Spy Classroom Volume 4

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Now that they made it to the corner of the room, they could limit the
direction the attack might come from.
“…Oui, a backer, is it.” Baron’s voice reached them from the darkness ahead,
together with a wave of killing intent. “However, that will not change
anything. You cannot escape from this prison of darkness.”
Indeed, they still were at a great disadvantage. They had to fight to the death
with a trained boxer inside this pitch-black darkness—a disastrous situation,
indeed. Yet, Zibia did not move. She wasn’t afraid, as she had fought
someone far more dangerous before.
“Sorry to tell you, but when you couldn’t finish me off in one attack, your
loss was decided.” Zibia showed an arrogant smile, and readied her fist.
She quoted Grete’s words.
“The moment where we show our true abilities—is when we’re cornered, you
know?”
Thus, the counterattack of the girls began.

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Chapter 3: Hero

Located in the underground casino—the awe-inspiring battle between the
bluish-silver haired Monika and the university student Miranda was heating
up even further. The 27th round has ended, and their score has lined up again.
Miranda had assumed she managed to win over Monika, who had missed her
third triple twenty, only for her to miss as well. Except this one mistake, both
had shown excellent work so far.

Their current scores were both ‘4820’. At this point in time, the loser would
have to pay 480.000 Donnies. Or in other words, loss equalled bankruptcy,
and a dismemberment stripshow awaited. This battle of life and death had
continued for a long time, as every single onlooker didn’t even dare to blink.

This is getting pretty bad…

Monika stood in the middle of this, as she played with her bangs. The
problem was the third throw that happened during the 27th round.

Was that the wind? They must have set up some trick like that…So these
bookmakers must belong to Miranda as well…Not to mention that they’re
probably wary of Sara’s rat now as well…

Either way, the next time Monika would miss, that would be the end for sure.
Monika had to defeat Miranda, and gather as much information from her as
possible.

“Hey, when are you going to throw?” Miranda showed a smile, seeming like
she was sure of her victory.

She had just finished throwing for the 28th round. Naturally, she didn’t miss,
getting another ‘180’.

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“Are you scared now? Gotta be careful not to miss again.”

“…So that really was your doing, huh.”

“What might you be talking about? All that matters here is how the darts
flew.”

“No need for your worries, I already figured out a way to deal with this.”
Being provoked, Monika felt more calm than before.

She grasped the three darts, and stood in front of the board. She observed the
board, when she saw a bit of dust dancing past her vision. She saw something
odd going on inside the air. Only the wind in front of Monika’s board was not
working naturally. Of course, she couldn’t read the wind. Hence, the method
she chose felt almost too simple.

“Huh?” The audience gave a baffled response.

To each and every single one of them, what Monika was doing seemed
ridiculous. She raised both her arms into the air, continued to bend her left
knee, and heightened her waist. Her body leaned backwards. She pushed it
forwards, swung her arm, and threw the dart. With a loud sound, it rammed
right into the board, exactly where she had aimed at.

“Oh, that actually worked out.”

The audience couldn’t believe the miracle that just happened in front of them.
Every single person watching them knew what she had just done, and what
sport her motion belonged to. Even Miranda herself had trouble forming
words.

“I saw it in a TV relay yesterday. They call it a wind-up throw, right?”

She had shown the form one would pull through when playing basketball.
Using every spring in her body, she fired off the dart with an overthrow.
Gaining enough speed through this, the dart thrown by Monika practically cut
through the air, ignoring any possible obstruction. Monika did the same for
both the second and third throw, and scored a triple 20 every time.

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“—!” Miranda was at a loss for words.

The same could be said for the audience. The form she showed was
something none of them would have imagined to see during a game of darts.
You shouldn’t be able to control such a throw.

“This is just a miracle…! That won’t work forever!” Miranda screamed.

“It will though?”

Just as Monika announced, the same scene repeated. The 29th round, 30th
round, 31st round, 32nd round, Monika used the overthrow form to get the
greatest possible score. At the same time, Miranda continued as she had
before, equally scoring. However, the audience was slowly shifting towards
Monika. They had their hearts stolen by Monika’s odd technique, and
couldn’t be satisfied by Miranda’s average throwing no longer.

Everytime Monika threw a dart, the audience raised cheers. Passion returned
to the hall. By the time the audience was into it again, they had reached the
33rd round—

“We won’t reach any conclusion like this.” Monika announced. “Hey, how
about we throw our three darts at the same time?”

“…Are you stupid?”

“What, you scared? I’m totally fine with that, you know?” Monika said,
throwing all three darts without hesitation.

Naturally, all of them hit their mark, scoring another perfect 180. A round of
applause resounded from the audience, and Monika waved her hand like a
celebrity. As a cause of this, the expectations for Miranda rose—

“…I’m not doing some nonsensical move like that.” She chose to throw
every dart individually, gaining the maximum amount of points normally.

Of course, that resulted in her being booed. Some even spoke up, calling
Miranda a ‘coward’. Arriving at the 34th round, the 35th round, and the 36th
round, Monika continued to score again and again with her triple overthrow.

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The audience responded accordingly. In contrast to that, Miranda received
harsh complaints whenever she threw normally. They wanted to see
something of Monika’s level, or they should just leave. As a cause of this,
Miranda started to grow uneasy, sweat forming on her forehead. But, Monika
cornered her even further.

Now, Sara.

Reading the exact moment Miranda was focusing on throwing the dart,
Monika sent Sara a sign via hand. Outside of everyone’s vision ran a small
rat. Aiming at the perfect timing, it jumped at Miranda’s right leg, the second
she wanted to throw. Monika was sure of her victory, and smiled.

“—Mm!”

However, Miranda wasn’t shaken in the slightest. Betraying Monika’s
expectations, the three darts landed perfectly in the triple 20.

“………” Monika swallowed her breath.

Blood ran down Miranda’s heel. She could see a bite mark the rat was
currently creating, as it bit into her flesh. Yet, the girl fully ignored
everything. Both the booing, and Sara’s attempted distraction.

“What’s that surprised look for? Did you think you won?”

“……..”

“Not happening. No matter how you try to disrupt me, it won’t work on me.”
While talking to Monika, Miranda readied her darts.

During the following 37th round, she continued to carefully throw the dart,
one after the other.

“I’ve been throwing these darts hundreds of thousands of times. No matter
what you try, I just have to put faith in my efforts.”

Ever since round one, her rhythm, speed, and angle never changed. It’s like
she’s a precision machine, repeating every throw like the last one.

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“Efforts, huh. So that’s the difference between you and me.”

At the same time, Monika threw all her three darts at the same time, ending
the round in an instant. It’s a super throw nobody could even hope to copy.
Both of them had continued their throwing with their own form, not breaking
down. Thus, the 38th round came.

“That’s right. That’s also—why I won’t get tired.” Miranda smiled. “I get
what you’re trying to do. The reason you’re throwing all of them at the same
time isn’t for mere performance, you’re trying to lessen the number of
individual throws—because this form is exhausting your arm.”

“………”

“You will miss it eventually. No matter what kind of genius you are, you will
get tired.”

Bulls-eye, both figuratively and literally. In order to avoid the obstruction of
the wind, Monika has to throw the darts at full force. In response to that,
Miranda can keep throwing calmly and at her own leisure. It was obvious
who would get exhausted first. The 39th, 40th, and 41st round passed.

“Hey, aren’t you getting tired soon?”

“Aren’t you just as exhausted?”

“I told you before, I won’t.”

So did the 42nd, 43rd, and 44th round.

“You don’t understand…how much time I have put into polishing my skill…
Getting tired? No way in hell. I won’t miss even a thousand darts.”

“Why would you go that far?”

“—Intense pain.”

“Pain?”

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“A man’s voice constantly whispers in my head…>Continue your
practice<…If I try to fight against that, my head starts burning from the
pain…That man’s pain will break my heart…so I have to continue
throwing…Even if I have to sacrifice everything else. That’s how my fate has
been decided.”

The 45th round.

“…It’s hell…But, my body just moves on its own…I hate pain, so I have to
continue…even if I can’t sleep from the fear…that’s why I have to win
here…”

“………”

“I have faith that efforts can win against genius, and overcome any
adversity!”

