Crossover Anime: Starting with Destroying Kengan

Page 137

The girl leading the way was still recovering from ten hours of intense fighting, and upon hearing this, she stumbled and almost fell to the ground.

She turned around, both ashamed and angry, glaring at Yato with a stern face.

However, it's because her expression is too cute.

It has no lethality whatsoever.

This only strengthened Yato's resolve not to let her go back tonight.

Chapter 177

As the first heir of the Shinomiya Zaibatsu, Shinomiya Hiromitsu, who already controls most of the power in the Shinomiya family, lives in a Japanese-style mansion that, although low-rise, covers a huge area and has an internal structure that is as intricate as a maze.

For outsiders unfamiliar with the interior, finding a specific room here would take several hours.

From this perspective, it is indeed necessary to bring Hayasaka Ai along.

"There are surprisingly few people in this mansion."

Yato walked along the corridor for quite a while, but he didn't see a single person.

But Hayasaka Ai was used to it.

Aside from initially sneaking in through improper means, she now strolls around like someone who lives in this place.

"Shinomiya Kōkō has many servants, but this place is his private residence, and servants are not allowed to live here. Only the women he has chosen and the guards can stay here, so you can hardly see anyone at night. Also... it is difficult to determine whether others are still here."

"Because sometimes, he would inexplicably go to places outside of Tokyo. Just like his personality, his whereabouts were also unpredictable."

"It doesn't matter whether he's here or not, it makes no difference to me. I'm just confirming some things."

Yato said it casually.

"..."

Hayasaka Ai's lips moved, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

She had told the other party everything she knew, including known information and inferences.

Even the words that the fighter named 'Lu Tian' asked him to pass on were not missed.

However, something was beyond Hayasaka Ai's expectations.

Yato's reaction remained quite calm throughout, with a thoughtful expression. Only when he heard the name 'Lu Tian' did he slightly frown, revealing obvious suspicion.

This left Hayasaka Ai unable to determine his true stance for the time being.

My heart is filled with unease.

I'm worried that I might unintentionally make things worse.

Although she was prepared to sacrifice herself, she did not expect to sacrifice herself in that way, which has led her to place her hopes on this man.

"We've arrived. This is Shinomiya Hikari's bedroom... in theory."

Carefully avoiding the security patrols and surveillance systems, Yato finally carried Hayasaka Ai through about ten sliding doors to an unusually spacious room.

A large bed, big enough to sleep ten people, sits in the center, while a small indoor hot spring, illuminated by corner lights, shimmers with crystal-like colors. Four rows of bookshelves, wardrobes, desks, and antique paintings and calligraphy adorn every corner of the room.

"Nobody's here...it seems they're not here."

Yato looked around.

“So it’s only in theory.” Hayasaka Ai stood at the door, keeping watch, and said in a low voice. “This mansion belongs to him. He can sleep wherever he wants, and besides, we can’t even be sure if he’ll stay overnight.”

"You know Shinomiya Hiromitsu very well, don't you? How long have you worked for him?"

Yato casually strolled around the room.

"...Even before I was assigned to serve Lady Kaguya, I was monitoring her for him. As for understanding him, it's impossible for me to understand him. After all, the total time I've spent with him isn't even as long as the time I've spent with you."

Hayasaka Ai's tone was cold and hard.

She seems to be extremely averse to being perceived as having a close relationship with Shinomiya Hikari.

"In your words, it's such a waste."

Yato shrugged.

"..."

Hayasaka Ai couldn't hold back any longer and glared at Yato.

She naturally understood what those words meant.

"What exactly do you want to do? Can you hurry up and do it?"

"Don't worry, I'm looking for it right now."

Yato ransacked the place.

They even turned on the computer and carefully checked it, as if searching for some confidential document.

However, after more than an hour, I still couldn't find the answer I was looking for.

Other things, even those of great value in the eyes of ordinary people or even entrepreneurs, are like air to him.

"...Could it be that I'm overthinking it?"

Yato sat on the steps at the foot of the bed, frowning in deep thought.

"Can't you just tell me what you're looking for?"

Hayasaka Ai stood in front of him, her expression slightly displeased.

Yato glanced at the girl with slightly raised eyelids and uttered a startling statement:

“I am looking for evidence to prove that the ‘four palaces yellow light’ you saw is indeed the ‘four palaces yellow light’.”

