50: A Man’s Fight
Enka suddenly appeared.
Her appearance and her dazzling throw left everyone present stunned and speechless.
Why is she here!?
“Hey… what are you doing!? Hurry up and kill that woman!”
At Ira’s villainous command, the henchmen holding Ryugo moved.
The two split up to sandwich Enka and attacked her.
“Run away!”
There was no way she could win if she fought them head-on. Even in her fight with Ryugo, her judgment was excellent, but her physical strength was that of a mere girl.
Moreover, surrounded by two men with considerable athletic experience, she wouldn’t stand a chance.
I don’t know why she came here, but it’s reckless.
“Run away!!”
To Ryugo’s cries,
“…Hmph–“
Enka chuckled… or rather, she took a short breath.
The next moment,
“–Huh!?”
The man who had lunged at her from the right was thrown into the air,
“Whoa!!”
And the man who had grabbed her from the left was slammed to the floor.
“…Huh?”
What happened?
“Why!?”
Ira leaned forward, and Makoto moved to protect her.
Was it because of the ‘slave’ effect that he had involuntarily protected his master? Thanks to that, an escape route had been secured.
“Enka, that fighting style…”
“Tanuki-kun, we can talk later!”
Enka retrieved Ryugo’s smartphone and handed it back to him without a fuss.
She’s not an enemy?
Did she help me?
“C’mon, let’s get out of here.”
Led by her, we left the gymnasium.
Behind us, we could hear Ira’s screams. She must have been furious that she had let her prey escape.
I hope she gives up now, but it’s not likely.
“This way!”
As I was being pulled along, Ryugo thought.
Can I still trust her?
Isn’t it possible that our destination is a trap?
There’s no reason for her to go through the trouble of rescuing me only to throw me back into the abyss, but it’s understandable why I’m feeling suspicious. After all, she was my enemy until very recently.
“Whew! We’re here!”
We finally arrived at a small park near the school, panting heavily.
There’s nothing here except some swings and a few trees, making it a rather desolate place.
“Oh!”
A figure sitting on the swing stood up and ran towards us.
It was Misato.
“Tanuki, I’m so glad you’re okay. Enka, are you alright?”
“It was a bit rough, but as expected, it was effective~”
“I see. Well, as long as it worked out, that’s good.”
As the two of them chatted amiably, Ryugo interjected, “Wait, wait, wait.”
“What’s going on, Misato?”
“I’m sorry, Tanuki. I didn’t tell you that I teamed up with Enka.”
“So…that means…”
“Yes.”
Misato took out her smartphone and showed us the screen. It was the hypnosis app, Experiments.
“I was chosen too.”
Enka’s graceful movements from earlier made sense now. It was ‘Soldier.’ The only hypnosis that could perform such fluid jiu-jitsu moves was one specifically designed for combat.
“I was planning to keep it a secret until the end, though.”
“You didn’t get caught by the sensors because…”
“I gave it to Enka.”
Everyone’s using the same tricks. Is there some kind of secret cheat code dictionary circulating without my knowledge?
Despite my thoughts, it’s true that she saved me because of it.
So what happened to the ‘Friend’ hypnosis I put on her? If you use it on the same person who owns the app, it will show as ‘under the app’s effect’ but not actually be in effect.
I remembered hearing about this from Koki’s phone call when he was still hiding his true identity.
“I see. So to deceive the enemy, you start with your allies, huh?”
“Hmm? Oh, I forgot to report it.”
“Re-port! Con-firm! Com-mu-ni-cate!”
“I remember it just before I fell asleep, but I forget it again the next day.”
“Write it down so you don’t forget!”
“I wrote a memo, but I must have lost it somewhere because I’m a restless sleeper.”
“Sleep soundly on a high pillow!”
“Why are you suddenly spouting idioms?”
“Ve-he-ment pro-test!”
“That’s just a random phrase.”
There’s no point in dwelling on the past.
Since Misato has the app, that means…
“Does Enka not have the app?”
“Yeah, that’s right. Misato asked me to do it. She said you’re a pro at leveling up, and she wanted you to help me.”
“What level are you?”
“102. And I’ve been hypnotized into being a ‘soldier.'”
“That’s absurdly fast. Has it benefited you in any way?”
“Not really? I mean, I’m just going to support Tanuki so he can win. It’s not like I can make a wish come true.”
“Then why…?”
“I feel the same way as Misato. I think the world would be a more peaceful place if Tanuki won instead of someone else and made a wish.”
From Noble mtl dot com
“Well… yeah, I’m not exactly going to make a wish that’ll shake the world or anything. But, I should thank you. Thanks. You’ve gone through a lot to help me.”
“Yay!”
Enka jumped up and hugged me tightly.
At the same time, her head hit my chest, and I heard a bone crack.
“Oww…!”
“Thank you too, Tanuki. I’ll make sure to atone for my sins.”
You’re increasing your sins as you speak.
“By the way, I knew it was a trap, but you still went to save Aira. You’re exactly the kind of person I thought you were.”
