Chapter 12: There’s no way they’d serve sweets in a prison, duh!

A little over a month has passed since that mysterious old man lectured me.

…No, um, hold on. Even taking action requires preparation, right? You need time for things. You know, things. Like greeting the neighbors, cleaning up your place, handing over responsibilities… What? You’re saying I shouldn’t have any of that?

I—I have things to do!

"Well, well, thank you so much for coming. Truly, truly. The deadline was getting close and nobody applied… Honestly, that slogan sounded suspicious, didn’t it? I’d say about eighty percent of the problem was that line the client wrote. ‘Make a hundred grand a day! Make a killing just by going to prison!’ But those guys are useless bastards who only think about dumping responsibility on other people…"

"Enough rambling. Get to the point."

Hibana—who usually spends most of her time grinning with those sharp teeth on full display—is, for once, baring them in a threatening way as she glares. Actually, she might always be showing them… No, that’s wrong. I just always end up staring because I like her sharp-tooth habit.

And so, that’s what all my “things” were about. See? Sounds like a lot, right?

"My deepest apologies. First, let me introduce myself. I’m Mine—the information broker serving as the intermediary for this request."

"Yeah yeah. Like that’s your real name. Why even bother introducing yourself?"

"C-come now. Introductions are important, Hibana-chan."

"Yeah, sure. I’m Hibana. This here’s Kou. Now, what’s the job?"

"Ah—thank you very much."

The black-haired, beast-eared girl—Mine—keeps her polite smile even though her expression twitches ever so slightly. As expected of a professional.

As you can tell from the conversation, we were about to accept a job that seemed… complicated. Normally we’d avoid something that smells like a trap, but right now we don’t have that luxury.

Because… Ugh! It pisses me off just remembering it! Thanks to that stupid Gehena jerk ruining everything, we’re drowning in debt. Damn it! Blowing up the entire shop was completely unnecessary! And then she dumped all the debt on us and ran off! Rikuhachima—was that her name!? Next time I see her I’m not letting her off easy…!

…Ahem. My apologies. Anyway, yes. We’re in debt now, and it’s gotten to the point where we can’t even be picky with the jobs we take, let alone help everyone back in Arius. Why are we even in this situation…

"Well then, allow me to explain the details of the request."

She takes a photo from her bag and places it on the table. It shows a young girl with adorable pink hair.

"This is the target for this job: Miss ‘Yatsude Shie.’"

"Huh? That’s way different from what the job posting implied."

"I’ve heard the name somewhere… Oh, on TV…"

"Well, as Kou said, she’s a famous pâtissière. But she was arrested by Valkyrie recently and sent to a correctional facility. It was on the news, too."

"Oh? She’s that famous?"

"Yes. She was arrested for supposedly using illegal substances—something they called ‘Happy ○ne Powder’—in her cakes. But to be blunt, that’s false. More than likely, some people who wanted to ruin her bribed Valkyrie and set her up."

Even Hibana gives me a look like, “Are we even supposed to hear this? Isn’t the client going to have us killed?” but that’s not my problem.

"Anyway, there’s no way such a flimsy setup will hold forever. Once the truth comes out, she’ll be released. That’s when the people who framed her—basically her competitors—will be in trouble."

"You’re really just saying it all out loud, huh."

"If this genius pâtissière makes a comeback, she’ll steal their customers. So they thought: ‘Why don’t we crush her so she can’t make cakes anymore?’"

"Crush… like… break her arms?"

"Whoa, dark."

"What are you talking about? Are you a psychopath?"

"No way they’d go that far."

"Wait, so I’m the bad guy here?"

Hibana-chan, Mine, even the bodyguard on the other side—all of whom had been quiet until a moment ago—recoil in disgust. Seriously? This is normal, isn’t it?? I still don’t get Kivotos’s standards. Who’s the real dangerous one here??

"Well then, of course we won’t be using any violent methods. You’ll be using the approach we’ve prepared."

"And that is?"

She takes out a tablet.

"What’s on here is a video titled ‘Eggy-chan’s Heart-Pounding Adventure!’ It’s one of those toddler-friendly cartoons where food ingredients are personified. If we show this to the genius pâtissière, she’ll no longer be able to bring herself to cook with such adorable ingredients. She’ll be as good as finished… that’s the plan."

She gives a wicked little grin.

She’s serious? That’s a joke, right? It has to be. There’s no way. No matter how young the target is, you can’t make someone stop cooking just because of some baby show. If that worked, every baby who’s ever watched it would have starved to death.

"H-heh… I’ve been in this line of work for quite a while, but… this is the most ruthless client I’ve ever seen."

"S-so cruel…!"

Why are they the ones trembling? This is impossible, I’m telling you. It’s an idiot’s plan.

"So? Even if we show this, the girl’s in prison, right? Are we supposed to hit her after she’s released?"

"No. That’s where the job posting comes back into play. That’s right—prison infiltration! One of you will infiltrate the facility as a prisoner and show her the video directly. Don’t worry, we have connections with Valkyrie, so we’ll fabricate a charge for you, and once the job is done you’ll be released immediately. Your record will stay clean, so there’s no issue there."

"I see…"

That’s exactly the suspicious part. They might never let us out. I doubt they’d go through all this trouble to trap nobodies like us, but the possibility isn’t zero.

"Can’t trust that."

"Hm. Understandable. It may be hard to trust someone you just met… but we, too, have a sense of responsibility toward our work. Besides—consider what would happen if we betrayed you. It would damage our brand image. The downside is too great."

"Even so, why should we trust someone who’s using a fake name?"

"That’s true…"

"You’re convinced that easily?"

"However… I haven’t mentioned this yet, but only one person may infiltrate. Hibana-san, Kou-san, or someone else—it doesn’t matter. But if something happens to the infiltrator, the remaining members could restrain us. Conversely, if you restrain us and try to force the reward out of us, the infiltrator won’t be released. Both sides hold a hostage. Even without trust, it ensures safety, doesn’t it?"

"Mmh… that does make sense."

"And besides… you don’t really have the luxury to be picky about your jobs right now, do you?"

"Grk—when you put it that way, I can’t argue. Fine, we’ll take it."

Ohh. I see. They even thought that far ahead. So only one person can infiltrate. Then I guess it’ll be Hibana-chan. She’s the strongest in our Helmet Crew. It’ll be troublesome to manage the group without the leader around, but nobody’s more qualified than her. It can’t be helped.

"So, who will infiltrate?"

"Kou will."

"Of course Hib— wait, what?"

…What?

"I’ve got the gang to run, and besides, I’m not suited for infiltration. I want a job where I can rampage more."

"Rampage— I can’t do this either!"

"And Kou, I trust you."

"Huh?"

"Ever since this gang was formed, you’ve always been with us. You’re basically one of the founding members. You could even say you’re my right hand. That’s exactly why you’re the only one I can entrust this job to. How about it? Will you take it?"

"Ugh… I-if you say it like that… I guess I’ll do it!"

"Yes!"

"I feel like I just witnessed some outrageous sweet-talking…"

W-well? If she trusts me that much, I can’t refuse, right?

"Then please take this tablet. I wish you the best of luck."

"Ehehe, leave it to me!"

"Oh, one more thing. I forgot to mention—apparently someone from the pâtissière’s side… Yatsude Shie’s allies… may have noticed our movements and sent a guard."

"Hm?"

"A girl with blue hair, wearing a distinctive mask and cap. Supposedly, they hired a rising star who’s been making a name for herself in the Black Market."

"Ohh… but don’t worry! In the dictionary of this Fuyuhi Kou, the word ‘defeat’ does not exist!"

I would later come to regret this decision.