Abydos of a Midsummer Night (5) - 9

Meeting at Shiba Seki Ramen.

 

 

Rikuhachima Aru, who founded Problem Solver 68, aimed to be a hard-boiled outlaw.

 

 

She now looked at Sensei, who was in the guise of Konoe Mina, with admiration. She was captivated by the outlaw-like appearance that seemed straight out of a noir film and the title of "adult."

 

 

"The ramen here is truly wonderful. It's not a famous place, but it's like an oasis for Abydos. A place where you can feel the movement within the stillness... that's exactly what this place is."

 

 

"Oooh..."

 

 

Sensei effortlessly uttered some cool words. Of course, they weren't deeply meaningful, more like nonsense, but the title of "adult" and Mina's appearance made even that nonsense sound impressive. Aru, deeply impressed, took notes right in front of her.

 

 

"You said you're from Gehenna, right? Problem Solver?"

 

 

"Ah, yes! Problem Solver 68! I'm the president! Kayoko here is the manager! Mutsuki is the chief officer! Haruka is an employee!"

 

 

"I see... No vice president, is it a secret mission?"

 

 

"Uh... yeah, something like that!"

 

 

"Then you must have a section chief and a supervisor too. Oh, those two must be working at the office."

 

 

"W-Well, yeah!?"

 

 

Aru puffed herself up in front of Sensei. It was just a club disguised as a business with only four members, but she pretended there were more, afraid of being looked down upon with only one employee under the manager and disappointing her.

 

 

Kayoko sighed at Aru's behavior, but even she found Sensei cool. Haruka's eyes sparkled, somehow reminded of Aru's aura, while Mutsuki just smiled watching Aru.

 

 

"A lost ship needs a guiding lighthouse. In that sense, Shiba Seki Ramen is Abydos' lighthouse. A superb meal at a low price. It has become a light for you as well."

 

 

"Ah..."

 

 

Every word Sensei spoke was filled with grace and coolness. Aru became a complete fan, watching her. Haruka, observing Aru, took notes of Sensei's words.

 

 

After finishing their meal, the group left the restaurant.

 

 

"Whew~ Another storm is brewing today."

 

 

"Huh? Is there a sandstorm coming today?"

 

 

"No, we face the storm of an unknowable future every day."

 

 

"Oooh."

 

 

"Rikuhachima Aru. Someday, our end will come. Until then, I want us to be open with each other. Let's close the distance step by step, slowly. Then, someday..."

 

 

"Someday...?"

 

 

"The rest of that, when the time comes. So, Aru. Become a hard-boiled individual I can acknowledge."

 

 

"Ah..."

 

 

"Then, until we meet again."

 

 

Sensei took out a talisman from her pocket, burned it, and let the ashes scattered in the air. She put on sunglasses and walked past Aru.

 

 

"...Cool."

 

 

"...Hey, President. You know they're from Abydos, right?"

 

 

"...Huh?"

 

 

After hearing from Kayoko that they were from Abydos... Aru was devastated.

 

 

So... Aru called in mercenaries. About thirty mercenaries. They were students from the Red Winter mercenary club, their combat prowess guaranteed. Aru felt uneasy the entire way to Abydos with the mercenaries. Was it really okay to fight that Sensei... Still, this was the path of an outlaw.

 

 

Aru steeled herself and raided Abydos High School.

 

 

"I see... after the Helmet Gang, it's the Problem Solver now."

 

 

"Ugh... sorry, Sensei. If we're both outlaws, you understand, right?"

 

 

"Yes, of course. This is work too. You know, Aru? When you end a bird's life, you must be careful. Not too fast, not too slow."

 

 

"Why is that...?"

 

 

Bang!

 

 

A bullet struck Aru's forehead. Her head jerked back, her body swaying unsteadily. She regained her balance and looked at Sensei with wide eyes.

 

 

"Because that way... the opponent is at their most vulnerable. Do you think it's cowardly? That's your weakness, Aru. An outlaw must always be ready to be criticized for victory."

 

 

 

 

 

 

"......"

 

 

"You'll walk your own path, and many storms will rage. But it's okay... as long as you don't get wet. An outlaw must never doubt the path they've chosen."

 

 

Sensei drew the White Tiger and shot at Aru, then switched to the Black Tiger in her left hand as she spoke.

 

 

"Sensei, you're not really from the underworld, are you...?"

 

 

"No. She talks like she is, but I don't think so."

 

 

"Yeah, yeah~ From this old lady's perspective, it just seems like her personality~"

 

 

"Well... it is cool."

 

 

Sensei was getting carried away by Mina's personality. It seemed like another moment destined to become a dark history. Regardless, Sensei ran ahead of the students, firing her guns and engaging in battle.

 

 

At the same time, Sensei gave commands through her earpiece. The Foreclosure Task Force, following Sensei's instructions, engaged the mercenaries and Problem Solver. Sensei personally chose to fight Haruka.

