In my childhood, I visited a friend’s house. That kid mentioned they had an awesome game as a birthday present. Then they booted up the PlayStation.
The game my friend showed me was a typical hack-and-slash game that people often talk about.
You control a general to sweep through the minions like they were just straw dummies.
At that time, it felt really fun. For a while, we’d go to each other’s houses after school, taking turns playing and horsing around.
After all, games are the most enjoyable when they remain just games.
While it wouldn’t be accurate to say it was completely innocent, if you asked if it was a grave sin, the answer would be no, not these little minions.
I didn’t derive any particular thrill from wiping them out, nor was it something that should happen.
Targeting the knight was merely a product of coincidence, and even if the knight got hit, it would have likely been at a level where they would just whimper for a while.
And who ended up taking the hit instead? Me? Feeling lively like this. Honestly, if I said I felt no pain at all, that would be a bold-faced lie, though.
Once I confirmed the incoming whoosh of a rocket, I signaled for Hina to dodge, and immediately, she retaliated. After shielding the knight, Hina and I took down all but three of the minions in that area in about three minutes.
Then, I left the panicking knight, who was fussing over the scorched wings on my back, to Hina and purposely followed the retreating minions.
It was obvious where the battered minions were heading, and in the end, I reached their hideout.
Now, here I was in the midst of that hideout, gripping the collar of the mastermind behind this incident, Nyantema Ru.
I hadn’t defeated all the minions, but with more than half of them powerless on the ground, their will to fight was completely lost.
“Hey, how about we resolve this through conversation? I can offer you any amount of money; why not join forces with us—”
“Ahahaha, I’ve got plenty of money. More is on the way.”
“…”
“Well, I do have to work harder to earn more.”
“Th-Then…! I’ll hire you! Let’s start with 5 million yen conditional on wrapping up this festival cleanly!”
“Wow—oh…”
What’s this? 5 million yen for at most two days? That’s quite a hefty sum. Merchants really do have a lot of money.
“Mr. Nyantema Ru, you know how to manage people, don’t you?”
“…Mika?”
Wait, what? You don’t trust me? That’s troublesome, Teacher. We’ve been through thick and thin in Abydos, haven’t we?
At this point, it would be better for Mika to shoot me a look of trust that says, “There’s no way she’d accept such an offer,” rather than having her doubt my intentions.
“Alright, Mr. Nyantema Ru. Let’s make a deal.”
“…Kuhuhuh. As expected, nothing is impossible with enough money—”
“But 500 is too small. Let’s negotiate starting at 5,000 a day.”
“W-What?”
“Three… two… one…”
“What kind of crazy girl are you…?”
BAM!!! CRACK!
“Kuah!”
“Huh?”
…I didn’t hit him.
Just when it felt somewhat unexpected, the ceiling collapsed. For some reason, Wakamo fell from above and stomped on Nyantema Ru’s forehead with her boot.
Seeing her land on the ground with the elegance of a swan left me slightly flabbergasted.
In the meantime, Izuna, who landed quietly like a ninja, looked at Nyantema Ru with wounded eyes.
“I-Izuna? Why did you jump down from the ceiling?!”
“Wakamo-chan, why did you make me hit the ceiling?”
“…Huh?”
Oops, I accidentally let my true feelings slip.
“…The employer betrayed Izuna.”
“The world of adults is inherently like that. Is it not too late to realize, Izuna? Being deceived and deceiving others. This world revolves around deceit; the deceived are called fools!”
“But it’s okay!”
“Eh?”
“Sure, maybe I was foolish for being deceived by my employer… but even though I ended up in this situation because of Izuna, there’s someone who has consistently supported my dreams from start to finish!”
Heueng?
What’s this? Was it meant to be that Izuna would show up at this timing, even if I hadn’t barged in?
Anyway, as expected of a teacher. Just like in the Game Development Club, she’s handling things remarkably well. Plus, she hasn’t forgotten to insert flags.
Be ready, Yuuka, the ninja is about to start running!
“Izuna…”
“As long as I’m by the Teacher’s side, I can dream forever! I can give my all for my dreams!”
“Wha-?!”
“Teacher… no, my lord Izuna! From now on, I will protect you! Ninnin!”
Approaching the Teacher, Izuna, with her hands clasped in prayer and leaning in, swayed her tail energetically… How should I put it? Most beastkin I’ve seen tend to express their emotions quite openly, but Izuna seemed even more profound in that regard.
Watching Izuna’s ears twitching in real-time, I turned to Wakamo, and that difference became even more apparent.
Twitch.
“W-Well, if you look at it that way, Wakamo feels both happy and shy…!”
