We soon land on the helipad of the Academy’s Osaka Branch. The other helicopter that was carrying the prisoners has already landed.

   Our comrades from Osaka get down from the helicopter as this is their stop.

   ‘Well, we’ll be seeing ya. Who knows, maybe we’ll be doing the joint training after all.’ Natsuho tells us right before she gets down.

   ‘We’ll be looking forward to it.’ Sakuya assures her.

   Natsuho then looks at me. She’s also having a bashful expression.

   ‘Um, I’ll be transferring ta da Tokyo Branch after I retire from da position of Student Council President next year.’

   ‘Because you want to spent more time with me?’ I ask.

   She flinches.

   ‘Why are ya so damn sharp? Would it kill ya to be a bit dense?’ she asks with a red face.

   ‘My apologies, senpai. I don’t think my brain is made the same as yours.’ I apologize insincerely.

   ‘Are ya callin’ me stupid?’ she demands.

   ‘I would never do that.’

   She growls loudly for quite a while.

   ‘I honestly hate my taste in men…’ she grumbles.

   With that, her and her fellow student council members head down to their campus. The helicopter we’re riding departs so that it can get us back to Tokyo.

   I lie down on my seat while relaxing in what felt like forever. Finally, it’s over. For now. Of course, not everyone is relieved. And I don’t blame her.

   ‘What’s going to happen to Shinra-san? I’m very worried.’ Ishibashi is asking Yui.

   ‘I’m not sure, Ishibashi-san.’ Yui confesses. ‘It’s true that he did all those things he did to protect you from harm, but he still committed crime. I just hope they’ll be lenient to him.’

   ‘It’s probably fine.’ I tell them. ‘I mean, they were lenient to Assaf-sensei. If they’ve forgave her, they can forgive pretty much anyone.’

   Ishibashi doesn’t know who Assaf-sensei is or what she had done, but the others do, which is why all of them look a bit relieved. It’s not set in stone that Shimazaki will be given a second chance, but it’s a tiny hope.

   ‘Akira-kun is right. At most, Shimazaki-kun will be under constant watch.’ Sakuya assures her.

   ‘By the way, what happened to both your families?’ I ask Ishibashi.

   ‘Last I heard, they were under the protection of Lost Children. Shinra-san and I are basically abandoned, so we only got each other left.’ she replies sadly.

   ‘I’m not trying to demoralize you, Ishibashi, but that’s precisely the reason you need to be strong. There’s no way you can survie in this world if you’re weak.’ I tell her.

   Ishibashi nods firmly. ‘I understand.’

   ‘Until you decide your next step, you can stay at one of our guest rooms at the Academy.’ Sakuya offers.

   ‘Yes. Thank you very much.’

   After we got back to the Acedamy’s Tokyo Branch, Yui dismisses Tatsuya.

   ‘Before I go, allow me to apologize once more for causing all of you so much trouble.’ He says to us while inclining His head.

   ‘Please don’t blame yourself too much, Tatsuya-kun. You were tricked.’ Yui tells Him.

   ‘Which is still my fault. Anyway, please know that you can always count on me to adi you in future battles.’

   ‘Yes. We will keep that in mind.’

   Yui mutters some chants, and Tatsuya disappears without so much as a sound. For an ancient deity, he sure made a dull exit.

   Next, Sakuya has a brief word with Amesaki-senpai before she departs to the Presidential office where she’s working.

   ‘Once again, thank you for rescuing Ishibashi-san for us, Amesaki-senpai.’ Sakuya is telling her senior.

   ‘No need to thank me, Sakuya. As I have told Kagenashi-kun, this is part of my job as a civil servant.’

   ‘No no, you definitely need to be thanked. I’m sure Akira-kun would love to accompany you to more practice dates.’

   ‘Wait, what? Why are you deciding that without my consent, Sakuya-senpai?’ I ask her.

   She suddenly pouts at me. ‘Are you saying that it’s fine if Amesaki-senpai can’t get a boyfriend for the rest of her life? You’re so mean, Akira-kun!’

   ‘That’s not what I meant!’

   ‘Then it’s fine, right? It’s not like it’ll take up a lot of your time.’

