The Witch and Her Companion: I'm Just a Normal High School Student, but I Became the Familiar of the Highest-Ranked Witch. Also, It Seems I'm the Only Guy in the Witch Organization I Joined - Chapter 25: Haramijima and the Test Subject

Chapter 25: Haramijima and the Test Subject

[Todoroki Ryuna]

 The sound of a wok being shaken in the kitchen echoed briskly, and in between, our store’s proud clunker of a ventilator chimed in with a rattling sound.

 Orca, sitting next to me, was excited by the fragrant aroma filling the store and was humming a tune.

 The reason why my dad was busily shaking the pot was because Orca, who had been summoned along with the other members, had lost patience with the last two not showing up and started begging for breakfast.

 At first, the older brother tried to stop his little sister, but when my dad happily offered to make fried rice, he asked, “Can I have some too?” He also wanted to eat, huh?

 In the end, five of us sat at the table, and a special portion of fried rice was served. This is a bit heavy for breakfast, to be honest. But I’ll eat it anyway.

 “Oh my, it looks so delicious!”

 “I’m sorry, Todoroki-san, for barging in like this in the morning and making you cook for us. We’ll pay you, of course!”

 “Don’t be silly, it’s my treat.”

 My dad, standing tall, smiled mischievously. He might be trying to look cool, but his smile is quite scary.

 “Thank you for our portions as well. Japanese soul food looks very delicious!”

 “Leo, I think fried rice is Chinese cuisine.”

The “guys-who-just-showed-up-out-of-nowhere” crew didn’t seem to mind the surprise meal. In fact, they picked up their spoons pretty eagerly, as if they were hungrier than they let on.

 “Do Leonardo and Charlotte know the pre-meal greeting?”

 Orca suddenly said that. Both Leonardo and Charlotte, who were addressed, were looking confused.

 “I know the pre-meal greeting, which is a part of Japanese culture. I have some basic knowledge of it.”

 “Okay! Then, today’s monitor, Ryuna, please!”

 “Huh? When did Ryuna become the monitor!”

 I protested against the sudden unreasonable request, but everyone’s gaze was fixed on me, so I gave in.

 “…Now, everyone, let’s put our hands together.”

 The monitor, me, reluctantly gave the order, and everyone clapped their hands together with a loud snap. The foreign duo was also in perfect sync.

 This is so nostalgic, it’s been a long time since I last did this, maybe since elementary school.

 “Itadakimasu!”

 In the relaxed atmosphere that was completely unlike an emergency witch-hunt gathering, everyone was about to put the fried rice in their mouths when—

 —Rattle!

 The store’s entrance opened, and two people appeared.

 “Ah, this must be the right place. It looks like you guys are having a great meal.”

 “Ara ara, what a dirty little shop. Good day, everyone. A savior has arrived from hell.”

 Of course, those who entered the store were not customers but the last two who had been summoned, who were late and yet had such an attitude.

 I had never met them before, but my first impression of them was already terrible, especially the woman.

 The man looked to be in his early twenties, with black hair, and whether it was natural or not, he had a slight perm that matched his lazy expression.

 The woman had long black hair that reached her back, and her refined features were quite beautiful. However, her eyes were strangely dark, giving off an eerie and unsettling impression.

 Did God forget to put highlights in this woman’s eyes?

 “Hey, you, it’s rude to call this place dirty when you’re late! It’s an insult to Todoroki-san!”

 “Yeah, it’s dirty, but the dirtier the place, the better the food!”

 The Andou siblings, who had their fried rice stopped, seemed to be trying to make up for it, but I wish they wouldn’t keep saying ‘dirty.’ It is dirty, though.

“Ahh, it’s such a curse being so cute. Even strangers just can’t resist talking to me. Darling, don’t make eye contact with these noisy fools—you might catch their stupidity.”

“The only fool here is you. Shut up before things get messy.”

 The fluffy-headed man scolded the woman, who had appeared and was acting strangely intimidating. However, it was too late; a tense atmosphere had filled the room.

 “—Okay, everyone’s here. Let’s get started.”

 My dad’s deep voice echoed, trying to force the tense atmosphere down. The younger sibling of the Andou’s, who had been leaning forward, snorted and sat back in her chair.

 “You two, come and sit over there.”

 I pointed to the two empty seats with my chin. The fluffy-headed duo obediently sat down as instructed.

They ended up sitting right across from Andou-siblings. Not ideal, but whatever.

 “This emergency gathering was ordered from above. Before we get to the main point, I’d like to share some information about the incident that occurred a few days ago. Hirata, please explain.”

 At home, my dad is quite unreliable, but at work, he’s like a completely different person. I would never tell him that, but he looks a little cool.

 “Six days ago, our organization’s research island, ‘Haramijima,’ was attacked by someone, and in the confusion, one of the experimental subjects escaped. All the members on the island were wiped out except for us, and the attackers are still under investigation.”

 Six days ago was a recent incident. I had never heard of the research island before, and since my dad and I didn’t know about it either, it must have been a highly confidential case.

 “Who else but Ravens would attack a witch-hunting facility?”

 “If it’s not clear who it is, why are we even saying ‘someone’? You don’t understand, do you? Just like your scrawny body, your brain is scrawny too…”

 “Be quiet, you idiot.”

