Chapter Thirty-Nine: I Am Also Skilled in Magic—The Choices Granted by God

The bank fell into utter silence in an instant; even the few screams faded away. On the other end of the phone, Kirino held her breath for a moment, then roared, “Then save her for me! Why are you still making snide remarks, you jerk!”

Ki pulled the phone away and scratched his ear, replying, “Just a moment ago you were pleading with such a pitifully cute voice, and now you’re yelling at me. You were the one who asked me to call your mother out.”

“Ahem, well, that’s because you said you’d taken down all the criminals and I could relax. It’s all your fault. Instead of wasting time talking, you’d better hurry up and rescue my mom. If she so much as loses a single strand of hair, I’ll tell Ayase that you harassed me and have her beat you up for an hour. I’ll also tell your girlfriend-slash-sister that you spied on me and Ayase while we were changing.” Kirino had thrown all caution to the wind, shouting such embarrassing threats in public.

Ki’s face turned green. There was no way he could avoid Ayase’s wrath; she really might beat him up for an hour. And the peeping incident, though unintentional, was still a fact—especially since he’d teased them both about it. He’d have no way to defend himself.

“Lady Kirino, I was wrong. I’ll rescue your mother at once,” Ki said, glancing around to make sure nobody could hear the phone conversation, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

“Young man, have you made up your mind?” the bespectacled man said coldly, pressing the gun harder against Kirino’s mother’s head, the threat unmistakable.

Ki glanced at the large glass window in front of him; the bespectacled man was using it to keep him in sight. Ki shook his sleeve to show he was unarmed, then raised one hand high and pulled out a large black cloth with the other, obscuring himself.

“Besides martial arts, I’m skilled in something else. Can you guess what it is?” Ki’s voice came from behind the cloth.

“Seems you wish for this lady to die with us,” the bespectacled man’s eyes flashed coldly as his finger pressed down hard.

Kirino’s mother squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for death—only to hear, from behind her, “I’m also skilled in magic.”

“Impossible!” The bespectacled man stared in disbelief at the youth who had suddenly appeared behind him, unable to pull the trigger; instead, his arm was slowly forced upward.

“A magician lives for this very gasp of amazement. It is our highest praise,” Ki said with a slight smile, chopping him neatly on the neck and knocking him out.

“Um… do you want to talk to your mother?” Ki said into the phone.

“Hurry up! My mom must be terrified,” Kirino’s voice sounded sharp and clear, and Kirino’s mother, frozen nearby, heard every word.

“I’m so sorry, ma’am. I didn’t notice the criminal before calling you out. I startled you. Kirino wants to speak with you,” Ki said, scratching his head awkwardly as he handed the phone to Kirino’s mother, who had slowly turned around.

“It’s all right, really, just a bit of a fright. Thank you so much. Are you Kirino’s friend?” Seeing that she was truly safe, Kirino’s mother forced a smile and took the phone.

“Yes, I’m her friend. She suddenly called, asking me to save you. Luckily, I was nearby and rushed over,” Ki replied with a smile.

After thanking him again, Kirino’s mother began talking with Kirino. Ki addressed the remaining hostages: “The criminals are incapacitated. Everyone, please relax and wait for the police to arrive; after they question you, you’ll be free to go. Until then, please stay calm and don’t wander off—I’m afraid there might be more criminals among you. If anyone gets hurt, don’t blame me.”

The hostages nodded like pecking chicks. Just then, the old man began to scream again, his cries growing louder and more frantic. Ki frowned and walked over to examine the back of the man’s thigh, which he was clutching.

“That angle suggests a ricochet. Judging by the bleeding, the wound isn’t deep, only muscle was hit. You’re in luck,” Ki observed.

The old man suddenly shouted, “Easy for you to say when you’re not the one hurt! If you hadn’t barged in, the criminals wouldn’t have shot, and I wouldn’t have been hit. It’s all your fault—what are you going to do about it? You’d better pay my medical bills!”

Ki almost thought he’d misheard, looking at the old man’s angry glare. He just laughed. “So people like you really do exist—repaying kindness with resentment. I wonder what kind of mentality it takes to blame me for this.”

“No manners! How did your parents raise you? What school do you go to—”

*Slap!* Before the old man could finish, he was stunned by a sudden slap. Ki picked up the bespectacled man’s pistol and pressed it to the old man’s forehead.

“First, I suspect you’re an accomplice. Maybe I should cut off your hands and feet to keep others safe. But I’d rather not dirty my hands. Even when I slapped you, I wrapped my hand in cloth—such a waste of good fabric,” Ki said as he tossed aside the black cloth, revealing a smile.

