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

My head hurts… consciousness is faint…

To lose my composure over his words… I’m such a fool.

In a flash of anger, forgetting about my injuries, I couldn’t raise my arms quickly and took a punch to the head…

Finally, with my back against the wall, I was kicked in the abdomen… and after that…

Huh? A pillow…?

It’s a bit hard, but something… warm…

“What… is this…?”

My bangs are in the way. I can’t see anything.

What’s happening?

“Ugh…”

Trembling, I slowly reach to move my bangs.

“Ah… huh?…”

My vision is blurry.

It could be the cost of enhancing my vision or maybe the impact that shook my skull. Anyway, I can’t make out what’s in front of me.

But I remembered the silhouette and the smell.

“Shiori… are you okay?”

Why,

“……eeh, I’m fine.”

It was him.

Why he was lending me his knee didn’t matter to me right now.

Just having him nearby was enough to make me feel better.

It’s a sensation I haven’t felt in a while.

Before the event mission started, I could stay by his side.

I had the exhilaration of being close to him all to myself.

Despite that…

“Hiroki… Can I ask you a small favor?”

“What is it?”

“Could you… put your hand… on my head?”

“…Alright.”

Despite a moment of silence, he readily reached out his hand.

Why did I make such a request?

The answer is simple.

I just wanted to feel him close to me, even a little.

I’m sure the others at Combat College might be watching this scene, but I want to be honest this time.

Because this place was originally mine—CRASH!!

“The murderous intent is strong… I can tell even when I’m distracted.”

“Shiori!”

“Just like me earlier. It was that obvious, huh?”

──Are you okay?

Despite feeling scared, I tried to convey concern with a casual demeanor to prove that I had no hostile intentions.

──That’s good.

Thinking it would be over if I resisted, I hesitated before reaching out my hand.

──Gaaan!!

A giant iron pipe, twisted and ripped from a building, flew like a spear but was suddenly blocked by an appearing blackthorn.

Alright, let me say this in my mind…

Please don’t drag me into this!!

The current situation involves me, too!!

“Suzuko, that giant iron pipe you’re holding in one hand—sorry, I’ll rephrase. The giant iron pipe you’re holding with both hands—”

“Hiroki, stay away from that woman.”

Listen until the end when people are talking!

And she effortlessly caught the iron pipe that was bouncing back into the air!

Don’t walk towards us in a double spear stance!!

“What are you doing? Why are you placing your hand on Shiori’s head?”

“This is—”

“Don’t you understand, Suzuko?”

Shiori began to speak while forcing my hand strongly onto her head as she propped herself up from the waist.

“Don’t you know the name of this act?”

Rub-rub, rub-rub.

And what are you doing!?

Why are you rubbing my hand on your head!?

“I would think even a child knows this act—but—” Gaaan!!

“Stay away… otherwise, I won’t let it go without consequences…”

And Suzuko… really, please!

Stop throwing the giant iron pipe that definitely shouldn’t be throwable by a girl!

It bounces back and splashes into the lake, but there’s no way a girl could throw that!!

“Hiroki didn’t defeat me. He gave up a perfect opportunity and offered me his support.”

Honestly, I was just scared.

Frankly, I saw you as a creature that could not be defeated with one hit.

How could I show hostility towards something like that?

Even if it were easy to defeat you according to the rules of the event, the aftermath would be frightening!

“Hiroki didn’t regard me as a foreign object. And I feel the same about Hiroki. Both of us are showing mutual intentions, so why can’t you understand that?”

What are you talking about on your own, Miss Shiori?

There was no agreement.

I don’t want to be killed.

You don’t want to lose.

We had that agreement, but it’s wrong to say I didn’t see you as a foreign object.

Yes! But I don’t want to die, so I won’t oppose you, whether you’re a foreign object or a creature!

“Shi, Shiori”

“!… What? Hiroki”

“You, what do you want to do?”

“I, I…”

Are you trembling?

I’m trembling too!

But that doesn’t matter!

I must prove that I have no hostile intentions, or my life is in danger!

“I… I will respect Shiori.”

“e──”

“Not just Shiori, but Suzuko too.”

“n!?……”

Creating unfairness is scary. So I’m showing that I’m on both of your sides, meaning I want to maintain a neutral position.

“I want to respect Suzuko as well.”

I show my intention not to oppose!

With that, I say this!

“I don’t know why you were having an argument-like conversation, but I want to consider both of your feelings as much as possible.”

“That is… “

“I… “

Good! My non-threatening appeal is successful! Now, I just need to apologize and keep my distance to resolve this.

“Sorry to interrupt. That’s all I wanted to say. So… I won’t say anything else.”

The declaration of doing nothing. This is an essential word.

This tells them that I will no longer be involved.

“I’m not here anymore. I hope you think so. And in this place where I am not, what do you two want to do?”

“…………”

Then, the girls started moving.

Suzuko threw the giant iron pipe she had been holding behind her and kicked up the end of the sniper rifle that had been lying on the floor.

Using both hands to catch her beloved gun, which bounced and spun in the air, Suzuko started walking with a sharpened gaze.

“It’s decided…”

Letting go of the hand, she slowly stood up and reached back to her pouch.

Disappearing the blackthorn and changing the color of her eyes, Shiori made a clicking sound with her shoes.

“Suzuko…”

The distance between the two was steadily closing. In their eyes, devoid of everyday hues, resided unwavering resolve.

Hiroki immersed himself in the relief of personal safety.

There was no aid from Suzuko, nor was there any fear of Shiori attacking him as an enemy.

With a clear conscience, he had escaped the danger.

That should have been the end──Whistle!

“──Eh?”

Something brushed past the hair near his ear. No, it was the sensation of something passing by.

And soon, he understood why.

“It’s hard…”

The danger was still right before his eyes. This was a battlefield. A hell where those who did not move disappeared.

A bullet fired by Suzuko ricocheted off the black thorns that Shiori had summoned again, heading straight for Hiroki.

And it didn’t stop there.

“What do you mean by this?”

“See for yourself──”

Before she could finish saying “As you see,” Shiori was completely obscured by dozens of black thorns. The glossy black spikes seemed to cut off all contact from the outside world, their sharp tips gleaming fiercely.

“Every ability has a limit to its usage time. Body enhancement shouldn’t be possible… Is this just a stalling tactic?”

While using her abilities, body enhancement was unavailable. Thus, the stalling was easily seen through.

Suzuko placed a spare magazine on the floor from her pouch,

“What are you doing in there?”

Assuming the best posture she knew, she aimed the sniper rifle.

“Then, until everything is laid bare.”

With those words from Suzuko, the silent sniper rifle fired.

Ricochet, ricochet, ricochet, ricochet, ricochet, ricochet, ricochet, ricochet──

The number of bullets fired in rapid succession exceeded double digits. The bullets, deflected and bouncing off, had not yet finished their role.

With Suzuko’s ability, the leftover kinetic energy and movement of the bullets were guided, tracing an arc and surging back towards Shiori.

“I’m sure it was about as strong as iron. So──”

Cracks began to form on the glossy black surface.