Today was just another day of peace, as usual.

'Peaceful as usual ... peaceable?'

　I'll look it up on my phone.
　Peacefulness is 'the state of calmness where nothing unusual happens. Yeah, not the same as usual, but I'm really at peace today. There's no mistaking it.

"Master, are you okay, Desuka?

　I wondered if he was worried, and Nia on her smartphone spoke to me. Immediately something unusual happened.
　Yes, peace ended.

'Oh, it's okay, Nia. And don't talk in public as much as possible.
Yes, sir.

　Thank goodness it was right after class ended. No one seemed to hear Nia's voice as the classroom was buzzing with the aftermath of the end of class.

'And yet, it's peaceful.......'

　My life plan to live in peace has been going haywire lately.
　I've been forced to participate in yin-yang games, and I've been attacked by aliens. To begin with, I've died and met with gods.

'Wait? Compared to that, it's normal for a phone to talk and all that.

　Yeah, that was a no-brainer earlier. This is an unmistakably calm day.

Hello, Yuki-kun, are you there?
!

　When I turned toward the voice, I saw a splendidly shaved Irara-kun peering into the classroom.
　That's that badly shaved guy from some time ago!

Kasai-san wanted to see you. Where are you, Yuki-kun?

　Takigawa and Ishida are clasping their hands in my direction. You heartless bastards!

There it is.

　Glaring sideways at the two unsympathetic people, I reluctantly raise my hand.

'Will you come over here for a minute?'

　A bad shave took me to the back of the gym.
　Yes, peace ended.





◇





"I'm sorry for scaring you when you first got here, in the back of the gym,
What?

　I thought I was going to be humiliated in front of the delinquents again like last time, but there was only the Tsuntsun Delinquent, Akari and Shizuku-san in the back of the gym.
　And the Tsuntsun Delinquent bowed his head and apologized. Eh? What's going on here?

　By the way, the shaving bad boy who called me out left quickly.

'I'm sorry Yuki-kun, can you forgive him? Despite this scary look on his face, this is still a reminder for Sorge.
'Akari, the look on your face is superfluous. Besides, you guys told me to apologize...
I'm remorseful, you know!
...Oh, yeah, I'm sorry.

　Akari-san, you're amazing, you're pulling the twat out of the butt.

Please raise your head...
Yuki-kun is the same age as you, so you don't have to use honorific language for Soji. Of course you don't have to use it with us.
Oh, well then....

　Feel free to let me go with a tattle tale.

I really don't care anymore, so head up.
You'll forgive me?
Yeah.

　Thanks to those days that were far from peaceful, I don't really care about the first day of school now.
　Well, it was a bit traumatic for me, so I'll accept the apology for that.

I see. I'm sorry..........
Oh, hey, Sorge! I'm sorry, Yuki-kun. See you later.

　He really only called me out here to apologize for the sake of apologizing.

You could have done it in the hallway if you just wanted to apologize.
'Mr. Sorge, you're so clumsy...'

　Shizuku-san returns my muttering with a wry smile.
　Akari-san went back to the school building after the Tsuntsunn delinquent, so it's just the two of us now, Shizuku-san and I.

''Oh, by the way. Tsun Tsun........what's your relationship with Kasai-kun?

　I asked Shizuku-san the question that had been bothering me soberly.
　From the looks of it, they wouldn't be brother and sister, and there's something uncomfortable about Shizuku-san being together in terms of personality.

I'm a childhood friend of Soji-kun, I guess. We're not related by blood, but we're more like brother and sister.

　I see.
　Anyway, it's annoying to have such a cute childhood friend. I should have gotten a sincere apology from him.

Well, we'd better get back to it.
Yes.

　After that, the two of us returned to the school building, exchanging chit-chat with Shizuku.






◇






What's wrong, Shizuku?

　On the way home, Akari is concerned about Shizuku's depression and calls out to her.

''Sis. We're not normal after all...
What's wrong with me?
Yeah. When we returned from the back of the gymnasium, we talked about Yuki-kun and his parents. But I couldn't say anything to them...
A drop.....

　As Shizuku said, they have no memories of their parents. In the first place, they don't have any parents.

It's okay Shizuku. You don't have parents, but you do have us. The three of us are a family.
'Yes. We're going to be together for the rest of our lives.

　Hearing their words, Shizuku's mind cleared up a bit.