   ‘...Fine. As long as I’m free.’ I agree a bit reluctantly.

   ‘It’s settled, then. Aren’t you glad, Amesaki-senpai?’

   ‘Yes. I’ll be in your care, Kagenashi-kun.’ Amesaki-sepai tells me with an expectant look.

   ‘I’ll do my best.’

   We even exchanged contact numbers after being encouraged by Sakuya. Only then, Amesaki-senpai gets on the helicopter.

   ‘I’m looking forward to our future practice dates, Kagenashi-kun.’ Amesaki-senpai tells me right before she closes the door.

   ‘Me too, Amesaki-senpai.’

   After the helicopter departed, we head down to the building so that we can get Ishibashi an accommodation at the staff apartment. The process didn’t take very long. Soon, Ishibashi is given a room key for an unused room. The receptionist took over from here and guide her to the room. The rest of us bid our farewells and head to my room where Kuromi and Assaf-sensei are waiting.

   ‘It’s been a while, Kuromi. Assaf-sensei.’ I tell the both of them.

   ‘Indeed it has, master.’ Kuromi agrees.

   ‘And I’m glad to see you come back safe and sound, Kiryuu-san.’ Assaf-sensei tells Yui.

   ‘I’m sorry for making you worried, sensei.’

   ‘Actually, I wasn’t that worried.’ Assaf-sensei confesses. ‘I had faith in Akira-kun that he’ll rescue you without fail.’

   ‘Sensei, you’re giving me too much credit.’

   ‘Nonsense. You managed to do it in the end, didn’t you? By the way, what did you have to go through while you were trying to rescue her?’

   So all of us took turns on telling her and Kuromi on what had happened. The tale was so long it took us quite a while.

   ‘...I see.’ Assaf-sensei simply says after we’re done. ‘Those priests aside, I’m rather worried about my former colleagues.’

   ‘Do you think they’ll try to escape one of these days?’ I ask.

   ‘Definitely. The contract didn’t say anything about remaining in custody for the rest of their lives, did it? If so, they’ll do it without any hint of hesitation. Besides, I doubt their underlings would just leave them there.’

   ‘This is never going to end, is it?’ I ask dreadfully.

   ‘Nope.’ she answers honestly. ‘Not as long as one side exists. I mean, look at me. I was around for thousands of years.’

   ‘But you changed sides.’ I point out.

   ‘True. However, that doesn’t happen too often, does it? Besides, the reverse happens too. I mean, look at Shimazaki-kun. He did turn under duress, but you know what I mean. The least you could do is stay strong and believe in what you fight for.’

   ‘I guess you’re right. There’ one thing that you’re wrong about though, sensei.’

   ‘What’s that?’

   ‘It’s not you, but us. You’re one of us now, remember?’

   Assaf-sensei sobs loudly at that. I could even see tears from the corner of her eyes.

   ‘Oh, you silver-tongued boy.’ she sniffs. ‘I can’t wait to bear your child. Or children. I want at least five.’

   ‘For crying out loud, sensei! How did you always manage to ruin moments like this?’

   ‘I was being serious, though.’

   ‘That makes it even worse.’

   While we’re having this exchange, Kuromi walks over to me.

   ‘Master, I might be rude on even thinking of doing such a thing, but I cannot suppress my desires any longer.’

   ‘Um, what is it that you want to do?’

   Honestly, she freaked me out the moment she spouted out the word desire. But her expression is quite earnest, so I can’t really turn her down without listening to her first.

   ‘I would love to have a hug.’ she requests.

   ‘Oh. That’s it? Alright then.’

   I get up and give her one. She hugs back tightly.

   ‘Welcome back, master. I have missed you so much.’ she says to me.

   ‘Yeah. I’m home. That said, we were never apart from each other, remember? Your ring helped me out a lot, as usual.’

   ‘It is true that you are using me-’

   ‘Watch your phrasing, please.’

   ‘-but I still cannot bear the thought of not being by your side while you go on dangerous battles after battles. My deepest apologies for being such a bad maid.’

   ‘No no, it’s perfectly normal. You don’t have to feel bad.’

