"It's nothing. It's not a secret anymore anyway. It's because I'm a man, right?"
Renji said it casually, and this single sentence made the already somewhat strange atmosphere even more delicate.
Himeno slowly emerged from under the covers. She looked at Hayakawa Aki and saw that Aki was also looking at her, blushing and smiling awkwardly. She felt that her coquettish behavior just now was truly foolish.
"Eh… ah… ah hahaha…"Himeno let out a dry laugh.
"So that's how it is… I thought I was the only one who knew. Really. By the way, Aki, how did you find out that Renji's true identity was a man?"
Aki was very cooperative and replied somewhat shyly,"It was while answering questions in the white paper space. Plus, I already had a feeling Renji was off before, so I asked. What about you, Senior Himeno?"
"Oh my, what a coincidence. As for me, I also guessed it in the white paper space. At the time, I found it really strange how Renji knew the answers to certain questions so clearly. Later, I found out he was actually a man. Like a dream, ah hahahaha…"
As they spoke, the scenes they had experienced in the white paper space flashed through their minds simultaneously.
Their cheeks gradually turned red, their shyness obvious. Especially Himeno—she felt a rush of heat to her head, and her heart rate involuntarily quickened.
Recalling what happened back then and the agreement she had made with Renji, Himeno even started to feel slightly excited.
She subconsciously touched her buttocks, as if she could still feel the burning pain and swelling. Her rear, which had just barely recovered with ice packs, still bore the imprints of ten fingers. It now showed signs of swelling again, making her a little flustered.
"Actually, Denji and Power also know. Speaking of which, Denji was the first to know," Renji said.
"Eh? Those two…"
A worried expression appeared on Himeno's pretty face.
Her time spent with them made her well aware of Denji and Power's personalities—especially Power's careless, loud-mouthed nature…
"Can those two really keep it a secret, Renji? Aren't you worried they'll blab? It could be very troublesome if this gets out."
"It's fine. I already told them—they won't say anything."
Himeno nodded slowly. Honestly, she still wasn't entirely convinced, but since Renji had said so, she held back her doubts and didn't press further.
Suddenly, Aki seemed to think of something and asked,"Does Miss Makima know that your true identity is male?"
After all, Makima was the one who had actively requested Renji join the Special Division Against Devils. Combined with the strange incidents lately, it was hard not to connect the dots.
Now that they thought about it, all the prior anomalies made sense: the sudden appearance of large amounts of Gun Devil flesh, the gang ambushes—all because Renji was a man.
A simple reason, but one that explained everything.
Himeno instantly understood and looked at Renji. Renji thought for a moment and replied,"She definitely knows I'm a man. She just hasn't said it outright."
Himeno rubbed her chin, deep in thought, then said with concern,"In that case… Aki and I found out by accident. Won't that… disrupt the current plan?"
"Disrupt?"Aki was puzzled.
Himeno looked at her, raised a finger, and explained,"Exactly—disruption. Renji's identity is so special. Since Miss Makima knows, she must have intended to use him to deal with big villains like the Gun Devil, and built a plan around that, right?"
"We weren't supposed to know Renji was a man, which means our knowledge might interfere with that original plan."
Aki nodded slowly."That's true… if it's Miss Makima, I can see that."
"No," Renji said, shaking his head. "As long as you spend time around me, you'd eventually figure it out. Absolutely. Especially if you're as forward as Himeno—it'd only take a few days."
"Wh-what do you mean, 'forward'?"Aki looked at Himeno in confusion.
"It's about discovering he's a man… in the white paper space, wasn't it the same for you, Aki? You asked him directly, right? Ahaha~"
Himeno laughed awkwardly, trying to brush it off.
Her face flushed even redder as she remembered the moment she had covered Renji's little Renji, and how Renji had grabbed her buttocks. Their pinching and grappling in the white paper space came rushing back.
She murmured to herself,"This is bad… I really feel like my butt is going to get bigger again… those ten finger marks… they really ruin the aesthetics…"
Renji, meanwhile, continued speaking seriously, not noticing the little exchange between Himeno and Aki.
