You! Join Abydos! - 44

In a dark basement. The unpleasant feeling of being tied up and the musty smell of a poorly maintained room.

Saori, who seemed to be tied up, slowly opened her eyes as if waking up from fainting.

"Ugh..."

"Ah. Mika she's awake."

"Hmm? You woke up sooner than I thought!☆"

"....."

As soon as she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Mika, Shiroko, and Hoshino watching from behind.

Could I have been brought to Trinity?

Saori quickly looked around to grasp the situation.

'Where did the other kids go?'

Atsuko, Misaki, Hiyori. I thought we'd be in the same room, but for some reason, there's no one else in this room.

...Were they locked in different rooms to induce anxiety?

Putting aside the anxious feeling of wondering if something had already happened to them, Saori decided to focus on the current situation first.

"What do you plan to do by bringing me here?"

"Extract information, of course~ What Arius is plotting, and why you targeted our Seia-chan."

"...Do you think I'll answer that? Besides, Azusa told me the assassination was successful. How is Seia alive?"

"..."

Saori starts speaking rapidly about the questions she has been harboring.

This was a conversational tactic that could lead the flow of the conversation to her side and even extract information, but Mika is not stupid.

"Ahaha☆ I think you're misunderstanding something?"

Squeeze-

"Ugh?!"

As Saori's words progressed, the smile on Mika's face disappeared. Unable to hold back any longer, Mika began to press down on Saori's shoulder with force.

"You're in the position of the subordinate right now. I'm in the position of the superior. I don't know where you get the confidence to show me that attitude, but I hope you remember that you're currently a captive☆"

"....."

"Have you grasped the situation now? Hehe~ Then I'll ask the questions now! First. Why did you attack Seia-chan?"

"I can't tell you."

"Are you afraid of the consequences?"

"..."

"Ah~ But don't worry too much! I don't intend to use cruel methods like torture. I'm going to persuade you with words~"

"...?! Wait, you won't?"

"...Huh? Shiroko-chan?"

Shiroko's expression darkened rapidly when Mika said she wouldn't use torture.

C-Could it be? Did Shiroko want to use torture?

Isn't it too cruel to use it in a place where there are only students?

As such thoughts passed through Mika's head, Shiroko continued to speak.

"I heard from Seia that the Arius school is extremely poor. They don't even give you food properly."

"That's right...?"

"Then, can't we just torture her with food?"

"With food?"

"Yeah. We'll keep feeding her until she's full. It's called food torture."

"......"

Is the person who just tied Saori to a chair, saying things like 'Yeah. Kidnapping expert.', really the same person who is purely suggesting food torture?

Mika was speechless.

"Uhe~ We don't have any other way, do we? It doesn't seem like a bad idea. I don't think it's a bad idea to gain favor that way and extract information, either?"

"I-... I understand for now. I'll go get some food, so watch her here."

The two people who are rumored to have robbed a bank and destroyed a black company PMC are suggesting such an idea?

It was a bit absurd that they were acting and talking as if they were different people, but their words were reasonable enough, so Mika had no choice but to go out to get food.

Step- Step-

Creak!- Thud-

"....."

"....."

"Uhe... Did she leave?"

"Yeah. I think she's gone."

A brief silence. The atmosphere in the room began to feel strangely tense.

After confirming that Mika had gone outside, Shiroko and Hoshino exchanged meaningful signals and immediately and skillfully took out a piece of paper from their bags.

"Uhe~ You know you're alive thanks to us, right? Trinity's unique witch hunt... If you were caught in that, you wouldn't be able to survive even if you were released?"

"Yeah. We're your lifesavers."

".....What does that mean?"

Saori had a look of incomprehension, but that didn't matter.

No, it's better. We need to push harder.

Hoshino began to speak rapidly as if rapping.

"Now, listen carefully. It would be ungrateful to do nothing for your saviors, right? But it's a bit much for us to boldly ask for something in return, so we'll give you a small choice."

"...?"

Slide-

"Here. A transfer application to Abydos High School. I've already talked to your other four teammates, and they've all decided to follow if you agree."

"...I."

Seeing Saori's reaction as if she was about to make a decision, Hoshino, judging that a hasty decision would not be good, waved her hand as if to interrupt Saori's words.

"Think about it carefully before answering? I'll be waiting for a good answer~"

"Yeah. Abydos always welcomes new students."

With those words, Hoshino and Shiroko closed the door and walked out of the room to check if Mika was coming.

"By the way, Hoshino-senpai. When did you persuade the others?"

"Huh? Uhe~ That was a lie~!"

"....."

"Hey. We can persuade them from now on. Since we have time left in Abydos anyway, why don't we put in some effort~"

"...Sometimes I think senpai is a bit of a weirdo too."

"Uhe~ Is that so~? This old man doesn't really know~"