   ‘That will not do. Please punish me by having a BDSM session-’

   ‘Assaf-sensei! What did you teach her this time?’ I demand.

   ‘She wanted to know the form of punishment that the people nowadays inflict to each other. I just told her one of the more popular ones.’ Assaf-sensei answers innocently.

   It took me quite a while to explain to Kuromi that Assaf-sensei was spouting nonsense as usual.

   That night, I walk Yui back to her house. Her parents are so relieved to see their daughter coming back safely they hugged her with tears in their eyes.

   ‘Father, mother, I’m home.’ Yui tells them in a choked voice.

   ‘Welcome home, Yui.’ her parents say at the same time.

   ‘Thank you for bringing her back to us, Akira-kun.’ Yui’s mother tells me.

   ‘That’s what I promised, after all.’ I tell her.

   ‘And as the High Priest, I must thank you all for dealing with Zaimoto and the rogue priests under his command.’ High Priest Kiryuu adds.

   ‘Speaking of him, are you going to request to the Academy to hand him over to you so that you can deal with him personally?’ I ask.

   He shakes his head. ‘No. I shall leave it to them for his punishment. It’s a shame, really. He’s a great man with a gentle heart. His one flaw is that he got too obsessed with his mother’s philosophy.’

   As to why does he knows about Zaimoto’s background, Yui had sent him a letter reporting on everything, including what really happened while the match between the Shimada Clan and Tanabe with his men was going on.

   ‘Father, what is your verdict on the trail you gave me?’ Yui asks nervously.

   ‘Why, you pass of course. How could I ever fail my goddess of a daughter-’

   High Priest Kiryuu has his head smacked hard by his wife before he could finish.

   ‘Take this more seriously.’ she growls.

   ‘But I am!’ he protests.

   ‘Then don’t bring up the fact that she’s your daughter!’

   High Priest Kiryuu coughs on his fist before turning serious.

   ‘Yui, you did a splendid job of sealing the Dragon Pulse. However, your decision to challenge Zaimoto to a match was a bit reckless. After all, the stakes are very high. The consequence of your team losing the match would have been extremely terrible. If you are a leader, you must never make reckless decisions.’

   Yui bows her head in shame. ‘My apologies, father. I admit that I was being immature and hasty when I made that particular decision.’

   ‘Still, better to make mistakes now so that you can learn from it. And remember another thing. A good leader always talk to those who follow her.’

   ‘Yes, father. I shall keep your advise to heart.’

   ‘Good. Now that the appraisal is over, let’s head inside. Your must be very tired.’

   ‘Yes. Good night, Akira-kun.’

   ‘Yeah. See you tomorrow, Yui.’

   High Priest Kiryuu was raising a fuss on why aren’t I spending the night with Yui until Yui’s mother smack his head so hard he passed out. I used this chance to go back to the dorm.

   And so, our daily life is back for now. After three days, Shimazaki is released on probation while having all this movements constantly monitored. The arm that my skeleton fish bit off was taken out from the freezer and stitched back to his right shoulder.

   Miyahara and Takayama gave him a good punch and a slap after they met him after so long. After that, the entire gang had a group hug and cried for a good while. Naturally, I didn’t join in. Shimazaki’s popularity among the girls went downhill after his betrayal, but at least he’s not behind bars. Also, he and Ishibashi can still be together, so that’s something.

   At this point, the event of the original anime is as good as gone, so it’s no surprise if the final villain of the anime shows up all of a sudden. Which is why I’m secretly on edge, just in case I might bump into her out of nowhere. Before that, though, someone else I was not expecting wanted to have a talk with me.

   It really happened out of nowhere. It was during a normal lunchtime just like any other, and I was just done with a trip to the toilet. That’s when he approached me.

   Takuto Yuuji. The real main character of this anime.

   I’ve always thought he had died inside a sewer or something since I haven’t seen him for so long. The last time I saw him was during the summer festival, and that was at least two months ago.

   ‘You’re Kagenashi Akira, right?’ he asks me.

   ‘That’s right. What about it?’

   ‘And you’re the rumored guy who’s going out with multiple girls at the same time?’

   So even he had heard about it. I guess by now the whole school knows about my relationship with the girls.

