After coming out of the restroom, I admired the three girls who had already changed into bunny suits.
Leaving Akane herself aside for the moment, the outfit she had chosen for Karin fit perfectly, making Karin look even more uncomfortable.
As for the last person, who was currently complaining about how hard it was to walk in high heels...
I couldn't help glancing at the gray-haired maid. She seemed to read the questioning look in my eyes and gave me an embarrassed smile. I immediately understood.
As a result, the way I looked at Neru became even more sympathetic.
The bunny suit Akane had acquired came from someone with a similar height to Neru, so overall it fit quite well.
Only one particular area looked rather empty, enough to make one worry whether she'd catch a cold.
Perhaps in Kivotos, achieving strength beyond that of ordinary students required paying a corresponding price.
Such as physical development, facial expression management, and hair color.
"...Hey, why are you looking at me like that? What? Got a problem?"
SAUCE
Already in a bad mood, the orange-haired girl immediately noticed I was staring at her empty chest. Her cheeks reddened slightly as she snapped.
"Neru," I said tactfully, "maybe you should stuff something in there?"
What if she bent over too far during an operation and accidentally exposed herself?
"...Huh?"
She lowered her head in confusion, instantly realizing what I meant. Her face turned bright red, and she lunged forward, grabbing my collar.
"Are you trying to f#cking die!?"
I instinctively looked down as well. Relieved, I discovered my concerns had been unnecessary.
"Oh, you've got bandages covering them. Never mind then, that's fin..."
Bam!
"DIEEEEE!!!"
Having reached the limits of her patience, Neru let out a thunderous roar and drove her fist straight into my stomach.
Of course, I could tell that despite being furious, she was still holding back as much as possible for the sake of the person she secretly loved, just like Hina had before.
Because of that, the punch wasn't strong enough to trigger the protection of the Shittim Chest. The pain spread through my entire body, forcing me to clutch my side and collapse to my knees.
["I will punish you according to your deeds, and judge you for your wickedness."]
Shut up, whispering voice!
Seeing my miserable state, Neru calmed down somewhat, though she still glared fiercely.
"Hmph. Remember this. That's what happens when your eyes and mouth don't behave."
As if I could have seen anything if she hadn't walked over herself.
I silently seethed at her unreasonable behavior, all my goodwill wasted. Still, I knew now wasn't the time to argue.
One day, Neru would fall into my hands.
And on that day, I would make her suffer, perhaps even leave an everlasting mark upon her.
Akane and Karin exchanged a glance but didn't immediately step forward to defend me.
"By the way, Captain," Akane said, "now that you've changed into a bunny suit, are you really still going to wear the scarf? Doesn't that look a little..."
Combined with the bunny suit and Neru's personal aura, it certainly created a strangely mismatched impression.
But this was already her absolute limit.
"Cut the crap," Neru declared firmly. "This is the one thing I'm absolutely not compromising on. Anyway, now that we're changed, it's time to move out, right?"
Akane nodded.
"Indeed. Though can Master still walk? Ah, could it be that the captain intentionally incapacitated Master to remove his interference? Or perhaps knocking Master to his knees was meant to force him into doing something else?"
"Hey! Don't make it sound like I hit him that hard!" Neru protested. "It only hurts for a little while, right?"
"But Sensei is an outsider. His body is quite fragile," Karin pointed out. "He still can't stand up... Captain, did you really control your strength properly?"
Neru fell silent.
Grinding her teeth and stomping her foot, she instinctively called out to me.
"Sensei! Say something!"
Now you remember me?
The attacker asking the victim for help, and she still won't call me something nicer?
I sneered internally and feigned agony.
"Ugh... I'm fine... Please, don't blame Neru too much... She didn't mean it..."
Neru instantly panicked and hurried over to help me up.
"Hey, wait! Are you okay!?"
"Sigh, not really," I lamented. "Maybe if you called me Master while massaging the spot, I'd be able to stand..."
"...You really should just die."
Even so, she reluctantly reached out and roughly rubbed the area she'd punched.
Though emotionally satisfying, it somehow hurt even more.
After that little incident, we resumed the operation according to plan.
Without much effort, we knocked out every guard we encountered and smoothly took control of the control room.
"Huh? That's it?" Neru smacked her lips, apparently not satisfied. "Wasn't that way too fast?"
Karin couldn't help commenting.
"What do you mean, 'that's it'? Captain, didn't you already beat up plenty of people before we even got here?"
Akane smiled in agreement.
"You certainly looked like you still had plenty of energy left."
With that, she moved toward the main terminal and began setting something up.
Neru, who had been doing her best to restrain her overwhelming desire for combat according to our agreement, sighed.
"Sigh... It's actually more exhausting when there's nowhere to let loose. Though I guess keeping things quiet is part of the problem."
"A smooth operation is a good thing."
"No, it's not exactly going smoothly, is it? We still haven't found that little squirt. So annoying. Wouldn't it be easier if we just knocked everyone flying? At this level, even if they all rushed us together, it'd be over in seconds."
Judging from the context, the "little squirt" she referred to was undoubtedly Koyuki. She had used the same nickname for Arisu before.
The two girls weren't particularly tall, but technically Neru herself was even shorter than both of those juniors.
Such was the nature of the tiny maid.
Severely lacking self-awareness and constantly complaining.
Moments like these were when I needed to step in.
