Chapter 19: The Escaped Convict and Her Old Friend — With a Little Girl and Some Idiots Added In

I am an informant. I’m Izuki Mei—also known as Dairyu Main.

I know this sounds self-important, but I genuinely consider myself to fall into the category of genius.

I was accepted into the now-defunct SRT Special Academy, a school only elites could enter, and I even served as a squad leader. In the end, I was expelled and forced to leave before the academy was officially shut down, but whether in information warfare, real combat, or academics, I possessed intellect and physical ability far above the average student—and had a long track record of successful operations to prove it.

After that, together with my current partner, I founded an information brokerage on the Black Market from scratch. These days, we’ve carved out a considerable position for ourselves. In the beginning we had our share of failures—botched jobs, and times when Kaiser forced us into lopsided contracts under the guise of “doing us a favor”—but now, anyone even slightly familiar with Black Market affairs knows exactly who we are.

Of course, there’s always someone higher. Always another wall to climb. But I’m a genius. I was supposed to be a genius.

Because of that, the plan I devised was perfect. A simple job like this should have been over in no time.

Right after I issued the request for Yatsude Shie’s protection, our sponsor Kaiser put out an assassination request targeting her. That surprised me, but I handled it by assigning someone connected to the guards as the attacker. As long as I paid the client the required amount after swindling the student who took the protection job and extracting double the penalty fee, I’d pocket both Kaiser’s brokerage cut and the difference from the guard-job penalty. A clean, easy profit.

Perfect.

There was no way it could fail.

…Or so I thought.

Until you.

If only you hadn’t betrayed me—!

“Sorry, but… I’m canceling the request.”

“Sorry, but… I’m canceling the request.”

The fired bullet pierced the metal panel—barely a centimeter thick—with ease, punching a clean hole through it. The impact knocked the tablet from the guard’s—Main’s—hands, sending it crashing to the floor, where it split with a spiderweb of fractures before going dead.

“Nonaka-san!?”

“Glad I made it.”

From behind Main, who stared silently at the broken tablet, Shie-chan peeked out. The moment she saw us, she seemed to grasp that something had gone terribly wrong and hurried over.

“Are you alright? They didn’t do anything to you?”

“Alright…? Y-yes. Nothing in particular…”

“I see. Good.”

Saori quickly checked her for injuries. Judging by Shie-chan’s reaction, we’d reached her just in time.

“…You.”

“—! Don’t move!”

But relief was short-lived. Until we got Main under control, we couldn’t dare relax.

“…And what exactly do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m canceling the contract. That’s all.”

“‘The request to destroy Yatsude Shie’s patissier career’—you’re canceling that. Are you aware of what that entails?”

“Eh…?”

“…Yeah.”

“…Ahh, troublesome. This is why I hate jobs involving kids.”

She didn’t have to say all that out loud. Is she doing this just to be annoying?

She reached into her coat for a gun, but I wasn’t about to let that slide. I moved to shoot it out of her hand—

—but she made an unexpected move, and I was a moment too slow.

“What—!?”

“Too slow.”

“Oh crap!? Ow!?”

I managed to shoot down the gun she threw at me—her supposed main weapon—but she dashed into my range as it flew, sweeping my legs out from under me. Before I could recover, she stood over me, pulling out another gun from who-knows-where and aiming it straight at me as she began to pull the trigger.

“Like hell I’ll let you!”

“Tch! But—”

“What!?”

“I’ve got you!”

Saori kicked her arm upward, throwing off her aim. But Main didn’t take hits quietly—she grabbed Saori’s leg mid-kick and tried to yank her off balance.

“Not happening…!”

“You little—!”

But doing so left her stomach wide open. I didn’t waste the opportunity—I dove at her awkwardly, without even regaining my stance. Sloppy or not, it worked. We forced her back and regained some distance.

“…A two-on-one really is disadvantageous, I see.”

“Sorry, but we’re short on time.”

“We’re short on time as well. Which is why…”

With a sharp grin, she pulled out a small device covered in buttons. One of them was painted bright red—the kind that screamed “do not press”—and her finger hovered over it.

“Let’s even the odds with numbers, shall we?”

A split second later, an ear-splitting alarm blared throughout the prison. From somewhere in the distance, voices rose—cheering or roaring, I couldn’t even tell.

We hesitated for only a moment. It was enough. She sprinted across the room and grabbed a microphone. Only then did I realize this wasn’t a repurposed warehouse or storage room like before, but a full security room packed wall-to-wall with machines and monitors.

Realizing that now was far too late.

