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 76, 77 & 78

Chapter 76

Urabe shrugged.

This whole plan had been thrown together on the spot from the beginning.

They had only just learned about the existence of the “Academy SP.” That alone showed how sloppy their preparation had been.

But in the end, they were just students.

Nothing worth worrying about.

Still…

If a fight broke out and Ayaka Kirishima managed to escape in the chaos, that would be a problem.

So it was better to remove as many uncertain factors as possible.

“Hey, Wakou. You’re sure about the young ladies’ schedule after this, right?”

Urabe asked.

Wakou checked his phone.

“Yeah. On the second day, there’s an event at night called the Night Walk.”

“Good… Then we’ll make our move—tonight. Contact Ishii from the separate team too.”

◯

Side: Yuuji

“Alright then, Academy SP, let’s give it our best tonight.”

The moment I said that, Wakita, Isoyama, and the others shouted together.

“““OOH!”””

The Night Walk.

Basically, it was an event where everyone walked around Karuizawa at night.

The idea was to let the students experience the cool night air, the quiet scenery, and the peaceful atmosphere of the area with all their senses.

At first, the teachers had even considered canceling it because of safety concerns for the daughters of the Four Great Conglomerates.

But in the end, they decided to continue the tradition.

And the main reason was simple—

Because we, the “Academy SP,” were here.

Sure, there were criticisms about us.

But we had still managed to protect the young ladies of the Hagoromo and Aketo families so far.

It seemed the school acknowledged that effort.

“Alright, listen up. Let’s confirm the formation.”

I looked around at everyone and continued.

“The other students will have teachers escorting them, so we’ll leave their safety to the staff. Our top priority is protecting Sara Hagoromo and Ririko Aketo. And just in case, we’ll keep an eye on Ayaka Kirishima too. But since she already has professional bodyguards, our main focus is still those first two.”

I raised two fingers as I explained.

“We’ll go with a basic formation. Sara and Ririko stay in the center, and we—the ‘Academy SP’—surround them from all four sides to keep them protected.”

It wasn’t like bullets were going to start flying or anything.

So there was no need to make the formation overly strict.

Still, it was important to have a plan and good teamwork in case something happened.

“First, I’ll take the front. That’s usually the most dangerous spot. Isoyama will take the rear. I know your injury might make it tough, but I’ll place some other Academy SP guys with you too. If you see anyone suspicious behind us, report it immediately.”

“Got it.”

“Next, the left and right sides. Otani and Saeki will lead those positions. You two ranked high in the SP tournament, after all.”

Both of them nodded confidently.

“Yeah! Leave it to us!”

“We might’ve gotten knocked out in one hit by Hirota, but at least we didn’t get seriously injured like Isoyama! We’ll show you what we can do!”

Their reliable response made me smile.

Then I announced the final position.

“The rest of you—Wakita and the others—will stay in the center to strengthen the protection around the conglomerate young ladies. That’s all. Any objections—”

“I object!!”

BAM!

Wakita slammed his hand hard against the ground.

…Unfortunately for him, the ground was concrete.

“Ow ow ow…!”

“Dude, what are you doing?”

“T-That hurt…! Anyway, Yuuji! I object! I demand a change in the formation!”

“Huh? Change what?”

“The center position… Yuuji should take it!”

“…What?”

Wait a second.

So he was saying I should stay near Sara and Ririko?

“Look, not to brag, but I’m the strongest member of the Academy SP. So it makes sense for me to hold the front line—”

“What are you talking about, Yuuji? You’re our leader. The leader should stay in the center and give orders. And if something happens, having the strongest person in the center as the final line of defense is the most logical setup.”

“Uh—”

“Think about it. In simple terms, the rest of us are basically expendable pieces. If something happens, we act as shields first, and you make the decisions as the commander. If you jump straight to the front lines, the entire command structure falls apart.”

…Well.

When he put it that way…

it actually made sense.

“Yeah, yeah. Wakita’s right.”

Even Isoyama and the others nodded in agreement.

At that point, I didn’t really have much choice but to accept Wakita’s suggestion.

Honestly…

Shouldn’t this guy be the leader instead of me?

