"Looks like it has finally erupted."
"Huh? Erupted? What erupted?"
The people currently organizing supplies in the warehouse had their attention drawn by Yahiro's remark, especially Souta. The guy had barely done any work, yet he cared immensely about gossip.
"Look at this..."
Yahiro paid no attention to that and handed the terminal to him.
"What website is this?"
Souta asked.
"An underground website called 'Tennoz Underworld.'"
Yahiro answered.
"Tennoz?"
"Let me see too..."
Hearing this, Kanon, who was responsible for keeping records nearby, also put down her work and leaned over.
"..." ×N
However, once they started reading, there was no turning back. The forum was filled with discussions about what had happened in the gymnasium that morning. Most of the comments were negative and hostile, and some had already descended into outright abuse.
(What do you think of Kuhouin?)
(She isn't cut out to be a leader.)
(She's unbelievably stupid!)
(She has no ability to handle an emergency at all. What we need most right now is someone who can make decisions quickly!)
"The president has become everyone's target..."
Kanon murmured with a frown.
"Mio..."
"Hm?"
Hearing Inori murmur beside them, the others looked toward her.
"There... Some people are insulting Mio too."
Inori reached out and scrolled farther down, finding the people deliberately stirring up trouble. The discussion had successfully shifted toward the Shogun.
(By the way, who exactly was that woman who went onstage today?)
(Exactly. She was so aggressive. I can't stand her.)
(She even acted like a leader and ordered us around... How shameless.)
(Tch, her?)
(With that attitude, she's bound to meet a bad end sooner or later.)
(But I think what she said was quite reasonable. Nanba was the one acting irrationally.)
(Hey, you above, whose side are you on?! You're not a spy from the student council, are you? Get out!!)
(Someone's getting defensive. I won't say who.)
(But she was obviously right. What is wrong with all of you?)
(No way, she even has loyal bootlickers here. You'd make a good dog for her.)
"..." ×N
The others watched the dialogue boxes continuously scrolling across the forum, their expressions grave.
"The discussion has completely shifted toward Raiden-san..."
Kanon began to worry.
"Haa, it's better that it shifted to her. It makes sense. I also think what she did today was wrong."
Souta smiled with an openly sarcastic expression.
"..." ×N
The others looked at him strangely.
"Souta-kun... What are you talking about?"
Kanon asked in confusion.
"How can you say that?"
Inori also spoke in a somewhat cold voice.
"—!"
Yahiro was now studying him as well. He had always felt that Souta had looked down on Mio from beginning to end.
"..."
Tsugumi, who had kept her back turned the entire time, merely sneered while continuing to flip casually through the list in her hands.
"What? Don't tell me you really want her to become our leader. You've got to be kidding. She's—"
Souta was about to argue...
"Ah, then I also want to say that little Arisa isn't suited to being a leader. Surely a certain someone doesn't still expect little Arisa to continue serving in that condition?"
Tsugumi finally spoke. She could not even be bothered to turn around and look at him, merely delivering the pointed mockery.
"Huh?! What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"
Tsugumi had instantly struck a nerve, and Souta became agitated.
"Heh... It means exactly what I said. Do you really need me to explain it?"
Tsugumi sneered.
"Tch, whatever! You're not cute at all, you brat!!"
He scoffed at her.
"..."
Slap...
Tsugumi finally stopped working and slammed the list in her hand onto the table with a sharp smack. She took a faint breath, then turned around with an expression that suggested she was looking at an idiot.
"Heh, you're hilarious. What the hell does whether I'm cute have to do with you?"
She looked at the boy before her as though he were a child.
"—!"
Souta's body trembled, and anger spread across his face.
"You just can't stand Mio, can you? Do you really need to nitpick everything she does? Besides, why would she need your approval? Do you think you're someone important? You're nothing but a stupid brat who doesn't understand a damn thing and still runs his mouth."
She could no longer stop herself from cursing him.
"Wait—Tsugumi!"
Kanon tried to stop her, but it was already useless.
"A stupid brat?! Then what the hell are you?!"
Souta roared.
"What am I? Heh, when I was fighting those GHQ animals, you were still nursing in your mother's arms!"
Tsugumi grabbed him directly by the collar, pulled him close, and answered in a low voice, making Souta flinch.
"Tsugumi! Souta-kun!"
Kanon hurriedly separated them.
