You’re Right, They’ll Expel Me if I Run into the Store with a Weapon!! - Chapter 80

“Senpai, the leaders are!?”

“It’s already too late.”

We were walking down a dimly lit hallway. The reason we couldn’t run was because only the green emergency lights attached to the ceiling illuminated the space, offering the only assistance to our vision.

While the floor was collapsing, we were suddenly embraced from behind by Senpai Kumoba and saved from the hell of that hall.

And now, guided by Senpai Takami, we proceed without knowing our destination.

Even after being saved, I couldn’t fully wipe away the events that occurred in that room. Senpai Takami denied it.

“That collapse was the doing of a ranked individual named Himeji Shiori. Do you think we could win against someone like that?”

“That is…”

“That’s how it is.”

He glanced at me, stuttering for words, and then faced forward again.

It was impossible to win.

That scene was caused by the power of a single person.

I couldn’t imagine winning against such an opponent.

“Is that person the same as us… a human?”

I asked in a trembling voice.

Could a being capable of causing that actually be the same as us? I was too scared to come to a conclusion.

“They’re human.”

The one who answered was Senpai Kumoba, walking at the rear.

He continued with a tone that felt out of place in the situation.

“In their usual daily life, they’re just like a high school girl. Admired and respected by everyone, strong and cute. If I were to describe them, they’re the perfect high school girl.”

“High school girl…?”

The fact that she, who caused the collapse, could be summed up in such simple words struck hard against the ears of the underclassmen who couldn’t accept it.

“You might not be able to accept it now.”

Senpai Takami said that.

“But if you get closer to her, you’ll surely understand why she is admired by everyone.”

“…Yes.”

I replied in a feeble voice.

Mixed with doubts and confusion, I thought it would take time for me to accept it.

As I thought this, I was suddenly elbowed by the person next to me.

“What are you scared of? If the seniors say so, then it must be true! They even predicted that collapse, so there’s no room for doubt!”

The one who said that was a member of the same team, a friend known for her bright and natural character.

“So, you don’t have to think about anything now! Let’s just take our time to think about it! ── Koara-ko chan!”

“Please stop that.”

Retraction.

She was a natural character who didn’t consider others’ feelings.

That was my newly given nickname.

A gray marsupial mammal living in Australia ── a Koala. That’s where my nickname came from.

The incident at the opening ceremony was the trigger for my nickname.

“Koara-ko? …Koala… Now that you mention it, Ogino Hiroki, that irregular guy, said something like that.”

“I know about it too. I remember a girl answering his question.”

“It’s this girl!”

“‘Eh!?’”

“Please stop!”

As the seniors looked on in surprise, I covered my face with both hands, reaching my limit of patience and embarrassment.

“Wow, you actually answered in that situation…”

“I was more surprised by this than the floor collapse…”

Their surprise was natural. Because even the person who said it, me, was still surprised by what I had done.

Why did I answer “I like you” at that time?

Because I like koalas? ── Yeah, I like them. Even now, my hair is tied with a rubber band with a koala face on it.

But it’s unrelated.

There was no special feeling.

I just thought I had to answer something.

It was an action taken to read the atmosphere.

Because no one else answered.

So, I answered for them.

“I answered for everyone because no one else did! What, do you have a problem with that?! No, you don’t! No one has the right to say anything! This conversation is over!! Alright?!”

“O-Oh…”

My vehement words left the seniors struggling to find a response in unison. It was just an action born out of a false sense of virtue. Nothing more.

“You’re our hero! That was really cool! No one can imitate that! And Koara-ko chan has an amazing abil─”

“Please, just stop it alreadyーー!!”

I genuinely cried out against my friend’s well-meaning but overwhelming praise. I didn’t want to remember it anymore. My own hypocrisy now feels utterly detestable.

“Well, don’t worry about it,” Senpai Takami comforted me.

“It’ll probably become legendary.”

It wasn’t comfort but more of a provocation.

“After the event is over, you might be celebrated as a hero for your courageous actions.”

“Senpai… Is it fun for you to bully your juniors?”

“O-Oh, sorry.”