“Alright! Then it’s decided! Yuuji, we’re counting on you to protect the young ladies!”

Saying that, Wakita glanced over at Sara and Ririko and gave them a big thumbs-up.

They both immediately returned the gesture with their own thumbs-up.

…Wait a second.

Hold on.

Isn’t there some personal bias in this decision?

Didn’t he just put me near them because that’s what the young ladies wanted?

“Please continue enjoying your little date with them, Prince Yuuji. Hihihi…”

Wakita grinned and lightly patted my shoulder.

Damn it.

This guy really only gets the good parts of the job.

“…Whatever. Just report immediately if anything happens.”

I wrapped things up with that.

And just like that, our escort mission began.

◯

“Wow, Karuizawa at night feels exciting!”

“Yeah… I’ve never been out this late before!”

The conglomerate young ladies were happily chatting beside me.

Well, that made sense.

Their curfews were usually pretty strict.

While they were enjoying themselves, I quietly kept an eye on the surroundings.

But everything seemed peaceful.

Old Karuizawa Street looked completely different from how it did during the day.

Under the night lights, the entire place had a more mature and elegant atmosphere.

It really felt like a special night.

“Ah, Kirishima-san is over there too.”

Ririko pointed ahead.

Sure enough, Ayaka Kirishima was standing there.

Imamura and the other guards were still staying close to her, but she seemed to be enjoying the Night Walk as well.

…Well, it should be fine.

No problem.

She probably needed a chance to relax tonight too.

As long as things stayed peaceful like this—

That would be enough.

Just as I was thinking that, Sara suddenly grabbed the sleeve of my jacket.

Her fingers were trembling slightly.

“H-Hey…! Who are those guys over there…!?”

I quickly looked up.

And then—

I saw a face I recognized.

(Those guys… aren’t they the ones who were hitting on Ayaka earlier?)

But this time, there were way more of them.

Ten…

Twenty…

No—even more than that.

Don’t tell me…

Did those guys actually come back with reinforcements!?

Chapter 77

“Oh! That’s her! That’s the one!!”

The man pointing at Ayaka was the same guy who had been knocked out with a single slap by Imamura earlier.

His cheek was badly swollen, covered with what looked like a large patch.

“You bastards!! What the hell do you think you’re doing!?”

Imamura stepped forward, blocking their path so they couldn’t even lay a finger on Ayaka.

He usually looked like a serious, calm man—but right now he was shouting like a street thug.

A few of the guys flinched at his roar.

But most of them simply grinned with confidence.

“Ooooh, scary, scary. But hey, old man… do you really think you can take on this many people?”

“We’re gonna pay you back big time for that slap yesterday! GYAAHAHAHA!”

Their attitude was completely provocative.

And honestly, the difference in numbers was overwhelming.

On top of that, many of them had tattoos.

They looked like a group of pretty dangerous punks.

“Damn you…! Hey! Protect Lady Ayaka with your lives!!”

Imamura quickly took off his suit jacket and raised his fists in a boxing stance.

He looked ready to fight to the end.

Nearby tourists saw the scene and screamed—“Eek!?”

They scattered and ran away.

The peaceful streets of Karuizawa instantly turned tense and dangerous.

“Y-Yuuji…”

“What should we do…? At this rate Kirishima-san is going to be in serious trouble…!”

The two conglomerate young ladies looked worried.

And the way they looked at me—

It felt like they were placing their hopes on me.

Even if their families were considered rivals in the business world, they were still in the same position as daughters of powerful families.

So maybe they understood each other in ways others couldn’t.

Their eyes clearly said it.

Please help Ayaka Kirishima.

—Of course.

“Otani! Saeki! Isoyama! Get Sara and Ririko somewhere safe!”

I immediately gave the order.

Otani and Saeki reacted instantly, guiding the girls away while urging them forward.

“Yuuji… everyone!”

“Be careful!”

We raised our hands in response.

But Isoyama didn’t move.

“If I leave too, we’ll be short on people, right?”

“Isoyama… but your arm—”

“…I’ll be fine.”

With that, Isoyama dashed forward.

“HYAAAH!”

