Chapter 112: The Dragon Knight's Lament
The unusual events unfolding in front of his eyes unintentionally dampened Ran’s spirits.
Tsubasa Ryuzaki was rubbing his forehead on the floor in front of Ran.
That Tsubasa Ryuzaki, who was like a lump of pride.
As soon as his friend Eiichi Megane got a girlfriend, he was so jealous that he left the group and had yet to repair the relationship.
He was ostracised by the group of boys he was forced to join, and now, like Ran in the past, he was a loner.
He was afraid to admit it and blurted out that he was alone because he liked it.
Tsubasa Ryuzaki, who somehow managed to maintain his emotional stability by telling himself that he was not in the lowest class by inwardly despising Ran, who was looked down upon by the heartbroken Torao and the boys.
He never thought he would be so humiliated in front of the eyes of none other than Kirishima Ran - and the two idol duo of the class, Nekoyama Misuzu and Shirayuki Saki.
“…… Why don’t you come in for now?”
Ran’s spirit to turn him away was gone and he ended up inviting Ryuzaki to the girls’ room.
Misuzu and Saki seemed to agree with Ran, and they willingly guided Ryuzaki to the room.
Ryuzaki paced unsteadily with a face as pale as a dead man. While the two of them were putting away their succubus costumes, Ryuzaki was staring at the floor with a thoughtful look on his face.
“………”
As it was uncomfortable to sit facing each other, Ran decided to sit on the bed.
He had Saki and Misuzu on either side of him. Ryuzaki was sitting upright on the floor. Naturally, the position was such that he was looking down at Ryuzaki.
Facing down, Ryuzaki was tightly shutting his mouth. Both fists on his knees were clenched so tightly that his fingernails were digging in, and it could be seen that he must be in a lot of distress.
But Ran was not a man of leisure either. He wanted to enjoy more succubus play with Misuzu and Saki.
Before regretting having led him to the room, Ran decided to urge Ryuzaki, who remained silent, to talk to him.
“So what’s this business that’s so pressing that you forget to knock? It’s just annoying if you stay in there without saying a word.”
Ran turned his head to imply the presence of Saki and Misuzu.
But Ryuzaki still could not make up his mind, he just shook his body…
“If you just wanted to smell the girls’ room or something, I’d knock you out right now.”
“- No, it’s not. That’s not the reason! I’ll tell you everything so you don’t get the wrong idea.”
Normally, he would just glare at him, but unusually, Ryuzaki made an excuse.
“It’s something only with Kirishima I could ask. No one else, only Kirishima……”
As he said this, Ryuzaki rubbed his forehead on the floor in the same way as before.
While matching with the floor, he said what he wanted to ask for in a voice that could be heard clearly.
“My dear friends could be in danger. I want to save them. …… I need your help to do that.”
◇◇◇
“…… Friends? Ryuzaki, you have a friend?”
The words were more sarcastic than expected, and Ran quickly closed his mouth.
Even though he was irritated by Ryuzaki’s simpering appearance, it would be rude to be so irreverent.
It was not that Ran was a loner, or that he didn’t want to admit that he had a friend like Ryuzaki, who was in the same position.
Having left the otaku group and distanced himself from the new boys’ group, it was hard to imagine Ryuzaki having anyone he could call a friend.
It was hard to believe that Ryuzaki would bow down for someone else, let alone for himself.
“The friend that Ryuzaki-kun refers to is Megane-kun, right?”
Saki broke the frozen atmosphere caused by Ran’s heartless comment.
Ran looked at her, and she had a heartily reproachful look in her eyes.
“But Ryuzaki, didn’t you keep your distance from Megane-kun and the others for quite a long time?”
It had been a long time since the outbreak of the Mikoshiba riot.
At least since then, Ryuzaki had never been seen getting along with other otaku boys.
Aya Mikoshiba, who often worked with them, had not said anything.
“It’s true that I haven’t been involved with Megane and the others at all recently. From Kirishima’s point of view, perhaps you are wondering why I asked for your help- for the ones like them?”
