After breaking up, my ex asked me to win her back-Chapter 249 - 248: Religious Shrine Maiden? Suddenly Hearing from an Old Acquaintance

Kagura Hikaru’s hand paused suddenly, feeling a chill.

Was it just because the honey tasted good that he had returned to that strange place?

He felt it wasn’t just for that reason.

But the plainclothes officer had also said, the honey had been tested and confirmed to be safe, certainly not addictive, so what exactly...

Kagura Hikaru thought it no wonder that they had so insistently pushed the health products on him when he left; he had thought it was part of a pyramid scheme, not realizing there was such a dangerous trap involved.

In any case, his decision to throw the honey away was the right one.

Even if the test results showed no problem, there had to be an issue elsewhere.

Kagura Hikaru almost instinctively realized that this so-called Happiness Cult fundamentally differed from normal cults.

"Our police have been investigating this religion for several years now, but their information collection capabilities seem very strong, and every officer who has tried to infiltrate has failed,"

Inspector Yamazaki stated straightforwardly, "Currently, the police department urgently needs a volunteer with a clean background. Classmate Kagura, would you be willing to get involved? As long as you don’t do anything out of line, you will not be in danger. We don’t need you to do anything special, just accurately convey what’s happening inside. You can also withdraw anytime if you want to give up; the Happiness Cult is quite lenient about people coming and going, with no punishment involved."

Holding his coffee, Kagura Hikaru’s expression was subtle, "Inspector, you sound more like a preacher now than the people at Happiness Sanatorium."

"...Eh?"

Inspector Yamazaki scratched his head awkwardly, "Sorry, I was too eager. It’s really hard to find willing volunteers."

"Can’t you specially recruit from the Tokyo Police Academy?"

"We tried that, but it didn’t work. We suspect someone inside our department has been bribed, and every plan ends in failure... that’s why we are now resorting to asking for help from the public."

Inspector Yamazaki sighed, but then quickly composed himself, "Classmate Kagura, as long as you are willing to join and cooperate with us, regardless of whether the plan succeeds or not, when you graduate, our department promises to provide you with an opportunity to enter the police force. If you want to go to Tokyo Police Academy for university, I can also apply for a guaranteed admission spot for you, how does that sound?"

A guaranteed university spot...it was a very tempting offer for a high school student, and Tokyo Police Academy was highly esteemed; even if he didn’t become a police officer later, this degree could be beneficial in many areas.

But that was for the average person.

For Kagura Hikaru, he clearly did not need such favors.

"Inspector Yamazaki, you said yourself I am an excellent student. If I have a university I want to attend or a job I want to pursue, I will strive for it myself, without resorting to such risky methods."

Kagura Hikaru declined calmly, not wanting to wade into these troubled waters.

The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.

And more so, was the Happiness Cult really as harmless as Inspector Yamazaki had said?

Kagura Hikaru didn’t think so.

At the end of the day, does a truly harmless cult exist?

The real danger of a cult, after all, is not its armed forces but its ability to ensnare people’s hearts.

Kagura Hikaru had only visited the sanatorium once and had been followed until he was 300 meters away from their surveillance, that entire street could well be under the Happiness Cult’s control.

A religion that had developed this far could not be safe.

Inspector Yamazaki might know but hadn’t told him, or perhaps he didn’t know. Either way, it didn’t matter because Kagura Hikaru had no intention of joining their ’cops and robbers’ battle.

"Sorry, Inspector, but I will not be part of your plan," Kagura Hikaru stated bluntly. "Such troublesome matters are too much for a high school student."

"Is that so... You’re right; now that I think about it, it’s really inappropriate to ask a student for help. I should be the one apologizing," Inspector Yamazaki expressed regretfully.

It seemed that the police station had indeed run out of options, desperate enough to consider using even a cat’s claw, which is why they foolishly thought of having him, a minor, go undercover.

This isn’t a movie.

"Well then, I should be going back now. I’ll leave this box of honey here; please have the police handle it."

Kagura Hikaru finished his cup of coffee and stood up.

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"Wait, I haven’t finished yet," Inspector Yamazaki hurriedly stopped him, "I have a list here that you absolutely must look at. It contains the names of the Happiness Cult’s missionaries, including some top-tier personnel. Be cautious of these individuals in the near future, avoid any association with them, and if they approach you, just reject them outright. As for the top executives, if you see them, remember to stay away."

Upon hearing this, Kagura Hikaru could only sit back down and watched as he took out several pages from his briefcase, each page printed with many people’s color photographs and a brief description.

Kagura Hikaru started with the lowest-ranking personnel, memorizing their faces; these were the missionaries he was most likely to encounter.

Then, it was the middle and high-level managers. Interestingly, their division of work seemed quite clear?

Finally, the photo of the Sect Hierarch of the Happiness Cult appeared, a bulky man with gold chains, looking quite tacky. Could such a person really be worshiped?

There was also the Sect Hierarch’s trusted vice, a pointy-faced, bucktoothed man, one stereotype of a villain following another.

After finishing the last... wait, there seemed to be one more page.

Kagura Hikaru thought he had seen everything after the pages with the Sect Hierarch and the Vice Sect Hierarch, but there was still more.

He pulled out the last page.

Once he clearly saw the photograph of the person on the page, his eyes slightly widened, completely stunned for a moment.

"Surprised, aren’t you?" As the server brought Inspector Yamazaki’s coffee, he sipped it and said, "You probably didn’t expect to find such a young girl in a cult."

"She is..."

"Serizawa Mai, the Shrine Maiden of the Happiness Cult, the daughter of the previous, or rather, the first Sect Hierarch. Unfortunately, he hanged himself last year at home, his wife abandoned their daughter and fled overseas with the money, her whereabouts unknown, leaving their daughter Serizawa Mai still confined within this bizarre religion."

Inspector Yamazaki expressed some emotion, "Our people at the station think she’s quite pitiful, such a young child trapped in a cult, never even went to school, and it’s uncertain if she can ever return to a normal life."

Serizawa Mai, Serizawa Mai?

No, this is clearly...

Kagura Hikaru’s expression became extraordinarily solemn.

He recognized her, of course he couldn’t forget.

The first time he met her, he thought she was a ghost, a Mountain God, which scared him immensely.

Only later did he realize that she might be just like him, possessing some special ability.

It had been almost half a year since that farewell, and he had not expected to see her again here.

— Komori Ai!