Peace reigned in Italy for the time being. Tamazawa Shuxin was gradually able to free up his attention to check on the situation from his main body's perspective. Barring any accidents, he would be able to return to Japan in five days at the latest. Over the past two years, his main body had taken up writing novels. Because frequent overloads had caused him to run a fever, Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji had forcefully moved in with him.
Thinking of this gave Tamazawa Shuxin a headache. He had never once taken off the "Neverending" character card, and his ability to multitask was becoming increasingly proficient. Fortunately, he had stockpiled plenty of potions in his magic card inventory, and he didn't need to use the Felix Felicis unless a critical moment called for it. Otherwise, in the eyes of those five men, he would seem far more than just sickly. He had also managed to sort out the relationship between Glenlivet and Gin.
Gin had been selected by Glenlivet from an orphanage, raised and trained by him since childhood, and earned his codename at the age of twelve. Originally active in Italy, he had returned to Japan for operations five years ago. According to Macedonia's recollections, Gin had stormed out slamming the door behind him. At this thought, Tamazawa Shuxin muttered, "Whatever, I've got nothing else to do right now. Time to check in on the main body!"
Shifting the main perspective back to his true body, Tamazawa Shuxin stretched and stepped out of his bedroom. As soon as he went downstairs, he ran into Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji eating breakfast. "Whoa! The lazybones actually woke up. Rare, how rare." Matsuda Jinpei's teasing and sarcastic tone instantly wiped away Tamazawa Shuxin's newly switched good mood. Tamazawa Shuxin refused to sit passively and take it.
"I wonder who it was—looking fierce and menacing to begin with, yet still wearing sunglasses, acting more like a gangster than actual gangsters. Say, Jinpei, you've probably never been reported to the cops for being a yakuza, have you?"
"What did you say?! Tamazawa Shuxin, did you eat gunpowder today?"
Seeing the two of them bristles-raised and on the verge of a physical brawl, Hagiwara Kenji hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "Jinpei-chan, Shuxin-chan, you two really look like cats spitting at each other right before a fight!"
"Hah!" Tamazawa Shuxin and Matsuda Jinpei turned their gazes onto Hagiwara Kenji simultaneously.
"Even more alike now!"
After the farce subsided, Hagiwara Kenji brought up the main agenda. "Little Shuxin, shall we go pay our respects at Getsusan Temple tomorrow?"
"Hmph! Hagi, Zero, the Squad Leader, Hiromitsu, and I are all going. Is that couch-potato snail actually coming or not?" Tamazawa Shuxin laughed when he saw the look on Matsuda Jinpei's face, which clearly said *if you don't go, I'll finish you*. "I'm going, of course I'm going. Hahaha, Jinpei, the way you just looked really made you seem like a tsundere cat who loves to act spoiled, hahaha!"
"Tamazawa Shuxin!" Matsuda Jinpei lunged straight at him, and the two tumbled into a wrestling match.
"Don't pinch my face!"
"My hair, Tamazawa Shuxin!"
Hagiwara Kenji didn't try to stop them; instead, he grabbed a camera. *Click.* Tamazawa Shuxin and Matsuda Jinpei looked up at the same time, caught by Hagiwara Kenji as he happily snapped a few more photos.
"Hagi!"
"Hahaha, it's just too funny seeing Jinpei-chan and Shuxin-chan fighting!"
***
"So why on earth did I agree to those two guys' request to visit the Public Security bureau, only to end up invited for tea by Public Security?" Tamazawa Shuxin sighed as he sat inside the Public Security conference room, wanting nothing to do with Superintendent Hasegawa Masato sitting right across from him.
"Tamazawa-kun, have you considered my offer?"
*Considered what offer?* To go be the liaison for Zero—you people must be out of your minds to even dream up something like that. At this thought, Tamazawa Shuxin raised his head and shot a resentful look at Hasegawa Masato opposite him.
"Don't you think this is absurd? Making a classmate and close partner serve as the contact—have you superiors run out of people to use? Furthermore, can you guarantee that the supervising officer won't turn out to be a member of the Black side? This kind of arrangement is utterly ridiculous." Tamazawa Shuxin called him out by name, leaving zero room for politeness. "I simply refuse to believe that you higher-ups have no ties to this Organization whatsoever. Working the people at the bottom to the bone while you yourselves wallow in luxury—you talk as if eliminating this Organization will make the country a better place. Utterly laughable! Absurd and pathetic!"
