"Funeral Parlor?"
Ishigami was still puzzled when he suddenly felt a chilling sensation creeping down his spine.
Turning around, he saw two girls standing by the student council room's entrance, their expressions utterly shattered.
Ishigami: !
Chika found a newspaper, folded it into a strip, and carefully wrapped the bottom part with tape.
In no time, a handy little tool was ready.
Holding the newly crafted strip of newspaper in her hand, Chika showed an adorable smile.
The next moment—
With all her might, she swung the tool down toward the back of Ishigami's head.
A mother's sword in hand, striking down the unfilial son—twelve slashes per second, each landing as a critical hit.
The pinker the hair, the harder they hit.
Feeling that her strength wasn't enough, Chika even jumped up to get a better angle as she continued her assault.
Like a storm, the punishment only stopped when Chika was out of breath, crouching to the side and panting cutely.
Ishigami felt completely defeated.
His head ached.
But that pain was nothing compared to the sheer terror in his heart.
"That's great, Ishigami-kun. Fujiwara-san is a kind-hearted girl. She only gave you a beating, so she should forgive you. If it were anyone else, they probably wouldn't be able to forgive you in this lifetime. Or maybe you should just take responsibility and atone with your death."
Kaguya coldly.
Ishigami Yuu had turned completely gray.
"Well then, I'll go home and write my will."
Saying that, he picked up his laptop and crawled out of the student council room.
Watching him leave, Haruto could barely hold it together.
Jokes are for fun, not at people's expense—Ishigami is a real man!
Seeing that Haruto was still laughing, Kaguya angrily puffed up her cheeks and poked Haruto.
Looking at the usually icy-cold Kaguya, now pouting like this out of frustration, Haruto couldn't help but find it adorable.
Crossing her arms in front of her chest, Kaguya glared at him and asked angrily,
"Haruto, do you think the same way?"
Haruto shook his head.
Although Kaguya, like Yukino, had a rather problematic personality, being small had its advantages, like saving on fabric...
Cough, cough. In any case, Haruto wasn't into a particular "type."
As the saying goes: height doesn't matter, as long as it's above four feet; size doesn't matter, as long as it's well-shaped.
Seeing Haruto sincerely shake his head in denial, Kaguya let out a sigh of relief, her anger dissipating.
Handing Haruto a teacup, Kaguya returned to her usual smiling demeanor with him.
"Try it."
Haruto took the cup and had a sip.
It was black tea.
Delicious.
Some people, after becoming wealthy, pursue a so-called refined taste, spending exorbitant amounts just to make themselves suffer, like developing an overly picky palate, eating outrageously expensive yet completely unpalatable food.
But it was clear that Kaguya was not one of those people.
This tea Haruto drank, he could tell its expensive taste was justified.
"This is probably the best tea I've ever had. Thank you, Kaguya."
Haruto said with a smile.
Hearing this, Kaguya felt a small joy in her heart.
The rest of their time in the student council room was spent sipping tea and chatting.
Even someone like Kaguya, who had been trained from a young age not to be easily swayed by others' words, found herself enjoying their conversation.
Haruto had a witty way of speaking, and his knowledge spanned everything from astronomy to geography, from ancient history to modern times.
Even though he deliberately concealed certain extraordinary facts, Kaguya and Chika still found their minds greatly broadened.
After all, Haruto's knowledge was backed by an immense database of memories.
Time passed quickly.
Thus, Haruto's first day as an exchange student at Shuchiin Academy ended on such a perfect note.
After school, Kaguya reluctantly got into her car.
Looking out the window at Haruto, Kaguya even considered—wouldn't it be better if Shuchiin Academy just became a full-day school?
"Kaguya-sama, it's time for us to leave."
Hayasaka Ai reminded her with a slightly helpless tone.
Seeing her mistress like this, Hayasaka Ai felt a headache coming on.
Just how had that guy managed to turn the ever-rational "Ice Kaguya-hime" into this silly beauty?
Hearing Hayasaka's words, Kaguya finally retracted her gaze, albeit reluctantly.
The vehicle started and left Shuchiin Academy.
Silently, Kaguya looked forward to their time together tomorrow.