The 46th round ended, and Monika let out a sigh. Thanks to the girl’s words,
she slowly started to understand—the shape of the mastermind. She rubbed
her right arm to relax it a bit, since she had to continue throwing at the same
speed. Just as Miranda stated, exhaustion started to show in her arm, her
muscles growing stiff.

—The situation is disadvantageous. The other person won’t get tired, and
won’t fail. If this continues into an extended battle, Monika will lose. As the
47th round arrived, Monika was forced to change her strategy. She stopped
throwing three darts at the same time, and only held one.

“Hm? You’re going back to only throwing one?” Miranda showed a
ridiculing laugh.

“Yup.”

“Exhaustion getting to you? Or maybe afraid to fail? But, that just means you
have to throw more in the end, right?”

In order to keep her accuracy, Monika had to continue throwing only one
dart. However, throwing three darts separately would only break down her

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form faster. Monika showed a self-ridiculing smile.

If only I had Lily’s poison, this would be so easy.

You wish for things you don’t have. But, if it was her, she should have been
able to turn things around. With the poison that doesn’t work against herself,
she could fight back, and easily defeat Miranda.

—However, Monika doesn’t have that talent.

Of course, she held a skill of her own—’Spatial Awareness1‘. It is something
she kept secret from her allies as well. Using her precise execution that
resembled the calculative talent of a machine, she could use the reflection of
mirrors to trap the enemy’s movement right where she wanted them. In the
world of spies, such a skill was highly valued—but in the end, it was just a
talent. She couldn’t hope to compete against an idiosyncrasy like Lily’s. You
could even call it a half-baked skill.

I really have to fight with such a shit-weak talent, huh.

Ridiculing herself, Monika continued to throw. The 48th round passed, and
the 49th round continued. The irregularity in Monika’s throwing showed in
round 50, on her second throw.

“!”

Right after she had thrown, Monika’s face distorted, and she held her right
hand. Her arrow was floating towards the upper right, hitting the single 1.

“Seems like this is your limit.”

At the same time, Miranda scored her second triple 20 of this round. In other
words, if she doesn’t miss her third dart, Monika will suffer defeat. The total
score was nearing 9000, reaching a number that could not be paid that easily.

“That feels great. To think I’d see the day where effort wins against talent.”
Miranda showed a calm smile, and readied her third dart.

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She was trying to finish this battle, and the audience was feeling like the
conclusion was close. At the same time, Monika spotted Sara in the crowd,
who was stretching her back as much as possible, forming words with her
mouth.

“Run away, Monika-senpai!”

Monika had to admit that this was the choice she should take. Run away with
your tail between your legs. Throw away your pride, and beat down these
masked men to escape. However, Monika merely held her right arm, not
moving an inch.

“Efforts alone are not good enough.” She announced.

Miranda stopped all movement, and looked at Monika.

“I don’t deny your rigorous training. But, that alone is not enough.”

Miranda narrowed her eyes.

“What are you talking about…?”

“You’re pissing me off. You and your shitty values.”

“Huh?”

“‘Efforts can win against genius, and overcome any adversity’, was it? Are
you stupid? In this world riddled with pain, how many people do you think
have lost their lives despite being blessed with talent or their environment.”

In her head, Monika envisioned the sight of the strongest of this world. He
should know—that there exists absurdity in this world you alone can’t do
anything against, and about all the people that died in vain, as well as the
children that weren’t even given the chance for training, all the talented lives
that were lost. That’s why, the man had predicted as follows the moment he
met Monika and the others:

‘You have endless potential sleeping inside of you.’

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The very first thing he respected about them—was talent.

“There’s walls that you can’t overcome with sheer effort alone.”

It was easy to understand. Could an average human being hope to win against
Klaus with efforts alone? The answer would be a solid No.

Once you meet that guy, you understand right away that even effort has a
limit…!

She learned this the past few months.

“It’s pissing me off.” Monika clicked her tongue. “Even though you’re a
genius, you act like some average person.”

“…Could you stop with the jokes? Is that your last attempt to shake me?”
Miranda smiled, and threw her dart. “It’s over, I’ll finish this game right
here!”

The second the dart left Miranda’s fingertips, Monika readied hers.

“Let me tell you why you have lost. You shouldn’t put faith in your efforts—
but your own talent.”

Miranda was wrong. It’s not that she was panicking with her last throw. She
had trusted her efforts to the very end. That’s why she chose the same form,
same angle, same speed, same speed, same trajectory. If she had changed her
posture only a little bit, the results would have changed. Against a
kaleidoscopic Monika, choosing the same method for several rounds was a
fatal mistake. Monika waited for the right timing, and fired off her third dart.
It didn’t aim at the board—but Miranda’s dart.

“Huh?” Miranda let out a baffled voice.

Her exhaustion was mere acting. In reality, Monika had still enough energy
to spare, but she needed Miranda to think that she was running out. As a
result, Miranda fired off the dart with all the time in the world, allowing
Monika to chase after it, and shoot it down. Monika watched her own dart
spin through the air, and remembered.

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Effort always reaches a limit…an average person cannot hope to compete
against a genius…

Meeting Klaus, she was forced to accept this reality, namely that she and him
were in an entirely different dimension.

But, Klaus-san chose me. Praising me again and again.

He repeated these same words over and over, as if to chant them.

‘—Marvelous2.’

And if even he says so, then I just have to believe that I’m a genius.

In the end, Monika believed in her own talent. She continued watching
Miranda throw her darts for hundreds of times, and came up with this
extremely complicated technique. She just believed in herself, believed that
she could pull this off. Miranda’s dart flew down, whereas Monika’s flew
through the air, lifted upwards just as planned. Overlapping with the first
dart, it ended up on the perfect location on the board.

“No way…”

“You said it before, right? All that counts here is the darts hitting the board.”

The 50th round came to an end, with the final score being 8901 to 8900 for
Monika. The audience raised cheers. This battle, which had continued for
more than two hours, finally came to a climactic end. Sara watched this with
tears in her eyes, and clapped her hands. Miranda watched this, and collapsed
to the floor.

“It’s my win.” Monika said, looking down at her.

“………!”

“Now, can you pay the money? Or pay for it with your favorite stripshow?”

Miranda’s expression tightened up.

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“If not, I don’t mind paying the money. As long as you give me information
on who ordered you, that is.”

Monika wanted information on the mastermind, which could very well
possibly be [Murasakiari], who she wanted information on no matter the cost.
That’s why she waited for Miranda’s next words, but—With no warning
whatsoever, Miranda pointed the darts at her own throat.

“…!” Even monika was taken by surprise, as she frantically stopped her arm.
“What are you doing? There’s no need for you to die.”

“No…” Miranda shook her head. “It’s been decided like that…”

“What do you mean?”

“‘Lose, and you shall die’, is…what that person said…If I don’t do that, more
pain will be coming…more punishment…I don’t want that…I’d rather die…
My body won’t even listen to me anymore…” She resisted Monika’s
restraint, and tried to kill herself even now.

With tears in her eyes, she tried to stab herself.

“No more punishment, please…”

“—!”

Rage started to burn up inside Monika’s body. Miranda was just another
average citizen. Because of the mastermind’s torture, she was turned into a
soldier. In reality however, she should be a normal girl, who enjoys playing,
and has a talent for darts. A girl you could get along just fine. Yet, blood
came dripping from her neck, as she muttered with a weak voice.

“…Ahh, I wonder if the Hero won’t come save me.”

“Huh?”

“A long time ago, I was saved by someone. They say that the Hero will
appear when you’re at the pits of despair, saving you. Maybe that was a lie
after all? Even though these words were inside my head all the time…?”

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She spoke of something that sounded like a fairytale. Monika judged that she
must be at her limit, and decided to knock her out with a quick flick to the
neck, having her lose consciousness. However, even as the girl collapsed to
the floor, she held strongly onto the darts, like her life depended on it.

“Treat her. You’re her accomplices, right? If she tries to kill herself again,
stop her. I don’t need any money, so just do that for me.” Monika told the
people working at the underground casino.

