Problem Solver 68, I'll Borrow You. - 9

The barrier protecting the bomb worked, as Sensei predicted. If they had faced the full brunt of that massive explosion without a buffer, Sensei, even if alive, would have been in a terrible state, and the others would have been knocked unconscious by the blast. In that case, Sensei's journey would have effectively ended here. Fortunately, they avoided the worst-case scenario. However, that doesn't mean nothing happened.

Kwaaaaaang!!!

With an ear-splitting explosion, Sensei's body was thrown backward. The Shittim Chest had squeezed out its last bit of power to create a barrier for Sensei, and Wakamo and Saori had thrown themselves over him to protect him, but the impact of the explosion still reached him. If Sensei, who was in the safest position, was affected to this extent, the others...

"Uwaaaah?!"

"Kuh!"

The rest endured the explosion lying prone. Of course, their durability, blessed by mystic, was beyond imagination. Unless they took a direct hit, the explosion, weakened by the barrier, might have affected them but wouldn't cause significant problems.

"Sensei! Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, thanks to... Are you guys okay?"

"This is nothing, darling? Fufu."

And then, the voices of the others began to chime in.

"Seriously... What were they thinking, those girls..."

"Hueeee...."

"Everyone's safe... Thank goodness."

"Phew... Seriously."

"Haruka-chan might be the most hard-boiled among us..."

"Ha... Haruka... Don't ever do that again..."

And she, covered in dust, apologizes repeatedly.

"I'm sorry... I thought I had to stop it..."

Problem Solver 68 is safe, and the Arius Squad is safe. And Wakamo was obviously safe. Fortunately, everyone was safe. Sensei lets out a sigh of relief.

"Still, I'm glad nothing happened..."

Rumble...

"? What's that sound?"

However, the building, which was already old and worn out, could not withstand this explosion. This explosion was a death sentence for the already weakened building. The building begins to shake slightly. Sensei could immediately sense the next situation.

"Uwaaaaa!! The building is collapsing!!! Everyone get out!!"

And they panicked for the second time, and everyone quickly ran out of the building.

Problem Solver was the first to run out the front door, and Misaki and Hiyori, who were a little further from the front door, escaped through the window with Atsuko, Sensei was carried out the opposite window by Saori and Wakamo, and finally, Haruka followed behind.

"Uwaaaaa!!!"

Exactly 10 seconds after Haruka ran out.

CRASH!

The building collapses in an instant. Just a few minutes ago, it was a hideout that looked like a building, even though it was an abandoned building, but now it was just a ruin that used to be a 'building'. Problem Solver 68 had blown up Shiba Seki's restaurant, and now they had also blown up the Arius Squad's hideout.

"Pueeeeng!!! Our hideout!!!"

Hearing Hiyori's cry from afar, Sensei felt a pang of guilt. And he bows his head and apologizes to Saori next to him.

"......I'm sorry. I was the one who suggested we come here."

"It's not your fault. More importantly, let's check if you're hurt."

She looks over Sensei's body, and he was fine except for being covered in dust. However, there was blood on his cheek. Seeing that, she felt complicated.

"Sensei, at this rate, your body won't last."

"I agree. I wish there was another way..."

"Darling, if we just keep hitting them on the head..."

"Rejected."

And then, Haruka approached, trembling.

"Sensei... Are you okay...?"

She was staring at the wound she had inflicted on Sensei. Blood flowed from the cut skin. The blood, vivid as if to emphasize Haruka's sin, was reflected in her eyes. The more she looked at it, the more guilt filled her heart.

"Ugh... Ugh...!"

She couldn't say anything. She couldn't dare to say anything to Sensei. To the adult who had been kind to her, she had repaid him with harm... How could she dare to say anything about her ungrateful behavior? But still, she wanted to ask for forgiveness. So, with her guild-ridden hands, she reached for Sensei's hand, seeking forgiveness.

But something felt off. The sensation of Sensei's hand was different from before. To confirm this sense of incongruity, she looked at Sensei's hand. And then, she could clearly see the reason for the strangeness. She was holding Sensei's left hand, and two fingers were missing.

"Ah, ah...? Ahhhh?"