…Wait a minute. It seems this side is no slouch either. Judging by the way that particularly luscious-looking tail sways and flips about…
“Eh, eek…! Now that it’s come to this, minions! Call any reinforcements you can contact! We must—”
Since choosing to run in this situation would be largely pointless, Nyantema Ru was shouting when…
BOOOOM!!!
This time the front gate of the hideout blasted open, revealing a group rushing in from beyond.
“Teacher! Are you okay… Huh?”
“Boss! We came to—?”
“Whoa?! What’s all this? A graveyard?!”
“This looks as if a typhoon swept through…”
“Yawn… I suppose we don’t need to act. I’ll just take a nap.”
“Even the members from the Festival Club and the Training Club?!”
“So you really are the culprit! Merchant Chairman Nyantema Ru!”
“It’s not Nyantema, it’s Nyante Masamune! More importantly, how did you find out Teacher was kidnapped?! I thought the minions would handle it quietly…!”
“When we asked festival attendees if they saw anything suspicious, they all said they saw the merchant chairman going into the back alleys with the minions.”
“Ugh… My title as merchant chairman turned out to be the weak point of the plan…!”
“Well, looking at the current situation, it seems it’s not like it would have ended differently even if it wasn’t us…”
As Nyantema Ru realized that all plans had gone awry, the minions began to stealthily escape one by one.
“…Run, run! Everyone, flee!”
“Uwaah! Don’t think you’ll get away! Tsubaki-senpai! Mimori-senpai! Continue patrolling… Ahh, Tsubaki-senpai! Get up!”
Hmm… Well, I’ll leave that to the Training Club.
Honestly, it didn’t matter how many more minions showed up. Just the two of us, me and Wakamo, would be able to handle it as long as it wasn’t over a thousand minions.
Just giving me one body bunker would probably suffice.
“Nyantema Ru, it seems your plans end here. We’ve won.”
“…Kuhh, to think what I’ve been planning for years would end like this? This nonsense… I refuse to acknowledge it!”
“You should just give up. Merchant Chairman Nyantema Ru. Your fancy plans have come to an end.”
“Huhuhuh, end? No! It’s not over yet…!”
As Nyantema Ru proclaimed boldly and looked around, unfortunately, not a single minion remained standing.
In fact, even among those thrown on the ground, many had clearly seen Halo but chose not to rise again.
“Uh, w-would it be possible to just forget this? You guys?”
“Those words would have been better to say before messing with our Nagichan. Right?”
“Is it even possible to say that now?! Shizuko’s genuine punch!”
…Whoa.
Shizuko, that girl, packs a punch! That artistic movement from just now was a bit impressive.
*
The incident revolving around White Night was resolved without major issues. Nyantema Ru would likely have to cough up all the wealth they had accumulated to pay for the damages inflicted by the minions.
The Festival Club went off to prepare the fireworks that were the highlight of the festival, while the Teacher headed off with Izuna to hand over Nyantema Ru to the Onmyoubu.
Wakamo and I… walked the night streets to meet the other two who were returning to the accommodation. Although still crowded, it wasn’t as suffocating as during the day.
“But Wakamo-chan, is it okay for you to be here? You were supposed to accompany the Teacher as an assistant.”
“That’s because there’s a little fox girl over there. A fox who was used by her employer but finally chooses the right path… Doesn’t that remind you of something? Hehe.”
“Ahaha. That kid is a bit different from you, Wakamo. She didn’t have ill intentions, after all. Meanwhile, on this side…”
“W-Wait! You’re digging up the girl’s embarrassing past like that…! Mika, you’re really too much.”
“Girl? Wakamo, being an older sister, needs to act her age a bit… Huh?”
Huh? Age… Age? Wakamo is… 18 years old. An adult?
“Pl-Please cancel that! It’s only a one-year difference!”
“No, no, wait a minute. Something very important just came to mind.”
“Huh?”
“Wakamo-chan, you can buy alcohol legally now, right?”
“Th-That’s… technically true.”
“Then, how about we go buy just one bottle together? Just one bottle, okay?”
“…”
Wakamo, why do you look at me like that…? Honestly, isn’t this something you could do for me? I’ve cherished you, after all.
Anyway. Wakamo, who seemed to be seriously contemplating, eventually shook her head and turned me down.
What a shame.
Well, at least I’m glad things turned out well.
Although it felt like I was unnecessarily worn out because they caused such a big mess when it was a situation that would have resolved itself, every bit of this was unavoidable.
It’s not like they intended it, but once they touched the knight, I myself could only endure up to a certain limit.
Well… I didn’t plan to escalate this trivial incident into a problem between academies, so the story ends here…
“Good evening~ T-party host of Trinity♪”
I thought I was done.
Propping her chin with a fan, a lady oni with a somewhat sinister smile appeared from behind a nearby tree.