“Attention all prisoners! Three fools have attempted to escape from this prison! Whoever captures them will be granted immediate release as a pardon, plus a reward of five million! The prisoners’ names are Yatsude Shie! Kamisaki Sayuri! And Horii Nonaka! First come, first served! Now then, please catch these idiots—and claim your prize!”

The broadcast crackled through the speakers with a piercing kiiiiin, and after a brief pause, the thunderous uproar of guards and inmates echoed even here.

“Eek…!?”

“…This is bad.”

“Well. We got played.”

I see. So that’s your move.

“Now, now, now! Over a hundred prisoners have just been unleashed! Naturally, the Valkyrie guards will be running after you as well! If you think you can escape, then by all means—try! If you can, that is!”

The worst possible game of tag had begun.

“Ghehehehe! Hey girly, why don’t you come have some fun with us?”

“N-nooooooooooo!?!?”

Dozens of inmates were chasing us full-tilt down the corridor. From a certain angle, it almost felt like we’d suddenly become idols or celebrities… which did not make it any better. Being popular with that kind of crowd wasn’t flattering—it was horrifying.

And it wasn’t just the rough-looking prisoners chasing us. Guards were also trying to apprehend the three of us to stop the chaos, while others were trying to catch the rampaging inmates. But none of them were doing much good—the guards trying to stop us got knocked out as we dodged past, and the ones chasing prisoners were simply swallowed by the mob. Honestly, they were basically non-factors.

“I’m… seriously… getting tired!”

“…Hey, Kou-oneechan.”

“W-what!?”

“You didn’t have that much stamina to begin with…?”

Shut up, Saori! I’ll have you know I was literally the least athletic member of my squad!

Grinding my teeth, I glanced at Shie-chan running beside me. Her expression was unusually solemn—no, anxious.

“Is it true… that you were after me?”

“…Yeah. It is.”

Of course she’d worry about that! Damn that stupid beast-eared bastard! If you call yourself an information broker, at least protect client confidentiality! Read the room! I get that you were mad, but keep your personal feelings out of it!

“I see…”

“Hm?”

I expected her to look hurt—because she should have been. From her perspective, this was blatant betrayal. But the response that came was surprisingly bright.

“…D-don’t you have anything you want to say? I was gonna do something pretty awful to you…”

“Eh? Not really? Because in the end, you saved me. And besides, I don’t believe you were actually going to do something awful. You’re nice.”

“Ugh…!”

Lie. Bold-faced lie. I absolutely planned to sell this kid off for profit. I’m sorry. Even I can’t handle the disarming power of a child’s pure, undiluted smile…

“………”
“Ugh…”

Saori, running beside us, gave me a look. I didn’t know what she was thinking, but it was probably something like, “Betrayal is your specialty, isn’t it?” or “You ditched us before,” or “You’re always running away.”

She wasn’t wrong. My stomach hurt just imagining it.

“—Kou! Bad news, incoming from the front.”

“What!?”

“Hey! We figured it out! No matter how fast you run, an ambush kills all your fancy escape plans!!”

“Nobel Prize goes to you, brooo!!”

“What’s a Nobel Prize?”

“Dunno.”

Damn it! Idiots in the front! Idiots in the back! The moron sandwich is complete!

I underestimated them—thought they were just dumb enough to get caught by Valkyrie guards, but turns out they can actually think a little!?

No, this isn’t the time to admire the enemy! Think—are there any escape routes left!?

“No good. Almost all passages are locked down. That information dealer must’ve messed with the system earlier.”

“That perverted, lolicon sadist…!”

And then—at that moment—

A different sound reached us. Not from ahead or behind… something else. Quiet at first, then growing louder…

“Stop them!”

“Don’t let them through!”

“Are you stupid!?”

“Aahhh! Somebody save me!!”

“YAHOOOO! Helmet Gang! ON THE SCENE!!”

A deafening CRASH! shattered the facility’s exterior wall.
A truck barreled through, plowing straight into the idiots in front of us—while shouting an unbelievably stupid intro line, using a name I very unfortunately recognized.

“Oh! Found ya! Hey—Kou— I mean! Nonaka! We’re here to save you!”

“Boss, boss! Yelling our name like that totally defeats the purpose of senpai using a fake name!”

“Eh!? You’re right!?”

The Helmet Gang—led by Senka Hibana. Their sudden arrival in our desperate situation should have been incredibly uplifting.

Except that, honestly, I really wanted to avert my eyes and escape reality. Could you blame me!?

"Friends of yours?"

