Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 1622: Chapter 1620: Secret Investigation (Chasing Their Own Tails)

Setsuna didn’t make a choice.

At least when Fang Zheng got up the next day, she was still there, calmly greeting everyone while preparing breakfast... Well, Fang Zheng still had no idea what she wanted to do.

But he let her be.

After all, Fang Zheng and Sora had work to do as well.

Today was no different. After breakfast, Fang Zheng immediately drove Sora to the office and began a new day of work.

”Haruka, the advertisement shoot is in half an hour, get ready and we’ll head out.”

”Ah, okay! Producer!”

Hearing Fang Zheng’s words, Haruka nodded and quickly followed Fang Zheng out of the office. After getting in the car, Fang Zheng drove while making a call.

”Oh, Sora, when Meixi arrives, tell her to go straight to the set. She’s modeling today, and Zhenna is working with Xuebu, so have them prepare. Chihaya’s recording is at nine-thirty. After I finalize Haruka’s schedule, I’ll wait for her at the radio station entrance, and...”

With a detailed rundown of today’s schedule, Fang Zheng finally tossed aside his phone and stepped on the brake... stopping at a red light.

It was only then that Haruka, sitting in the passenger seat, let out a breath of relief. She nervously tightened her seatbelt, then turned to look at Fang Zheng.

”Um... Producer?”

”Hm? What is it?”

”Have we been very busy lately?”

”Not too bad, being busy is good, it means you’re all becoming famous, which is normal.”

”Yeah...”

Hearing this, Haruka sighed. Although, as Fang Zheng said, their workloads had been increasing with their rising popularity, Haruka couldn’t help but feel a bit lonely. Previously, everyone would gather in the office every morning, cheerfully greeting each other and chatting about yesterday’s events or TV shows before going to training or work.

But now, due to increasing work, many people were heading straight to their assignments without coming into the office, leaving Haruka, who still insisted on coming in early, feeling cold and lonely.

This feeling was even stronger when training alone.

”By the way... Producer, Christmas Eve is coming up soon...”

”Yes, it is.”

”Will everyone be spending it together?”

”We’ll see, but from what I recall about reservations, it’s going to be difficult...”

Hearing Haruka’s question, Fang Zheng shook his head. As time went on, the girls of 765 had become more popular, with more work opportunities coming their way, which were all completed well. However, the downside of their rising fame was the severe reduction in free time... Honestly, even Fang Zheng felt it was a bit exploitative.

But... that’s how the industry operates.

This was why Fang Zheng didn’t like this line of work. During holidays, wouldn’t it be better to spend time at home or with friends? Of course, adults might have to work, but at least kids should have the right to rest.

Honestly, Fang Zheng also wished there wasn’t so much work, but many requests were specifically for them. Declining wouldn’t be good for the girls’ futures. Yet agreeing to everything wasn’t realistic either. In fact, even now, the schedule was the result of Fang Zheng’s careful adjustments.

Otherwise, the girls might be working from dawn until late at night... Is death from overwork not a concern in Japan?

Oh, right, they might not care.

Frankly, Fang Zheng wished the girls would spend more time training. Junko was right, popularity is fleeting, and without enough skill, it would fade eventually. While the girls were gaining popularity, they were still on the rise, and if they didn’t focus on training, it wouldn’t end well.

Unfortunately, the girls’ thoughts didn’t align with Fang Zheng’s. They were eager to secure more work... Well, they’re young, so it’s understandable.

Hearing Fang Zheng’s response, Haruka seemed a bit down but soon perked up.

”I hope everyone can spend Christmas Eve together.”

”Yeah... That would be a good choice.”

Listening to Haruka, Fang Zheng nodded. He wasn’t into Christmas, but he liked the idea of everyone celebrating together. 765 felt like a big family, and gathering for a holiday would be nice.

Even though he thought so, things weren’t that simple.

In fact...

”Oh, Katori, have you heard?”

Just as Katori was about to head home, a few girls approached her. Ever since Katori and Neflen transferred to Sakanoue Academy, they had garnered significant attention. Being foreign students, and with appearances that looked ”foreign,” they naturally drew interest.

They had made a few friends in class, and the girls currently around Katori were among them.

”Heard what?”

Putting down her bag, Katori curiously looked at the girl beside her, who gave her a mysterious smile.

”You know Komizo Yukina from our school, right?”

”Yes.”

Upon hearing the name, Katori nodded. Of course, she knew.

”Someone’s been pursuing her recently.”

”That’s not really news, is it?”

Katori had been at Sakanoue Academy for half a year and was somewhat familiar with life in this world. She enjoyed going to LIVE shows with Neflen after school, where Fang Zheng had introduced them to some bands. To Katori and Neflen, it felt like watching an enhanced bard’s performance at an alcohol-free tavern, quite interesting.

Because of this, Katori was naturally aware of some school gossip.

”But this time’s different.”

Upon hearing Katori’s response, the girl lowered her voice and glanced around.

”They say the one after Komizo this time is a famous young heir.”

”Really?”

This surprised Katori a bit. In her previous world, she hadn’t encountered such situations (since humans were a discriminated race there), but she had seen similar movies and books. Stories about a noble young man pursuing a maiden like Mei Yang Yang, with a third-party interference by someone like Red Wolf, and eventually someone like Happy Sheep winning over her heart—these were Katori’s favorite type of films.