He raised his hands and clasped them firmly in the air.
Himeno saw Renji's gesture and unconsciously mirrored his movement. The blush on her face now spread to her ears.
Renji went on,"I only recently discovered a characteristic of my body. My body… has a strange attraction to you… or rather, to all women in this world… or it's some very strange ability."
"I… I don't really know how to explain it. It's kind of embarrassing, but… in short, we need to avoid direct skin contact in the future. And even if it does happen, it shouldn't last more than three seconds, otherwise there will be… serious consequences."
"Con… consequences?"Hayakawa Aki noticed the deep blush spreading across Senior Himeno's face, and how her body was slightly trembling…
"Makima Miss would definitely… no, she definitely has anticipated this kind of situation. Based on how things went with Power, at most she'll call you aside individually and ask you to keep it a secret. As long as you stay quiet, there won't be any real risks."
After Renji finished speaking, he suddenly felt relieved.
All this time, this secret had weighed on him like a boulder. He had been carrying the fear of what might happen if it was exposed, constantly on edge.
But now, having confided in people he could trust, the release was surprising—unexpectedly liberating.
Hayakawa Aki nodded slowly, clearly deep in thought. She hesitated, then decided to take the opportunity to ask directly.
"Then… Renji, can you tell us where you're from? Have you always been in Tokyo, just hidden until now? Or… are you from somewhere else entirely? Like outside of Tokyo or Kyoto?"
Renji opened his mouth to answer, paused, then made up his mind. There was no reason to keep it hidden anymore. He began to explain—starting from when he met Eris. He left out a few things, like the system, but told them the rest of his story in full.
When he finished, both Hayakawa Aki and Senior Himeno fell into silence. Himeno's blush had faded; now her expression was serious, deeply absorbed in Renji's words. The weight of what he'd told them was almost too much to process at once.
During his explanation, both Aki and Himeno interrupted several times, asking if he was joking, if this was something Makima Miss had orchestrated, or if he was playing a trick on them. They warned him—if it was a joke, they were going to get really angry.
But each time, Renji shook his head firmly."No. I'm not joking. This isn't one of Makima Miss's plans. And I'm not messing with you."
Eventually, they accepted it. Quiet settled over the room again.
After a long pause, it was Himeno who spoke first. Her straightforward nature helped her accept the theological implications faster than Aki.
"So… you, Renji, were sent into our world by some goddess because… in our world, there exists something like… a great demon king? Like in a fairy tale?"
"Hmm. Something like that."
"Then your whole mission—seeking the truth and all that—ultimately means defeating this demon king?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Then… then this demon king is…"
Himeno glanced over at Hayakawa Aki, who had been staring at the floor, lost in thought. She hesitated for a long moment, then chose not to speak the name.
"The Gun Devil."
Aki looked up, and spoke on Himeno's behalf.
"It must be. No matter how you think about it, the only one that fits the role of a great demon king… is the Gun Devil."
Himeno sighed quietly and fell silent.
In the original story, Himeno and Hayakawa Aki had a deep bond. That was still true in this world. But like many of Himeno's previous comrades, people close to her rarely met happy endings.
She remembered the first time she spoke with Aki, and how withdrawn he was when he first joined Public Safety.
"Aki, don't you smoke?""Smoking's bad for you. I'd rather not.""To socialize, I suggest you start.""I don't plan on making friends.""Let me guess. You joined Public Safety because of the Gun Devil, right? Guys like you always do. After all, only Public Safety has access to Gun Devil fragments. Anyway, Devil Hunters aren't long for this world—what's a few cigarettes?"
Later, as their bond grew stronger, Himeno tried to persuade Aki to quit chasing the Gun Devil. She suggested they transfer to the civilian division of Public Safety. The pay would be lower, sure—but the work was easier, and far less dangerous.
In the civilian division, if they encountered a devil too strong to handle, they simply handed it off to Public Safety proper—people like them.
But Aki always refused.
"Renji! I was right, wasn't I! It's the Gun Devil!"
Renji nodded silently.
He understood Aki's obsession. It was that same fixation that led to Aki's most tragic end in the original timeline.