Just as one of the thugs was about to charge at Imamura—

Isoyama launched a high kick straight at the side of his face.

“Guh!?”

The kick connected with the thug’s jaw, sending him crashing to the ground instantly.

Wakita couldn’t help but gasp.

“Whoa…!”

“Hmph. Even injured, I’m more than enough to deal with punks like these.”

Isoyama snorted and took a karate stance.

The group of thugs all turned their attention toward us at once.

“Who the hell are you brats!?”

“You wanna fight, kids!?”

“I’ll kill you!”

Shouts and insults flew through the air one after another.

The tension kept rising, and the crowd of thugs grew more and more aggressive.

“Man… looks like Isoyama beat us to the first move.”

I scratched the back of my head and stepped up beside him.

“Y-You guys…!”

Imamura’s eyes widened in surprise.

The other bodyguards—and even Ayaka—looked shocked too.

“Imamura-san, we’ll help you out.”

After saying that, I turned to my teammates.

“Let’s go! Academy SP!!”

At my shout, Wakita and the others answered with a loud—

“OOH!”

In an instant, the atmosphere shifted into something that felt like a full-blown battle.

(Man… this feeling brings back memories.)

Back in my mercenary days, I used to carry out missions with my teammates all the time.

Team operations like this were something I was pretty good at.

Well, in my case, I was usually the type who charged in alone and piled up results, so I was a bit of an odd one.

But this time, I was the commander.

And the enemy had overwhelming numbers.

My decisions here could determine how this whole fight turned out.

Alright…

What’s the move?

“So, Yuuji—what’s the plan?”

Wakita asked.

I studied the faces of the thugs while thinking.

“Their main target is Ayaka. …Or maybe they’re also here to get revenge for Imamura-san beating them up earlier. Either way, the first thing we need to do is help them escape. Look at these guys—they’re already worked up and ready to kill. If we’re not careful, someone could seriously die.”

“Got it. So we focus on creating an opening for them to escape.”

“Exactly.”

Then Isoyama spoke up.

“The other side has at least twenty guys, no matter how you look at it. How are we supposed to fight that?”

“Relax. Leave it to me. I’ve got a plan.”

“Oh? And what brilliant strategy did you come up with?”

I kept my eyes on the group of thugs.

Then a man stepped forward.

He had an obvious presence—and a big, solid build.

“What’s with these kids? Why are you picking a fight with us?”

He had dreadlocks and a bandana tied around his forehead.

There was also a dragon tattoo wrapped around his neck.

One glance was enough to tell—

This guy was bad news.

“H-He’s huge…”

Wakita swallowed nervously.

“Oi, oi. Don’t you brats even know who we are? We’re Dragon Chain—a gang that runs things around the Kanto area.”

“Dragon Chain?”

“Wait… Wakita, you know them?”

“You could say they’re a long-running street gang with a bad reputation. People say their ‘graduation course’ is basically becoming yakuza. They’re famous troublemakers. …M-Man, we picked a fight with the worst possible group… what do we do…?”

The man who seemed to be their leader snorted with amusement.

“Hah! Look at you, already scared. But it’s too late now. Anyone who dares stand against us—”

He grinned wickedly.

“—we’ll kill every last one of you.”

The killing intent around that guy—and the look in his eyes—were real.

He looked like the kind of man who had completely lost his mind.

Even the Academy SP students were starting to feel the pressure.

The other bodyguards, including Imamura, had sweat running down their foreheads.

Meanwhile—

I simply walked up and punched the guy in the face.

BAM!!

“Geh!?”

Then—

I slipped behind him and locked in a chokehold.

“Guhhhhhh!?”

Once you clamp down on the carotid artery properly, it only takes a few seconds to knock someone out.

The leader of Dragon Chain rolled his eyes back, lost control of his bladder and passed out instantly.

“………………”

“………………”

“………………”

Seeing the so-called infamous gang leader collapse so miserably, the entire area fell silent.

“Told you, Isoyama. That was my plan.”

I stood there confidently and shouted to raise everyone’s morale.

“Alright! Operation ‘Take Down the Boss’! The enemy leader is already out! The rest of them are just a disorganized mob now! Let’s finish them off in one go!!”

