Chapter 1362. School Festival B / Follow Me!
Kyouko-san stands above the armored car and looked at me and the thirteen girl a.s.sa.s.sins.
They’re all expressionless, yet giving me an intense look.
『 All these girls are orphans picked out of slums and prost.i.tution dens by their crazy female boss from the Southeast Asian crime syndicate 』
Kyouko-san’s voice echoes from the external speakers attached to the armored car.
『 Southeast Asia has a long history of involvement with many different countries, and the prost.i.tution districts attract the old perverts around the world. That’s why they’re mixed race. Who knows what base they have or what’s mixed 』
Yeah, one’s got tanned skin yet brown hair.
Asian face, yet, blue eyes.
『 Well, many say that mixed-race are beautiful, but these girls have been carefully selected to be the best of the best. They’re a great set, aren’t they? 』
A girl from all over the world ranging from middle-school to high-school age.
『 The first two are Dolly Lu and Anna Lu sisters. You already know these girls 』
The drill sisters moved forward.
Yeah, Dolly’s 16, and Anna’s 14.
『 These girls are based in Southeast Asia but I think they have some European blood in them. If you feel her skin, they might have some Chinese blood in it 』
The sisters have slightly brownish skin and dark hair, but they have straight noses and large eyes.
『 My intuition as a beauty sommelier tells me that 』
Kyouko-san laughed.
『 Number 3. Penny Su Elcuchio’s 13 year old. Her father was Italian. Her mother’s a local prost.i.tute 』
A blonde pet.i.te beauty moved forward.
『 Number four is Vah Geena Quatro. She’s 17. As the name suggests, she has French blood in her veins, that’s because her ancestors were Illegitimate children of the French Rulers during the colonial era 』
I see. She has almost blonde and long brown hair, but her face sure has that oriental look.
『 Number 5, Ososo Oboko. 14 years old. Her mother apparently fled from her country on the Persian Gulf Coast in Africa. Then, she became a prost.i.tute in Southeast Asia and died 』
The tanned girl moved forward.
She’s got a small head and long legs. She’s slender and has some superb proportions.
Her skin is darker compared to all the other girls I’ve encountered so far.
But her hair is almost milky blonde, and her eyes are pale blue.
She’s also mixed blood.
『 Number 6 Fera Chiyo, fifteen years old. As you can see, she’s of j.a.panese descent. Her father was an expatriate for a j.a.panese company, and her mother was a Russian who’s obsessed with Easter things and was hanging out in Asia 』
Oh, she has bobbed black hair and a long slit on her eyes.
But, she has white skin.
『 Number 7, Anne Rose Agermander. She’s 16. From what I heard, she’s born from a German man and Turkish descent woman from Central Asia. I don’t know much about the details 』
A big round acorn-like eyes, and brown skin. Her hair is dark brown.
『 Number 8 and Number 9 are twins Yin Ran, and Yin Lin. 13 years old. Their mother is Chinese, but their father is unknown. Yin Rin is also called Joitoi. She’s called that way because returned unharmed after three successful a.s.sa.s.sinations. I heard that she’s also a plaything of their boss 』
Two girls with the exact same face and braided hair step forward.
These young-faced girls have already killed three people.
『 Number 10. Akme Iku Ecstasy. She’s 15. Her mother’s a Greek prost.i.tute. Anything else is unknown 」
Oh, she’s got black hair, white skin, and a tall nose. She’s tall for her age. She also has a slender body.
『 Number 11. Kunni Manjiru Kaupa 11. She’s Indian. I think she also has southern blood. She’s also orphaned so we don’t know the details 』
The girl who stepped forward has long black hair. She’s got dark skin. Even so, she has a calm aura around her.
『 Number 12, Olga Zum Deikun. 12. Her mother’s from the Caucasia region of Central Asia it seems. I don’t know how she got to Southeast Asia, but… 』
She’s still 12, and yet, she has quite a mature face on her.
She’s got no makeup, yet, her skin’s so white, her eyelashes are long, and her cheeks and lips are red.
Her face looks like she’s got a lot of makeup.
Furthermore, she looks at me with a straight face so she doesn’t look childish.
『 Then last one. c.l.i.to Lilith. She’s 14. She’s from Persia, but, I think she’s a descendant of the Zoroastrians who moved to India. Maybe. Her home country is a little mysterious 』
The last girl who stepped forward has a bewitching aura around her. Brown hair and dark green pupils.
『 To summarize, Chiyo, Yin Ran, and Yin Rin are East Asian types. Dolly and Anna are Southeast Asian types. Kunni is an Indian type. Then Anne Rose and Olga are Central Asian types. Lilith is Middle Eastern. Ososo is African. Then, the Caucasians are Penny, Vah Geena, and Akme 』
「 It’s like the Europeans have arrived to via the Silk Road of the sea from j.a.pan 」
Minaho-neesan’s laughing.