   ‘What’s it to you?’

   ‘Break up with them right now!’

   ‘And why should I listen to you?’

   He then starts a grandiose speech that having more than one girlfriends is absolute blasphemy, and I’m a major jerk for wanting to have the best of multiple worlds, I’m not treating the girls with respect, blah, blah, blah. I didn’t bother to listen to his whole speech. He may think that he’s doing the world a favour by giving me a lecture, but I could tell his true intention by looking at his eyes. They’re burning with jealousy. I would know, as I myself always looked at couples with the same eyes back in my old world. He’s just mad that I got a real life harem.

   ‘Look, this “conversation” is pointless,’ I interrupt him. ‘I’ll be excusing myself, with or without your permission.’

   He points his index finger at me. ‘Not so fast! I challenge you to a duel!’

   ‘Why?’

   ‘If I win, you’ll break up with all your girlfriends and promise not to have another relationship ever again!’

   ‘Again, why?’

   ‘I’ll be waiting you at the field after school’s over! Don’t you dare run away!’

  ‘Are you even listening to me?’

   ‘If it’s a reason you want, I’ll give you one! This is for your own good, and theirs!’

   Hearing that just pisses me off. This is coming from the guy that rejected all the girls who mustered up their courage and confessed to him in the original anime, only to have their heart broken. Who is he to think that what’s good for us and what isn’t? I admit that I’m a selfish jerk, but at least I’ve sworn that I’ll never make those girls cry.

   ‘...Fine. I accept your challenge.’ I tell him quietly.

   ‘That’s more like it!’

   ‘In return, you’ll quit this school and disappear from our sight for good if you lose. You’re also to live your live in solitary for the rest of your life.’

   That makes him hesitate.

   ‘Wait wait wait, I have to be leave this school if I lose? But my grandpa will kill me if I quit without his permission!’

   I smirk condescendingly. ‘You scared?’

   ‘The hell I am! Fine, let’s go with that condition!’

   And he’s baited. Always the simple-minded fool.

   Once I go back to the girls, I told them what had happened. I got a mixture of reaction from them.

   ‘That Takuto Yuuji should have just minded his own business!’ Ichika exclaims angrily.

   ‘Maybe you should have given it a better thought before accepting a duel like that.’ Sakuya tells me.

   ‘You may be right, senpai. The thing is, he doesn’t look like someone who’ll give up if he got refused.’

   And trust me. I know all about that.

   ‘It’s fine if he wins.’ Mashiro says.

   ‘True. There’s nothing to worry about since Akira has a very high chance of winning.’ Madoka adds.

   ‘What proof do you have?’

   She just smiles mysteriously.

   ‘Trust me.’ is all she said.

   I go to the field as promised right after the school bell rings. The girls go with me. Yuuji was already there, and his eyes burn with jealousy once more when he saw us together.

   ‘So you came as promised! I’ll at least commend you for not running away!’

   ‘Whatever. Let’s just get this over with.’

   Despite what Madoka had said, I’m still kind of worried. Disgusting as Yuuji is, he’s still the main character of this anime. In other words, he’s going to be protected by plot armor. There’s no way a mob like me can ever hope to defeat him under normal circumstances.

   The two of us walk to the middle of the field and face each other. I bring out my spear and my ring. Yuuji takes out the katana that his grandfather used when he was Yuuji’s age, Takamaru.

   Wait, something’s wrong. Takamaru was Yuuji’s default weapon in the original anime, and it got broken by one of the elite undeads he fought when the joint training between the Academy’s Tokyo and Osaka branch on Season 3 was interrupted by the remnants of the undead army Assaf-sensei summoned in exchange of her life that I mentioned before. After that, Yuuji received Dojigiri, an S Rank Regalia from Principal Morifuji himself. We’re way past Season 3, so he’s supposed to be using Dojigiri.

   ...Oh, right. The joint training didn’t happen. Neither did the attack of the undead army since Assaf-sensei is still alive. Suddenly, I’m very hopeful of beating him.

   Yuuji unsheathes Takamaru from its sheath and throw the sheath to the side. He then uses it to point at me.

‘All right! Let’s get this started!’ he shouts.