Perhaps noticing that something was off about Ryuto's appearance, Hiyori leaned in with a worried face.

"What's wrong, Master Ryuto?"

"It's... nothing."

Ryuto forced himself to answer, even though it goes against his principle of not worrying others. Though he couldn't fully disassociate himself from others, he could still manage to some extent.

Then, Hiyori put on a spirited expression.

"Let's continue deciphering the code then."

"...No matter how you look at it, we're stuck."

"Is that so...?"

Saying that, Hiyori immediately drooped her head, looking defeated. Ryuto found this strange.

"What's wrong? Even if we can't decipher it now, it doesn't matter. It's their problem if they don't listen. After all, it's their freedom. But at the very least, we can avoid being affected by the bomb."

That's right, there shouldn't be any problem if he looked at it that way. He wouldn't be harmed at all. But... he still felt unconvincing.

Yet Hiyori still looked troubled, despite being able to distance herself from the situation.

"That may be true, but I don't want that to happen."

"Even if they don't appreciate—"

Ryuto stopped himself before saying more.

"Even so, I still don't want that to happen."

"Then is it a duty as a member of the Tsuchimikado Family? A duty to help others, so to speak."

"No, it's not."

His guess was denied, but he didn't find it strange.

"Or is it a responsibility as someone with power? That someone with power should help those without."

"No, it's not that either."

Not that either? Since it wasn't that, Ryuto gave up guessing.

"Then what reason is it? Not a duty to the family, nor a responsibility as someone with power."

Ryuto directly questioned, trying to find some answer. But even saying that, Ryuto didn't know what that answer was. He just knew that it existed, but he couldn't know its true nature.

In response, Hiyori replied firmly and without hesitation.

"There's no special reason for it. It's not a responsibility as someone with power, nor a duty to the Tsuchimikado Family. It's just because I, as an ordinary person, would still do this. Even as someone who is nothing, I would still do this. I do it only for myself, simply because I want to do it. If you want to call it a reason, then that's my reason."

"..."

"And that's something Master Ryuto told me."

"...me?"

This surprised Ryuto. After all, he didn't remember ever saying those words.

"Yes, because of the bank robbery crisis during the day, Master Ryuto risked everything to resolve it, without any other reason."

"That was just because if I didn't resolve it, I would be done for."

That's right, if he didn't step in at that time, he would still get affected in the end. He only happened to have acted earlier. It was like self-defense in a way. He ultimately only did it for self-preservation. Although it wasn't an action that he couldn't admit, it wasn't something worth praising either. Because of this, Ryuto treated it as a trivial matter. Regardless of how others saw it, for Amagi Ryuto, it was merely an insignificant deed, to the point of not even being worth remembering.

In response to Ryuto's answer, Hiyori simply closed her eyes and shook her head slightly.

"Even if that's not the case, I believe Master Ryuto would have done it anyway."

"Why do you think that? There's no basis for that at all. Besides, people can only make their most genuine choices when faced with specific circumstances. When it's safe, they can declare a crisis and say whatever they want. Ultimately, it's all just empty words. When not faced with a crisis, people can't know their truest choices.""Although I don't really understand, I believe that what Mr. Ryuto said is absolutely correct."

"Well..."

There's really nothing else to say about it.

Before Ryuto could finish his sentence, he was interrupted.

"Even so, I absolutely believe that Mr. Ryuto will do it."

"..."

"Even without any prior declaration, as long as there is a crisis, Mr. Ryuto will definitely resolve it. I firmly believe this. It has nothing to do with having power. It's not because of having power that one takes action, it's because one wants to take action that they have power. I think that's the only reason why Mr. Ryuto will do it."

"..."

Reason...? My reason? The reason for doing anything, is it just because I want to do it? Hmph, I didn't expect to be in such a situation. It seems like I've been saved by myself. How embarrassing. Thinking of this, Ryuto couldn't help but wear a bitter smile.

In that case, there's no need to hesitate, and there's no need to worry about it, because I already know. Even with the knowledge of "that," I still made that choice. That is my answer. Since I've already come to this answer, there's no need to worry about it. In the end, it seems like I've been fussing over nothing.

"Well, don't sigh. It's not the time to despair yet."

Ryuto declared it, raising the morale.

"Is that so? Since Mr. Ryuto said that, I can't give up either."

Just a casual remark, but it had an incredible effect. Hiyori quickly regained her composure. By the way, her emotional fluctuations are really extreme.