“W-What kind of ridiculously simple plan is that…?”

Chapter 78

“W-Well, whatever! Let’s go, guys!”

Isoyama roared loudly.

“If things go south, our boss will clean up the mess! I don’t care if they’re a street gang—let’s do this!”

As if answering his shout, the Academy SP members charged forward and began beating down the gang members.

“W-What the hell are these guys!?”

“T-They’re strong!?”

Even with one arm injured, Isoyama attacked so fiercely that the thugs stared at him in shock.

Not bad.

Isoyama really could fight.

He had strength—and people clearly respected him.

Honestly, he might even have better leadership skills than me.

And saying I’d clean up their mess like that…

What a thing to say.

…Well, I would clean it up if needed.

“Die, you bastard!!”

One of the Academy SP guys suddenly had his back taken and was about to get punched.

I immediately jumped in to cover him and fired off a high kick.

“Gepoh!?”

The kick landed perfectly.

The thug’s neck bent back like a snapping tree branch.

Teeth and blood flew out of his mouth as he collapsed to the ground.

“Ugh… that was a killer kick…”

Wakita was trembling behind me.

And honestly—

For the rest of the gang members, the sight must have been even more shocking.

“Y-You’ve gotta be kidding…? First the boss, and now Yocchan got taken down in one hit too…?”

“Wait… are those two even alive? They haven’t moved at all since they fell!”

“This is bad…! That guy is insanely strong!!”

The reason I kicked that hard wasn’t just to take him down quickly with minimal effort.

The real goal was to plant fear in the enemy.

If they got scared, their will to fight would start breaking down.

And sure enough, after seeing their leader get knocked out—and witnessing my fighting ability up close—the gang’s morale had clearly dropped.

On top of that, the Academy SP members were all trained in martial arts.

Each one of them was stronger individually.

Even though the enemy had more than three times our numbers, we were steadily gaining the advantage.

(Still… they do have a lot of people.)

I decided to leave the fight to Isoyama and the others for now and ran toward Ayaka.

Even though she had three professional bodyguards, dealing with this many attackers would still be tough.

First—

We needed to get Ayaka out of here.

“Imamura-san!”

“Hm! You’re…!”

“Leave this place to me for now. Please take Ayaka somewhere safe!”

“A-Are you sure…?”

“Of course.”

“…Alright! I’m counting on you! I won’t forget this favor—I’ll repay it soon!”

He hesitated for a moment about leaving me alone here.

But in the end, he chose to prioritize his mission.

And he made that decision quickly.

Still… Imamura was more honorable than I expected.

Anyway, thanks to that, they managed to start escaping.

—Or at least, that was the plan.

Ayaka suddenly refused.

“W-Wait! Takahashi! I’ll fight too!”

“Ayaka…?”

“This happened because of me! I can’t be the only one running away!”

Imamura tried to calm her down.

“M-My lady!”

But she was incredibly stubborn.

Honestly…

This reminded me of the original story.

She always acted like this—refusing to run away from responsibility, stubbornly trying to face powerful enemies all by herself.

That spirit was definitely admirable.

But—

“You woman!! I’m not letting you escape!!”

A man suddenly rushed toward Ayaka from behind.

It was that same guy who had tried hitting on her earlier.

“Damn…!”

Her reaction was a little slow.

Imamura was also just far enough away that it was uncertain whether he could reach her in time.

—But there was nothing to worry about.

SMACK!!

“Blebah!?”

I slammed him with a full-force slap, knocking him straight to the ground.

Honestly, that probably ruptured his eardrum.

There was no way he’d be standing up again.

“S-Strong…”

Ayaka had seen my slap up close.

Only now did it seem to fully sink in.

“…If I stay here, I’ll only hold everyone back.”

Even though frustration showed on her face, she lowered her head toward me.

“I’ll make sure to repay this favor someday.”

“Yeah, sure. …Just get out of here safely.”

“My lady, this way! We parked the car nearby just in case! Let’s head there!”

After that, one of the other bodyguards stayed behind, while Imamura and Ayaka started moving away.

