"I do have some ideas..."
Sora led the girls into a deserted alley and began to plot:
"Words without proof are useless. To bring that cat-abusing fiend to justice, we must produce sufficient evidence."
"Those who abuse cats are generally people with twisted and perverted psychologies. When such people abuse cats, they often use their phones to record videos of the crimes to admire and reminisce over."
"So everyone needs to cooperate. First, we need to figure out if there is any evidence of the crimes on his phone or computer."
"Sora makes a lot of sense." Anna crossed her arms over her chest. "I've watched a thousand episodes of Detective Conan and am proficient in hundreds of evidence collection methods. Judging from my experience, there's a high probability of finding crime videos on his phone."
"So the goal is to steal his phone?" Yamada Elf was full of enthusiasm. She raised her right hand, volunteering to attack. "I'll go invisible and get the phone."
"Don't be rash." Sora grabbed the blonde loli, his expression serious. "When you're invisible, people just can't see you, but they can still sense you. If he notices his phone is missing, it's highly likely to alert the enemy. So..."
As Sora spoke, he looked toward Angel-sama.
So, naturally, we open with Time Stop!
A lion uses its full strength even when catching a rabbit.
Dealing with a minor antagonist, there's no need to save a trump card like Time Stop for the end.
"Leave it to me."
Mahiru gently nodded, accepting the mission.
Once Time Stop is activated, the entire world's pause button is pressed. Let alone taking his phone, even beating him up wouldn't be noticed by anyone.
"We should scout the location in advance," Ruri said in a low voice. "First, figure out where the demon doctor keeps his phone."
"Also, also." Anna chimed in from the side. "The phone might be locked. To unlock it, we need to get his phone passcode."
"Nowadays, many people set up hidden folders to conceal secrets." Anna rested her chin on her right hand, continuing to add details, and looked at Angel-sama. "Does Mahiru know how to unlock hidden folders?"
"Umm..."
A look of hesitation appeared on Mahiru's pretty face, her expression somewhat troubled.
Since moving out of her house, Mahiru had finally gotten her own smartphone. She was currently still a novice beginner. Her understanding of the phone was limited to taking photos, sending messages, and other basic functions. She didn't understand advanced usage at all.
"I know how to unlock hidden folders." Sora spoke up softly. "After activating Time Stop, Mahiru-san will bring the phone over, and I'll be in charge of guiding you."
"Eh?" Yamada Elf tilted her head in confusion. "Wait a minute, although Sora is conscious during Time Stop, his body can't move, right? How is he going to guide Mahiru?"
Sora replied with a face full of righteousness: "I leveled up."
"Huh?"
"Although I can't move right now, I can speak during Time Stop."
"..."
A blush quickly surged onto Mahiru's fair, jade-like face. She was clearly recalling the accidental contact on the train on Monday again, her heart involuntarily beating faster.
(The reason Sora-kun can speak is highly likely because of the intimate contact back then... If I bring the phone out and Sora-kun can't speak to guide me, what should I do?)
(When that happens, will I have to...)
Mahiru hurriedly shook her head, banishing the shameful thoughts from her mind. She took a deep breath and slightly clenched her pink fists:
"I'm making my move."
"Wait a minute." Sora stopped Angel-sama and said softly, "We don't know where his phone is yet. Let's make him 'voluntarily' take it out first, to avoid having to search him."
Anna tilted her head, looking over. "How do we make him voluntarily take out his phone?"
"It's simple..." As Sora spoke, he took out his phone, saying slowly and methodically, "I already memorized his phone number when we were at the pet hospital earlier. I just need to call him."
The girls: "..."
The group quietly sneaked through the night and soon arrived at a dim corner outside the pet hospital.
"It's that man wearing the white coat and glasses." Ruri pointed him out in a low voice. "The cats in the pet shop told me that guy is the cat-abusing fiend. There's definitely no mistake!"
It was almost 8:30 PM. At this time, the pet hospital basically had no customers. The doctor and nurses were sitting in the lobby resting.
"The saying goes, 'You can know a person's face but not their heart.' It really is true," Anna complained in a low voice. "If Ruri-chan couldn't understand cat language, no one would believe that guy is an evil fiend."
Anna was a standard social butterfly. In just a short moment, she had already started calling Kuroneko by her first name directly.
"Mahiru-san, I leave it to you." Sora turned to look at Angel-sama. "Go get the phone."
As for reminding Angel-sama to be careful... you must be joking! Do you not understand the value of Time Stop!
A certain blonde man, who could only manage a paltry seven-second Time Stop, was already arrogant enough to want to rule the world!
In the domain of Time Stop, Angel-sama is an invincible existence, so there's completely no need to worry about danger.
Mahiru exhaled softly, her gaze calm. "Sora-kun, make the call."
"Okay..."
Sora silently dialed the phone number he had prepared long ago.
Hearing the ringtone, the cat-abusing fiend inside the pet hospital reached into the pocket of his white coat, took out his phone, and answered the call:
"Hello..."
Just as the other party began to speak, the sounds of the entire world abruptly ceased.
The leaves drifting mid-air, the call interface on the phone, the chirping of insects in the grass, and the smoke drifting from a distant barbecue shop—everything suddenly solidified, plunging into a deathly stillness.
"Sora-kun?"
Mahiru wasn't in a hurry to head to the pet shop. Instead, she turned her head and looked at Sora.
"..."
Sora still had his thoughts and wanted to blink, but unfortunately, his body felt as if it were solidified in glue, completely unable to move.
"So... he really can't speak?"
Mahiru's pretty face flushed slightly, her pearly white teeth gently biting her lip. She turned and walked towards the pet hospital.
A few minutes later.
Mahiru easily returned holding the cat-abusing fiend's phone, the entire process like entering an uninhabited land.
Having just been retrieved, the phone was naturally unlocked. Mahiru tried to check it, but unfortunately, it was completely clean, with absolutely no cat abuse videos.
"So... we can only try to find a way to restore Sora-kun's ability to speak."
Mahiru shifted her gaze from the phone to Sora. Looking into the boy's quiet eyes, the temperature of her face quietly rose. After hesitating for two seconds, her gaze quickly became resolute.
"L-Let's try a hug first..."
Although hugging was very embarrassing, as an angel of the Lawful Good alignment, she desired even more to punish the evil fiend who tortured and killed lives.
"To save more lives, I'll just have to make a tiny sacrifice..."