The conversation broke down in mutual displeasure. The aura surrounding Tamazawa Shuxin turned so freezing cold that no one dared approach him as he walked down the street. The more he walked, the angrier he got. "Zero, that hot-blooded youth is definitely going to go! If this really happens, I'll have to find a way to send him back."
*Ding-dong.* Tamazawa Shuxin pulled his mobile phone from his pocket: [I hope you will reconsider / Hasegawa Masato].
"Reconsider my ass! Damn it! Even though swearing is bad, I still have to call Public Security a bunch of morons!" Tamazawa Shuxin cursed bitterly. Fortunately, there weren't many people around, or he would have been reported and dragged in for yet another cup of tea with Public Security.
After stowing his phone away, Tamazawa Shuxin took a deep breath, pushing down his dissatisfaction with Public Security. Then, with a chilling gaze and a blank expression, he walked back.
***
The next day, inside Getsusan Temple. "Little Tamazawa, you've had a frosty expression ever since you saw Little Furuya. What on earth happened?"
Furuya Rei was equally puzzled; he clearly hadn't done anything, and asking Tamazawa Shuxin yielded no answers either.
"Tamazawa, you wouldn't happen to have been invited by Public Security for tea because of Zero, would you?" Matsuda Jinpei blurted out the truth, and then watched as Tamazawa Shuxin nodded.
"Yeah! But I'm not mad at Zero. It has nothing to do with him; I'm just annoyed!"
"So, what did Public Security actually say?" Tamazawa Shuxin's gaze was indifferent, his usually bright and scorching pupils reduced to a lifeless, stagnant pool of water.
"Nothing much, just some insignificant moronic maneuvers."
However, Furuya Rei had already learned of his undercover assignment, and thus guessed the reason why Public Security had sought out Tamazawa Shuxin. Furuya Rei walked up to Tamazawa Shuxin, his eyes filled with absolute resolve, and locked eyes with him, carrying a deep love for his country. "Tamazawa, trust me, I can handle this! For the country, for the people, it is my bounden duty!"
Tamazawa Shuxin looked at Furuya Rei's solemn pledge. Precisely because he knew Furuya took righteousness as his motto, he was worried sick. *A gentleman born in a small state is not the fault of the gentleman.* He couldn't just watch Zero march to his death. Tamazawa Shuxin sighed inwardly, then patted Furuya Rei on the shoulder. "Hiromitsu, you need to watch yourself at Public Security too. One guy has already fallen into their trap."
With that, Tamazawa Shuxin patted Morofushi Hiromitsu's shoulder as well, and earnestly continued trying to persuade Morofushi not to stay at Public Security—so much so that Morofushi began to suspect whether Public Security and Tamazawa Shuxin had some kind of blood feud, seeing how intensely disgusted he was with them.
"Speaking of which, Squad Leader, how are things going between you and Natalie lately?" Tamazawa Shuxin changed the subject, looking at Date Wataru with heavy gossip in his eyes.
Hearing this, Matsuda Jinpei had something to say. "Damn it, I'm still envious of the Squad Leader being such a winner in life!"
"Alright, Jinpei. After all, the two of us are all looks and bad personality, unlike the Squad Leader, who is in high demand. Right, Tamazawa-kun?"
Tamazawa Shuxin looked at Morofushi Hiromitsu's blooming, flower-like smile and felt as though he were witnessing the blossoming of a dark lotus. *Hiromitsu! What on earth did Public Security do to turn you into this?* His heart ached; the gentle and considerate Morofushi Hiromitsu was gone.
Tamazawa Shuxin suddenly realized now was not the time for such thoughts. Just as he prepared to make a run for it, his shoulders were pinned down by Hagiwara Kenji and Furuya Rei. "Little Tamazawa, where do you think you're going?"
"Squad Leader, help! Hrk—my face!"
On the way back, Tamazawa Shuxin sat in a car with Furuya Rei and Morofushi Hiromitsu. Tamazawa Shuxin rubbed his forehead and cheeks. "You guys hit way too hard!"
Furuya Rei retorted without a moment's hesitation, "You brought this on yourself by leaving an opening. Who else could you blame?"
