Chapter: 38
The great conference room of the Hunters Bureau was quiet, but the air was thick. At the center of the oval table sat the directors and chairmen of Japan's hunter divisions. Screens flickered with reports and images, one of them showing the blurry face of Renji walking out of a park with Choji and Lily.
Arisa stood at the end of the table. Her hands were clasped behind her back, but her heart was uneasy. She had been following Renji for days, and now she was here to give her report.
One of the older chairmen adjusted his glasses and leaned forward. His voice was sharp.
"Well, Arisa? What did you find? Is the boy hiding something?"
Arisa hesitated, but then spoke firmly.
"…No. He's just a normal human. A young man who only cares about his family and friends."
The room erupted with whispers. "Impossible." "He must be hiding it." "What about Tang Shii?"
Another chairman slammed his fist lightly on the table.
"We cannot accept this. A normal human? Do you take us for fools? Then explain the mana spike! Explain Tang Shii's death!"
Arisa's brows knit. Her voice grew soft.
"I saw him with my own eyes. He wasn't a monster. He smiled when talking about his friends. He laughed with them. That is not the face of a killer."
But her words didn't settle the storm.
Screens flashed with data—readings from the mana detectors. A violent spike, higher than any SSS-rank flare, had been recorded on the night Tang Shii died. Even the detectors themselves had malfunctioned from the pressure.
"How do you explain this then?" one of the younger executives demanded, pointing at the graph.
"A civilian cannot produce such mana. Something is being hidden from us."
The voices overlapped, arguments flying across the room. Some demanded Renji be brought in for questioning, others said he should be put under watch permanently.
And then..
Click.
The door to the room opened.
Takeda walked in.
The room fell silent instantly. His presence was like a mountain pressing down on everyone. Calm, steady, but unshakable. His sharp eyes scanned the room before he slowly moved to the center, hands in his pockets.
On the screen, Renji's photo was still glowing.
Takeda looked at it, and a small smile tugged at his lips.
"Still investigating him, are we? A year has passed. Countless reports written. Endless debates. And yet… you won't let a civilian live in peace."
The directors stiffened. Nobody dared to cut him off.
Finally, one of the chairmen cleared his throat. "Takeda-san… then how do you explain Tang Shii's death? He was an S-rank. Not just anyone could have defeated him."
Takeda's gaze shifted. His voice was calm, but carried a weight that silenced all doubts.
"I killed him."
The words hit the room like thunder.
Gasps filled the air. The younger officers looked shocked. Even the chairmen's eyes widened. "You… what?"
Takeda continued without hesitation.
"He attacked a defenseless civilian. I warned him before that if he laid a hand on that boy, I would personally deliver justice. He didn't listen. So I kept my word."
The silence grew heavier. The only sound was the faint hum of the screens.
"But… the mana spike," another director finally managed. "That surge of power wasn't yours. Even our instruments couldn't classify it. Then what was it?"
Takeda's eyes narrowed slightly. He let out a small sigh, leaning back against the table.
"That… I cannot explain. Even I don't know the cause."
The men exchanged uneasy glances. If even Takeda, the SSS-rank—the strongest man in Japan admitted he couldn't explain it, then what else could they do?
Arisa's heart pounded. She looked around at the doubtful faces. She couldn't stay quiet anymore.
"I agree with Takeda-san."
All eyes turned to her.
She took a step forward, her voice steady but carrying emotion.
"The Renji I saw… is not capable of killing an S-rank. He doesn't even have a trace of mana in his body. I've watched him closely—he's just a boy who treasures his sister and his friend. He laughs, he worries, he protects them. That is not a monster. That is not a killer."
Her words hung in the air, soft but powerful.
And then, almost without realizing, she whispered the memory that had stayed in her heart.
"…He smiled when he talked about them. I can't forget that smile. No killer smiles like that."
For a moment, the room softened.
The chairmen sat in silence, exchanging hesitant glances. Some still doubted, but between Takeda's absolute authority and Arisa's honest words, they had no ground left to stand on.
Finally, the head chairman exhaled deeply.
"Very well. We will let the matter go. For now."
The tension in the room loosened, though doubt still lingered in the air.
Takeda gave a small nod, then turned his back toward the screen. His expression was unreadable, but deep down, his mind was heavy.
No one can know who he really is ...
And Arisa, as she left the chamber, carried a quiet thought of her own. No… he's not a monster. He's just human