Zongman I fight weirdness in everyday world

Kaguya Shinomiya didn't know the specifics of what Yozora was talking about, but at this moment, she felt a strange sense of heartache and softly spoke.

"Are you... blaming yourself...? This feeling, it really is painful... But, don't dwell on it too much, if this continues..."

Hearing Kaguya Shinomiya's words, Yozora smiled and asked back.

"You, a patient with adolescent syndrome, are actually giving me, the attending physician, guidance? I don't need spiritual guidance, but if you want to give me physiological guidance, I wouldn't mind."

"What guidance... I don't understand what you're saying..."

Kaguya Shinomiya first retorted with this sentence, then a complex expression appeared on her face.

"Can you... accept the fact of failure?"

Yozora's answer was beyond Kaguya Shinomiya's expectations.

"I can't accept it at all, so in order to not repeat the same mistakes, I need more people's help, such as the help of Kaguya Shinomiya."

"Need my help?"

Kaguya Shinomiya shook her head and sighed softly.

"You're referring to the help of the Shinomiya Conglomerate, right..."

Yozora waved his hand, interrupting her.

"I do indeed need the connections and resources of the Shinomiya Conglomerate, but if I had to choose between you and the Shinomiya Conglomerate, I would choose the former. In my opinion, Kaguya Shinomiya herself, even without the identity of the Shinomiya family's eldest daughter, is much more valuable than the Shinomiya Conglomerate."

Kaguya Shinomiya was stunned for a moment, then shook her head with a wry smile.

"You're deliberately trying to coax me, aren't you."

"Think what you want."

Yozora replied noncommittally.

"Just a mention, just a simple mention, before reaching an agreement with your father, my club members and I were already helping you solve your adolescent syndrome. This matter not only cannot get help from the Shinomiya Conglomerate, but even because of your identity, it may cause us to get burned and encounter unnecessary troubles, so you can guess the reason why we did this, I won't say more."

After saying that, Yozora stood up and walked straight outside, waving his hand and leaving the last sentence.

"Of course, if you can't even overcome the hurdle of adolescent syndrome, then it can only prove that I overestimated your value. You, Kaguya Shinomiya, are nothing more than that."

...

Later that day.

After sending Makino Hane, Anjou Naruko, and Menma back to their respective homes, Yozora received a call from Suga Natsumi.

"Are you free now? I have something to talk to you about."

"What's wrong?"

"Someone called me and said they are holding a gathering tonight, hoping I can attend and report on it, and also hoping I can invite you along."

Hearing this, Yozora smiled.

"Not only invited you, but also hoping I would attend? Another 'Masked' fan gathering?"

Suga Natsumi replied noncommittally.

"Hmm... it doesn't sound like it, and Aoki Takeshi, the famous 'Masked' support group leader in Kyoto, isn't there either. Usually, these kinds of activities are organized and held by him. Perhaps, it's something unrelated to 'Masked'?"

"Unrelated? Then I won't go. I've been busy for a long time today, and I'm tired."

"Busy for a long time? Busy with what? Your school's cultural festival is already over, isn't it? Don't tell me you're busy preparing for the midterm exams, I wouldn't believe you'd seriously review."

"Hmm... let me think."

Yozora looked back at today's itinerary and replied with a smile.

"I gave some psychological counseling to a beautiful rich young lady with a slender figure, black hair, and red eyes, and also had a tense and exciting judo competition in the dojo."

"Is this judo you're talking about, legitimate judo?"

"Too legitimate."

"No one believes you."

Suga Natsumi first muttered this sentence, then said meaningfully.

"I only have this itinerary today as well, if you accompany me, there might be a reward tonight."

Yozora frowned slightly upon hearing this, and said righteously.

"Miss Suga Natsumi, what kind of person do you think I am? To actually use such easily misunderstood language to say such words..."

Before Suga Natsumi could reply, Yozora changed the subject.

"You didn't say you had such conditions earlier? Send me the location, let's meet there."

Suga Natsumi couldn't help but chuckle.

"OK."

...

Half an hour later, at the entrance of a long-abandoned hospital in the outskirts of Kyoto.

Yozora looked at the building in front of him, then looked at Suga Natsumi beside him, and couldn't help but complain.

"Are you sure this is the place?"

Suga Natsumi nodded, with a smiling face.

"I'm sure, although it's a bit strange to set the gathering address here, but according to my intuition as a media person, it's often in places like this that the most valuable news can be discovered... Ugh!"

Suga Natsumi was only halfway through her words when suddenly, a sound like an old man coughing came from somewhere, scaring her pale and immediately causing her to hide in Yozora's arms, her legs even starting to tremble.

"That's not..."

Yozora was speechless.

"That's the sound of a hedgehog, isn't it? Look how scared you are."

"Is... is that so..."

Suga Natsumi tried to calm her emotions, barely squeezing out a smile.