 I asked the fluffy-headed man a question, but the woman answered instead. And she always has to add something, no, two things. The fluffy-headed man was making a disappointed face, but I was getting angrier at the woman.

 “Hirata, thank you for the explanation. Now, the order from above is to search for the escaped experimental subject and, upon discovery, capture it alive.”

 “Capture it? Fufu… Do you know where the escaped experimental subject is?”

 Charlotte was twirling her auburn hair with her fingers, as if it were a habit.

 “I haven’t been given any details, but it seems there’s a possibility that the subject is hiding in this town. Hirata, please hand over the materials.”

 “This contains the experimental subject’s photo and some basic data. We’ll collect the materials here, so please go through them and return them.”

 The fluffy-headed man took out a few pieces of material from his bag and distributed them to everyone. When I looked at the distributed material, I saw a surprisingly familiar face.

 “…”

 I had a bad feeling about this when I heard about the emergency gathering at the front door, and I was right.

 The person in the photo in the material was undoubtedly Fuu-chan. Her hair was longer than it is now, and her eyes were vacant, but there was no mistaking it.

 I was already shocked to learn that the mysterious girl Hare had been taking care of for a few days was a witch, but now to find out that she was an experimental subject who had escaped from the research island—

 “Ryuna, are you okay?”

 I was startled when I was spoken to. In any case, I have to keep Fuu-chan a secret at all costs.

 Considering that the witch-hunters, who usually act alone, had an emergency gathering to search for her, I don’t know what kind of case Fuu-chan is involved in, but it must be something significant.

 For the sake of keeping information confidential, they would probably have no problem eliminating anyone involved.

 In other words, if Fuu-chan and Hare are discovered by the witch-hunters, it could be a matter of life and death for Hare.

 Not to mention, I might have to kill him with my own hands—

 “I’m fine. I was just thinking that there’s not much difference from what we usually do.”

 —In order to prevent that from happening, I can’t afford to make any mistakes here. And I can’t afford to let him go to school. Seriously.

 “Hey, if what you said earlier is true, you guys were on the island too, right? So this is basically cleaning up after these two idiots.”

The little sister, who had been quiet for a while, narrowed her eyes evilly. Indeed, the fluffy-headed man had said earlier, “All the members on the island were wiped out except for us.”

 I don’t think it’s worth mentioning, but Orca probably just wants to pick a fight. She’s offering a big fight.

 “…Did you say something?”

 Despite her polite choice of words, an ominous aura was leaking out of her.

 It feels like now is the time to stop her, but I’m honestly pretty pissed off at her, so I can’t help but feel a little bit of schadenfreude.

 “What did I just say? I said it’s really bad to have to clean up after those idiots who let the attacker get away.”

 “My name is not an idiot, it’s Kirisaki Kokoro. If you want to live, call me by my name properly, and I won’t allow you to speak ill of my darling. Next time, I’ll kill you.”

 Kirisaki’s eyes, which were piercing Orca’s face, were as black as a black hole. She really seemed like she might kill her.

 “…Go ahead, you ugly bitch.”

 Just as Orca sneered through her nose, the table exploded.

 The table shattered with a tremendous crash, and wood chips and remnants of fried rice scattered across the hall.

 “Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing, Kokoro!”

 The fluffy-headed man shouted while holding Kirisaki in a bear hug. Kirisaki struggled to break free, but soon gave up and let her arms dangle.

 “What the hell did you do to my fried rice, you bitch!”

 But Orca, as if it didn’t matter, rushed at Kirisaki, who was still being held in a bear hug.

 “Stop it!”

 Everyone froze at the voice, which was louder than when the table exploded. My dad, with his forehead creased in blue, gave Orca a stern look.

 “…Understand this, we’re all on the brink. If we don’t make them think we’re still useful to the organization, we’ll be easily discarded. This mission is tough without everyone’s cooperation. Do you understand? We can’t afford to fight. I’m not saying you have to get along, but everyone here should be able to understand each other. Show each other more respect.”

 My dad’s words were reasonable. If we succeed in this mission, it should be a good opportunity to earn points.

 But I don’t want to do something that would sell out Fuu-chan. I don’t want to, but if we fail, our evaluation will drop significantly.

 So, which should I choose, my dad or Fuu-chan and Hare—

 “…I’m sorry, I let my temper get the better of me. I’ll pay for the damage.”

 Unexpectedly, Kirisaki was the first to bow her head. Seeing this, Orca, who looked surprised, quickly followed suit.

 “I’m sorry too for saying something provocative…”

 “Mmm.”

 After the two apologized to each other, my dad nodded once in his usual standing position. What’s with the ‘mmm’?

“We’re sorry too for making such a fuss, Gozaru…”

“We’re fine! See? Our fried rice is completely intact.”

“…You guys are surprisingly resilient, huh?”

 In the split second when the table exploded, Gozaru and Charlotte had managed to protect their fried rice.

“You guys keep calling me ‘Gozaru,’ but can’t you just use my actual name?”

“Oh, sure. What was it again?”

“It’s Leonardo! The one and only, easy-to-remember Leonardo!”

 The foreigner with fried rice approached. I don’t know where he got his reputation, but I can’t seem to remember foreign names. I can’t remember foreign actors, either.

 “Oh, yes, yes, it’s too long, so Gozaru is fine.”

 “Hwaaaai?!”

 It was a very native scream—.