"...You just think Mio handled what happened this morning badly, don't you? Let me tell you something, Souta Tamadate. Gentleness is fucking useless at a time like that. Treat those people gently, and they'll only keep pushing their luck. Little Arisa is the perfect example. It's that simple! Since you disapprove of Mio's actions, fine... Why don't you go tell them yourself?"
Tsugumi pointed toward the terminal in Yahiro's hand.
"..."
Sure enough, Souta had nothing to say.
"Not going to say anything? Then shut the hell up! You're completely useless, yet you still demand that everyone else accommodate your feelings. Who do you think you are?"
Tap, tap...
After saying all that, she left without even looking at him.
"..."
Souta remained frozen in place.
"Souta, you need to understand someone before judging them. You don't understand Mio at all. Mio is very gentle, but sometimes gentleness truly cannot solve anything. I hope you can understand that."
After saying this, Inori also left to catch up with Tsugumi.
"Wait... Inori Yuzuriha. Honestly~!"
Exhausted, Kanon followed after her.
"..."
Looking at Souta, who still appeared somewhat resentful, Yahiro narrowed his eyes but said nothing.
By evening, the sun had already sunk halfway behind the mountains, coating the campus in a magnificent layer of golden radiance—
"Inori... Do you have a family?"
Sitting on a bench with her knees hugged to her chest, Tsugumi gazed at the lingering rays of sunlight ahead and asked the question.
"I do..."
Inori, who was sitting beside her, nodded without hesitation.
"I see. That's nice. I don't have one..."
Tsugumi buried her face between her knees.
"No. You have one too, Tsugumi."
"...Huh?"
Confused, she raised her head and looked at the girl beside her.
"Everyone in Funeral Parlor is your family..."
"Inori..."
"Me too. My family is Gai, Ayase, Tsugumi, and everyone else... as well as... Mio."
"...Pfft, you're right... Looking at it that way, I do have a family. Funeral Parlor is my home. Hehe... Thinking about it like that is actually a little exciting."
The girl smiled again and gently leaned against the shoulder of the girl beside her, enjoying the warm evening breeze.
...
At around ten that night, following GHQ's launch of the "Tokyo Purification Operation," Loop 7, which had already been enclosed within a cage, once again descended into a hellish scene.
Rumble!
The towering wall contracted toward the center once more, crushing every building along the perimeter. It did not care about the residents inside, grinding them into dust along with the structures, while those living along the outermost edge were slaughtered by the Endlave forces stationed there!!
As the gunfire faded, corpses were left strewn everywhere. Yet as the wall continued closing in, those bodies were soon cruelly crushed into bloody pulp, regardless of whether they belonged to the elderly or even children.
Naturally, footage of the entire process also appeared on the Tennoz forum. The already volatile public sentiment erupted once more, and new posts nearly overwhelmed the forum.
"How could they do this...?! That's horrible..."
Hare, who was lying beneath her blankets, happened to come across the news. After scrolling through the photographs, she covered her mouth in discomfort and turned her gaze away.
"...What's wrong?"
The Shogun, lying beside her, immediately crawled over upon hearing her and looked at the report, her brows furrowing slightly.
"Did the notification reach you too?"
Ayase asked.
"Mm... Those bastards are slaughtering civilians again."
The word "again" was particularly appropriate.
"Do they... really kill people without even blinking?"
Like Hare, Kanon could not bear such bloody scenes. Both girls turned their gazes away in discomfort.
"They're those animals, after all... It's hardly surprising."
Tsugumi watched the news on the terminal beside Ayase. She had long since grown accustomed to those people committing such vile acts.
"Look at this. The wall has contracted again."
Tsugumi warned them.
"..." ×N
Everyone remained silent with heavy hearts.
"...What... are we supposed to do from now on?"
Arisa pressed her lips together, a trace of trembling in her voice. She knew they could not accomplish anything by remaining like this. As the wall contracted a little farther every day, eventually they too would be—
There would be no escape.
"I... sob... I don't want to die... Why are we so unlucky?"
Kanon finally could not hold back her tears. Curling beneath the blankets, she began sobbing in a muffled voice.
"Kanon..."
Seeing this, Hare immediately embraced the girl through the blankets and silently comforted her while stroking her back.
"..." ×N
The others listened to Kanon's crying with heavy hearts.
"Should you manage to escape and reach the other side of the wall, what would you all intend to do?"
The Shogun, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke.
The probing question entered everyone's ears.