"...Ah... ahaha, Head Prefect Makoto?"
"Why are you calling me!"
"First of all, why did you summon me?"
"Didn’t Iroha tell you? Then I’ll say it again! I have devised a grand and magnificent plan to conquer Kivotos!"
Iroha quietly came up beside me while he was talking and whispered, "Just... ignore him..."
"Uh... yeah, that was my plan anyway."
"However! Right now, I still feel that my power is lacking!"
"...Yes..."
"So! If you, the strongest prisoner in Kivotos, join me, I’ll give you half of Kivotos after I conquer it!"
"...No...? I don’t need that...?"
Makoto stared at me in shock, his eyes practically rolling white. I didn’t particularly want power, and I wanted to live modestly, so I had no interest in some lofty position.
"Uh...w-why...? If someone as strong as you helps me, conquering Kivotos will be incredibly easy!"
"I guess... so...?"
"But! Why is it that if only you help me... even Sorasaki Hina!"
In an instant, the air in the room turned cold, and Haruta’s lone crimson eye flared red.
"...?"
"H-Haruta...?"
Bang!
"Ibuki, 등장!!"
Ibuki and Satsuki Chiaki burst through the door.
"...I-Ibuki! This is dangerous!"
"Eh..? Makoto-senpai? What is it?"
"Heh heh... what is this...? That one over there is practically radiating killing intent..."
"Mm... who is that person...?"
"Wah!? Who is that person!?"
Chiaki immediately raised her camera the moment she saw Haruta.
"This is... a scoop."
Crash!
"Aah!? My... camera!?"
"...Haah... so... where was I?"
"...T-to your grand plan to conquer Kivotos..."
"...Honestly, I’m not interested in that. Just send me to the Prefect Team."
Bang!
"That cannot happen...! Right now... I can barely handle Hina alone!"
"..."
Click.
"...Now then... what will you do?"
I took out the gun I almost never used after a very long time.
"..."
"Well... I’ll lower the gun because Ibuki is here... but if you touch on Hina again... or try to pull any tricks behind my back... or anything like that, then I’ll really—"
I didn’t fire, but I quickly raised and lowered the gun to mimic its recoil. That alone was enough of a threat for now.
"...A-alright! That was my intention from the start!"
"Mm... Ibuki... did I do something wrong...?"
Haruta slowly approached Ibuki, then knelt on one knee and looked at her.
"No... Ibuki didn’t do anything wrong. We were just playing for a bit. A role-play! How about it? Want to try too, Ibuki?"
"...Yes! Ibuki wants to do it too!"
"Good! Then let’s do it together."
With a glance, I signaled everyone in the room. If they didn’t catch on, I’d kill them all.
"But... why... does big brother... only have one eye...?"
When Ibuki asked in a low voice, Haruta answered in the softest, kindest voice he could manage—so gentle it almost felt unreal.
"Mm... this? It’s part of the play. Mm... special makeup."
"Ah, that’s right. Ibuki, when people do movies or plays, they sometimes wear makeup like that."
"Waaah!! I want to do it too!"
"Mm... we don’t have the makeup equipment right now... sorry. I’ll do it for you later."
"Okay! Ibuki is good at waiting!"
And so I played with Ibuki for almost two hours and thirty minutes before she finally fell asleep.
"But... you’re surprisingly good with kids, Haruta?"
"Oh, I’ve looked after kids like that a lot before."
"Hee... that’s unexpected... I thought you had the kind of image where you’d smash everything if you didn’t like it."
"Oh, that’s right."
"...Haah... anyway, I understand. Congratulations on enrolling in Gehenna."
"Eh? Is enrollment really that easy? Don’t you need some kind of procedure?"
"Mm... normally, yes. But since you were recommended by Schale, we decided to accept you as an exception. And if it’s you, Haruta, then we have even less reason to turn you away."
"...Well, thanks for saying that."
Then, glancing sideways at Makoto and the other Pandemonium Society executives, I saw that all of them were silently listening to the conversation.
They were probably either overwhelmed by the atmosphere or just quietly observing. I should keep my words to a minimum, but I wasn’t the sort of person who cared enough to be delicate about that kind of thing.
I decided to just say a few things and leave.
"...So... what are you going to do now?"
"Huh? I told you, I’m going to the Prefect Team."
"No! At least don’t become part of the Prefect Team’s combat strength! It’s already hard enough dealing with Hina alone!"
Iroha was practically on the verge of tears now.
"...Well... if I join the Prefect Team, does the head prefect handle it?"
"No? The Prefect Team handles that separately. No matter how much of Pandemonium Society it is, you can’t directly interfere with each department."
"...Got it. Then I’m going."
Just before I left the room, I remembered there was one last thing I had to say.
"Ah! Right."
"What now? Be grateful we’ve already indulged you this much!"
"Iroha? Makoto?"
"...? What is it...?"
"If I go to the Prefect Team and you start doing things like poaching personnel, harassing me, or pulling strings behind the scenes—anything I consider inappropriate..."
"...W-what! Is that supposed to be a threat!?"
"Then not just Pandemonium Society, but all of Gehenna will be blown away. Except for the Prefect Team."
"...Haah... Makoto-senpai... seriously, please... please don’t mess with that person... please."
"...I-I know that! I’ve already lost most of my interest! Get out of here!"
"...Then thank you. Ah, I’ll come visit Ibuki from time to time."
"...Th-that!"
Zzzzt
"...Any objections?"
I overwhelmed Makoto with just my gaze. No, Makoto was the one who got overwhelmed.
"...Still! Ibuki is off-limits!"
"...I’m really just going to play with her, so why don’t we ask Ibuki? Whether she likes me better or Makoto?"
"...Ha! You’re going to settle it like that!? Fine! I’ll accept!"
A few minutes later, when Ibuki woke up, Haruta picked her up and walked over to Makoto.
"Now then... Ibuki?"
"Mm... huh?"
"Who do you like more... me, or Makoto-senpai?"
"...Big brother is handsome."
"...How is that?"
"Aaaaa... th-this is not right!"
Heh... just as planned. It went perfectly. Children always say things in their sleep that they don’t even realize they’re saying...
"Ibuki says she likes me too?"
"...Ghh... Ibuki... do you hate me...?"
"No... I like Makoto-senpai too... mm... I like both of you..."
Ibuki fell asleep again almost immediately, Haruta’s arms apparently warm and comfortable.
"...Well... let’s call it a draw. I don’t really care about something said in someone’s sleep, anyway."
"...I-I see... you may go now."
"Then I’ll be off."
After putting Ibuki on the bed, I slipped out quietly so she wouldn’t wake up.
"...Mm... now then... to the Gehenna Prefect Team..."
This time, just to tease Hina, I put on the uniform they gave me when I enrolled in Gehenna.
"...Huh... this fits better than I expected...?"
Maybe they’d adjusted the size, because it was surprisingly comfortable to wear. It wasn’t cumbersome or uncomfortable at all.
"...Oh, nice."
When I looked in the mirror, a slightly tall mob character was standing there.
'Heh heh heh... after this, there’s no way she won’t fall for it!'
I laughed to myself as I imagined Hina’s reaction.
'Alright!!! Then let’s go!'
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register