I fell asleep reading?
(Find Darwin Vol. 3)
My lady.
Never mind.
Let's go.
Good morning. Nishino-san.
Good morning.
Good morning. Senpai.
Hello. Good morning.
There is a boy I do not like.
Good morning. Kageno-kun.
Lower-middle grades. Lower-middle athletic ability.
He looks like the most mediocre one.
Good morning. Nishimura-san.
Hey, Kageno-kun.
What is it, Nishimura-san?
My family name... is not Nishimura, you see...
(Episode 1 A Pesky Classmate) My family name... is not Nishimura, you see...
It's not Nishimura.
Oh, I got it wrong?
Yes. My family name is...
Ah. One sec. I've recalled it.
You're a named character.
Named?
Oh, that's my problem.
I've memorized the names of all key figures.
I don't get enough sleep lately, so it seems some escaped me.
You didn't remember... I see.
We're in the same class, and I've been sitting next to you for three months. Three months!
It's OK. Everyone makes mistakes.
Yeah. Sorry.
Nishitani-san.
It's not Nishitani!
It's Nishino.
Eh?
My name is Akane Nishino.
Oh. See you, Nishimura-san.
It's Nishino! You even went back to Nishimura!?
The least forgivable thing he did is not constantly mistaking my name
but the fact that he's not looking at me.
Though his eyes are sometimes turned in my way,
he's always looking beyond me, at something else.
When I noticed that, I became completely sick of him.
Akane, you star in the drama aired next Monday at 21:00, right?
You're amazing!
How many dramas have you starred in so far?
You've been progressing even faster than the last year.
Actually, now I'm almost dying of nervousness.
I will definitely watch it.
I tried my best not to get involved with Kageno-kun.
I actually wanted to completely ignore him...
But for a reason, I chose not to do it so obviously.
20,553... 20,554... 20,...
When I was in middle school,
I once paused my acting career due to a scandal.
(The Horror of the Stalker)
Ever since that incident,
I began to put on a mask.
Nucleus... The limit of living beings...
(The energy generation is 8 million times that of petroleum.)
More... power...
Well, the aggregation of School Festival questionnaires shall be entrusted to...
Ah. Ma'am, please leave it to me!
Oh, but you'll be having supplementary lessons next, right?
You've been getting busier and busier lately.
That's a lovable aspect of Akane, I'd say.
Oh, please. Don't laugh at me too much.
So, the aggregation will be left to... you, next to her, OK?
OK.
Come on. Time for club activities.
How about stopping by Yotsugoshi on our way back?
To be favored by teachers, I became an honor student.
To be favored by classmates, I became popular.
I've been making efforts to be favored by everyone.
That's the lifestyle I kept until today.
(From My Lady)
He doesn't pick it up...
This is the first time I walk back home since that incident.
Are you Akane Nishino?
Why? Why!?
This again!?
No...
Hey, stop struggling.
It finally kicked in.
Good, take her inside the car now.
Don't order me, you outsider.
You made a mistake.
The young lady of Nishino Conglomerate went out at night alone.
You were asking bad guys to kidnap you, you know?
Behave yourself. The ransom note has been sent.
As long as they pay, we'll let you go.
Ostensibly, it's supposed to be so.
But your father has made many enemies, you know?
Shut it.
Huh?
You're just an outsider. Stop putting on airs in front of me.
I said shut it. You outdated hooligan.
You just irritated me...
Finally, my luck is on the turn but it's ruined.
Cheer me a little bit, will ya?
It's called fan service. Let's start with your cute mouth...
Don't you try to resist!
You've been used to this, haven't you?
This is the second time you're kidnapped.
The previous kidnapper was a stalker, right?
I'll give you a much better time than that dipshit.
Just quit struggling. No one will come...
What... No, who!?
Damn it... Who the hell are you?
Me?
I'm just a... Stylish Thug Slayer.
Stylish... Thug Slayer?
Come off it, you prick!
Too many extra moves. Weak spots everywhere.
Impressive. You're quite a capable one.
Stylish Thug Slayer.
Since being expelled from the army, I've been so bored.
Kidnapping simple-minded little girls. Teaming up with nasty low-life.
This country is too peaceful.
Is that so? That's perfect. I always wanted to fight with a soldier.