Naturally, that was no proper conclusion. As soon as she regained her
consciousness, she would attempt to kill herself again. There was no method
to save her—except killing the mastermind of course. Monika turned her
back towards the baffled audience, and muttered.

“Sara, let’s go. We have to report this to the intelligence squad.”

“…Right.” Sara lined up next to Monika, as the two returned above ground.

Until they made it up, none of them spoke a word. Luck had been on their
side, but it wasn’t exactly a victory worth celebrating. It merely showed the
darkness that this city had to offer. Monika wrote down some words on her
memo, hidden behind a secret code, and handed it to Sara. She let out a
pigeon hiding beneath her hat, and bound the paper around its foot. Right
away, it set off, heading towards the flat where the intelligence squad was
seated.

“B-But!” Right as Sara finished her task, she raised a voice. “You were
amazing! My respect for you has grown, Monika-senpai!”

“Thanks, but your support was great as well, Sara.”

“Eh, no no! I didn’t do anything—”

“You know, I want you to realize how much talent you have.”

“…?”

“Well, you saved me this time, so once this mission is over, I’ll teach you
some things. From all the brats and idiots in [Tomoshibi], you’re the most

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reasonable one.”

“R-Really?” Sara started blushing ever so slightly, smiling.

Monika took out a dart from her pocket, playing with it between her fingers.

“Ah, you borrowed one?” Sara laughed.

“Yeah, I might as well try it out some more, I thought.” Monika nodded.

“…Eh, try it out?”

“Right. It worked pretty well for my first time playing darts.”

Sara’s mouth was wide open in shock, but Monika merely showed a calm
smile.

Thus, the battle at the underground casino ended with Monika/Sara comp’s
victory. However, what greeted them right after was—

***

Zibia and Elna were still in the middle of battle. In the midst of this prison of
darkness, locked inside a building unfamiliar to them, they could only rely on
all their senses except vision. At the same time, their enemy, Baron, could
fight just fine even in this darkness. He could pick up even the faintest
breathing of the two, and locate them. Removing any emitting killing intent,
his trained boxer fists aimed at their vital points. With just one hit, it could be
all over for them.

Facing this was Zibia with her physical ability and endurance, as well as—

“From the left!”

Elna and her intuition. Zibia reacted to these words, and twisted her body,
firing off a kick. If her leg were to hit, she could determine the location of the
man. Following that, she fired off a gun, which allowed her to see the man’s
face for a fragment of a second, thanks to the sparks flying off. He seemed
surprised by the sudden counterattack.

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“…Damn insects.”

Zibia’s attack left no fatal wound, as Baron seemingly managed to evade in
the last second. Footsteps resounded, as he was hiding his body in the
shadows. Zibia pushed Elna behind her back, and had her stand between
Zibia herself and the wall. There’s no need for her to move at all, since she
could figure out the enemy’s location. The battle in darkness moved with one
step forward, two steps back.

“Elna, let me hear your opinion.” Zibia asked. “What should we do to break
out of this situation.?”

In this situation that could not be dealt with by normal means, Zibia judged
she was better off relying on someone who focussed more on the brains
instead of the gains. It might not be Grete, but Elna was a clever girl herself.
Baron probably could hear them talking, but that was something minor now.
The other person had delicate ears, so even whispering would be picked up
by him.

“We can only retreat temporarily.” Elna gave an immediate response.

Even in this situation that could leave one panicking, she gave a calm
judgement.

“Since the door we came in from is locked, we have to escape through
another way. Fighting here is too unfavorable.”

“I don’t want to admit it, but you’re right about that. I don’t see any way of
us winning otherwise.”

“We’re not losing, we just have to retreat to win later.”

“Sounds great. But, there’s one thing I’d love to ask.”

“Hm?”

“—Where is the exit?”

“………………”

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Naturally, since their field of view was limited to the extreme, they had no
way of knowing which way to even take. Not to mention that they never went
inside this building before.

“What misfortune…” Elna groaned behind Zibia.

“Well, it can’t be helped this time, I guess.”

From the sounds of it, they had to continue fighting in the darkness.
Searching around in this current situation was far more dangerous, as they
could not pinpoint the direction Baron would attack from.

“From straight ahead.” Elna said.

They anticipated the incoming attack, and moved along the wall. Zibia would
fire off a bullet, whose loud sound reverberated inside the darkness, but the
bullet vanished into the distance, as Baron’s fist came attacking again. The
best Zibia could do was intercept this. A jab and hook combo was blocked by
her arm, and Zibia was pulled along by Elna.

“…Oui, sharp intuition.” He coughed in annoyance.

The arm Zibia used to defend had gotten numb. She must have suffered from
internal bleeding. Sending off another bullet to check, Baron took his
distance again. It was a careful hit-and-run, but with fists. It might be his
distinct boxing style. This time, he attacked without any interval of silence.
Luckily, Elna could predict his attack barely in time, otherwise they would
have been done for. Zibia avoided the first that flew past her face, and
crawled along the floor to escape.

Not long before he actually hits…!

He’s a dangerous opponent to deal with already, and thanks to Elna’s
prediction they only barely hold their ground. Once Zibia runs out of bullets,
it’ll be even harder.

“Mm…” An anxious voice could be heard from Elna.

Zibia searched for her hand in the darkness, grabbed it, and ran through the

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room. They ran into another wall again, hugging it, and waited for Baron’s
attack.

“Yo, Baron-san!” Zibia raised her voice.

“…Oui?” A response came from somewhere in this darkness.

Zibia tried to figure out the direction of the voice, but she didn’t want to use
her precious bullets in an attempt to hit him.

“Why are you doing this?” She asked him. “It’s obvious that you could work
as a boxer, so why become an assassin like this?”

According to the vice company president’s story, he had to retire because of
an injury, but that was clearly a lie. He could be in his prime even now.
Baron waited a moment, and responded.

“…Oui, I have no obligation to tell you.”

“‘Zat so.” Zibia shrugged her shoulders, when she heard a sigh coming from
Baron.

“What about you two anyway? Aren’t you two the same? Unable to live as a
proper human being.” He spoke with a heavy tone. “We cannot go anywhere.
Just crawl around in darkness—Or am I wrong?” Strong resignation could be
heard in his voice.

Zibia didn’t have any high expectations, but winning him over would prove
difficult. They had to somehow run away in the darkness, away from battle.
As if to say that anymore talking was impossible, Baron grew silent,
preparing for another attack. At the same time, Zibia made up her mind as
well. With no light, no sound in this situation, it felt like the end of the world
had happened. Not even the lights of the main street, and the horns of the
traffic jam reached them here.

“Coming from the…ri…ght?” Elna muttered.

Her intonation was different from before. Zibia felt it as well, their opponent
had changed his attack pattern. She felt his fist approaching, but it was

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different. His focus wasn’t on Zibia—but Elna. He was planning on defeating
the weaker girl first, to then take care of Zibia alone. He passed by Zibia
without creating a sound, and aimed his fist at—

“Don’t joke with me!”

—Zibia fired off a roundhouse kick. It was an inhumane reaction thanks to
her physical abilities. Although she didn’t hit any vital point, she felt a
reaction, which was probably Baron’s face. Her body must have moved
naturally thanks to all the experience thus far.

“Don’t you dare touch my teammate!” She felt satisfied with this attack.

Finally, she managed to fight back to some degree, after having been played
with for so long. However—

“…Oui. You’re still naive, falling for provocation like that.”

It sounded as if everything went according to his plan. He apparently decided
to receive Zibia’s attack like that, as he grabbed the leg hitting his face,
breaking her balance. Zibia tried reaching for him with her arm.

“It’s over.” Baron’s fist hammered right into Zibia’s abdomen.

Her breathing stopped entirely, and her head was filled with white
nothingness. When she finally caught a hold of herself, she had crashed into
the ground, her body aching all over. By the time she finished rolling along
the floor, she couldn’t put any more strength into her limbs.

“Zibia-oneechan…!” Elna let out a weep.

“It’s fine.” In order to not worry the girl, Zibia suppressed the pain, and
showed a smile. “—I stole it already.”

The darkness vanished. A small light illuminated the room, revealing the
office desks, Elna’s baffled face, and even the sight of Baron. All thanks to
the lighter inside of Zibia’s hand.