「 From j.a.pan, across the continent, to Southeast Asia, India, Central Asia, Middle East, even stopping in Africa on the other side of the Persian Gulf, Mediterranean, Greece, Italy, and France 」
I-I see.
「 That said, most of them don’t know their own ancestry. They parted from their parents at a young age so they don’t even know information about themselves. I can only make vague guesses based on what they remember 』
Kyouko-san’s voice echoes in the underground facility.
『 Besides, their names aren’t their real ones. It’s also likely that they were named by the inst.i.tution after becoming orphans. In cases where their parents fled from foreign countries, it could mean that they weren’t using their real names. Besides, I think some of the girls were named playfully by their female boss who took them in.
「 They don’t even have any family register records 」
Their names are unclear.
『 If you don’t like the names then you can rename them as you see fit. They’re yours from now on 』
I’m taking custody of these girls.
『 These girls are born in the slums where the only way to survive is either prost.i.tution or stealing, separated from their parents, and turned into a.s.sa.s.sins by their crazy boss. And only thirteen of them survived 』
The boss of the organization has ordered the girl a.s.sa.s.sins to kill their adversaries, even if it meant getting killed as well.
That’s why most of the girls who have killed their targets have been left to die at the hands of the allies of the target even if they succeed.
Only these thirteen that Kyouko-san rescued made it back alive from their missions.
『 These girls watched you today 』
Huh?
Me?
『 Especially when you made pastry, showing them how to make bread and that your bakery is thriving 』
There are hidden cameras in the school.
So, they were watching the situation from the bakery and the open cafe?
『 And so, I taught these girls that they can live a life different from prost.i.tution, stealing, or a life where they’re involved with that crazy boss of theirs 』
Kyouko-san?
『 Making pastry using their own hands, selling it and earning money. I told the girls that they can earn a living by doing that 』
Making bread, selling it, and making a living.
『 These girls got the gist of it. They see how many customers are there and how the pastries get sold out 』
「 No, that’s because we’re at a school festival. Also, Mitama and Kinuka were doing their street performance 」
Today is an exception.
We don’t sell that much every day.
『 No, if you’re serious about supporting your family with the bakery, then you need to sell more than what you did today, right? 』
Kyouko-san said.
「 Yes. Once you and Katsuko opened a real shop, your sales today would be the lowest one 」
Minaho-neesan said.
「 That’s true. But… 」
We were already busy as we were full of customers.
Yet this is…
「 You were so busy today, and so you need to make plans for tomorrow 」
「 Plan? 」
「 Like, a.s.signing people, streamlining work, and so on. Or you can just add more people. I’m sure you have plenty of people who can deal with it now 」
Improving.
「 You won’t know until you try. You also figured out a lot of things from doing it today, haven’t you? That’s why your experience today will be a good influence for tomorrow. Don’t waste time and try to improve it right away 」
I see.
I just have to try, if it doesn’t work, then fix it.
There’s no time to hesitate.
「 Yeah, you’re right 」
I…
「 I’ll talk to them once I return to the bakery 」
I’m sure that Ai and Kana-senpai are already thinking about the problem
We’ll all be working to improve the operation for the second day of the school festival tomorrow.
「 Yes. If you can make it through, then you’ll quickly see that the chaos earlier was no big deal. You need to manage an even bigger business 」
Minaho-neesan told me kindly.
『 These girls are feeling uneasy 』
Kyouko-san said.
『 These girls are beginning to see that there might be another way for them to live somewhere other than the slums and be kept as a.s.sa.s.sins. Seeing you all baking, running a store, the thought that it might be fun, and I want to do that too, is running on their head. 』
I look at the thirteen girls in the armored car.
Everyone’s looking at me with a straight face.
『 Dolly and Anna who returned to the girls have told them That you might be able to save them 』
To escape from their fate as a.s.sa.s.sins
To live and spend their time as ordinary girls.
『 But, they’re worried if it might come true. They’re afraid. They had a different life so far 』
Yeah, their 13 pairs of eyes tell me.
Wondering if it’s okay to believe me.
『 At least, you’re not trying to make these girls your p.a.w.ns. I also appreciate that. As I expected, I was right to entrust these girls to you 』
「 But, isn’t that obvious? Keeping someone safe aside, killing an enemy at the cost of your life is pointless 」
I replied.
『 It’s not pointless, see? Even their skills to a.s.sa.s.sinate is an effective power for fighting enemies 』
Kyouko-san said.
「 That’s not it. That’s not the point. It’s just a skill the girls won’t be needing to survive in the future 』
I look at the thirteen girls and said.
「 They can’t survive if they think of giving up their lives. It’s not the kind of strength you need to live 」
I…
「 To live is to think about tomorrow, the day after, a year from now, ten years, thinking about the future, on how to obtain happiness in the future, and act on it now! You never know what the future has in store for you 」
Their skill of pulling off an a.s.sa.s.sination in exchange for their life is pointless
「 Kyouko-san, tell them this 」
I look at each of the girls’ eyes.