"Luckily... you came with me, otherwise I definitely wouldn't have dared to come here alone today."

"That means you still have some remaining sanity, knowing to stay away from dangerous places."

Yozora glanced at the hospital building in the darkness, thoughtfully.

“No power, so the cameras definitely aren't working. And this road here is so remote; there aren't any surveillance cameras. It's the perfect place for a crime.”

Suga Natsumi's face changed upon hearing this.

“You… you're not trying to scare me, are you…?”

“Whether I'm scaring you or not, you'll know once we go inside.”

When they reached the entrance of the abandoned hospital building, the two saw a middle-aged man with a blank expression, dressed in ordinary black clothes, standing there silently, his face devoid of any vitality.

“Miss Suga… and… Mr. Yozora, we've been waiting for you for a long time.”

“Oh? Are the two of us that important?”

“Of course.”

Hearing Yozora's words, the middle-aged man nodded, a slightly eerie, stiff smile appearing on his face.

“The two of you are our most important guests today.”

Even without Yozora saying anything, Suga Natsumi sensed that something was wrong.

“I see. Well, let's go then.”

Yozora's expression didn't change. He simply took Suga Natsumi's hand, led her forward, and followed the middle-aged man into the abandoned hospital building.

They went up the stairwell, all the way to the depths of the fifth floor, to a spacious, empty room. Several candles were lit, but their faint light did not dispel the eerie atmosphere; instead, it made it even more unsettling.

Inside the room sat a dozen men and women of varying ages. Although they were dressed differently, all of them wore the same eerie smile as the middle-aged man.

The scene before her made Suga Natsumi break out in a cold sweat.

What on earth was going on?

Night, an abandoned hospital, a dozen people with eerie smiles sitting around in a room with flickering, dim light…

Was this some kind of horror movie set?

“Please, have a seat.”

What Suga Natsumi found even more bizarre was that after she and Yozora entered the room, the middle-aged man closed the door and stood there, as if to prevent them from escaping.

“Um…”

Suga Natsumi steadied her nerves, barely maintaining her composure.

“May I ask what exactly you've invited Yozora and me here for today?”

“Since Miss Suga has asked, we'll be frank.”

The middle-aged man slowly began to speak.

“We… we saw Mr. Yozora's published opinions on 'Kamen'. We are very pleased that there are still people in Kyoto who don't revere that fellow as a god, people who are as rational as we are.”

“Is… is that so…”

Suga Natsumi forced a smile, unsure how to respond.

“And you, Miss Suga, as a long-time supporter of 'Kamen', you didn't express any opinions during the recent incident. Presumably, it's because you also have doubts about 'Kamen's' actions.”

Suga Natsumi fell silent upon hearing this.

She wanted to voice her support, but 'Kamen' himself wouldn't allow it.

Seeing that Suga Natsumi didn't respond, the middle-aged man didn't mind and continued to speak.

“Kyoto should not become like this. The so-called 'Kamen' is just a hypocrite. The only true justice in this world is…”

At this point, the smile on the middle-aged man's face became even more eerie, and he slowly said,

“Izanami.”

Hearing this name, Yozora shook his head and sighed helplessly.

“Seriously, it's a cult. You really got my blood pumping; I thought it was some grand conspiracy.”

“A cult?”

The middle-aged man's smile faded, and he slowly said,

“You don't understand our faith. It's normal to have such thoughts. This world needs to be completely purified, and the one who can do that is…”

Before the other party could finish speaking, Yozora interrupted him directly.

“Boring. I don't want to listen. It's pointless.”

Seeing his attitude, the middle-aged man's face showed displeasure, and he slowly said,

“I'll be direct then.”

“Miss Suga, you are currently the most influential self-media writer in Kyoto. Any article you publish will cause a stir.”

“And Mr. Yozora, we've already seen the photos of you dressed as 'Kamen'. It's exactly the same; there's absolutely no difference.”

“Our plan is very simple. We hope that Mr. Yozora, you can dress up as 'Kamen' and appear in public according to our orders, then pretend to be defeated by our people here, in order to crush the blind worship of 'Kamen' among the citizens of Kyoto.”

“Then, we hope that Miss Suga can write a report about our cult, and use this momentum to let Kyoto get rid of the control of hypocrites and convert to the faith of the true god.”

Yozora nodded and smiled.

“You guys have planned it quite thoroughly, but what if we don't agree?”

“This is not a negotiation.”

The middle-aged man pulled out a handgun from his chest, pointed the dark muzzle at Yozora in front of him, and a distorted, crazed look appeared in his eyes.

“If you don't agree, then you are our enemies. We will kill your families before we kill you…”

“Oh.”

Yozora let out a sigh of unclear meaning.

“Kill my family? You guys are really something.”

“If you know fear, then cooperate obediently…”