Black Market (4) - 10

(Author recommends listening to Unwelcome School while reading this part.)

 

 

 

After confirming that Abydos, Sensei, and Hifumi had finished eating the fish-shaped buns, I was about to leave, but I thought it would be too unnatural to meet them right after they finished eating.

It's like a loser trying to awkwardly join a group of popular kids when the atmosphere has calmed down a bit.

So I decided to hide behind the pillar a little longer and leave when the time was right.

 

 

It seemed like Abydos and Hifumi were discussing the weapons of unknown origin that the Helmet Gang was using.

I couldn't hear them clearly, but Hifumi seemed to be having trouble, and the Abydos students were asking questions.

 

 

Then, Ayane shouted loudly, and Hifumi and the Abydos students started running towards me.

 

 

"Wh-What?"

 

 

Why are they coming this way?

Did they find me? No, I don't think they found me. If they were coming because of me, they wouldn't look so urgent.

 

 

Anyway, it would be very awkward to meet them now.

Should I just escape from here and casually walk past them?

Yeah. That would be better.

 

 

I hid in a blind spot where Abydos and Hifumi couldn't see me and went around the other way.

And then I realized why they were running towards me.

There was a market guard transporting a large truck.

 

 

"Hey, I heard the 2nd squad was wiped out by some guy in a hooded cape?"

 

 

"Sheesh... Not catching even one person, what a disgrace to the security force..."

 

 

"Well, it's none of our business. We just have to do our job."

 

 

They were having that kind of conversation while working.

Is it because I'm twisted that I want to interfere with their work here?

Interfering with someone who is working hard. That's what Koreans do, right?

Can't stand seeing others do well.

'Other people's misfortune is my happiness' is the motto of this race.

 

 

Someone is picking Yordles. Then I'll abandon the Arcane Mage I was going for and pick Yordles.

Don't be obsessed with winning or losing. Games are meant to piss off your opponent.

 

 

But unlike before, these are market guards, the top security organization. Even if I have the advantage, I could lose if they work together, and even if I win, destroying the top security organization would definitely ruin the Black Market's security.

 

 

I calmed my racing heart, which wanted to destroy the market guard automata transporting the truck, or at least puncture the truck's tires to disrupt their plans, and naturally turned the corner and walked past where Abydos and Hifumi were hiding.

 

 

"Kanshi? Kanshi~ Over here!"

 

 

As expected, Hifumi spotted me as I was passing by and called me in a quiet voice.

Honestly, I would have been a little hurt if she hadn't called me.

 

 

I acted like I didn't know anything and went to Hifumi and asked.

 

 

"Why are you hiding here? Are you still being chased by those thugs?"

 

 

"N-No. The thugs were taken care of by these Abydos people and Sensei."

 

 

As soon as Hifumi finished speaking, Shiroko greeted me.

 

 

"Hi, Kanshi. You changed your clothes."

 

 

"There was a bit of a commotion while dealing with the thugs. I changed my clothes to avoid being noticed."

 

 

After Shiroko broke the ice, the other Abydos students greeted me one by one.

 

 

"Hi, Kanshi-chan. That outfit looks good on you."

 

 

"Thank you, Hoshino-san."

 

 

"Long time no see? Is it long time no see?"

 

 

"I think this much time counts as long time no see."

 

 

"Wow~ Kanshi's here too!"

 

 

The Abydos students greet me.

It's a bit of a prick to my conscience to pretend I don't know they're here when I already know and even instigated it, but what can I do.

 

 

"Hello, Kanshi."

 

 

"Hello, Sensei. First of all, thank you for saving Hifumi. I managed to take care of my side, but when I went to where Hifumi was supposed to be, she was gone, so I was worried. Anyway, what are you all doing here?"

 

 

The Abydos students kindly explained the circumstances that brought them here.

I knew most of it, but I listened carefully in case there was a butterfly effect somewhere that I didn't know about.

 

 

"...So that's how we ended up here."

