The reason Kazuma told all of this to someone he had just met was actually quite simple.
He needed an ally from the MDF side.
If one day the Eden organization truly began to move in Japan and create chaos, then the only thing he could do was pit them directly against the MDF.
That plan was clearly not easy.
Eden was not just an ordinary organization. They were a collection of elites from the old world—people who held significant influence behind the scenes of various countries.
Even though Japan currently held military hegemony thanks to its control over the Mato peach, that did not mean the country was completely untouchable.
If major nations, whose power operated from the shadows, began pressuring Japan through economic sanctions, the impact would still be significant.
The world did not revolve solely around the Mato peach.
Politics, economics, and old power structures still played equally strong roles.
That was why Kazuma needed someone from within the system.
And that person for now—was Tenka Izumo.
Even though this was their first meeting, Kazuma quickly realized something.
Tenka showed no malicious intent at all.
Her reactions from the beginning felt genuine. Even when she saw Kazuma use his Ability, she did not immediately call her comrades or try to detain him.
She was simply… curious.
That was why Kazuma made a rather risky decision.
He placed a bet on Tenka.
That this woman would not only keep his secret… but might also become his ally in the shadows.
Tenka, who was sitting beside him, finally spoke.
"You just told me something very sensitive," she said while glancing at him. "Aren't you afraid I might do something bad to you?"
Her tone was not threatening more like genuine curiosity.
She truly had not expected Kazuma to reveal everything so easily.
At first, Tenka only wanted to have a casual conversation, slowly extracting information about the strange young man she encountered in Mato.
But what happened was the opposite.
Kazuma himself revealed everything.
Kazuma shrugged lightly.
"Well… I feel like you wouldn't do that."
He turned toward her.
"I trust you."
The sentence was spoken simply, without any dramatization.
"You have no reason to destroy someone's life."
It was a harsh reality.
If Tenka decided to report everything, Kazuma's life would collapse instantly.
The news that a man could obtain a blessing similar to the Mato peach would shake the world.
And Kazuma…
would no longer be seen as an ordinary human.
He would become an asset, an experiment subject, or a target for anyone who wanted him.
Because his value was that high.
Kazuma was not naïve enough to ignore that reality. Throughout his life, he had seen how people in this world would do anything for their own benefit.
That was simply how the world worked.
"Hee…"
Tenka suddenly smiled awkwardly.
"You said that so sincerely… it's a little embarrassing."
Her cheeks flushed slightly.
Whether Kazuma realized it or not, what he had just said sounded like someone flirting in a very direct and honest way.
But Kazuma himself did not think about it at all.
Not because he was insensitive—but because he simply was not interested in such things. His focus was entirely on his own goals, so anything related to romance almost always escaped his attention.
"Alright," Tenka continued after taking a small breath.
"I'll keep your secret."
She looked at Kazuma with a more serious expression.
"I promise."
Kazuma looked at her for a moment, then suddenly raised his hand.
He folded all his fingers except one.
His pinky extended forward.
"A promise?" he said.
Tenka blinked.
"Yes?"
Kazuma moved his pinky slightly.
"Oh, this is a sign people use when making a promise."
He looked a bit awkward while explaining it.
"I copied it from a scene in a drama."
Tenka stared at the pinky for a few seconds. It was truly a childish way to make a promise.
But in the end, she extended her pinky as well.
"Yes, I promise."
...
After their long conversation ended, Tenka brought Kazuma back to the human world through an MDF patrol route.
In the official report, Kazuma was recorded as a victim of a Mato accident.
Tenka explained that she found him during a routine patrol. The large explosion that had previously been heard in the area—which was actually caused by Kazuma's battle with the Shuuki—was reported as an incident where a group of Shuuki chased a civilian who had been dragged into Mato.
With that explanation, everything made sense.
Kazuma was positioned as a victim who had nearly died.
Since Mato accidents often left severe psychological trauma, the MDF and related authorities also assigned a psychiatrist to examine his mental condition. That procedure was standard for every survivor who returned from the Mato dimension.
Kazuma went through the examination calmly.
He answered every question naturally, keeping his expression and tone stable. Thanks to the mental discipline he had developed through Mind Control, not a single irregularity was detected.
Everything went smoothly.
To the authorities, Kazuma was nothing more than a young man who was fortunate enough to survive a Mato accident.
After all procedures were completed, before they parted ways, Kazuma gave something to Tenka.
His phone number.
He said it was a form of reciprocity for the secret she had kept. If she ever needed to contact him, at least they now had a way to communicate.
Tenka accepted it casually, though deep down she knew that today's encounter was far from ordinary.
Without realizing it, Kazuma Satou had begun to attract the attention of people who could not be taken lightly.
The first was Ren Yamashiro.
The MDF commander known for her arrogance and near-unmatched power. A figure who viewed the world from the peak of strength—and who was now beginning to show a dangerous interest in Kazuma.
Ren's interest would most likely bring trouble to Kazuma in the future.
But there was also a second person.
Tenka Izumo.
Unlike Ren, Tenka would become someone who might stand by Kazuma's side—someone who could help him even in the most difficult moments of his life.
A few days after that incident…
the curtain of shadows began to rise in Japan.
At Tokyo International Airport, the crowd of arriving and departing passengers looked normal. Nothing seemed suspicious to the average observer.
But among the flow of people exiting the international terminal, a group walked calmly.
They were Eden's operational task force.
The men were dressed neatly like diplomats or businessmen who had just completed a business trip. Their movements were calm, coordinated, and drew no attention at all.
But behind that calmness, they carried something far more dangerous.
A private cargo aircraft from their network had also just landed at the same airport.
Inside were two large sealed metal containers.
Within those containers were two units of Numbers.
Failed products of the Golden Apple project men who had obtained immense power but lost their sanity in the process.
With the influence their old network still held within various international institutions, allowing a foreign cargo aircraft into Japan was not difficult.
Documents, diplomatic clearances, and special inspection routes had all been prepared well in advance.
Everything proceeded smoothly.
After leaving the airport, the group moved toward their operational base.
A French embassy.
On the surface, the building appeared to be an ordinary diplomatic embassy busy with international affairs. But behind its walls, part of the facility had been secretly modified.
Beneath the building lay a vast underground facility a hidden space prepared for covert operations.
And more surprisingly…
the French embassy itself had granted permission for its use.
Because they, too, were part of the Eden organization.