Abydos of a Midsummer Night (4) - 8

The Countermeasures Committee, chasing the reaction of Sensei's Shittim Chest, had about 500 meters left.

 

 

"Just a little more..."

 

 

Hoshino was anxious, wanting to get there even a second faster, and Serika was also worried, thinking Sensei was kidnapped because of her.

 

 

Shiroko, being close, launched a drone first to assess the situation. She opened a window and climbed onto the vehicle's roof. Soon, she saw the container zone in the distance... and there was a fight.

 

 

Several Helmet Gang members were seen flying into the air.

 

 

"P-People are flying!"

 

 

Ayane, in the driver's seat, was also shocked to see this. She stopped the vehicle to avoid the falling Helmet Gang members.

 

 

Hoshino and Serika quickly got off and ran to the scene... There, they saw a girl in a black school uniform fighting. No, it wasn't a fight. It was one-sided violence. The resisting Helmet Gang members were all blown away with a single blow.

 

 

"Ugh... Y-You!"

 

 

"!"

 

 

Just then, a Helmet Gang member, who had a good enough build to regain consciousness after being blown away, shouted at Serika. She didn't even consider that Sensei had changed into Tsurugi from Serika, but simply resented Serika, thinking she had caused this situation. She immediately shot at Serika...

 

 

Thud!

 

 

 

 

Black feathers fluttered, and she appeared in front of Serika. Flapping black wings, Sensei protected Serika. The bullets aimed at Sensei were deflected by Arona's protection and buried in the sand.

 

 

"Again... Serika..."

 

 

"... D-Don't tell me... Sensei!?"

 

 

"I won't... forgive you."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thump...

 

 

 

 

Serika's heart pounded as she saw Sensei's chic appearance. Sensei frowned, then charged forward and rammed the Helmet Gang member. He was blown away as if hit by a car, spinning three times in the air before being buried in the sand.

 

 

"My... students... I will protect them."

 

 

And the remaining Helmet Gang members were simply defeated by Sensei, who was firing her dual shotguns, Blood and Gunpowder.

1

 

 

"Whew... It's over."

 

 

"... Haa, I'm glad. You're safe, Sensei. That outfit, it's the Justice Task Force, right? I don't know much about other schools, but if it's the Justice Task Force, you must be strong."

 

Hoshino, who had been anxious, sighed in relief knowing that she was Sensei. She was worried they might be too late, but seeing Sensei lively, she was finally relieved.

 

 

"That person is definitely famous on the internet. Trinity's strategic weapon, is the Justice Task Force leader, Kenzaki Tsurugi. You've turned into quite a big shot..."

 

 

"As Ayane said, I think I've seen her too. With someone like her, the Helmet Gang had no chance of winning, right?"

 

 

"Yeah, I'm glad you're safe, Sensei."

 

 

"... Yeah."

 

 

Sensei, who had not only Tsurugi's appearance but also her personality, spoke with a sharp expression, trying to be as passive as possible. When fighting, Tsurugi is crazy and extroverted, but usually, she's incredibly introverted and has difficulty communicating. Thanks to this, Sensei couldn't easily start a conversation with the students she had been talking to comfortably until the day before.

 

 

But since she was Sensei, she mustered the courage to speak.

 

 

"I'm glad... you're safe."

 

 

"No, you're the one who was kidnapped! Why are you worried about me!?"

 

 

"... I'm glad it was me... not Serika..."

 

 

"What's that... It's stupid. You got kidnapped because of me."

 

 

"... I'm a teacher. If I can protect my students... that's enough."

 

 

Sensei spoke while turning her head, avoiding eye contact as much as possible. Just doing that made her heart pound with tension.

 

 

Serika blushed when Sensei said she was glad it was her who was kidnapped instead. Was it because of Tsurugi's composed demeanor? Serika's heart somehow fluttered.

 

 

"Then, shall we go back now?"

 

 

Sensei shook her head at Ayane's words.

 

 

"There's... still more...

...

..."

 

 

"What? What did you say?"

 

 

Nonomi asked again, not hearing clearly because Sensei spoke softly. Then, Sensei shouted.

 

 

"Them! Main base! Need to know!"

 

 

"You surprised me..."

 

 

"Uhehe... So this Tsurugi girl is like this?"

 

 

"... Sorry."

 

 

Sensei shouted, nervous to speak up. She apologized, embarrassed, and Hoshino imagined how Tsurugi, with such a personality, usually lived.

 

 

Anyway, Sensei grabbed a few conscious Helmet Gang members by the collar and asked. Sensei shouldn't be grabbing students by the collar, but perhaps due to being Tsurugi, she didn't hesitate.

 

 

Threatening them with a scary expression, Sensei found out the location of the Katakata Helmet Gang's main base. She left them there and headed towards the main base with the Countermeasures Committee.

