This was the quietest night in Karakura Town's history. The appearance of the Dream Bubbles had caused the residents of Karakura Town to fall into happy dreams.
In corners unknown to anyone, there was a certain group of people who, relying on their extraordinary powers, moved through the streets and alleys, tirelessly replacing human memories.
On the morning news the next day, a flood of rewritten filler articles filled everyone's view. Everyone was caught up in discussions about the strange events of the previous night, yet no one knew what had actually happened. Only through talking to others did they realize that, just like everyone else, they had experienced a wonderful dream.
In the end, the authorities stepped in and set the tone. Supposedly, an oxygen leak from a certain laboratory had caused the oxygen concentration in Karakura Town to rise, putting everyone into a state of oxygen intoxication.
That was the official conclusion. Whether people believed it or not did not matter. With professional experts endorsing it, even those who did not believe had no choice but to believe.
Occasionally, someone online would post that, on that night, they had vaguely heard a certain love story. But conclusions of that sort were soon buried, deleted, and followed by a full-service offline "correction."
In short, if a memory could not be erased cleanly, they would simply erase it again.
"That bastard Ginjō really caused me a huge mess."
Lying across the desk in his company office, Yukio stared at the floor with a pair of lifeless, desireless fish eyes.
Although Yukio's Fullbring was game-related, it was also highly effective when it came to online infiltration. The tasks of deleting posts and carrying out offline corrections had all been assigned by him. In other words, he had been cleaning up Ginjō's mess the whole time.
"You've worked hard, Yukio. Middle-aged young men suffering from heartbreak need a little more care."
Tsunayoshi placed a cup of Xcution's special blend on Yukio's desk.
"Hah. If the legend of his love story hadn't already spread throughout Soul Society, I'd definitely teach him a proper lesson inside my game."
Pouring coffee into his mouth, Yukio felt as if he had recovered a tiny sliver of his health bar.
"Maybe you could change the type of game. Instead of the fighting games you're good at, try making a gal game?" Tsunayoshi suggested.
Yukio himself still preferred competitive games.
"Good idea! I'll start making it right now!" Yukio said, clapping his hands together.
"Take it easy. Remember not to use Yūko's image. Careful, or Ginjō might smash your game console."
Tsunayoshi left.
In the few days after the Bubble Night, he had been running around dealing with the aftermath. After quite a bit of effort, he had finally reduced Bubble's influence to the minimum.
Life could finally return to normal.
As if!
When he thought back to that night, Tsunayoshi felt a headache coming on.
After hearing about the incident involving the Western witches, Jūshirō Ukitake, who had served as temporary commander, had specially invited Ninny and Noel to visit the Seireitei.
There was no need to think about it. This matter had fallen onto Tsunayoshi again.
To both host and guests, the other side was unknown. He could only act as the intermediary, protecting Ninny and Noel's safety while also providing the Seireitei with some intelligence about the West.
Shaking his head, Tsunayoshi temporarily pushed aside the worry of taking the witches to the Seireitei.
Today was the day Cecil Die Twice's concert reopened.
The concert that night had ultimately failed to take place. Bubble had released far too many bubbles, and even the audience members who were already trapped in illusions had been affected.
Because of that, Cecil Die Twice's concert had been postponed by several days. The same audience had gathered, and the performance was starting again.
At the concert venue, aside from Tsunayoshi and Noel, everyone had fallen into a state of frenzy. When it came to being an idol, Ninny truly had absolute ability.
Tsunayoshi had been disconnected from the internet for quite a long time. On top of that, he had no idol filter for Ninny, so he had absolutely no interest in idol girl groups. He had only come to accompany his friends.
As for Noel, it was even simpler.
In London, whether in Reverse London or Front London, Ninny's advertisements were everywhere. As for Ninny's performances, Noel had already seen them more than once. One could say she had long since built up an immunity.
And so, the two people least moved by the concert used Reishi to help them exchange information about the past few days amid the lively concert venue.
"How is it? I heard from Tatsuki that you've already submitted your report?"
Tsunayoshi had barely been home these past few days. Instead, Tatsuki had moved in for a while to accompany Noel to and from school.
Over the past few days, Noel had also completed her pursuit report on the Disguiser Dragon and sent it back to London by email.
Since the Sawada couple had not yet gone to London, Noel and the others still had to stay in Japan for a while longer.
"WB was shocked that a Disguiser Dragon had turned into a fairy-tale dragon. I heard they're sending someone to Japan to investigate the details. That person is Ninny's and my newly appointed direct superior. Aside from the on-site investigation, Reverse London also seems to intend to reestablish contact with the East Branch," Noel summarized.
"That works out. The Seireitei has invited you over anyway. Once your direct superior arrives, we can all go to Soul Society together."
Thinking that he would not have to shoulder the safety risk of two witches alone, Tsunayoshi felt rather happy.
"By the way, when is your superior arriving in Japan?"
"Tomorrow."
WB attached great importance to Noel's report and had immediately dispatched a specialist.
"All right. Tomorrow, I'll go with you to pick him up."