Saki and Misuzu looked at each other with more than a little sympathy.
Perhaps it was only Ran, the lone specialist, who was unable to grasp the current situation.
“-But we’re still friends.”
With his hands on the floor, Ryuzaki looked up with a sway.
His complexion remained pale, but his eyes reflected some determination.
“There have been many differences, and some of us didn’t fully grow up. Still, for me, they are my irreplaceable - my precious friends.”
“Precious friends……”
Could a relationship in which misplaced jealousy was weighed against pride be a valued companion.
Ryuzaki’s sincerity did not reach Ran, who had no friends.
“I see what you mean, Ryuzaki.”
A faint tinge of relief came into Ryuzaki’s face.
Now he could finally cut to the chase. Ran gave a cool-headed reply to Ryuzaki, who was on the verge of thinking so.
“And what good would that do me?”
“What……?”
It was probably an unexpected response. Ryuzaki looked stunned and his mouth was open with a pout.
Passionate friendship. The desire to help his fellow man. An expression of strong feelings, even to the point of bending over backwards to ask for help from Ran Kirishima, whom he hated, even if it meant bending down his entrenched pride.
However, no matter how strong and straightforward the feelings were, if the recipient did not have a genuine heart, the enthusiasm would be nothing more than a string of words.
“[My precious friend is in danger and I need help] I understand that, but… Why did you come to me for that? There were lots of other boys out there, so why did you go to me first?”
The blood drained from Ryuzaki’s cheeks, which barely retained the colour of his skin.
Ran knew he was asking a rude question.
That was why Ran didn’t wait for a reply, but confronted him with the answer.
“You couldn’t talk to other boys about it, could you? You don’t want to show them your vulnerability or owe them anything. [-If I was rejected, I would be even more out of place than I am now. I had these fears.]”
“…………”
“I guess you thought that ‘I’, who seems like your own kind, would be sympathetic. I’m sorry to say but I have more important friends than the guys in the otaku group. To protect these girls, I can’t be bothered with the rest of them.”
Ran removed his gaze from Ryuzaki and patted the heads of Misuzu and Saki, who sat beside him.
“ —N-noo. Only Kirishima could I have asked for help. I really need your help. …”
“[Underling Training:Sexual Lunatic]. It is the only thing that I’m capable of doing. I can’t see how I can help you with your problem in any way.”
“Th-that…”
As if to interrupt Ran, Ryuzaki then continued and raised his voice.
“…Kirishima, you’ve done so much for everyone, gathering up the High Black Lizard Alvarizade, boosting morale and so on! I think even Kirishima is starting to think that he should do something for his fellow classmates.”
“Don’t get me wrong. That was done for the girls, to keep them out of harm’s way.”
Ryuzaki reflected on his actions and took steps to repair his relationship with Megane and the others.
‘I could do it, so of course others can too.’ He thought that he and Ran must be thinking the same things and regretting the same things.
That way of thinking was dangerous. No matter how many words Ryuzaki said, he would never know what was in another person’s heart.
Ran did not feel in the slightest responsible for the damage done to the boys by turning the girls into dependents.
“I decided to join the march because the girls wanted to go back to their world - I wanted to help them.”
Ran even thought that he had the right to twist and trample on the girls’ futures and lives.
It was almost impossible to persuade Ran with words of common sense and ethics.
“If you want to help, do it on your own. If you can’t do that, then rely on someone other than me. If you don’t want to bow down to your enemy, you can ask Shiratori or Tanaka - or any of your other friends…”
With a look of despair on his face, Ryuzaki froze with his hands on the ground.
He had probably not expected to be rejected so directly.
There was no doubt that it overwhelmed him more than necessary but Ryuzaki didn’t want to give up.
Bowing down to the person he hated for the sake of the people he had fallen out with.
Ryuzaki might have thought he had thrown his self-respect to the ground and given everything for his dear friends. This was the extent of his resolve after all.
