Estimated reading time: ~8 minutes
Chapter 97
Looping around from the back entrance, we find ourselves right near the hall we entered two days ago. It seems the police arrived while we were circling around, and the protesters have dispersed without us noticing. Reina leans her weight against the wall in the simple corridor as if lying in wait, but upon seeing Kana and I holding hands, she falls silent for a moment. Then, she timidly takes her place on my other side and grasps Kana’s hand.
The three of us now stand in a row – me, Kana, and Reina. Somehow, we resemble a family. Well, just based on appearances, I’m the only one who sticks out completely. That’s because once again, I’ve been made to wear that notorious orange cosplay. Considering the 「HAO」 situation, it can’t be helped for the sake of my safety, but we present a tableau of two beautiful women plus one suspicious individual… No, taking into account Reina’s otherworldly silver hair, all three of us might be mistaken for cosplayers. After darting her gaze around with a speed unique to the Beastkin, too fast for the eye to follow, Reina seems to regain her composure and clears her throat.
「Ahem, good work yesterday, Kanji.」
「You were busy behind the scenes, right? Thanks for that.」
「I think you should say that to Momiji. I just raised my fists and kicked, after all.」
「Ooh, violence!」
「Actually, these past two days were merely a prelude. Mother was simply standing there.」
「Geez! Why do you have to say things like that about Mama.」
「Despite that, there seemed to be no signs of underhanded dealings.」
Reina puffs out her cheeks while Kana laughs. In terms of mental age, Reina might still be older, but the power of 「synchronization」 is too strong. Kana, who perfectly grasps the sense of distance, smoothly exchanges words with Reina, who still doesn’t know how to act.
For Reina, Kana is a daughter who suddenly appeared. The memories of opening her closed heart in the past remain only with Kana herself. It’s an unbalanced relationship… Although I feel like I have many of these.
As we step forward, we enter the exhibition space. This vast space, showcasing various machines and Apollyon, looks the same as it did two days ago, but there’s a clear difference from before.
There are no people. Apparently, due to the cleanup and the Battleroyale event, the number of spectators is being limited on the third day to avoid trouble. But even so, there are far too few. In this spacious hall, there might not even be 30 people, including the security guards.
Moreover, the boxes carried on the backs of the security guards have become larger. Previously, they were small enough to pass off as containers for batons, but now the size is clearly off. They’re as big as golf bags, large enough to fit firearms.
Surrounded by men in black suits, people who are clearly VIPs glance at us from time to time. In this extremely uncomfortable space, a voice rings out, 「Ah!」 It was a very familiar voice. Mainly from videos. The young man wears a needlessly flashy coat with yellow and black stripes. It looks like a railroad crossing, that outfit.
「If it isn’t Orange, I, I won’t forgive you.」
「Nice to meet you. Your voice is shaking, are you okay?」
「I’m not okay! This is why I hate face-to-face interactions. Can’t we just do it online, like tournaments and stuff?」
Yes, it’s Hiniru. Despite his stammering, there’s no mistaking that tone of voice. I mean, sound MADs of him have started popping up recently, right? The material for 「Dying Screams.mp3」 is so versatile that I hear it regularly. Well, it seems his actual channel’s view count hasn’t increased though. By the way, it’s not without permission; he set it up so that clipping and editing of his videos are fully allowed in hopes of spreading them, so it’s completely his own fault.
After venting his anger at me, Hiniru looks at Kana, who is holding my hand, and then at Reina, and freezes. After a few seconds of silence, the words 「… Normies?」 escape his mouth. That’s quite an obsolete term; even I have only seen it in old works. After staring at the two of them for a while, Hiniru shouts with great vigor.
