Chapter 137: All of This Is According to Katsuragi Keima's Plan!
Inside the tent, Katsuragi Keima's fingers froze on the buttons. His character on the screen stood perfectly still. He looked up at Elsie, his eyes filled with sheer astonishment. He swallowed hard before speaking again, as if to confirm what he just heard:
"He... fell asleep?"
'Asleep? What does she mean, asleep?'
"Mm-hmm!" Elsie nodded vigorously. "I gave him a little tap, and he fell right asleep. He's sleeping so soundly!"
Keima fell silent for three seconds, processing this information. Elsie went out to find food, got lost, found a tree hollow, and that hollow happened to be hiding Ryuen Kakeru, who then witnessed something bizarre. Then Elsie knocked him out.
"Are you sure he's asleep?" Keima asked again. "And not in a coma?"
"Positive!" Elsie gestured with her hands. "I just gave him a tiny bonk, and his eyes closed. I even poked his face, and there was no reaction. He's out cold!"
"Is he still alive?"
"Um... definitely. I'm pretty sure I remember him breathing."
Keima took a deep breath. Although he didn't like Ryuen Kakeru—considering him nothing more than "celery" in his mind—the guy was still a student. It would be a disaster if anything regarding demons was exposed. He had to go check on his condition immediately.
Keima put down his handheld console and stood up. "Take me there."
"Huh? Right now?" Elsie looked toward the tent exit. "It's still raining out there."
"Lead the way!" Keima had already pulled back the tent flap.
Elsie hurriedly followed him. "Kami-nii-sama, aren't you going to play your game?"
"I'll play when I get back."
The two of them stepped out of the tent. The rain had lightened slightly but was still a steady drizzle. The campfire in the camp was nearly extinguished, with only a few wisps of blue smoke drifting in the rain. Everyone else was sheltering in their tents; no one noticed them.
"Kami-nii-sama, I'll go get my broom—"
"No, no. We are walking!" Keima said, somewhat exasperated. Ryuen had already seen too much; they couldn't afford any more risks. "You still remember the way, right?"
"Erm..."
"?"
"I remember! Of course I remember! Just follow me, Kami-nii-sama!"
The two of them quickly set off into the distance. Behind them, Ibuki Mio happened to witness the two of them braving the rain to leave the camp.
"Those two... what are they up to?" she wondered curiously.
In the curtain of rain, the figures of Keima and Elsie grew distant. Ibuki stood at her tent entrance, hesitating for a few seconds. She should go back to sleep and mind her own business. But her feet moved of their own accord. She grabbed a raincoat from beside the tent, threw it on, and quietly followed them.
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Inside the tree hollow, Ryuen Kakeru slowly opened his eyes. His head throbbed as if someone had taken a hammer to the inside of his skull. There was a dull ache at the back of his head; he reached back to feel it. There was no wound, but it felt sore and swollen to the touch. His face also felt hot and stinging, as if he'd been burned, and his lips were so dry they were ready to bleed.
He leaned against the tree wall, panting for a few breaths as he tried to recall what happened. He remembered the rain, finding the hollow for shelter, and closing his eyes to rest. And then—then someone arrived.
A girl in a raincoat, carrying a giant sack filled with glowing fruit. She had peered inside, and he saw her face. Keima Katsuragi's sister—Elsie. And then? Then he apparently... blacked out.
He touched the back of his head; it really did hurt.
'Was I hit? Did she hit me? What did she use?'
He strained to remember, but his mind held only fragmented images—a broom, a broom hovering in mid-air. Ryuen shook his head.
'It must have been a hallucination caused by my poor physical condition.'
His throat was so dry it felt like it was smoking. He hadn't had clean water all day, his dry rations were gone, and because of the storm, he'd had little chance to eat. He looked down to see if any rainwater had leaked in, and then he froze.
Several fruits and mushrooms lay scattered at his feet. The fruits were red, purple, gold, and silver, shimmering with an eerie light in the darkness. The mushrooms emitted a blue glow, illuminating a corner of the hollow. They just lay there, glowing as if waiting for him to wake up. These were the things Elsie had left for him.