He could not ask for help from those who are superior and above him in the position hierarchy. After all, they have not completely abandoned their pride.
“No……really, I could only ask Kirishima. I couldn’t ask the others to do this…”
He was mumbling something, but Ran did not pay attention to it.
The other girls should be back by now. Ran thought that if there was one thing about Ryuzaki, it was that if the girls started to come, he would be unable to bear it and leave the room himself.
“…… Hey, Ran. Can I have a word?”
While Ran was still thinking, Kanami had returned.
It was good timing. Deliberately treating Ryuzaki as someone who was not here, Ran smiled smugly and good-naturedly.
“Welcome back, Kanami. What’s wrong?”
Kanami nodded ostentatiously, [Mm], and turned her attention to Ryuzaki, who looked dejected.
“Were you in the middle of something?”
“No, we’re done. You don’t have to worry about this Ryuzaki guy.”
She seemed to have sensed the disquieting atmosphere, but that was Kanami, who could read the air.
Following Ran’s words, Kanami ignored Ryuzaki and continued talking.
“I can’t find the guys from the otaku group, do you know where they went?”
“I don’t know, but why would I?”
Ran stared at Ryuuzaki with a withering stare. He was staring petrified at the floor, oblivious to Ran’s gaze.
“It’s getting dark already, and I thought we might as well go out and look for them if we have to.”
“They’re just wandering around somewhere. Besides, those guys have been known to not come home at dusk on occasion.”
It was routine for them to return home late, perhaps because they were uncomfortable at the inn.
“That’s true. They were hunting monsters for the guild, so I was worried that something had happened.”
“Those three are together, aren’t they? At least Kawasaki has the Physical Attack Reflection Modification: Accel Lolita skill, so unless something goes wrong, they should be safe. If something had happened, they would have come to the inn to tell us.”
When Ran looked at Ryuzaki, he was rubbing his forehead on the floor and shaking.
Was a friend that important? Ran didn’t really understand.
A sense of disquiet filled the air, but Ran dared to ignore it and told himself that it should be nothing.
“……Mikoshiba doesn’t seem to be anywhere, does Ran know anything about this?”
At Kanami’s comment, Ran felt as if his bad premonition had ballooned up like a balloon.
“……Aya hasn’t come back?”
“She was supposed to have been here earlier, but she seems to have gone off somewhere. Mikoshiba was good friends with Megane and the others. I thought there might be a connection, so I came to ask……”
The beating in Ran’s chest grew louder. A problem that he thought was someone else’s problem transformed into something close to home.
An insidious sense of frustration, as if the cold clay clinging to his back was gradually taking away his body heat.
Kanami removed her gaze from Ran and looked at Tatsuzaki.
“Ryuzaki, do you know anything about this?”
At Kanami’s question, Ryuzaki looked up like a shimmering apparition.
In the face of this look, Ran could tell ahead of time that his bad premonition had hit the mark.
“『……family, of course. Do you think that your friends, your colleagues, your lovers, can change your way of thinking?』”
“『It changes when I meet an important person. I think there is such a thing.』”
“『When you think about it, maybe meeting those guys wasn’t so bad after all……』”
It brought back what Ran talked with Aya last night.
The training of the harem members was not strictly a skill to hypnotise or brainwash them. It was just a way to turn all of the [sexuality] and [romantic feelings] towards Ran, the ability would not alter their personality, take away their ego and turn them into dolls that listened to everything he said.
When Emi fell in love together with Yuri as an extension of their friendship, Ran’s skill did not help to counteract this.
Because [friendship] and [love] can coexist. Emi could continue her friendship with Yuri even though she was in love with Ran.
Sakuya and Hibiki. Misuzu, Saki and Kanami. Even though they had been subjected to the skill, their friendship had not been hampered.
“I know what it’s like to be kind and heartbroken when you’re all alone.”
Ran recalled about Ageha.
As long as Aya was being trained as his family member, Ran could be assured that it was impossible for Aya’s feelings to change to [love for them].