"But," I said with admiration, "being able to endure and handle even troublesome situations like this so calmly... as expected of Neru."
"...Tch. Fine, fine. I'll keep enduring."
She said that, but still lightly kicked one of the unconscious Odyssey students on the floor.
"Hey, you lot. Be grateful Sensei is here. If he wasn't, you'd all already be..."
"Captain, even if you kick them, they're unconscious and can't hear you," Karin said calmly. "Anyway, let's move as soon as we've secured the system."
Then she looked toward their companion.
"Akane, how's it going?"
"Mm, leave it to me. Everything's proceeding perfectly."
I walked behind Akane. Though I had no idea what she was doing, I still praised her.
"As expected of Akane. You're really dependable."
"Hehe, thank you, Master."
She looked up from her work with a warm smile.
"Being praised like that makes me really happy, even during a mission."
Was she once again subtly expressing how deep her affection for me was?
I pondered silently.
After the mission was over, perhaps I should find an opportunity to spend some private time with Akane.
Meanwhile, Neru, apparently bored while waiting, resumed complaining.
"Seriously, that little squirt... always causing trouble. Once we catch her, I'm going to make her cry her eyes out."
Karin responded,
"I feel like even if we don't do anything special, Yuuka will probably accomplish the same thing once we return to Seminar."
For some reason, the way they talked about Koyuki didn't sound like the familiarity that came from repeatedly chasing the same criminal.
It sounded more like the attitude one might have toward an incompetent junior.
When I voiced that thought, Karin considered it.
"Actually, that's probably true. She's caused all sorts of problems, but she isn't really dangerous or evil."
That was certainly true.
Especially around me, Koyuki had always behaved rather obediently.
Any occasional acts of disrespect were probably just because her feelings for me were hard to control.
After all, she'd given me a Divine Authority. Even if it seemed completely useless now, there were clubs that hadn't given me a single one.
Shame on them.
Thinking about how Koyuki had embezzled Seminar funds left me with mixed feelings.
I knew perfectly well it was something someone with her chaotic personality might do.
But part of me still hoped...
What if someone had manipulated her?
Or perhaps she had some unavoidable reason?
Something that might lessen the punishment awaiting her.
At that moment, Akane smiled and nodded.
"Hehe. During our previous encounters, she even started calling us 'senpai.'"
Mentioning that only made Neru more irritated.
"That brat is always screaming things like, 'Neru-senpai is chasing me!' or 'Neru-senpai hit me!' She's so noisy. If she doesn't want to get hit, she should stop causing trouble."
Then Neru delivered her evaluation.
"She's just a spoiled little runt who doesn't know her place. Her abilities aren't anything special either, just like her appearance."
Karin suddenly looked thoughtful.
Then realization dawned on her face.
"Ah, so that's who you were talking about. Up until halfway through, I thought you were describing yourself."
The first half, meaning:
A spoiled little runt who didn't know her place.
It took me a moment to process it.
Then I understood why Neru's description had sounded strangely familiar, and I couldn't help smiling.
"...Huh?"
Neru narrowed her eyes and stepped forward.
"Hey, Karin. You aren't implying..."
"Alright, alright."
Akane suddenly interrupted, looking as though she'd just finished her work.
"It's about time we started. Please come over here. The area you're standing in is a little dangerous. Come closer. A bit closer."
Even Neru couldn't throw a tantrum in the face of actual mission matters, so she could only sulk silently.
And from the seamless coordination between Karin and Akane, it was obvious that situations like this happened often.
Wait.
What did she mean by "dangerous"?
By the time that thought crossed my mind, we'd all followed Akane to the opposite side of the control room.
"Okay. I'm pressing it now."
As she spoke, Akane pulled out a highly suspicious-looking remote control and pressed a button.
Immediately, a ticking sound like a countdown began echoing through the control room.
Hearing the strange noise, Akane simply smiled and adjusted her glasses.
"Okay. It seems to be functioning properly."
Karin frowned.
"...Akane? What exactly did you press? And what is that sound...?"
But Akane tilted her head as though she didn't understand the question.
As the atmosphere grew increasingly strange, my own unease intensified.
I couldn't help asking:
"Akane... you did take control of the system, right?"
"Well..." the gray-haired maid replied uncertainly, "I simply handled it the way I always do..."
Then she added:
"Like usual, I used C4."
"C4...!?"
I repeated the word blankly.
"The C4 you're talking about is that C4? The explosive?" Karin asked. "Akane, why would you use C4 here...?"
"To blow the place up, of course...?"
She answered as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
"I thought so. But what I'm asking is why you used C4 like usual during a mission that specifically required stealth."
"...Ah?"
Only then did the gray-haired girl seem to realize something.
"Um... does that mean... I've made a major mistake...?"
Seriously.
Why had I ever trusted someone whose first appearance at Schale involved explosives?
Karin continued,
"Wasn't the original plan to hack into the ship's surveillance system and use it ourselves...?"
But there was no longer time for discussion.
"Hey, then stop it already."
Even in this crisis, Neru sounded unbelievably calm.
"How many seconds are left?"
"U-Um, let me check... Remaining..."
Akane hurriedly examined the remote.
Then, after seeing the number, she gave an awkward smile.
"Zero seconds."
The next instant, a deafening explosion swallowed the rest of her sentence beneath fire and smoke.