Wait! If these strange fruits were actually here... then what happened just now wasn't a hallucination?!
He picked up a fruit and saw a terrifyingly realistic human face on the front—exactly what he had seen before! He flipped it over; the back had no face but featured some patterns that looked like... cracks?
Then the fruit exploded.
A loud "BANG" echoed through the cramped hollow, making his ears ring. A burst of golden light exploded in front of his face, and a wave of scorching heat washed over him like a slap to the face. He recoiled, the back of his head slamming into the tree wall, and stars danced before his eyes.
His face stung with a burning pain. His nostrils were filled with the smell of char, and a bitter taste lingered in his mouth. He opened his mouth and exhaled a puff of black smoke.
"..."
Ryuen didn't even have time to say another word before he blacked out again.
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On the other side.
The path through the jungle was treacherous. The rain had turned the soil into soft muck that could swallow an ankle; branches and vines were tangled together in the rain, blocking the way. One had to duck and crawl every few steps. Keima's raincoat got snagged several times, causing the hood to slip and rain to pour down his hair. But he didn't stop; he just pulled the hood back up and kept walking.
Elsie walked ahead, her steps quite brisk. She remembered the way, though not perfectly, so she ended up taking a rather circuitous route. Every so often, she would stop to look around, tilting her head for a few seconds before pointing in a direction.
"This way! I remember a crooked tree! A little further past that tree and we'll be there!"
Keima followed her. After another ten minutes, a small creek appeared. The water was much higher than usual, a murky yellow, rushing downstream.
"It's this creek!" Elsie pointed to the opposite bank. "A little further past the creek and we're there!"
After another ten minutes, Elsie suddenly stopped and pointed to a massive old tree. "Right there! That tree! The hollow is at the roots!"
Keima looked where she was pointing. It was an ancient tree so thick it would take several people to encircle it. The trunk was covered in moss, and the roots twisted like coiled dragons. At the base was a hollow; it seemed it was meant to be covered by vines, but those vines appeared to have been snapped by some external force.
Elsie quickened her pace, trotting over to pull aside the vines and look inside.
"Kami-nii-sama!"
"What is it?"
"He's still sleeping! His sleep quality looks pretty excellent!!"
Keima walked over and pulled the vines aside to peer in. Inside the hollow, Ryuen Kakeru leaned against the tree wall, motionless. His face was blackened as if he'd been caught in an explosion. His messy hair was plastered to his forehead, and his clothes were splattered with golden juice. He had his eyes closed and was breathing steadily, appearing to be in a deep sleep. Scattered around him were fruits and mushrooms still glowing faintly. The ground was covered in golden shards, some of which were stuck to his clothes.
"He's asleep again!" Elsie whispered. "Wait, did he never wake up? Or did he wake up and go back to sleep?"
Keima knelt down and observed closely.
'Did this guy just get hit by a grenade?'
He reached out and felt Ryuen's forehead. It was warm—a normal temperature. He checked his breathing; it was steady and strong. At least he was alive. Otherwise, the school authorities would definitely be alerted.
"Elsie, what did you do?"
"I didn't do anything!"
"Then why does he... look like he was blown away by something?"
"Oh! I remember now! I left him some fruits and mushrooms that we demons like to eat. If you don't eat them within three seconds of touching them, they explode!" Elsie said with a sudden look of realization.
"..."
Keima pursed his lips, roughly guessing what had happened. Ryuen had likely woken up a short while ago, only to be blown unconscious again. While Ryuen wasn't a good person, this seemed a bit too pitiable.
"Kami-nii-sama, should we take him back?" Elsie asked.
Keima shook his head. "No. Let him stay here."
"Why?"
"Because when he wakes up, he'll think he was trapped in a series of dreams." Keima stood up. "First dreaming of you flying, then dreaming of fruit exploding on him, waking up and exploding again... he shouldn't believe it was real."
