Meanwhile, after leaving Rio Futaba's apartment, Mai Sakurajima came to a stop.
The evening breeze made her feel slightly chilly. She pulled her collar tighter, hiding the lower half of her face beneath her coat, casting a somewhat complicated look at Ye Xing.
"You... seem different from normal people."
Ye Xing started at her words.
"Ho, sharp eyes. So you've finally realised I'm the chosen one of this world, blessed with unparalleled talent?"
Mai Sakurajima: "...That's not what I meant."
"If you knew I used to be an idol, why was your reaction when we met... hard to describe."
Mai Sakurajima wasn't sure how to phrase it either.
She couldn't help feeling that this Ye Xing's reaction upon meeting her was perhaps too normal?
As a former national-level idol actress, Mai had grown accustomed to being the centre of attention and discussion wherever she went.
Suddenly encountering someone who reacted normally...
Actually seemed abnormal.
"Is a former national-level idol actress really that impressive?"
Without waiting for Mai's response, Ye Xing continued speaking to himself.
"Oh, actually, you are quite impressive."
Having debuted as a child star, Mai Sakurajima enjoyed extremely high recognition throughout Japan. Over ninety per cent of the population would find her face familiar even if they couldn't recall her name.
However, just before graduating from middle school, Mai had suddenly announced the suspension of her acting career.
This had sparked considerable discussion at the time, though after more than two years, the topic had long since faded from public attention.
Wait.
From Mai's retirement until now - wasn't that just about two and a half years?
"Ah ha, so you're a little hater too!"
Mai froze momentarily, beginning to realise something wasn't quite right.
This junior Ye Xing, one year below her, with a terrible reputation at school...
Seemed mentally unstable?
"Anyway."
Ye Xing's ability to switch moods was astonishingly quick, making even professional actress Mai feel inadequate by comparison.
"I'll provide you with food daily. In exchange, you just need to show up at our club room during lunch and after school so I can see you. Fair terms, wouldn't you say?"
"Just seeing me? No other requests?"
"If you want to add other requests, I could consider it."
Mai narrowed her eyes slightly, her tone meaningful.
"Oh?"
"Just joking."
Ye Xing waved a hand dismissively.
"I'm less interested in you as a person and more in pure carnal desire. What truly fascinates me is this phenomenon of disappearing from people's awareness."
Mai Sakurajima was utterly stunned.
She stood frozen in place, lips trembling slightly, unable to utter a single word.
It felt like nuclear fusion was occurring inside her mind.
Seriously, dude?
Could you be any more blunt?!
Less interested in you as a person and more in...
That deserves to be enshrined in the dictionary.
Mai understood the logic perfectly well.
As an extremely popular idol, she'd encountered many overenthusiastic fans who could be described as perverts.
But at least they followed basic etiquette.
They'd say things like "I love your acting", "I adore your smile", "Your performance in that drama was amazing", or compliment her aura.
Whatever they might really be thinking, they'd always phrase it that way.
Ye Xing was the first person she'd ever met who'd say something so brutally honest to her face.
Alright then.
You're playing it completely straight, huh?
Seeing Mai Sakurajima rendered completely speechless by his words, Ye Xing didn't stop his verbal assault.
As a certain famous professional/non-professional esports player once said:
You must never stop dealing damage for even a second.
Ye Xing: I agree.
"Your status as former national idol actress is impressive, but let me tell you something - even the father of the New World's god has to treat me with respect and offer me cigarettes."
"The New World's... god?"
Mai Sakurajima sighed slightly, her expression one of utter exasperation.
"Your chuunibyou syndrome... is really severe."
Though she said this.
It was clear that Mai could confirm that this first-year student named Ye Xing, along with that girl called Miko Yotsuya, were experiencing the same kind of bizarre, incomprehensible phenomena as herself.
Outwardly, Mai Sakurajima appeared completely composed.
In reality.
She was absolutely terrified.
With each passing day, the periods when others couldn't see her were growing longer.
When she first met Ye Xing and Miko Yotsuya on the rooftop, it only happened during lunch breaks.
Now it wasn't just lunch - it occurred during classes, between lessons, even occasionally after school.
One moment, Mai would be buying bread.
The next, the shopkeeper couldn't see her.
Being invisible was bad enough.
The real problem was she'd already paid but hadn't received her bread!
Mai didn't know what it would look like to others if she reached for something while in this vanished state, so she didn't dare take the risk.
Ye Xing wasn't quite normal.
But it was the only answer she could seek now.
"I have things to do, so I'll take my leave. See you at the clubroom tomorrow at noon. Goodbye!"
Without waiting for Mai Sakurajima's response, Ye Xing swiftly turned and left, without the slightest hesitation.
Watching his retreating figure, Mai Sakurajima couldn't help but sigh and rub her temples, murmuring to herself.
"What a... strange person."
...
Elsewhere.
Ye Xing wandered aimlessly through the streets. He glanced at his phone and sighed upon seeing it wasn't even seven o'clock yet, his face clearly displaying two words:
Slacking off.
