A Rider Doesn't Need a Youth Romantic Comedy [29]

“All right, hurry up and get ready.”

Waving dismissively, Kondō Yamato stopped paying attention to the two girls.

The girl who’d spoken up earlier opened her mouth slightly, but ultimately said nothing.

Although afraid, a strange thrill quietly took root inside her, gently stirring her curiosity.

Maybe I'll just stay and see what happens.

What if something actually appears?

Biting her lip, the girl chose not to leave in the end.

After all, she'd joined this club precisely because of her innate curiosity about the supernatural.

Standing silently outside the room, Rōma quietly observed them, his face expressionless like a ghost lurking in the shadows.

If not for the fact that everyone inside was focused solely on their little ritual, someone might have noticed his emotionless face through the window.

“Investigator Makoto Rōma.”

Just as he was debating whether to kick the door open immediately—

Two men hurriedly approached from behind.

Both were E-Class external operatives dispatched by the Institute.

Not all Institute members spent most of their time inside the bases.
In fact, apart from combat units and research personnel, everyone else held roles in normal society.

Rather than playing these roles purely for missions, it was more accurate to say they had ordinary identities first, with Institute membership as an additional secret duty.

“Did you bring the gear?”

Lowering his voice, Rōma asked quietly.
He had no intention of attracting unnecessary attention.

Actions involving anomalous items were meant to be discreet and silent.

“Yes, we brought it.”

A man in a suit quickly raised the briefcase in his hand.

It contained the Institute’s memory-wipe spray and various other tools.

The briefcase itself was developed by the Equipment Department, heavily armored and equipped with a self-destruct mechanism.

In emergencies, it could even be thrown as a bomb.

According to field tests, it could blow apart most of SCP-096’s body.

Incidentally, the Equipment Department’s head researcher had previously been the chief engineer at a certain university’s Equipment Division.

“Good. Prepare for action.”

“Roger.”

The member holding the briefcase immediately stepped to one side of the door, pulled out a small sphere from the case, and activated it.

Instantly, a small soundproof field emerged around the sphere.

Within this area, no sound could escape.

Rather than being erased, sound was confined strictly within its boundaries.

Of course, provided the sound itself didn’t possess any anomalous power.

The other investigator began carefully documenting the situation.

To Institute members, total team wipeouts weren't just distant rumors.

Even with so many powerful operatives, the loss of ordinary personnel was sometimes unavoidable.

The mission logs weren’t just for post-mission reports, but also to prevent other teams from repeating mistakes if the entire squad was lost.

“FBI! OPEN THE DOOR!!”

With a flying kick, Rōma slammed open the Occult Research Club’s door.

The sudden, explosive noise terrified everyone inside.

Especially Kondō Yamato, whose hand trembled violently, causing the paper boat he’d intended as an offering to slip from his grasp.

Just as it was about to land on the lit candle, a hand swiftly reached out, catching it from below.

“Perfect.”

Casually handing the paper boat to the operative holding the briefcase, Rōma stared coldly at Kondō Yamato.

“We’re from Chaldea—the Human Order Security Organization.”

“You don’t need to know about our purpose or mission, but right now, I have a few questions for you.”

Rōma held no goodwill towards fools who courted disaster like this.

If anything had actually gone wrong, everyone in this room would’ve died.

Even innocent bystanders would’ve been caught in the crossfire.
In Rōma’s eyes, people like this weren't worth redeeming.

The best course was to confiscate the anomalous item, erase his memories, and let him live out an ordinary life.

Actually, Rōma had more than once suggested using these reckless idiots directly as D-Class test subjects.

If no one died because of their actions, fine. But if someone lost their life, these fools should be held accountable.

Naturally, his somewhat extreme suggestion had been swiftly rejected.

“Who are you people?”

Kondō Yamato stared at Rōma in horror, trying to sound defiant, but only managing a pathetic shout.

He had an ominous feeling that his dreams were about to end before they'd even begun.

Superpowers? World conquest? All gone now.

“Tch. Did you bring any truth serum?”

“Eh?”

The operative holding the briefcase hesitated.

Isn’t that a bit extreme?

Truth serum put heavy strain on the body; excessive doses could even leave lasting side effects.

“You didn't bring any? Hypnosis is fine too, as long as he tells the truth.”

Ruffling his hair impatiently, Rōma urged him on.

He didn't want to waste any more time here. The sooner this ended, the sooner he could get off work.

“I’ll do my best.”

Nodding, the operative approached Kondō and began negotiation.

He wasn’t heavily involved in anomaly containment operations, knowing only vague details.

He still felt a certain sympathy towards this student—

In his eyes, Kondō was just a kid who didn't fully understand right from wrong.

Rōma, himself a high schooler, disagreed.

He believed high school students fully understood right and wrong.

Excuses like “he’s still young,” or “just a kid,” were complete nonsense.

About a minute or two later, Kondō Yamato confessed everything.

The operative speaking with him seemed friendly enough, but Rōma, who dealt with the others, could hardly be described as “friendly.”

Kondō watched helplessly as Rōma roughly used Class-A physical memory-wipe on an uncooperative boy.

When the boy’s head made a dull thud, Kondō felt his heart shudder.

As soon as Rōma turned toward him holding a baseball bat, Kondō’s resistance instantly crumbled, and he spilled everything he knew.

“A talking mirror?”

About a week ago, Kondō had stumbled across a strange mirror.

It seemed to possess some kind of enchantment, compelling him to bring it home and display it prominently.

Initially, he’d assumed it was an ordinary mirror, until it suddenly began speaking.

Rōma’s first thought was of the Magic Mirror from Snow White.

The one that supposedly knew everything, answering any question asked.

But Kondō’s mirror was slightly different from that fairy-tale object.

It would only answer certain questions—not everything.
When faced with questions it couldn't answer, it simply admitted ignorance.

“Is the mirror still at your house?”

“Yes.”

Nodding anxiously, Kondō stared fearfully at Rōma.

For some reason, he sensed an extremely dangerous aura radiating from the young man.

Ordinarily, a normal person shouldn't perceive such things, but Kondō clearly felt it.

“Take him to the nearest Institute facility for examination, then erase his memory.”

“Understood.”

The member documenting the incident nodded immediately, reporting the situation to headquarters.

Upon receiving the message, the Institute quickly dispatched a team to surround Kondō Yamato’s home.

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This is a fan translation of 骑士不需要青春恋爱物语 by 青琮 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!