Just as Rentaro had thought, the people in the Tokyo Area had a very unfriendly attitude towards Cursed Children, even those groups who were supposed to maintain public order.
He still remembered the treatment the Cursed Child who stole something received a few days ago; he had sent her to the hospital and paid her medical fees, but hadn't gone to see her since, and didn't know how she was doing.
And here, although these people hadn't stolen anything and were in public, there were too many of them.
If there was no other way, Rentaro was ready to reveal his Civil Security Agent identity to intimidate others.
In the end, he still intervened, but not against the police for the sake of the Cursed Children, but against Senti, who was acting with the Cursed Children.
"What are you thinking!? You just pulled out a weapon!"
Amidst Enju's startled cry, Rentaro used his right arm to block the long staff Senti was swinging down at two police officers.
"None of your business! Who are you!"
Looking at Rentaro, who had blocked her attack, Senti unhappily pressed the staff down.
Although she acted out of anger, she still had a limit.
Otherwise, if she had swung that staff down, even if Rentaro was a modified soldier, he would have been smashed to pieces.
Although she had become weaker in this world, it didn't mean that the people of this world could withstand her strength.
"I am Satomi Rentaro, a Civil Security Agent! Which company's Civil Security Agent are you! Why are you bringing so many Cursed Children into the city!"
"Huh!?"
Senti let out a bewildered sound at Rentaro's words.
"What nonsense! You're with these guys, aren't you!"
"No, I…"
If he could, Rentaro didn't want to conflict with this "colleague" in front of him, but before he could explain anything, the two police officers behind them had just reacted.
"Assault… assaulting an officer!"
The two hurriedly drew the handguns from their waists, and seeing this, Rentaro's pupils contracted.
"Wait…"
Before he could react, Senti had already kicked him in the stomach, one step ahead of him.
Despite having strong combat abilities, Rentaro always subconsciously restricted himself.
Of course, even if he went all out, he wouldn't be Senti's opponent.
After being kicked in the stomach, Rentaro was sent flying amidst Enju's scream.
Immediately after, there were two screams, and Enju's angry voice.
"Enju…"
Painfully getting up, Rentaro saw two handguns bent by violence on the ground, and Enju, who had been easily subdued by the other party.
"Let me go!"
"Heh, so you're one of them too, little brat. Perfect, I'll take you back with me."
Seeing Enju's bursting combat power and crimson eyes, Senti recognized her identity.
"Let Enju go!"
Rentaro struggled to get up from the ground, but was knocked down again by Senti's single-handed staff.
"Alright, little ones! We've had enough harvest for today. Since they won't let us eat outside, we'll go back and eat."
The staff in Senti's hand instantly transformed into a rope, tightly binding Enju on the ground, then she hoisted her onto her shoulder amidst the other's screams.
"Let's go!"
Senti led the way and ran back in the direction they came from the shopping street.
"Wait… leave Enju…"
Rentaro never thought that his meddling would lead to such a result.
The reason the children following Senti were all Cursed Children was that no one could stop them. With Senti leading the charge, hundreds of them quickly rode off into the distance.
Only some of the slower ones, with the help of others, managed to catch up with the main group.
"Why..."
Rentaro shakily stood up. Although his right arm and right leg were mechanical, his body was still that of an ordinary person. After two heavy blows, he still couldn't recover.
And for some reason, he always felt that the opponent's strength wasn't very great, yet it could directly pass through his body and leave power within him, making him unable to exert any force even now.
"Th-th-this... that guy, that's the organization that's been snatching Cursed Children all over Tokyo recently, right!"
At this, a police officer knocked to the ground suddenly remembered something.
"Snatching Cursed Children!? You know them!?"
Rentaro saw that he couldn't catch up, but upon hearing the police officer's words, he immediately grabbed him.
"I, I'm not sure either. It's just that recently, someone has been taking the Cursed Children from the city—those begging in the streets, those in the sewers, even some that people have hidden at home..."
He suddenly stopped mid-sentence and didn't continue.
Just now, he had been frightened by Rentaro's fiendishly grim expression and unconsciously blurted out information from previous victim reports, but he quickly realized what he was saying and stopped.
But Rentaro, hearing this, was stunned.
Hiding Cursed Children?
Rentaro didn't think these people were doing these things out of kindness.
Or rather, he had known for a long time that some people were imprisoning Cursed Children and abusing them for their own catharsis, but he always ignored his surroundings, preferring to bury his head in the sand.
Was the opponent snatching Cursed Children for this reason?
No... it shouldn't be...
Rentaro, still lost in thought, subconsciously picked up his ringing phone and pressed the answer button.
"This is bad, Rentaro! Hiruko Kagetane has been found! Quickly bring Enju to the rendezvous point! We must stop his objective!"
Tendo Kisara's voice, Rentaro's childhood friend and current boss, came from the phone.
"Hiruko Kagetane..."
Rentaro naturally knew how important Hiruko Kagetane's matter was. If his partner were still here, he would unhesitatingly go to stop him, but now...
"Rentaro?"
Hearing her childhood friend's somewhat off voice, Tendo Kisara voiced her confusion.
"I'm sorry... Kisara-nee, Enju... she's been taken..."
...
"Quickly release me! Where are you taking me!"
Enju, carried on Senti's shoulder, struggled continuously, but strangely, no matter how hard she pulled, she couldn't break free from the seemingly ordinary rope.
She couldn't even do anything to the woman beneath her.
"Don't bother trying. This is a good item I got from Takatsuki, transformed from a divine tree branch. You can't break it with brute force alone."
Senti chuckled, even a little smugly.
Because she had used many methods to get it from Takatsuki.
Divine Tree Branch...
A treasure from the fairy race of a certain magical world, it could transform in countless ways and had various functions, even capable of flying and attacking according to the user's will, but only the fairy race could use it in that way.
Moreover, ordinary fairies couldn't fully unleash its power; only royalty might be able to, and its power was directly linked to the user's strength.
It was originally a branch from the fairy race's divine tree, an awkward item that was both precious and not precious at the same time.
In any case, Takatsuki couldn't utilize its full potential.
Due to its excessive restrictions, although it had the potential to become a divine artifact, it was ultimately rated as an A-rank item. For others, it was merely a sturdy, deformable tool.
So Takatsuki gave it to Senti, partly to give her a handy weapon, and partly because it was interesting and could keep Senti from causing trouble for him.