You’re Right, They’ll Expel Me if I Run into the Store with a Weapon!! - Chapter 86

(Haruna-kun~?)

(It’s not me, it’s not me, it’s not me!)

What did I do?

Why is everyone staring at me?

This is wrong! It’s a cruel twist of fate!

(Did you build the relationship between those two?)

(I’m telling you, it’s not me!)

She retorted in a suppressed voice.

(There’s no way I would do such a thing!)

(But I can’t help feeling that you are the root cause of it all…)

(Are you suggesting I’m lying!?)

(You often keep secrets, and it’s not unlikely you’ve been pulling strings behind the scenes… Be honest. What was your intention in shaping the relationship between those two?)

(It’s the truth! Please believe me! I haven’t done anything!)

(The evidence has already come to light. Despite your denials, the fact remains undeniable.)

The song echoed throughout the stadium.

It was unmistakably the voice of Midorikawa Haruna.

(A love song, of all things. It’s too coincidental to be just that.)

(That was set to play automatically when we shared an umbrella; it wasn’t intended to reflect anything about those two!)

(Admitting defeat isn’t your strong suit. It’s time to come clean.)

Rustle… Thump.

The sound of soft fabric was disturbed twice.

Hazuki made a move to stand up, but Sayaka stopped her.

(What do you intend to do…?)

She questioned her master in a subdued voice.

(……)

Rustle… Thump.

(Absolutely not. If you make a move now, it’s over.)

(……)

Rustle… Thump.

(You’ll never be able to meet Hiroki again.)

(……)

Hazuki’s actions come to a halt.

That was the control word capable of stopping the girl.

(If you do anything to her here, there’s no turning back.)

(……)

…………。

…………。

…………。

……………………Rustle.

◆

“…uh…uh…mm…”

“Hiroki?”

“…Hmm? Ah, sorry. Did you say something?”

This is bad. I was already sleepy, but Haruna’s song worsened my drowsiness.

“Are you sleepy by any chance?”

“Yeah, a bit.”

“…Sorry.”

Suzuko observed the dark circles under Hiroki’s eyes, conscious that she was the reason behind them.

But there was no need to worry about that now.

“It’s okay. …But still.”

Yawning ensued.

His eyelids felt heavy.

Given he had hardly slept, it was natural for his body to crave sleep.

“Then it’s okay to sleep.”

“Eh, but that…”

“It’s fine. We’re in the middle of a lake, so if an enemy comes, we’ll immediately notice.”

They were on a large cruise ship floating on the lake.

To invade the ship, one must navigate the lake’s surface using a boat or similar means.

Therefore, spotting enemies was easy.

“…………Then, just for a little while, I’m counting on you.”

He sat down against the wall at the ship’s bow.

His uniform appeared to be simple fabric, yet it was crafted using a special, durable, waterproof technique.

Thus, it didn’t soak up water, and there was no worry of getting wet.

“Sorry to have you hold the umbrella.”

“It’s fine. Sleep well.”

“Alright. I’ll sleep for a bit then…”

His consciousness slowly faded away.

Sensation fell into a deep place.

Soon, the sound of the rain and the song drifted away from his ears, and Hiroki let go of consciousness.

“Ssshh… Ssshh…”

“……”

Suzuko slowly crouched down.

There, Hiroki was utterly vulnerable, having let down his guard.

“Good night, Hiroki.”

The wall Hiroki leaned against had railings embedded in it.

Suzuko fastened the umbrella to the railing above Hiroki with a wire from her standard equipment, positioning it directly overhead.

“Sleep well…”

Suzuko borrowed one of the two trunk cases Hiroki had prepared and her sniper rifle and glanced at him.

“Leave everything to me.”

She lifted the corners of her mouth slightly and focused her gaze on her target.

The far end of the lake.

With human enhancement, it would be challenging to catch that with the naked eye without enhanced vision.

But Suzuko’s eyes captured it.

“Challenging me… How foolish.”

There was a fleet of dozens of boats.

Dozens of teams were heading towards the cruise ship where Suzuko and Hiroki were.