Rikuhachima Aru’s new model moved swiftly. Behind her, the hard-boiled coat, embodying pure style, fluttered like a flag.
It was truly a sight, graceful like a swan gliding on water, but on the other hand, it exuded the presence befitting the owner of Heungsinso, renowned as the best in the underworld.
However, amid such a magnificent scene, her mind was racing in a direction that didn’t quite fit, filled with overwhelmingly negative thoughts.
There was a reason for this after all.
About three days ago, Heungsinso 68 received a special request from Kaiser Corporation.
If you asked whether such requests had only come to the Heungsinso, the answer would be no. Kaiser was still in the process of gathering personnel at this very moment.
It just so happened that Heungsinso was the only organization with enough notoriety to receive such recognition.
In fact, this wasn’t even an official request under Kaiser Corporation’s name. They had posted a notice under the name of a paper company, seeking security personnel for a construction site, seemingly to avoid the watchful eyes of the Student Council.
And perhaps this measure proved effective; by the time the operation began, there was no known route through which the students at the excavation site had arrived. Until encountering the Shalle side personnel, no one knew that any members of Heungsinso 68 were present at the scene.
“I’ll kill you, Rikuhachima Aru!!!”
“Why?!”
Avoiding the relentless pursuer who was hot on her heels, Aru stepped into a hangar and hid behind a tank. Just as the automatons scattered around the hangar recognized her and were about to say something, the pursuer stepped into view.
“…Didn’t you turn into a coward while I wasn’t watching? Just wait. I’ll find you and smash you soon.”
‘…What did I even do?!’
Aru felt a surge of anger upon being called a coward by Saori, but she gripped her gun tightly and suppressed her rage.
Her opponent was not just notorious in the service market; facing her head-on would mean preparing for at least a three-day recovery period, this was Jomae Saori… Losing her temper here would obliterate even the slightest chance of victory.
With a 100% mission completion rate and a 200% customer satisfaction record, she was a top-tier mercenary.
Never had Aru imagined that the one who brought about Heungsinso’s first request failure in the past would have ties to Shalle’s instructor, but Heungsinso had no choice but to press on.
Come what may, giving up just because the opponent was strong was…
‘That’s a bit far from being hard-boiled, don’t you think, Aru-chan?’
‘Y-You’re right! Overcoming adversity and turning impossibilities into possibilities… that is precisely how a true villain should act!’
Despite being pushed on by Mitsuki, it was only natural that she wouldn’t buy into that.
Tatata-tan!!!
Aru cradled her head. To be honest, there might have been a chance if it was just Saori she was up against.
No, there definitely was a chance. If Heungsinso didn’t possess such prowess, they wouldn’t have made a name for themselves in the underworld.
But, they had her on the opposing side. Someone who could smile while folding them in half, even if the entire Heungsinso team ran at her…
‘…No, the one who chased after me all the way here is just Jomae Saori.’
Having heard the sound of Kaiser side automatons being swept away, Aru gathered her resolve. If she just kept trembling here, wouldn’t the name of the great villain never echo?
‘…Right, this is a crisis but also an opportunity! The reality of mission failure is unavoidable, but if I can take down the opponent all by myself here, that alone will be enough to cover up the failure. The damage to my reputation can be restored!’
By the time the massive bombardment targeting Kaiser’s base began, mission failure was essentially a confirmed fact.
Kaiser had originally been gathering troops with the intention of striking the Student Council first. Ironically, it would have been more peculiar if they’d been prepared for such an assault; it was only natural they’d find themselves failing to defend.
Aru reloaded her gun and prepared to jump out from behind the tank that had been shielding her.
“…Ufuufu. You better prepare yourself, Jomae Saori—Reeeet?!”
Just as she was ready, a barrage of bullets greeted her as if the enemy had known exactly where she would emerge.
Quickly taking cover again, Aru wiped her cold sweat. As she calculated her next move, she realized only she and Saori remained in the hangar.
“Stop stalling and come out. I won’t go too hard on you, so don’t worry.”
Honestly, why was Jomae Saori chasing her down declaring she’d kill her? It was impossible for Aru to grasp the reason behind that animosity.
There had been little connection between them, yet they had fought alongside each other more often than against. Hiring capable personnel like her would typically lead towards mission success.
She hadn’t particularly made her angry in their previous encounter, and she had thought they shared more good memories than bad…
‘Aru-chan, there’s a saying that you should not crawl to survive, right? So, Aru-chan, instead of crawling, you should stand up and die!’
