Black Market (3) - 9

After dealing with the gang of thugs, I headed to a clothing store in the Black Market.

 

 

"First, I'd better change my clothes to avoid any more trouble..."

 

 

A Trinity student stands out too much in the Black Market.

Besides, my light green hair is also very distinctive, so I could easily become a topic of rumors.

That Kanshi was walking around the Black Market.

 

 

"Welcome. Whoa, what a pretty lady! You're from Trinity, right? What brings you here?"

 

 

A rat man greeted me in the store.

He's the kind of rat that would fit Arona's desire for a hard-boiled atmosphere.

I almost laughed.

 

 

"I'm here to buy some clothes. Do you have anything that can adequately cover my face?"

 

 

"Hmm... I have just the thing for that."

 

 

I bought a hoodie in the Black Market to cover my face.

It was a pretty nice hoodie, apparently traded in the Black Market, and it was quite expensive.

I would have been fine with something normal, but the store owner insisted that I had to have this one...

I have a lot of money, so it didn't really matter... but why do I feel bad even though it suits me?

 

 

The reason I bought the hood was that my light green hair color is quite noticeable, so there's a high chance I'd be recognized.

My pure white wings are also quite noticeable, but that's something that cannot be helped...

 

 

"Miss~ Are you perhaps looking for something to cover your wings too~"

 

 

As I was looking for a way to deal with my wings, the store owner from earlier was standing there with a cape.

It seems he figured out my purpose.

 

 

With tears in my eyes, I bought an expensive cape too...

If I had bought the cape first, I wouldn't have needed to buy the hood.

I realized this only after I had fallen for his sales pitch.

 

 

I headed to the Black Market Bank while hiding my identity as much as possible.

The building was huge, so at least I wouldn't get lost.

 

 

Then, I saw the security guards searching for someone.

 

 

"It's a group of five high school girls, including one adult male. They caused a disturbance in our area! We need to find them immediately."

 

 

I don't know why I wasn't caught, but it seems Hifumi and the Abydos group were caught by the security guards.

But the Abydos side, under Sensei and Ayane's instructions, didn't seem to be easy to catch.

In the original story, they also managed to evade the security guards without getting caught, so I guess I don't need to worry too much.

 

 

"Even if they were just common thugs, they took down nearly 80 people with just five. They're not to be taken lightly. Call for backup!"

 

 

Huh, is that a lot?

Just a moment ago, I thought, 'They can definitely escape that, right?' but I'm starting to get a little worried now that reinforcements are coming.

Why are they calling for backup?

 

 

They said that five people took down 80 thugs.

No matter how I think about it, I don't think Hifumi's group could have taken down 80 people.

Since Hifumi and I split up and ran in different directions, even if there were a lot of thugs on their side, there's no way 80 of them went to their side only.

 

In the original story, assuming that the number of thugs you take down in the game represents the number in the story, they would have taken down about 30 to 40 people.

There are basically 15 to 21 enemies in one stage. And you fight twice, once with the initial thugs and once with the reinforcements.

And I took down 40 by myself.

Could it be... they're mistaking the ones I took down as the ones they took down?

 

But why?

The place where I took down the thugs and the place where Abydos and Hifumi are should be quite far apart?

 

 

Originally, the odds of 1:8 might seem manageable, so the security guards didn't send that many people, but they seem to have determined that 1:16 is quite dangerous.

If this goes wrong, there's a chance that Hifumi's group could get caught by the security guards...

 

 

"Haa... I made this mess, so I guess I have to clean it up..."

 

It's best to avoid a direct confrontation with the security guards.

Not only was I not confident that I could win in a fight, but if we fought face-to-face, there's a chance they could recognize me even if I'm covering my face and wings.

If they make a wanted poster, I'll become the public enemy of the Black Market.

 

 

Therefore, I need to fight from a distance as much as possible.

But it was difficult to aim accurately relying only on the iron sights of the assault rifle.

 

 

The Black Market is a place where all sorts of things are traded.

Iori's yearbook was even available according to the Iori bond story.

 

 

They might even sell sniper scopes here.

In a hurry to find sniper supplies, I found a short scope nearby.

 

 

"I guess I'll have to make do with this for now."

 

 

I pulled my hood tight to conceal my identity and sniped one of the security guards who was busy looking for Hifumi's group with the short scope.

