kscans

Chapter 241 - Portrait of a Young Satou, Part One

"Aah, I wish a meteor would just fall on that den of lolicon bastards and wipe them all out."

His appearance, trudging sluggishly through the entertainment district while cursing, was that of a true delinquent. The "lolicon bastards" were the members of True World and the Chaos Army who were after Chikage.

As Satou grumbled, Chikage managed a strained smile and said,

"Well, I don’t think they’re targeting me in that sense, but…"

"Whatever their objective, any adult chasing after a high school girl’s ass is a lolicon. A lolicon."

They’re a menace, the scum of society, he spat. His words were foul, but it was out of concern for her, so Chikage was secretly pleased.

"Still, what to do about them. As His Excellency says, numbers are everything in a fight."

To get rid of Yanagi and Onisaki, he would first have to tear off their limbs. Should he ambush their members and pick them off one by one? No, that lacked flair. They had mocked him more than enough. If he didn't do something that would make them hold their sides laughing, it wouldn't be any fun.

"For now, I guess I have no choice but to harass them bit by bit."

"Harass them bit by bit… like what, for example?"

"For starters, I’m thinking of getting my hands on the information stored in the Community Safety Divisions of every police station in Tokyo."

"...What for?"

A bad feeling was already creeping up on her, but Chikage asked anyway.

"I want info on guys who have been marked or arrested for stalking."

"...And how would you use that information?"

"I’ll pick out the ones who seem to be driven by lust and send them the personal information of the handsome men and beautiful women in True World and the Chaos Army."

Using ordinary people against superhumans seems pointless, doesn't it? But this time, it was different. The members of both organizations were, in a sense, very principled, so they would almost never kill without reason. If he sent a superhuman hitman, they would simply intercept them, but against harassment from ordinary people, they would be unlikely to take drastic measures. They would most likely try to ignore it. But even if they did, what’s unpleasant is unpleasant.

"I think it’ll slowly chip away at their mental state."

"...They could also use memory manipulation to drive them away."

"In that case, I’ll just gift them the personal info again. They’ll be able to enjoy their stalking with a fresh state of mind."

Chikage recoiled from the laughing Satou.

"...But, it’s still missing a decisive blow, or maybe it just lacks punch."

Something was missing. Something wasn't right. If only he could get one or two more pieces, he could paint a magnificent picture. As Satou began to ponder this and that,

"Hiro, we’re here."

He was snapped back to reality by her voice. Satou and Chikage had come to this entertainment district for a job. The request was to subjugate an aberration.

"...Hey, Chika-chan, is this…"

"Yeah. They’ve probably taken over the whole place."

They looked up at a certain multi-tenant building and murmured. The target this time was a doppelganger. The double that looks exactly like you, the one they say you die if you see. A request had come to the Mutual Aid Society about a doppelganger causing trouble, but even the two of them hadn't expected this.

"One or two is one thing, but to be this bold, are they stupid?"

"Things are chaotic in the community right now, so subjugating weaker aberrations is being put on the back burner. Maybe they thought it was their chance."

"Do whatever you want and then skip town? What a naive outlook."

Satou was exasperated, seeing as they themselves were standing right here.

"...A doppelganger, huh."

"Hiro?"

Satou stroked his chin with his index finger and thumb. The piercings on his ear clinked, chari. Chikage had a thought. Ah, this is a sign that something bad is about to happen. Not to her. Some unknown person was about to fall prey to his frivolous, malicious fangs. They hadn't even known each other for a year, but they had spent some intense time together. That’s why she knew. She just knew.

"Seems like it could be useful, so I guess I’ll just secure them for now."

"...Secure, you mean you’re going to make them your familiars or something?"

"Yeah. That shouldn’t be a problem for completing the request, right?"

"You’re right. Well then, shall we go?"

As Chikage surrounded the building with a barrier to prevent involving any civilians, they charged into the office. They beat down every last doppelganger that had replaced the original occupants and formed contracts with them as familiars. The request was completed in less than five minutes.

"Hey Hiro, are you free after this?"

"Hm? Yeah, I don’t have any particular plans. The only thing is collecting the reward for the job."

"Then, you know. Why don’t we just wander around for a bit?"

For Chikage, this was the best she could do to ask him on a date. Though he didn’t understand the complex heart of a maiden, it was a welcome suggestion for Satou. He accepted immediately. And so, the two of them began to wander aimlessly through the entertainment district.

They walked while chatting. Both Satou and Chikage felt that the distance of a single fist between them was frustrating, but they couldn't close it. They were giving off a rather bittersweet aura, but…

"Oh, that’s…"

"? What is it?"

"Oh, that multi-tenant building over there has the office of an AV company I’m a fan of… huh…"

His words trailed off, and Satou’s eyes widened.

"...Hiro?"

"...AV?"

At that moment, a current ran through Satou. AV, doppelgangers. He heard the sound of the missing pieces clicking into place, gachiri.

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold on, did my IQ just skyrocket or what? This is bad, this intelligence? I feel like I’m on par with Einstein! Should I seriously aim for Tokyo U? For some reason I feel like I could get in right now… Ukekekekeke."

A smirking Satou, and a terrified Chikage watching him.

(...This is probably going to be something terrible, on a level that easily surpasses my imagination.)

It was the moment the curtain rose on the miracle carnival that was about to befall True World and the Chaos Army.