When I muttered in a menacing tone, Senpai showed a reaction akin to a rabbit about to be preyed upon. I wish he’d stay like that forever.

“Think of it as a form of apology from me.”

“Apology money?”

Right after Senpai Takami mentioned the perplexing term, he stopped walking. We were in front of the door that led to the emergency staircase.

“We don’t have the power to protect you guys… Simply put, this is a farewell.”

Farewell? After they had helped us up to this point, it ends here? Then why did they bring us this far…?

“Use this emergency staircase to go up. Going down is pointless since there will be barricades blocking the way. So head to the rooftop and… well, from there, you’re free to make your own decisions.”

“What about you, seniors?”

“We’ll struggle till the end. We’ll wait here in front of this door for Shiori.”

It wasn’t abandonment. They were giving us time. Despite his casual tone, his eyes carried a determination. Following Senpai Takami, Senpai Kumoba also smiled at us.

“If you’re scared, just retire. Otherwise, the terrifying ranked individual will come for you~”

Leaving those words behind, Senpai Kumoba opened the iron door and pushed us out into the open.

“Here you go! Then choose a path you won’t regret.”

With Senpai Kumoba’s words as the last, the door closed.

……

……

“Shall we go then?”

“Eh, but…”

“If the seniors are okay with that, we have nothing to say! So, as per the advice given by the seniors, let’s head to the rooftop!”

◆

“Sigh, I really messed up this time…”

“It’s the bed you made. No use complaining now.”

“Yeeeah…”

With his back hunched and head hung low, Kumoba receives a quiet scolding from Takonami while he checks his gear.

The reason for his downtrodden state was their recent parting with their juniors a few minutes ago.

“It leaves a bad taste, abandoning the juniors we just saved, only for us to escape ourselves.”

“I get it, alright?”

Originally, Takonami and Kumoba could have escaped from this building. However, that became impossible after they decided to save four of their juniors.

“Thought about jumping down from around the third or fourth floor after maximizing our physical enhancements, but carrying those four and jumping is too risky.”

“They’re almost untrained, their physical enhancements are still weak. Worst case, the moment we land, our arms might crush their bodies… don’t even want to think about it.”

Landing in a princess carry could have distributed the impact and lessened the damage somewhat.

But with four of them, each person would have to carry two, and the arms supporting the girls could inflict serious injuries.

There were ways to significantly reduce the burden on the girls, like making multiple trips or dividing roles, but that would take too much time.

And being found by enemies outside, becoming trapped in a pincer attack, was a high possibility.

“Sigh, if this were a virtual space, we could have taken the challenge, but this is reality.”

“We do it in the real world so we don’t encourage risky behavior.”

The reason events weren’t held in virtual spaces was to prevent taking dangerous measures, a precaution.

Combat College insisted that the means of saving the girls had to be secure.

In other words, there was no way for all six of them to survive.

Leaving the girls they once saved behind, for them to escape alone, was not an option.

Thus, the only path left was a single one.

“They’re here…”

“They’ve come…”

In the corridor lit by a green emergency light, shadows with glowing red eyes appeared from the dark space.

Suu—Suu—

Suu—Suu—

The steady breathing sound of a black skull mask indicated that the group in the hall was completely wiped out.

“As expected, it’s someone from the hierarchy…”

“They’re showing off…”

Shiori’s hands were empty. She walked boldly without any weapons, openly, without haste, vulnerably.

Such an act made her nothing but a target.

Yet, that is the essence of being among the hierarchy.

By doing so and overcoming, they signify their status.

Shiori’s actions conveyed the magnitude of her existence.

The overwhelming power difference meant that Shiori had given them a handicap through her actions alone. The only chance of victory was granted by taking the initiative.

Therefore, the signal to start the battle was theirs to give.

“Are you prepared in your heart?”

“I’d like to think I’m more prepared than Takonami.”

“Good. That’s enough—Let’s go!!”

With their resolve set, the two unleashed a simultaneous shot, focusing two bullets at the black skull of the girl walking ahead.

These gunshots signaled the start of the battle.