Elsie nodded, only half-understanding. "What about these fruits? Should we take them?"
"Of course we take them! We have to destroy the evidence!"
Elsie laughed, while Keima could only sigh in resignation. Keima and Elsie quickly packed up the items. Using Elsie's raiment, they made it look as though nothing had ever happened—they even washed Ryuen's face. After handling everything, the two prepared to leave.
"Kami-nii-sama, we should go now!"
"Yeah, let's go."
The two quickened their pace and vanished into the curtain of rain.
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In the rain, Keima and Elsie's silhouettes grew distant and soon vanished into the depths of the jungle.
Ibuki Mio crouched behind a bush. Despite her raincoat, she was soaked to the bone. Rainwater trickled down her hair and slid down her collar, icy and piercing. She didn't move; she just stared in that direction, waiting for a long time to be sure they weren't coming back before slowly standing up.
Her legs were numb. Ibuki had been secretly tailing Keima the whole time, never expecting him to take such a deliberate detour—though in reality, it was just Elsie being lost. In Ibuki's eyes, it seemed as though Keima and Elsie were trying to shake off any potential followers. Fortunately, Ibuki had persisted.
Having crouched for so long, her knees were as stiff as wooden boards, and every step was agonizing. She leaned against a tree trunk, moving forward step by step. The rain was still falling, lighter than before, but the mist was still thick and cold against her face. She pushed aside the blocking vines and walked up to the tree hollow.
The entrance was pitch black. She stood outside and took a deep breath. It was very quiet—so quiet she could hear the raindrops dripping from the leaves. She hesitated, then knelt down and peered inside.
Then, her entire body froze.
Inside the hollow, Ryuen Kakeru leaned against the tree wall, motionless. It appeared he was unconscious. Ibuki stared at that face, her mind going blank. She opened her mouth to say something, but not a single word came out. Her hands were shaking, whether from the cold or from fear.
She had known Ryuen for so long, but she had never seen him like this. The tyrant of Class C, the man who once did as he pleased, was now slumped in this damp tree hollow, unconscious like a discarded rag in a corner.
'Did Katsuragi Keima find him and defeat him again?'
And the person who turned him into this had just walked right past her, wearing a raincoat and hood, walking at a leisurely pace as if he had just come back from buying a bottle of water at a convenience store. Ibuki crouched at the entrance, staring at Ryuen without moving, her body trembling slightly.
Countless images flashed through her mind. When Keima walked out of the tent, his expression was calm. He wasn't panicked, he wasn't in a hurry, he hadn't even quickened his pace.
But soon, the blankness in her mind was torn apart by a single thought.
How did she get here? She had followed Keima and Elsie. She thought she was well-hidden, that they wouldn't notice. But... did they let her follow them on purpose?
She began to recall every detail. When she came out of the tent, Keima and Elsie were already some distance away. She thought they hadn't noticed her. But a person like Katsuragi Keima... could he really fail to notice?
A chill ran down her spine.
'He knew! He knew the whole time.'
He brought her here on purpose. The detour was also intentional, all to lower her guard! He let her see Ryuen in this state on purpose. This was a warning!
Ibuki's hands began to shake. The business with the underwear... that was probably Keima's doing too! She thought of the underwear, the keycard, and Ryuen.
Katsuragi Keima had never questioned her, never exposed her, and never gotten angry with her. She thought he was giving her a chance. But now she knew—he wasn't. He didn't need to give her a chance. He was just waiting for her to realize how ridiculous she was.
She thought she was executing a mission, thought she was helping Class C win, thought she was engaged in a battle of wits with Class D. But in reality, she had never left Katsuragi Keima's chessboard.
'What kind of monster is this guy...?'
Ryuen was hidden alone in the forest; it should have been impossible for anyone to find him. Yet Keima and his sister found him. How did they do it? This could absolutely not be a coincidence! Perhaps they had long ago deduced Ryuen's way of thinking and predicted his path of action!
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