A Humble Debut (2)
The three of them seemed unable to easily recover from the sudden unexpected situation. It was deep in the night when everyone was asleep, and on top of that, a place that was usually deserted. A girl who looked as though she had only just entered middle school was standing there wearing an outfit straight out of cosplay. No matter how you looked at it, she didn’t belong in this place. Her appearance, which clashed completely with the menacing atmosphere that had filled the air just moments ago, only made the sense of incongruity sharper. Because of the delinquents whose thoughts had momentarily frozen, a heavy silence settled over the scene beneath the streetlight.
But that silence didn’t last. As time passed and they slowly began to grasp the situation, the faces of the two thugs twisted back into ugly scowls. The first to regain his composure was the blond delinquent who had been the most aggressive with his threats. The faint traces of confusion and fear in his eyes quickly shifted into disbelief, and finally settled into deep, burning anger. He was already furious that the prey he had worked so hard to catch turned out to be broke; now some strange little girl had appeared and ruined everything. It was like pouring oil on a raging fire.
At first, he had wondered if the girl in front of him might be a ghost. After all, she was standing in a deserted alley wearing a pure-white mask with a smiling expression. In the darkness, that mask looked especially eerie. But once his mind cleared and he noticed the girl’s shadow cast clearly by the streetlight, that suspicion vanished. Logically, he concluded she was simply a girl with a few screws loose. There was no other way to explain what he was seeing.
His companion seemed to have reached the same conclusion. The confusion faded from his face as well, replaced by irritation and anger. From their perspective, some weird little girl was openly mocking two grown men. Of course they were furious.
Once they understood the situation, the blond delinquent moved first.
“…What’s a little miss like you doing in a place like this? Didn’t your parents ever tell you? Walking around alone at night, you might get eaten by some bad uncle.”
The man approached the girl with a menacing gait, swinging the wooden club in his hand. His threatening aura was enough to intimidate even an ordinary adult man. Still, he had no real intention of actually hitting her. He figured a warning would be enough; any kid with a few loose marbles would get scared and run away. No matter how angry he was, he wasn’t about to go all-out against a little girl.
But things didn’t go the way he expected.
The girl, who should have been terrified by the blatant murderous intent, didn’t run. Instead, she tilted her head slightly and looked straight at him before speaking again in a small voice.
“Hee, really? But I’m curious about one thing… Who exactly am I supposed to be careful of?”
“?……”
“Because around here, the only things that pass for humans are pathetic, worthless scum, right?”
The girl murmured with a thick layer of laughter in her voice. The man’s eyes widened in disbelief. He had never imagined he would hear something like that from a little girl, and right to his face. Even as his gaze wavered between shock and rage, the girl’s mouth didn’t stop.
“All you know how to do is throw punches, you idiots♥~ Life’s losers with nothing in your heads♥~ Trash that isn’t even worth recycling♥~”
“……”
The sharp blades of her words sank straight into the ears of the two delinquents. If they had been normal people, they might have brushed it off as the nonsense of a child. But they knew better than anyone that every word was true. She had calmly laid bare the very complexes they carried, striking right at their most sensitive nerves.
The blond man’s body began to tremble as if struck by an earthquake. His face flushed crimson, and his eyes were so bloodshot the veins looked ready to burst. Meeting his gaze, the girl delivered the finishing blow with perfect timing.
“Hehe, why are you shaking so much~? Ah… is it because I’m talking about you?”
“Y-you… you little brat!!!”
The last thread of his reason snapped. With a trembling roar, the blond man lunged forward, his hand shooting out. All traces of his earlier composure were gone, swallowed by overwhelming rage. He had completely lost control, becoming nothing more than a beast wearing human skin.
His mind was filled with the humiliation of being insulted by a child barely within arm’s reach. There was no going back to words now. If things continued, the small girl would be caught in that grip and thoroughly broken. But the man had overlooked one crucial fact.
The girl standing here was no ordinary person.
The distance between them was already small, so his hand easily seized her shoulder in an instant. Up to that point, everything matched his expectations. But the very next moment, he realized something was wrong. His hand was definitely touching the girl’s body, yet no matter how hard he pushed, she didn’t budge. Even more shocking was that he couldn’t pull his hand back either. It was as if something had locked it in place. No matter how much he struggled, his hand remained fixed.
The situation had reversed. Now it looked as though he was the one being held captive. The girl stood calmly as if nothing had happened, while the man sweated and strained with all his might. It was a bizarre sight that was hard to believe even with one’s own eyes.
The other delinquent, watching from a short distance away, reacted with confusion. From his perspective, it looked like his companion was just throwing a tantrum and putting on a ridiculous show by himself.
“…Hey, what the hell are you doing? Are you joking right now? What the fuck are you trying to pull?”
“N-no!!! This, this! My hand…… !!???”
Glurk glurk glurk!
Unable to understand what was happening, the man stammered before his eyes widened in horror. His hand was being swallowed. It was a strange way to describe it, but there was no other way to explain what he was seeing. The boundary where their bodies touched grew hazy, and the contact surface softened like clay. His hand sank into her as if disappearing into a swamp.
The surreal sight, impossible to believe even though he was witnessing it directly, imprinted instinctive terror into him. The man now trembled for an entirely different reason, staring at the girl—or rather, at the unknown entity wearing the girl’s appearance—with eyes full of fear.
At that moment, her sweet voice rang out once more.
“Touching a frail little girl’s body like that! How arrogant for a pathetic, irredeemable piece of trash. So… you’ll have to be punished, big brother.”
You have successfully completed the request! The reward has been issued. Please check it.
“……”
Even though the welcome voice echoed in my head, I simply leaned against the wall and stared blankly into the air. Everything had gone according to plan, so why did I feel this way…? Probably because I had gotten too caught up in the act and lost my composure for a moment. Recalling the embarrassing lines I had spoken while role-playing, I writhed in shame and let out a deep sigh. I had been prepared, but the aftereffects that followed were still quite intense.
Still lost in that post-clarity haze, I sat there blankly for a while before slowly removing the mask I had been wearing. The surroundings came into sharper focus than before. Two men lay sprawled within the circle of light. They were the delinquents. The third person—the man who had been their target—was no longer here. He had slipped away while I was dealing with the second delinquent. I hadn’t had any business with him, so I hadn’t stopped him. After all, the success condition for the request had only been to save him and teach the thugs a lesson.
In a way, it was fortunate that he had left on his own. If our eyes had met right after I finished with the two delinquents and my reason returned… just imagining it was horrifying. Even now, after some time had passed, thinking back to that moment still made my face burn. I wondered how many more times I would have to do something like this. Saving someone with my own hands felt good, but it didn’t stop my mind from feeling drained.
“Why don’t you come out now? You were hiding somewhere watching everything anyway. Stop timing it and just show yourself.”
Still sitting with my face buried between my knees, I lifted only my eyes and spoke. I was addressing the one who might be watching from somewhere, even if I couldn’t see him. Honestly, I wasn’t certain. I just figured that if it was him, he wouldn’t miss this moment. It was more of a probe than anything else.
But as always, Uru didn’t disappoint.
[Huk…! Since when did you know?! I thought I hid completely…!]
His flustered voice echoed through the air. I immediately raised my head toward the sound. When I spotted him, I couldn’t help but let out a wry laugh. Though faint, I could just make out the black cat perched atop the streetlight. I never would have guessed he was hiding up there… He really was consistent in his own way.