Chapter 145 This villain really went all out...

The conversation between Hyuga Hajime, Komaeda Nagito, and Enoshima Junko went surprisingly smoothly.

Zhanren Mukuro was also present. However, she did not participate in the conversation and did not choose to sit down as well. Instead, she stood quietly to the side and behind her sister, like a dutiful guard.

Whether based on his memories or his investigation of the sisters over the past few days, Hyuga Hajime knew very well that if Enoshima Junko made a request, Ikusa Mukuro might attack him and Komaeda Nagito at any time. The short-haired girl, who was not yet an "Ultimate Soldier," was not to be underestimated in terms of combat strength; in some ways, she might be more dangerous than any potential traps or mechanisms... However, everyone present also knew that she had no need to make a move.

Faced with Izuru Kamukura and "Ultimate Luck," forceful coercion without supernatural intervention poses little threat. Of course, even with supernatural intervention, the outcome might be the same... after all, "luck" is a rather mysterious talent, isn't it?

There was no tense, hostile atmosphere, nor any traps or mechanisms. The three of them simply went to the reception room inside the house, sat down at the table, and calmly... well, relatively calmly, exchanged ideas.

On the table, each of the three had a cup of tea in front of them. In addition, there were many exquisitely crafted snacks... However, since they entered, none of the four of them had actually reached out to take anything to eat.

The reason I say it's progressing smoothly is because... Enoshima Junko explained things very quickly.

She didn't hide what she had done and readily admitted, "Yes, I do know Aurora. To be more precise... it came to me on its own initiative."

"Pfft pfft pfft pfft..." The girl with pigtails covered her mouth and laughed, as if she was in a good mood because of the wonderful memories. "This is also the first time I have encountered a doll that can talk but can't run or jump, but can teleport and is proficient in murder and arson. When I first saw it, I was really scared - so much!"

In that future, Junko Enoshima successfully lured Izuru Kamukura with an unknown force. For her, possessing the talent of an "Ultimate Analyst," the sudden appearance of an unnatural being from a completely new realm in her world might...

·

Hyuga Hajime affirmed, "It came to you because of something in the future."

Since Aurora was able to insert fragments of future memories into Hyuga Hajime's mind, she naturally knew what had happened in a certain future.

"Yeah, yeah, there's no need to ask me again if you already know, right? After all—even if I insisted, 'Oh no, I don't know any dolls, this is some third-rate horror story,' you wouldn't believe me, would you?"

Junko Enoshima complained in a disgruntled tone.

"Or is it that you did it on purpose, senior? You deliberately saw through my thoughts completely but still wanted to see me say them out loud? That's really malicious... But I don't dislike it, this kind of despair where you can't even struggle anymore... Ugh..."

Completely see through it? That's hard to say.

If Enoshima Junko's despair was only that level, then Kamukura Izuru wouldn't have been successfully "persuaded" by her in that future.

"That should be enough, right?"

Komaeda Nagito seemed a little impatient—actually, his attitude seemed normal at the moment, but compared to his attitude towards other Ultimate High School Students, this normalcy would soon seem abnormal.

"So you're the type who really enjoys talking nonsense?"

"..." Junko Enoshima suddenly fell silent, her face expressionless. She stared at Nagito Komaeda's face openly for two seconds before asking, "Who are you? Senpai's little follower?"

...Well, the atmosphere among the three of them wasn't actually that good after all.

Nagito Komaeda and Junko Enoshima were engaged in a conversation. Both were eloquent speakers, and neither could gain the upper hand in their verbal sparring. If there were a fifth person present, they might be quite astonished by the content of their dialogue.

While their words were witty, they didn't touch on anything related to the supernatural. So, Hyuga Hajime openly drifted off into daydreams. Well, to call it daydreaming was a bit of an exaggeration; Hyuga Hajime was perfectly capable of listening to their conversation while simultaneously processing the information he'd thoroughly confirmed through his face-to-face talk with Enoshima Junko.

As a doll-like monster, Aurora's malice is directed at all humans, and this will not change regardless of what kind of human they are.

Enoshima Junko was naturally among the humans it treated with malice.

Aurora gained the ability to know a certain "future," and under those circumstances, its games began to revolve primarily around those key figures in that "future" world. However, rather than Izuru Kamukura or Makoto Naegi… its games first targeted Junko Enoshima.

This wasn't because Aurora had any special plans against them; it was purely coincidental. Perhaps in some parallel world, Aurora, while playing the game, didn't first approach Junko Enoshima, but instead went to Makoto Naegi, who was still living a peaceful third-year middle school life, or perhaps to Hajime Hyuga, who aspired to be the Ultimate High School Student but hadn't yet participated in the God Throne Project…

If that were the case, would the situation be better now, or would it be worse?