"I don’t want to admit it, but yes!"

"They seem very… lively."

Stop. You two. Please stop looking at me like that.

"Why are you even here!?"

"The broker handling this job is famous, but also notorious! So we asked around—turned out he was scheming something nasty! Also we beat up his bodyguards and made them talk!"

"That’s terrible!?"

"Less talking, more getting in the truck! There’s way too many prisoners! Also what the hell is happening!? Can we knock these guys out!? Did YOU cause this!?"

"No! Prisoners are enemies! These two are rescue targets and allies! Got it!?"

"Got it!!"

The moment Hibana-chan caught my signal, her juniors opened up with the minigun mounted on the truck bed, turning the charging inmates into Swiss cheese. It looked like something straight out of a zombie movie.

But this wasn’t the time to stare in awe. Even with a minigun, there was no way we could hold off this many inmates for long. We had to get on the truck—now.

"Kou! Take my hand!"

"Thank you! Sayuri-chan! Shie-chan! Hurry!"

I grabbed Hibana’s hand and climbed onto the truck. I immediately turned back to pull the other two up—

—but they weren’t there.

"Kyah!"

I instantly understood why.

Shie-chan had fallen. Her foot must have caught on something. She was on the ground, clutching her ankle in pain. And behind her—practically on top of her already—the wave of inmates was closing in.

But one person jumped in like a hero.

Of course—Saori-chan.

She dashed to Shie-chan, scooped her up in her arms, and then—

Wait. Wait, no. What is she planning!?

"Kou! Catch!"

"Eh!? W-wait! Hold on—!"

"PiyaaAAAAAAAAAA!?!?"

She threw her.

She actually threw a child.

While I was still reeling from her ridiculous strength, Shie-chan traced a clean arc through the air and slammed into my chest, using me as a cushion as she tumbled safely into the truck.

But that meant—Saori would be left behind.

She regained her footing and sprinted toward us, but—

"Kou! We can’t hold them! We’re pulling out!"

"W-wait! Sayuri’s still—!"

But the inmates were already too close. Even the minigun couldn’t contain them anymore. Deciding we couldn’t endure another second, Hibana-chan slammed the truck into motion.

Saori kept running, desperately trying to jump on. But no matter how athletic the people of Kivotos were, humans couldn’t outrun a moving truck.

Her hand stretched toward us—

"Saori!!!!"

—and it didn’t grasp empty air.

I caught it. Hard. As if I’d never let go again.

"—! Kou… you…"

"Hah… hah… Saori…"

I wasn’t running anymore.

I didn’t want to choose the wrong path ever again.

I didn’t want to lose anything ever again.

I had decided—
I would never run away from them.
Never betray them again.

I would never look away anymore.

That’s what I chose.

"When this is over… let’s go with Hiyori and Misaki. All of us. For strawberry crepes. I know a really good place."

Exhausted, barely able to form a proper expression, I gave her a crooked smile. Awkward, clumsy—not pretty at all.

But it was genuine. Completely, utterly genuine.

───But reality doesn’t wrap itself up with tidy happy endings.

"Don’t you DARE underestimate me!!"

"What!?"

A wire suddenly coiled around my body.

The shock yanked me backward, and as I turned, I saw her—

Dairyu Main, the information broker—face twisted with fury, pulling the wire with every ounce of strength she had.

"A prosthetic arm!? And a wire!?"

"You think you can ditch the job and walk off into a happy ending!? Don’t make me laugh!! There is NO universe where that’s allowed!! You—YOU are coming down with me!!"

"D-damn it!"

The pull was unbelievably strong.

The wire binding me was metal—no chance of cutting it.

I lost the tug-of-war. The wire dragged me toward the edge of the truck—

No—

It would have dragged me off—

—if someone hadn’t interfered.

"Do not get in my way."

"Wha—!? N-no… that’s impossible…!"

A gunshot rang out.

A streak of azure light shot from the muzzle, piercing the wire between me and Main before smashing directly into her skull.

She tumbled across the ground, unconscious, swallowed instantly by the incoming mob of inmates.

And at that same moment—I felt it.

A chill from my side.

My instincts screamed: Run. Run now.

But I couldn’t move—steel wire still tangled around me.

And then a cold, beautiful, yet utterly terrifying hand—Saori’s pale, slender hand—lifted my chin.

"At last… I’ve found you, Fuyuhi Kou."

───You’re not getting away anymore.

Ah…
Dear God.
Will I live to see tomorrow’s sunrise?

“Fuyuhi Kou’s Escape” — fin