But a few of the gang members noticed and began running after them.

“Damn it!”

“Yuuji! Leave this to me!”

Before I could move, Wakita dashed off first.

“Wakita!?”

“From what I saw, the guys chasing them look pretty weak. If we want to make sure Ayaka-san escapes safely, it’s better if I go too. —And besides, you should be fine handling things here by yourself, right?”

“……………………”

Wakita’s reasoning made sense.

Sure, there were still a lot of enemies here.

But they were just a bunch of street punks.

It wasn’t like they had guns or anything.

There was no way I could lose to them.

But…

What was this strange feeling in my chest?

Why was I suddenly remembering things from my previous life?

—“○○○○! Let us fight too!!”

—“Yeah! We’ll prove that we can do it as well!”

They had looked straight at me when they said that.

And because of that, I—

No.

That’s not it.

That’s not what happened.

“HYAAAH!! What the hell are you standing there spacing out for!?”

At that moment, one of the gang members rushed toward me and threw a punch.

“…Don’t interrupt someone when they’re thinking.”

I slipped past the man’s punch and grabbed him in a neck clinch.

“Wha—!? I-I can’t lift my head!?”

It was a technique from Muay Thai.

By locking the opponent’s head like this, you completely stop their movement.

And once their face is wide open—

THUD! THUD! THUD!

I slammed several knee strikes straight into his face.

“Gahhh!?”

The man took the hits head-on and collapsed, spitting blood as he fell.

I glanced behind me.

But Wakita and the others had already run so far that they were out of sight.

(It’s fine. Imamura-san is with them. And considering the numbers, that direction should be the safest.)

Convincing myself of that, I turned my attention back to the gang members in front of me.

(Alright… I’ll just knock down anyone who looks strong.)

I started focusing on the ones charging at the front, the bigger guys, and the ones acting tough.

Those were the ones I hit first—with punches and kicks.

“Bwoh!?”

“Guhh!?”

“GAH!?”

Most of them dropped in one hit.

I targeted their weak points carefully, knocking them out without going so far as to kill them.

If someone hesitated or backed off, I ignored them.

Instead, I focused on the ones who still looked ready to fight.

Little by little, the battle clearly began tilting in favor of us—the Academy SP.

“Damn… you’ve already taken out most of the gang by yourself… Your strength is basically cheating, Takahashi.”

Isoyama said that with a frustrated grin.

“Well, even so, they still outnumber us. Let’s settle this soon.”

Isoyama tilted his head at my suggestion.

Just watch.

—I’ll make the enemy surrender.

I ran over to the leader I had knocked out earlier with the chokehold. By now, he should be waking up.

“L-Leader! Are you alright!?”

“Ugh…? What the hell was I doing…?”

Just as expected, the leader was starting to come back to his senses.

I quickly closed in on him—

“Gah!?”

I grabbed his face with both hands.

And placed my thumbs right next to his eyes.

My fingertips were already touching his eyeballs.

“Don’t move.”

I warned the thugs surrounding him.

“W-What the hell are you doing!? L-Let go of me!”

The leader tried to struggle.

So I pressed my thumbs slightly closer against his eyes.

“Eek!”

He froze instantly.

Looks like he was finally ready to listen.

“Send your men away. Right now.”

“W-What?”

“You guys made enough noise already. The police will be here soon. You don’t want to deal with the cops either, right? If you’re going to retreat, now’s your chance.”

“D-Don’t screw with me…! There’s no way we can just run after being humiliated like this—”

“Really?”

“Huh?”

“…Want me to crush your eyeballs?”

“!?”

I stared directly at the leader as I asked the question.

“D-Don’t mess with me…! There’s no way I can just run away…! If I did that… if I did that…!”

—Man, this guy’s stubborn.

Fine then.

Maybe I’ll just take one eye.

“W-Wait!! H-Hold on a second!!”

The moment he looked into my eyes, he must have sensed something truly bad coming.

The leader screamed again in panic.

Seeing that, Isoyama stepped in.

“Stop struggling. Just do what Takahashi says and call your guys off.”

Then he added one more thing.

“—Just so you know, this guy will actually do it.”