Tamazawa Shuxin let out a "hmph" and stopped talking. Arriving in Shibuya, Hagiwara Kenji asked, "Erji and Jinpei are getting off here. What about you?"
Just as Tamazawa Shuxin was about to answer, an emergency struck. "Word is that someone sneaked into the abandoned building and is causing trouble inside."
The six of them felt something was amiss. "Squad Leader, Shuxin, you two stay down here to provide backup!"
Date Wataru and Tamazawa Shuxin nodded. "Shuxin, I've already called the Metropolitan Police Department, and I have a bad feeling about this. While you stay down here, I'm going up to check it out too!" With that, Date Wataru ran upstairs as well, leaving only Tamazawa Shuxin and that police officer behind to maintain the perimeter.
Tamazawa Shuxin spotted a Russian man running down. "Is the person up there Plamya?!" Tamazawa Shuxin asked the Russian man in Russian. Upon hearing confirmation, Tamazawa Shuxin whipped out his phone; the remote bomb control system was still active, and he clicked on the tracking signal. The only problem was that he didn't have a gun.
"Fuck!" Tamazawa Shuxin hurriedly checked his inventory to see if anything useful was available: [R-Card Binding Curse], [R-Card Stupefy]. This'll have to do.
Guided by the tracker, Tamazawa Shuxin sprinted toward the adjacent building. Gunshots and the sound of a grenade exploding rang out in quick succession, and Tamazawa Shuxin finally reached the rooftop. Catching sight of the intruder, Plamya immediately fired a shot in his direction. Tamazawa Shuxin ducked behind a wall and tossed a pebble to the opposite side—a diversion. Plamya's gaze shifted for a split second, and the spell was cast: *Stupefy!* Plamya felt a wave of force shove her as she collapsed to the ground, her head spinning heavily. The moment Tamazawa Shuxin stepped out, Plamya raised her gun, but the spell hit her: *Binding Curse!* Plamya was left completely paralyzed, able only to watch as Tamazawa Shuxin snatched her weapon and aimed the barrel straight at her. *Bang, bang!* Both shots struck her forearms.
"Look at that, the hands you use to build bombs are crippled now, Plamya!" The [SR-Card Obliviate] was triggered, wiping away Plamya's memory of being subdued. After simply bandaging Plamya's wounds to stop the bleeding, Tamazawa Shuxin dialed Date Wataru's number. "Hello, Squad Leader..."
***
Afterward...
"Tamazawa Shuxin! Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?! You went bare-handed against an armed criminal—have you got a death wish?!" Matsuda Jinpei roared at the top of his lungs, his two hands gripping Tamazawa Shuxin's shoulders and squeezing tighter and tighter.
"Jinpei, that hurts! I know I was wrong, but I didn't get hurt, did I? I'm sorry, let me off the hook!"
"Little Shuxin, save those words for Little Furuya and Little Hiromitsu when they get over here."
Tamazawa Shuxin's pupils quivered, his eyes filled with the tragic resolve of a man walking to his execution.
"Can't you guys put in a good word for me?" Matsuda Jinpei crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, donning his sunglasses like he cared about nobody. Hagiwara Kenji kept smiling, but his eyes burned with pure fury.
Tamazawa Shuxin said nothing more. After a moment, he muttered quietly, "I'm hungry. Are we eating?"
"Eating? Tamazawa Shuxin, why don't you explain to me how you managed to catch Plamya!" Morofushi Hiromitsu walked in, supporting Furuya Rei, wearing a smile that didn't reach his eyes as he stared at Tamazawa Shuxin. Even Furuya Rei looked at him with a livid expression.
"Ahahaha, my bad! Forgive my rashness! I followed the gunshots to the other building, and then got into a scrap with Plamya on the roof. Luckily I didn't get hurt..."
"Don't let it happen again!"
Tamazawa Shuxin was genuinely surprised. Even Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji crowded in.
"Idiot, as long as you're safe!"
"Little Shuxin, don't ever pull a stunt that dangerous again!"
"Well done, Shuxin." Furuya Rei also smiled and offered a high-five to Tamazawa Shuxin.
"So you guys were just playing with me this whole time?"