 

 

I was relieved that nothing much had changed.

If anything, it's that they didn't see the truck going in because they were busy greeting me.

I think I need to fix that.

 

 

"By the way, that market guard-escorted truck just now. It went into the black bank, didn't it?"

 

 

At my words, the Abydos members look towards the black bank.

The timing was perfect, as an employee who was receiving money from Abydos was signing a document with a black bank employee.

The expressions of the Abydos students who saw that scene turned serious.

 

 

"Wh-What? That guy... Isn't he the bank employee who takes our interest every month?"

 

 

"Oh, you're right."

 

 

"What's going on?"

 

 

From behind, the holographic Ayane had already analyzed the truck and relayed the information to us.

 

 

"R-Really?! It's a truck belonging to Kaiser Loan! It's the same truck that was carrying the cash we paid this morning...! Why is it in the Black Market?!"

 

 

"Kaiser Loan... Are you talking about that loan shark company?"

 

 

"You know about it, Kanshi?"

 

 

Of course, I know about it.

It's where I've invested all my stocks right now.

It's even grown so much that my original investment has skyrocketed.

I put in 1 billion yen, and now it's 13.2 billion yen.

It's about time it's going to burst, so should I pull out?

 

 

Hifumi and I explained to the Abydos students about Kaiser Loan.

That it's a company that walks the line between legal and illegal.

And that it's a company that the Trinity student council, the Tea Party, is keeping a close eye on.

 

 

Hoshino, who intuited that their money was being used for something suspicious, asked Ayane to track it.

 

 

"Ayane-chan, can you search the driving route of the transport truck that just went in?"

 

 

"...I can't. It's impossible. It seems like they manage all their data offline."

 

 

The result was, of course, a failure.

If they weren't this thorough, they wouldn't be able to walk the line between legal and illegal.

But even with this much of a clue, the intelligent Abydos students were able to accurately guess the current situation.

 

 

"The cash we paid was flowing into the Black Market's criminal bank...?"

 

 

"Does that mean we've been funding the Black Market's criminal activities?!!"

 

 

But it's just a guess, there's no evidence.

It means it's not certain yet.

Whether they want to avoid reality or get back at Kaiser, they need something to prove that Kaiser Loan had an illegal funding route.

 

 

And that evidence is...

 

 

"......Ah! The driving confirmation document that the employee just signed... Wouldn't that be evidence?"

 

 

"I see."

 

 

"Oh, that's right. Nice, Hifumi-chan."

 

 

Thanks to Hifumi's statement, they had a direction on how to handle things.

 

 

"Haha... But when you think about it, the document is in that bank... It's impossible. It's in the bank with the tightest security in the Black Market... There are so many market guards guarding it... We need to find another way..."

 

 

Pure but intelligent, and in some ways sharp, Hifumi pointed out that it was realistically impossible to find the evidence.

However, the Abydos students, who make statements that exceed our imaginations, were undeterred.

 

 

"No, there's no other way."

 

 

"Huh?"

 

 

Ah... that's coming out...

 

 

"Hoshino-senpai. This is the only way."

 

 

"I see~. That's it. That's it~"

 

 

"....Huh??"

 

 

Hifumi, stuck in their conversation, couldn't grasp the current situation at all.

If I were a normal Trinity student, I wouldn't understand what they were talking about either... It was a suspicious context that I couldn't understand at all... But since I already knew the content, I couldn't help but laugh at that build-up.

 

 

"What, what are you talking about? ......Don't tell me? It's not the method I'm thinking of, right?"

 

 

Shiroko stares at Serika.

 

 

"A-Are you serious?!! For real?"

 

 

Only Hifumi, who was stuck in the middle without any understanding of the situation, was flustered and asked what they were talking about.

 

 

"Um... I'm not sure what you're talking about... Does Kanshi understand? What is this method you're talking about?"

 

 

Shiroko answered Hifumi's question with action.

I don't even understand why she was carrying that around...

 

 

"There's only one way."

