Starting With The Sefirah Castle In The Anime World Chapter 96: The Suspicious Back Mountain (BONUS)

The morning air on the island was crisp and refreshing.

With few industrial buildings and minimal vehicle emissions, the air here was rich in oxygen.

A single deep breath after waking up was enough to reinvigorate the body.

Ren, following his usual habit, woke up early long before the biological clock within him had fully activated.

Since it wasn't yet ti for breakfast, and the girls in the hotel were still deep in sleep, he decided to head out for a morning run in simple sportswear.

His jogging route took him through the island's main residential area.

As he ran, he observed his surroundings.

The atmosphere in the village was completely normal.

There were no traces of evil spirits here, their presence was concentrated entirely on the mountain.

Well, that made sense.

If bodies were being disposed of, it would be done sowhere secluded, like the mountain.

As Ren continued jogging through the village, he gradually approached the outskirts near the back mountain.

And that's when he noticed sothing unusual.

Surveillance.

At the very edge of the residential area stood a small guard post.

Nearby, there were multiple surveillance caras, their presence made obvious by their strategic placents.

Even more conspicuous was the large warning sign next to them.

[Danger: Risk of Landslides]

A bright red caution symbol was plastered underneath the text.

It was clear that soone didn't want people going up the mountain.

Using the pretense of landslide hazards to deter villagers from entering, it was a classic tactic.

Which ant...

There was sothing up there they didn't want people to see.

Though Ren was intrigued, now wasn't the right ti to act.

If he deliberately disappeared from the caras' view, it would imdiately raise suspicion.

Perhaps he could explore later at night but for now, it was best not to dwell on it too much.

He continued jogging around the village.

That was when he spotted sothing else.

Near the corner of a wall, several handmade protest signs had been stacked together.

The ssage on them read:

[Give Us Back Clean Seawater!]

So, was this the result of drug manufacturing?

Wastewater discharge polluting the nearby waters and impacting the local fisheries?

Although Ren didn't have firsthand experience with drug production, he knew that the process generated toxic byproducts.

Even in his past life, knowledge of this kind was common, if not from research, then from TV dramas and cri docuntaries.

The environntal damage caused by drug cultivation and production was severe.

If sothing like this wasn't done in a remote location, it wouldn't take long before people started noticing.

After all, when the environnt changes drastically, even the least observant person would realize sothing was wrong.

And typically, people would report their concerns to the authorities.

So, was the restricted back mountain being used for drug cultivation? Or was it a full-blown manufacturing site?

Had the villagers discovered the pollution without realizing its true source?

If they knew this was drug production, they likely wouldn't have had the courage to protest with signs.

Because if they truly understood what they were up against, they'd also understand that drug traffickers wouldn't hesitate to use lethal force.

The fact that they were protesting at all suggested ignorance, not bravery.

That ant the drug operation on this island hadn't yet reached the point where the traffickers had absolute control over the local population.

Of course, if the island's criminal activities were that advanced, they wouldn't be welcoming outside visitors so freely.

After finishing his morning run, Ren returned to the hot spring hotel.

A quick glance at his watch told him it was 7:34 AM.

Not bad.

He had run for about an hour and a half.

Even though it was just a light jog, he had worked up a sweat.

Feeling sticky and uncomfortable, he decided to take a shower and change his clothes.

The n's and won's hot springs were in separate locations designed that way to prevent any unnecessary incidents.

So when Ren exited the bath, there was no cliché "accidental encounter" like one might see in manga or ani.

Instead, what he saw was...

A group of half-asleep girls slumped in the hotel lounge.

It seed they had stayed up too late.

The combination of evil spirits and drug traffickers had certainly made for an eventful day.

For girls unaccustod to such things, it was understandable that their minds had been too restless to settle down easily.

---

"Good morning~"

Fujiwara was the first to greet him, energetic as ever.

Compared to so of the others, her resilience to stress was truly remarkable.

Seeing the contrast, Ren could appreciate just how ntally tough this girl actually was.

"Good morning."

"Did you sleep well last night?"

"Yep."

"You said there wasn't any danger, so I slept peacefully."

A simple yet solid reason.

Fujiwara was not only incredibly kind, but also soone who trusted others easily.

Ren glanced past her, shifting his gaze to Kaguya and Hayasaka.

Kaguya's condition didn't look great.

Dark circles under her eyes, a slightly sluggish deanor, clear signs of poor sleep.

On the other hand, Hayasaka looked completely fine, unaffected by whatever had troubled Kaguya.

"Shinomiya didn't sleep well?"

"Hmm..."

Fujiwara tilted her head, looking equally puzzled.

"Not sure."

"I fell asleep while hugging Kaguya last night, so I don't rember much after that."

Seeing Fujiwara's clueless expression, Ren imdiately understood.

He could already picture the scene.

Fujiwara clinging to Kaguya while sleeping...

Yeah.

That would explain why Kaguya didn't sleep well.

The person doing the hugging never realizes how uncomfortable it is for the one being hugged.

If he imagined himself in Kaguya's position...

If a boy his age had hugged him to sleep...

Yeah, he wouldn't have slept either.

In truth, Ren wasn't just awkward around girls.

He wasn't particularly comfortable around boys either.

Especially when it ca to bathing and sleeping.

For example, he had never liked going to public bathhouses.

Maybe it was due to habits from his past life, growing up where private baths were the norm.

He had simply never adapted to the idea of communal bathing.

He wasn't sure if girls had similar issues, but...

At the very least, Kaguya clearly wasn't used to sleeping next to Fujiwara.

Looking directly at Kaguya, Ren could tell, she was still resentful about her lack of sleep.

"Fujiwara, Shinomiya didn't sleep well. You should be mindful of that today."

"Oh! Amamiya, you noticed too?"

Ren blinked in mild surprise.

"You noticed?"

"Of course."

Fujiwara puffed out her chest proudly.

"I woke up and saw dark circles under Kaguya's eyes. How could I not notice?"

"Hmm~ but I don't know why Kaguya didn't sleep well."

"Even though Hayasaka and I slept right next to her last night."

"..."

Seeing Fujiwara's completely oblivious expression, Ren felt a bit awkward.

Should I... tell her?

Or would it just make things more uncomfortable?