Academy SP 〜An Ex-Mercenary Reincarnated as a Mob in a Gal Game. I Ditched My Bodyguard Job to Enjoy High School Life, but When the Ultra-Rich Heroines Were About to Get Killed, I Stepped In… and Somehow Built a Harem Powerful Enough to Control Japan〜 - Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Side: Yuuji

“Ohhh, nice. Sorry about that—much appreciated!”

“Seriously… you show no mercy…”

Wakita came back looking exhausted, carrying a tray piled high with hamburgers.

I didn’t hesitate and dug right in.

“Mmm—so good!! Winning every match at the arcade really is the best!”

“More importantly, why’d you order a double cheeseburger? That thing’s pretty expensive, you know.”

“Cheese means more protein. Way more efficient for nutrition than ordering fries.”

“…You really focus on the weirdest details. Alright, that’s it. From now on, betting on shooting games, punching machines, arm wrestling, and reaction-speed games is banned! I don’t think I could beat you even if I tried for the rest of my life!!”

Uh-oh. Maybe I crushed him too hard.

Well, it couldn’t be helped. Next time, I’d humor him with some rhythm games or something.

Still… having a young stomach was great. Food just went right down.

Man, being a high schooler really was the best.

“…Huh? Isn’t it kind of noisy outside?”

Just as Wakita said that and turned his head, a restless buzz of voices reached our ears.

“Hey, this is bad.”

“I heard protesters are clashing with the police.”

“Someone said there’s blood already!”

After that, a few customers in the shop headed outside, clearly going to see what was going on.

“Ah, right. Come to think of it, today was the day that group called the Gyokuhoutai was supposed to hold a big protest.”

“Gyokuhoutai?”

When I asked back, Wakita explained.

“They’re one of those anti-conglomerate protest groups that operate through social media. Apparently their numbers—well, they call them recruits ‘members,’ but they’re basically enlistees—have been growing fast lately. They compare themselves to the Shinsengumi and go on about delivering ‘divine punishment’ to the conglomerates. Basically… an extremist group.”

“…Wasn’t the Shinsengumi on the side that cracked down on people handing out ‘divine punishment’?”

“Yeah, a lot of people online pointed that out too. But you know how it is—stuff like that doesn’t really matter to them. As long as they gather under the banner of ‘down with the conglomerates,’ that’s enough. At least, for the Gyokuhoutai.”

“I guess so.”

I took another bite of my cheeseburger.

Then Wakita added,

“They’ve caused problems before, but this time it sounds like it’s turned violent, so it might be pretty bad. Probably going to be treated as terrorism…”

“Terrorism, huh…”

“And lately, they seem especially fixated on the Hagoromo Conglomerate. You know how Hagoromo’s been buying up companies in Tokyo that were on the verge of bankruptcy and expanding their group like crazy? A lot of people really don’t like that.”

“Companies on the verge of bankruptcy…”

—At that moment, I stopped chewing my burger and froze.

Something stirred deep in my memory.

Gyokuhoutai—

Hagoromo Conglomerate—

Bankruptcy—

And a protest turning into a riot—

“—Ahhhh!!”

I jumped up without thinking.

I’d just remembered something really bad.

〇

Side: Sara

“S-Sara-sama…! You’re still going to more shops…!?”

When I turned around, Yamashita was staggering along behind me, paper shopping bags hanging from both hands and even his neck.

I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

The other Academy SP boys were in the same state—completely reduced to luggage carriers.

“There’s still sooo much I want to buy~. You’re coming with me ♡”

Saying that, Sara casually flashed a card.

The moment they saw it, Yamashita and the others froze—

Gulp.

“T-That glossy emerald-black card is…! T-That’s a Conglomerate Card!?”

The shock spread instantly.

“That card only gets issued to a select few within the conglomerate group, right!?”

“Yeah… I heard it’s linked to a special internal account where you can withdraw money freely…”

“A-And the Hagoromo Conglomerate owns Japan’s number-one Hagoromo Bank, so that deposit amount must be—hiii!!”

Their faces drained of color as the realization hit.

For just a moment, it felt kind of satisfying.

Once you showed the Conglomerate Card, most people would bow without question.

After all, as long as the Hagoromo Conglomerate continued to exist, you’d never have to worry about money if you had this.

A true privilege class—

Showing it off felt good.

“………………This is boring.”

—That was what I thought, but in the end, emptiness always followed.

Sara didn’t really have a self of her own.

Behind her, there was always the Hagoromo Conglomerate, and that was all anyone ever looked at.

Sure, Sara was blessed.

There were plenty of people in the world who struggled just to get by.

So maybe Sara’s worries were… just luxuries.

But still…

Why did my heart feel so tight and cramped?

“I’m kinda bored now…”

I stopped with the pointless rich-girl flexing and started walking, ready to head home.

“Ah—please wait! Sara-sama!”

Yamashita called out from behind me.

What now…?

