Vol 4 Chapter 12 – Gunshot (【Revolver Maid】 Arc)

“Satuki, it’s been a while.”

“Has it really been that long?”

At the front of the Empress’s hideout, Kuzuryuu and Satuki come face to face.

“Is this the first meeting since you returned?”

“You remember well. Could you be a stalker?”

“As if.”

“Hmm… I’ve been feeling like I’m being watched way too much lately, but maybe I’m just overthinking it.”

Satuki stretches as she launches into her complaint.

“Who knows… Maybe you’re just being too self-conscious.”

“Really? Well, then it’s fine.”

Clicking his tongue, Kuzuryuu heads into the hideout.

Seeing him, Satuki smiles and follows.

——————————————————

“By the way, it seems Meido-chan is coming to today’s meeting.”

“…Even though she had been out of contact?”

“I just got a personal message from Hirata-chan a little while ago.”

Satuki casually pulls out her cell phone and shows Kuzuryuu her conversation with Hirata.

——————————————————

『I was able to speak with Meido-san in person today.』

『Is Meido-chan all right?』

『”It’s a bit different from before,” but I’ll have her attend today’s meeting.』

『Roger that.』

——————————————————

“I’m a bit concerned about that ‘a bit different from before’ remark, but I guess we’ll see for ourselves.”

“Yeah. Maybe she’s saying something even more off? After all, the boss hasn’t awakened or anything.”

“That could be.”

Kuzuryuu had a bad feeling about the upcoming conversation with the troublesome maid.

The two of them boarded the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor.

Watching that, Satuki looked a bit surprised.

“Oh my, I thought I was the only one going to the boss.”

“I make sure to greet the boss every time I come here too.”

“Heh… That’s unexpected. I never imagined you were the type to do that.”

“I thought so myself.”

As he spoke, Kuzuryuu’s face turned serious.

“Well, as for me, I’m all for it. It’s like saying, ‘Welcome to our side!'”

“I’m not looking at you guys as potential love interests…?”

“Oh, really.”

Satuki chuckled with a teasing laugh.

The elevator display indicated the top floor.

“Hmm…?”

Stepping out of the elevator, Kuzuryuu felt something was off.

“What’s wrong?… Hey, the patient room is open.”

“Looks like someone’s already there.”

“Could that be Hirata-chan?”

The large door—which would normally be locked—now had its lock removed, making it accessible to anyone.

“Hey, they’re shouting, ‘Satuki Onee-chan is here!'”

What met Kuzuryuu’s eyes as Satuki entered the patient room was an unbelievable sight.

“Enough already! I haven’t even gotten to touch it yet!”

“Quiet down! Subordinates should act like subordinates!”

“And you’re one too, aaaaah!!”

Before their eyes, Hirata and Arisu were squabbling like children.

While Arisu clung to the waist of sleeping Sakata, Hirata was trying to pull her off.

“Eh…?”

“Huh…?”

The scene left both Kuzuryuu and Satuki utterly speechless.

Even when they appeared in the room, the quarrel didn’t die down.

“Hey, you guys———.”

“Somehow, we need to settle this,” Kuzuryuu’s gut screamed.

Trusting his intuition, he raised his voice to try and hold Hirata and Arisu back.

In that very moment, even before his words could finish, Satuki—standing right beside him—made her move.

“———!?”

A single gunshot echoed through the patient room.
It was as if the starting signal at a sports day had suddenly awakened everyone.

“…It’s in front of the Boss. What are you doing?”

The voice—Satuki’s—was ice-cold.
The three people in the room felt a chill run down their spines.
A great pressure weighed upon them.

“Ha… ha… Uh, well, you see…”

Overexcited and tense, Hirata was nearly hyperventilating.
The bullet fired by Satuki had pierced through the wall of the patient room.

“…Who is it?”

Arisu, who still hadn’t parted from Sakata, pointed her finger at Satuki.
Seeing her like that, Satuki tilted her head.

“Did the shock of seeing the Boss like this cause you to lose your memory? And yet, this is so typical of you to cause such incidents.”

At those words, Arisu smiled.

“I apologize. I’m a bit late with my greeting. I serve as the second personality of this body.”

“You speak so normally…”

“Weren’t you going to report to everyone later?”

“That was the plan, but…”

Finally, as Hirata’s breathing settled, she scratched her head at Arisu’s casual confession.
Sensing that the atmosphere was calming, the oppressive aura emanating from Satuki began to fade, and she resumed her usual mature air.

“———I see. I heard from Takanashi-chan that you’re the Second Personality, huh!”

“Second Personality…!?”

“I see, I see. Now I finally understand the situation.”

“Well, I had a pretty good idea as well…”

Confused by being addressed in an unexpected way, Arisu looked puzzled.
Ignoring her confusion, Satuki continued.

“Basically, my theory is that the shock of seeing the Boss face-to-face for the first time made you cling to him! Am I right?”

“That’s right, but…”

“Right?! I’m like a big sister detective, aren’t I?”

Satuki flashed a peace sign, her voice exceedingly cheerful.
The other three were slightly taken aback by her complete change in demeanor from just minutes ago.
Oblivious to this, Satuki approached Arisu.

“Well, I can somewhat understand how you feel, but common sense dictates that the sick need to be kept at rest, right?”

Saying that, Satuki hoisted Arisu away from the still-sleeping Sakata and seated her on a chair placed beside the bed.

“I apologize. I got carried away.”

“Second Personality, huh? The way you speak is just like hers…”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to tell us apart if you talked like this?”

Kuzuryuu widened his eyes at the unfamiliar tone in Arisu’s voice.

“Leave it to me. No matter which personality you have, I’ll treat you as the same person.”

“Hirata-san, who are these two?”

Following Satuki, Arisu pointed her finger at Kuzuryuu as well.

“This man is called Kuzuryuu-san. He’s quite sharp. And the woman standing beside him is Satuki-san—she’s basically cheerful.”

“Isn’t that a rather rough introduction…?”

“It’s hard to introduce them in words…”