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

“The Collapse of the Shopping Mall”

Upon receiving the report, I, Amakusa Ai, boarded the prepared military vehicle and headed to the scene.

And the sight that met my eyes left me speechless.

It was a sinkhole. The white building that should have been there had disappeared from the surface, and there lay debris in the massive hole that had sunk.

The reason why this happened was clear. The WDC’s research facility collapsed, and everything on the surface had crushed the facility.

A chill seized me. What I imagined was the worst possible outcome.

“Currently, we cannot contact the students, and the directive from above is to preserve the situation,” he explained the operation to us, raising his voice to those present.

I also felt that this directive was correct. Intervening in the collapse could potentially lead to secondary disasters.

But I couldn’t shake off a certain feeling.

If they were waiting to be rescued.

That speculation swelled within me, and I couldn’t stay silent anymore.

“Could we request a search?”

“I’ve already made the request based on my judgment. As soon as the higher-ups give the go-ahead, a search team will be organized and sent out,” he interrupted me with a smile.

“Thank you.”

I expressed my gratitude and returned to the collapse site, praying for their survival.

The device in my breast pocket beeped.

Without checking, I knew who it might be.

“Excuse me… It’s from my branch.”

I excused myself from those around me and brought the device from my pocket to my ear.

“Yes, Amakusa speaking. ‘Oh, you’re connected? Then we’ll be above ground soon… Shiori-chan!?”

My voice came out a moment too late. Those words drew the attention of those around, and all eyes were on the device.

But I had no time to worry about that.

“You’re alive!? Are you hurt? Are you still in the facility ‘Shut up! We’re not in a position to talk! We’ll be out in a bit… click’… Shiori-chan?… Hey, Shiori-chan!?”

I called out, shaken by the interruption.

“Is this call definitely from Himeji Shiori-san of the Japan branch?”

“Yes, it was from her ‘beep beep beep!'”

My eyes widened, and I quickly returned my hand to my ear.

“Shi ‘Quiet, it’s almost over… ah, seems like we’re okay now.’ What’s okay!? Explain the situation!”

I couldn’t understand. Not a single word Shiori was saying made sense.

Then, a faint melody overlapped with Shiori’s voice.

“Uh, sorry. We’re not suspicious people…”

“Shiori-chan?”

“No need to call the manager! Hiroki! Why are you picking up cookies!? And Meryl, don’t put chocolate chips in the basket! Get ice! We need ice!”

I was lost. None of Shiori’s words made any sense.

Manager? Cookies? Chocolate chips?

What are you talking about?

“Amakusa-sensei! Isn’t there a supermarket near the shopping mall we entered? Please come there!”

“Shiori, what are you saying ‘click’…”

The call was cut off. Search for a supermarket and go there.

“Amakusa-san, what did Shiori-san say?”

Asked for an explanation, I relayed exactly what was said. Hearing this, he began to search for something on his device.

“There’s a supermarket one kilometer away from the shopping mall. Let’s head there.”

◆

“What’s going on…”

The scene is set in a supermarket, where a melody playing from a terminal flows through the air. There, students covered in wounds were resting their bodies, utterly exhausted.

“Amakusa-sensei, may I report?”

Before me was my precious student, Shiori-chan, cooling her forehead with ice.

“Shiori-chan… Yes, I’m listening.”

“A self-destruct mechanism almost destroyed the research facility. We contacted WDC executive John Mayer, but his whereabouts are now lost. There were no fatalities, and all brains have been secured. We avoided damage from the self-destruction through our abilities.”

The content of the report was astonishing. And it was clear from looking into her eyes that she was omitting something crucial from her report.

I decided not to touch upon “that” and asked for another report instead.

“Why did you appear in a supermarket?”

“…We dug our way out.”

“Dug out?”

“We left half of our personnel at the facility and dug our way to the surface with our abilities and physical enhancements. And by chance, we ended up in a supermarket.”

“…I’ll hear the detailed report later.”

After a moment of surprise, I finished listening to the report, and then my gaze shifted to…

◆

“What’s going on here…”

The location was a supermarket, where melodies from a terminal flowed.

There, students covered in wounds were resting their bodies, utterly exhausted.

“Amakusa-sensei, may I report…”

In front of me was my precious student, Shiori, cooling her forehead with ice.

“Shiori-chan… Yes, I’m listening.”

“The research facility was almost destroyed by self-destruction. We made contact with WDC executive John Mayer, but he’s missing, presumed lost, with no casualties and all brains secured. We avoided the damage from the self-destruction with our abilities.”

The content of the report was nothing short of surprising. And I could see in her eyes that she was omitting something important from her report.

I decided not to touch on “that” and asked for another report instead.

“Why did you appear in a supermarket?”

“We dug our way here.”

“Dug?”

“We left half the personnel at the facility and dug our way to the surface using our abilities and physical enhancement. And by chance, we ended up in a supermarket.”

“I’ll hear the details later.”

After listening to the report, albeit momentarily taken aback, I turned my gaze to,

“Why are you here?”

The eyes of a portly older man bulged as he spoke. The face was familiar to the person he addressed from a memory at the airport, another branch’s teacher…

Not only the front man but most of the adults arriving were looking down on us, murmuring something with disdain.

(What are they saying…)

Unable to understand English, all I could do was listen impassively. But I could vaguely understand they were angry.

“That dirt and mess on your clothes, did you participate in the mission without permission? And then you interfered with us!”

“Sensei!”

A voice cried out from the side, and a tall figure shielded Hiroki.

“Jack, nearly everyone here, including you, is beaten up. And there, a so-called ‘inept’ member from the Japan branch is almost unscathed.”

“That’s because…”

“A useless brat jumped in and caused trouble, and you all protected him, I assume. I have no use for…”

“That’s not true!”

The older man trembled as the boy continued with his fists clenched as hard as he could.

“We were the ones being protected.”

“What did you say?”

“If he’s what you call inept, then I am…”

“Jack-kun, is the recording medium integrated into your combat uniform still functional?”

Amakusa-sensei approached next to Jack, her heels clicking.

The boy turned his head, indicating yes, and she then faced the older man.

“It would be quicker to return to our branch and check the recordings for details.”

“The same goes for the members of the other branches,” she added, taking the dirty hand in hers.

“Then, Hiroki-kun, welcome back! And well done! Let’s go to the hotel!”

“Ah, yes.”

Pulled along, I started walking as urged.

Shiori followed behind, lining up beside Amakusa-sensei.

“We will now return to the Japan branch. Please handle the aftermath.”

“Understood. We’ll see you at the debriefing.”

“Yes.”

Amakusa-sensei exchanged a few words with a young man before passing through the large doors.

◆

The sound of the car moving resounded with a “vroom.”

Inside the car, bodies dirtied with soil were wiped down with a towel, and a PET bottle that had been prepared was taken in hand.

“May I drink?”

“Go ahead! Drink up!”

Facing Amakusa Sensei, who smiled, the PET bottle was put to the mouth.

“I’ll explain now, though it’s rather sudden. We are returning to Japan tomorrow at noon. I wanted to let you rest a bit longer, but we must get Hiroki-kun back to the Japanese region as soon as possible.”

She remade her serious expression and explained the upcoming schedule.

Doubts arose at the content, and the capped PET bottle was placed back in its designated spot.

“That’s soon.”

“Honestly, I even want to board a plane right now.”

“Hm, is there something urgent?”

“Not exactly. It’s to leave the country quickly to avoid contact with personnel from other branches.”

“…Is it because of me?”

“Yes.”

…

As expected…

Hiroki’s eyes trembled.

He remembered what he had done that day.