“You…” Baron clicked his tongue.

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Zibia remembered the scene of Baron lighting the vice company president’s
cigarette, and in which pocket he stuffed it after the use. She looked away
from the lighter, searching through the room, to find a map hanging on the
wall.

I saw it, there’s the exit…!

No time to relax, Zibia had to end this before the flame of the lighter ran out.
She put as much strength as she could into her body, and stood up. She
quickly grabbed Elna’s arm, and started running.

***

Baron watched the two girls with a cold gaze, and started chasing them. But,
not at full speed. He always kept a certain level of distance between the light
and himself.

“We’re gonna make it out at this rate,” laughed the girl named ‘Zibia’.

Her voice was energetic, and sure of her own victory. She must be thinking
what to do after they made it out of this darkness.

No… Baron groaned on the outside, but showed a grin on the inside. You
won’t be able to escape.

Their shallow thinking was nothing to be afraid of after all. After, everything
went according to Baron’s plan.

You stand out too much, don’t understand how you reveal so much
information about yourself.

Although it was a coincidence, Baron was aiming for her. After all, she was a
reporter-in-training, who suddenly came to interview politicians who had
doubts twirling around them. Baron became wary of her, and thought of her
possible patterns of action. Everything had been set up by him.

I expected you to recklessly face me like this. It was obvious you were going
to steal the lighter from me. All people trapped in darkness would attempt the
same.

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Baron gazed at Zibia, who held the lighter in her hands.

—Just follow the map that just so happened to be there.

It’s not that they were particularly weak, or easy. She remembered the
location of the lighter with a single glance, so she must be trained. However,
she was lacking discreteness.

On the map, it showed stairs that led down to the 5th floor. Turn right at the
‘fire distinguisher’, and pass the ‘office kitchen’, you’ll get to the emergency
stairs…Baron formed a fist. However, these emergency stairs at the trap that
I set up…!

Once they set foot onto these stairs, they’ll be cut to pieces by the piano
wires. That’s why, Baron just had to calmly chase after them. They were
cautious of his battle in strength and ability to see in the dark, but the real
secret weapon of Baron was this clever brain of his. He only had to corner his
prey, and have them kill themselves.

“…Oui. Wait…” He acted like he was out of breath, and called out to the
girls.

“No way we’d wait!” Zibia said.

That’s it, that’s the way. It was clear they wanted to see light as quickly as
possible. Run away from the darkness all you want. Baron had to be more
careful of the smaller girl either way. Her intuition was too good for her sake,
and she might tell Zibia of the piano wires. But, Baron doubted that she could
even rely on her ability in this mess of a situation.

“Zibia-oneechan, let’s hurry…”

As expected, sweat started building on the girl’s face, shown by the flame of
the lighter. In this stress-filled situation, there’s no chance she could remain
calm and think things through. Fighting to the death in this darkness is
enough to create full-blown panic, narrowing your thought process. In the
face of this, Baron was sure of his victory.

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You can’t escape from this darkness…You will die in this labyrinth of
darkness I created…

Baron closed his eyes in joy.

You cannot get anywhere anymore…!

Just a few more meters, and they would turn at the extinguisher—

“No, this ain’t it.” Zibia suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Baron couldn’t believe it. With just a few more steps, she should have made
it to fake safety.

“…What?” A baffled voice escaped his lips.

Since they haven’t even made it to the stairs, they should have no knowledge
of the trap. It didn’t seem like the other girl gave Zibia any warning either.
She herself even looked at Zibia in confusion.

She however ignored this, took off her overwear, and threw it to the ground.
Following this, she threw the lighter at it, setting fire to it.

“With this much light, we should be able to fight for around three minutes.
That’s enough time for you, right?” Illuminated by the light, Zibia showed an
arrogant smirk.

Baron’s eyes opened wide, utterly shocked.

Why is she restricting herself like this? Once the fire burns out, she’ll be
wrapped up in darkness…

Baron had no idea why she suddenly changed her opinion.

“…Are you not scared of the darkness?” Baron felt the sudden urge to ask
her.

“I’m not a kiddo, you know.” Zibia cracked a laugh. “I don’t like running
away all the time, see…I guess I don’t need a gun either. Let’s go for some

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hand-to-hand combat, eh?”

“!”

Zibia continued to act entirely out of anything Baron could have imagined.
She took out the handgun from her chest pocket, and threw it at her ally’s
feet. Even the knife fell to the ground, creating a dull sound.

I don’t believe it…Why would she take such an unreasonable method…?

Baron’s heart started to race with uncertainty, as his body started to grow
hotter, sweat pouring from his body. His calculations were breaking down.
All the confirmations and plans he made to defeat his opponent were torn
apart by this unreasonable existence in front of him.

Does she think killing is some sort of sport?

Baron had no need to play along with this hand-to-hand combat. He had a
gun at his disposal. He could just shoot her to death, and call it a day. The
only reason he hadn’t used it before was simply because he isn’t skilled at
shooting in the dark. Right as he reached for his jacket, Zibia closed the
distance between the two.

“You—!” Zibia didn’t hesitate to fire a fist at him. “Seems like you’re always
suffering. Like you’re panicking. No composure at all.”

That voice made it sound like she was enjoying the battle, yet again betraying
anything Baron could have imagined. She attacked him with continued
punches and low kicks. Hit with these attacks, Baron groaned.

“…I don’t need…composure…”

What surfaced in his head was the overwhelming violence of a certain man.

As the family was sitting together in harmony during your average
Christmas, that man appeared, with subordinates. Baron had been
apprehended, and his family was met with malicious violence. He was forced
to watch his family screaming in agony.

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“Did you ever hear your son screaming in fear and terror? Did you ever hear
the shrieks of your wife, begging for her life? Do you understand the intense
pain that your family is feeling right now?”

At the end of hour-long violence, when his mentality was completely broken,
Baron heard the man whisper into his ear.

—>Become my [Worker Ant], and kill spies for me<.

He couldn’t fight against him. Baron’s body moved on its own, becoming the
man’s puppet. He had to kill. Using his experience as a boxer, he learned
skills as an assassin.

“…I will kill you…And then, I will save my family…”

A close-range hand-to-hand combat was perfect for him. He dodged Zibia’s
attack, blocking the other, and leaped at her. They grabbed each other’s
shoulders, pushing. Baron had no way of losing in terms of raw strength.
Zibia herself wasn’t necessarily weak, but Baron overpowered her. She ended
up getting pushed against the wall, her throat about to be strangled.

“Family, huh.” Even so, Zibia continued to smile. “I get that. I also wanted to
save my family. Save my brothers and sisters.”

“Then…why can you smile like that…?”

“Regret. I panicked, and only rushed ahead, which led me to fail. Because of
all the worries plaguing me, I couldn’t see anything. Left in despair, I
couldn’t even put faith in this supposed brighter future.”

The girl’s eyes were brimming with confidence, despite everything she just
said.

“But, there was someone who called me ‘Marvelous’, saying I had worth just
the way I was.”

“…!”

“Thanks to that, I managed to gain more composure—My current family is

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the best, I’m telling you.”

Baron could not comprehend those words. All he had received from the man
were these orders.

—>Kill until you run out of people to kill<, >Lose, and you shall die<,
>Listen to me if you want to save your family<.

For the past three years, Baron continued to kill. He polished his skills as a
spy, learned out to get every possible drop of information from the enemy,
and even learned the angle at which to twist the other person’s neck to
instantly kill them. He even became good at fighting in the darkness. Even
so, once a month, he would receive a call, only playing the screams and
weeping of his wife and son.

“Then, do as you please. Rot away in this darkness.”

“Nah, I’m going exactly where I want.”

As if to shut up Zibia as quickly as possible, Baron reached for Zibia’s neck.

“…This is the end.”

Right after, a blonde-haired girl moved in his field of view. He reflexively
moved away from Zibia, only for a bullet to graze his cheek, paired with a
roaring sound. It was a large bullet, from what he could make out. So much
that his face felt hot just by the bullet passing him by. Said bullet burst right
into the wall, creating a large hole.