Remembering what Mitsuki had once told her, Aru steeled herself again. Kneeling without even fighting back would be far too uncool.
Indeed, Mitsuki was the only one who could inspire her like that.
“Fufu… you’re coming at me with such a weak mindset—Eek, wait a second! Kyaaak!!!”
Even after being caught off guard, Aru demonstrated considerable resistance, but unfortunately, it was only a matter of time until she was cornered by Saori, whose cold gaze was akin to a predator hunting her down.
*
“So, what is Heungsinso doing here? Is it a request, perhaps?”
“Kuuhuh… what a naturally assumed question♪”
Mitsuki, who let out a mischievous chuckle, tapped the body bunker set in front of me, as if marveling at it. Surely, the thought crossed her mind about whether someone of my caliber even needed to carry something like this around.
“It’s lacking in adorable design. This doesn’t suit Angel-chan at all! How about a bit more pink-ish flair? Huh?”
“Haha… this is just a supply item.”
…Clearly, that wasn’t the case.
By the way, speaking of requests. It was somewhat surprising that Heungsinso was here in response to a request from Kaiser, but it was also understandable.
Separately, I couldn’t allow anything to disrupt our operations, but seeing Mitsuki engaging me with friendly conversation made me wonder if she had no intention to fight.
Aru was being chased by Saori, and judging by the ongoing gunfire, Haruka was still clashing with Azusa… leaving only Kayoko and Mitsuki on our side.
In a situation where all of Heungsinso couldn’t defeat her, it would be pointless for these two to come at me. I could overpower them with little effort, possibly even without needing to use my hands.
“By the way, I was wondering what all the commotion was about with this sudden chaos from every direction, but this major assault is something else. You’ve really gone wild, Teacher!”
“…This isn’t something I planned, Mitsuki.”
“Oh, so it was Angel-chan? I had a feeling it might be. Kuhuhu.”
Wait, Mitsuki, that doesn’t match up at all!
Moreover, had Heungsinso known Teacher? I had always thought they were meeting for the first time since there was no prior connection with the countermeasures committee… but that’s something I can ask later, so I’ll let it slide.
The sounds of combat from behind had begun to quiet down. Since there was a purpose for us being here, we couldn’t take our sweet time just chatting… but how should we proceed?
“Hey, so Mitsuki-chan, is that an indication of surrender?”
“Who knows~? Fighting Angel-chan would be a loss for me, so I’d prefer not to, but a request is still a request… Hmmm~.”
After a moment of fidgeting, Mitsuki’s eyes curved mischievously. She added a playfully wicked smile to go along.
“Should I go along with what Aru-chan wants? Since it’s Aru-chan, she’ll definitely return quickly…”
“Ugh, even if Mitsuki-chan says that, I doubt I’ll return without being dragged back…”
“Hmm? Kya-ha! What a playful joke! Regardless of how adorable Aru-chan might be, she shouldn’t assume it’ll be that easy, right? She’s actually quite strong!”
It’s not that I didn’t know. It didn’t make sense for Aru, who holds the position of leader in this illegal organization, to be weak.
However, the issue was how formidable the opponent was.
For some reason, I had heard earlier that Saori seemed quite upset. I didn’t believe Aru would fold easily, but I was sure she would definitely be at a disadvantage.
Since I didn’t know much about Aru’s strength, that assumption could be a bit hasty, but I’d like to believe in Saori’s abilities.
“Well, whether Aru-chan wins or loses, it feels like the request is essentially a failure…”
Mitsuki, who had been looking up at me, suddenly grinned and displayed a wicked smile suitable for a villain.
“Still, a request is a request, right? It would be bad to just back down without even trying, right? Kuhuhu.”
“Basically, you’re willing to face the consequences and go for it, huh…”
Both Mitsuki and I knew that it was impossible for me. However, now that Heungsinso had taken on the mission, it wasn’t just about their reputation and trust on the line—I could understand that.
…Asking for this in the current situation was essentially inviting chaos, but it wasn’t that it would become a significant issue. Kaiser was already crumbling from failing elsewhere.
“Still, you know, Mitsuki-chan is incredibly delicate, so please treat her gently, Angel-chan♡.”
“Haha…”
…Watching Mitsuki, who flashed a charming smile while raising her gun again, reminded me of how admirable that professional spirit was.
It goes without saying that Mitsuki was caught by me in less than three minutes.
And as she had requested, I certainly didn’t forget to go easy on her.
…Seriously, hey Teacher! Don’t give me that look as if I’m trash, just listen to my side! I thought five flicks to the forehead was really being generous!