The other four burst out laughing. Tamazawa Shuxin didn't hold a grudge either, joining in with their laughter. *As long as everyone's safe.*
***
Over the period that followed, Furuya Rei and Morofushi Hiromitsu completely lost contact, which meant they were about to begin their lives as undercover agents. Tamazawa Shuxin couldn't find a single shred of information about them. As for Gin on the alter ego's side, there was absolute radio silence—not a single message sent. Their group dinners were now missing two members, while Plamya had been shipped off to Siberia to dig potatoes, where word had it she had plenty of old enemies waiting for her.
***
Bonus: Daily Life
"Tamazawa, Tamazawa Shuxin! What are you zoning out for? Are you going or not?"
"Huh? Jinpei, what did you just say?" Tamazawa Shuxin looked bewildered, clearly having missed every single word. A tic mark instantly popped up on Matsuda Jinpei's forehead, and his fists began to itch. Sensing imminent disaster, Tamazawa Shuxin cast a plea for help toward Hagiwara Kenji.
"Alright, Little Jinpei, we were just talking about the speech back at the police academy. Didn't Little Tamazawa receive Instructor Onizuka's call?"
A drop of cold sweat rolled down Tamazawa Shuxin's temple. "Ahahaha, with the manuscript deadline looming, I hadn't written a single word, so I turned my phone off." He rubbed the back of his neck with a guilty conscience. Pulling out his phone and powering it on, he found an email from Instructor Onizuka sitting right at the top of his inbox. It contained only eight words: [Tamazawa Shuxin, come back and wait for it!]
Tamazawa Shuxin deleted the email right in front of the two of them. "Let's just pretend I didn't notice, didn't see it, don't know anything, and aren't clear on the details. I'm skipping this return-to-school speech."
As the saying goes, however, a gentleman takes his revenge ten years later—and an opportunity for payback had conveniently landed right in front of Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji. The two exchanged a glance and moved with synchronized precision: one snatched the phone, while the other pinned Tamazawa Shuxin's arms.
"You two! Bastards!"
By the time Tamazawa Shuxin managed to reclaim his phone, the outcome was already sealed. An email reading [Then I'll come back and wait for it.] had already been sent to Instructor Onizuka.
"Matsuda Jinpei, Hagiwara Kenji! You two are dead!"
"Little Jinpei / Hagi, split up and run." With tacit coordination, one bolted out the door and turned left, while the other bolted out and turned right. Tamazawa Shuxin grabbed a chair, hauled it to the doorway, and sat down. "Let's see if you two dare never to come back."
The standoff lasted until the early hours of the morning. Ultimately, their rumbling stomachs got the better of them, and the three of them made peace, retreating indoors to cook some instant ramen to tide themselves over.
The next day...
"Tamazawa Shuxin!" Two roars echoed from the bathroom. But the culprit had long since fled, leaving only Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji scrubbing the turtle marks drawn on their faces.
"Tamazawa Shuxin, you childish jerk! When I get back, I'm going to cover your face with turtles!"
"Alright, Little Jinpei, instead of drawing turtles, why don't we have an all-celery banquet tonight?"
Hearing that, Matsuda Jinpei stopped being angry at once. Looking at Hagiwara Kenji, whose aura was gradually turning pitch-black, he even offered an internal prayer for Tamazawa Shuxin: *Tamazawa, my man, you've really pissed off Hagi. May the gods save your soul.*
That evening...
"Little Jinpei, hold Little Tamazawa down." Hagiwara Kenji walked toward Tamazawa Shuxin with a "benevolent" smile, holding a bowl of celery-stewed rice.
"Hagi! I was wrong, Matsuda Jinpei, let me go! Hagi, calm down!" Tamazawa Shuxin struggled frantically, but Matsuda Jinpei remained completely unmoved. With lightning speed, Hagiwara Kenji scooped up a spoonful and smoothly shoved it down his throat. Tamazawa Shuxin instantly drained all his remaining strength.
"Wh—why does this world even have a vegetable like celery?!"
Hagiwara Kenji didn't stop there, a fact Tamazawa Shuxin quickly realized, though he no longer possessed the strength to resist. With tears in his eyes, he was force-fed the entire bowl of celery-stewed rice. He collapsed onto the floor like a stranded, belly-up dead fish, while countless photos of his dark history were snapped.
In the end, Tamazawa Shuxin could only conclude: "From now on, I will never be able to hold my head up in front of these two guys. Total, devastating loss!"