"I really don't want to work."
Ye Xing felt he had transcended his current state.
As the number of evil spirits he'd devoured increased, his standards had grown increasingly refined.
Of course.
Evil spirits had no actual 'flavour'.
What Ye Xing truly savoured was the sense of fulfilment from the physical enhancements that came with devouring them.
Most spirits' residual memories were useless.
But occasionally, he'd gain some useful special skills—like lockpicking or appliance repair.
Twenty years as an electrician! I can tell if something's leaking current just by touching it!
Now, ordinary evil spirits could no longer satisfy him.
If he was going to eat, he'd be selective.
Once, he'd accepted whatever came his way.
Now, he was elevating himself to a true gourmet!
Beyond the Gates...
Lay a Michelin three-star restaurant that required no payment!
Even walking alone, Ye Xing's thoughts raced wildly, silently indulging in his own madness.
Just then, a little girl suddenly dashed out from a nearby supermarket and collided straight into him.
Thud.
Ye Xing was fine, but the girl stumbled back two steps and fell onto her bottom.
In that instant, countless scenarios unfolded in his mind.
For example:
The girl would burst into tears, and a young or middle-aged couple would emerge from the supermarket to berate him without asking questions.
Or perhaps she was a runaway child.
Which police station should he take her to later?
Ye Xing's thought process was far quicker than an average person's, and his imagination was absurdly expansive.
Before anything happened, he'd already run through every possible outcome—good or bad—in his mind.
It was precisely because of this habit.
That he'd taken out his phone to record in the train carriage that day, and at the critical moment, helped Miko Yotsuya turn the tables.
But what happened next truly took Ye Xing by surprise.
The little girl neither cried nor made a scene. She simply stood up, dusted off her bottom, and bowed to him apologetically.
"Sorry for bumping into you. I'm sorry, Big Brother."
Such polite, well-mannered behaviour—no tantrums, immediate apology—even moved Ye Xing, who'd dealt with countless bratty kids in his past life.
What a sweet little sister.
Most importantly, she hadn't called him 'uncle'—she'd said 'big brother'.
Now that's emotional intelligence.
Wait.
Big brother?
Her voice and the way she addressed him felt oddly familiar.
Ye Xing looked down slightly and saw that she was the same light-blue-haired student he'd met and spoken to at Kyoto Municipal Kindergarten last time.
Before he could speak, a girl with hair the same colour as the little girl emerged from the supermarket. She wore her hair in a high ponytail and exuded an aura that warned strangers to keep their distance, looking like a delinquent beauty.
"Keika, didn't I tell you not to run off like that? I couldn't keep up with you..."
Mid-sentence, the ponytailed girl noticed Ye Xing standing there. She froze momentarily before donning a guarded expression. Like a mother hen protecting her chick, she quickly stepped forward, spreading her arms to shield the little girl while frowning deeply.
"What business do you have with my sister?"
Seeing her sister's unfriendly attitude, the little girl hastily tugged at the other's sleeve with her small white hand.
"Sister, I accidentally bumped into him and was apologising."
"Oh, I see."
The ponytailed girl visibly relaxed, though the wariness in her emerald green eyes remained.
"My apologies, Ye Xing. I'll apologise on my sister's behalf."
Ye Xing's response consisted of just two curt words.
"Who're you?"
"Huh?"
The ponytailed girl frowned slightly, clearly not expecting such a reply, and instinctively explained.
"I'm Saki Kawasaki from your class."
"Oh. Don't know you. Not interested. Goodbye."
Ye Xing waved dismissively without the slightest intention of lingering, walking straight past the Kawasaki sisters.
Only when his figure had receded into the distance did Saki Kawasaki quietly exhale in relief.
Noticing her sister's reaction, Keika Kawasaki looked up with childish puzzlement.
"Sister, don't you like that big brother?"
Saki didn't answer, merely patting Keika's head with a smile.
"You'll understand when you enter high school."
"Eh? That's not fair, sister! That's ages away!"
"Then I'll explain it to you ages later."
It wasn't that Saki Kawasaki was overly cautious.
Rather, Ye Xing's reputation at Sobu High School was too terrible.
Bringing guns to school, coercing female students, founding a bizarre club that monopolised a clubroom while only recruiting exceptionally beautiful female members.
Rumour had it he'd even gotten into physical altercations with several male students from other classes after school today.
Quite simply, the number one delinquent at Sobu High.
Who knew if this scoundrel might target even an adorable elementary schooler like her sister?
As for Ye Xing not recognising her, Saki wasn't particularly surprised either.
She had no friends at school, nor anyone she regularly spoke to.
When he came to class, apart from conversing with Yuigahama and Yotsuya, he didn't seem inclined to interact with other classmates either.
Both she and Ye Xing...
Were figures that their classmates preferred to keep at arm's length.
"Let's go."
"Mm."
Saki took her sister's hand. After seeing her home, she still had her part-time job to get to - time was tight.
"Um... Sister?"
"What is it?"
