Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Summer Vacation Special Camp (5)
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Fun times fly by, while the work that needs doing marches steadily closer.
After staying up all night with strategy discussions and silly laughter, the time to launch the mission was suddenly upon us. Carmen was killing time by fiddling with her prosthetic leg and random objects around her, assembling them this way and that while sitting in her chair. Dennis was engrossed in her laptop, tinkering away.
Saburo had his head poked out the window, cigarette in mouth, keeping his sunglasses trained on our target building without fail.
Silence.
From what I'd heard, we were hitting them after their main force headed out, so with Saburo staying put like this, all we could do was maintain the silence.
Even Carmen, who'd said we needed to stay cool-headed for the mission, seemed bored as she toyed with her powers, crafting odds and ends. She flicked away delicate models like the Eiffel Tower or the Arc de Triomphe, then balled her fist to form a sphere.
She reshaped the ball into a little figure kicking a soccer ball, then into a massive statue of Jesus, only to scowl in dissatisfaction and scatter the metal lump. When our eyes met, she narrowed her brows and snapped,
"What're you staring at."
I used to flinch a bit when Carmen got aggressive after that whole pecking-order thing early on, but now I was numb from sheer boredom. I gave her a deadpan look and replied,
"You're good at that. Was that the Eiffel Tower just now? You been to France?"
It was an offhand question, but it hit Carmen right where it hurt, unexpectedly. She twitched her shoulders and averted her eyes, spitting out her response rapid-fire,
"...What's it to you?"
"Was it for a mission? Must've been nice. I've never been to Europe."
Oh, looks like a conversation might actually happen. Sensing an opening, I quickly followed up, and Carmen's expression shifted subtly. She tilted her head, pondering for a moment, then came at me aggressively again.
"So you've been to other countries, then?"
"...Yeah."
Tricky. Should I say I've been to other countries? I was Korean in my past life, and this is Japan now. Does that count as overseas travel? Or immigration? How do I even answer this accurately? As I hesitated, lost in thought, Carmen furrowed her brows again and muttered,
"...You really piss me off."
Carmen seemed annoyed just by my breathing. I shrugged and said,
"I wanna get along with you. Don't you think we'd make a great team?"
"What're you on about."
Carmen turned away from me to stare out the window. I kept talking to the back of her head.
"Think about it. My strength plus your metal control—how unstoppable would that be? Slap some iron plating all over me, turn me into Iron Serika, and I smash everything in sight."
"...."
Carmen, who'd been listening, glanced back at me. Her eyes rolled with a faint flicker of something, an oddly nuanced expression. Saburo, watching, cut in with disbelief.
"Carmen. Tell me you're not actually tempted by that idiot idea."
"...N-no, I'm not."
Carmen startled at his words, hunching her shoulders again. Saburo tossed his cigarette out the window and buttoned his coat. Faintly, the sound of a car engine turning over drifted in from outside. Dennis reacted like an animal to the noise, snapping upright. She rubbed her shoulders and murmured,
"They're here. Time to get ready."
"Yeah. Leave it to me."
Saburo nodded after saying that. As he headed out, he patted Carmen's shoulder.
"Big expectations on you, Carmen."
Carmen stiffened at that, nodding curtly. She shot me a glare and scowled. No idea why she was venting at me over something that depended on her doing well, but I nodded back at her.
"Let's do this."
"...Just sleep or whatever. I'll handle it all."
Carmen ignored me and grabbed her mask first. Dennis donned hers and said,
"Now, teamwork. Teamwork always comes first. Got it? If the building looks too wrecked and unstable, jump out the window toward the street right away. Doesn't matter what floor—I'll catch you."
Huh, so that's why a telekinetic was on this mission.
With a powerhouse like Dennis handling backup support too, my confidence surged even more.
Yakuza newbie Toshio lit a cigarette, his face tense with nerves. With the main crew all out on business, he knew they couldn't slack on watch. His senior yakuza chuckled at Toshio's edginess.
"You're way too wound up, man. Who'd hit a dump like this? Just phone it in."
"But they said if anyone shows, we're all dead meat."
The senior laughed at Toshio's words, puffing smoke as he replied,
"Listen, you think anyone raiding a yakuza joint sends small fry like us? Nah, they'd send types like that security guy we hired—laser eyes or sonic scream freaks. If you see 'em, just surrender! Flat on the floor. Got it?"
Toshio nodded at his senior's words. In a world crawling with lethal powers, yakuza lives were worth dirt. One brush with an efficient killer, and you were squashed like a roach under a slipper.
Toshio hadn't felt that danger yet, so to dodge his senior's slacking advice, he tossed out a new topic.
"But seriously, why'd our boss shell out for such pricey security? Dude must've emptied the coffers."
"You didn't hear? That land we muscled in on—belongs to some massive outfit. Boss got spooked, hired a bodyguard to save his skin. Shit, now that I say it... we're screwed, right? Should we bolt now?"
"C'mon, senior. Why run? You know how hard I worked to join up. You even helped me with my first blood—can't back out now."
"Even the oyabun's shaking in his boots. Who knows what'll go down. Normally, you cut and run if things look hairy..."
The senior trailed off, dropping his cigarette. At the massive front gate stood a masked girl, her form shimmering oddly, impossible to make out. Cold sweat beaded on the senior's brow as he slapped Toshio's shoulder.
"Hey, don't look her in the eye. Let's go. Fuck, this feels bad."
Toshio let out a hollow laugh. She looked like a kid from what he could tell—what was there to fear? Might as well show off his guts in front of his senior and prove his power with some swagger.
"C'mon, bro. It's just a brat. A kid. No crime syndicate sends actual children as weapons, right?"
"Ugh... fuck, let's just move!"
"Hey! This ain't a place for kids! Get outta here!"
But ignoring his senior's warnings, Toshio bellowed confidently, waving his arms like shooing a beast. The senior shook his head and bolted.
"Fuck it, whatever!"
"Huh? H-hey! Senior! Why run? From one kid...?"
The masked girl approached right up to the man's nose and grabbed Toshio's arm.
"Hey."
A low, gloomy voice. Some eerie, genderless, ageless tone burrowed into his ear with chilling noise. The instant Toshio heard it, he knew his senior was right.
"Gwaaaah!"
From the backyard, his senior's scream echoed. The masked girl nodded at the cry, then roughly kicked Toshio aside.
"Prophets send their regards."
Thud!
A heavy impact, and Toshio's body flew up, slamming into the wall. He convulsed, foaming at the mouth as he crumpled. The building shook from the scream and crash moments ago.
"We're under attack!"
"Ambush!"
Startled yakuza scrambled into motion. Dennis leaned against the car, scanning the scene as they poured down the stairs.
A rough voice bellowed from the backyard.
"You fuckers messed with the wrong guys! Know who I am? I'm the Iron Man of our crew, Tenkai Tetsu! I turn my skin to steel! You think you can fight? No average powered punk can even scratch me... Graaaah!"
Crunch!
Grind!
Squelch!
Hm.
Don't really wanna see what just happened.