Chapter 70: Spring, It's the Season for Tutoring Again
This woman in front of him could be said to be the woman in this world who knew most of his secrets.
After all, he had taken the initiative to seek her out, with the goal of solving the Gastrea virus problem.
Using his eyes to assist in the analysis.
It must be said that the ability to read information entity data was truly a panacea. No matter what substance, as long as it was within his knowledge, he could analyze it.
Even what humans could observe, and what they could not, could not escape his eyes.
And with his help, Sumire Muroto's research on the gastrula virus indeed made groundbreaking progress.
This woman even hypothesized that since his eyes could analyze and trace the information of anything, could they also overwrite it?
If they could overwrite, did that mean resurrection was possible?
So much so that when he gave an affirmative answer, this woman picked up a scalpel and slit her own throat on the spot.
She said she wanted to experience that feeling.
One could only say, what a crazy woman.
Pushing aside those not-so-pleasant memories, Mahiro set aside the enhanced inhibitor and picked up the gene enhancer, asking:
"What about this one?"
"Oh~ Speaking of this, it's my proudest masterpiece. Based on your conjectures and analysis, Darling number two, I amplified the Gastrea virus's DNA rewriting characteristic, retaining the strengthening property and suppressing the danger to the lowest level."
"Lowest? Not completely eliminated?"
Hearing him ask this, Sumire Muroto smiled sweetly and said, "Young man, everything in the world has two sides, just like the Chinese Daoist saying 'isolated yin does not generate, isolated yang does not grow.' The perfect strengthening agent you crave does not exist."
Yotsuba Mahiro, of course, understood this principle; he was just holding onto a small hope.
"Then what about the strengthening direction?"
"It strengthens physical toughness and grants regenerative abilities comparable to a Gastrea."
"Can lost internal organs also recover?"
"Theoretically, yes, but if they are completely lost, it might be impossible to recover."
"What about the success rate?"
"96.32%"
"..."
Having received the desired answer, Yotsuba Mahiro fell silent for a moment.
"The success rate is too low, and the regenerative ability hasn't met my expectations."
After all, this thing wasn't something he intended to use in this world, but rather to bring back to the Mahouka world.
Besides being for the girls, it was also a souvenir for his cheap mother.
So, there could be absolutely no mistakes.
"Please, Doctor Sumire, increase the success rate and recovery ability."
Mahiro pushed the syringe back to Sumire Muroto.
"I say, young man, are you pursuing the success rate too much? Or... are you underestimating your abilities?"
Sumire Muroto suddenly spoke, her gaze peeking out from under her wavy bangs, showing a hint of seriousness within its languor.
She picked up the syringe and lightly tapped the table with its metal casing.
"Tracing information entities and overwriting them... that's just your way of putting it, but in reality, this is a god-like power, do you understand?"
"No matter what kind of danger you encounter, what kind of fatal injury, even if your genes are tampered with, your ability can restore them to their original state, just like the cornerstone of the world."
"With such power, does the success rate of the injection still have meaning for you?"
"Even if it's one percent, one-thousandth, or even one ten-thousandth, as long as it's not zero, for you it's equivalent to one hundred percent. Don't you still understand?"
How could he not understand?
It simply meant that even if an unexpected mutation occurred, he only needed to use information overwrite to restore it to its original state.
Then, he could repeat the process of continuous attempts.
"As for the terrifying regenerative ability you seek, young man, the existing Gastrea virus simply cannot satisfy it, unless you can get a Gastrea virus of LV4 or higher. I can try to help you."
However, LV4 Gastrea only appear in the fallen areas outside the Monolith, and their numbers are not many.
Most Gastrea are at LV3.
In other words, the higher the level of Gastrea, the rarer their numbers, just like the Zodiac creatures; including those that have been killed, there are only 11 in the entire world.
But for Yotsuba Mahiro, this was not a problem.
"Okay, I'll handle the virus. Then I'll trouble you, Doctor."
His words made Sumire Muroto pause slightly, then a charming smile curved at the corner of her lips.
She propped her chin and observed Mahiro with interest.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Hehe, I'm just thinking about what kind of reward I should ask for." Sumire Muroto let out a terrifying laugh like a witch.
The two lolis, already scared, were now completely huddled together.
Terrifying woman, unwilling to touch....
"Didn't we already agree on this?" Mahiro's brows furrowed slightly.
The price he and Sumire Muroto had agreed upon was that when he left this world, he would take this woman with him.
After all, his absurd ability could not be hidden from the strongest mind in this world, Sumire Muroto, one of the Four Sages.
And this woman had no lingering attachment to this world, so she also wanted to see more expansive and different worlds.
"That was just the previous price. Now that you've given me so much trouble, I need to raise the price."
"What do you want?"
"Your genetic material. I'm very curious~ if your genes are the same as normal humans'."
"You want blood? No problem..."
Just as he was about to pick up an empty syringe to draw blood from himself, Sumire Muroto stopped him.
She crossed her legs and smiled faintly.
