Mash-up Anime World: Creating the SCP Foundation to Contain Anomalies-Chapter 324 - 318: Frenda

Night gradually fell.

After being restless the entire day due to her emotions, Misaki finally began to calm down.

Once the fatigue set in—

She leaned against Haruto without hesitation.

The bold aura she had when dragging him around just earlier had completely vanished.

The two sat on a bench in a corner of the city.

Time passed slowly.

"Let's go see the ocean."

Misaki suddenly said.

Haruto nodded.

He didn't ask why, instead, it was Misaki who reached out and poked Haruto.

"Aren't you going to ask why? Normally, no one just suddenly wants to go see the ocean in the middle of the night."

Haruto grabbed the mischievous hand.

"Honestly, you probably don't know why you want to either."

Misaki was stunned for a moment by the question, then fell silent.

That was pretty much her admitting he was right.

"But it's fine. Thoughts are always strange and random. If you feel like doing something, just go do it."

Haruto stood up and extended a hand to her.

Misaki blinked her starry eyes.

She placed her hand in his, feeling the warmth that came through.

"Haruto, you're so unfair—strong, handsome, and gentle. It's way too easy to get addicted to you... Of course, if only you weren't so twisted sometimes..."

Haruto couldn't help but laugh wryly at her remark.

If a person wasn't a little twisted, wouldn't life be a lot less fun?

Such a life wouldn't be enjoyable at all.

The two walked toward the edge of the school district.

Thanks to the changes in the positioning of Academy City, now no matter where one left from, the ocean could be seen not far away. If it were the original location of Academy City...

Seeing the sea would've taken a lot more effort—probably a few transfers on the Shinkansen.

But as they walked, a commotion unfolded nearby.

On the dimly lit street, several thugs had surrounded a blonde girl. The blonde girl clutched her beret in front of her face with both hands, looking pitiful.

Only her large, watery eyes were visible.

She looked like a helpless, bullied girl—utterly pitiful.

Seeing this, Misaki subconsciously frowned.

"Over there..."

She muttered while instinctively reaching into her bag for her remote.

But she hesitated.

Her ability was still unstable after all—since she had lost her developmental memories. Even though she could just barely use it...

Mind control was a precision ability—any mishap...

And it could fry someone's brain.

Meanwhile, Haruto looked at the blonde girl surrounded by thugs, the corner of his mouth twitching into an amused smile.

What a cliché setup. What a stupid trap.

Did she really think he was the type who couldn't walk away after seeing a girl in distress?

Indeed, the blonde girl surrounded by thugs was none other than Frenda, a member of the Dark Side organization known as ITEM.

This high school girl actually had quite the acting chops.

She played the victim like a trembling little lamb.

And with her petite figure, her preference for miniskirts that showed off her proud long legs, plus thigh-high stockings—she was dressed in a way that was both aesthetically pleasing and designed to trigger a guy's protective instincts.

Frenda let out a few symbolic whimpers.

But her eyes kept glancing toward the two in the distance, waiting for the boy to come over and play the hero.

Then she could use "repaying the favor" as a pretext...

To lure him into the designated trap area.

Just thinking of the high bounty on this mission made Frenda's eyes gleam.

So much money... How many cans of mackerel could she buy!?

However—

She noticed the target merely paused for a glance—

Then turned and left without looking back, dragging his girlfriend with him.

Frenda: ?

She pulled out a compact mirror from the pleated skirt's pocket.

Amid the confused looks of the thugs, Frenda checked her reflection.

Nothing wrong.

She was still super cute, right?

Was that guy even a man!?

Could he really walk away so calmly from this kind of scene!?

Frenda was grinding her teeth. She felt like her charm had just been denied. If the guy had no power—or was cold-hearted despite having it—

Frenda wouldn't be this mad.

But based on the intel—

That guy had insane combat skills, and had even clashed with the Board of Directors for some girls.

He was basically your typical shounen manga protagonist!

Yet this so-called protagonist ignored her.

Frenda was furious.

"Hey, girlie..."

One of the thugs was still throwing lewd remarks but Haruto was long gone. freewёbnoνel.com

Frenda had also given up on acting.

She flashed a dazzling smile.

And followed it up with a flying kick!

"Move it! I've got stuff to do!"

The thug hit the ground, stunned.

The trembling little lamb from earlier had suddenly exploded—

Turning into an agile little fox.

The sudden change caught them completely off guard. But Frenda had already made her move. She swiftly took down all the thugs. Even without any physical superpowers, as a seasoned dark-side operative, Frenda's skills were far beyond what ordinary street punks could deal with.

Clapping her hands, she dusted off the dirt on her black thigh-highs.

She placed the beret back on her head.

Then stormed off, chasing in the direction Haruto had gone.

Meanwhile...

"It probably failed. That guy didn't stop. Most likely didn't fall for it. He's headed outside the city zone now."

Rikou said softly.

She was carefully tracking Misaki's AIM field.

Her power was AIM field tracking, allowing her to sense and distinguish others' AIM signatures.

Thanks to Misaki's immense Level 5 field, Rikou didn't need any enhancement drugs and could easily track her target.

"So unreliable. Frenda is such an idiot!"

The brunette girl next to her muttered in complaint.

She was the muscle of ITEM for direct confrontations.

And with Frenda absent, she doubled as their go-to sarcasm machine.

"Hmph, it's not the first time Frenda's been unreliable. But the target has left the city zone. Tell Frenda to fall back. Continue tracking. He might just head into an unpopulated area on his own."

As team leader, Mugino Shizuri issued the command.

Rikou nodded and sent a message to Frenda.

And then...

The message vanished without a reply.

Seeing Rikou's reaction, the others understood.

"That idiot... She's acting on her own again?"

Mugino's face darkened.

Meanwhile, Haruto had already led Misaki out of the city limits.

Not far ahead, a few patrol bots were on duty, past that point was the edge of Academy City.

These bots would normally stop anyone without clearance but after scanning Haruto, they let him through without issue.

His data had already been uploaded into the city network by Aleister.

With privileges equal to Aleister himself—he could manipulate almost anything in Academy City.

Soon, the shimmering ocean came into view.

The sky tonight was especially clear. A bright moon like a jade plate hung high, with a deep blue starlit sky overhead.

Waves lapped rhythmically against the beach—not exactly melodious, but soothing.

The sea reflected the starlit sky, and in the distance, it seemed to merge with the heavens into one seamless horizon.

Staring at the vast ocean—

Misaki's eyes turned dreamy.

The last time she left Academy City, it had been shrouded in fog.

Back then, you could barely see anything.

Now, this might be the first time she'd truly seen the ocean with clear awareness.

So beautiful.

But why did she feel... hollow inside while looking at it?

Misaki pressed her fingers to her chest, blinking her starlit eyes in confusion. Feeling low, she couldn't help but recall that impulsive kiss from earlier.

Her fingers brushed her lips.

Only after unconsciously making that seductive motion did she snap back to reality.

What shameful thing had she done!?

That kind of impulse... was actually addictive...

Her cheeks flushed red.

But with the emptiness still lingering—

After a moment of hesitation, Misaki tugged at Haruto's sleeve.

Just then—

A voice shouted from behind, sounding half-angry and out of breath:

"Hey! You bastard, stop right there!"