Chapter 83: The Substitute
As he processed the information from Kuro, Haruto's expression gradually darkened.
How could this be? After he had reduced Tanaka Hajime to ashes, another person with hypnotic abilities had appeared.
Without another thought for the assembly, Haruto broke away from the line under the curious and astonished gazes of his classmates.
"Teacher, I'm not feeling well. I need to take the day off."
He found his homeroom teacher, didn't wait for a response, and immediately bolted for the exit.
The teacher opened his mouth, reaching out to stop him—but in the blink of an eye, Haruto was already gone.
Haruto left quietly, but his departure was still noticed by Sona, Akeno, and the others.
What the others thought no longer mattered to Haruto at this moment.
He pushed himself to full speed, rushing toward Aiho Academy. If he hadn't forgotten to retrieve Little Kuro last time…
Ahem—if he hadn't been cautious enough to leave it behind for further observation, this situation would have truly spiraled out of control.
Ten minutes earlier, Aiho Academy was also holding its routine Monday morning assembly. However, standing at the center of the stage wasn't a teacher or a student representative.
Instead, it was a sleazy, overweight man wearing flat, frameless glasses.
"Silence."
The man's eyes glowed red as he surveyed the noisy students below. Through the microphone, his hypnotic power spread throughout the indoor gymnasium.
Everyone fell silent instantly. Only Sakura and the Takamine sisters felt a wave of dizziness, instinctively wanting to speak—but an unknown force sealed their voices.
It was as if their bodies no longer belonged to them, completely beyond their control.
At that very moment, the soul-state Little Kuro sphere trembled violently. Before the sleazy man could utter another word, it decisively flew out of the gymnasium.
...
By the time Haruto arrived at Aiho Academy, the morning assembly had already ended. Students walked in small groups, chatting and laughing as they made their way from the gymnasium to the school building.
At a glance, everything seemed perfectly ordinary and normal—until one listened to their conversations.
The more mundane it appeared, the more chilling their words became.
"Sexual guidance instructors? Never heard of them before."
"Yeah, but since they're sent by the government, it must be fine. No need to worry."
"True. I'm so jealous of those couples who got to stay behind. They don't have to attend classes today—just receive 'guidance.'"
"Right? Guess we should hurry up and get a boyfriend or girlfriend too. That way, we can enjoy the government's benefits sooner."
"Though I heard they'll introduce an 'experience course' for single people later…"
"Mm, I hope that day comes quickly."
Similar conversations echoed across the campus. Whether male or female, none of the students found it strange. Instead, they all seemed eager to be chosen for the so-called "guidance."
Hidden in a corner, Haruto's heart sank.
However, upon hearing that only couples had been kept behind, he relaxed slightly. The Takamine sisters and Sakura shouldn't be among them.
It seemed this replacement—just like Tanaka Hajime—had a taste for committing acts in front of partners, even using the same hypnotic method for "guidance."
Was everything he had done futile in the face of worldline convergence?
No. Haruto swiftly dismissed the thought. This world had already changed significantly due to his influence.
This time, there must be something he had overlooked. If he could find the root cause, he could prevent the "plot" from unfolding.
There was no time to ponder why Tanaka Hajime's replacement had appeared, restarting the events.
The priority now was to break the hypnosis and deal with that sleazy man.
Following Little Kuro toward the gymnasium, Haruto didn't know how to undo the hypnosis—but he could eliminate the one who cast it.
Perhaps by taking out that man, the hypnosis would lift on its own.
Arriving at the gymnasium entrance, Haruto spotted three familiar figures.
"Sakura-senpai, and Ayame-nee and Sayuri-nee?!"
Lowering his voice in surprise, he asked, "What are you all doing here?"
"Haru-chan!"
"Haruto-kun!"
Ayame and Sakura looked at Haruto with equal astonishment. Except during their dual cultivation sessions, Sakura usually addressed Haruto by his surname.
Ayame wanted to call him "Master," but Haruto had vetoed the idea to avoid drawing perverted stares in public. Instead, he instructed her and Sayuri to treat him like a younger brother outside rather than their master.
Sayuri glanced at the small black orb hovering near Haruto. "Haru-chan, did this little one notify you?"
"Yeah. The three of you weren't hypnotized?"
"So it was hypnosis after all..."
The three girls' expressions cleared as they finally understood the root of the issue.
"Sexual guidance or whatever was just too weird," Ayame complained. "Especially having that fat guy demonstrate before getting intimate with you. That made no sense at all. But everyone else acted like it was normal, so we decided to investigate on our own."
Haruto's gaze sharpened. Just weird...?
"And you two? Same thoughts?"
"Yeah. We planned to confirm something was wrong before telling you, but this little guy beat us to it," Sakura said, looking up at the small black orb.
Haruto exhaled heavily, his mood somber. They were still affected after all.
This was indiscriminate hypnosis. If that sleazy fat man noticed and performed targeted secondary hypnosis, the three girls likely wouldn't resist.
Thankfully Kuro was here. Otherwise, Haruto might only have realized Aiho Academy's abnormality when they rejected his dual cultivation requests—by then, who knew how many girls would have been violated.
The small black orb, Kuro, was a minor shikigami highly sensitive to mental influences. Though not powerful, it had fled the hypnotic scene at the first sign of trouble to report to Haruto.
While Haruto recognized the girls' abnormal state, he currently had no solution.
"Take leave and go home now. I'll handle this," he said sternly, studying their delicate faces. "Don't attend classes without my permission."
"Haruto, what's really happening? We can help too," said the reliable-looking kendo beauty before him.
Haruto shook his head regretfully. "You can't help. Staying would just complicate things."
"It's just hypnosis, right? We weren't affected," Ayame protested. "Let us stay! I want to see how supernatural fights work."
Not affected...? Haruto's mood darkened as he observed the oblivious girls.
If truly unaffected, they—not Kuro—should have contacted him immediately.
"No more arguments. Leave now." Sensing energy fluctuations from the gymnasium, Haruto wasted no time.
When Ayame tried to wheedle, Haruto glared fiercely. "I won't repeat myself a third time."
Normally easygoing and accommodating, Haruto's uncharacteristic sternness silenced further protest.
However, once he made a decision, he wouldn't change it easily. If a woman tried to influence his thoughts, he'd rather go without than agree.
Ayame understood Haruto's temperament. Seeing his expression, she didn't dare act spoiled anymore and obediently left.
Watching the three women depart, Haruto took a deep breath and decided to meet this substitute.
From all indications, this substitute was also a lecherous person and unaware of Hajime Tanaka's situation.
Haruto had handled Hajime Tanaka's matter very cleanly. With Akeno's cooperation, there hadn't even been any police investigation.
It hadn't caused any waves at Aiho Academy either, as if the person had never existed in the first place.
Haruto pushed open the door and entered, immediately spotting several familiar figures.
Apart from the sleazy fat man currently conducting secondary hypnosis, there were ten people in total—five men and five women, apparently five couples.
Of these five couples, Haruto recognized four pairs.
Haruto slowly approached them, doing his best to suppress his killing intent and maintain a harmless appearance.
Secretly, he had activated all his abilities, aiming for another one-hit kill like last time.
----------
For advance chapters join my Patreon.
[email protected]/Aarvan