Chapter 146: Ice Kaguya and Lovestruck Kaguya, Hayasaka Feels Numb

Haruto handed a registration form and a confidentiality agreement to his sister.

Yukino sat to the side, sulking.

[Pouting emoji].

Meanwhile, Haruno took the documents with a bright smile and signed the confidentiality agreement.

The poor girl had no idea just how outrageous the SCP Foundation's recruitment review process would be.

Afterward, Haruno underwent an A-Class Memory Erasure, which only wiped her memories related to Tomie.

If she did not officially join the Foundation within seven days, all her memories regarding anomalies and the Foundation would be erased as well.

At that moment, Hayasaka Ai arrived, pulling Kaguya along.

With nearly all of Japan's financial conglomerates caught in one massive net, the country's upper echelon was bound to undergo a dramatic reshuffling.

The heads of the Suzuki, Senzaemon, and Shinomiya financial groups, three of Japan's top conglomerates, had all perished in the recent anomaly outbreak.

The current state of the Suzuki and Senzaemon families remained uncertain.

However, the future of the Shinomiya family was visibly descending into chaos.

For years, the Shinomiya conglomerate had been ruled solely by Shinomiya Gan'an, who was still in his prime.

He had three sons and one daughter, all meticulously trained, yet none truly capable of controlling the Shinomiya Financial Group.

An even greater issue was that among his three sons and one daughter, there was no clear successor.

Leaving Kaguya aside for now, her three elder brothers were guaranteed to engage in a brutal power struggle.

They had all inherited, to varying degrees, Shinomiya Gan'an's ruthless and domineering nature, placing personal interests far above family bonds.

Even if Kaguya had no desire to fight for control of the conglomerate, she would inevitably be dragged into the conflict, becoming a sacrificial pawn in their power struggles.

Each had inherited some degree of their father's domineering personality, prioritizing personal gain far above family bonds.

Even if Kaguya completely withdrew from the struggle, she would inevitably be drawn in as a pawn in the power struggle.

And now, the only person she could turn to for protection was Haruto.

If Japan's power structure was being reshuffled, the one shuffling the deck was undoubtedly Haruto.

Not to mention the SCP Foundation, an overwhelming behemoth with supernatural abilities.

Even disregarding the Foundation itself, the Momobami Clan under its control was the only one among the four financial powerhouses that remained intact and fully operational.

Even if the Foundation did nothing, the Momobami Clan alone had enough influence to dominate the upcoming reshuffle.

Thus, at this moment, Kaguya had no time to dwell on the nature of the Foundation or Hayasaka's connection to it.

Her priority was securing the Foundation's assistance, gaining its support, and using that power to seize control of Shinomiya Family, her only path to survival.

At least, that's what should have happened.

After dragging her lady over, Hayasaka turned back, only to find Kaguya looking embarrassed and flustered in an utterly silly manner.

With a sharp glare at the "shady" president, Hayasaka grabbed Kaguya's left hand and pressed it against her cheek.

This forced Kaguya to trigger her "cool and rational mode."

Silly, love-struck Kaguya instantly transformed into Ice Queen Kaguya.

"President, regarding the future of the Shinomiya Family, or rather, the future of Japan's financial sector—what is the Foundation's decision?"

Hayasaka directly asked the question.

She knew Haruto wasn't the type to act high and mighty just because he held power.

If there was something to discuss, it was best to ask outright.

Haruto stroked his chin in thought.

Hmm, that was indeed an important question.

Because of the unexpected anomaly outbreak caused by Tomie, the Foundation had not prepared a contingency plan in advance.

Haruto had some vague ideas but had not yet finalized anything.

"This happened suddenly, but the Foundation will likely use the Momobami Clan to take control over the remaining three major conglomerates. In terms of business operations and decision-making, the Foundation won't interfere, it is only concerned with maintaining societal stability and expanding its control. As you know, Hayasaka, the Foundation doesn't lack money. What we need is the authority wielded by the four major conglomerates to facilitate classified operations."

Haruto was being transparent, though he didn't reveal everything.

Hayasaka immediately grasped his intent.

He wanted her lady to take the initiative.

Still, this was already an excellent outcome.

At that moment, Kaguya spoke, 

"President Haruto, may I take control of the Shinomiya Family? Like Miss Haruno, I wish to join the SCP Foundation."

Rational Ice Kaguya shared some of her father's traits—the ability to set aside trivial matters for a greater goal.

(Perhaps her cold side was inherited from her father, while her silly, love-struck side came from her mother?)

Although her words made it sound like she was agreeing to become the Foundation's puppet in exchange for control over the Family, this was actually her best option.

If she left the conglomerate to its own infighting, Kaguya knew her brothers would tear each other apart. At that point, with external instability and internal strife, the Shinomiya Family would likely collapse.

By joining the Foundation, the family could continue operating independently without being exploited for its wealth.

Kaguya had immense trust in both the SCP Foundation and Haruto, who had twice saved her life.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Haruto nodded.

This arrangement aligned with the Foundation's interests.