”Oh, you haven’t seen yet... Ah, there he is!”

At that moment, a roaring engine sound was heard from outside. The girl screamed and ran to the window to look out. Out of curiosity, Katori walked to the window too, seeing a red sports car rev its engine, drive through the school gates, and stop near the teaching building with a stylish maneuver. Soon, a young man in a black suit with red and green dyed hair stepped out, wearing large sunglasses, looking quite flamboyant.

However, the girls seemed to love him, as shrill screams erupted from the school buildings upon his arrival, and the young man proudly lifted his head in response, gesturing to them.

The screams grew even louder.

”That’s all?”

Katori looked around, not understanding what was so special about this man, and the nearby girl seemed surprised at her lack of interest.

”Katori, don’t you think Mr. Kawano is handsome?”

”Handsome?”

Katori, who was around Fang Zheng every day, had her aesthetic standards trained to the peak by him. To her, the young man in front of her was anything but handsome.

He was pretty much like a monkey dressed in clothes...

Well, considering the situation in Katori’s world, it indeed was the case.

”I just don’t understand...”

Katori didn’t know how to explain it either. The human male form she had interacted with the longest was Fang Zheng, and all the men in her world were various animals, so comparisons were pointless.

As for comparing him to Fang Zheng...

”I just think you guys don’t need to scream for him, right?”

”You really don’t get it, Katori. Mr. Kawano is the hottest new star right now! I heard he’s set to play the leading role in the movie ’Lost Dimension’!”

”Is it?”

Upon hearing this, Katori somewhat understood why the girls were screaming. Apparently, this young man wasn’t just wealthy but also famous.

Right at that moment, Katori saw Yukina holding her school bag and walking out, with the young man holding a bouquet of flowers and approaching her. Seeing him appear, Yukina visibly looked troubled. They exchanged a few words, and eventually, Yukina accepted the flowers and got into the red sports car.

”How nice...”

Seeing this, that young girl clenched her fists, her eyes gleaming.

”Komizo is truly lucky to catch Mr. Kawano’s eye...”

”.........”

Upon hearing this, Katori slightly furrowed her brow. As she recalled, wasn’t Komizo Yukina supposed to be part of Mr. Fang Zheng’s harem?... At least that’s what Little Hei said.

So now, what exactly is going on?

Thinking this, Katori left the classroom and found Neflen.

”So that guy is trying to steal Fang Zheng’s woman?”

Neflen curiously asked after hearing Katori’s story.

”I don’t know either.”

”Should we kill him?”

”That... doesn’t seem right...”

Faced with Neflen’s suggestion, Katori hesitated.

”Didn’t Mr. Fang Zheng say we should obey the laws and regulations of this world, not cause trouble?”

”As long as we’re not caught, isn’t it fine?”

”Uh... I think it’s better to inform Little Hei first.”

After pondering for a while, Katori activated her personal terminal and explained the whole situation to Little Hei.

Sure enough, upon hearing Katori’s report, Little Hei jumped up.

”Someone’s trying to undermine Big Brother? Is he asking for death?”

”Eh? So, Little Hei, you’re saying we should kill him?”

”I didn’t mean that... Let’s leave it to me and Illya. We’ll handle it! Don’t inform Big Brother yet!”

”Don’t need to report to Mr. Fang Zheng?”

”No need, we can handle such a small thing ourselves, no need to bother Big Brother until we can’t solve it.”

After a brief exchange, Little Hei closed the personal terminal, then looked over at Illya.

”Illya, we’ve got work to do, you heard, right?”

”Huh? But... Sister Yukina isn’t MASTER’s... girlfriend, right? Didn’t MASTER say so himself?”

”You’re being silly, Illya.”

Looking at the bewildered Illya, Little Hei started instructing her methodically.

”Haven’t you watched TV dramas? Those female leads clearly are head over heels for the male lead but refuse to confess, and eventually, due to various reasons, they separate...”

”MASTER doesn’t seem very concerned about her either...”

”That’s different!”

Hearing Illya’s reply, Little Hei sighed helplessly.

”Anyway, we must help.”

”How... exactly are we supposed to help?”

Illya thought long and hard but couldn’t figure out what she could do.

”It’s simple, we’re Servants. You can spiritualize, right? We just need to spiritualize and follow Sister Yukina around. I’m telling you, that Second-Generation Heir is definitely not a good person. He might be plotting behind the scenes to get Sister Yukina, we can’t let him succeed!”

”Ah... I... I understand!”

Illya, having been exposed to TV dramas, unlike the culturally impoverished Katori who only had access to hero novels and movies, quickly grasped Little Hei’s point.

After all, don’t TV dramas often portray such plots? Those villains intentionally take the female lead to a bar or some place, then get her drunk or drugged... Of course, in most dramas, the male lead steps in to save the day during critical moments.

But then...

”Is this considered stalking?”

”Detectives also stalk to solve cases. We’re doing it to protect Sister Yukina, so it’s okay.”

”Don’t need to inform MASTER?”

”As a Servant, do you want MASTER to be distracted by such trivial matters?”

”...Uh...”

Seeing Illya at a loss for words, Little Hei chuckled.

”Let’s go then.”

Hearing this, Illya thought over her options and then nodded.

”Alright.”