Chapter 451: Tatsugami Ruri, Part 2

Ruri did not even look back at Kouhei while she continued cutting her toenails with the nail cutter, sitting there with the kind of complete indifference that made it seem as though whatever was happening around her had nothing whatsoever to do with her. She did not even pause for a moment to acknowledge that Kouhei was standing nearby, and the quiet little clicks of the nail cutter somehow became much more noticeable because of how completely she was ignoring him.

It was almost as if she could not be bothered to pay attention at all.

Kouhei stood there for a moment, staring at her while trying to figure out what exactly he was supposed to do next. From what Yuka had told him earlier, he had already expected Ruri to be difficult to convince, but he had imagined that "difficult" meant arguing with him, refusing to cooperate, or perhaps giving him some unreasonable condition before agreeing to help.

Ignoring him completely had somehow not been part of his expectations.

For some reason, Kouhei already had the feeling that this was hopeless.

He had barely even started talking to her, yet somehow he had already managed to reach the point where he was questioning whether there was any possible way to get through to her. The situation involving Kozue was becoming increasingly urgent, and here he was, standing in front of someone who seemed far more interested in trimming her toenails than listening to what he had to say.

"Uh... Tatsugami-san?" Kouhei tried again, raising his voice slightly so that she could hear him more clearly.

Ruri still did not look at him.

She simply continued cutting her toenails as though Kouhei had not said anything at all, apparently deciding that whatever he wanted to discuss could wait until she was finished with something that, at least to her, seemed considerably more important.

Kouhei’s expression became slightly awkward as he watched her.

Hina, meanwhile, was starting to get angry.

It was fairly easy to tell from her expression because the playful look she normally had was gradually disappearing, being replaced by something considerably more irritated. Her eyes had narrowed slightly, and the atmosphere around her had begun changing in a way that immediately made Kouhei think she might actually do something reckless if he did not stop her.

"H-Hina-san, please don’t do anything," Kouhei said quickly, glancing toward her before she could make a decision that would create an entirely new problem.

"Why did you assume that I would attack her, Kouhei?" Hina asked, turning her attention toward him.

"W-Well, your expression made it look like you were about to attack her," Kouhei replied honestly.

"I won’t attack her, so don’t worry," Hina said, although the irritation was still clearly visible on her face. "Still, you understand why I’m pissed, right?"

Kouhei looked back toward Ruri.

Honestly, it was not difficult to understand why Hina was angry.

Ruri was blatantly ignoring both of them.

They had approached her because they needed her assistance, and rather than giving them an answer, asking them to leave, or even telling them that she was not interested, she had simply continued cutting her toenails as though Kouhei and Hina were nothing more than background noise.

"You’re not going to be able to convince Ruri," someone suddenly said from nearby.

Kouhei turned around and found Chiemi standing there.

"Tsuruno-san, do you think you can convince her somehow?" Kouhei asked, immediately turning toward her. "We really don’t have much time, you see, and our enemy right now is time itself, so I need her to help us as soon as possible."

Chiemi looked at Kouhei and Hina for a moment, seemingly thinking about the situation before she finally answered.

"I don’t think there’s anything I can directly do to convince her," Chiemi said. "However, I might be able to give you something useful that could help you get her attention."

As she said that, Chiemi gave them a rather sly look.

For some reason, Hina immediately disliked that expression.

She could not quite explain why, but something about the way Chiemi was smiling made her suspicious. Chiemi was one of those people who could say something completely ordinary while somehow making it sound as though she knew considerably more than she was letting on.

Out of all the members of the Yuka Faction, Chiemi was probably the person Hina had the hardest time predicting.

Chiemi had only joined the Yuka Faction about a decade ago, which meant that compared with some of the older members, she was still considered something of a newer recruit. That alone was not particularly strange, but what made Chiemi unusual was the fact that practically nobody knew what her ability was.

Chiemi herself knew it.

Yuka knew it.

Beyond those two people, however, the details surrounding her ability remained a mystery.

Even the other members of the Yuka Faction did not know what she was capable of, which was quite unusual considering how long she had already been working alongside them. Hina had always found that particular fact interesting, although she had never managed to figure out what Chiemi was hiding.

"What is it?" Kouhei asked, becoming more interested in what she had to say.

