Volume 2 Chapter 7.5
Fugitive in the Blue Night, Hope is
Fleetingly Plucked Away Part 5
Translator : PolterGlast
"Jin! Thank God
you're okay......!"
As soon as the witness
declared Nina's victory and flew away, her emotions broke down at once.
Nina, who had taken
off her disguise, hugged Jin, shedding large tears.
"Gosh, why didn't
you tell me you had a secret plan!?"
Without waiting for a
response from her accomplice, Nina let out her overflowing feelings as they
were.
"I won't be mad
at you just because your gift to me was part of the plan......!"
As she said this, she
inwardly knew it was a naive wish.
It wasn't that Jin had
kept quiet about it in order not to hurt Nina.
The reason why Jin did
not tell her about the final strategy was probably because of his concern
regarding Emma. She is not a master of acting like Nina, and it was risky to
tell her about the possibility that Jin was still alive. Even though she hid
her face behind a mask, there was no guarantee that Karen would not notice the
slightest change in her demeanor.
By making the other
party believe that they've seen through your plan, you can make the final move
that even your allies don't know about - it's Jin's usual tactic, which he also
used when he defeated Bennett before.
"I'm so glad
you're alive ...... Jin."
Without saying a word,
her accomplice held Nina in his arms and patted her trembling back.
There, for the first
time, Nina realized the fact that she had unconsciously embraced him. The blood
running down the surface of her face felt as if it was about to boil.
Still, this
embarrassment was strangely comforting.
"...... You
guys," Emma muttered in a tone that made no attempt to hide her dismay. "What
are you doing flirting at a time like this?"
"F-Flirting......!?"
Emma shrugged her
shoulders at Nina, who hurriedly pushed Jin away.
"The old school
building is at its limit. If we don't get out of here soon, we'll be caught in
the collaps-......"
Before she could
finish, Emma went completely rigid.
Even with her mask on,
her agitation could not be more apparent.
What? What is
Emma shocked to see right now?
Nina followed her line
of sight while repeatedly denying the bad premonition in her mind.
"...... It's a
lie, right?"
Karen, who should have
fainted due to the stun gun pressed against her neck earlier, was already
standing up.
Nina instantly
realized that Karen had defended herself with the crystals.
Though it seemed that
she was not able to block it perfectly because Emma caught her off guard, at
least Karen was spared from fainting. Holding her neck with her hand, she
walked slowly toward the three of them, confident of victory.
"...... o-,
rry."
Karen was whispering
something over the noises of the old school building collapsing.
The words became
clearer as the distance between them closed in with each step.
"I'm sorry."
A weak voice, like a
child clinging to her mother's apron.
"I'm sorry I
couldn't kill the rats. I'm sorry I carelessly fell into their scheme. I'm
sorry I didn't live up to your expectations. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
She looked so
different from the Karen Nina had seen at the school and at the dojo.
Perhaps this is her
true self.
A martyr who is so
enthralled by, reliant on, and willing to sacrifice herself to a powerful being
that she would not even think twice about it.
Nina's analysis was
affirmed by the words that followed.
"...... I will at
least make amends by taking these lowly rats down with me."
Karen pulled out a
palm-sized black lump from the pocket of her uniform.
It was the same one
Emma was using just a few minutes ago.
A general-purpose
grenade manufactured by the Ashby family─.
"She's going to
blow herself up!"
Jin shouted while
still wearing his mask, but it was already too late.
Without the slightest
hesitation, Karen pulled out the pin of the grenade.
＊
She quietly closed the
curtains after confirming the explosion that had engulfed the roof of the
half-destroyed old school building.
After all, it was a
good decision to let Karen Ashby have a grenade for suicide.
No matter how
well-matched she was with Nina Stingray in terms of psychic abilities, there
was no guarantee that the other party would give her a fair fight. If she and
Jin Kirihara, who acted in the role of a conspirator, were to make a devious
plan, there was every danger that they would catch her off-guard.
In fact, Karen was
nearly defeated by the three rats who had formed a party.
She was aware of the
general situation through the wiretap Karen was carrying. Although they were
able to see through the trick of exploiting the [Forced Deactivation] and
should be able to crush Jin Kirihara with the crystals, they could not have
foreseen this outcome.
In short, their
opponents were a cut above the rest.
"......Well, I
should say it was a close call."
If Karen were caught
and tortured, it would be a big problem.
Even though Karen did
not know her true identity, there was a possibility that she would blurt it out
to escape the suffering. If that were to happen, it would inevitably lead to
troublesome rumors spreading throughout the school, making it difficult for her
to move in the future. Above all, she couldn't leave dangerous people who could
defeat such a monster unattended.
That was why it was an
insurance.
It was painful to lose
the pawn that she had spent so many years brainwashing, but it was worth it
considering that her pawn was able to take troublesome rats down along with
her.
According to the
various pieces of information she had obtained so far, Emma Licorice is most
likely to be a spy for an enemy country. The fact that she was clearly agitated
by the message written on the blackboard that day suggested that this
speculation was correct.
She did not know how
Nina Stingray and Jin Kirihara ended up cooperating with her, but that was no
longer important.
All of the suspects
were involved in Karen's suicide just now. And they had all tragically died
instantly, pierced to death by pieces of iron blown off by the blast.
For now, she had to
think about how she was going to report this to the headmaster.
If she could convince
him that those three were spies sent by the enemy - the Republic, for example -
there would be no problem for the time being. Although the fact that Nina
Stingray is a relative of a member of the <White Knights> is somewhat
troublesome, it might be possible to emphasize her loyalty by creating a story
in which she removed the disgrace of a prominent family instead. She could
fabricate any number of pieces of evidence later.
She knew her place in
the pecking order.
Among the many
<Shepherd's Dogs> in the school, she is nothing more than a minor
existence, having recently enrolled in the school this year. Naturally, she is
not even in a position to talk to him directly.
That is why she needs
something to boost her reputation, and this case is a good opportunity for her
to do so.
She took out a sheet
of white paper from the bag she had hidden under her bed.
It was the same sheet
of paper as the pledge form that the students would fill out when they were to
engage in a <duel>. She would only need to write the necessary
information on it and then sign it to convey a message to the school principal.
When she was wondering
what to write on the form, she felt like a female student writing a love letter
to her crush. In fact, adoration and loyalty may well be similar emotions.
Suddenly, a knock on
the door of her room forced her to stop her pen.
It is already ten
o'clock at night. She wondered if someone was visiting at this time of night.
The door is a sliding
door, but it is locked securely from the inside. It was safe for the time
being, but she could not help but be on her guard.
She put the paper back
in her bag and hid it under the bed again.
After taking a breath
and pulling her gun out from under her pillow, she headed for the door.
"...... Who is
it?"
There was no answer.
Just as she was
beginning to wonder if the knocks were an auditory hallucination, she heard
something dislodge from inside the door.
─No way, did someone just pick the lock?
In her confusion, she
hesitated whether she should hold up her gun or hide it behind her back. In the
end, she chose the latter - but her decision was completely wrong.
The door that should
have been locked was opened and the person who appeared was the same person who
was supposed to have been killed in the explosion on the roof of the old school
building just a few minutes ago.
"I believe this
is the first time we've met in person."
Jin Kirihara was
smiling viciously as he turned his dark, black eyes toward her.
"The
<Shepherd's Dog> - no, Satya Rodel-san?"
End of Chapter 7
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