“Like you said, I grew up alone. I only found out about her recently—I can curse her, I can hate her, but you can’t. If it weren’t for the trouble it would cause my family, I’d shoot you right now,” Ki finished coldly. In the old man’s eyes, he looked like a demon sizing up a corpse.

“What happened?” Kirino’s mother asked as she returned after her call.

Ki gave her a quick summary. “Are you all right, ma’am? You still look a bit pale—would you like me to see you home? It was my fault, after all…” Ki glanced at his phone, saw it had shut off, and slipped it in his pocket.

Kirino’s mother frowned in disgust at the old man, shook her head and said, “No need. Kirino wanted to come check on me, but I told her to go to school. You should head to school too, or you’ll be late.”

Ki pointed at his clothes with a smile. “I just moved to Chiba Town and haven’t started school yet. I was planning to register at XX Middle School today, so being late doesn’t matter.”

“You? At XX Middle School? I’ll have you know I’m the director of discipline at that school. If you want to attend, you’d better pay up for my medical costs and emotional damages. Someone as rude and uncultured as—”

*Bang!* A peanut whizzed past the old man’s forehead, leaving a red mark. He was so frightened he wet himself, trembling and silent at last.

“Ah—sorry, never handled a gun before, it went off by accident,” Ki apologized insincerely, tossing the pistol aside with a sigh. “Such bad luck. How am I supposed to explain this to Kuroneko?”

Kirino’s mother was startled by the gunshot, but seeing the old man’s disgrace, she stepped back in disgust. “Any school with people like him can’t be much good. Why not go to Cherry Academy Middle Division? That’s where Kirino goes. Since you saved me, I’ll even allow you to court Kirino,” she teased with a smile.

Ki scratched his head awkwardly. He certainly couldn’t say he and his sister were already dating. After a couple of dry coughs, he pulled out his phone again. “My sister is at that school. I originally wanted to walk her to and from school, but after all this, she’ll be disappointed. I’ll call her.”

“My, what a good big brother. Kirino has a brother too, but they seem to be having some trouble lately,” Kirino’s mother remarked, her spirits gradually recovering—she was an adult, after all, and her husband was a police officer.

Ki put on a sheepish smile as the call connected. “Oh my, it’s only been ten minutes since we parted, and you already miss me, Nii-san?” Kuroneko’s voice came through, tinged with a faint blush.

“Something happened, I’ll make it short. Here’s the situation… Normally, I probably wouldn’t be admitted to the school. But if you insist…” Ki’s lips curled into a wicked smile. “I’ll just buy the school and fire that disgusting director.”

“Uhh, why does everything happen so conveniently for you? That would cause a lot of trouble. Let me think about it,” came the reply, followed by silence.

“Are you the young heir of a wealthy family, solving problems by buying schools?” Kirino’s mother asked in surprise.

“Heh, my family’s ordinary. I just have some savings from before I came home. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself—how rude. My name is Ki… I recently reclaimed my surname, so I’m Ki Gokou, a friend of Kirino’s. Pleased to meet you,” he said, slapping his forehead as he realized his oversight.

Kirino’s mother smiled understandingly. “Well, given the circumstances, it’s understandable. I’ll call you Little Ki, then. Would you like to study at Cherry Academy? I can help a bit.”

Ki smiled apologetically, pointing at his phone. “I’ll get back to you in a moment.” He stepped aside to hear Kuroneko say, “Hey, Nii-san. Don’t bother coming to my school—just go to Cherry Academy with your two female—friends. Isn’t this what you called the will of the gods? If you go against it, something else might happen. The gods really are generous to you—are they setting you up for a harem?”

Ki’s expression was odd; he patted his forehead. “You’re overthinking it. There are plenty of ways—I could disguise myself, or run that old man out of Chiba Town…”

“Well, whatever you want. I have class now, bye.”

As soon as Ki hung up, Kiten popped out.

He had a bad feeling—whenever a lunatic sought him out, it was never good news.

“You’re probably thinking trouble is coming again, aren’t you? Clever of you. It’s only been two days since I last appeared, but it feels like ages—I was starting to feel forgotten. So, here are your choices: One, enroll at Cherry Academy Middle Division, and the enemies appearing this evening will target you. Two, don’t enroll, and the enemies will target the girls around you. What will you choose?”

(The last wave is approaching—almost time to return to the cultivation world. All I can hope for now is for you to bookmark, click, and maybe give a recommendation. I’ll strive to add another chapter—fighting!)