However, as Ran inferred from Ryuzaki’s attitude earlier, friendship could sometimes be a powerful force - and move people’s hearts.
“Before I consulted with Kirishima - I consulted with Mikorin as well.”
The worst response was so shocking that Ran could hardly talk.
He was convinced that all the girls - with the exception of Reika - were in his hands. Hence, he couldn’t think straight.
It never occurred to him that Ryuzaki, who hardly ever interacts with girls, would even think of talking to Aya about it.
“What did Aya reply?”
“Well, she said curtly, [I see. Maybe-]”
As if to interrupt Ryuzaki’s words, thudding footsteps could be heard running up the stairs.
Before they can even think what’s going on, the door was violently opened. The one who entered the room was - of all people - Aya Mikoshiba.
“Kirishima!”
“…… Aya. Thank God you’re okay.”
Ran was relieved that the worst possible outcome was averted.
Ran suspected, that because it was a request from a friend of the opposite sex, the feeling of guilt overcame her and she was unable to discuss it with Ran.
It seemed that she was not such a short-sighted girl that she would have rushed in recklessly without consulting anyone.
“Miko,Rin…”
“Ryuzaki, you were there too……means that Kirishima is also asking what happened, right?”
In response to the confident question, Ran shook his head from side to side in denial.
The only information Ran knew was that other members of the otaku group besides Ryuzaki might be in danger, and that he had consulted Aya about it first.
“Does Mikoshiba being out have anything to do with Megane and the others not returning?”
“…… Yes, but Inugami, why would you care?”
“It is only natural for public morals to be concerned about the safety of their classmates.”
Brushing back her ponytail, Kanami looked at Aya with a dignified gaze.
“I want to understand the situation once more. Mikoshiba, please tell me what you know.”
With her arms folded to push her chest up, Kanami advised.
Aya looked somewhat confused, but soon regained her composure.
“I didn’t hear any details either. I just went and had a look around the guild and the surrounding area, because Ryuzaki asked me if I knew anything about the fact that Megane and the others hadn’t returned.”
“From the looks of it, you didn’t get much out of it.”
Kanami pondered and let out a [hmph] sniffle.
“From what I’ve heard so far, it doesn’t sound like there’s any other danger to Megane or the others.”
Opening her eyes, Kanami looked at Ryuzaki with sharp eyes.
Her eyes were glaring, but she did not seem to be glaring at him.
They seemed to be gazing at each other, thinking at the edges of their heads, as if something was stuck in their minds.
“By the way, why is Ryuzaki here in the girls’ room? If Ran would let a male student into the girls’ room, I can only assume there was something more going on.”
“Ryuzaki said, 『’The guys from the otaku group might be in danger. I want you to help them.』 He got down on his knees in front of us and asked us to help him.”
“Hou…”
Kanami stroked her chin in a detective-like gesture with a somewhat softer expression.
Aya also looked at Ryuzaki with a somewhat surprised expression.
After all, it seemed that it was not normal for Ryuzaki to behave in such a manner in front of Ran and the girl idols he admired.
“Ryuzaki. Do you have any idea where Megane and the others went?”
Ryuzaki showed hesitation at Kanami’s question. Eventually, as if he had made up his mind, he took out a folded piece of paper from his breast pocket.
“In the luggage room, I picked it up. It was hard to decipher the dirty handwriting, but I think it was probably Megane who wrote this.”
Two pieces of paper spread out. One was crumpled and full of folds, with letters and lines fading in places.
The other was a note, which he must have attempted to reproduce with all the precision he could muster.
“What does it say?”
“The contents of the note could hardly be deciphered, but there is a map in the corner of the note. It’s marked with guilds as landmarks, so it wasn’t that hard to find.”
The map was very rough, but the number of houses from the street was clearly marked.
It was as if they were determined to get there, no matter what.