As an exchange student who had not been there for very long, whether Noel attended school or not did not really matter. She could simply ask for leave tomorrow.
As for Tsunayoshi, Nana Sawada was now exhausted every day and had no time at all to ask about his school life.
The substitute doll plan was activated once again.
The next day, at the airport.
Noel held up a sign with a blank expression. Written on it was: Welcome, Billy Banx Jr.
She and her new superior did not know each other, so they needed the sign's help.
"Is your superior very young?" Tsunayoshi asked curiously.
"No. His name is Billy Banx Jr. He's the second generation of his family, so there's a 'Junior' attached," Noel said.
"In that case, Billy Banx Sr. must be famous in Reverse London?"
"I don't know him, but according to the books, Billy Banx Sr. was a hero."
"The son of a hero, huh? Looks like WB really is taking this meeting seriously," Tsunayoshi said with a sigh.
Anyone who could be called a hero was probably one of the strongest figures in Reverse London. Then what kind of person would his son be?
Tsunayoshi and Noel chatted idly. Neither of them noticed that the person they had come to pick up had already arrived behind them.
"You must be Noel-chan, right? I'm Billy Banx Jr."
It was a lazy, languid voice.
Tsunayoshi and Noel hurriedly turned around.
They saw a middle-aged man wearing a green jacket and a green baseball cap, sporting a mustache, with a slightly vacant expression on his face. In a certain sense, the washed-up, lackadaisical air he gave off matched his voice perfectly.
"You're Billy Banx Jr.?"
Noel quickly pulled up the email on her phone. There was a heroic-looking headshot attached. After careful comparison, she discovered that, aside from his bearing, the man in front of her looked exactly the same.
"That's right. I was just transferred to the Piper Squad. From now on, I'll be in charge of managing you and Ninny-chan. You can just call me Billy," Billy Banx Jr. said.
Unlike Noel, Tsunayoshi did not suspect at all that the person before him might be a fake.
His intuition told him that beneath this man's careless demeanor lay strength no weaker than a captain-class fighter.
Billy Banx Jr. was strong.
Aside from his appearance and temperament, he had absolutely not disgraced the title of "hero's son."
"I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi. I'm Niihashi-san's friend, and I'll also be your main contact for this visit to Japan. You can come to me directly for anything you need."
Tsunayoshi reached out and shook Billy's hand.
Billy immediately looked enlightened.
"Oh, I know. Noel-chan mentioned it in her report. Thanks to you, my two subordinates avoided getting hurt. Thank you very much!"
There was no need to say more. The airport was not a place for conversation, so Tsunayoshi directly hailed a taxi and brought the two of them to the apartment where Ninny was staying.
"What?! Uncle, you're my direct superior?"
Ninny's expression was exaggerated, her face full of defiance.
"Impossible. I absolutely refuse to acknowledge this!"
"Ahem. I didn't come here for nothing. As long as you sign and confirm it, there will be corresponding point rewards."
Billy raised his phone as he spoke.
He had come because of Noel's report and needed on-site confirmation from Ninny and Noel. Only then would the first stage of his mission in Japan be considered complete.
Point rewards were an extremely mature system in Reverse London. WB would issue missions with different point rewards to improve the motivation of its wizards.
The points earned could be exchanged for items within WB or converted into money usable in human society.
"With such a tiny reward, who are you looking down on—"
Before Ninny could finish speaking, Noel had already tapped confirm.
Ninny looked as if Noel had betrayed her. Clutching her chest in anguish, she said, "Niiha, you…"
"Ninny-chan, you've already earned more than enough. I still need rewards to improve my quality of life," Noel said matter-of-factly.
Noel's elders had not given her much pocket money. In order to obtain the things she wanted, Noel had no choice but to embark on the path of earning money.
In fact, a large part of the reason Noel had joined WB and become a witch was because missions could be exchanged for rewards.
Compared to Ninny, who was not lacking money and only lacked the thrill of adventure and broader social recognition, always thinking about joining the Sabres, Noel did not look down on the backline life of the Piper Squad at all.
It was safe and paid decently. Why would she not do it?
"Ninny, don't underestimate him. Uncle Billy is very strong," Tsunayoshi said, stepping in to ease Ninny's dissatisfaction.
"Really?"
Ninny looked suspicious.
If Noel had said this, Ninny might have thought she was only trying to comfort her. But when those words came from the mouth of a strong person like Tsunayoshi, Ninny had no choice but to take them seriously.
Billy Banx Jr. lowered the brim of his baseball cap slightly.
This boy had actually seen through his disguise at a glance. He was not simple.
It seemed the report had a certain degree of credibility. This boy before him might truly be capable of killing a dragon.
"It's not that exaggerated. Isn't it normal for me to be a little stronger than you? I just learned a few more spells, that's all. You'll be able to do it too…"
Billy laughed casually, trying to muddle his way through.
Coincidentally, this was exactly the kind of thing Ninny liked to hear.
As long as someone acknowledged her magical talent, everyone could be friends…
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