Sniping is only romantic when you do it with a scoped sniper rifle...

Maybe the old Kanshi knew that, which is why she carried a sniper rifle.

 

 

I don't know if I can beat the security guards, but I just need to buy some time.

No, if I can just split their forces, the story will proceed normally.

 

 

I fired at the head of a security guard.

One security guard, unable to react, was hit by all three bullets from the 3-round burst of the K2 and fell to the ground.

 

 

What? Why did the security guard automatons get one-shotted?

Even the thugs didn't get one-shotted?

Was there a problem with their defense mechanisms?

The thugs who were ambushed earlier also fell in one shot, so just in case, I aimed and fired at another security guard who was on guard after his comrade mysteriously died.

 

 

It was a one-shot kill.

What, they're easier to beat than the thugs?

What's going on.

 

 

And then, a hypothesis crossed my mind.

Ah, those guys.

 

 

Come to think of it, they did look like they were heavily armored.

They're heavily armored.

Now that I think about it, the black enemies that appeared in Blue Archive's Area 8 were called Black Market Automatons...?

 

 

It seems my attack attribute is indeed piercing.

This... I might be able to Thanos the security guards, not just buy time.

I said earlier that I wasn't confident I could win in a fight, but I take that back.

 

 

*********

 

 

I jumped between buildings and continued to snipe the security guards from where they couldn't see me.

I happily hunted down the 'heavily armored' Black Market security guards like a fish in water.

 

 

"Hoodie Cape! We're letting you go for now, but the entire Black Market will be after you! Don't think you can get out of here safely!"

 

 

"Heavy armor... talking back?"

 

 

 

 

- Bang

 

 

Because of this, the security guards were calling me by the strange codename Hoodie Cape, which reminded me of a certain bald cape from somewhere, and I always made sure to take out the one who said that name first.

Why are you making up my embarrassing past when I haven't done anything?

 

 

When the number of security guards had noticeably decreased, I went into a random building, took off the hood and cape, and went back to the clothing store.

Since the security guards were looking for someone with a hood and cape, I needed to change my clothes.

But if I changed back into my Trinity uniform, I might get caught by thugs looking for money again...

I'm such a pushover, I know...

 

 

"You're back, miss."

 

 

"Yes, hello. I just, uh, needed to change my clothes..."

 

 

"Could it be that the Hoodie Cape that the security guards have been looking for with bloodshot eyes since earlier is you, miss? You're the only one I can think of who would wear such an outrageous design."

 

 

"Ugh..."

 

 

I pointed my gun at the store owner.

Dealing with heavily armored security guards is a piece of cake, but I don't want to cause any more trouble.

 

 

Besides, there was a reason why I stopped short of annihilating the security guards.

Even though the Black Market is an illegal organization, there's such a thing as a necessary evil in this world.

If I massacre too many security guards here and the Black Market's own order collapses, it could affect the outside world as well.

 

 

"Whoa, whoa, put that gun down, and let's talk. I won't report you."

 

 

"How can I trust that?"

 

 

"A merchant like me doesn't care how the world works as long as I can make money."

 

 

"....."

 

 

"And you're a good customer of mine, miss. Gaining your trust and selling you expensive clothes is more profitable in the long run and the short run than reporting you to the security guards and getting a measly reward."

 

 

Ah, this is annoying.

So I ended up being called a pushover by that guy.

It's annoying that I have to be a pushover even though I know that.

And I hate myself for thinking that I'll probably come back here again someday, succumbing to the performance of the hood and cape that hid my identity so well and the clothes that looked great even to me.

 

 

"Well, okay. It doesn't really matter anyway since I can just take care of the security guards if they come."

 

 

"You're a scary one, aren't you, miss? This old man is getting chills."

 

 

"So what clothes do you recommend this time? I don't have a good sense of fashion. I have plenty of money anyway, so I'll buy something expensive."

 

 

"Oh, you're quite generous."

 

 

"People like you would call someone like me a sucker, right?"

 

 

"Yep, that's right."

 

 

The store owner, who readily admitted it, picked out some clothes from the store.

No matter how much I look, I can't tell what clothes go well with what, but seeing him pick out combinations that look good on me so quickly, I guess that's what you call an expert.

 

 

The store owner picked out a sky-blue one-piece dress and a beige coat.

 

 

"Ugh..."

 

 

"What? Don't you like it?"