“Dragonization: Dragonic Metamorphosis, to check the area from the sky…… The, what do you call it, ……”
Suddenly, the atmosphere became worse. Kanami, Aya, Misuzu, Saki and Ran. Under the concentrated fire of the five gazes, Ryuzaki opened his mouth, as if he is reluctant to say anything.
“The so-called, you know, adult-oriented, or matured people…… It was a street lined with a number of shady shops.”
“The area where I wandered off on my date with Ran-kun-nyaa.”
Misuzu, who had been quiet because of Ryuzaki’s presence, whispered secretly in Ran’s ear.
He had walked into a street with a suspicious atmosphere while on a date with Misuzu.
‘We were hit by the peachy air and we both made love madly in a cheap hotel - well, let’s leave that behind for now.’
“Nightlife among high school students was certainly a practice that should be policed, but it’s not as dangerous as it sounds, is it?”
“They’re boys, so you can forgive them a bit. If it hurts them, it’s their own fault. I don’t think it’s something you should go out of your way to talk to Kiririn about.”
Kanami and Saki awkwardly replied to Ryuzaki’s courageous confession.
They seemed to have their own thoughts about their classmates’ boys playing with women. The two also had a lot of nights out with Ran, so they could not say anything harsh.
“……I thought so, too, at first. I thought, 『They’re just shunning me - the three of them』, but the three of them are getting together and playing sex.”
Ryuzaki was undeterred, and said emphatically that this was where the story began.
“But the shops marked with this symbol - only this one, only this whole area around here - is no good.”
When Ryuzaki hesitated to say anything, Saki huffed an exhalation as if she had guessed something.
‘Come to think of it, didn’t Saki say that earlier?’
The guild officials were sounding the alarm that male adventurers should be careful, as there have been an increasing number of demon sightings recently.
“…… Succubus.”
Ran muttered to no one in particular. Perhaps as a sign of affirmation, Ryuzaki’s shoulders dropped in an understandable manner.
The girls looked at each other in silence, not knowing what to say to each other.
“『What only I can ask you to do…』”
“If nothing happens, that’s fine. But if it had happened as feared…”
At a later date, three dried corpses would be found in Karakara.
Or, they would be missing forever as it was.
“I just want to know if they are safe. I want to know where these guys are now and what they’re going through.”
If the brothel was a very healthy one - although what it did was unhealthy. It would be easy for Ryuzaki to go there alone to check it out.
But if it was a carnivorous succubus that devoured young boys at random, it would be a different story. As the saying went, it was like the mummies, the corpses were mummified.
“You could just use your skill, Kirishima, the [Sexual Lunatics] onto use one of the shopkeepers as a pawn to see if there are any customers that look like them. If …… it’s just a mistake, that’s fine.”
If the situation was as Ryuzaki feared, then the situation was time sensitive.
‘I see…’
The fact that Ryuzaki didn’t talk to Aya about the details and couldn’t talk to the other boys about it - no wonder he finally came to Ran in a desperate moment to ask for help.
However, it was not as if Ran’s feelings would change.
Unfortunately for the otaku boys, there was a fine line if he was asked if they were people that he wanted to cross a dangerous bridge to save.
Ran thought it would be nice to refer to the fact that he was kicked out immediately after the transfer. Even they were defeated by their fears and disgusts, and excluded Ran from the group.
Their relationship was weighed against their own safety. Ran felt that he did not have to go to such lengths to help them.
“……………”
What was worrisome was the reaction from Aya.
She had been fidgeting with the tips of her hair and fingers since a few minutes ago, and was busily scurrying around the room.
Ran, who had been lonely since childhood, could not understand how these girls could be so nervous for the sake of a mere friend who was not their lover.
That was why there was no answer. Ran couldn’t guess from his few experiences and how serious Aya took the situation.
“They are my dear friends. …… Can you help them? Please, this is the only way!”
Ryuzaki again rubbed his forehead on the floor.
Not only in front of Saki and Misuzu, but this time also in front of Kanami and Aya.
