— — — — — — —
Tokyo Area
Seitenshi stared at the message on her phone and all she felt was shame.
She had made bold claims, yet...
She couldn't even handle something as simple as supplying resources?
She was as useless as ever...
It was pathetic.
"...Why?"
Why did they have to withhold even the most basic supplies?
— — —
The Next Day
Seitenshi once again issued orders to allocate resources to the shelters.
But this time, she didn't just return to her office after giving the command.
She wanted to use her Devil's enhanced hearing to listen in on the conversations of those below her.
Just like before...If not for her Devil's hearing, she wouldn't have realized that the man she had placed so much trust in—Tendo Kikunojo—was actually scheming behind her back.
The very same man who had once supported her idea of establishing shelters for the Cursed Children was the same one who, right after the meeting, immediately ordered explosives to be planted.
Even now, just thinking about it made her sick.
So using her Devil's physique, Seitenshi quietly made her way to the supply distribution site.
She perked up her ears and listened closely.
"So, we're doing it the same way as last time, right?"
"Of course."
"Those damn Cursed Children, do they really deserve so many supplies?"
With just a few short sentences, it felt like something had struck Seitenshi deep inside.
"Hah, the higher-ups are already pocketing most of it. There's barely anything left to take."
"Still, rather than letting those monsters use it, I'd rather feed it to my dog!"
"Hahaha! Yeah, feeding it to a dog would be a better use! Actually, just throwing it away would be better than giving it to these monsters!"
Seitenshi stood there in a daze, her pale hands unconsciously tightening into fists.
So that's how it is.
That's the truth.
From top to bottom, not a single one of them was decent!
Her gaze grew cold. Without lingering any further, she turned and swiftly returned to her office.
As she stared out the floor-to-ceiling window at the crowd on the streets, her eyes were filled with uncertainty.
If this continued, she would have no way to convince Lynn to give humanity another chance...
What should she do?
She closed her eyes.
And when she opened them again, they were filled with unwavering determination.
These people were the true enemies of humanity's survival!
It didn't matter if it was Tendo Kikunojo or those low-ranking staff members—They were all obstacles standing in the way of proving to Lynn that humanity still had goodness in it!
They had to be purged!
As long as these people were eliminated, kindness would once again take control of society!
— — —
Tokyo Airport
Tendo Kikunojo had just returned from Osaka.
His expression was dark and foreboding.
He had lost his home.
His entire operation had been ruined.
No one would be in a good mood after suffering such losses.
"Lord Kikunojo."
Satomi Rentaro, who had been waiting for a long time, stepped forward to greet him.
"Ah, Rentaro."
Seeing his foster son—whom he had high hopes for—Kikunojo's grim expression finally softened slightly.
The two walked side by side, making casual conversation.
"Did you get any news on who was responsible for the attack on our family?"
Satomi Rentaro responded seriously, "I've found some leads."
"Tokyo's last major explosive transaction happened just a few days ago."
"It was carried out by a high-ranking official with the surname Morimura. I find him suspicious."
"Morimura?"
Kikunojo's steps faltered slightly. Though his face remained expressionless, his mind was in turmoil.
Wait… wasn't Morimura the one I ordered to plant the explosives at the shelter?
Why the hell did he plant them at my house instead?!
— — —
Tendo Civil Security Corporation
With Satomi Rentaro's intel, Tendo Kisara was the first to learn about the origin of the explosives.
"So, it really was that day!"
Her breathing quickened slightly, with excitement flashing in her eyes.
"So it really was that day!"
She couldn't help but recall how calm Lynn had been when he first heard about the explosives.
"Was it him?"
"No, it had to be him!"
She never expected him to pull off something this incredible!
Kisara was really impressed!
After all, Tendo Kikunojo and the entire Tendo family were giants in Tokyo's political and economic sphere.
Yet Lynn had the power to bring them down in one swift move!
Kisara's eyes narrowed slightly, her thoughts stirring. "Seitenshi must have figured it out too…"
The explosives at the shelter… That was something Seitenshi had asked her to warn Lynn about.
This was a huge incident, yet Seitenshi's only response had been a simple message of comforting and an investigation order?
That doesn't make sense.
Sitting at her desk for a while, she took a deep breath, then grabbed her sword and left the Tendo Civil Security Corporation.
Tendo Kisara was about to confirm her suspicions.
— — —
Outer Area – The Shelter
The Cursed Children who had already been taken in were now fully mobilized.
After undergoing the Reincarnation Ceremony, all of them had gained the power of low-ranked Devils.
At least now, their safety wasn't a major concern.
Of course, due to the Gastrea's regeneration ability, even as low-ranked Devils, they couldn't deal any real damage.
But at the very least, they could escape when needed.
So, Lynn didn't assign them combat duties.
Instead, he had them conduct a population survey, tracking the number of Cursed Children and their hiding spots.
Just yesterday, there were only 113 confirmed Cursed Children—Two trucks were enough to transport them all.
But now, after their mobilization, it was clear that two trucks wouldn't even come close to handling the sheer number of them.
Not to mention, encountering Gastrea along the way was always an unpredictable risk.
Lynn planned to have them record the information first, then Kasumigaoka Utaha would use her Devil's Grimoire to set up teleportation magic.
This way, he and Utaha could use magic to transfer them in batches, making the process much faster and safer.
The only issue was…It would put a heavier burden on Utaha.
After discussing it in the group chat, Utaha responded immediately:
[Kasumi Utako: "No problem! Leave it to me!"]
[Kasumi Utako: "But…"]
[Kasumi Utako: "Master~ Just make sure to 'recharge' me properly later, okay? ❤️"]
Seeing her message, Lynn chuckled and set his phone down, falling into deep thought.
"The Gastrea's regeneration is definitely a problem."
For someone like Saeko, dealing with low-stage Gastrea wasn't an issue.
She could find their core and destroy it before they had the chance to regenerate.
But the low-ranked Devils didn't have that kind of precision or power.
"We need to speed up the development of specialized anti-Gastrea weapons."
Lynn's eyes narrowed.
In the Black Bullet world, the Cursed Children weren't the only important asset.
Gastrea themselves were valuable monster resources.
And conveniently, they were even divided into five distinct stages, making it perfect for power-leveling Saeko and the others.
If he wanted them to reach Ultimate-Class Devil level—or even Satan-Class—
Then he needed to equip them with weapons specifically designed to counter Gastrea, making it easier for them to gain EXP.
Without Varanium Weapons, their grind efficiency would take a serious hit.
"That useless Seitenshi is completely unreliable…"
Just as he was contemplating where to 'borrow' these resources from, Kanoe Yuuko suddenly floated over and draped herself across his lap, taking a deep breath as she inhaled his scent.
"Master~ A beautiful, long-haired JK just arrived at the door~"
.
.
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