The next day, Hakuto shook off Nao, who was lying next to him, yawned, and slowly got out of bed.
In recent months, Nao had been acting strange, frequently coming over to sleep next to him.
It seemed that ever since Ayumi caught a cold, Nao had unlocked some kind of special habit.
Hakuto didn't mind it much; after all, the bed was large enough, and apart from her restless limbs when sleeping, Nao wasn't too much trouble.
"I remember Shunsuke asked me to go somewhere today..."
Hakuto turned to look at Nao, who was still lying in bed, and shook his head.
Damn, how can this guy sleep so soundly?!
Laziness was one of Hakuto's few bad habits, but it wasn't much of a problem.
Moreover, he had always believed that people who didn't lie in bed and immediately got up when the alarm rang were awesome!
Although he was annoyed that Nao was still sleeping in, he still kindly tucked the covers around her to prevent her from catching a cold.
It was winter now, and the temperature was dropping rapidly. Since Japan was surrounded by the sea, it might start snowing any day now.
Nao, still lying in bed, watched Hakuto leave, not moving, only pulling the covers tighter around herself.
Hakuto walked out of the room. Now his body wasn't susceptible to colds, but he could still feel the cold.
Fortunately, the temperature control system at Shunsuke's base was well-maintained, and he didn't feel cold even wearing just a sweater.
Hakuto walked to the center of the base, where Otosaka Yuu and Shunsuke were already waiting for him.
"Yo, good morning, you two!"
"Been waiting for you."
Hakuto waved casually. He had gotten up early, so if Otosaka Yuu had been waiting for a long time, it was only because he was overly enthusiastic.
"By the way, where are we going?" Otosaka Yuu asked, following behind Shunsuke into an elevator.
Looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings, he couldn't help but ask.
"Yuu, do you remember what I said about superpowers being a kind of disease?"
"I remember, after all, Hakuto also died because of this..."
"You're being rude; I'm still alive and well."
Hakuto glanced around. He had a rough idea of where they were headed.
He then looked at Otosaka Yuu, poor child, who still didn't know what the future had in store for him.
Shunsuke paused with his cane and said, "Yeah, since it's a disease, there must be a way to cure it."
"Not only the researchers, but I also organized a group to work on research in this area... We're here."
As soon as Shunsuke finished speaking, the elevator reached the bottom floor, and the three of them entered a room with a completely different architectural style from the rest of the base.
"Where is this?"
"This is the underground research facility that was built alongside this base..."
Otosaka Yuu looked around in confusion. Since he hadn't regained his past life memories, this kind of research facility felt fresh to him.
Hakuto, however, seemed calm, having seen many such places in his memory, and even personally destroyed one before.
He just wanted to go back to bed and sleep, as Nao had warmed his blankets for him, so he wouldn't need to readjust to the bed's temperature.
"Shunsuke-san..."
"Shunsuke-san..."
The three of them passed by several researchers wearing white lab coats, and those researchers seemed especially respectful of Shunsuke.
"Being rich is good..." Hakuto sighed.
The reason these researchers respected Shunsuke was partly due to his knowledge and partly because of his wealth.
Shunsuke was essentially supporting these researchers, so it was natural for them to respect him.
"This wealth could be said to be half yours..." Shunsuke said, his dull eyes glancing at Hakuto.
"Huh?!" If you say it like that, Hakuto is wide awake now!
"Although my ability allows me to predict many future opportunities to make money, like lottery numbers, sports betting, or horse racing..."
"But you should know that these things are actually controlled by capital and don't have a fixed outcome..."
"So, this enormous wealth actually comes from your..."
"Hah? Did I enter Wall Street in some past life?"
"If you want to know, I can tell you later, but we have more important matters now."
Shunsuke led Otosaka Yuu and Hakuto into a separate isolated room.
In the room, an elderly man over fifty stood in the middle, seemingly waiting for their arrival.
"You're here."
"This is Researcher Iwakawa, and he was once a member of the ability users," Shunsuke introduced.
Hakuto walked over to a meteorite encased in glass and asked, "Is this the meteorite called Charlotte?"
"Not exactly... it's just a part of the meteorite."
Hakuto nodded. As a traveler, he understood everything, but today's focus wasn't on him, it was on Otosaka Yuu beside him.
Then, the elderly man named Iwakawa began his explanation.
Simply put, it was a long-period comet named Charlotte, which approached Earth roughly once every 75 years.
When it approached, the comet released its own factors, which spread across the Earth and led to the formation of superhumans.
These superhumans were essentially products influenced by the meteorite.
"We've now developed an antidote to cure superhumans..."
"Why cure them?"
"Because powers are a disaster for both the ability users themselves and society..."
"Yuu, although you don't remember, the three of us spent a long time under the researchers' care in the beginning..."
"And Yuu, you've probably seen ability users causing chaos with their powers, right?"
Actually, Otosaka Yuu didn't need to see it; he was the type of person who caused trouble using his powers, but it was mostly limited to cheating and flirting...
Although he didn't get the girl and almost died...
"Even though this vaccine could be distributed worldwide, still..."
Looking at the worried face of the researcher, Hakuto said nothing and made no move.
Although he occasionally said that Otosaka Yuu should save the world, when it came to this point, Hakuto wouldn't push Otosaka Yuu or hint at him.
These kinds of things had to be based on other people's choices...
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