Countermeasure Committee (3)
Natsume Iroha warned coldly.
She was treating the original and the replica as equals. In other words, this was Iroha's yellow card.
“Treat me well, senpai.”
It was Makocchi. Before Iroha gave her the nickname, the original and the replica coexisted without distinction.
Iroha had a one-sided beating vibe.
But the replica occasionally flashed a counterattack.
“Then from now on, I'll call you Iroha-chan.”
She was offering flesh and taking bones. Makocchi called Iroha in a teasing manner with her own face. This was a killing blow aimed at cognitive dissonance.
“......”
Iroha stood there with a bewildered expression, at a loss for words.
Iroha glared at me with a face that had lost its train of thought.
“Iroha-chan.”
“G, don't call me that!”
One more time. It was repeated, and Iroha scolded me.
“What is it with that embarrassing title? It's weird, really......”
Iroha muttered while pressing her bangs down so deeply that her eyes were covered, looking annoyed.
For me, who had been repeatedly fooled by Iroha's pranks, this fresh reaction was refreshing.
“You two seem to be on intimate terms.”
Suddenly, Hina's voice rang out.
Hina was looking at me. I was startled as if I had been caught in a private conversation.
“Don't worry. I didn't overhear your conversation. ......I just got the feeling that the atmosphere was like that.”
After saying that, Hina turned her gaze away.
She was casually watching the spectacle for a moment.
And Toramaru arrived near its destination.
“Enemy forces from the Prefect Team are ahead. Multiple Prefect Team squads are engaged in combat with unknown enemies!”
Mob, who was riding Toramaru, reported to me.
“Following the main story flow.”
With this, my claim became reality.
Akko had unilaterally moved forces to invade another district to kidnap Sensei. She had been secretly operating under the pretext of leading Problem Solver 68.
According to Akko's words, 'The Prefect Team will not hesitate to commit such atrocities if necessary.'
“......”
After confirming the situation, Hina got off Toramaru.
Chik, then Hina prepared to communicate with someone.
“Akko.”
Hina called Akko through the communication network.
If I were to eavesdrop on the Prefect Team's channel right now, I could watch Akko's ugly face in real time. Let's do it immediately.
- H, H, Hina department head!? W, w, why are you calling at this time......?
“Akko, where are you now?”
- L, let me ask? I'm, um, that, so, that's, yes! G, Gehenna vicinity, in the city! Yes, with the Prefect Team members, regular patrol......
It was a spectacle. One might say the masterpiece is one that makes you want to rewatch it knowing the plot and ending.
It's a shame I couldn't hear Serika's 'It's a lie!!' as the Countermeasure Committee member.
- B, but then why is the department head calling at this time....... H, how did the business trip go?
“Um. I just arrived.”
Hina's words 'just arrived' meant that her preparations to judge Akko were complete.
The sense of presence was overflowing. Adding a commentator's voice, I felt like enjoying a main story appreciation session.
- Ah, I see, department head! I have something I need to handle right now...... I'll contact you later! B, I'm busy, so for now!
“Busy......? Being busy during regular patrol. There are all sorts of things. What is it?”
It was like a scene from a horror movie. Akko didn't know that the jump scare scene had just entered the countdown.
- N, no? That, um, ......
- Using personnel at will from another district...... something like that?
Eventually, Hina moved away from here and approached the Prefect Team side.
- ......N?
Akko's dazed voice.
And Hina took the stage of the main story. As the role assisting Schale.
“I should head back to Gehenna soon.”
As the director, I had fulfilled my assigned role.
Now, it was time to gracefully disappear from behind the scenes.
“Problem Solver 68? Where is it? It seems to be confronting Schale right now.”
- Yes, if it's Problem Solver 68, it should be....... W, when did they escape? B, until just now they were here......
Continuing from the eavesdropped channel, Hina and Akko's communication.
Problem Solver 68 was not at the scene. They had already exited to the back of the stage.
Problem Solver 68,
“......Makocchi?”
Behind the scenes of the stage, here they were.
From the front, Aru and all the other members.
This was an unexpected encounter. I hadn't expected to face Problem Solver 68 who had fled from the Prefect Team.
“It's Makocchi! W, we survived-! Just barely escaped from the Prefect Team and I'm exhausted, but I'm glad......!”
Aru approached me without any caution whatsoever.
Since Aru was a contractor employee and sniper instructor with whom I had exchanged opinions several times.
But she was a stranger to the other members.
I had only shown myself to Aru as the mysterious employer.
“President, what are you saying. This person...... is Hanuma Makoto.”
Onikata Kayoko, the brain of Problem Solver 68, seemed to have already recognized me.
Kayoko stopped Aru from approaching me.
“Aru-chan~ Could it be that this person is our employer? I heard Aru-chan is a hardcore type~ Hng~”
Then, the girl, Asagi Mutsuki, curiously dissecting me.
“If it's the employer...... then why is this dangerous person in such a precious place......? Eh, t, that...... what did I just say!?”
Igusa Haruka, the girl in extreme anxiety, was also there, panicking.
“The employer is, right...... Kayoko, do you know who Makocchi is? I'm a mystery client whose name I only know!?”
“Ha......”
Kayoko let out a sigh as if it was troublesome.
“Hanuma Makoto, this person is the president of the Pandemonium Society, the leader of the Manma-jeon.”
Kayoko revealed my identity to Aru.
“U, um? The leader of Manma-jeon......?”
Aru, with a buffering face, mulled over the words she heard from Kayoko.
“W, what-!?!! Makocchi is the leader of Manma-jeon-!? Is that true!?”
Then, Aru showed an enormous reaction a beat late.
“Ahahaha. Aru-chan, your face is funny.”
“W, w, what should I do, Aru-nim!? Actually, was the employer me, the enemy!? Should I take them down!? If you command, I'll eliminate them!”
The situation was in chaos.
My identity had been revealed to all members of Problem Solver 68.
“This is a terribly troublesome situation.”
Problem Solver 68 was a group of rule-breakers on the Prefect Team's blacklist.
They were in a position of being ostracized from Gehenna Academy. They wouldn't be friendly with the student council, the Manma-jeon.
“I see.”
Kayoko, with a face of having finished analyzing the current situation, opened her mouth.
“It seems we were used. Everything was Makocchi's scheme.”
Kayoko glared at me with eyes tinged with hostility.
“The Manma-jeon has a poor relationship with the Prefect Team. They're like archenemies. Especially Makocchi, you publicly belittle the Prefect Team as enemies of the Manma-jeon.”
Kayoko continued her reasoning.
“So Makocchi hired us. She obtained intelligence that the Prefect Team would attack Abydos, and planned to make us hostile to the Prefect Team.”
Eventually, I was labeled an antagonist by Kayoko for interfering with the Prefect Team.
The enemy - Prefect Team - of the enemy - Problem Solver 68 - is a friend, and even a blood ally, so as an antagonist who recruited Problem Solver 68.
“President. This contract is a ruthless trap. It looks like I've been played by Makocchi's hand. We need to sever this relationship before it's too late.”
“But Makocchi......”
Aru hesitated in response to Kayoko's cynical analysis.
Aru, with a face full of regret, wavering on making a decision.
Then, a moment passed,
“What kind of situation is this?”
Hina revealed herself again.
After the main stage of the main story came to a close, Hina also moved to the back of the stage.