Starting With The Sefirah Castle In The Anime World-Chapter 171: Going Out to Sea at Night

Around six in the evening, a large truck carrying the group arrived at the port.

It was a scene reminiscent of their last outdoor club activity.

The only difference was that last time, they had traveled on a yacht—this time, they would be using a cruise ship.

Previously, they had reached Tsukikage Island by nightfall.

Moreover, Tsukikage Island wasn't some undeveloped land, it had already undergone preliminary development and was home to tens of thousands of people.

This time, however, their destination was a remote, isolated island, one that experienced two volcanic eruptions a year.

They weren't heading there for a camping trip.

After all, there were no human inhabitants on this island.

Since they would need to spend the night on the water, a yacht wasn't a suitable option. Instead, they required a cruise ship with better accommodations.

Naturally, the choice of captain was also important.

Actually, after their last trip, Hayasaka Ai had already explained some things about herself and Kaguya to the right people.

Certain channels were deliberately kept open to provide a clearer understanding of their situation.

As a result, this time, Nao Hayasaka had been able to handpick the captain, crew, and security personnel, people who aligned with the interests of the Hayasaka family.

Unlike the Shinomiya family, which had too many internal leaks, the Hayasaka family was far more reliable.

Additionally, due to the combined influence of Ai and Nao Hayasaka, Kaguya Shinomiya had delegated considerable authority to them. This led to an unexpected outcome, the entire Hayasaka family became fiercely loyal to her.

To put it bluntly, after being treated as mere servants for their entire lives, someone had finally begun treating them as actual people.

Because of this, the entire Hayasaka family now saw Kaguya Shinomiya as someone worth supporting.

Especially those selected for this voyage, they had been informed of certain matters in advance.

Upon learning that both the Hayasaka family's future and Miss Kaguya's circumstances were special, they quickly understood that their assignment for this trip was a direct result of trust.

The realization left them energized, as if they had been injected with adrenaline.

At the same time, they were all sworn to secrecy.

Everyone understood that maintaining confidentiality was the top priority.

No matter what strange things they saw on this journey, they had to remain unfazed, everything had to be treated as "perfectly normal."

This night, the cruise ship welcomed its first set of guests.

Yes, this vessel was brand new, and tonight marked its maiden voyage.

"So... we're really setting off at night?"

Aizawa Sakuya looked at the darkening sky, somewhat distressed.

She had initially assumed they would leave tomorrow morning—who would have thought they'd be departing tonight?

"Obviously."

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"The island we're heading to is way more remote than last time, not only is it isolated, but the environment is also harsh."

"Under these conditions, we can't just take a yacht over in the morning, can we?"

"How would we even get any proper training done after exhausting ourselves with the trip?"

Nagi rolled her eyes.

They had specifically chosen a nighttime departure to avoid the fatigue of an early-morning journey.

After all, traveling by yacht was exhausting, especially at full speed.

If they spent their entire morning speeding across the ocean, only to arrive at an uninhabited island in the middle of nowhere, wouldn't that be way too much pressure?

"That's why we opted for a cruise ship—so we can rest on board at night and start training fresh in the morning."

"Training...? It's honestly surreal hearing the word 'training' come out of your mouth, Nagi."

"That's an exaggeration."

Rolling her eyes again, Nagi strode forward, looking unimpressed.

"No, it's not."

Sakuya found the situation truly absurd.

She knew Nagi's personality better than anyone.

This was someone who hated going outside, someone who preferred staying indoors no matter what.

Getting Nagi to leave her house was always a challenge.

Back when she attended Hakuou Academy, if she claimed she wasn't going out, then she wasn't going out.

But ever since she transferred to a public school, not only had she stopped skipping, but she had also been attending regularly, every single day, without arriving late or leaving early.

This didn't make sense to Sakuya.

And now, to top it off, Nagi was talking about training.

Sakuya knew all too well how terrible Nagi's stamina was.

A little bit of physical activity would leave her gasping for breath. Her endurance was practically nonexistent.

That's why Aunt Yukariko was so important to her.

So important, in fact, that she had the power to make Nagi willingly change herself.

Sakuya wasn't stupid, she understood that Nagi never did anything without a reason.

Especially something as drastic as changing her own lifestyle.

Ordinary reasons would never be enough to make Nagi undergo such a major shift.

So, the cause behind this change was obvious.

Sanzenin Yukariko.

Nagi's biological mother.

She didn't know exactly what Shiko had done, but she knew she had to keep an eye on her.

| = |

Sakuya sighed and followed along.

There were more people in this group who had obtained special abilities.

Aside from Nagi and Maria, there were three others.

Sakuya's gaze drifted toward them.

Shinomiya Kaguya, Hayasaka Ai, and Mouri Ran.

Yet, neither Nagi nor Maria had ever revealed anything about their abilities to her.

Of course, Sakuya had her own suspicions.

But the person she was most concerned about wasn't any of them.

There was one individual who stood out above the rest.

Amamiya Ren.

That man was the true catalyst behind everything.

The one who undeniably possessed special abilities.

Yet, trying to assess his power was nearly impossible.

Most frustratingly, neither Nagi, Maria, nor Ichirou had explained anything about him. They had deliberately kept it a secret.

This left Sakuya at a disadvantage.

She wanted to uncover the hidden truths, yet she was being kept in the dark.

Aside from that, the identities of the other participants were obvious.

The second daughter of the Suzuki Zaibatsu and the second daughter of the Fujiwara family.

According to her research, all of them had gathered at Teitan High School.

The Suzuki heiress had already been a student there, but the Fujiwara heiress had transferred alongside Shinomiya Kaguya.

They had been privy to everything from the start.

On the other hand, Aizawa Sakuya had joined much later, meaning she knew the least.

And that was a problem.

Because sometimes, intelligence ceased to be intelligence.

It became a secret.

That was why she had chosen to join this trip.

She needed more information.

Otherwise, as someone who had entered midway through, she would never truly grasp the full picture.

(To be continued.)

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