"Ruri likes chocolate cake," Chiemi answered.

Kouhei blinked.

"Chocolate cake?"

"Yes," Chiemi said with a small nod. "If you want to get her attention, I suggest that you make one yourself."

"M-Make it myself?" Kouhei asked, looking genuinely surprised. "Can’t I just buy one from a cake store?"

"It has to be a chocolate cake made by you personally," Chiemi explained. "If she enjoys it, then she’ll probably talk to you. If she doesn’t like it, you’ll have to try another method, or perhaps make another cake and improve it until you finally get one she likes."

Kouhei stared at her.

For a few seconds, he genuinely did not know what to say.

They were dealing with a serious situation involving Kozue, time was running out, and the solution Chiemi had presented to them was apparently making chocolate cake.

Somehow, Kouhei had expected something more dramatic.

Perhaps a secret technique.

Maybe some kind of hidden weakness.

Instead, the answer was apparently dessert.

Hina also seemed to have difficulty processing the suggestion, judging from the way she looked at Kouhei after Chiemi finished explaining.

The two of them exchanged glances.

Neither needed to say anything because they both seemed to reach the same conclusion at roughly the same time.

If chocolate cake was what it took to get Ruri’s attention, then they would make chocolate cake.

"Then we’ll make one for her," Kouhei finally said.

"Good luck," Chiemi replied with a smile.

That smile still made Hina somewhat uneasy.

Kouhei, however, was already thinking about whether he remembered enough from cooking class to avoid accidentally creating something that could qualify as a new biological weapon.

***

The two of them asked Aria to take them to the nearby mall, where they planned to buy all the ingredients they needed to make the chocolate cake. Aria agreed immediately and offered to drive them there, which saved them quite a bit of time.

The mall was only about seven kilometers away.

Under normal circumstances, they could have easily walked there without much trouble, but the current situation was hardly normal. Time was of the essence, and they needed to get the ingredients, prepare the cake, and return as quickly as possible. If they wasted too much time along the way, they might arrive too late to do anything for Kozue.

Kouhei understood that perfectly well.

"By the way, Kouhei, do you actually know how to make a chocolate cake?" Hina asked while they were on their way to the mall.

Kouhei thought about the question for a moment before answering.

"No, I have no idea how to make one properly," he admitted. "I learned about baking during cooking class, though, so I might be able to make something that’s at least passable. Hopefully, that will be enough to get her attention."

Kouhei still had his doubts.

Knowing something in theory and actually doing it were two completely different things, after all. He remembered some of the basics from cooking class, but remembering a recipe was not the same as confidently preparing it without making a mistake somewhere along the way.

He could already imagine himself standing in front of the oven while Hina stared at him in disappointment because he had somehow managed to burn a chocolate cake.

That would be an especially embarrassing way to fail.

Still, he had no better option.

Getting Ruri’s attention was already proving difficult enough, and Kouhei had no idea how else they were supposed to convince her to cooperate. If making a chocolate cake was genuinely the thing that could get her to listen, then he had little choice but to try.

After a while, Kouhei, Hina, and Aria finally arrived at the mall.

There were not as many people around as Kouhei had expected, although there were still plenty of people wandering around and going about their normal day. The place was busy enough that they could not simply rush through without being noticed, but it was not so crowded that moving around became impossible.

The three of them got out of the vehicle together.

The moment they stepped out, several people nearby immediately noticed them.

Kouhei initially paid little attention to it.

Then he realized that more people were looking in their direction.

A few whispered among themselves.

Others stared openly.

Some seemed to be trying to figure out exactly who they were.

"Are they celebrities?" one person asked, glancing at them curiously.

"Probably the kid of some rich guy, if you ask me," another person replied, sounding fairly confident in a theory that had apparently been created on the spot.

"They look so good," someone else said. "I wonder if they’re foreigners?"

"That girl has white hair, and it looks completely natural!" another person exclaimed, apparently fascinated by Hina’s appearance.

"They might actually be celebrities," someone else said. "Should we take a picture?"

Kouhei slowly looked around.

More people were beginning to notice them.

It seemed that their appearance was attracting far more attention than he had anticipated, and what had initially been only a few curious glances was gradually turning into a small crowd of interested onlookers.