 

 

"Is this fate!?"

 

 

"Ugh!"

 

 

"I'm grateful to you, Haruka."

 

 

"Huh?"

 

 

Sensei thanked Haruka while facing her head-on. Having spent her first day in Kivotos as Haruka, Sensei was grateful that Haruka was a strong girl, allowing her to spend her first day smoothly.

 

 

"Of course, that's separate."

 

 

Having been Haruka, Sensei knew her fighting style well. Haruka fought in close combat, taking hits without dodging and enduring, a true tanker's combat style. However.

 

 

Spin~!

 

 

 

 

"Whoa!?"

 

 

Sensei used the Shan Hai Jing martial arts, learned from watching movies as Mina, flipping Haruka's body and throwing her to the ground. Then, Sensei took her gun.

 

 

Mina was a top-tier fighter in Kivotos, an elite powerhouse like Gehenna's Iori.

 

 

Sensei fired Haruka's shotgun with one hand, blasting away mercenaries.

 

 

"P-Please give it back~!!!"

 

 

"Here you go~"

 

 

Smiling, Sensei turned and threw the gun far away. For Kivotos students, being without a gun was more shameful than walking around naked, unless it was Sensei. Haruka screamed and ran towards the gun.

 

 

Sensei, wielding dual pistols, charged towards Aru. Aru flinched and fired at Sensei.

 

 

The battle was going poorly. The mercenaries were being pushed back, and Mutsuki and Kayoko were losing to the Abydos Foreclosure Task Force. Even Hoshino in serious mode was blasting away mercenaries. Convinced they would lose, Aru decided to take down Sensei, their leader, to win.

 

 

About three minutes later.

 

 

"I lost..."

 

 

Aru ultimately lost to Sensei, who was using the body of the skilled martial artist Mina. The combination of Mina's combat skills and Sensei's judgment allowed her to surpass the original Mina's strength, overwhelming and defeating the powerful Aru.

 

 

On top of that, the mercenaries' time was up, so they gathered their belongings and left.

 

 

"What are you going to do with us...?"

 

 

The defeated Aru was anxious about what punishment the hard-boiled Sensei would give them. She hoped at least her friends would be spared.

 

 

"What do you mean, what will I do?"

 

 

"We attacked you and lost, aren't you going to punish us...?"

 

 

"Punish you? I can't do that."

 

 

"Huh?"

 

 

Sensei took off her sunglasses, lifting them and grinning.

 

 

"Even if we just met today and you attacked me, we still ate ramen together. We've slowly gotten closer... punish you? Friends fight sometimes, don't they?"

 

 

"......"

 

 

"But don't bully innocent people from now on. If you do, I'll come find you and scold you."

 

 

Sensei smiled and let Problem Solver go. Watching them leave slowly, Sensei bid them farewell.

 

 

"Goodbye, Aru. Become an outlaw I can acknowledge."

 

 

Hearing Sensei's last words, Aru shed tears.

 

 

"Hey... Mutsuki."

 

 

"Why~? Aru-chan."

 

 

"I... will definitely become one. A wonderful and cool hard-boiled outlaw like Sensei... I definitely will."

 

 

"...Hehe, Aru-chan vowing while crying is cool too~?"

 

 

Aru had come to admire Sensei.

 

"So, Sensei. What were you thinking, saying those things?"

 

 

"Hmph... Serika. Greetings should be cool. At least... that's what I think now."

 

 

"Geez..."

 

 

Of course, Sensei had said those things without much thought, just going with the flow.

 

 

"Anyway... tomorrow is the day, right? The day they collect the loan interest."

 

 

"Yeah~ That's right. Tomorrow. They always take it in cash~?"

 

 

"Hmm, that's suspicious. Kaiser is a large corporation but also a corrupt one. Hiring the Helmet Gang and then Problem Solver to attack Abydos, the only common link is Kaiser. Taking only cash is probably for money laundering. The proof must be in that cash transport vehicle. Something must be at the place where the cash goes. Probably a bank."

 

 

Sensei found it strange that Kaiser only accepted interest in cash and suggested investigating it. They were originally having a debt repayment strategy meeting when the Problem Solver attacked, so they went back inside to continue the meeting.

 

 

There was a brief detour about Serika's Germanium bracelet pyramid scheme... but they decided to investigate the whereabouts of the interest money tomorrow.

 

 

"We're not going to end up robbing a bank, are we?"

 

 

{Eh~ Really?}

 

 

Back at the dorm, Sensei lay on the bed. Tomorrow, they would track the interest payment and if it led to a bank, they would have to steal the ledger containing the records of where the money was used as evidence... Thinking about this, Sensei was secretly worried about tomorrow.

 

 

Of course, for now, robbing a bank and stealing a ledger is more of a delusion.

 

 

With that, Sensei went to sleep...

 

 

The next morning.

 

 

Sensei had transformed into a new appearance again.

 

"Geez... this one is quite flashy."