 

 

Come to think of it, it was my mistake.

Anyone can see that I look like a woman, and if you ask a clothing store employee to pick out clothes that fit you, it's natural that they would bring women's clothes.

Unaware of my inner turmoil, the store owner muttered,

 

 

"Why though... I think it would look great on you."

 

 

I imagined myself wearing that.

It does look good. It looks good, but...

I've never worn women's clothes other than my uniform.

I want to ask for men's clothes, but...

From what I've gathered about this guy's personality so far, he's a merchant who wants to make a lot of money, but he also seems to have the spirit of an expert who wants to dress his customers in pretty things, judging from the fact that he only brings clothes that really suit me.

If I ask him for men's clothes, not knowing my circumstances, a person with that kind of personality might get angry and keep pushing the issue.

 

 

If I'm late, I might miss Hifumi... I mean, Faust-san, leading the Swimsuit Masked Gang to rob the Black Market Bank, so I need to go there as soon as possible and wait.

 

 

How can I get out of this smoothly?

As I thought about it, I came up with a perfect excuse using the current situation.

 

 

"Could you give me men's clothes instead?"

 

 

"Why? I can give them to you, but they won't fit you. First of all, there's a big difference in physique. Besides, men's clothes in human form are scarce, so they're very expensive."

 

 

Come to think of it, there are few men in human form in this world.

Most of them have animal features, and even those in human form are robots when you look at their faces... that's the kind of world it was.

Even the store owner is a rat.

There's bound to be a lack of demand.

 

 

"I thought it would be best to hide my gender for a perfect disguise."

 

 

"I guess so. But men's clothes that fit your body type are really expensive, are you sure?"

 

 

Then, the store owner brought a dress shirt and pants from the back.

I immediately bought them and the coat and put them on.

I was bundled up tightly last time with the hoodie, so if I do the same now, it might arouse suspicion.

So this time, I didn't hide my hair.

 

 

"Here, take this too. Think of it as a present for a good customer in the future."

 

 

The store owner gave me the one-piece dress from earlier as a bonus.

I didn't need it, but I couldn't refuse, so I took it.

Well, as long as I live as a woman, there will come a day when I'll wear it.

 

 

I can't just wear my uniform forever, and there might come a day when I can't avoid wearing women's clothes.

Just thinking about the swimsuit event, since I'm friends with Hifumi and Hanako, there's a high chance I'll be dragged along, and I can't wear men's swimwear with this body.

I'll have to use this dress to build up immunity to women's clothes for the future.

 

 

With that thought, I looked at the one-piece dress.

It's still a design that makes me nauseous when I think about wearing it myself.

Apart from that, it's aesthetically very beautiful, and it's a dress that's worth the price it was initially offered at.

 

 

I sighed, took the clothes, and went outside.

 

 

"Ugh... I'm hungry... Is there anything to eat..."

 

 

The battle with the thugs, the massacre of the security guards, and deciding on clothes, there were too many things that exhausted me.

I need to regain my energy by eating something...

 

 

As I looked around for something to eat, I saw an unusual group of five high school girls and one adult male buying fish-shaped buns.

Their hair colors were so colorful and vibrant that you would have to look at them at least once if you passed by. They really stood out.

 

 

Aren't they not getting caught by the security guards thanks to me?

But before that, why weren't they caught because of their hair colors in the story?

Do your job, security guards!

 

 

"Anyway, I'm glad I found them quickly."

 

 

I'm glad I don't have to wait at the Black Market Bank anymore.

But... I want to eat fish-shaped buns too, can't I eat with them?

I... I'm hungry too...

 

 

I wanted to run up to them and ask to eat together, but Nonomi had already bought 'six servings'.

Nonomi bought the fish-shaped buns because 'I wanted to eat them', and if I show up here and make her buy them for me too, it would prove that Nonomi didn't buy them because she wanted to eat them.

 

 

But Nonomi wouldn't just watch me buy my own with my own money. Nonomi is a kind girl.

If it were a stranger, it would be one thing, but I've already met Abydos.

They even offered to treat me to a meal when we parted ways. Of course, I refused, but I don't think the Abydos students would give up their will with just that much refusal.

 

 

There's no way they'd be fooled by a disguise that only covers my hair...

In the end, I had to watch Abydos and Hifumi eat their fish-shaped buns from behind a pillar, drooling.