That smile was somewhat unsettling, and she even let out a rare, hazy sigh.
"No, what I want is your b-fluid." ???!!!
Yotsuba Mahiro was completely stunned.
This woman... because of spring, had she entered her estrus period?!
No, besides this woman, it would probably be impossible to find a second person who could so brazenly utter such forbidden words.
"What, no? Or is it that you can't get it out by yourself? If it's the latter, then it's no problem for me to help you."
Saying this, Sumire Muroto had already stood up, her shoulder twitching slightly, and her white lab coat fell to the ground, forming a circle of cloth.
It revealed her mature and shapely figure, tightly wrapped in a purple shirt and a black hip-hugging skirt.
"Don't look at me like this, ten years ago, I had quite a few suitors." Sumire Muroto chuckled, stepping closer to him step by step in her high heels.
But when she tried to grab Yotsuba Mahiro's arm, she grabbed air.
Immediately after, she heard his voice.
"Uh, it's getting late. Enju and Asaka haven't eaten yet. I'll take them home to eat first."
Yotsuba Mahiro left, in a hurry.
"Come again when you have time, Agent Clarice."
Watching his hurried retreating figure, Sumire Muroto waved her hand and mumbled softly, "What a timid man."
Timid?
Not at all.
There was indeed no reason to refuse meat delivered to his mouth, not to mention he was indeed interested in this old hag.
But the problem was, being interested didn't mean he could do it anytime!
One had to know that Enju and Asaka were both with him. If he led them astray, who would be responsible?
If he had known this, he shouldn't have brought them along...
...
...
...
The next day.
Enju went to school as usual.
Meanwhile, Asaka was diligently cleaning the room, meticulously ensuring no corner was missed, a testament to her scrupulous and serious nature.
Asaka was the same age as Enju, and by all accounts, she should have been attending school with Enju.
However, Asaka herself was unwilling, stating, "As Mahiro's sword, I must always serve by his side," and thus rejected the idea of going to school.
Essentially, Asaka was reluctant to interact with others, especially the children at school.
After all, seeing them being picked up and dropped off by their parents, even though Asaka no longer cared about such things, she still felt a bit disheartened inside.
As for himself, he would rather not.
One experience with school was enough.
Just like that, noon arrived, and after lunch, while Asaka was washing dishes, Mahiro suddenly received a phone call.
"Hello? Is there a request for me at this time, President Kisara?"
"Please don't call me President Kisara outside of working hours. However, there is indeed work."
Kisara's clear, bell-like voice came through the receiver.
"Do I need to go to the office now? Or can it be explained over the phone?"
"Neither, just come to the Ministry of Defense now!"
"Okay, I'll be right there."
After hanging up the phone, he turned around only to find Asaka Mibu, who had finished washing the dishes, looking up at him with burning eyes, her pupils, which had returned to their original color after fading from red, reflecting his figure.
"Is there work?" Asaka Mibu asked.
"Ah, President Kisara wants me to go to the Ministry of Defense."
"Then I want to go too."
Asaka Mibu's eyes showed a serious determination. "Mahiro, I am your sword. I hope you will use me well, instead of hiding me in the scabbard."
It was this kind of talk again.
To be honest, Asaka's strength was indeed good, fully capable of living up to his title, and even reaching higher.
Moreover, the gastrula virus erosion rate in her body was very low, only a little over 30 percent.
This was much lower than Aihara Enju's high-risk value of 43 percent.
However, even so, he did not want these children to step onto the battlefield, nor did he have any reason to fight to the death for the so-called future of humanity.
It wasn't worth it.
Perhaps in the eyes of others, the Cursed Children were excellent combat tools, cheap consumables that could be used in large quantities.
Even IFAs who did not reject and even liked the Cursed Children would use them in combat, or fight alongside them.
There was no way around this, because those IFAs themselves were not strong, and most were not even as strong as those children, so they were involved in combat.
However, Mahiro's view was different from those IFAs.
In his eyes, Asaka Mibu was just a child who needed to be protected, nothing else. Did having the ability to fight mean one absolutely had to fight?
Did having the ability to fight mean one absolutely had to fight to the death for the future of others?
Couldn't she live a peaceful and tranquil life?
Like normal children, enjoying life?
Pushing the main fighting force onto ten-year-old children, did those people not feel ashamed?
So this was also the reason he had always refused Asaka Mibu's participation in office requests.
However, this time, taking her to the Ministry of Defense to see the world was not out of the question; there was no danger anyway.
"Then let's go. Hurry and change your clothes, then we'll depart."
Hearing his answer, which was completely different from his usual demeanor, Asaka Mibu's eyes sparkled with joy, and even her red eyes reappeared due to the emotional fluctuation.
"Mm, please wait a moment, Mahiro, I'll be right there!"
Asaka Mibu quickly ran back into the room on her short legs.
After a while, she emerged from the room fully equipped, not only wearing comfortable, somewhat kimono-like modified clothing, but also an exoskeleton armor custom-made by Sima Heavy Industries.
A long sword hung at her waist.
