Akeno's sharp intuition told her things weren't that simple.
"Is that really all there is to it?"
Haruto answered firmly, "That's all there is to it."
As for the Longinus, the original protagonist, and all that…
The worldline wasn't set in stone. Since coming to this world, Haruto had never planned to obediently accept fate.
No matter what the future held, keeping them from interacting with Issei for now would only bring benefits, not harm.
First, it would minimize changes to the plot, allowing his "foresight" to remain useful a little longer.
Second—and more importantly—it would make it easier to scheme for the Boosted Gear.
Foresight wasn't really the point. The second reason was what Haruto truly cared about.
He had once considered approaching Issei himself, but that would've been too obvious, and he didn't have a particularly good excuse either.
If anyone looked into it, they'd easily see he had ulterior motives.
Who would have thought that Tetsuya would provide such an opportunity?
As a token of gratitude, if Tetsuya cooperates properly, they'll stop torturing him.
Under the cover of magic, Tetsuya was smoothly transported to the Occult Research Club's activity room.
"Tsk tsk, wasn't this club supposed to be on the verge of disbanding? This doesn't look like it at all."
It was Haruto's first time visiting the Occult Research Club's activity room. Not only was the space larger than a classroom, but the entire floor was covered with a red carpet, and an ornate chandelier shone brilliantly.
Leather sofas, solid wood coffee tables…
Even the furniture looked like something ordinary people couldn't afford.
In short, it didn't resemble a club about to be disbanded at all—it was several levels more impressive than the student council room.
Akeno smiled without a word. The entire academy belonged to the Gremory family, so of course the future head's club activity room had to be the best.
Tsubaki, however, offered a brief explanation.
"The previous Occult Research Club wasn't located here. Rather than saying Rias and Akeno took over a club on the verge of disbanding, it's more accurate to say they used the name to establish a new club from scratch."
Considering the composition of the Occult Research Club's members, Haruto fully agreed with Tsubaki's assessment.
The club's president was Rias herself, and all its members were her servants.
A place like this was set up purely for the convenience of holding meetings and handling requests.
"Haruto-kun, do you plan to interrogate him yourself, or will you wait for the president?"
Akeno gave a kind smile. "Of course, I could also help you with the interrogation."
"Akeno-senpai, your expression looks dangerous…" Haruto suppressed his curiosity and stopped looking around.
Akeno put on a surprised face. "Ara ara, this is just my normal expression, you know?"
Haruto: "…"
"I'll handle it myself. No need to trouble Akeno-senpai."
Handing Tetsuya over to a scheming woman like Akeno would likely result in a wrongful conviction.
Akeno tilted her head, feigning innocence.
Ignoring the teasing, scheming girl, Haruto crouched down and poked Tetsuya.
"Hey, can you talk now?"
Tetsuya: …(╬ಠ益ಠ)
"Oh, guess not.""
Haruto scratched his head. Did they need to send him to the infirmary for treatment first?
"Seriously, why did you have to go and wreck yourself like this?"
Tetsuya's most severe injuries came from the aftereffects, followed by the damage from being dragged around by Haruto, with the least being the wounds from their 1v1 manly brawl.
Since neither of them knew any proper fighting techniques, their punches landed on muscle and fat, resulting in nothing more than swelling and bruises—though it looked terrifying.
There's a saying: If you want to learn how to attack, you must first learn how to take a hit.
Haruto agreed wholeheartedly. With Mirror Alice, he was guaranteed not to lose out.
Tetsuya, however, didn't understand. He didn't want to get hit, so he ended up severely injuring himself.
Faced with Haruto's sarcasm, Tetsuya was on the verge of tears.
He hadn't wanted this either, but he'd truly lost his temper back then.
Had he known Akeno and Tsubaki were watching the whole time, he would've stuck to a proper 1v1 manly brawl instead of pulling any second-phase transformations.
Because whether he transformed or not, the outcome would've been the same.
Just as Haruto was getting a headache over this, Akeno spoke up with a smile.
"I know a little healing magic."
Haruto: "And? Are you going to use it or not?"
"I wonder who it was that just said they didn't need my help."
Haruto: "..."
This sly woman not only enjoyed teasing people, but her heart was smaller than the tip of a needle.
Under someone else's roof, one had to bow their head. Haruto obediently apologized.
"Akeno-senpai, I was wrong."
Akeno smiled even more delightedly, waving her hand to scatter a green glow.
"I'm not very skilled in healing magic, but restoring him enough to speak shouldn't be a problem."
"That'll do."
Haruto squatted down in front of Tetsuya again. "Hey, quit playing dead. You heard everything just now, right? Start talking."
Tetsuya: "..."
"Still not talking? Want a beating?"
"You haven't even asked anything!" Tetsuya said indignantly. "How can I explain anything if you don't ask?"
Haruto curled his lip. "Tch, seems it really wasn't you."
Of course, he wasn't deliberately clowning around—he just wanted to trick Tetsuya.
If Tetsuya had been targeting him, he definitely wouldn't have reacted like this.
Haruto had already thought this guy looked like an idiot; there was no way he could pull off such sneaky behind-the-scenes maneuvers.
Still, formalities had to be observed.
"Name."
"Tetsuya Hakuta."
"Age."
"Sixteen."
"Gender."
Tetsuya Hatada: "..."
Haruto glanced at him and repeated, "Gender."
"Bro, I'll call you bro, okay? Stop messing with me. Just ask whatever you want directly, alright?"
Tetsuya was on the verge of breaking down. He couldn't figure out where he'd offended Haruto.
"You know exactly what you did!" Haruto glared, bluffing. "The victim came to us, asking us to help get revenge."
Tetsuya: "Is it about reselling photos?"
Haruto's eyes lit up, but he kept his expression neutral. "No."
"Then... is it about the drugs?"
"Also no."
"It can't be about me stealing underwear, right?"
"Heh heh heh."
After laughing enough to make Tetsuya question his life choices, Haruto looked up at Tsubaki.
"Tsubaki-senpai, I told you these guys all have dirty secrets. Grabbing them for questioning was definitely the right move."
Tsubaki shook her head helplessly. "Not everyone is as stupid as him."
"True." Haruto nodded in agreement.
At this point, Tetsuya finally caught on. "What do you mean? You tricked me?!"
Haruto gave him a pitying look. "We'll go into detail about what you just confessed at the student council later. For now, I have some questions..."
Haruto briefly explained the situation to Tetsuya. As expected, it had nothing to do with him.
"Why did you suspect me?" Tetsuya, realizing he'd been wronged, couldn't help asking angrily.
"The rumors first appeared on the school forum, but the original post was deleted and untraceable," Tsubaki adjusted her glasses. "Our investigation showed your account not only participated in spreading them, but you also had the ability to avoid being traced."
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