Such a thought only flashed through Hyuga Hajime's mind. It was a question without an answer, and one that would have no impact on reality, so Hyuga Hajime didn't delve into it, but simply continued to analyze the situation.

Just like Tsukino, Chiya, and Ohma Kokichi, who survived from Aurora's game, Enoshima Junko also survived. Hinata Hajime wasn't sure if she also bore the mark left by the doll somewhere on her body, but he knew that Enoshima Junko had definitely reached some kind of agreement with Aurora.

At least.

Hinata Hajime's thoughts.

It was Junko Enoshima who facilitated Hope's Peak's decision to entrust the task to Kamitsuki and Chiya.

Dolls don't have connections, and they don't understand the workings of modern society as thoroughly as humans. The fact that Hope's Summit chose Tsukino and Chiya, students who could move freely at school without arousing suspicion, as their clients was actually a result of Junko Enoshima's influence.

Tsukino and Chiya had long realized that their sudden assignment wasn't as simple as it seemed. Although he often referred to himself as an ordinary person… Hyuga Hajime knew perfectly well that such things were best taken with a grain of salt. Even if he were truly an ordinary person, Tsukino and Chiya weren't the kind who would claim, "I just want a peaceful life," otherwise he wouldn't be involved with Ohma Kokichi now.

So when they realized something was wrong, Tsukino and Chiya seized the opportunity to take the bait thrown by the unknown figure. On one hand, he did need to actively engage with supernatural events to prolong his life because of the mark on his body; on the other hand, it was also to find out who was hiding behind the scenes.

Enoshima Junko didn't put much effort into hiding this matter, perhaps hoping that Tsukino would approach her. However, even so, investigating wasn't easy. After some time, Tsukino and Chiya confirmed Enoshima Junko's identity, but at that time… so he later handed the matter over to Hinata Hajime.

The doll seems to be very interested in people related to Hope's Peak because of some future development, which may be why it managed to place Yoshiko Morikawa's strangeness in the Hope's Peak Preparatory School building.

Junko Enoshima was naturally within the doll's area of ​​interest. Aurora… it was unlikely to show Junko any preferential treatment, and even if it did, the doll's bizarre "preferential treatment" would likely be very different from what humans understood as "preferential treatment." In other words, being with Aurora placed Junko in a very dangerous situation as well.

However, why would Enoshima Junko be afraid of this?

No, perhaps more accurately, it's not that she's incapable of fear. It's just that, for her, the despair containing negative emotions like "fear" is something she's willing to experience, so she won't back down because of it.

More important than that, regarding Aurora—

"Anyway, it's just like you said before, senior."

The conversation between the two finally got back on track after going around in circles.

Junko Enoshima, looking utterly spineless, slumped lazily in her chair, appearing utterly hopeless. She didn't even have the strength to lift her hand, and simply stared at the ceiling in that position.

"Ugh... How annoying. So why did I explain things you already mostly guessed, just for final confirmation? Is this what they call an explanation mission? Have I really fallen this low? Am I some kind of high-class villain? Ugh, being treated like this is truly despairing..."

"In short, it's just that kind of thing! Dolls aren't only ruthless towards humans, but also towards their companions in a certain sense, you know? Hmm, you must know something about other dolls, right? But that child, it's a little different, isn't it? Knowing the future, attracting anomalies that shouldn't exist in this timeline, even... So, how exactly did it do that? Doll anomalies sound pretty powerful, but generally speaking, can doll anomalies really do this much?"

"That's right! The truth is—stop! Why am I saying this... Anyway, you all know what's coming next without me saying it, right... Huh? Does that mean I'm completely worthless now? Thinking about it, this villain is really pathetic... It makes me want to cry..."

*******

Welcome back.

An unidentified doll greets a girl returning home from school—namely, Kazuko Sakuraba.

Just as Tsukino, Chiya, and Ohma Kokichi were unable to reach Sakuraba Kazuko, who had fallen from the building, in the virtual world, the three of them were also unable to reach the doll and the girl at this moment, and the doll and the girl seemed to be unable to see their existence.

“Sakuraba Kazuko and the doll,” Higashigomi Miya said. “Could what we are seeing now be a scene from the past?”

"I think it's about right. But teacher, shouldn't we use a more precise term here?" Wang Ma Xiaoji said, raising his arm as if he were a student preparing to answer a question in class. "What do you mean by 'doll, doll'? Doesn't it have its own name? It's called—"

“It’s Aurora disguised as a doll from the Sakuraba family,” Tsukino and Chiya replied calmly.

"Hey! Kazuya Kozue! Don't interrupt!"