A Core Ship From The Start
Chapter 1517 - 1024: Girls’ Night Talk

Chapter 1517: Chapter 1024: Girls’ Night Talk

For Duanmu Huai, eliminating these Evil Spirits was as easy as flipping his hand. Not only that, he also happened to meet Aiko, this Spicy Girl.

Well, that could be considered a major plus.

After that, Aiko seemed to develop some interest in Duanmu Huai. Considering that Duanmu Huai was skilled and generous, she even took the initiative multiple times to invite him to a hotel. Naturally, Duanmu Huai wouldn’t refuse. To be honest, he quite enjoyed that kind of relationship—one without too much emotional entanglement.

The bond between Naruse Mio, Mary, and Duanmu Huai was good, so Duanmu Huai naturally wouldn’t easily act toward them. After all, to Duanmu Huai, Mary was an important companion, and as for Naruse Mio... he considered her more like a cute little sister.

Frankly speaking, the relationships among the group were relatively complicated, so Duanmu Huai didn’t want to make things messier.

Something simple like Aiko’s arrangement worked well—go out for a date, have a meal, head to a hotel, and then leave some pocket money. Afterward, it’s just "Uncle, see you next time," neat and without any hassle or drama. To Duanmu Huai, this setup was ideal.

As for why Aiko, clearly a high schooler, would do this kind of thing, Duanmu Huai didn’t ask, and Aiko didn’t explain. After all, anyone stepping into this line of work must have their reasons. But Duanmu Huai wasn’t the kind of clueless person to pry—he had once heard a joke about how Hong Kong’s working girls thought mainland guests were the funniest. After finishing the business, they’d sit there, smoke a cigarette, and start advising the girl not to work like this at such a young age...

Duanmu Huai wasn’t that naive. Take those bar hostesses, for instance; some might be forced by gangs or pressured due to parents’ debts, compelled to take up the job. But those like Aiko, casually hunting for clients at roadside stalls—well, ninety-nine percent of the time, it’s voluntary. Why she’d choose to do this, though... Aiko kept her mouth shut, and Duanmu Huai wouldn’t ask.

Besides, even if you did ask, she could just make up a tragic tale of being orphaned, homeless, and wandering for survival—you’d still have nothing to do with it, right?

With this method of passing time, Duanmu Huai found that the days flew by quickly. Soon it was a week later, the day of Nakaseko Kaori and Kousaka Reina’s showdown.

This time, Duanmu Huai didn’t show up. He knew his presence could be intimidating; if he were there, others might assume he was forcing something to happen. So instead, Duanmu Huai learned the details afterward from Mary.

The final outcome...

"Reina Kousaka is the one responsible for the trumpet solo."

Upon hearing Mary’s response, Duanmu Huai snorted lightly.

"Of course it ended this way. I knew it wouldn’t be an issue. A bunch of kids messing around, what a waste of time."

"Does Mr. Duanmu have such faith in Kousaka?"

Mary looked curiously at Duanmu Huai while putting down her teacup. The latter chuckled.

"Of course. Just use your head a little and you’ll see—Reina Kousaka was always going to go all out. If she couldn’t showcase her skills, wouldn’t that just confirm those rumors about Tasuku favoring her? Reina Kousaka isn’t that dumb. Besides, with how fiercely she defends Tasuku, there’s no way she’d hold back. So does that mean Nakaseko Kaori admits she’s inferior?"

"Well... Teacher Long was quite wicked in that moment. After the two finished their performance, he directly asked Nakaseko whether she planned to do the solo. Nakaseko remained silent for a long time before finally deciding to step down herself. Then Reina apologized to Nakaseko, and this matter ended there."

"Alright, let’s call this boring episode finished."

Duanmu Huai waved his hand.

"Next up is the official competition... Let’s hope these kids don’t disappoint me."

"Will Mr. Duanmu come to the venue?"

"Of course, but I won’t appear in front of you all. Do your best."

Duanmu Huai understood well that if he really showed up, other schools’ students might end up too intimidated by his presence to perform—exactly as Kato Hazuki had joked. But with his Bloody Duck stealth technique, secretly finding a hidden spot wouldn’t be an issue at all.

He could even hide in the girls’ locker room without getting caught, alright!

Although, Duanmu Huai had absolutely no interest in doing something like that.

While Duanmu Huai was occupied, Naruse Mio and Liliath were far from idle either. Every day, their most important task was flipping through the "biographies" Mary had been writing.

It must be said that, purely as a novel, they were quite captivating.

However, when taking them as depictions of reality... things started feeling a bit complicated.

"I see..."

Putting down the book in her hands, Liliath furrowed her brows, staring at the cover in contemplation. It seemed clear now—Tribunal’s core doctrine was centered on human supremacism. This kind of ideology wasn’t unfamiliar to Liliath, as similar doctrines existed among both Angels and Demons, where the central idea remained the same: their own race was superior, and others couldn’t compare.

But... the Tribunal’s methods—even the most extreme radicals in the Devil World would find them excessive.

The books detailed how the Tribunal judged their targets solely based on skull composition. As long as the skull belonged to a human, it could be preserved and saved. But if the skull wasn’t human, no matter what it was, it would be eradicated. Particularly, the Tribunal’s actions as depicted in the Mass Effect trilogy left a profound impression on Liliath.