Having Kaguya manage the Shinomiya Family within the Foundation would ease the burden on the Momobami Clan in handling external affairs.

As for helping her surpass her three brothers and take control, such a simple matter didn't even require consideration.

Haruto retrieved the Absolute Contract Codex and placed it before Kaguya, indicating for her to sign.

Seeing the familiar golden codex, Hayasaka felt deeply conflicted.

She had once gone to great lengths to keep her lady away from this dangerous organization.

Yet now, her lady was voluntarily walking into it.

Had she known this would happen, perhaps...

While Hayasaka was lost in thought, Kaguya had already signed her name.

Now that business was settled, Kaguya's curiosity surfaced.

"President Haruto, since I've joined the SCP Foundation, may I ask some questions about it?"

She cautiously inquired.

Haruto nodded indifferently, assuming she would ask about anomalies or containment procedures.

However, Kaguya's first question was:

"Has Hayasaka... been part of the Foundation for a long time?"

Hearing this, Hayasaka felt an ominous foreboding.

Haruto nodded.

"Yes, Hayasaka Ai joined the Foundation long ago."

He even mentioned a time so early that the Foundation hadn't even been officially established yet.

Hayasaka was actually one of the Foundation's founding members.

Kaguya, who had long suspected something, suddenly felt as though countless questions had been answered.

For instance, why had her most loyal aide suddenly sided with an unfamiliar young man?

Why had Hayasaka defied her orders to keep her from investigating Haruto?

Now she understood, it was all due to the SCP Foundation's secrecy protocols.

Hayasaka had never betrayed her.

This realization warmed Kaguya's heart.

And then, another thought arose.

If Hayasaka hadn't betrayed her, then the idea of romance...

Thus, Kaguya blurted out, 

"Then, President Haruto, are you and Hayasaka... not in a relationship?"

Haruto: ?

Hayasaka: !!!

Even the Yukinoshita sisters turned to look.

Was there really something between them?

A "Shady President × Scheming Maid" dynamic?

...Actually, that sounded kind of fitting.

Hayasaka wanted to cry.

Why did her lady think she was dating this shameless president?!

Meanwhile, Haruto, after a brief moment of surprise, suppressed a smile and shook his head.

"No, Hayasaka Ai seems to have some prejudice against me, so romance is rather unlikely."

Hayasaka wanted to retort—It's not prejudice; it's an accurate assessment of your shady nature!

However, upon hearing this, Kaguya visibly lit up.

That meant she didn't have to compete with Hayasaka!

She could openly pursue Haruto!

Determined, she thought,

I, Shinomiya Kaguya, will make Haruto confess to me!

At this moment, Hayasaka Ai only wanted to shake her lady awake.

Don't be a love-struck fool, my lady!

"Alright, if there's nothing else, I need to head back to the station and throw Tomie into the containment chamber."

Haruto raised his hand slightly, gesturing to the struggling sack in his grasp. However, that sack was actually constructed from his own cellular differentiation.

Forget Tomie, even if he threw Rize in there, she wouldn't be able to break free.

Hearing this, Yukino appeared puzzled.

"What about the memory-cleansing procedure for us?"

She, Hayasaka Ai, and Shinomiya Kaguya had yet to undergo the memory-cleansing process.

Although joining the Foundation didn't require them to erase their knowledge of anomalies and the organization, they should still have their memories of Tomie erased.

However, Haruto shook his head.

"No need. You three were never cognitively contaminated by Tomie in the first place."

These words left the three of them stunned.

Did they have such a special talent?

Then, Haruto continued,

"Because there are residual traces of the Blacklight Virus in your bodies. After receiving the notification, I activated the virus within you. Your vision was distorted, you only saw a filtered version of Tomie's cognitive contamination. There's no need to erase your memories."

I see... My ass!

The three girls' eyes widened.

They actually had something as dangerous-sounding as the Blacklight Virus in their bodies?!

Hayasaka Ai, in particular, was full of doubts.

It was understandable for herself and Yukino to have the Blacklight Virus since they had undergone Class A memory-cleansing in the Foundation.

But why did her lady have the Blacklight Virus in her body?!

Suddenly, Hayasaka Ai recalled the first time her lady met Haruto.

That handshake…

Hayasaka Ai: !

This scumbag president! He had already secretly done something to her lady from the start!

Meanwhile, Haruto made a swift getaway.

Inside the car, Haruto looked at the black-clad Agent-3 before him and sighed.

"You really have it tough."

The agent simply shook his head with a smile.

"I've always walked this path. For the future of humanity, someone has to play the role of the devil. Besides, this situation is a thousand—no, ten thousand times better than those past meaningless sacrifices. Not to mention, there's the Phoenix Project."

Indeed, the agent leading this mission was actually O5-2, Erwin. And the agents who were task to contain Tomie, some of them are ex-members of the Scout Regiment who followed him to Haruto's world. 

When Haruto went to deal with the Undying Reptile of the Northern Nation (SCP-682), Erwin temporarily took over command of Tomie's containment operation.

Disguised as an agent, he arrived at the scene to make real-time adjustments to the plan.