They began their discussion. This time, the topic was naturally Yuzuki’s attack by a Reincarnator. Since all Yuzuki had seen was a Puppet Man and she didn’t know who the true mastermind was, they needed to make a judgment.
Shirayuki shared the information about the Spring Mountain Hot Spring Inn incident. “So, the Reincarnator who attacked Yuzuki is highly likely someone from this Flame Bird Group. They might hold a grudge because one of their own died due to a mental patient and came seeking revenge.”
Yuzuki suddenly understood. She had been wondering why a universally adored beautiful girl like herself would be ambushed. So that was the reason.
After grasping the general background cause, the question became: who was this Reincarnator?
This was truly difficult to figure out, because a Reincarnator entering a hospital wouldn’t be discovered by anyone. Normally speaking, it wouldn’t be any person visibly known on the surface.
This is where an information gap came in.
Shirayuki and the others didn’t know that Matsui Yuki, the man Gounon had killed, was a Reincarnator. They genuinely believed a sneak thief had been killed by a mental patient. So they didn’t consider that the Flame Bird Group might switch to another method to enter the hospital.
Thinking like Reincarnators, one would simply scale the wall to get in. Hiding in the shadows, one could do many things. So Shirayuki and her friends wouldn’t currently guess or suspect the people who were already visibly present.
Conversely, Hino Kaoru and Shoichi assumed that Shirayuki’s group had dealt with Matsui Yuki, and thought Shirayuki’s group was on guard against them. Therefore, they felt the most direct method wasn’t an option, and instead chose to disguise themselves with a surface identity to infiltrate.
“What? Fine, fine, go ahead and sign it then,” a voice came from outside the door at that moment.
It was Uncle Mizuhashi’s voice. He was passing by the door and, because it wasn’t shut, his voice naturally drifted in.
After hanging up the phone, Uncle Mizuhashi casually turned his head and saw his precious daughter and her classmates inside the room. He immediately smiled and greeted them.
Seeing him only made Yuzuki angry, reminded of being plotted against. “Keep a tighter eye on your Smartphone from now on.”
Uncle Mizuhashi: “???”
What was going on? Why was his adorable daughter angry at him?
Uncle Mizuhashi felt terribly wronged, looking at Yuzuki in bewilderment.
“You can’t really blame Uncle for that sort of thing. After all, he’s just an ordinary person,” Shirayuki said softly before turning to wave at Uncle Mizuhashi. “Hello, Uncle. Goodbye, Uncle.”
Uncle Mizuhashi: “…”
Was she shooing him away? Uncle Mizuhashi felt even more wronged.
“Huh?”
Just then, Keiko inadvertently glanced out the window and quickly pointed, saying to Uncle Mizuhashi, “Uncle Mizuhashi, there’s a patient outside without a caregiver watching him. Isn’t that dangerous?”
Shirayuki and Yuzuki went to the window to look, and their expressions instantly changed.
Because the patient Keiko was pointing at was none other than that guy who called himself the Ice Sculpture Master. This was a fellow who made all the doctors and caregivers at the mental hospital turn pale at the mention of his name.
Right now, this guy was actually dressed in normal clothes, heading out of the hospital.
Uncle Mizuhashi came over to see and said, “You’re talking about Fukuyama Shoichi. His condition isn’t actually that severe. After just a short period of treatment from us, he’s recovered. Since he’s a normal person now, he’s naturally being discharged.”
A normal person?
He’s being discharged already?
“Are you sure he’s normal? He was playing with… that kind of filth,” Yuzuki said, shocked.
“According to his tests, he’s indeed considered normal now. Although it’s surprising he can leave so soon after entering the hospital, such cases have happened before. Don’t worry about it.” Uncle Mizuhashi smiled. “Alright, I still have things to do, so I won’t chat with you any longer.”
As Uncle Mizuhashi left, the three people in the room looked at each other.
Shirayuki mused, “Entered recently, and now leaving recently… I’m suddenly starting to suspect him.”
“You mean, he might be that Reincarnator?” Keiko asked, surprised.
Yuzuki frowned, also starting to feel suspicious.
“Whether he is or not, we’ll know once we grab him. Let’s move,” Shirayuki said, decisive enough to make a decision immediately.
Observing via the Faceless in secret, Ruri nodded in approval. For a Reincarnator who wanted to go far, being decisive was very necessary.
She could leave the rest to Shirayuki. That Flame Bird Group guy was absolutely no match for her. There was no further need to watch in secret. It was time to log into the game and run a dungeon.
Fukuyama Shoichi retrieved his hidden Smartphone and checked it, finding the message Hino Kaoru had sent.
He opened the message nonchalantly to read it, and immediately lost his composure.
‘There are actually more Reincarnators? And they’re Senior Reincarnators? How can so many Reincarnators gather in one hospital like this? What are they all here for? Whatever the case, it has nothing to do with me. I better get out of here, fast.’
Shoichi felt a bit uneasy and quickened his pace.
Just as he rounded a corner ahead, finding himself in an area shielded by a patch of trees, a figure appeared right in front of him.
This person was, naturally, Shirayuki, who had rushed over at top speed.
The wind was somewhat hurried at that moment, whipping Shirayuki’s long, silvery-white hair into a dance. Her appearance was like something out of a dream, and for a split second, Shoichi was distracted.
But the moment Shoichi clearly saw who it was, he knew he was in trouble.
He quickly turned his head and found Mizuhashi Yuzuki and Inoue Keiko blocking the way behind him. Although Yuzuki was clutching her lower back, seemingly having her fighting strength reduced, there was still someone else beside her.
‘Have I been exposed? So quickly?’
Shoichi felt a headache coming on but maintained an innocent, harmless front. “What do you ladies want? Is there something I can help you with?”
Shirayuki was about to say something but immediately shut her mouth.
Even though they felt Shoichi was suspicious, it was only suspicion. They couldn’t be 100% certain he was a Reincarnator. What if they were wrong?
So the first thing to do right now was to test whether the other party was truly a Reincarnator.
Shirayuki looked toward Inoue Keiko, and Yuzuki did the same.
Keiko understood what everyone meant. Secretly, she cast Demon Head Burst. An invisible-to-the-naked-eye demon head lunged ferociously at Shoichi.