 

 

Shiroko took out a mask from her bag and put it on.

 

 

"Wh-What are you doing?!"

 

 

"That is... to rob the bank."

 

 

"Huh?!"

 

 

"That's right. That's the development here."

 

 

Hoshino, who had somehow put on mask number 1, ignored the flustered Hifumi and continued the story.

 

 

"Huh?!?!"

 

 

"Wow~ We're going to punish the bad bank!"

 

 

"Huh?!?! Um, excuse me?"

 

 

No one is paying attention to Hifumi.

I knew that these people wouldn't listen to me even if I gave my opinion, so I stayed still.

 

 

No, I wasn't still.

I quietly escaped.

When Hifumi noticed, I was hiding in a place where people couldn't see me.

 

 

No matter what, I can't get involved in that.

 

 

"Sorry Hifumi, Kanshi. We didn't prepare masks for you."

 

 

"N-No, that's not the problem... Um... Excuse me? Kanshi? Where's Kanshi?"

 

 

"If it's Kanshi, she was preparing to run away from the time we put on our masks."

 

 

Hoshino, Shiroko, Serika, and Nonomi, who were focused on putting on their masks, couldn't escape, but I guess I couldn't escape Ayane's eyes.

I've been found out.

 

 

"I... I've been abandoned..."

 

 

"No, it's just that Kanshi knew the timing suspiciously well."

 

 

"Wow! This is only our second meeting, but for some reason, she knows us really well."

 

 

"Anyway, since Hifumi is staying, we can just make it so that all the blame falls on Trinity~"

 

 

"Ah... No... That mask...? Ugh... Bank...? Ah... Auuu..."

 

 

Hifumi's brain processing has encountered an error.

Even I, who already knew the content, felt like I was going crazy, so it was natural that Hifumi, who was caught up in the incident without knowing anything, couldn't keep her mind straight.

 

 

"That would be too pitiful. Hifumi-chan, here's something for now☆"

 

 

And Nonomi put a fish-shaped bun bag with a hole in it, marked with the number 5, on Hifumi's head.

 

 

It suited her so well that I almost burst out laughing.

 

 

-Pfft...

 

 

"There was a sound from over there."

 

 

And Shiroko's good ears didn't miss it.

 

 

"Kanshi-chan~ It's not right to abandon your friend Hifumi when she's trying so hard, right?"

 

 

......Whatever.

Should I change my clothes?

 

 

I quickly changed into the clothes of the public enemy of the Black Market, the hooded cape.

I'm definitely not some weirdo with a strange nickname who looks like he could one-punch someone with a gun, but I thought there was no better outfit to rob a Black Market bank.

I'm sorry, hooded cape. I'm going to borrow your name to rob a bank.

 

 

My conscience pricked me greatly for abandoning Hifumi, so I came out dressed from head to toe.

 

 

"Oh, the visual is boss-level, isn't it? The mastermind, isn't it? The leader, isn't it?"

 

 

"Hifumi-chan also has a boss-like feeling☆"

 

 

"A-Are we going too? To rob the black bank....? A-Are we going?"

 

 

"Uhehe. Your friend seems to have already sensed it and came, right? Friendship that doesn't abandon a friend! How noble. Besides, Hifumi-chan promised to be with us today."

 

 

"Ah... Ugh... I, I don't know how I should look at the student council members and Kanshi anymore..."

 

 

Hifumi was in a panic, but no one was comforting her.

Instead, they try to rationalize.

 

 

"It doesn't matter! They're the bad guys! We're robbing a criminal bank!"

 

 

"And Kanshi is going to rob the bank with you. There's nothing to worry about!"

 

 

This is a K-game, after all.

The personalities of the characters are already messed up.

 

 

"Sensei, please say that line."

 

 

"Yeah, let's rob the bank!"

 

 

I could only sigh.

If you're a teacher, you should stop the kids from doing weird things...

 

 

I had a feeling that I would have done the same if I were Sensei, so I didn't say anything.