You're welcome, Stylish Thug Slayer!
Welcome to this screwy world!
I've already known...
Such ecstasy!
The bar is handy. Ex-soldier.
It's hard to break, and easy to carry.
Even when questioned by the police, you can easily come up with an excuse.
And most importantly, you can wield it like a tonfa.
Damn. Indeed, you're strong.
But you have a fatal disadvantage.
That is... the sheer difference in our physiques!
I just need to defend my head.
While you'll be over if you take one blow.
Of course.
I am rivaling against an ex-soldier on my own.
That's the fact.
So I might need to exert some of my true power.
What?
I see possibilities in the bars.
A shape that looks like a tonfa...
Its weight, strength, and portability.
It has high potential in every aspect.
And every night, I kept beating biker gangs up without making too much noise.
So... You are that ski mask berserker who
walloped the biker gangs with one bar!?
Recently, they started to wear helmets,
to prevent damage when taking a hit in the head.
And then, I came to a conclusion...
Compared to being used like a tonfa, a bar is...
more effective with simple strikes!
This is the potential of a bar.
Striking others with the L part is the trick.
The impact would be concentrated in that way.
Wait...wait a minute!
Wait...
Be careful about walking home next time.
Not enough... My performance against the ex-soldier...
cannot yet match...
that of an Eminence in Shadow...
After that, I called the police and went through a series of rough events...
My father took some measures, and the case didn't go public.
In the end,
the identity of Stylish Thug Slayer remains a mystery.
Good morning. Nishino-san.
Good morning.
Good morning. Senpai.
Hello. Good morning.
Good morning. Kageno-kun.
Good morning. Nishino-san.
Well, well. It's not Nishino...
He didn't mistake my name...
And I noticed he's really looking at me this time...
Kageno-kun is leading a masked life just as I do.
Somehow I just have that feeling.
But now, I have no way to confirm that.
The next news.
Early this morning, at Sakurazaka City,
a high school student, Minoru Kageno, who's the resident of the city
was run over by a truck and died.
(A high school student was killed after a truck plowed into him.)
According to the police, the truck driver wasn't looking ahead.
The details of this incident are under invetiga...
I don't remember how it was started.
Since I began to take notice, I've been aspiring.
Just as everyone longs to be a hero as a child.
I wanted to be like that.
But, not like other kids,
my aspiration was not just a temporary whim.
It's brewing deep in my heart.
It's there all the time, motivating me.
To become stronger, I tried my best to acquire everything necessary.
But I act as a mediocre one at school.
No standing out. Just a harmless John Doe.
But behind everyone's back, I trained myself with everything.
Though the people around me all grew up and forgot about their hero dreams,
and that made me a little, just a little bit sentimental,
I maintained my goal.
For the day that will eventually come.
But now I have to face the reality.
It's no use doing these kinds of things.
No matter how much battle skills that's popular in those back allies I learn,
I still can't get the overwhelming power like in a story.
At most, I can only bash some ruffians.
For example, if surrounded by armed soldiers, I'm done.
Well, if I could become a world-beating fighter,
I might get to strike back.
However, what's next?
What if a nuclear bomb is dropped?
No matter how much I train my body, my mind, and my skills,
facing a dropped nuclear bomb, they'd just vaporize.
That's human.
I must exceed the limits.
The one I aspire to won't vaporize due to a nuclear bomb.
No compromise is allowed.
Please rest assured.
We've surrounded them.
They won't get away.
Everything goes as Master's wise judgments.
Such sagaciousness has left me nothing but awe.
The grand hunt after a long time. I'm so excited.
I won't go easy on them.
We are all waiting for your orders, Master.
Good.
Not sure what is "good". I just feel that I should say it.
The long-awaited reincarnation. The long-awaited Isekai. And the long-awaited...
I need more… power.
Magic power... With this new instrument at hand...
The summit I aim at is only one.
Let's go.
Now, I'm going to achieve it.
For that, I can discard everything.
No, I'll discard everything.
If I can achieve it in that way, I want to achieve it in that way!
Not as the protagonist, nor as the ultimate villain.
I want to be who only meddles in the story and exhibits his power from the shadow,
the Eminence in Shadow!
(The Eminence in Shadow)