You’re Right, They’ll Expel Me if I Run into the Store with a Weapon!! - Chapter 72: Can't Throw It Away Even Though It's Supposed to Be Trash!

“La~ La~ La~ LaLa, La, La, La, La~”

The location is the basement of the facility, from behind the door labeled “Haruna Midorigawa’s Exclusive Storage and Development Room,” a beautiful girl’s singing voice could be heard.

“Fa!”

“What are you doing?”

At the moment her voice peaked, a question came from behind, stopping the girl in her tracks. When she turned around, there stood Hiroki, with a puzzled look in his eyes.

“I’m making the bullets that were ordered.”

“Making them?… Doesn’t something seem off?”

Reflected in Hiroki’s eyes was Haruna, wearing an apron and a headband, with aluminum bowls and a whisk in her hands, stirring something while singing.

“To anyone else, it would just look like a girl making sweets.”

“That’s because you’re looking at it from an amateur’s perspective. This is actually quite a professional task. I’m considering concentration, temperature, foaminess, stirring speed, among other things.”

Saying so, Haruna resumed her stirring.

“Normally, this would be impossible without special equipment, but I can manage it with cooking tools.”

“…That’s crazy, right? It looks like something entirely different is about to be created.”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry! Just watch, it’s almost finished!”

She poured the contents of the bowl into an empty square container using a spatula and then struck the container against the workbench a few times before putting it into a large device.

“…This, this is a microwave, right?”

A dim yellow light was visible from the opening. The device hummed, and its dial slowly turned, unmistakably resembling that of a microwave.

While Hiroki voiced his concerns with a skeptical look, Haruna was busy with another task requested by Hiroki, moving around the room with a cart, opening boxes on shelves and in grooves, and placing their contents on the cart.

While the device that resembled a microwave continued to operate, Haruna was simultaneously tackling another job that had been requested by Hiroki.

“This should be the end of it.”

Haruna voiced this as she moved the cart closer to a workbench near Hiroki.

“This is everything I can hand over now. There were some special items in the order, so is it alright if those are delivered later?”

“That should be fine. Give me the account number for the payment.”

“Here!”

Haruna showed Hiroki the information on an opened tablet, which Hiroki typed into his smartphone and sent to a girl who wasn’t present.

“The payment should be transferred soon.”

“I had guessed from the items ordered, but it’s not for your shopping, is it?”

“It’s for a member of my team. Just one person, though.”

Understanding Haruna’s response, Hiroki silently agreed, scratching his head as he recalled the girl who had made the order.

A net game addict was a fitting description for the girl. She preferred to stay indoors as much as possible and had begged Hiroki to procure equipment for her, leading to the current situation.

“It’s more than I expected. Can you send everything to my address?”

Seeing the prepared items and deciding he couldn’t carry them all back, Hiroki made his request, to which Haruna raised an eyebrow.

“Not to the team member’s address?”

“She doesn’t want her name and address known.”

“She’s an unusual one, huh. It will all come out on the day of the event anyway.”

As Haruna closed the lid of the case, she gave a thin smile and handed Hiroki a form.

“Please write your name and address here.”

After writing as instructed, Harini checked the information and placed the form in a special file. Just then, the microwave-like device made a “ding” sound.

“…It’s a microwave-like device, right?”

Overlaying her words as she opened the device, Haruna took out the square container.

“See, there’s no steam, and it’s not hot at all.”

As Haruna said, there was no apparent heat from the container, an unexpected result for something that had been in a microwave.

She struck the workbench with the square container, causing a black cubic mass to pop out. Next, she placed it into another machine.

“…What was it called again?”

The machine’s attached monitor displayed a bullet diagram, suggesting its purpose.

“It must be a 3D printing machine for creating models…”

“That’s it.”

“Well, it’s a similar kind of device.”

After inputting the instructions into the control panel, the machine, its contents invisible from the outside, started to operate, signaling the beginning of the process.

“It will be done in three minutes.”

“Sounds like three-minute cooking.”

“As quick as making instant noodles.”

Haruna proudly said, while Hiroki looked back at the brightly lit room, taking it all in.

“Hey, is everything here…”

“Everything I’ve made. Including stock and prototypes, almost everything is here.”

As Haruna explained, Hiroki began to slowly walk around the room, with Haruna following behind. Then, muttering “Hmm?” Hiroki placed his hand on one of the weapons.

“Hey, Haruna, what’s this with a tag saying ‘Absolutely do not throw away!’?”

“Ah… Ah ha, well, that was a bit of a miscalculation on my part…”

Haruna muttered evasively, scratching her cheek with a wry smile, and touched the weapon.

“It was a weapon made for this event… but there’s hardly any scenario where it could be used… Yet, I couldn’t bring myself to discard it.”

“No scenarios? It looks pretty impressive though.”

“This event has many hiding places, like buildings and forests. So, ‘Beep-beep-beep,’ it’s done.”

The machine’s sound interrupted Haruna’s explanation. She inserted her hands into the smoke-filled opening and pulled out a metal tray.

“Here! It’s complete—’Wait a moment.'”

Hold on, let me interject.

“That was really too quick.”

“I told you it would take three minutes.”

Indeed, she had mentioned it. Understandably, the meaning was clear. But it was still unexpectedly quick.

Because,

“I didn’t expect it to come out boxed.”

An aluminium box, already packaged, was placed on the tray. The expectation was to see the bullets themselves, but they came out ready to be handed over. This outcome was beyond imagination.

“I made the device. It’s equipped with that level of functionality.”

“You’re either a genius or a fool, you fit that phrase perfectly.”

The words once muttered by the professor were now repeated by Hiroki.

“A genius, huh… But regarding that weapon, I might have to relinquish the title of genius.”

“I also said a fool.”

Hiroki corrected softly as the girl looked towards the corner of the room at the weapon she had been explaining, a wry smile on her face.

“It was such a detailed and precise piece of work, I really couldn’t bear to dispose of it…”

“Is there any danger to the user?”

“This is a long-range type, just as it looks. As long as you follow the instructions, there’s no danger.”

She moved and explained while holding it in her hands.

“Inside this—”

“—which is why it’s like this. Ah, it’s such a waste. Hiroki, won’t you buy it? If you use it for the event, I’ll offer it to you at a 90% discount.”

Haruna, wanting to see the weapon in action, presented Hiroki with the discounted price.

And Hiroki,

“…I might buy it.”

Charmed by Haruna’s explanation, Hiroki’s curiosity about the weapon overcame any concerns about its potential danger, and he quietly expressed his willingness to purchase.