 

 

And as a result...

 

 

Boom!!!

 

 

Sensei and Hoshino alone annihilated the Helmet Gang.

 

 

"Whew~ That was refreshing. We blew away the base of those guys we couldn't find before~"

 

 

"Kehehehet!"

 

 

"Sensei thinks it's good, right?"

 

 

"It ended too easily... This all started with my kidnapping?"

 

 

"It's a huge snowball, Serika. Yeah, if you had been kidnapped, it might have been perfect."

 

 

"What are you saying, Shiroko senpai!?"

 

 

The Sensei kidnapping incident ended unexpectedly easily and quickly... anticlimactically. Their future might have been predicted from the moment they kidnapped Sensei.

 

 

After everything was over, Sensei asked Arona to send Valkyrie, who had already withdrawn from Abydos, from the nearest Gehenna branch to retrieve the Katakata Helmet Gang.

 

 

Sensei went to eat Shiba Seki Ramen with the Countermeasures Committee students, and this time, she ordered fried rice.

 

 

"Kehehehe..."

 

 

"It seems like a reaction that it's delicious~"

 

 

"Haha, the current Sensei seems to have trouble with conversation..."

 

 

"... I have one question."

 

 

While eating, Shiroko asked Sensei a question.

 

 

"You said you change every day, what's the criteria? Like, the time you change."

 

 

"Ah... when the sun... rises?"

 

 

"When the sun rises. So roughly, you change at dawn? It's not based on midnight? Okay, I got it."

 

 

Hoshino memorized the time when Sensei changed. Shiroko wondered what principle caused the change.

 

 

"Here... eat this."

 

 

Meanwhile, Serika secretly placed the chashu from her ramen on Sensei's rice. Sensei stared at Serika.

 

 

"W-Why...?"

 

"... No, thank you."

 

Sensei's smile became more natural than Tsurugi's. Even if she followed the personality, her fundamental nature didn't change, and Sensei smiled kindly at Tsurugi's face. Seeing this, Serika blushed and averted her gaze.

 

 

As a bonus, Master Shiba gave them stir-fried chashu and bean sprouts as a service for their hard work.

 

 

Afterward, they all went to school and discussed where to sell the guns brought from the Katakata Helmet Gang's base... They also had everyday conversations and took a walk, ending the day.

 

 

And the next day...

 

 

"What are we going to do, boss?"

 

 

"Fufufu, don't worry, Kayoko. We'll definitely find them."

 

 

A group of four Gehenna students walked through the streets of Abydos.

 

 

They were Problem Solver 68.

 

 

They came to Abydos after receiving a request to attack it from a mysterious client. Of course, they weren't attacking right now. They hired mercenaries to attack after lunch... The problem was, that they spent all their money hiring the mercenaries and didn't have enough for a meal.

 

 

They didn't have enough for each of them to eat separately, not even a thousand yen, so they had to share one dish among the four. Aru thought it would be fine since they'd get paid once they completed the request today. For such a large-scale request, they'd usually get some advance payment, but Aru's principle was to receive payment after completing the request...

 

 

"A menu under 600 yen... under 600 yen..."

 

 

They only had 600 yen. Haruka took the lead, looking for a meal under 600 yen in the restaurants of Abydos.

 

 

Most places were over 600 yen per person, so it wasn't easy, and Aru worried that they'd have to eat cup noodles... Then, they finally found it.

 

 

The signature and basic Shiba Seki Ramen for 580 yen.

 

 

Aru cheered internally and entered the restaurant.

 

 

Serika, who happened to be working part-time, showed them to their seats... Serika was shocked when they said they would share one bowl among four. Honestly, sharing one bowl among four is usually treated as a nuisance. However, Master Shiba and Serika, knowing the poverty of Abydos, somewhat understood.

 

 

As they sat down, they were served four servings of ramen in a large bowl, piled up like a mountain.

 

 

It seemed like a misunderstanding, but the Problem Solver ate without minding it since they were given it anyway. Then, the Abydos students from the nearby table came...

 

 

Clip-clop... Clip-clop...

 

 

Just then, Aru's hard-boiled radar activated at the sound of somewhat antique footsteps.

 

 

"Gathering coins among friends to eat ramen, how commendable. That too is youth."

 

 

"You are..."

 

 

"The world is truly small, to meet in such a place."

 

 

Aru's eyes sparkled as she looked at the approaching woman, who grinned as she stared at Haruka.

 

 

"My introduction is late."

 

 

It felt as if sound effects from a noir film were playing somewhere, and she introduced herself.

 

 

"I am Schale's Sensei. Nice to meet you."

 

 

 

'S-So cool... Totally hard-boiled!'

 

Meeting Sensei, Aru's eyes shone, and she decided on her object of admiration.