A thought filled her mind. 'Who would dare to do such a thing?' It was unforgivable. She couldn't forgive whoever had done this to the kind Sensei. But her mind wasn't working properly. She remembered the hatred she had directed at Sensei just moments ago. he more she thought about it, the more painful it became for Haruka. But she couldn't remember the process in detail either. All she remembered was that she had spewed out hatred. And she soon came to a conclusion.

"Uaaaaah!!!"

She suddenly starts banging her head on the ground. The sound of her head hitting the ground was dull. Startled by her sudden action, Sensei immediately grabs her body to stop her.

"What are you doing! Haruka!"

"I, I... How dare I do such a thing... I did such a thing...!"

Her strength was too much for Sensei to handle. So Sensei asked for help.

"Saori, Wakamo! Help me hold her down!"

The two immediately tried to hold her body and stop her. And they were immediately shocked. The actions of the girl filled with guilt were too heavy and strong.

"Wh-What strength?!"

"Just stay still!"

"Uaaaaah!!!!"

The three of them barely managed to pull Haruka away. And Sensei, struggling, says to Haruka.

"What's wrong! Haruka, why are you suddenly acting like this?"

"I, I... I cut off Sensei's fingers...!"

"?"

"How dare I do such a terrible thing to Sensei....!"

Haruka had come to the conclusion that she had cut off Sensei's fingers without even realizing it. In fact, if you think about it for a moment, it's obvious that there's an error in Haruka's thinking. The fingers had been cut off a long time ago, and there was no blood flowing, and the bandage wrapped around the hand was clean as if it were new. But she wasn't in the right state of mind to consider such factors.

"That, that wasn't you, so calm down...!"

"I'll die, I'll die, I'll die, I'll die, I'll die, I'll die...."

"I told you it wasn't you, so listen to me! Why are you so strong! Should I just knock you out?!"

Amidst this chaotic scene, one person remained silent.

"............"

Saori's heart sank as she saw another girl suffering under the weight of the sin she herself had committed. The guilt she felt towards Sensei began to resurface.

"Ah......"

And Saori's hands lose their strength. At the same time, Haruka's restraint begins to loosen. And at that, Wakamo shouted at Saori.

"What are you doing!? I'm already struggling, are you not going to do it properly?!"

"Let go of Haruka! You bastards!!!"

And from the front, Problem Solver 68 was approaching to save their youngest member who seemed to be in distress

'They're still like this! This is bad...'

At this rate, a second round would have to be fought outside. They were exhausted, but they couldn't just stand by while their comrade was in danger.

"I'll die, I'll die, I'll die..."

"Get your hands off her right now! You piece of trash!"

And Wakamo couldn't let those words slide.

"You called darling trash...? You dare to utter such insolence...?"

Aru flinched at the murderous intent emanating from her, but she immediately retorted.

"Yeah! Trash, scumbag, a lump of filth, I'll call him everything I can think of!"

".........Really? Is that so..."

Wakamo let go of Haruka and turned to face them, enraged. Sensing the ominous atmosphere, Sensei immediately tried to calm Wakamo down.

"No, no! Wakamo! Don't do that! You know they're not in their right minds!!"

"Don't worry. I'll bring them back to their senses. In my own way."

As she began to emanate an even more menacing aura, Sensei immediately called for Saori. He had to do something, anything.

"Uh..... I....."

"Saori? What's wrong with you too...?"

"I....."

"Saori, snap out of it! Saori!"

For some reason, she too was in a daze. He glanced at the Shittim Chest, but Arona and Plana had also used up their last bit of strength to block the explosion earlier and had gone into rest mode.

"This is driving me crazy!"

"Kuhuhu... You'll pay for touching Haruka-chan...?"

".........."

Was this the beginning of the second battle? Sensei reluctantly prepared to respond again. He knew Problem Solver 68 weren't in their right minds and didn't want to harm them further, but now he had no choice.

'Damn it.'

"Die!! Sensei!!"

"I'll kill you!! Rikuachima Aru!!"

Just as they were shouting at each other.

Whoosh...

"?"

A missile flew towards the back of Problem Solver 68.