“… Kirishima”
Aya stared at her with a clinging expression.
However, it would still be emotionally difficult to beg for help for the sake of other boys - and for the sake of Megane, who was also the prime source of the decision to kick Ran out of the class.
If Ran backed out, Aya might go alone.
It was not impossible, though, to order her not to go with his skills but Aya might have to bear the guilt of not being able to save her ‘friends’.
Ran didn’t want Aya to lose her heartfelt smile in her future life.
“Personally, I don’t care what happens to Megane and the others, and I don’t see it as a life I want to save at my own peril”
But that is only with regard to Megane and his friends.
“I care about Aya. I don’t want Aya to suffer any more and I don’t want her to feel bad.”
It was not just Aya.
From a while ago, both Kanami and Saki - with the exception of Misuzu, who Ran ordered them not to be charming to other boys in advance - were looking at Ryuzaki’s face as if he had been delegated to help him, and even paying attention to Ran’s every move.
Ran didn’t want to be a boyfriend who was feared by his girlfriends.
“I - if my friends are in danger, I want to help them.”
Ran was reluctant but he was also strong-willed.
Strangely, he did not feel jealous.
“Ok. I’ll help you.”
Ryuzaki, who had been matching the floor, looked up.
His expression, which had been painted with despair, was instantly tinged with surprise, which was soon replaced by a feeling of relief.
“Thank you, Kirishima……!”
Aya expressed her heartfelt gratitude to Ran for his difficult decision.
Ran firmly vowed to protect her no matter what.
◇◇◇
The location of the shop was identified from Ryuzaki’s notes, and preparations were being steadily made for departure.
The door to the room opened and the three members of the Otaku girls returned.
“I prefer the Futanari girls to have testicles, but Emirin and Sayan-”
Yuri, who returned with the dubious word, entered the room and immediately said, “Hyowah!” and jumped up in a great heap.
As a result, she staggered at a strange angle and slammed into the wall, then sat down as if she were slipping away.
“Why are there boys other than Kirishima-kun ……!”
Yuri muttered in an end-of-the-world voice while leaning her body against the wall.
Emi and Sayaka looked at each other as Yuri showed an exaggerated reaction, as if to say [I wonder if it’s something to worry about that much ……].
“I’m a young schoolgirl too! Even if I had a prince I loved, I would still want to keep up appearances in front of other boys!”
“What are you talking about now? It wasn’t just once or twice that I went to Nekoyama-san’s place, battered and bruised from an all-nighter, and I don’t think this level of trouble will affect Yuri-chan’s image.”
“True. And … even what you’re talking about now is a topic that was being talked about loudly in the canteen where we all used to gather. I don’t think people would be that bothered if Fujiyoshi-san said something like that.”
“Ugh……I don’t know if I’m being comforted or undermined, it’s a mixed feeling……”
Yuri moved to the corner of the room, holding her knees. As she was wearing a school uniform, her skirt was rolled up and her underwear was fully visible.
When Sayaka, who couldn’t help but notice, overheard Yuri, she spun around and turned her back. Her back, wrapped in a long pink cardigan, was curled up prettily.
“Still, it’s unusual to have a boy in a girl’s room. What’s going on?”
Ran explained what had happened so far in great detail to Emi, who looked at him curiously.
Ran wasn’t sure what to do about the brothel, but he didn’t want to misrepresent it badly and raise suspicions, so he revealed everything honestly.
Ryuzaki looked a little uncomfortable, but for Ran, the relationship with the girls was much more important than the physical appearance of the otaku boys’ group.
“…… You’re going to help him, aren’t you, Kirishima-kun?”
“Un. To be frank, I don’t want to do anything for Ryuzaki, but for the sake of my precious Aya, I thought I had to do my best as a man.”
“Good. You’re the usual Kirishima-kun.”
Emi smiled a thin, happy smile… It was said in a way that implied something out of turn, but Ran didn’t care.
Ryuzaki, perhaps having already given up, didn’t poke him in the teeth with his toothless remarks.