「 Your life is now mine. I’m your master starting today. I’ll look after you girls until death. But in exchange, you’ll serve me 」
I said. Kyouko-san translates to the languages of the girl a.s.sa.s.sins.
The girls stare at me quietly.
「 The first order I’m giving you is to think about your future. Not for tomorrow, or the near future, I’m telling you to think about a year, three, five, or ten years into the future. 」
I tell them.
「 Listen, I have no plans on killing you. You girls will live for a year, three, five, ten, and even more. Live. Even if you don’t want it, I’ll make you survive. I won’t allow any of you to die! Survive! 」
「???!!! 」
Hearing Kyouko-san’s translation, the girls felt a sense of agitation.
It can’t be helped.
So far, they’ve been living a life where they can’t think about the future.
「 Don’t worry. My family and I will be with you from now on! You girls now belong to my family! That’s why you’re going to be with me for the rest of your lives 」
I speak to their hearts.
「 But, living is more than just spending your time absentmindedly. If you want to become happy, if you want to be better than now, then you need to put on effort. You need to gain power and skill to live happily. It’s something completely different from the a.s.sa.s.sination techniques you learned so far 」
The skills to survive are different from skills to kill.
「 If you want to be happy in a year, three, five, or ten years, then you need to put in the effort for that. Think about your future. What you want to become, what you want to do. Have a vision of what to do. You don’t need to hurry, of course, take it slow 」
The girls focus on me.
「 Don’t worry. I’m going to be here, and no matter what happens, I’ll lead you to happiness 」
Then.
Dolly said something.
『 They don’t understand from that. What does it mean to follow you? They ask 」
Kyouko-san translates for me
「 What I only seek from you girls is to bear my child 」
I declared.
「 You will raise my children to become happy. You’re not the only one who’ll give birth to children. You’re going to make my children happy, even if it’s not yours 」
The thirteen girls gasps.
「 This is why we’re a single-family. You girls are now my family too. And my family also becomes yours 」
I’ll take in all these girls with different skin and eye colors.
「 You girls are family now so you should get along! Don’t just think of happiness for a single person, think of the whole family’s happiness. Once you do that, we’ll be able to stay together. You’re going to be happy in a year, three, five, ten years in the future 」
I shout and Kyouko-san translates.
There was a moment of silence.
Before long…
「!!! 」
Dolly shouts
「!!!!! 」
Before long…
『 Dolly and Anna will follow you they said 』
Then.
「!!! 」
「!!! 」
The thirteen girls declared that they will follow me.
Those who were hesitating got convinced by others.
『 They’re all going to follow you now 』
Good.
『 I will be attending to these girls for a while. It’s better if they interact with the family gradually 』
Kyouko-san said.
『 If you do it right away, it could surprise them, and they might act in sudden or even dangerous ways. They need someone watching them 』
Yeah. It’s dangerous to keep them without Kyouko-san or Anya, someone who has the power to stop them.
『 Maybe after they learned the j.a.panese language, then they can have s.e.x. That makes it easier for you, right? 』
True, it would be a problem if we have difficulty reaching mutual understanding.
Like, getting an interpreter while having s.e.x is…
『 It’s just as you said earlier, don’t rush, take your time. Once they do that, these thirteen girls will become useful women to you 』
That’s…
『 You’ll see what it means soon 』
Kyouko-san laughs.
『 Well then, that’s enough for introductions. I’ll take the girls out 』
Kyouko-san told the girls something and then…
They all bowed to me.
Then, they got off the armored car and went to the rear transport block we got in earlier today.
Then, the armored car went off the school.
「 Okay, all done. We should get back too. Get in 」
Minaho-neesan said.
「 Oh, wait. Shou-neechan 」
I called Shou-neechan.
「 Look, about this girl 」
I point at Kurose Anju-san who’s standing behind me.
「 Yes, I know. I’ll hire her in Kouzuki SS, right? 」
Shou-neechan knows.
「 I think she’s got good qualities too. I welcome girls who can handle surface security 」
Kurose-san can’t do work from behind the scenes.
She’s got a straightforward and honest personality.
But, she’s witty and attentive.
And also, she’s bright and cute.
She’s suited for the surface jobs.
「 I’m the head on scene of Kouzuki SS. Seki. Nice to meet you 」
「 K-Kurose Anju 」
Shou-neechan is Jii-chan’s full-time personal bodyguard so Kurose-san knows her.
「 U-Uhm, is someone like me really okay? 」
Kurose-san asks with a confused face.
「 No problem. You belong to Kouzuki SS, but your job is to protect the family, and when that happens, you have your capable seniors that will teach everything you need to know 」
Michi and Edie love to look after others.
They surely will support Kurose-san.
「 That includes being a bodyguard, and all other things 」
Shou-neechan laughs.
「 What other things? 」
Kurose-san looks puzzled.
「 Oh? You heard it already, haven’t you? 」
Shou-neechan looks at me.
「 It means serving your master through s.e.x 」