Boom!

It hit them directly and exploded. And with the smoke, they fell forward and collapsed. And from behind, a voice is heard.

"Phew... They're really persistent."

Misaki sighed and spoke. She quickly located Sensei and asked about his well-being.

"Sensei? You're okay, right?"

"Uh... yeah. Thanks to you.."

But Problem Solver 68 wasn't KO'd immediately. Mutsuki gets up again, trembling, and raises her gun.

"This is... fun? It's fun... Ahaha.."

And.

Bang!

Then Mutsuki fell forward again. And from afar, a girl held up her sniper rifle and said, sobbing.

"Hueee.... Stop it already..."

But it didn't end there. Rikuachima Aru forced herself up and spoke.

"You... You damn villains..! Do you think I'll just let you go after doing this to my subordinates...?"

"Pu, Pueeeng?! She's moving again... I-Is she a zombie..?"

"You'll pay for this....!"

"You're the one who should pay..!"

Just as Aru raised her gun and was about to charge forward.

Whack!

She was hit in the back of the head with a rifle butt and collapsed forward with a thud. She should have stayed down after the missile hit, but she had risen again for the sake of her comrades. A mindset villains would never possess. But now she had no choice but to fall. Behind her stood a princess with purple pigtails, smiling brightly.

"Phew... That was the most intense fight I've had in a while. Sensei, it's over now, right?"

"Right...?"

"Don't you have something to say?"

"G-Good job, everyone.."

"Fufu."

And Sensei shook Saori, who still seemed to be out of it, and said.

"Saori, are you okay?"

"Uh, huh? Sensei."

"It's over. They're all subdued. But what were you thinking? You suddenly looked like you were possessed.."

"It's just that..."

"Aru-sama?! Aru-sama! Wake up!!"

Haruka also came to her senses and went to her boss and the other Problem Solver members. She was at a loss when she saw their collapsed state. And everyone gathered around these three.

"Pueeeng... The hideout is gone.."

"They were really persistent and tough."

"Indeed, their combat abilities were considerable. It would have been much difficult without Sensei."

"I agree.."

They each shared their thoughts on Problem Solver 68. Sensei looked at the demolished hideout and smiled bitterly.

"Everyone. Let's move to another place for now. Since there was an explosion, people might have been drawn here. Let's go somewhere else."

"Okay."

Carrying the collapsed Problem Solver 68, they moved.

* * *

After moving, things progressed quickly. After waking Problem Solver 68, restraining them, and placing knives in their hands, they tried to restore their senses, just as they had done with the Arius Squad.

"Darling, this woman who uttered unspeakable words to you isn't even worthy of defiling your precious body. Just let me take care of her with my own hands."

"Ahem, you can't do that..."

Sensei stopping Wakamo from beating Aru half to death was the extent of it. In the end, each member of Problem Solver 68 inflicted a small wound on Sensei's left arm, and shortly after...

"Wh-What, what...? Sensei?!!!"

Aru came to her senses.

"Sensei? What happened...?"

Kayoko came to her senses.

"Se-Sensei. I, I..."

Mutsuki came to her senses. Like this, all of the Problem Solver 68 was freed from the 'curse of hatred'. And then, when they remembered what they had done, they immediately began to apologize.

"I-I'm so sorry, Sensei.. I-I must have lost my mind... I didn't mean to say those things to you.. W-Why did I try to do such a thing to Sensei..?"

Aru immediately knelt down and apologized,

"Sensei.. I don't know what to say. I don't even know why I felt that way..."

Kayoko hung her head and couldn't meet Sensei's eyes.

"I, I.. Wh-What did Mutsuki.. try to do to Sensei..? Why, why.. did I try to do such a terrible thing..?"

Mutsuki lost her smile and simply trembled.

When they came to their senses, their actions towards Sensei were apologies. They apologized for their actions, their words, for betraying Sensei who had helped them.

"Pl-Please forgive me..."

Aru trembled and tried to perform a dogeza, but Sensei immediately stopped her and said.

"You weren't in your right minds, right? You're back now, so that's enough for me."

"Sensei...."

"Aru, Mutsuki, Kayoko. I'm glad you're all back. I'm glad...""