“Won’t you be in danger?”
Sayaka, who had been quieting Yuri, joined the conversation.
“From what I’ve heard you say - you sound like you’re going to go and make sure that the shop, or whatever it is, is safe.”
Holding her hands in front of her modest chest, Sayaka’s eyes were downcast with anxiety.
“It’s not safe and you’re trying to help Megane-kun and the others……for, you know, Mikoshiba-san’s sake.”
“Worst case scenario, I’m planning on it, but, well, my original intention was just to check the danger, and I’ll be back soon-”
When Ran explained that it was nothing, Sayaka gently looked at Ran with only the direction of her eyes, with an uneasy expression on her face.
“Can I come with you?”
“Sayaka?”
“It means they’re trying to sneak in, in case of an emergency. I don’t know much about it, but if it’s a shop that’s doing something shady, I don’t think it’s that easy to break into.”
As she said this, Sayaka put her hand on her chest and took a deep breath.
She calmed herself and exhaled a long breath. Then she walked straight to the wall - she pressed her hands against the wall and muttered quietly.
“Barrier removal:Wall Cancellation”
This was a unique magic skill of Sayaka, which, as the name suggested, could nullify and penetrate magic-made barriers, wards and even magic-imparting veils.
Even Shinzo Kawasaki’s physical attack reflection reform, [Axel Lolita] and Takeo Niigaki’s absolute defence wall, [Mirror Force], were completely useless in front of Sayaka.
“I’ve trained a lot in the royal palace with armour and shields and stuff - now I can even get through ordinary walls like this”
Where Sayaka touched, darkness spread and swallowed like water dissolved in ink.
When Ran reached the shadow-covered spot, he was surprised to find that there was no sensation of touch at all.
Ran jumped in there as he was invited and went out into the corridor of the inn.
He unintentionally bumped into Sakuya and Hibiki, who were just coming up the stairs. They were both deeply surprised to see Ran, who had suddenly mastered the art of wall climbing.
“I’m sure my barrier removal skills would help… Rather, if you’re planning to break in somewhere, there’s no one better suited than me.”
Also through the wall, Sayaka came out into the corridor.
Sakuya and Hibiki had their mouths open and were touching the wall where the floppy Ran appeared.
“No matter how thick they are made, no matter how enchanted they are, no matter how they are warded, no matter how they are trapped by magic reflexes - with my skills, I can trespass with no problem.”
“I know how Sayaka feels, but it is too dangerous. I don’t know what will happen, and Aya and Ryuzaki may be able to do it, but for Sayaka, who has skills that are not suited to self-defence —”
“I - I can’t leave Kirishima-kun alone, jumping into such a dangerous place.”
Sayaka buried her face in Ran’s chest. Her downcast twin eyes were lit by a faint heat and her cheeks seemed to be flushed.
To find something unique that she could do for her loved one.
The brilliant woman who taught it to Sayaka had remained locked in her room and had not come out, even in the face of all this commotion.
Reika’s own skill - Spatial manipulation Dimension World - would probably be able to do something similar, but she did not appear here to point it out.
She might simply not want to get into trouble. But Sayaka thought that her cold response was, in Reika’s own way, pushing her back.
“I’m sorry for being so selfish. But I want to be useful to Kirishima-kun.”
“……Sayaka”
Having more targets to protect was something that Ran would like to avoid if possible.
But Ran thought that Sayaka’s argument also had a point. The risk would be reduced by using the art of wall-breaking rather than being forced through by Aya and Ryuzaki when the time came.
When Sayaka was about to list the advantages and disadvantages of accompanying him, Ran started to think.
He thought in terms of profit and loss, it would be meaningless to go out in search of the otaku boys in the first place.
If Aya’s will was respected, it would be extremely unjust to disrespect Sayaka’s feelings.
After a few moments of pondering, Ran did indeed give an answer.
“Okay. Shall we go together, Sayaka? -I’m counting on you and your barrier cancellation.”