kscans

Chapter 76 - The Shape of Resolve

"I can't believe... my friends are caught up in this..."

"Um... Rika-san? And Akatsuki-kun too... why are you both... no, wait, in the first place..."

"Sorry, Sarna-san. I know you must be confused about everything, but please wait just a moment."

"Anyway, we're not enemies. It's okay. We'll protect you, Sarna-chan."

"...Yes."

Seeing them caring so much about me, I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking I'd succeeded for now. After telling me to wait a bit, the two returned to the cave entrance and began talking with their instructor.

"...They're your friends, aren't they?"

"Yeah. We're in the same class and they've been really good to me."

"Yoshino-san, what should we do from here?"

"Once you enter an alternate realm, it's difficult to escape until you defeat the master... I'll need you two to guard that girl while following me."

"Can't we just stay here and wait for you, Yoshino-san?"

"I'd prefer to keep you within my sight. You never know what might happen."

"Understood."

"Saionji-san, I'll leave the explanation to you."

"Got it."

Only Rika-san came back to me. I naturally heard the conversation, but I pretended not to know and put on an anxious expression.

"Um, could you come with us?"

"...Can we get out of here?"

"Yeah. But it won't be immediate. I know it's scary, but please... could you trust Hikaru-kun and me and bear with us for just a little while?"

"...I understand."

"Thanks. Can you stand?"

"S-somehow."

However... well, this is quite something. The guilt is extraordinary. If this were an adult, I wouldn't think much of it, but Rika-san and Akatsuki-kun are children and my friends. Moreover, they have good personalities. Deceiving them like this... was quite painful.

(But I have to do this...)

To deal with my subordinates in their ridiculous outfits. No, thinking about it calmly, it really is terrible. The visuals are just too awful.

"Hello there, young lady. I'm Yoshino. I know it might be hard to trust what some unknown old man says, but"

I will definitely get you out of here. The man who introduced himself as Yoshino declared with a smile. Rika-san and Akatsuki-kun seem to have drawn quite a good instructor... no, this must be Satou Hideo's arrangement. While he tends to think anything goes with enemies, he's very kind to his allies and children.

"...If it comes to it, I'll consider using the secret weapon Satou-san gave me."

"Hm? Did Satou-kun give you something?"

"Ah, yes. We got those permits, didn't we? So he gave it to us as a celebration for becoming half-fledged."

Saying this, Akatsuki-kun took out a black sphere about the size of a baseball.

(Th-that person... what kind of thing has he...!?)

I should praise myself for not letting it show on my face. The man called Yoshino must have had the same reaction. He's breaking out in a heavy sweat that's clearly not from the summer heat. Of course he is. The moment he saw that thing, the same explanation was directly hammered into his brain. Complete with an image of Satou Hideo in work clothes and a straw hat, grinning broadly... "I made this." Is he insane?

"...Is this really such a dangerous thing?"

"...That's a miniature star on the verge of collapse."

"Star?"

"Roughly speaking, if you activate that, a black hole will form for ten minutes."

"Black...!?"

A small-scale black hole formed by gravitational collapse. Even if it's small-scale, it would be terrible if such a thing were born... but as expected, I suppose. A powerful barrier is simultaneously deployed, containing the range to about one city. Additionally, when activated, any civilians in the affected area are automatically transferred to safety.

"It seems the user and those recognized as allies are also protected by the barrier."

Only enemies and inorganic matter within the range disappear. After mostly annihilating everything, it automatically disappears, and all the abnormalities caused by the black hole formation are completely resolved. Well then, maybe it can be used casually... but that's not the case. While enemies are one thing, inorganic matter within the range is also annihilated.

"By the way, if used here, the master and the entire alternate realm would be instantly blown away, and for ten minutes, a considerable area centered here would be..."

"What kind of thing did that person give them!? And without any explanation!!"

"I have one of those too!? What is that old man thinking!?"

Not to defend him, but he probably didn't give it to them thoughtlessly. The lack of explanation was the same. He probably intended to have the instructor explain it. Otherwise, such functions wouldn't have been installed. The instructor probably came to the same conclusion.

"No, I think he thought it through carefully. If it were something with no risk at all, it would breed complacency in your hearts, right?"

If push comes to shove, we have this... thinking that way would be complacent. In a world where a moment's carelessness can lead directly to death, that's not permissible. Arrogance is only allowed for those with corresponding power.

"So knowing your personalities, he probably gave you something that would make you think 'let's try not to use this.' It's for emergency evacuation when there's no other choice, but until then, it serves as motivation."

I think it's an exquisite balance of kindness and strictness.

"B-but if that's the case, he could have explained it to us..."

"He probably wanted a third party, rather than himself, to convey the danger."

Yoshino explained that information flowed into his mind the moment he saw it.

"From what I hear, Satou-san seems to have some plan... but why go to such roundabout lengths?"

"What did you think when you saw my reaction?"

"Huh? This might be pretty dangerous... ah."

"That's exactly it. To make you more aware of the danger, Satou-san chose someone without power to be the explainer."

"B-but if he doesn't show it, we won't understand that. What if..."

"That won't happen. Akatsuki-kun, after today's request was over, you were planning to show me this thing you received, weren't you?"

"Y-yes. Since Yoshino-san is the instructor, I thought you should know about it... ah, so he factored in my personality too?"

Yoshino nodded vigorously at Akatsuki-kun's words.

"Exactly. Well, Satou-san probably thought you'd show it before accepting the request."

"Ah... s-sorry..."

"It's fine, it's fine. You were a bit excited about your first weapon, right? Can't be helped, can't be helped."

While watching this exchange, I was thinking about something else.

(...I got a glimpse of one of his cards.)

That star was almost certainly created by Satou Hideo's own hand. It's probably not from his "collection" or whatever. It's a glimpse of his power. However, I see no ray of hope. Just like the black hole. No, seriously, since he gave it to children, it's probably not that big a deal.

(But if he activated it himself, what scale of black hole would he create...?)

I can't even imagine.

(...I was naive.)

Making contact with Satou Hideo as someone from the supernatural world. I thought I approached this matter with resolve. Like going to an important occasion in funeral attire, I even considered the possibility of being treated like Thanatos... you know? Well, um, what can I say... right now, I'm wearing quite extreme underwear. The kind that would make even adults recoil. I repeat, I was naive. I was unintentionally shown just how far beyond normal specifications he is in every direction.

(Ah... my crotch feels so breezy...)

I can't see any hope at all...