A magnum bullet? What a grotesque gun she’s using…

Baron looked at the golden-haired girl. She must have been unable to cope
with the recoil of the gun, as she rolled backwards. She was clearly forcing
herself to use such a large gun. She must have been really unlucky, as she hit
the back of her head at the wall.

“Mm!” The girl groaned. “What misfortune…” She muttered, and lost
consciousness.

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Apparently, Baron didn’t even have to worry about her any further. In the
end, that girl was riddled with mystery, but once she’s dead, nobody will
care. Hence, Baron would once again focus on Zibia.

“Now, it’s time to finish you—” He started, but the sound of a gun being
fired interrupted him. “Huh…?”

He was unable to put strength into his legs, sanking to the ground. Strong
pain assaulted him at his knee.

—He had been shot.

Baffled and lost on what just happened, he raised his head. There stood Zibia,
holding the automatic handgun that should be inside his pocket.

“A handgun…?”

She must have stolen it in that one second Baron directed his attention over at
the blonde-haired girl. But, Baron couldn’t accept this. Didn’t she wish for
hand-to-hand combat? Why would she use a gun now?

“Weren’t you the one who didn’t want to fight like a coward?”

“Huh? There’s no place for the word ‘coward’ in a battle to the death
between spies. It was just a lie to make you lower your guard.” She said,
totally unfazed.

Nothing was wrong with what she said. However, her words and actions were
contradicting themselves.

“T-Then…! Why did you not run towards the emergency stairs?”

Indeed, she chose to stay, and fight amidst the darkness, instead of running
towards the safety of light. If acting like a coward was allowed from the very
start, then she should have continued to run away. Her actions are all over the
place. Nothing matches up.

“…It’s weird. You should have seen the map, and the fact that you can
escape from this floor, so why did you hesitate?”

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Zibia showed a grin, like she figured out exactly what he was talking about.

“I see, so that’s where your calculations broke apart. Did the stairs have a
trap?”

“…”

“See, you were lacking composure after all. To think you’d miss such a
simple answer.”

“Miss such a simple answer?” Baron observed Zibia.

She had been working as a newbie newspaper reporter in order to gather
information. Just what is she telling Baron had missed? All the words she had
said played back inside of his head.

‘Could you give me a few words regarding the discussion records at the
branch conference that opened up yesterday. Aren’t your words contradicting
themselves?’

‘W-Wha! Don’t blurt out nonsense, lady!’

‘Choose whatever you want from this menu.’

‘Really? Awesome. Then, I’ll take everything to the right of this menu.’

Baron arrived at the cruel reality he had missed, and swallowed his breath.
That had to have been impossible. Yet, she was acting like it was the most
natural thing in the world.

“Don’t tell me…”

“You know, I learned which boat to take to get here, you know? But, the
language of this place? No time. Talking is my limit, but the rest is too
difficult.” She stuck out her tongue. “I can’t read any letters of this
language.”

It all made sense. The reason she gave up on running—was simply because
she couldn’t read the map. Fire extinguisher, office kitchen, emergency stairs,

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she ran through the darkness, not knowing these words. Is that something
Baron could have hoped to grasp? A girl, a spy, sneaking into this country,
unable to even read the native language!?

It was too ridiculous to accept. But, that is what led to Baron’s confusion, and
ultimately forced him to let down his guard. Met with this unexpected turn of
events, his reaction was belated.

So…I lost.

The blood still hasn’t stopped gushing out of his knee. A large hole had
opened up. He rushed to close off the wound, but a certain man’s words
flashed up in the back of her head.

—>Lose, and you shall die<

His body wouldn’t move. This numb brain didn’t give the order to stop the
blood loss. At this rate, this was reaching close to suicide. However, if he
were to die, then his family would be killed. They would suffer endless
torture, and pass away like insects.

I want to live…I don’t want to die. Please, I want to see my family again…

He was searching for hope, seeking light in this darkness. However, the blood
loss led his consciousness to shake, and his death was approaching.

My voice…Ah, what was it? Someone told me before…

—A Hero will appear. They will save you at the depths of despair.

—Until then, you cannot die.

Baron failed to remember whose words these were. Unlike the cruel man’s
words, these felt like they were filled with warmth, and kindness. But, that
must have been a lie. Nobody would reach out for Baron any longer. As this
city holds no Hero at all.

***

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Zibia looked at Baron, who had lost consciousness.

What’s with him…he didn’t even try to stop the bloodloss…

Zibia hadn’t planned on killing him. Instead, she wanted to gather
information about the mastermind that forced him to do this. However, Baron
didn’t even attempt to save his own life, and fell unconscious because of the
bloodloss. At this rate, he will certainly die. Naturally, Zibia had no
obligation to save him, but…

“Ah, damn it!” Zibia groaned, and took out an emergency kit.

The bullet had pierced the knee. If she could stop the bloodloss, there might
be a chance to help him. She fiercely tied up the knee that had been shot, and
stopped the blood. Next, they just had to leave the building, and call for an
ambulance. The best Zibia could do was bet on Baron’s desire to live. It was
clear that he had been threatened by someone, but he himself didn’t deserve
to die for that.

Zibia woke up the still unconscious Elna, and moved away from this sixth
floor. Since she knew that the emergency stairs were a trap, she went to
safely disarm it.

“Well, it doesn’t feel too satisfying, but a win is a win.”

“Yes.”

Zibia wrote down the information on a piece of paper, and Elna put that on a
rat’s body that came running. It was Sara’s pet again, with it’s duty being the
delivery of information to the intelligence squad.

Eventually the two arrived on solid ground again, and the lights of the
neighbouring buildings were in sight. At the same time, both of them took a
deep breath, and sucked in some fresh air. Since they both did it in perfect
sync, they burst out laughing.

“We’re a pretty good team, huh.”

“If it’s with Zibia-oneechan, we’re unbeatable.”

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Both confirmed the health of the other, and shared a light fist bump.
Following that, Zibia scratched her cheek.

“Onee-chan, huh…”

Until now, Zibia never thought of her allies as a family. Her father was a
gang leader, which she delivered to the police, and brought herself and her
siblings into an orphanage—She shook her head.

“Yeah! Leave it to your Onee-chan!”

Zibia ignored her past memories, and showed a lively smile.

Thus, the battle at the multi-tenant building ended with Zibia’s and Elna’s
victory. However, what greeted them next was—

***

Two animals appeared at the windows of Tia’s and Grete’s room: A rat, and a
pigeon, both of them being Sara’s pets, used as [Tomoshibi]’s main
information transmission devices, as the danger of being overheard over
telephone and radio was too great. Hence, at important times like these, they
relied on these animals for safe transfer of information. Since these two had
appeared, it meant that Monika and Zibia safely came out on top against their
attackers.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Tia invited the two animals inside. Grete read the
two papers tied to their body, and informed Tia: About the battle at the
underground casino and inside the dark building. They had both won against
these mysterious attackers.

“—is what it says.” Grete finished reading it.

“Amazing…! They actually won…!” Tia celebrated.

Not only did they win against an unknown enemy, but also on foreign ground
like this. It showed that they had grown massively as spies.

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“…Just as expected.” Grete nodded calmly. “Monika-san’s and Zibia-san’s
physical abilities cannot be underestimated after all…Together with Sara-san
and Elna-san as their support, they should be able to overcome any
obstacle…”

“Y-Yes, that’s what I anticipated as well.”

“Indeed, they showed exactly what I expected.”

“……”

The reason Tia was at a loss for words wasn’t simply because the action
squad and peculiar traits squad had shown success. Rather, it was because
everything up until now was exactly as Grete had envisioned it. The actions
and positioning of the girls was mostly decided on by the girl herself. The
goal was for them to be attacked by the assassins, be supported by the
peculiar traits squad, and fight back to gather information.

I thought that Monika was the only one in Tomoshibi who held extraordinary
talent, but…

That assumption had proven to be false. There was another person with
astonishing abilities. When Tia first met Grete, she didn’t possess such talent.
She was meek and fragile, adding her absolute weakness of being bad at
dealing with men, an existence where you could understand how she was a
drop-out. There must have been some trigger for this change.

—Possibly an encounter that changed her life as a whole.