It wasn't made of vibranium, just an ordinary sword, but it came from a famous craftsman and was a gift from Kisara as a welcoming present.
She's really full of motivation…
After leaving home, he drove Asaka to the Ministry of Defense.
....
.....
....
Inside the Ministry of Defense.
When they arrived at the conference room, it was already full of people.
Aside from the suit-clad presidents, the rest were all Promoters equipped with vibranium weapons that gleamed with a black metallic luster, accompanied by Initiators roughly the same age as Asaka Mibu.
In contrast, their student attire and normal casual wear made them stand out as anomalies.
Not to mention how young they were.
"Hey, hey, what's wrong with the quality of IFAs lately? Are even kids playing IFA house now? Did you guys get the wrong room? If this is a field trip for social studies, then get out quietly!"
A burly man shouted loudly, then walked out from the ranks of the IFAs.
His thin vest could not conceal his iron-plate-like muscular chest, and even from a distance, one could clearly feel the oppressive presence.
He had hair that stood up like flames, and a skull-patterned bandana covered his mouth, revealing a pair of upward-slanted sanpaku eyes that scrutinized them.
A heavy broadsword was strapped to his back, perfectly matching his large and robust physique.
Before Rentaro could react, Mahiro had already stepped forward to shield Kisara and Asaka behind him, but his unconscious action seemed to greatly displease the man.
"Huh? Stepping out alone, are you looking for a beating, kid?"
"Don't be rude to Mahiro!"
Asaka immediately stepped forward, looking up at the burly man with a fierce expression, her hand already on the hilt of her sword, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment.
In fact, many people present had already recognized Mahiro; perhaps those who didn't know him were the anomalies.
But almost everyone was preparing to watch the show.
After all, they didn't quite believe the rumors about Yotsuba Mahiro, especially seeing how fair-skinned he was, like a young master.
They even imagined Yotsuba Mahiro being brutally beaten by Igaruma Shoukan, and many had already taken out their phones, planning to record it and post it online.
"Get out," Yotsuba Mahiro said coldly, while blocking Asaka Mibu.
To everyone's surprise, Igaruma Shoukan seemed to freeze for a moment, then foolishly said "Understood," put his weapon aside, squatted on the ground, curled into a ball, and rolled to the side.
Everyone was in an uproar, completely dumbfounded.
Even Kisara and Rentaro stared at him in disbelief.
"You... what did you just do?"
He actually made Igaruma Shoukan, ranked 1584th, so obedient!
"Just a little magic trick." Mahiro smiled slightly. "President Kisara, please take your seat quickly, the meeting is about to begin."
He reminded her considerately.
Wave vibration system hypnosis magic "Evil Eye."
Although it was a minor spell not meant for grand display, in this world, it had unexpectedly effective results.
Mahiro led Asaka to a spot by the wall, just like the other IFAs.
Soon, the meeting began.
On the screen appeared the familiar snowy white figure—Holy Son, and the tall elder standing to one side, the aide Kikunojo Tendo.
This time, the request was worth one billion, to retrieve a lost box.
Since Mahiro was no longer interested in money and already knew the contents, he didn't listen carefully, but instead observed the little loli who had appeared beside him.
She wore a plain-colored long-sleeved dress and leggings, and although she had a pair of lively, expressive eyes, she gave off a detached, emotionless vibe.
At this moment, her partner was still rolling on the ground.
But she was observing him with those lively eyes.
Mahiro had an impression of this girl; she was the partner of the burly man named Igaruma Shoukan, and also one of the most poignant characters in the entire anime, an Initiator with dolphin factors—
"You're Chisato Fuse, right?"
"Ah...."
Sasha couldn't help but let out a small gasp, surprised that her name had been revealed.
"Surprised? Actually, it's just a small magic trick."
"...."
While Mahiro was teasing Sasha, Asaka, beside him, had already puffed up her cheeks in annoyance.
Mahiro was being charmed by another woman again, even though he already had her…
However, she did not intend to vent this childishness on Mahiro.
After all, she herself was a girl rescued from darkness by Mahiro, so seeing her fellow Cursed Children also being cared for by Mahiro, her heart couldn't help but feel warm.
Indeed, Mahiro's heart is still so broad and so gentle…
And then.
Mahiro suddenly extended a hand towards Chisato Fuse, then slowly opened it.
Like magic, a candy lay quietly in his palm.
"Sasha, you must be hungry, right? Have some candy."
That gentle and cheerful smile caused Sasha to momentarily fall into a trance. Looking at the candy in her hand, she was truly surprised this time.
She wasn't actually hungry, but she had indeed wanted to use this method to tease him and see his reaction.
But she hadn't expected him to guess it beforehand.
Did this person have the ability to read minds?
Chisato Fuse carefully put the candy into her mouth, feeling the sweetness while pondering.
But for the first time, she felt that her little brain, with an IQ of 210, was not quite enough.
"Here, one for Asaka too."
Turning around, he took out another one and handed it to Asaka Mibu, who was sulking.
After all, one couldn't show favoritism.