You’re Right, They’ll Expel Me if I Run into the Store with a Weapon!!

Boom!

“What the heck is this!?”

“We don’t have time to worry about that!”

The sound from above was something being crushed. Hiroki realized the terror that Shiori represented anew.

“Here’s your helmet!”

Haruna, with her backpack, handed over a black helmet.

“Hey, you mean this…”

His eyes widened at the object placed before him. They were in a parking lot, approaching the research facility underground through a hidden passageway.

“Hurry up and get on behind me!”

“…Do you have a license?”

“Catch by Shiori…”

“I’m getting on!”

Just the mention of Shiori’s name made his voice rise. That’s right, there’s no time to choose now.

The door opened. Long brown hair trailing down through the gap was visible.

“…What!?”

Vroom!

Suddenly, a black motorcycle passed by, narrowly missing Shiori’s hair. She, with her dynamic vision, clearly saw the two riders. Even though helmets hid their faces, the girl didn’t miss them.

(Haruna… Hiroki… where are they going? …A date!?)

Her eyes, which forbade dating, turned pitch black.

Shiori stood still for ten seconds. During that time, she enhanced her leg strength as much as possible.

It wasn’t the limit of enhancement, but in those brief ten seconds, Shiori achieved as much enhancement as allowed. The second death race was about to begin.

“Hey! That was close!”

“I’m still not used to driving! Keep quiet, or you’ll bite your tongue!”

Haruna and Hiroki emerged from the research facility’s parking lot on the black bike.

“Where are we going?”

“I don’t know! But we have to escape!”

They drove onto the busy streets and, luckily, kept hitting green lights, moving onto the highway. This should put some distance between them and Shiori…

Beep! “Distance 80 meters.”

“What!?”

Looking back, they saw a high school girl overtaking many cars on foot.

“She’s coming! Who is that!?”

“I don’t know! And it’s terrifying!”

Drivers were startled as Shiori overtook their cars, causing them to swerve. Her presence was that overwhelming.

“Incredible, ranking tenth! She can keep up with a bike with human enhancement!”

“This isn’t the time to praise her! She’s catching up!”

“Don’t worry. Although combat strength varies, overuse requires a cooldown. If she’s used that much power, even Shiori will soon have to stop her legs.”

Haruna explained this to Hiroki, who was new to the Combat Academy.

“If she stops once, we can escape…”

“She’s resting on top of a truck…”

“What!? I’ll speed up!”

She began cooling down atop a moving truck. Though slower than Haruna’s bike, she was just a little behind.

“Hiroki! Get something from my backpack…”

“Sorry, I can’t let go at this speed.”

“I’ll sue you for indecency!”

To Hiroki, who feared nothing more than Shiori, her threat sounded like a sparrow’s chirp.

As they approached a tunnel, Hiroki had an idea.

“Speed up as much as you can to create distance! I have a plan!”

“Uh, going any faster is scary… I don’t have a license…”

“What will she do if she catches us?”

“I’ll go full speed!”

She shifted gears with her feet, twisting the grip rapidly.

“How long until she finishes cooling down?”

“About a minute, I guess.”

“Then, find a truck in the tunnel and pull up close. She’s probably after me. You know what to do!”

“Yes!”

As they entered the tunnel, Hiroki prepared to do something he’d never done before.

It was terrifying. But to escape a girl with such unnatural speed, he was determined.

The black shadow sliced through the wind, entering the tunnel bathed in orange light.

Haruna matched the truck’s speed, running parallel.

“Hold on! Let me say this before it’s too late!”

“Now’s not the time!”

“…Please come back alive! …Pfft.”

“Don’t set a death flag now!”

Haruna sped up again, distancing herself from the truck.

Meanwhile, Hiroki, hanging close to the ground, made his way to the underside of the truck, using the footrest as a makeshift bar to conceal himself.

He guessed the target was probably himself and thought this was the best course of action.

If the target disappeared, giving up would be inevitable.

However…

“Strange!? Hey, Shiori! Why are you still chasing us!? Hey!”

Tears brimmed in his eyes as he called out to his running friend. But her legs didn’t stop. Why?

