56: Brash and Reckless
“Ask Bunny Suit to transfer the app’s authority to her.”
“W-why!?”
Makoto inspired, his eyes wide.
Indeed, it would sound nonsensical to just hear it. It would be difficult to understand what merits or risks it entailed.
“If you have the app, then”
“…Yeah.”
“You won’t be able to hit Aira.”
「……………………」
After hearing the answer, Makoto pinched the space between his eyebrows and shook his head lightly.
It was as if he was trying to say, “Am I dreaming? Did I hear that wrong?”
“…Huh?”
“If I have the app, I can’t be on the front lines. That’s why I’ll have someone else hold it, and I’ll do the fighting.”
“You’re transferring it just to be able to hit Aira?”
“Yeah.”
“Even though there’s no guarantee Enka will return it?”
“I’ll be fine as long as I can hit Aira.”
“Man, are you so pissed off at her that a few nerves in your brain snapped?”
Considering Aira’s aim was Ryugo, it would be a kind of sneak attack. They would have her try to destroy the app, and Enka would use hypnosis from another direction. It was a great surprise attack.
The only concern was Enka, but…
“I trust Enka.”
Because she liked Ryugo, she had accepted a disadvantageous battle despite the difference in levels. She had fought by herself just now and had even got injured.
…Perhaps I’m just looking for convenient proof.
In the end, Ryugo simply wanted to believe Enka. Even though it was a setup, she was the only one who had been kind to him when he was resisting Aira and the others’ tyranny.
Her form was still burned into his mind.
“I’ll ask you one more time. Can I count on you, Enka?”
“My answer won’t change. If Tanuki-kun is fighting for justice, I have no reason to refuse.”
“I see… Alright. Bunny Suit!”
As soon as he called out, a white hole opened, and Bunny Suit appeared.
“I’ve heard the story. You want to transfer the app? If so, I should be able to do it with my power.”
“If possible, I’d like to give the app to everyone here.”
“I’m sorry, but that’s not possible.”
“If I could, I would have done it a long time ago.”
“If you do this, the authority will be transferred to Enka. It won’t come back to you unless Enka says she wants to transfer the app to you. Are you okay with that?”
“I’ve decided to trust Enka. Go ahead, do it.”
It’s okay even if she doesn’t return the app to me. I’ll be the only one who will be fooled at that time.
However, I can’t let Aira run wild. If that guy has the app, this world will become hell.
Ryugo was prepared to take responsibility.
If I had tried to reform her sooner, before Aira had grown so arrogant, it might not have turned out this way.
This is the least I can do to atone for my failure to follow through.
“It’s done.”
The bunny suit said in a slightly tired voice.
It may seem like a small amount of effort to an outsider, but it must have been a lot of work, considering the amount of energy it takes.
Sure enough, the app is gone from my smartphone. On the other hand, Enka’s screen now has the app.
I thought I wanted to be free from this app, but now that the time has come, I feel a sense of loneliness.
“Okay, let’s go. Let’s beat her up.”
“Man, that’s all you ever think about…”
Following the astonished Makoto, Kohtaroh muttered wearily, “That’s what happens when you’re tired and pissed off.”
“That’s right, Makoto.”
Makoto’s eyes widened as the bunny suit spoke to him.
“W-what is it…”
“I’ll fix that finger you lost. It seems like you’ve done a lot of reflecting.”
“Wha!?”
Immediately afterward, a finger appeared where it was supposed to be on his unbalanced hand.
It’s magic. If we had this kind of technology, there would be no more sickness or injury in the world.
“Is…is this real…”
Makoto, who was repeatedly making fists and opening his hands, smiled happily.
“…I’m glad.”
Now he’ll be a reliable asset in battle. Having a finger or not makes a big difference in a fight. If he’s at his best, he’ll be hard to beat.
“Let’s go.”
Ryugo’s voice caused everyone to nod.
Now, this is the final battle.
◇
The abandoned factory at midnight was just as creepy as the school, if not more so.
The time was two in the morning. It was the hour of the ox, when even the grass and trees are asleep.
In the darkness behind the rusty steel frame. In the depths of the hole in the ceiling. Even in the shadows of the haphazardly placed machinery, it felt like something was lurking.
The sharp nerves screamed at the small sound of something blowing in the wind.
“It’s been a long and winding road, but we’re finally back to our first major goal.”
Ryugo tried to remain as calm as possible as he led the way. He was shining the light from his smartphone in front of him, but it wasn’t enough to dispel the darkness.
“We tried to stop Aira, got the app, fought Enka, had a battle royale, and defeated the double suits… It all started about a month ago, but it feels like a long time ago.”
In this short time, too many things have happened.
“Well, it was a valuable experience, but… the fact that it almost ruined my summer vacation pisses me off.”
“Tanuki-kun, you were just volunteering. Well, so was I.”
Enka spoke to me from behind.
Even though she must be struggling just to keep up, she pretends to be fine so as not to worry Ryugo and the others.