“However, I am quite concerned about Lily-san. Let us have the other
members head her direction…We still lack crucial information, so we have to
prepare for the unexpected.”

“R-Right. Let’s try and get them on the radio.”

“…We should probably contact the Boss as well, if we get through to him.”

Tia headed to the wireless transceiver inside their room. At the same time as
she felt relieved now that her allies were in safety, a complicated feeling

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filled her chest.

I sure am pathetic…

While her allies were fighting for their lives, she was at the safety of this flat,
and had Grete give out the orders. Why was she even here in the first place?
She grit her teeth, and operated the transceiver.

I’ll just do what I can, and make sure that I’m not a liability for Grete.

That is the only path she had left to take—As those who did not grow had no
other role to play. Right as Tia touched the transceiver, a call arrived at the
phone set up in the living room.

“A call…?” She stopped her fingers. “From who could it be? It must be
pretty serious.”

Grete seemed suspicious as well. Quite possibly, it could be new information.
Tia moved her hand over, and picked up the receiver.

‘It’s me, Aneki.’

A voice came back, originating from Annette. She should currently be
together with Lily.

“W-What happened?”

‘The great me will keep it short. Me and [Hanazono]-Aneki ran away from
the police. There was some trouble on the way, but we managed to get away.’

“R-Really, glad to hear that.”

Apparently they had overcome their trouble as well. No doubt, they must
have shown flawless cooperation together. That however brings up the
question as to why she was calling in the first place. Annette didn’t wait long,
and delivered the cruel answer.

‘And then—twelve other assassins came!’

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“Twelve…!?” Both Tia, and Grete who was listening from a distance, were
shocked.

According to the information they had received, the two girls had to fight
against a single enemy. And, in order to win, they had to bet their lives on the
line. Yet, there are twelve of these enemies now? That would just be a one-
sided slaughter.

‘How long should we try and deal with them?’

“W-Wait a second, you’re currently safe, right? Where is Lily?”

Unable to hold back, Tia happened to call the girl by her real name. Annette
gave an immediate response.

‘Aneki helped the great me escape, and is buying time.’

“That girl is…”

‘But, at this rate, she’s definitely going to die.’

Lily is fighting all alone. She passed information on to Annette, while trying
to buy as much time as possible, facing certain death—

“W-We’ll have the others head over there right away! Until then, you have to
survive at all costs!”

‘No, there’s something Aneki wanted me to tell you.’ Annette spoke.
‘There’s a high chance that the others are dealing with similar problems right
now.’

The transceiver started ringing. They offered emergency lamps, lighting up if
immediate assistance was required. Two of these lamps were glowing, one
white, and one bluish-silver.

“…Tia-san.” Grete muttered. “An SOS from Zibia-san and Monika-san just
came in…” Even she couldn’t hide her shock, her face pale.

It finally set in. The enemy they had to defeat was finally showing their

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fangs. What devil were they dealing with, who would sacrifice other people’s
lives, give orders from above, order suicide at defeat, and pressed despair
against their allies? It’s like the soldiers—ants received orders from their
King. Is this [Murasakiari]’s strength?

If twelve of these attackers appeared at every location, then they could be
dealing with more than 36 in total. Too many to handle, without a second
thought needed. This situation was almost helpless. The girls from
[Tomoshibi] had no hope of standing against this.

—How many were there? 30? 40? Or in the worst case—even 50?

Intermission: Violet Ant (3)

“287…that is the total number of [Worker Ants] I have stationed here in
Mitalio.” Murasakiari said.

Though these numbers would raise and lower at times, the greater average
was around that number. Counting all the [Worker Ants] he had in the entire
world, it was more than 400.

“If these worker ants find any spies sneaking into the city, they kill them.
Once a single one fails, another 12 heads to their last location, that’s how I
ordered them.” Murasakiari spoke, as he put down some peanuts on the back
of his beloved dog-man.

He broke them with his fingers, and took out the contents. He lined up 287
individual nuts, and nodded. ‘The girl’ had nothing to say, so Murasakiari
decided to deliver the explanation himself. He revealed the overwhelming
strength he possesses. Since the fate of the ‘girl’ had been decided, he didn’t
have to worry about any information leaking.

“No matter the spy, they will get overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Even if

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they were caught, the greater half of these [Worker Ants] had been ordered to
kill themselves. You were fighting hard, but not a single victory held any
meaning, what a shame.”

The ‘girl’ looked at Murasakiari with open eyes, like she was doubtful.

“I understand your doubts.” Murasakiari said. “If you managed to have these
[Worker Ants] rebel against me, I should have no way of defending myself—
right?”

‘She’ showed affirmation. It made sense, as not even Murasakiari could
possibly defend against an all-out attack of all the [Worker Ants]

“Indeed. As a matter of fact, be it my beloved dog, or this bartender here,
they could both kill me, most likely. I am not good at fighting in the slightest.
If I were betrayed now, I would die for sure.”

Some of these [Worker Ants] held overwhelming battle talent as well. If they
even thought of killing Murasakiari, a few seconds would be enough, surely.
Bare hands could easily snap his neck, and that would free them. However,
they could not hope to do so.

“Idiotic. Don’t underestimate my power.” Murasakiari kicked the stomach of
his beloved dog. “>Strangle yourself<.”

The second Murasakiari gave the order, his beloved dog put his hands on his
neck, strangling himself. His fingers bit into the flesh, as she raised groans of
agony. He didn’t even try to stop. Murasakiari watched the man with a joyful
smile.

“Well, that’s about it. I made sure that they wouldn’t even dare revolt against
me. They are my slaves, working for my sake until their life burns out.”

The man was close to passing out, when Murasakiari had him stop with a
‘—>Stop<’. The man was gasping for air, only to get kicked again.

“That’s why, nobody can fight against me.” He told ‘the girl’, who could
only stare in awe. “I defeated CIM’s [Lethias] like this. The five of them

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apparently managed to kill fourteen of my [Worker Ants], but that was the
limit. The [Akaza Sisters] were clever, and ran away after killing seven.
Though, the older sister didn’t make it. [Kagedane] killed nine before they
killed themselves. I was a bit worried about JJJ, but after sending them the
corpses of [Kirin] and [Reiki], they grew silent. [Ouka] was pretty amazing,
she killed 17 people on her own. Color me surprised though, because when I
saw her body, she turned out to be a young girl not even in her twenties.”
Murasakiari calmly spoke of all his achievements.

Shirogumo had called them the All-Stars of various countries, but after being
restrained by the countless assassins at Murasakiari’s disposal, they all
committed suicide. If not, another wave of assassins would come at them.
Murasakiari’s strength rivaled a small army at this point. He could easily
obliterate all spies, as well as the secret police of this town.

“Of course, all the [Worker Ants] that had been killed were replaced. I just
have to take whoever looks promising, and bully him into submission.”

His strength would not shake by any means. There is not a single individual
in this city of Mitalio that could go against Murasakiari.

“…You.” A meek voice rang out.

The ‘girl’ finally opened her mouth, and glared at Murasakiari with a fierce
gaze.

“…How many people need to suffer because of you…”

“Don’t talk back to the King.” Murasakiari kicked up at her, hitting right at
her face, when he came back to reality. “Ah, my apologies. I have the belief
to always be kind to a woman, and yet I used violence…I am terribly sorry.”
Murasakiari took off his hat for a bow, and smiled. “Let us stay well-
mannered.”

He truly believed that he was a feminist. After all, he would deeply reflect
whenever the anger got the batter of him, and he hit a woman. An absolute
Ruler should show no violence. So, why did he hit that woman? One reason
was he didn’t feel like hitting his beloved dog, and as punishment, he kicked

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him right into the stomach. Another reason is that the person he was waiting
for still hasn’t shown up. Quite some time has passed since he started
waiting.
“For crying out loud, Klaus-kun sure doesn’t show up. Not a single [Worker
Ant] has been killed yet, it’s weird.”
Klaus showed no signs of acting. Murasakiari knew that he treasured his
allies, so he planned to lure him here. So, where was he? Did he throw away
his allies? Murasakiari had grown tired of waiting.
“—Whatever, I don’t need you as a hostage anymore.” Murasakiari took out
an automatic handgun, and blasted a bullet right through the stomach of the
‘girl’.
Blood splattered everywhere in the bar, as the scent of metal filled the room.
“Now, before you die of blood loss, you should have around five minutes
left, I assume?” Murasakiari announced. “Please, give me your testament.
And, there is one more thing I would like to ask before.” He wiped away the
blood that had reached his face, and smiled. “Could you please—reveal your
name, now that you are at death’s step?”