"...?"

Hayasaka Ai's expression froze for a moment.

"What do you mean? Do you think that Shinomiya Hiromitsu is hiding himself and remotely controlling his stand-in to do things he wants on stage, and you want to confirm this before taking action against him so as not to alert him?"

"You're half right."

Yato laughed.

But his smile didn't exactly convey relief.

Hayasaka Ai stared directly into Yato's eyes, as if trying to see what he was thinking, but all she saw was a bottomless, icy pool, and she couldn't help but feel discouraged.

"...Given his character, if a 'shadow warrior' truly exists, it would be difficult to distinguish the real from the fake based solely on evidence collected in this way."

"That's why I just asked you if you know him very well."

"If you ask me, whether it's a shadow warrior or the real person... in the end, you'll always encounter the real one."

"You're even more bloodthirsty than I am."

Yato exclaimed in surprise.

"Because I don't think they can bring any benefit to Lady Kaguya while they're alive. Not only him, but also Shinomiya Un'taka, whom I mentioned to you. Although his methods are far inferior to Shinomiya Kōkō's, they are birds of a feather. I wish they were dead sooner. In fact, if I had your abilities, they would be dead long ago."

Hayasaka Ai said expressionlessly.

At this moment, Yato gained a new understanding of the maid.

but……

"...You're oversimplifying the world."

He shook his head.

"You haven't denied that you have the ability to kill them (and obtain the king)."

Hayasaka Ai curled the corners of her mouth into a mocking smile.

"If I can kill it, I certainly wouldn't mind, but... can you guarantee that even if I kill the real thing, a fake won't appear? Perhaps some people are hoping I'll do that."

Yato countered with a question.

"A fake? The real one was killed, how can there be a fake?"

Hayasaka Ai was taken aback by what she heard.

"Who knows?"

Yato replied casually.

Suddenly, he frowned and put his index finger to his lips as a shushing gesture.

"Don't speak, hold your breath."

"...?"

Hayasaka Ai was completely confused, but seeing how serious he looked, she covered her mouth and nose, as if afraid of inhaling any toxic substances that might be present in the air.

Yato closed his eyes, and after a while, he opened them again, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Looks like this place isn't completely deserted after all."

Chapter 178

A minute later, Hayasaka Ai looked at the large bed that had been moved aside and the underground entrance that was revealed below, her face full of confusion.

How did you figure that out?

The underground entrance is a staircase that looks like it leads to a basement. It's not particularly special in itself, but the problem is that its design is a bit too clever.

It was placed under such a heavy bed that even if someone thought of this layer, it would be difficult to move the bed and start checking the floor underneath.

Furthermore, even if you move the bed and tap the floor, you still can't determine whether there's a secret passage underneath by the sound.

Because the floor where the large bed is placed is about half a meter higher than the rest of the room, and the bottom is made of granite, the entrance to the underground passage is completely blocked.

In fact, they did not find the mechanism to open the secret passage.

It's as if this secret passage has been completely abandoned and blocked.

But nevertheless.

But Yato forcefully pried it open with his bare hands.

The heavy, hard granite seemed to turn into mud when it met his hands; his five fingers dug in, and with a forceful pull, he pried off a large chunk.

"Listen? I didn't hear anything."

Yato squatted to the side, washing the stone chips off his hands with hot spring water, and said casually:

"For me, the most useful of the five senses is not the eyes, nor the ears, nor the nose, but the sense of touch."

“My sense of touch tells me that there’s a problem with the airflow in this room. That’s why I had you hold your breath with me so we could pinpoint exactly where the problem is.”

"..."

Hayasaka Ai remained silent.

Although Yato's description was very logical, it was still beyond the realm of common sense for her.

The two then ventured deeper into the secret passage.

Follow the circular staircase down, and you'll reach the bottom in no time.

What appeared before them was an underground warehouse covering more than 100 square meters.

There were no gold or silver treasures as I had imagined, only a dozen or so huge iron cages, the kind used by circuses to transport large wild animals.

There is one person in each cage.

There are men and women.

His attire was quite sophisticated, clearly indicating that he came from an distinguished background.

But all of these people are already dead.

Yato couldn't feel their heartbeats.

"These, they are...!"