“But there’s always next year.”
“I came to beat the crap out of Aira to protect that fun summer vacation next year.”
“Even if she wins, Double Suit won’t be there, right? If she’s caught by Bunny Suit… what happens to her wish?”
“No, apparently it’s set to activate automatically when the completion condition is met.”
Bunny Suit told me that on the way here.
The Game Master listens to the player’s wish, sets the scope of fulfillment, and minimizes the impact on the world.
In other words, they make sure that the world doesn’t end because of a single wish.
However, Double Suit set it to automatic.
The scope of that wish will reach the entire Earth.
From Noble mtl dot com
“If we lose, the entire Earth will become Aira’s kingdom.”
“It’s become ridiculously large in scale… but then again, considering that a god-like being has appeared, it’s a trivial matter.”
A god-like being, huh? Well said.
It sounds better than calling them aliens.
Wandering aimlessly in the darkness.
With absolutely no information on where they might be waiting, we have no choice but to search every nook and cranny.
“Aren’t they here yet…”
Ryugo nodded in agreement with Makoto’s words.
“Maybe they’re making us walk around to wear us down.”
“If that’s the case, shouldn’t we take a break so they’ll come to us?”
“It’s not that simple–“
Jari… the sound of sand being stepped on could be heard from the left.
At that instant, a stone came flying at us.
“Ugh!?”
I instinctively raised my arm to block it, but the heavy impact sent pain shooting through my bones. My skin was torn and bleeding.
“Who’s there!?”
“Tanuki, it looks like we’re surrounded.”
Kouki gradually formed a formation while keeping an eye on the surroundings.
He’s protecting Enka.
He’s not trying to hide the fact that she’s the possessor. Because once Ryugo has decided to fight, tricks will only hinder him.
“Kouki, how many of them are there?”
“About ten, I think.”
“Enka, can you hypnotize them?”
“I can’t because I can’t see them yet. So I can’t tell if they’re hypnotized or not.”
“I see. …Makoto, I’m counting on you.”
“Got it.”
The three boys stood back to back and got ready.
Makoto, who had been an enemy until recently, was now someone he could trust. Having lost to him time and time again, he knew just how strong he was.
An enemy much stronger than him was now on his side. That was reassuring.
From out of the darkness, figures leapt at them.
“Waaahhhhh!”
Ryugo threw one of them and kicked another.
The three of them were currently under the hypnosis of “Soldier.” For ordinary people, it was a power that they could not possibly match.
Their opponents seemed to be high school students. He recognized them. They were the delinquents who had come to Iroha’s aid with Aira during the battle.
While watching Koji and Makoto fight, Ryugo inspired, “Iroha! Can you use the app!?”
“I can use one… no, wait! Maybe some people are under hypnosis and some aren’t!”
“What?”
“The moment I try to cast it on someone, someone always interferes!”
“Oh, so that’s what’s happening…”
In other words, if someone who was not under hypnosis was about to be hypnotized, someone who was under hypnosis would step in front of them, blocking their view and preventing the hypnosis.
Hypnosis could only be cast on someone who was looking at it. And if they missed once, they had to choose which hypnosis to use again.
It was a strategy that took advantage of the specifications.
They had deliberately sent someone who was not under hypnosis to make them think that they were busy using hypnosis.
The fact that the first person had been hypnotized so easily was probably to teach them about this strategy.
They must have planned to seize the smartphone while they were flustered and struggling.
It was a subtle strategy, but if they had fallen for it, they would have lost.
“Dammit… these guys! Are they after me!?”
Ryugo figured that they had been ordered by Aira to attack him because he had the app. She must not have realized that they had changed the owner.
However, as mentioned earlier, the hypnotized people had also been ordered to “protect him if someone tries to use the app,” so it was a strange situation.
“Koji! Makoto! I’m counting on you!”
Ryugo focused on defense while the others attacked.
He took punches, kicks, and body blows all over his body, but he endured it without falling. If he could just hold on, the other two would take care of it.
“Woraaa!”
The two of them mercilessly beat the heads of the enemies with the rubble that was lying around.
No, they’re going to die at worst….
Some of the enemies noticed and tried to fight back, but it was too late. Makoto pinned them down with his brute strength, and the rest was a piece of cake.
More than ten people collapsed on the spot, and the battle that had started with a surprise attack was over.
“Tanuki, what do you think the purpose of that attack was?”
Koji asked, looking at the boys lying on the floor.
“…I don’t know. I know they were after my smartphone.”
“I see… I can’t think of any other reason than that it was a reckless strategy.”
“Our opponent is Aira, right? An idiot like her would only think about overwhelming us with numbers.”
“It seems like you’re starting to understand how she thinks, Tanuki.”
“I figured it out after talking to her a bit. Even if she uses strategy, she’s still a spoiled brat at heart, so the results she wants are always short-sighted.”
“Good analysis. Keep predicting her actions like that. We’ll support you. Now, excuse me for waking you up, but let’s get these guys to tell us where Aira is.”