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 14

Chapter 14

Side: Yuuji

Good grief.
I was seriously glad I made it in time.

I ran at full speed—fast enough to leave Wakita completely behind.

The last time I’d run this hard was during a Middle East operation, when an enemy helicopter fired rockets at us.

The shrapnel that got stuck in my back still felt like it was throbbing.

Well, after reincarnating, the scars were gone…

But mentally? Yeah. That kind of stuff doesn’t just disappear.

Also, seeing Yamashita tuck his tail and run pissed me off, so I casually aimed for his neck and smashed him with a right-arm lariat on the way.

Seriously—if you’re going to bail halfway through, don’t sign up as Academy SP in the first place.

I hated people who couldn’t keep a contract.

Coming from a mercenary who lived and died by a single sheet of paper, that kind of thing really got under my skin.

Anyway…

Yeah.

It’d been a while since I’d gotten this angry.

The moment I saw a bunch of grown adults surrounding a single high school girl with weapons, an indescribable rage boiled up inside me.

And knowing what was supposed to happen to Sara Hagoromo in the original story just made it worse.

The idea that this girl was meant to be brutally beaten to death by a bunch of washed-up, beer-bellied losers like these—some garbage fate like that waiting for her—honestly made me want to punch whatever god thought this was acceptable.

Sorry, but I’d already decided.

These guys—

I was going to give every last one of them a quarter kill.

“W-What the hell is this guy…?”

“He’s wearing the same uniform as that conglomerate bitch!?”

“So he’s one of her people!?”

My sudden appearance clearly threw them off.

The feet that had been creeping toward Sara stopped dead.

Sweat beaded on their foreheads, and they hesitated, unsure whether to attack.

The moment I saw that, I understood exactly why they had been planning to gang up on Sara.

And realizing that… pissed me off more than anything.

“Huh? What’s with you guys? Losing your nerve already?”

I said it in a low voice, and the man closest to me stepped back a few centimeters.

He waved his weapon around, but his stance was weak—I could tell his legs were shaking.

Even idiots like these could sense my killing intent, apparently.

This space was completely under my control.

“S-Shut up!!”

Still, among idiots, there were always reckless ones—

Or maybe because he was an idiot, one guy from the back shouted at me.

“H-Hey! Kid! Acting tough won’t help you! There are ten of us here, all armed—Gyokuhoutai!!”

It seemed the idiots had finally realized their advantage in numbers.

One after another, they started talking big.

“That’s right! If you’re gonna run, now’s your chance!”

“What’s the point of protecting some conglomerate bitch!?”

“Don’t move, or we’ll kill you first!!”

Kill me—

The moment I heard those words, the corner of my mouth curled into a grin.

“Kill me… huh.”

“W-What’s so funny about that…!?”

“Nah…”

I couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up from deep inside as I kept talking.

“I was just thinking how light those words sound. Do you really think you can do that? To me? Kukuku…”

“…!!”

Seeing their faces twist in fear, I honestly found it ridiculous.

“W-What is this guy…?”

“He’s just a high schooler, right…!? Don’t chicken out!”

“B-But… there’s something… creepy about him…”

Some of them even started whispering among themselves, like they sensed something was off.

Good grief—so they finally realized it.

The situation they were in.

I knew exactly why they were this scared.

It was this—my calm.

No bluffing, no bravado.

I genuinely felt zero threat from a large group of armed men like this.

I mean, sure—if someone smashed an iron pipe into my head, I might die.

But compared to getting hit by a missile?

That was way easier to deal with.

After living every day on a battlefield where your life depended on sheer luck…

This situation was laughably soft.

Honestly, these guys weren’t even worth my time.

“Enough!! What are you all getting scared of now!?”

Finally, a man who looked like their leader shouted and stepped forward in front of me.

“I’m Abe—the one who founded the Gyokuhoutai!! Our very reason for existing is for today!!”

He raised a wooden sword that looked like he’d dug it out of some old storage shed.

The tip of it pointed straight at Sara.

She let out a small “hiee” scream, and I immediately stepped in front of her, blocking her from that weapon.

“You people… you privileged types… could never understand our suffering!! You—you’re probably some rich kid too, right!?”

“…Hah? What are you even trying to say?”

“You spoiled brat from some rich school who doesn’t know a damn thing about society!! I’ll teach you the truth of this world!! The reason there are so many unhappy people in Japan is because of that conglomerate right there!!”

That so-called founder started giving a speech—

No one asked for it, but he went off anyway.

“Those conglomerates are parasites sucking our lifeblood dry!! They exploit us, exploit us, and exploit us some more…!! They stole our lives, our futures, our hope—everything!!”

As if on cue, the others started chiming in with their own rambling.

“That’s right!! Because of the conglomerates, our hearts were slowly being killed!”

“We’re the victims!! We can never forgive the criminals called conglomerates!!”

“Everyone thinks this way!! We’re just speaking on behalf of all Japanese people to crush evil!!”

After screaming their lungs out, the so-called founder wrapped it up like this.

“This… is revenge. Proper revenge against the conglomerates—for what they did to us common people!!”

It looked like they’d made up their minds.

The light in their eyes changed.

Good grief… so they were finally done talking.

Alright then.

Time to deal with these guys—

Grip…

But just as I was about to step forward, someone grabbed the sleeve of my blazer from behind with weak strength.

—It was Sara.

When I turned around, she was trembling, tears streaming down her face, but she still spoke.

“Run away…”

That faint smile on her face…

Maybe it was because she was genuinely happy.

“Thank you for coming to save Sara… really, thank you… But I can’t cause you any more trouble…”

“You…”

“Sara, you know… I never really understood who I was. Because I was born a ‘conglomerate lady,’ it always felt like my real self was hidden in thick fog… That kind of person can’t make real friends, and even my parents gave up on me… I kept thinking I was nothing more than a doll labeled ‘conglomerate heiress.’ I hated myself for that… I hated how empty and unappealing I was… So… having someone like you come to save someone like Sara truly made me happy… That’s why…”

I gently wrapped my hand around the one clutching my sleeve.

Then, slowly, I loosened her grip.

It wasn’t rejection.

It was telling her—

You don’t have to do anything. Just stay right here.

“Don’t say you hate yourself.”

“Eh…?”

“You’ve got a lot going for you. Even in a situation like this, you tried to make me run. That’s not something just anyone can do. You’re kind. You’re strong. You should be more proud of yourself—of the person named Sara Hagoromo.”

On the battlefield, there were people who betrayed their allies and shot them in the back.

There were people who panicked and ran away the moment things got dangerous.

But… there were also people who chose to fight, even if it meant sacrificing themselves for their comrades.

Judging by the standards I’d learned on the battlefield…

Sara Hagoromo was already someone with real value.

Someone worth trusting.

I see. 

I finally remembered.

Funny how easily you forget things.

Even something like the heroine of a gal game.

Sara Hagoromo—the character… no, the person.

Looks like…

I’ve got no choice but to protect her.

No matter what.

Even if it costs me my life.