"Do you remember what I told you last time? About the person who saved us?"
"Oh, that?"
Saki responded absentmindedly, smiling gently.
"That was just you being too scared at the time, mistaking the police officers in bulletproof vests and helmets who came to rescue you for some masked heroes, wasn't it?"
After the incident at Kyoto Municipal Kindergarten, Saki Kawasaki had, of course, heard her younger sister talk about a mysterious figure wearing a pure black mask who suddenly appeared at the scene and saved everyone.
To summarise.
She didn't believe a single word of it.
How could such things exist in this world?
Surely Keika Kawasaki, being so young and panicked during the sudden crisis, had conflated the Metropolitan Police Department's rescue team with those chaotic TV shows she'd watched, conjuring up fantasies of some masked knight.
Saki Kawasaki refused to believe this world had so-called "heroes".
Only by gritting one's teeth could one overcome difficulties.
Waiting for "heroes" to save you?
She wasn't some princess. Such stories only happened in fairy tales - they didn't exist in reality.
Seeing her sister completely dismiss her words, Keika Kawasaki pouted, her small face clouding with displeasure.
What she'd really wanted to say was...
That big brother called Ye Xing...
His eyes looked exactly like that Kamen Rider she'd seen before.
Even that faintly smiling expression was identical.
Could it be?
No way!?
Was it really Kamen Rider?
Pursing her lips, determination flashed in Keika's eyes.
The true identity of her masked knight big brother - she would protect it!
As a kindergarten child, Keika Kawasaki didn't remotely consider complex concepts like procedural justice that might trouble Soichiro Yagami.
Her reasoning was simple.
Those who eliminated bad people and saved others were heroes.
As for why heroes hid their true identities?
The TV said it was to protect important people around them.
And she, Keika Kawasaki, as the masked knight's most devoted and first-ever fan, would never reveal his identity to anyone!
A small body bearing great responsibility.
Keika Kawasaki was on guard duty for Kyoto.JPG.
...
Soon enough, Friday came around again.
After school, Ye Xing gathered the other three members of the Society – Miko Yotsuya, Yui Yuigahama, and Rio Futaba, who wore a pensive expression – in the clubroom.
"Now that all five of us are here, let's begin the first official meeting of the Supernatural Quantum Mechanics Research Society!"
"Five?"
Miko Yotsuya shook her head helplessly.
"Why do you keep counting one extra these past two days?"
"Of course, there's five. Even if you can't see her—"
Before Ye Xing could finish, Yui Yuigahama cut in with a sweet smile.
"Former national idol and beautiful second-year senpai, Mai Sakurajima, right?"
As she said this, Yui's gaze towards Ye Xing carried a hint of gentle pity.
"If you're feeling stressed and need someone to talk to, I'm always available."
Ye Xing glanced at Mai Sakurajima standing right beside him – invisible to everyone else – then turned back to Yui with utmost seriousness.
"Dango, please don't say things like that. You're making me doubt myself now."
Ye Xing was starting to wonder whether Mai Sakurajima was just his hallucination or actually real.
He believed his mental state should still be quite stable.
Though stable madness still counts as stable, doesn't it?
Moreover...
Ye Xing gave Mai Sakurajima, dressed in Sobu High's uniform, a thorough once-over while nodding approvingly. His brazen stare made Mai instinctively take two steps back, crossing her arms protectively over her chest as she asked warily,
"W-why are you staring at me like that?"
This confirmed it – Mai Sakurajima definitely wasn't his hallucination.
If she were imaginary...
Why would she be wearing a school uniform?
Shouldn't it be something more... risqué? No, a hundred times more risqué!
Assessment complete: everything's perfectly normal.
However, upon hearing Ye Xing's address for her, Yui froze momentarily. She shot a glance at Rio Futaba brewing coffee nearby, her expression torn between speaking and staying silent.
Miko's reaction mirrored hers.
The three had previously agreed that using codenames signalled the conversation would involve supernatural matters.
By calling Yui "Dango", Ye Xing was implying...
But Rio Futaba, who remained completely unaware of the Reverse World and evil spirits, was still sitting right here.
An abrupt silence fell over the clubroom.
Yet Ye Xing clearly had his own plans.
Initially, he'd intended to keep Rio Futaba entirely separate – maintaining absolute rationality to assist with analysis.
But with the revelation of the Gate's function and the emergence of the Reverse World, the volume of intelligence requiring analysis had skyrocketed.
Each time, Ye Xing had to first translate the information needing Rio's analysis into chuunibyou terminology before conveying it.
Not only was this time-consuming and troublesome, but more critically, after vocabulary substitution, Rio might miss certain analyzable key information due to altered literal meanings.
There was only one solution to this problem.
Dispatch her to Kyoto in the Reverse World to confront her true self.
But before that came one crucial question.
"Futaba-san."
Ye Xing gazed directly into Rio Futaba's eyes, hidden behind her glasses, and spoke softly in an uncharacteristically serious tone.
"The truth of this world... do you want to know it?"