1 In the original, it uses the word for ‘Sneaking/Peeping photography’. This
may be a hint for something later on, so keep it in mind.
2 In case you forgot, the literal choice of words is ‘finest quality’ and ‘first-
rate’, like when you talk about objects.

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Chapter 4: Predicament

Danger arrived at all three locations at roughly the same time. It was deep at
night, around 11pm. As the lights of the cars and advertisements on the main
street lit up, the back alleys stayed dark, empty of people. As much as Mitalio
is one of the most developed cities of the world, it is also rock bottom when it
comes to safety. The benevolent citizens of this town did not dare approach
these back alleys at night.

Only people living in the darkness this city had to offer would dare pass these
streets. And of course, the girls were part of this—

—At the north-west train station, inside a narrow alley, Monika and Sara had
escaped the underground casino, only to be attacked. Right before they made
it back to the main street, they were shot at. The bullet grazed Monika’s leg,
but they could still run away.

The victorious feeling after winning vanished right away, as another battle
awaited. Both of them ran the opposite way of the main street. But, as they
ran along the alley, they realized that the number of snipers had grown.
Monika used her mirrors, and tried to grasp the current situation. She counted
twelve people total. They hid on top of the rooftops of the buildings around,
or crawled alongside the walls, following Monika and Sara.

Soon enough, they ended up in their hunting grounds. They were guided
along the river, with no other place to escape to. Monika studied up on the
city, but not enough to rival a native’s knowledge. They finally found a
building they could escape into, and took a deep breath. It seemed to be
empty at least, as they hid their bodies behind the counter.

“I see, this is pretty bad.” There was a bit of anxiety mixed in Monika’s
smile.

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The enemy was searching through the nearby buildings, it was just a question
of time until they would be found.
So Miranda was just the scout, huh…
The opponent held more strength than Monika had assumed.
“U-Um…!” Sara spoke up, tears in her eyes. “If it’s just you, Monika-senpai,
then you should be able to escape, right? I’ll get their attention, so…!”
“Hmm, I don’t think so?”
“T-There’s no need for the both of us to die, so if at least you could
survive…”
“…………”
After a long silence, Monika showed a self-mocking smile.
“I think you’d make them pretty sad though.”
“Eh…?”
“I don’t really get it myself. But, throwing you away is no option here, that I
know for sure.” Monika tapped Sara on the shoulder, and looked outside.

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The various snipers were probably ready to shoot them the second they
walked outside. At the very least, they shouldn’t be able to make it out easily.

—Next, at an abandoned building to the south-west of the Westport Building.

Zibia and Elna had survived their battle against Baron, and entered a back
alley to recover a bit of endurance. Though they didn’t suffer any serious
injuries, they took a beating for sure. Klaus had found a doctor that would
treat them no matter the circumstances, as long as you paid the money. If
necessary, he could even help with gun wounds. It sounded ridiculous, but
about every big city had such a back-alley doctor. This very doctor was
located at an abandoned eight-floor building. However, the two of them were
greeted by the corpse of the doctor, located on the fifth floor. His entire body
had been cut up by knives.

“Something…is here…” Elna was the first one to catch on.

Zibia grabbed her by the collar, and started running. She tried escaping down
the stairs, but people had already blocked it off. Roughly ten of them showed
a calm smile, as they stared at Zibia. Their age and sex ranged from old and
young, man and woman, but their common point was that their eyes were
brimming with impatience—They’re the same as Baron, puppets controlled
by the mastermind.

“……” Zibia clicked her tongue, and ran upstairs.

They had no other escape route, but equally no option either. There aren’t any
other buildings you could jump into from this one. In other words, this eight-
floor building was practically an execution site.

“Mm…” Elna let out a worried voice.

“Don’t worry.” Zibia pulled the girl’s hand, and spoke up. “Those who call
me Onee-chan are not allowed to die under my supervision, that’s what I
decided.” She announced, showing no shame.

However, in the end, she was just acting tough. They had enough trouble
with Baron alone. If ten more people, roughly as strong as him, were to

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appear, then their chance of survival was practically zero. She didn’t want to
admit it, but there was but one desire she had.

—Klaus needed to come save them. Only he could help them at such a
crucial moment. The best they could do was stall for time.

***

—A bit before they ended up in this predicament, inside the alley right next
to the Westport Building.

“………”

“……”

Lily and Annette crawled on the rooftop of the building, looking down at the
ground. The police officers were running around, searching for the fugitives.
They must have called support in, as another five police cars parked right
below them. They were clearly thoroughly looking for them, with
transceivers in hands to communicate with the others.

Annette started pushing up her skirt like she had remembered something. A
large machine appeared, with a long antenna, and she put headphones on her
ears. Lily did the same. It seemed to be a machine that would intercept radio
and transmission. They immediately heard the reports of the police officers.

‘Shit, they ran away! How could we let a killer escape like that!’

‘It must be an organized crime. Several smoke bombs had been set up as
distraction.’

‘So they were aiming at the Economy Conference…’

‘They might be terrorists…Invalidate Lilirin Hepburn’s passport…and have
the entire police department hunt her.’

Their voices were filled with impact. Annette put off the headphones, and
showed a grin.

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“It seems like we managed to escape for now.”

“My situation has only gotten worse though!” Lily scratched her head, and let
out a groan.

The arrest at the hamburger shop happened roughly an hour earlier. Right
before she was put onto the cop car, she was saved by Annette. Following
that, explosions happened all over the city, which allowed them to sneak
inside the building.

“Wait a second, is my face and name going to end up on some wanted paper?
Will I even be able to travel outside the Republic for other missions?”

“The great me thinks that this is still much better than being arrested.”

“I think that being arrested would have been easier to deal with!”

However, it’s true that they managed to escape from imminent danger. Lily
couldn’t quite accept the fact that Annette called it some ‘small trouble’, but
she should rather be thankful.

“This must be the plot of the enemy.” Lily let out a sigh. “They must have
some allies in the police, I figure. To a level where they could put out false
charges. They’ve seen through my perfect disguise, not bad.”

“Should I kill them?”

“No no no, we don’t even know who it is yet.”

“Should I dispose of the entire police then?”

“Phew, Annette-chan, you’re making me play the straight man here, I can’t
believe it.”

Either way, the best choice of action was most likely to let the police pass,
and wait for more orders from the intelligence squad. Since there was no
immediate danger approaching them, they could take their time. Lily took off
the waitress uniform, and put on the mission wear Annette brought with her.
Without wearing this, Lily felt like she was always on edge. Luckily, they

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were up on a rooftop, no people around peeping on her.

However, right as she put one hand on her skirt, Annette jumped at her.

“Aneki, someone is watching us.”

Lily’s face turned hot.

“S-Some peeping tom?”

“Through a scope.”

“An elite peeping tom!”

“They hold a rifle.”

“Not a peeping tom!”

A bullet passed by their heads, right after they crouched down, and bit into
the concrete behind them. Through the bullet hole, they could figure out the
location of the sniper. From the looks of it, they were located inside a room
of the Westport Building, aiming at Lily and Annette. Still crouching down,
Lily finished changing, and confirmed the situation.

The sniper is on the 39th floor of the Westport Building…Since he’s much
further above than us, he can easily aim from whatever position, huh.

They hid beneath the open-air veranda of the rooftop, but as soon as they
would take one step outside, they’d get shot at for certain. They must have
had a silencer on it, as Lily didn’t even hear the sound of the gun shooting.
The police on the ground surely didn’t pick up on it either.

That sniper didn’t seem to be police. But, they were communicating, so it
might be the same mastermind all-together. Lily reached for the transmission
interception device of Annette, when she could hear different voices.

‘Let’s go…They seem to be inside that building.’

‘…Right.’

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‘I don’t want pain…’

‘Yes, let’s kill them.’

