" Kaguya asked in surprise as everyone immediately became alert.
"It's alright, she's not an enemy" Kaito reassured them. "She's my magic."
"Your... magic?" Kaguya's questions only multiplied instead of decreasing.
"I think it's time I explain what happened during these past few weeks" Kaito sighed.
Using that as a starting point, Kaito led the conversation, explaining not only everything that had happened inside the Cemetery but also what had happened in the Mirai Nikki world, and Deviluke as well.
By the time he finished explaining, quite a long time had passed, during which everyone simply listened quietly, attentively, and without interrupting.
"So Kaito is alright" Mashiro said, breaking the silence after he finished.
"That's what you're focusing on?" Kaito laughed.
"If Kaito isn't alright, nothing else matters" Mashiro replied while looking at him with innocent eyes.
Despite already being used to it, suddenly facing Mashiro's straightforward and innocent personality again after more than a month made Kaito blush slightly.
"But she's right" Kaguya interrupted as she analyzed the situation. "From what you told us, after entering the Cemetery, you no longer had any problem killing whenever necessary or deciding from the start when it was necessary. You were very decisive. The worst part is that you hadn't even noticed it yourself.
Most likely, ending up there and causing that situation because you hesitated made you realize that you couldn't allow yourself to hesitate again.
It seems that because doubting prevented you from seeing us again, you subconsciously decided to stop doubting."
"Ugh." Heekapoo made a face as though she were about to vomit. "Could you stop being so cheesy? You're making me sick."
"Kaito, this girl is pretty annoying, isn't she?" Kaguya said irritably, gritting her teeth at Heekapoo's personality.
"Only toward weak people or people she knows won't do anything to her" Kaito replied.
"And how is she so sure we won't do anything?" Kaguya narrowed her eyes threateningly at Heekapoo.
But Heekapoo did not even flinch. Instead, she immediately counterattacked.
"You? Pffft, you're not going to hurt me.
Whose fault is it that you're all a bunch of lovestruck idiots? I'm Kaito's magic, so fighting me is the same as wasting his magic. Hurting me means hurting him. Boo, you can't do anything to me" Heekapoo mocked all of them.
"..."
"..."
"That's it? No response? I was expecting a 'Who's a lovestruck idiot?'" Heekapoo continued teasing them. "Ouch!"
"Alright, calm down." Kaito lightly smacked the back of her head to make her be quiet.
"Kaito, the Administrators aren't going to come after you now that you've escaped?" Megumi asked, ignoring the girl.
"Well... I have no idea" Kaito shrugged.
"Aren't you taking this a little too calmly?"
"I have the scissors. If they send me back there again, I can escape again" Kaito said confidently.
"And what if they try something else instead of sending you there?"
"If that happens..." Kaito became serious for a moment before smiling again. "Then I'll worry about it when it happens."
"You're way too relaxed!" Kaguya snapped.
"It's not like I have another choice, right?" Kaito replied helplessly. "Of course I'm not just going to wait for my death. I already asked the System, and it said the Administrators can't interfere with the world whenever they feel like it.
According to it, what they already did was a significant level of interference, and if they do anything else, it'll either be the same thing or something not much more significant.
Gaia is a personal world created by them, so their limit on interference there is lower. If I stayed on Earth, the chances of them doing anything would decrease even further, and if I fled to another destroyed universe, they wouldn't even be able to do anything to me.
Of course, this depends on whether I interfere with the plot they have planned. Those rules exist to avoid deviating too much from their plans, so if I affect things more than they themselves would, then it wouldn't make sense for them not to intervene."
"I see. It seems you've thought it through" Kaguya sighed before nodding. "Although I don't like that you have to follow someone else's plan, if it's the only way to survive then... I suppose it's alright."
"I did the best I could" Kaito smiled. "Of course, that's only for now. Once I become strong enough, I'll kill every last one of them."
"K-kill? But aren't they planning to save the worlds? What will happen then?" Chika said in shock, not expecting Kaito to say something so outrageous so casually.
"Well, if their plan is supposedly so perfect that even the slightest interference could ruin it and justify any measure they take, then we'll simply take that plan and carry it out ourselves" Kaito said disdainfully. "And if that isn't possible, then we'll do it our own way. That was my goal from the very beginning anyway."
"But... aren't they, like... the good guys?" Chika asked uncertainly. "Is it really alright to do this?"
Kaito sighed.
"There are no good people in this world, Chika."
"Wha..."
"Don't misunderstand me" Kaito interrupted before she could say anything. "I didn't suddenly become edgy or start believing life is evil or anything like that.
What I mean is that the world isn't black and white. There aren't simply good people and bad people. Everyone has their own life and circumstances, along with their own values and morality.
For example, the Administrators want to save everyone, right? Even the current situation exists because they refused to abandon even a single universe while delaying the capture of the threat. However, they also expect the entire universe to follow their script, controlling everyone like characters in order to achieve that. This isn't just about their goals and objectives, it directly concerns people's lives and deaths.
They aren't completely evil, but they aren't good either.
The same goes for Gid, Lala's father. He's angry with the Administrators for not capturing the threat before it grew stronger. He would have been willing to let one universe and every living being inside it die if it meant catching it.
But does that make him evil? Maybe to the people of that universe. But if you asked anyone in this one, they'd tell you a different story.
In short, there are no good or evil people. People exist on a scale of gray, and trying to fully understand their morality and determine whether it's right or wrong before deciding to act against them is pointless"
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+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)