「Listen up, Orange! I’m also participating in this tournament!」
「Okay.」
「I’ll defeat you there, you insufferable confidential information leaking machine!」
「Oh?」
「By any means necessary! During the match, I’ll solely target you! I’ll call out to others and form a team to annihilate you for the sake of defeating you! Even you aren’t invincible; it was revealed in yesterday’s stream that you’re just an ordinary player after all!」
Hiniru shouts with tremendous energy, but honestly, I’m at a loss for how to respond. I don’t think we’re that kind of opponent. It’s more like a relationship where we see each other’s faces at the supermarket we frequent, so even if he declares us as enemies, all I can do is stand there dumbfounded.
Perhaps mistaking my silence for intimidation, Hiniru starts grinning, but before that, Kana smoothly steps forward. She’s already holding a device in the hand that was holding mine. On it, a video of Hiniru’s that I recognize only by the title is playing. Kana beckons Hiniru, saying, 「Come over here for a moment,」 and he follows her to a slightly secluded spot with a suddenly deflated expression.
「Are you familiar with this video?」
「Of course I know it; it’s my video! To think you know such an old video of mine, I must have gained more fans.」
「The garbled text at the 12-minute mark shouldn’t appear unless you’re using illegally downloaded software. Here’s a verification video using the actual game.」
「Huh?」
「You mentioned ‘judgment’ in your videos, but I’d like to imitate that, you see. There’s an account with a suspiciously high number of followers, and if I tweet here, ‘Evidence found of Hiniru illegally downloading game software’…」
「W-Wait a sec. I know, my pockets just happened to feel a bit warm, ya know? And I might’ve accidentally dropped a little something on the floor. Can’t be helped if someone else picks it up, right??」
… Yes, he’s pitiful. It’s true that I mentioned the information about Ver2.01 to Kana, but… The blackmail is too smooth. I’ve recently realized that she likes to see people in trouble and has a sadistic streak. Like mixing up USB-C, USB-D, and USB-E cords and leaving them around. Reina even mutters, 「Could the parent actually be Momiji…?」 While I’m thinking about what will happen to Hiniru, who will probably resort to violence only to be met with Beastkin power, a figure appears from the side. It was a familiar appearance.
「… Hello, Mr. Orange.」
It was a Caucasian man with a tense expression. He wears a crisp suit, exuding a dignity befitting someone who stands before others. The man, around 50 years old with a beard, has a microphone attached to the corner of his mouth, and the speaker on his waist automatically begins translating.
「Greetings, Mr. Orange. I am the Chief of Staff to the President of the United States. It’s an honor to meet you. I’ve heard that contact with you is generally prohibited. However, there is one thing I would like to ask.」
Chief of Staff. One of America’s top officials, said to hold more power than the Vice President. What could such a person want to ask me? Security personnel hurriedly rush over, and Reina also seems to be signaling to those around her, but I couldn’t take my ears off his words.
「Were yesterday’s events and today’s situation all within your expectations?」
The security guards mercilessly attempt to pull the Chief of Staff away from me, while his own guards try to stop them and also pull him away from me. For them, too, this action must have been completely unexpected. Who would have thought that the Chief of Staff himself would ignore the organizers’ warning and try to talk to the Prophet?
「Yes! I will do my utmost to support Lord Orange in today’s Battleroyale!」
「Your voice is too soft, so I should send this after all… That’s right, we can’t overlook a villain who illegally downloads while pretending to be righteous and talking about judgment.」
「Today! I will give it my all! To make Lord Orange number one!」
This Hiniru is unexpected for me too. Please act cooler; don’t lose to an elementary school student’s threats. Feeling somewhat deflated, I decided to give the answer that was probably expected. Yeah, I don’t want to take this atmosphere seriously.
「Of course. From 1 to 10.」
The Chief of Staff catches his breath. I deliberately used an ambiguous expression to avoid interfering with Momiji’s actions, but… Yes, that’s right.
From 1 to 10, it’s all unexpected. Seriously.
「Repeat after me.」
「I am! Mistress Kana’s! Slave!」
Kana:
Seeing my stepfather’s good reaction, my fetish accelerated, and then I found a new toy. Amen.
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