'Thank you both,'
You're embarrassing me.
What, does Sorge get embarrassed?
Shut up! I mean, even Akari is embarrassed.

　On the way home, the three of them were laughing happily on the riverbed....





''Ah. I'm sorry to be in a good mood, but........

　But no one could recognize the voice until they heard it.

'I'll have to let you catch it,'

　The fact that the person who is trying to steal such a simple peace of mind is closing in on them...





◇





Huh ... it failed.

　On the way back to the school building with Ms. Shizuku, we were talking about her parents, and her expression was clearly cloudy.
　I quickly changed the subject, but I may have made her feel uncomfortable.

''I'm sure they must have had a complicated family situation...''
Master, are you okay, Desuka?

　Nia spoke to me, worried that I was depressed.
　I'll only get bothered if I hold on to it, so I'll tell Nia what's going on.

I'd recommend that you apologize to the master for his good intentions," she said.
'I know. But it's after school now, and my apologies will likely come tomorrow.
I'll show you where to go.
What?

　You want to see us?

We are currently checking the city's security cameras. Shizuku-san, I'm checking the security camera in the city.
....

　A transformed Nia stuck out her arm and pointed in the direction where Shizuku seemed to be.

Thanks Nia. But you shouldn't look at security cameras without permission.
Yes, sir.

　I shouldn't, but I can't help what I've already seen. For now, I decided to follow Nia's instructions and go see Shizuku-san.






◇






　When the three of them turned around in surprise, there was a big, strong man standing there.

''Oh no, I'm sorry. It's just that I kind of ruined the good vibe.

　The big man approaches the three of them while uttering an apology that is not very heartfelt.

'Diess how did you get here!

　Soji hides Akari and Shizuku behind him as he questions the approaching big man, Diess.

''Oh, you know my name. Was that kind of you, Kasai-kun?
That doesn't matter, why are you here?
Why? I'm here to get you guys. Did you really think you were going to be able to run away from the organization and live in peace forever?

　The moment he heard those words, Soji activated his own unusual ability with all his might.
　The name of that unusual ability is "Cold Heat". It is an extraordinary ability that can control the temperature by absorbing and releasing the amount of heat.

''Hot!''

　Diess hurriedly moved away.
　This was because Sorge had evaporated a puddle of water, which created a large amount of steam.

'Akali! Please!
I know, 'grant'!

　Taking advantage of this opportunity, Akari applies a grant to Soji.
　The "grant" she possesses is capable of strengthening the physical abilities of others.

It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with your friends. I can't do that, so I'm jealous.

　Muttering this, Diess tried to approach through the vapor. However, he immediately noticed an uncomfortable feeling under his feet.

''Whoa, it's slippery!''

　Soji had frozen the ground in order to block Diess's progress.

'It's just so much trouble.'

　However, Dieth stomped the ground with his leg strength, forcing his way forward, crushing the ground with every ice.

''Tch, the monster.''
"Well, even though it looks like this, I'm a rank A, so a small rank C move isn't anything to sneeze at. So, why don't you surrender quietly?
"No!

　Akari and Shizuku nodded at Soji's powerful reply.

'What is it about being in the organization that you are unhappy with? There will be three meals served and you can sleep in a warm futon.
'But you're not free. We just want to live our lives the way we want to live them, the way we want to!
Well come to think of it, you were born and raised in an institution. Do you see the world differently from me, who joined the organization from the outside?

　A cold look in Dieth's eyes, a complete change from the previous time, sends a chill down the spine of the three of them.

It's not good if you kill them, so I'll go easy on you. But I think some of the bones will break, so please be prepared for that.
"I'm a rank B expert now. I won't just get beaten up!

　The power of 'Grant' was not only able to strengthen physical functions such as arm and leg strength, but also the different abilities it possessed.
　Therefore, Soji's 'Cold Heat', which was originally rank C, had been strengthened to the equivalent of rank B.

''Oh, let me tell you, no help will come.''
What?
We've got operatives stationed around the perimeter, so even if things get a little crazy, there's no one to witness it.
Nah!

　The three of them now realize that the riverbed, which is supposed to be crowded with people returning home, is not very popular.

So, you'll have to do your best to get your feet wet.

　The battle between Cold Heat, which had been granted a rank B status, and Diess, who had a rank A ability, had begun.