I kept my face forward and didn’t stop walking—

Bump.

I crashed into something and fell backward onto the ground.

“Ow…”

Had I hit a wall or something?

Thinking that, I looked up—

And what I saw were eyes.

Eyes. Eyes. Eyes.

The hollow-eyed stares of a crowd looking down at me.

“Eh…?”

What was wrong with these people…?

Looking closer, they were all holding placards and wearing headbands—it looked like some kind of protest.

But for some reason, every single one of them was staring at me with open hostility—

“Hey—ain’t that Sara Hagoromo!?”

A middle-aged man suddenly shouted, and my body flinched.

That was the signal.

Everyone surrounded Sara at once.

“No doubt about it. Look—she’s in the photos online.”

A bearded man stared at Sara while checking his phone.

His eyes were dark and sunken, and a chill ran down my spine.

Some conglomerate daughters appeared in the media, sure—but Sara… didn’t.

So why were pictures of me going around…?

“H-Hey… that—”

Their gazes all snapped to the black-green card in Sara’s hand—the so-called Conglomerate Card.

The next moment, it was like a volcano erupted.

“That’s a Conglomerate Card!! These people are playing around with our tax money!!”

“Don’t mess with us!! We know Hagoromo Bank’s in bed with the government!!”

“Everyone else is getting poorer and poorer—and you conglomerates are just stuffing your pockets!!”

The shouting surged, loud and furious, pressing in from all sides.

The men kept edging closer.

But Sara couldn’t understand their anger at all.

To begin with, the Conglomerate Card—even if it went through Hagoromo Bank—was still their own money.

People often misunderstood and thought it was taken from regular customers’ deposits, but there was absolutely nothing illegal about it.

And then claiming it used tax money on top of that… the logic was a complete mess.

None of it made any sense.

There was no shady collusion with the government either.

The Hagoromo Conglomerate had always been strict about avoiding that kind of thing.

—But when I saw their bloodshot eyes, I finally understood.

These were people who wouldn’t listen to reason.

No logic would ever reach them.

In front of a crowd whipped into a frenzy by hatred of conglomerates—

“S-Sara-sama!”

At that moment, Yamashita rushed in.

Thank goodness…

I never thought Academy SP would actually be useful like this.

For now, we just had to get away—

“—Anyone who protects evil is guilty too!!”

“…Huh?”

It happened in the next instant.

A man holding a placard raised it high—and without hesitation, smashed it straight down onto Yamashita’s head.

He collapsed on the spot, blood spilling as he fell…

〇

Side: Yuuji

“W-Whoa! You scared me! What’s with you all of a sudden!?”

Wakita jerked backward in surprise.

But my head was already full, desperately trying to piece everything together.

—Gyokuhoutai…

Yeah. These guys showed up in the scenario.

And I knew this branch route.

I couldn’t remember the exact date or all the conditions, but I knew how this played out.

“Think…! Come on, remember… That guy was—”

“Y-Yuuji?”

I shut my eyes tight and dug through my memories.

Then it hit me—

An orange-tinted game screen.

A river.

“That’s it… the riverbank…!”

“Yuuji?”

“Hey, Wakita! Where’s a riverbank around here where you can see the sunset!?”

“Huh!? W-What’s with that out of nowhere—are you asking for a date spot or something?”

“Just tell me, hurry!”

“U-Uh… let’s see. Wouldn’t it be the Shurei Riverbank?”

“Ah—that’s it! That’s the one!”

And with that, I took off running.

“H-Hey! You’ve still got cheeseburgers left! Are you trying to make the food waste problem worse!?”

Wakita was rambling on about something, but I didn’t have time to stop and listen.

If things were really about to follow the original story… then this was an emergency.

This riot caused by the Gyokuhoutai—

It was Sara Hagoromo’s branching route.

Academy SP might’ve been a gal game, but it had some seriously nasty developments.

That harshness was part of what made it popular, but because of that, the scenes were painfully real.

This particular branch—

It led to the worst possible bad ending.

Sara Hagoromo getting beaten to death by the Gyokuhoutai.

And it wasn’t quick or clean.

She got hit again and again.

Kicked over and over.

Even though it was just text, it was bad enough to make you want to look away.

It felt like the game was trying to show how people drunk on “justice” could become unbelievably cruel.

That kind of heavy message was burned into the scene.

Yamashita was probably nearby right now…

But honestly, even if he was, he might not be able to do anything.

That was how dangerous—and troublesome—this event was.

—Damn it! I let my guard down!

I never thought it could actually reach the bad ending…

And remembering something this important only at the very last second—seriously!?

I didn’t care about clearing Sara Hagoromo’s route or anything like that, but her dying was just way too cruel, no matter how you looked at it.

…I didn’t want to see anyone younger than me die anymore.

I sprinted with everything I had.

Normally, Amagaya would be the one rushing in to solve this.

But the protagonist was gone.

So then… who was left to protect her?

—Obviously, it had to be me!!