“There was a chance it might work.”
“That’s right. Yeah… After all, Tanuki, you’re my hero.”
Enka whispered those words like a little child.
There was a childlike side to her that she only showed to me, not to Ryugo.
It was a different kind of dependence than the one she had on Aira.
“Are you satisfied now? It’s hot, so let go of me.”
“Just a little longer.”
“Misato, get her off me.”
When I asked her to, Misato shrugged and said, “Yes, yes.”
I was finally released from the bear hug and wiped the sweat from my neck with my sleeve.
“…Thanks, Misato.”
“You’re always attracting weirdos, Tanuki.”
“Right? I’m just an ordinary guy.”
“If you’re the standard, then everyone else is crazy. Anyway, shouldn’t you go home? There’s nothing else you can do today.”
“No, I’m going back to school.”
“What are you talking about!?”
Misato exclaimed in disbelief and thrust her face forward as if she were going to bite me.
“You’re going to attract attention if you make so much noise. Besides, the people who passed out from the explosion should be waking up soon.”
“How do you know I did that?”
“I saw it.”
“Then why didn’t you help me when Makoto was taking me away?”
“The explosion knocked us out for a bit, too.”
“Sorry about that…”
We should be close enough to see what’s going on at the pool. It’s no wonder we passed out after being hit by that explosion.
I have a feeling that the strategy was a failure, but it was the only way to quickly reduce the number of people.
“Why are you going back to school?”
“I thought the opposite. If people are gathering, Aira would run away. It would be troublesome if she was thought to be the mastermind behind the explosion. And the other holders will scatter and flee as well. In other words, now that Aira is isolated, it’s our chance to pursue.”
“If we fight while people are gathered, even the raccoon is in danger, right?”
“It’s unfortunate for those who witnessed it, but all I need to do is erase the memory of seeing me. It’s a necessary sacrifice to end the Experiments. By the way, let me ask. Enka, does the level of consumption change depending on the range of memory erasure?”
When I asked, she nodded, “Yes.”
“If it’s a wide range, it will use over a hundred, but if it’s just a few minutes, it doesn’t consume much. I’m certain because I’ve tried it with Aira.”
Was she referring to the time when Aira was beaten up?
But now, it’s no longer an assumption. The level of consumption for memory erasure changes depending on the range.
Well, even without that information, what I had to do wouldn’t change…
“I will pursue Aira.”
“Do you have a plan?”
Misato asked, and I showed her the screen of my smartphone.
“I’ve sent a message to the macho guys’ smartphones I left at school about what they should do.”
“Oh, then I’m relieved.”
“None of them have read it yet.”
“That’s no good!!”
“Alright, let’s gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”
“Where was there an element that could bring out that kind of tension!?”
Approaching the front of the school building where the murmurs could be heard. Indeed, people were gathering. But perhaps because it was the middle of the night, there weren’t many people.
At most thirty people… I suppose.
The double suits should take care of it, so the police, fire department, and even the media shouldn’t come.
“It’s not this way. Let’s go around to the other side.”
“Have Aira and the others already left?”
“No, I just got a message from one of the machos. It seems they’re still inside the school. They’re moving towards the exit.”
“Then we better hurry.”
We entered the school and ran straight to the back gate.
I’ve sent a message to the machos about where to go, but they probably won’t catch up.
“…!”
The target’s back was soon in sight.
“Ugh…!”
Aira turned around and started running.
To protect her, Seito stood firm like a guardian deity.
“Enka! Do it!”
“It’s the ‘Soldier’s’ turn!”
Kicking up the sand, Enka moved forward, sliding on the ground, and positioned her fist at the waist.
It was a karate thrust.
Seeing this, Seito dropped his hips deeply. He was probably aiming for a counterattack, but he wouldn’t stand a chance against the “Soldier.”
“Sei!”
The moment a beautiful straight punch was released from her slender arm,
“Hmph!”
Makoto let it slide and slammed his fists—doubled up like a sledgehammer—into her back.
“Ah, pff…!?”
She must have expelled all the air from her lungs in one go. Enka, eyes wide, fell to the ground and couldn’t get up as she coughed violently.
Seriously, is this for real…?
Even if she’s enhanced, at the end of the day, her raw abilities are just those of a girl. No match for a guy who’s trained and experienced in fighting.
“But, I wish you had held on a bit longer…”
He sighed in exasperation.
Makoto didn’t pursue further but closed the school gate, the only path through. Aira was long gone.
There wasn’t much time left to catch up to her.
“Misato. I’ll handle this. Go after Enka.”
“Eh… o-okay.”
Grateful for her immediate agreement without any fuss.
He forced Enka to stand and left her to Misato.
“Come on, Makoto.”
“……..”
Rolling up his sleeves, he took a fighting stance.
In contrast, his arch-enemy, with eyes as cold as resignation, seemed to gaze into the distance.
“I won’t ambush you anymore. I’ll knock you down fair and square.”
“Tanuki…”
“It’s a showdown, Makoto!!”