EX rank supporting role’s replay in a prestigious school-Chapter 1044: Injection (14)

Hirano Seiji, who never expected Tomoaki Arihara to say such words, couldn’t immediately react.

‘Come to think of it, his attitude seems to have gotten worse since the first match ended,’ this thought came to him belatedly.

However, Hirano Seiji assumed that Tomoaki Arihara’s change in attitude was because he hadn’t liked the fact that Seiji took all the responsibility during the first match.

Although his attitude had become harsher, the general neglect he felt was also partly due to Hirano Seiji’s own judgment.

‘If the anti-lady faction had surrounded me in front of the coaches, my situation would have been even worse. Did he even consider that?’

Hirano Seiji was speechless, both puzzled by Tomoaki Arihara’s change and nostalgic for the past.

His childhood friend hadn’t changed, not in the slightest.

The only changes had been in his appearance and voice, which had become bulkier to match his height.

Hirano Seiji, silent, was eventually addressed by Tomoaki Arihara, who spoke in a persuasive tone.

“Seiji, if we miss this opportunity, who knows when we’ll be able to catch the fox’s tail. Let’s go. If you don’t go, I’ll go alone.”

The bold words snapped Seiji back to reality.

The power, connections, wealth, abilities, and cunning wisdom of that fox group were not things one could easily deal with in a fair fight.

While it couldn’t be denied that the Arihara family was famous, their power was insufficient to challenge the Kōzuka Yashiro or the Renzoin Karen families.

According to Seiji Arihara, the two were apparently acting separately, but either one would be dangerous to face.

Hirano Seiji slowly opened his mouth.

“Who?”

“The lady.”

“How?”

While Kōzuka Yashiro, a member of the nobility, might seem a more formidable target, Renzoin Karen was also not an easy one.

It was common knowledge that Renzoin Karen, the incarnation of the lotus, was loved by high-ranking beings connected to the lotus.

The incarnation of the lotus had several notable interactions with high beings.

When the Japanese raccoon tribe, the Leizu (猍族), attempted to kidnap the young Renzoin Karen, who had not yet awakened her abilities, a fragrance of lotus blossoms flooded the area around her, leading the entire community to the source of the scent.

As a result, the Leizu's conspiracy collapsed in an instant, and Renzoin Karen only gained her abilities days later.

Many believed that a high-ranking being had intervened, but when asked whether she had heard their voice, Renzoin Karen awkwardly smiled and did not answer.

Though it seemed she couldn’t hear their voices, there was no doubt that a higher being cherished her.

‘Even without abilities, she was difficult to deal with. This isn’t Japan, so it’s unlikely a higher being could intervene, but she probably has blessings capable of shaking off poor tracking. Perhaps she will retaliate when she returns...’

The thoughts drifted into a more negative direction.

Hirano Seiji wasn’t lacking in mental clarity, but those who had challenged Renzoin Karen’s authority had often met with unfortunate fates, and Seiji had witnessed these events firsthand.

Trying to change his childhood friend’s mind, Hirano Seiji hesitated before speaking.

“It’s unlikely we’ll be able to follow her with average tracking skills. There’s a chance we’ll gain nothing and just suffer retaliation.”

“Yeah, that’s true. But do you think I’d just sit back if she retaliates?”

“...What will you do?”

“You’ll find out when the time comes.”

Tomoaki Arihara was someone who always followed through.

Hirano Seiji had never seen him make empty threats.

A moment when Seiji called him “Arihara” instead of his first name and witnessed another decoration being destroyed was just one example.

The thought of Tomoaki Arihara and Renzoin Karen fighting made Hirano Seiji feel a headache from just imagining the situation.

“And there’s a way to track her without wasting energy.”

With those words, Tomoaki Arihara pulled something out from his pocket.

It was a cube-shaped object.

At first glance, the transparent cube looked like it was made of otherworldly metal, but upon closer inspection, it was clear it was something different.

To be precise, from the perspective of a player capable of sensing abilities, there was something unusual about it.

‘It’s not pure otherworldly metal. This material was made with Dr. Arihara’s technology.’

The material of the cube contained substances unrelated to otherworldly metals.

The technology to synthesize otherworldly metals with materials from the modern world was one of Dr. Arihara’s patents.

And now, the cube in Seiji’s hand was made from an alloy that included otherworldly metal, but it had some special characteristics.

“I’ve seen it in journals. Isn’t it a prototype? You said it wouldn’t be ready for commercialization for a while. Can we just take it out like this?”

“Well, I made it with my mom, so of course it’s fine.”

Tomoaki Arihara had an uncanny ability to silence his childhood friend’s words.

The cube was a device for sensing and tracking abilities, much like other existing consumable items, but there was a revolutionary feature.

The most groundbreaking aspect was that it could be used by ordinary people, not just players.

While there /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ were devices for detecting abilities that ordinary people could use, they were rudimentary and would go off indiscriminately, detecting both player and enemy abilities, making them practically useless in real life.