And Mutsuki immediately hugged Sensei and burst into tears.

"Sensei...! I'm sorry!! I, I...."

"It's okay... It's alright.."

"Sniff... I'm so sorry... And... why are you so hurt... What's happened to your hand..."

"I'm fine."

And Aru also shed tears and apologized to Sensei.

"Sensei is our... management advisor...! You helped us a lot... and I...! I tried to kill such a person.."

And Kayoko also knelt and apologized.

"Sensei... I'm sorry..."

They continued to apologize for a while. Seeing them cry like this made Sensei feel even more sorry. Even Wakamo, who was trying to kill Aru, calmed down at this sight..

"But.. the hideout is all destroyed, what do we do.. We need to find a new one..?"

"We'll have to sleep on the streets for the time being."

"I'm sorry... Saori."

"It's not Sensei's fault."

When Sensei sighed, Haruka trembled and immediately apologized.

"I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry!! I-I blew up the place where Sensei was hiding...! I, I, I.. did such a thing to Sensei again..."

"Calm down, Haruka. It all turned out well, didn't it?"

"I-I'll die.. I'll die and apologize..."

"I told you not to say that! You still have over 70 years of life ahead of you, why do you keep talking about dying?"

As Haruka went back into apology mode, Sensei, deeply troubled, kept trying to comfort her.

"Sigh..."

A girl watching from afar expressed her dissatisfaction.

"What's wrong?"

When Atsuko asked, she voiced her complaint in a voice too low for Sensei to hear.

"People's lives aren't a joke, and she's making things difficult for Sensei with that. What is she doing? It's annoying."

And at those words, Hiyori and Atsuko were all at a loss for words with '?' on their faces. No, maybe it was more like absurdity.

"Why?"

And the only thing the two could say to Misaki was..

"It's nothing..."

"It's nothing."

This was all they could say.

Regardless, Sensei had to move with the Arius Squad and Wakamo. So, he decided to part ways with Problem Solver 68 here.

"Anyway, I'm glad you're back! I'm not in a good situation right now, so I can't stay with you any longer. I hope we can meet again later. Let's meet again, everyone."

"So, we're homeless for now..."

"Pueeeng... I hope it doesn't rain.."

"I, as long as I'm with my darling, anywhere is heaven~?"

"Well, we're used to it."

"Yeah~ It's not like it's the first time."

Just as they were about to leave, someone shouted.

"W-Wait!"

The one who shouted was none other than Rikuhachima Aru, the president of Problem Solver 68.

"Aru? What's wrong?"

"I-I can't just let you go like this. Not after what we did to Sensei.."

"But you know our situation, right? We're all on the run."

"Even so! I have to take responsibility for Sensei!"

Aru shouted with determination and said.

"You can stay at Problem Solver for a while, no, you can stay forever! Hide with us! We'll protect you!"

Sensei is taken aback by her words. And he says to Aru.

"You know what kind of situation I'm in, right?"

"You're wanted."

"You know that I'll be executed if I'm caught."

"Yes."

"And anyone associated with me won't end up well."

"...Sensei, for a hard-boiled outlaw, that's not really a problem."

"Aru."

"Give us a chance to repay our debt to you, no... please..."

And at Aru's words, the others chimed in.

"Yeah, Sensei's not in good shape either, shouldn't you at least rest in a proper place for a while?"

"Don't worry~ Problem Solver 68 won't turn a blind eye to Sensei!"

"A-Any bugs that come near Sensei.. I'll take care of them all!"

Their will was firm. And Sensei wasn't in good shape to refuse their offer.

"Alright. Let's go. I'll be in your care for a while. Then, can they come with us too?"

"Huh..? Oh! Of course! They helped you, so we won't refuse them!"

"Then it's decided.. Let's go to Problem Solver first. Let's get some rest there."

"Pu, Pueeeng~! It's finally a proper building..!"

"And it's not even cracked."

So Sensei's next destination was set as the office of Problem Solver 68. At the same time, Problem Solver 68 became Sensei's collaborator. After a series of twists and turns, Sensei succeeded in turning another team into his side.