(If it’s Haruna, she might have a camouflage tool similar to invisibility…)

Shiori knew that Haruna, a quirky toy maker, had exceptional talent in functionality. That’s why she made Haruna her exclusive equipment provider.

“Hey! Shiori!”

The scapegoat kept running.

The truck stopped. Hiroki slowly crawled out from under it.

“Oof!?” “Gaah!?”

Their voices overlapped with a heavy thud. Hiroki was stepped on, and the person who stepped on him fell hard.

“Sorry, are you okay?”

He managed to stand and addressed the fallen person, but the man in a delivery uniform didn’t respond.

(Did I just mess up big time!?)

Had he accidentally knocked the man unconscious? Hiroki was greatly disturbed. If the headmaster learned about this sequence of events from the highway, suspension or expulsion was possible. Hiroki couldn’t afford that.

(My 500,000 yen a month lifestyle is in jeopardy!)

Driven by his desires, Hiroki acted quickly. He dusted off the fallen deliveryman, moved him to the driver’s seat, and collected the package and delivery slip.

In short, he planned to deliver the package, get the receipt signed, and leave it with the unconscious driver in the seat.

Assuming the deliveryman wouldn’t recall the accident, Hiroki created a scenario where “the deliveryman delivered the package and fell asleep in the driver’s seat.”

(Now for this part…)

Holding the package with both hands, Hiroki entered a mansion with black tiles.

(Room 303… Uchimoriya Suzuko)

He checked the room number and name on the slip and punched the number into the intercom at the entrance.

Buzz, buzz, buzz…

(Not home!?)

Hiroki panicked. He’d have to return the slip without a receipt if he couldn’t deliver. His planned scenario would fall apart.

If the driver woke, found the undelivered package and unsigned slip, and felt his pain, he’d realize he’d been moved to the driver’s seat and involve the police. That was the worst-case scenario.

With a signed slip, the driver might think he fell asleep after delivering the package. Nobody would suspect the criminal delivered it.

He had to create that reality to maintain his current lifestyle. So, Hiroki persistently rang the call button.

(Please, someone answer!)

As if responding to Hiroki’s desperate wish, the ringing stopped, and someone’s breath was heard.

“……da……” Click.

The speaker cut off after those words, and the first-floor gate slowly opened.

(Eh?)

Puzzled by the mysterious words and the opening gate, Hiroki hesitated but entered.

He had no time to think, having knocked out the driver.

The elevator announced its arrival on the third floor. Hiroki stepped out, searching for room 303.

(I found it.)

He walked a bit and looked at a brown door.

Ringing the intercom, he waited, but no response came.

(Are they sleeping?)

Hiroki repeatedly pressed the button, concluding that the person inside, Uchimoriya, must be asleep.

After about ten seconds, noises came from inside, followed by the sound of the key unlocking.

The door slowly opened…

“What!? Uh!”

Hiroki was knocked down.

“Excuse me, can you move!? What’s this smell!? Oh no!”

Overwhelmed by the foul smell as he was pushed down, Hiroki grimaced. It was like a garbage bag attracting flies.

He managed to escape the person’s weight and saw the culprit.

A girl with long hair, the color reminding him of moss, but the stench coming from her was not of an ordinary girl. Swarming around her were black dots.

(Flies are flying around her!?)

Hiroki couldn’t hide his shock at this alarming sight.

He wanted a signature but saw no sign of the girl waking.

(Fine, a thumbprint will do.)

He found a red ink pen at the entrance, covered the girl’s thumb with it, and pressed it onto the slip.

(Alright, now to push her inside and… What!?)

Realizing his situation, Hiroki panicked.

If he left the unconscious girl at the entrance and closed the door…

An unconscious girl, possibly ill, might be found dead by the time a concerned manager discovered her. If the police investigated, they’d find Hiroki’s fingerprints.

Arrest.

(This is bad, really bad!)

Hiroki felt a chill. The prospect of being suspected of murder nearly broke him.

(…I’ll just have to do it!)

Deciding on a course of action, Hiroki moved.