Nis.h.i.+no and Rikka were present in the school cafeteria. The purpose was to meet up with the members in the exploration team. While sitting on their seats, they were waiting for the others’ arrival. However, waiting quietly among all the rus.h.i.+ng of other students was frustrating.
“Are they here yet-”
Rikka groaned and fidgeted her feet in boredom.
“They should be here in a moment. Until then, we just have to be patient.”
“Alright~”
Seeing how unwilling she was, Nis.h.i.+no chuckled. They exchanged some trivial conversations as they waited. Then, they noticed a few students walking in from the entrance. Witnessing the person leading the group, Nis.h.i.+no made a face.
“…Fuun, you guys are here on time. Turns out you aren’t so bad despite being a delinquent.”
Nis.h.i.+no secretly laughed seeing how Miyamoto was bad-mouthing others the moment he opened his mouth to speak. Why was this man so desperate in his attempt to pick a fight with others? Or was he trying to rile them up on purpose and make them throw the first punch? If he was, there was no merit in going along with his plan regardless of how obvious it was.
“Well, thanks. So why are you even here? Aren’t we supposed to meet with the exploration team?”
“Ah, yes. But things have changed. You’ll be part of the team which will scout the school perimeter to check whether there is any suspicious individual lurking about. Also, I will be in command of this operation. That’s all.”
Nis.h.i.+no c.o.c.ked his head after listening to Miyamoto’s explanations.
“Check for suspicious individuals? What does that mean?”
“The President believes that the attack was instigated by another human. She wants us to look out for the culprit.”
“What…?”
Nis.h.i.+no’s eyes widened. As if it was news to them as well, the members behind Miyamoto made a small commotion.
“It’s apparent that you guys haven’t thought of such possibilities. Ignorant delinquents. President Igaras.h.i.+ recognized several points of doubt regarding the attack and realized that there was someone pulling the strings from the shadows.”
“Hee… I see. But according to your story, weren’t you also in the dark about this matter before she told you? Just like us ‘Ignorant delinquents’.”
When Nis.h.i.+no responded in a provoking manner, Miyamoto’s face turned scarlet.
“Sh-shut up! Of course I realized. B-but I didn’t bother mentioning it on purpose!”
Although he could insult others without batting an eye, Miyamoto seemed incapable of being made fun of by other people. A man with low resilience. Nis.h.i.+no felt irritated. He was gradually becoming annoyed by Miyamoto’s att.i.tude. Miyamoto fixed the position of his gla.s.ses in an attempt to calm himself.
“Regardless! You two were chosen as part of the team that would chase down that monster tamer… To be honest, just the thought of working with you delinquents repulses me, but since President Igaras.h.i.+ ordered your partic.i.p.ation, I can’t ignore it. Fuun, you delinquents should feel honored to get the opportunity to work besides me to be of use to her. You guys should be thanking me with tears!”
“Niss.h.i.+, can I beat the c.r.a.p out of this guy? More like, I’m going to beat the c.r.a.p out of this guy. I’ll destroy his face.” (TN: That felt so satisfying to translate)
Fed up by Miyamoto’s arrogant behaviors, Rikka stood up with her weapon in hand. Just that was enough to scare Miyamoto. He cried out with a pathetic voice.
“Don’t bother, Rikka.”
“Why are you stopping me, Niss.h.i.+?”
“Nothing will change even if you beat Miyamoto right now. It’ll only trouble President Igaras.h.i.+. ”
“That doesn’t explain anything. And what’s wrong with troubling her? To begin with, why are you mentioning her name in this situation?”
Although she was curious as to why Nis.h.i.+no sided with the President so much, she let go of her weapon.
“Fufun. How uncultured… anyways, let’s go!”
Miyamoto, who was obviously putting up a brave front, quickly ordered their deployment. While the other members moved, Nis.h.i.+no was thinking.
(An existence that controls monsters… how troubling…)
And to control a monster as powerful as that. It was quite threatening. Indeed, they had to investigate quickly. Especially for the President.
(Yes. No matter what, I have to protect the President.)
Because she’s an important, important individual… Huh? Why was she so important again? What was this? Something felt out of place. Why was he so obsessed over accomplis.h.i.+ng the President’s orders?
“Is something wrong, Nis.h.i.+no-kun?”
Nis.h.i.+no came back to his senses when somebody besides him mentioned his name. When he looked, it was from a shot haired girl who was wearing the school’s designated jersey. It was Katsuragi, the girl they reunited with at the mall.
“Oh, Katsuragi-san. I’m fine.”
“Is that so? You were making a complicated face.”
“Thanks for your worries… By the way, are you also part of the investigation?”
Nis.h.i.+no changed the subject of the conversation forcefully.
“Yes. While my levels are low, the situation calls for my a.s.sistance. Also, I want to contribute in some ways. I apologize for what just happened. It must have been uncomfortable… Miyamoto-kun isn’t actually a bad person, but he loathes delinquents for one reason or another.”
“It’s fine. I don’t really care.”
Hearing Nis.h.i.+no’s response, Katsuragi made a relived expression.
“Oh, Katsuragi-chi’s also in the team. Please treat me well.”
In response to Rikka who established skins.h.i.+p while rotating her arms around her shoulder, Katsuragi made a tense face for a moment before smiling.
“Y-yes. Please be nice to me as well.”
Having said that, they shook hands. Witnessing this, Nis.h.i.+no smiled.
(That’s right. I should concentrate on locating the monster tamer for the time being.)
Nis.h.i.+no pushed aside his previous thoughts.
“Let’s start moving as well.”
“I guess so. If we chat for too long, that gla.s.s boy could cause trouble for us again.”
They laughed in agreement when Rikka imitated the action of raising one’s gla.s.ses. Just then-
“…Huh?”
Rikka suddenly tilted her head.
“What is it, Rikka?”
“No, I thought I heard something just now. It says ‘You’ve received a mail’.”
“A mail?”
“Yes.”
While wondering what it was, Rikka clicked on her status plate. The voice sounded like the one she heard when she leveled up, so she thought it was something to do with the status. When she did, the screen changed.
“Eh, what is this? …Mail menu? One… unread?”
It was her first time seeing this. The part that was marked unread was blinking. The screen changed again once she touched it.
“From… Ichinose Natsu. Eh, Natsu? Eh, eh?
The moment she saw the name of the sender, Rikka became more confused.
“Hey, what’s wrong, Rikka?”
Nis.h.i.+no’s voice which sounded concerned failed to reach Rikka. She was already immersed in the mail’s content. The subject of the mail caught her eyes.
“Subject… Run away?”
And finally the text. There was but a single sentence.
--- Move away from that person immediately.
“…Eh?”
Immediately following that, Katsuragi, who was standing next to her, was blown away.