However…
----------------
The Next Day
Kaguya received Haruto's leave of absence notice, and her whole body froze.
"Hayasaka! Why didn't he come today!?"
Kaguya, rarely seen in such a childish tantrum, demanded.
Hayasaka Ai sighed and tried to soothe her.
"The president is handling a follow-up experiment on a containment object. Taking a leave of absence is normal. Kaguya-sama, if you keep acting like this, people will think you can't live without a man."
Kaguya: !
Meanwhile, at one of the Foundation's sites.
Haruto watched as the staff carefully placed the Red Sea Object (SCP-093) onto a mirror inside a containment chamber.
The moment the red disk touched the mirror, glowing red runes instantly lit up on its surface.
The mirror, initially reflective, transformed into a hazy, white expanse.
The "Unclean Land" had been reopened.
Over time, the Foundation had conducted multiple experiments on the Red Sea Object and its corresponding world. From this parallel world, the Foundation obtained more records, allowing them to fully reconstruct its history.
Just as Haruto had originally suspected—
The so-called "Unclean Ones" were actually transformed humans.
A false god had arrived in the Unclean Land and rained down Divine Tears upon Earth.
The first humans who came into contact with these Divine Tears were immediately transformed into massive, white, upper-body-only monstrosities—the Unclean Ones.
As time passed, the surviving humans also succumbed to the corruption; either by direct contact with the Unclean Ones or through exposure to air and seawater contaminated by diluted Divine Tears.
Every human who underwent this transformation remained frozen in the moment of their change, their consciousness trapped in eternal agony.
Subsequent experiments confirmed this, D-class personnel sent into the Unclean Land also became part of these Unclean Ones upon contact.
Now, Haruto was about to begin the cleansing of the Unclean Land.
The Unclean Ones—corrupted by high concentrations of Divine Tears—possessed a form of immortality.
Neither physical attacks nor energy-based attacks could erase them.
Fortunately, Haruto had The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.
Thus began a long and arduous process.
Each Unclean One was composed of tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of transformed humans. And given the vast population of Earth, the sheer number of Unclean Ones was overwhelming.
But Haruto couldn't just erase the entire world, otherwise, the Unclean Land would be doomed.
So, he could only cleanse it slowly.
The process was monotonous—just repetitive, mechanical work—so there was no need to elaborate.
Time passed.
Under the gaze of The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, Haruto slew the last remaining Unclean One in this world.
Once again, countless whispers echoed in his mind.
They thanked him.
They rejoiced in their release.
To these Unclean Ones, death was a relief.
Expanding his perception, Haruto scanned the entire Unclean Land once more.
Well, now it could no longer be called the Unclean Land.
All Unclean Ones had been completely eradicated.
All remaining Divine Tears, after collecting samples, were fully destroyed.
Thus, this parallel world, once ravaged by an apocalyptic disaster, had finally returned to normalcy.
Floating in the air, overlooking this world, Haruto pondered for a moment before his figure twisted and vanished into the void.
When he reappeared, he was already back at the Foundation's site.
"The Unclean Land archive is now officially renamed The Rebirth Zone. Begin excavation and exploration efforts immediately. Additionally, based on known data, start utilizing the resources of The Rebirth Zone, mining any usable materials."
Haruto issued his orders.
The Foundation staff immediately responded and set to work.
Even for the Foundation, the resources of an entire world were an invaluable asset.
They could even use The Rebirth Zone as an emergency backup, if anything catastrophic happened to the main world, it could serve as a refuge for the remnants of humanity.
Of course, that was just a contingency plan.
With Haruto present in the main world, the probability of an apocalyptic disaster had already been reduced to a decimal with countless zeroes.
As the staff dispersed, Haruto noticed that Yukino was watching from the side.
That made sense—she had originally been one of the Red Sea Object's observers.
Now that the object's world had undergone such major developments, it was only natural for her to come and see.
Recalling Yukino's previous views and emotions regarding the Unclean Land and its inhabitants, Haruto walked over and told her about the complete eradication of the Unclean Ones, and the countless voices of gratitude.
Hearing this, Yukino finally felt a weight lift from her heart.