Dr. Arihara had made the cube to protect ordinary people from the dangers of tribes, wanted enemies, or unexpected invasions by higher beings, which couldn’t be avoided by satellite warnings alone.

Ordinary people couldn’t materialize item cards or use them freely, but with Dr. Arihara’s technology, this barrier had been broken.

‘But I didn’t expect Tomoaki to have helped create it...’

It was unexpected for Tomoaki to bring this up in the current situation, but there was something about it that didn’t quite make sense.

How could this cube help track the lady?

“I’ve stored her ability signature in here. We can track her with this.”

Tomoaki Arihara twisted the cube, and it changed color to a lotus hue, the same as Renzoin Karen.

Then a compass, map, and remaining distance in metric units appeared.

It wasn’t precise, but with this clue, it seemed like they could track her.

“Did it have that feature? But how did you get her ability signature...”

“She had embedded her ability signature in the lotus ornament. She probably used the power she hid in the ornament she made herself.”

Tomoaki Arihara looked at the lotus-colored cube with a weary expression as he explained.

Even after breaking and breaking, more ornaments kept appearing.

It was strange that no matter how many he destroyed, they still appeared.

Then, something strange started to happen.

A newly appeared lotus ornament had something off about it.

Immediately after it was broken, a faint presence of Renzoin Karen could be felt.

“Originally, the ornaments she made were about half of them, but since I broke them all, now everything here is her creation. And while breaking them, I realized that every ornament contained her ability signature.”

It was normal for player-made items to carry some of their ability signature, but embedding ability signatures into simple ornaments that couldn’t even be carded was unusual.

It didn’t seem likely that they were mass-produced with good intentions and placed throughout the Japanese team’s accommodations.

But once they discovered the ability signatures in them, Tomoaki Arihara wasn’t the type to waste the opportunity to use them in the cube-shaped tracking device.

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‘It’s hard to stop Tomoaki. And maybe, we really will be free.’

Seeing Tomoaki Arihara, who was firmly prepared and determined, Hirano Seiji’s negative thoughts faded, and instead, hope filled his heart.

Even though the two of them might discover a great secret, they couldn’t do anything to Renzoin Karen, but at least they might be able to negotiate to leave Seiji and his family alone.

Hirano Seiji, addressing his childhood friend who was waiting for a response, said,

“Alright. Let’s go.”

“Seiji...!”

Tomoaki Arihara called his name with a brighter expression than when they first reunited.

For the first time in a while, they were thinking the same thing, but now was not the time for a long conversation.

Following the direction indicated by the cube, the two quietly slipped out of the hotel.

Even if they weren’t in the lounge, no one found it odd that Hirano Seiji and the troublemaker, Tomoaki Arihara, were nowhere to be seen.

‘I remember when we went out to catch fireflies with Tomoaki.’

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

Hirano Seiji recalled the time when he had sneaked out at night and got scolded by both of his parents.

Though there were no fireflies here, the air was heavy due to the smoke, and unlike that time, their purpose was now far more sinister.

Moreover, shortly after they slipped out of the hotel, they noticed someone was tailing them.

They lowered their voices as they exchanged words.

“Seiji, someone’s following us.”

“I know. They’re not part of our group from the look of their physique.”

The people chasing them were neither coaches nor students.

But they couldn’t afford to lose track of Renzoin Karen here.

The two tried to hide their presence by turning off the cube and moving stealthily, but they couldn’t shake off their pursuers.

They were well-trained players.

“Didn’t they teach you that it’s dangerous to be out wandering like this at night?”

Before they could find Renzoin Karen, they were caught.

The sound of cruel laughter echoed in the secluded open space, revealing that the group was not small.

They spoke in Japanese, but their appearance was far from typical, and their pronunciation was odd.

‘The only reason non-Korean professional players are after us is one thing. They must be hired by gambling brokers from international betting sites.’

There were people who weren’t interested in Japan’s victory in the Korea-China-Japan exchange, but instead bet on the victories of Korea or China.

Tomoaki Arihara didn’t seem curious about who they were, immediately opening his mouth.

“Attack first.”

“What?”

“Because that’s the only way it’ll be okay.”

Not liking Tomoaki Arihara’s cocky attitude, slurs could be heard from various places.

But Tomoaki Arihara didn’t flinch, his face showing annoyance.

It seemed that being held back right before something important was frustrating him.

“I led you to a quiet place to fight because you kept following us. If you want to fight, come at me. Otherwise, get lost.”

Though Tomoaki Arihara was the one doing the provoking, Hirano Seiji felt similarly.

The thought of fighting with Tomoaki after so long made Seiji feel uplifted, but before they could enjoy that moment, everyone charged at them.

KWA-BOOM!

Energy bullets poured toward them, and Tomoaki Arihara’s explosive abilities obscured their view.

But it wasn’t just smoke and explosions blocking their path.

A familiar energy filled the air, and Hirano Seiji was horrified.

‘Lotus petals...!’

It was the lotus incarnation that had always blocked his path ever since he awakened his abilities.