You’re Right, They’ll Expel Me if I Run into the Store with a Weapon!! - Chapter 75

“Amano! Do you realize what you’ve done?!”

An elderly man’s voice pounds on the closing door. The good-natured young man observing in silence smiles slightly while operating a computer.

“Um, Amano-san…”

“Don’t open it, Moriko-chan.”

“Yes, ha…”

Amano cautions Moriko and stops his hands from operating.

Finally, Amano turns his gaze towards the door.

“Principal, I’ve thought about what to say at a time like this.”

Standing up from his chair, he faces the door, a composed expression on his face, and declares,

“I do reflect on it. But no regrets, buh-whaa!?”

“Is that really your last word?”

“Breaking the door is cheating!?”

The blown-away door strikes Amano directly. The principal immediately grabs the collar of the stunned young man, meeting his eyes.

“Why are Hiroki and Suzuko participating? And on the same team, no less!”

The principal, with his eyebrows knitted in anger, demands an explanation. The unexpected participation of Hiroki and Suzuko had clearly infuriated him.

And the person responsible for introducing the two had to be found.

“What have you done?!”

Amano, with a pained expression, pulls out a stapled bundle of papers from his pocket.

Upon seeing this, the principal releases Amano and begins to look through the bundle.

“…What does this mean? Hiroki and Suzuko knew each other…”

It was a report prepared by Amano. It documented everything Amano knew and had orchestrated.

“Everything written here is true without lies. Those two were happily playing around in the city. There are photos too, see?”

“Suzuko going out… that’s great, but why with Hiroki?”

“I’d like to know that myself.”

This was something Amano didn’t know. Even after scouring Suzuko’s activity logs, there was no record related to Hiroki. Especially in Suzuko’s case, who hardly ever goes out, there was no way to investigate.

“But, those two knew each other. Considering Suzuko went out of her home, they must be quite close, maybe.”

“…Australia!?”

At the end of the document, the principal’s eyes widen upon seeing Suzuko and Hiroki’s intended destination.

“What have you done, young man!?”

“Well, it’s a prize for the event, so there’s no reason to complain, right? And besides, the principal wanted serial rankers to participate, didn’t you?”

“I wanted only those serial rankers who agreed to the terms! And there’s also a problem with sending Suzuko and Hiroki abroad! You know that!”

The travel vouchers were not originally intended as prizes for serial rankers. Rather, they were prizes that should not be given to serial rankers.

The promotion was for an event that “for a certain purpose” needed to gather a large number of freshmen. Thus, prizes that would attract everyone’s interest were prepared.

However, among them, the travel vouchers to go abroad had an unspoken rule that they should not fall into the hands of serial rankers, due to the significant value of serial rankers’ abilities.

“If it continues like this…”

“Maybe we could ask the Australian branch chief for various favors?”

“I was frowned upon during the report meeting.”

“Then, without contact… no, we must go secretly.”

For a serial ranker from the Japan branch to land in Australia for travel purposes.

Unthinkable. Foolish. Insane.

If known, all branches would unanimously criticize.

The cooperation of serial rankers in research held immense value.

Especially “Suzuko Uchimoriya’s ability” was of such value that research institutes around the world would drool over it.

Sending her to a place beyond Japan’s reach was complete folly.

“If the chief of the other branch finds out…”

“They might meddle. But, if we exhaust all methods─”

A possibility flashed through Amano’s mind.

“Will Hiroki-kun and Suzuko-chan be taken by the Australian branch, buh-whaa?!”

“Yes, that’s a high possibility due to the lack of oversight by the Japan branch. If they say something, it might just happen.”

The principal, with a lariat move using his right arm, says this over the corpse-like Amano lying behind him.

“We need to prepare for various things…”

Leaving these words behind, the principal exits the broadcast room.

What’s left behind are Moriko, blinking in confusion over the situation, and Amano, sprawled out in a big ‘X’.

“Ouch, that definitely hurt…”

“Amano-san?”

“Sorry, Moriko-chan. I ended up showing you something weird.”

“No, not at all. But I didn’t know the principal was like that. I thought he had a more strict aura…”

“That’s the real principal. He usually hides it.”

Amano says with a thin smile as he stands up and dusts off his clothes.

“It’s quite rare, a principal like ‘that’.”

Talking about the principal, Amano leans the broken door against the wall.

Finally, he turns on the announcer’s microphone and prepares to get back to his actual job.

“Alright, sorry to keep you waiting! Now, what’s the situation like…”

“Yes, well…huh?”

“What’s up?”

Responding to Moriko’s question, Amano directs his gaze to the monitor she’s looking at.

There are multiple monitors in the commentator booth, receiving video and audio data from camouflage drones, designed to deliver to special facilities, including the commentator booth.

From the numerous drones, a few are selected to display their feed on the limited monitors in the room.

In the footage chosen by Moriko, a surprising scene unfolds.

“This is… Ah, so they’ve formed an alliance.”

Displayed was a particularly large skyscraper on the field, its entrance blocked with desks, shelves, and various heavy objects by dozens of teams.

“That’s clever.”

“Clever? In what way?”

Prompted by Moriko’s question, Amano begins a simple explanation.

“This is a battle royale. So, the idea is to hold up inside the building until there are fewer teams outside.”

“Wait, but eventually, they’ll have to fight each other, right? Can they really do that?”

Moriko voices a logical concern. The monitor shows more than ten teams, which exceeds the number of teams that can receive prizes.

“To ally so early on, even with the risk of betrayal…”

“What if this was a strategy they thought of before the event started?”

“!?”

Moriko’s eyes widen at Amano’s suggestion. The current scene was the result of pre-planned actions.

“Some of the prizes can be shared. Someone must have cleverly persuaded others to form this strategy.”

“So, does this mean the winning candidate is among those teams in the building?”

“Hmm… That remains to be seen.”

Amano quickly manipulates the monitor to find a particular individual.

Without displaying it on the venue’s monitor, he shows it only on his own, intertwining his hands as he looks at it.

With their black color and intricate red designs, the pair of pistols exuded a heavy, ominous presence.

Holding them in both hands, a girl stood ready, to whom Amano muttered softly,

“Come on, Shiori-chan, the serial ranker──”

────Show me hell.

Shiori Himeji, as a serial ranker, begins her mission that was imposed upon her.