Since both Izumi Shirayuki and Tsukiyomi Ruri had expressed their wish to stay at the mental hospital for a few more days, Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu prepared suitable accommodations for the two of them.
This hospital was very large. Past the retractable gate was a vast expanse of lawn, neatly divided into sections by flat pathways. Some roads led to the parking lot, while others led to various buildings.
Buildings stood ahead, with the vague figures of quite a few medical staff bustling about.
Gazing at such a hospital, Izumi Shirayuki nodded thoughtfully. “If I remember correctly, this hospital was funded and established by Aunt Mizuhashi Yawa. It completely belongs to the Mizuhashi family… So Yuzuki is this rich.”
“How does that compare to you?” Tsukiyomi Ruri asked casually. She remembered that Izumi Shirayuki was an ojou-sama herself.
“I’m not entirely sure. I’ve never asked my parents exactly how much money our family has.” Izumi Shirayuki shook her head.
In any case, they were both certainly wealthier than Tsukiyomi Ruri.
Ruri couldn’t help but think of her own parents in this life. That couple was still abroad on their couple’s trip. Heaven knows how long it would be before they returned.
It seemed her parents weren’t short on cash either. Otherwise, how could they afford such a carefree, long-term journey?
“There seem to be quite a few people over there. Let’s go have a look,” Izumi Shirayuki said, pulling on Tsukiyomi Ruri’s hand with some excitement.
When she had requested to come here for covert protection, she had used curiosity as her excuse. But now that she was actually here, her curiosity was genuinely piqued.
Tsukiyomi Ruri let herself be pulled along by Shirayuki, and they quickly reached their destination.
It was a lawn area surrounded by several trees. A group of people wearing blue-and-white striped hospital gowns were gathered here. Naturally, they were the patients of this hospital. Not far off, a group of nursing attendants in white uniforms watched them with vigilant eyes.
Tsukiyomi Ruri’s gaze fell upon the patients.
One patient among them was standing out especially prominently, holding a tree branch broken off from who-knows-where. “Do you see this long sword, its edge flashing with unrivaled sharpness?” he declared.
The other patients nodded profusely.
The leading patient, his expression solemn, raised his “sword” high. “Remember this: the day my sword points to a distant land, that distant land shall become our field of conquest. I, Gounon the Hero, will undoubtedly lead you all to defeat the Devil Lord and save this world!”
The other patients hurriedly applauded, the clapping quite loud.
Witnessing this scene, Tsukiyomi Ruri and Izumi Shirayuki exchanged glances.
“That patient seems to think he’s some kind of hero. He sounds like the person Uncle Mizuhashi mentioned,” Shirayuki whispered.
Ruri could see Shirayuki’s curiosity, a desire to understand these mental patients. She herself felt no such curiosity, only a sense of speechlessness at the sight.
Just then, Hero Gounon… or rather, the patient, walked towards them.
Gounon appeared to have a rather robust physique, with a head of red hair. If he were wearing leather armor, he might actually have the bearing of a hero.
As for now, well, he was clearly a mental patient.
“Are you two subordinates of the Devil Lord?” Gounon demanded, pointing his “sword” at them.
Izumi Shirayuki almost admitted it. She was quite curious to see how this self-proclaimed hero would react if she confessed to being a subordinate of the Devil Lord.
But before Tsukiyomi Ruri or Izumi Shirayuki could offer any response, the other patients behind Gounon howled and lunged directly at the two girls, clearly intending to attack.
“Restrain them all!”
The nursing attendants who had been watching the patients closely shouted in unison, each pouncing forward with even greater speed.
Working as an attendant in a mental hospital—could their strength and skills be poor? Of course not. As they rushed in, they were fierce as wolves and tigers, more terrifying than the mental patients themselves. They instantly pinned down every charging patient.
Only Gounon, who hadn’t made a move, was left standing, untouched by the attendants, though one still had eyes locked on him.
Gounon was furious at this situation. “What’s going on? What are you doing? As my soldiers, why are half of you inexplicably attacking people, and the other half attacking your own comrades?!”
He even considered the surrounding nursing attendants to be his own subordinates.
One patient pinned on the ground said, “Lord Hero, didn’t you say that when your sword points to a distant land, that land becomes our field of conquest?”
Gounon glanced at the “sword” in his hand, tucked it into the left side of his pants as if sheathing it, and said calmly, “War has yet to arrive. Everyone, calm down.”
“When will the war arrive?” Izumi Shirayuki couldn’t help asking.
“When the Devil Lord appears, the war will come.” Gazing into the distance, Gounon struck the pose of a powerful warrior.
However, the hospital gown he wore somewhat undermined his current aura. Tsukiyomi Ruri even saw several holes poked into the left side of Gounon’s pants.
“Ruri-chan, Shirayuki-senpai!” A voice called out from behind them.
Tsukiyomi Ruri and Izumi Shirayuki turned to see a spirited Mizuhashi Yuzuki approaching, bringing along Inoue Keiko, who looked timid around everyone.
Shirayuki was just about to greet them when she saw Gounon rushing towards Mizuhashi Yuzuki with an excited expression. “Great Sage, you’ve returned!”
The three members of the Urban Legend Club: “???”
Mizuhashi Yuzuki coughed, clasping her hands behind her back. Her light green twintails swayed gently.
Putting on a deliberately serious act, she said to Gounon, “Hero, you have done very well. I have witnessed the army of justice you’ve organized. In the future, even should the Devil Lord appear, he will be no match for you.”
“Thank you for your recognition, Great Sage. It is my honor to be the Hero who will vanquish the Devil Lord.” Gounon knelt on one knee.
“Alright, go continue training your army.” Yuzuki waved a hand dismissively.
“I will surely forge an invincible army,” Gounon declared solemnly, then turned and left.
The nursing attendants also released the other patients at this time. As Gounon departed, the rest of the patients followed, and the attendants naturally followed closely, watching them intently.
Seeing the three Urban Legend Club members staring at her, Mizuhashi Yuzuki chuckled. “I know what you’re concerned about, but when dealing with mental patients, it’s better to play along. Trying to correct them is actually the wrong decision. So the first time I met Gounon, I acknowledged him as the Hero and told him I am a Great Sage. He completely believed me.”
Everyone was speechless.
Tsukiyomi Ruri asked, “Is his name just Gounon? He doesn’t have a real name?”