‘If we don’t kill them, more punishment will come…’

It didn’t seem to be a single person. Voices overlapped, creating a wave.
Counting from the voices alone, there should be more than ten people. Not to
mention that the sniper was still aiming at them. They were in a deadlock.
This is the greatest predicament of their lives so far.

“…………” Lily was afraid.

It’s clear as day that she alone could not make it through this. She would get
killed. She would die, and be forgotten. At this rate, there was no saving her.
This wasn’t an enemy some drop-out could hope to defeat. This was a
helpless deathlock. Lily slapped her own cheeks, warming up her cold heart.

—Don’t give up. Overturn the impossible.

She closed her eyes, and remembered Klaus’ words. He told her to become
the leader. How would she be allowed to call herself a leader if she gave in
here? The responsibility is too great to just chicken out. Even if those words
and her title might have been nothing but fragile means of cheering her up,
she felt proud.

“Annette-chan.”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry if this is just my imagination, but are you actually pretty strong by
any chance?”

“………” Annette’s eyes opened wide.

It was a rare gesture to see from her.

“I…” She opened her mouth. “I want to know why you feel that way.”

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“I can tell that much.” Lily’s expression relaxed. “I’m the leader after all. I
can tell you’re actually pretty talented.”

“……”

“I’ll become the bait. You escape, and contact the intelligence squad. I’m
sure the others must be in a similar pinch.”

Annette should be able to escape out of this situation on her own, and arrive
at a nearby public phone. And then, she could warn the intelligence squad.
Thanks to this, they could give out orders more accurately, and think of a
way to deal with this situation, even contact Klaus himself.

“The great me knows you’re surely aware of it, but…” Annette showed no
more smile.

She held no expression, like she wore a mask.

“Aneki, you will die.”

“I won’t, I won’t. I got my poison gas, my poison foam, my poison smoke
bomb—I’m perfect for buying time.”

“Too weak. Did you ever land an attack on Klaus-aniki?”

That point really hurt Lily. There was never a time when poison was enough
to seriously weaken Klaus. The best she could do was create a barricade
made of poison bubbles to stop Shirogumo in his tracks. Lily took Annette’s
pinky, and acted out a pinky promise with her.

“Then, once we get home, you make a great weapon for me, which can defeat
Sensei.”

“………”

“I’m looking forward to seeing your special-type spy tool.”

“…………”

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This time, Annette’s eyes opened wide. Lily had no idea what the girl was
thinking. She never once managed to figure out what was going on inside her
head. Even so, she did not look away for even a second. Finally, Annette
returned the trip on her pinky. Her usual innocent smile showed up on her
face.

“I understand. Together with the great me’s inventions, and Aneki’s poison,
we will surely defeat Aniki.”

“Yes, with ease.”

The two removed their pinkies at the same time. Lily prepared her handgun,
and started moving. At this rate, they’ll end up as fodder for the sniper, so
they had to get inside the building. This could be her place to die. Lily knew
this, and so did Annette.

“The great me will cast aside Aneki!”

It was a cruel, and merciless decision. At the same time, it was the best
possible choice they could have taken. As Lily gathered the attention of the
sniper, Annette started moving herself, jumping into a nearby building, and
escaping the perimeter. Until she safely managed to escape, Lily had to
continue. So that Annette could contact the others. As she was busy dodging
the first sniper shot, she bit her lip.

—The time has come for her to show how much of a leader she was.

During this helpless predicament, it was time to show her value as a spy.

***

The requests for aid did not stop ringing. Warning signals lit up at three
different locations at the same time. The people in dilemma had no hope of
dealing with this themselves. Thanks to Lily’s sacrifice, the intelligence
squad learned of this fact.

—They had to come up with a countermeasure before things were too late.

However, Tia might have been aware of the situation, but still was left unable

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to do anything. With the receiver in hand, she stood still, spacing out.

Seriously, what kind of enemy are we dealing with…!

Tia held her head, taking deep breaths to calm herself. Is [Murasakiari] the
mastermind after all? How evil can one human being be? He’s going around
killing every single person who has shown odd actions during the Economy
Conference. There were no strategies, no planning. They just overwhelmed
the enemy with sheer numbers. Nothing more dangerous could kill spies.

“What should we do…?”

Tia was the commander, the one connecting all of them. She knew she had to
do something, but the chaos and confusion completely occupied her head.
Tears came streaming down her cheeks. Even at this very moment, an ally of
hers might lose their life. Imagining this scene, her head turned blank. At the
same time, Grete ran to the bedroom.

“Grete…?” Tia followed after her.

Grete started taking off her clothes, putting on a male suit.

“I will disguise myself as the Boss.” Her words were calm. “If the opponent
is someone from the Empire, then they should be aware of the Boss’
appearance…As long as I move, they should be hesitant…And if Monika
could help us, we might be able to overcome this situation.”

In other words, she was planning on heading to almost certain death herself.
What a courageous thing to do, since she herself doesn’t hold any strength to
fight back. However, if Grete in the disguise of Klaus and Monika were to
work together, they could maybe make it out themselves. Adding Sara’s pets,
even more so.

“What do we do about Lily and Zibia’s places?”

“…We have the Boss. With this much ruckus going on, there’s not a chance
he didn’t catch on to it himself.” While giving calm and collected judgement,
Grete finished changing her clothes.

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She looked identical to Klaus. So much that Tia felt relief for a second,
however…

“W-Wait!” Unshakable uncertainty forced Tia to scream. “The calculations
don’t add up.” Tia said, a pain growing inside her chest.

“……”

“There’s three locations that are in a pinch. One is going to be saved by you,
and the other by Sensei. Then, what about the third?”

“Tia-san…” Grete’s expression was stiff, and she spoke while forming a fist.
“We have to do the best we can…”

“—!” Tia understood.

There are things that can’t be saved. They lack the manpower to do so. There
exists no strength inside [Tomoshibi] that could save all three locations at
once. Judging rationally, this is the truth that you would arrive at. Even so,
Grete made up her mind, ready to save the lives she could.

“Grete!” Tia raised a pathetic voice. “How can you be so brave?”

“Brave…?”

“Tell me. I don’t know…I don’t know what to do. I’m not as clever as you
are, nor do I have the mental strength to jump right into danger. What should
I do, after having failed once?” She wanted to receive guidance.

She wanted to receive a strategy, like she had this entire mission so far.

“I am not strong by any means…” Grete shook her head. “…All I have is the
desire to be rewarded by the Boss. I am dependent on him, and I have to
repay my debt to him, after accepting me even with my broken heart.”

Broken heart? Tia hadn’t heard of anything like that. But, she couldn’t ask for
details, as Grete’s voice was brimming with determination. But then, what
did she feel? What was this emotion that crossed even love…towards
someone, who helped this drop-out spy, raising her to become so strong.

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“…Tia-san.” Grete spoke up. “Re-read the reports, and decide on the best you
can do. I know you can do it…”

With these words, Grete ran off, leaving behind Tia. The police sirens could
be heard all too clear from the outside of the flat. Strength left her knees, as
she sacked to the floor. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, as the liquid
dropped onto her hands. She was forced to realize that she was powerless.

I can’t do anything…

Run to her allies? What good would that do? She can’t even fight herself.
Negotiate? There was a limit to that ability. She had to look the other person
in the eyes for several seconds. No way that would work against an enemy
who was aiming to kill them. Running over there would only pull down her
allies instead.

—I can’t even save my own allies.

—The best I can do is sit on the ground, crying.

I’m a failure as a commander, and as a spy…

In the end, Grete would have been better off as the commander. All Tia did
was nod to her decisions. She was all too powerless. Without Grete, the best
she can do is bawl her eyes out like this,

“Kouro-san…” She muttered the name of the woman she admired. “What can
I do…? Why did you have such high expectations for me…?”

Seven years ago, Tia met this spy, who had saved her life, and granted her a
reason for living.

‘You can become a spy stronger than anybody else.’

‘But, just any other spy is not good enough. Aim to become a hero who saves
their enemies.’

Those were her words. Tia was happy to hear that, having someone put faith
in her. It was her dream to become a member of [Homura] and work under

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