「Haa,
Haa, Haa, Haa...」
Roppongi's
back alleys.
On
there, my sister and I were both leaning against the wall of a
building, breathing hard.
No...
I'm the only one gasping for air.
It's
hard being an indoor person.
It's
been years since I've done any real running.
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↓ Continue to Read ↓
◇ ◇ ◇
It was
about an hour ago.
We had
escaped from the studio by taking advantage of the devil's rivalry, and escaped
out of the building.
The
red lights were spinning, and ambulance sirens could be heard in the distance.
Looking around, the police officers are just getting out of their patrol cars
in a hurry.
In
addition to the staff and celebrities who had escaped, onlookers had gathered
from all over the place and the area was in a state of commotion.
「L-l-l-let's
get the police to protect us!」
Ponpoko-san,
who's been crying her eyes out since a while ago, pulls on my hand.
「You've
got to be kidding」
「Yeah」
My sister and I looked at each other and nodded.
Even
if the police protect us, it will only get us stuck. After all, we were dealing
with the kind of guys who would appear out of nowhere, like that goat-headed
butler. A mere police station is nothing but a cul-de-sac.
It
would be great if the devils would fight each other, but we are angels' servants.
We're saints. The devil is our mortal enemy. There's no way we can turn a blind
eye to it.
「Anyway...
for now escape! And stay hidden! No matter how many lives we have, it won't be
enough if we have to fight with such a bad guy」
「I'm
pissed, but with one hand like this, I guess I have no choice」
To be
honest, I'm glad that my sister was injured.
If she
had been in perfect condition, I don't think she would have escaped...
For
now, I shook off Ponpoko's hand and smiled at her.
「See
you later, Ponpoko-san」
「Eh?」
She
looked puzzled.
But it
would be wise to part ways now.
There's
no point in running away with her, and if anything, it's more dangerous for her
to be with us.
「Come
on, Claudia!」
「Okay,
okay」
Following
behind my sister, I rush into the crowd of onlookers.
After
managed to break through the enclosure, ignoring the accusing voices of the
onlookers, like “Hey, don't push me!” or “Wait”, we went away from the studio
into the night.
**b
◇ ◇ ◇
「Oh..
I'm so thirsty...」
I took
off my mask and hat, and loosened my tie.
Running
straight from the studio and didn’t bring any money.
It
made me stare resentfully at the glowing vending machine across the street.
「Well
then... the question is, what are we going to do now?」
As
expected of a track and field coach, my sister opened her mouth with a calm face.
「The
luggage is left in the dressing room... and without a wallet or a smartphone,
it's a little anxious, isn't it?」
「Well,
if it's money, it's all right. If we sell the detailed information about what
happened today to the informant, we can get enough money to pay for the bullet
train ride home」
「Well,
that's true. Actually, it's the phone that causes the pain」
My
phone contains the contact information of all the people I've been working
with.
Although
I've erased my call history and social networking sites, and at a glance, it
doesn't seem to be in any danger of being seen, losing them is honestly quite
painful.
Just
when I let out a big sigh...
「Don't
worry, I got it back properly」
Suddenly,
I hear such a voice from the side of the vending machine across the street, and
I gulp.
「Claudia!」
When
my sister prepares to hide me behind her back, I see a girl step out from the
shadow of the vending machine.
「...Shiratori?」
Her
face, lit up by the vending machine's lights, is as pouty as ever.
It is
Shiratori.
「I saw
you running」
The
color that surrounds her words is blue.
There
was no lie in her words.
「First
of all, I retrieved your luggage from the dressing room, is this correct?」
With
that said, she dropped my backpack and my sister's shoulder bag from her shoulders to the ground.
「Too
good」
「Totally」
My sister and I looked at each other and let out a sigh of relief. Shiratori is
really good.
（Seriously,
will she be our manager?）
「If we
head for Tokyo Station now, we can catch the last bullet train」
「That's
right. I think it's best to leave Tokyo as soon as possible. It's not quite
what we originally planned, but we've achieved our goal.」
Fumio's
true identity could not be revealed, but it was just a means for us to gain
publicity.
At
that time, the boy who appeared in place of Fumio was probably Kasuya. I knew
that when I saw Hikari jumping into the room with blood in her eyes.
（Which
means... Hikari was also on the devil side?）
The
goat-head seemed to have only come to save Kasuya and Hikari. If that's the
case, I must've been really blind to have recruited Hikari.
「The
popularity must have been enough, but just in case, I'll arrange for an
official announcement to be made through the entertainment agency that
"the devil was repelled by Detective JK". With that, Detective JK
will be a hero」
「Oh,
you're going that far? That's great, Shiratori」
「If
Detective JK becomes famous, it'll be beneficial for me too... right?」
I
don't know what she was thinking, but suddenly Shiratori snapped her fingers.
Immediately,
four doors appeared surrounding us.
「What!?」
「What
is this!?」
Aside
from our screams, the doors open with a creaking sound, and a figure steps out
from inside.
「Tsk!
We've been tricked!」
「Sh-Shiratori!
What do you mean by this!?」
Apparently,
four maids appeared.
Except
for one with platinum-pink hair, they all wore the same maid uniform with short
haircuts.
However,
in their hands were battle-axes, great swords, and other heavy weapons that one
would not expect to see in modern Japan.
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↓ Continue to Read ↓
「What
do you mean...? I was just enjoying hunting detective JK from the beginning.」
Her
words are colored blue. It's not a lie.
「That's
ridiculous. Then why did I...」
「Couldn't
see through the lie?」
Shiratori
raises one eyebrow and lets out an exasperated sound.
「Well,
I don't know that, that's why you're in this situation, isn't it?」
Could
it be that there's some way to fool me?
But
now's not the time to think about that.
The
question is how to escape from this situation...
（No,
it's impossible. At least not for me. But if it's onee-chan...）
I
secretly whisper to my sister.
「Onee-chan,
run away without me」
「...No」
「Don't
be selfish. It's the only way. Onee-chan can run away. So run away and come
back and save me. I know where Shiratori lives」
If my sister can get out of this place, she can at least finish off Shiratori and
get her to let me go.
She
must have understood what I was trying to say.
Then,
my sister grits her teeth tightly.
「Well,
then, please do」
「「「「
Yes, Saki-sama!」」」」
At
Shiratori's words, the maids slowly begin to shrink the perimeter.
There's
no way to tell how good the maids are, but at least one of them is bad enough
to seriously injure my sister.
Probably,
the girl with the axe, whom my sister keeps staring at, is the one.
I give
my sister a look.
Then I
shouted.
「I
give up! I surrender! I'll be quiet! Don't hurt me!」
I
raised my hands in the air as if to show no hostility, and the maids seemed to
relax for a moment.
Of
course, I was expecting that to happen.
But
then my sister...
「Claudia!
I'm sorry!」
Suddenly,
she turns her back on the maid with the axe in her hand and rushes towards the
maid with dyed platinum pink hair.
「This
way!?」
Platinum
Pink hurriedly raised the hammer in her hand.
「Y-you
son of a bitch!」
But my
sister didn't just rush in that direction.
She
must have aimed at the heaviest weapon, the one that would be the most
difficult to use.
My sister sidestepped the hammer swinging down from above her head and ran past
her.
But
the only one who panicked was Platinum Pink.
The
other maids, without even looking at her, grabbed me by the shoulders and hair
and pinned me to the ground.
「Ow!
You're hurting me! No violence!」
（Ouch...
what a stupid power. She's smaller than me, but she's not normal）
Anyway,
I think it's best not to resist now.
I'm
sure my sister will come to save me. I need to stay safe until
then...
