That Item Is Prohibited by Law

Sonia, who'd had her gun's muzzle leveled at Raul, smoothly swept her arm sideways… and the rock right beside Raul's head shattered with a spectacular crack.

"～～～!!!!?"

… Raul twisted his body away in a flash, fragments of stone pattering down onto his cheek.

Gooseflesh crawling up his back, Raul watched as Sonia glanced back and forth between the gouge in the rock and the gun in her hand, then murmured, impressed.

"Heeh, so it's a 'Syntax Module' that cancels out kinetic energy, huh… This is my first time using one, but no recoil with this caliber? Pretty handy, maybe～?"

… Hey, this is no joke, dammit!!!!?

Raul's face had gone pale on its own. Sonia leveled the muzzle at him again.

"Hehe, soooo, if you just hand over the bracelet (that thing) quietly, I won't have to get rough… Ah!"

… Her line cut off as Raul broke out from behind the rock.

"H-hey, no fair, wait up, Raul-saaan!"

"As if I'd wait!!!!!"

… Dammit! I really had been played! I knew something was off!!!

Plumes of seawater shot up one after another between the waves, chasing after the fleeing Raul. Mixed in with the booms came Sonia's voice from behind, irritated.

"Geeeez! If you keep running like that, I really might hit you, you know?!"

"What kind of threat is that?!!!!"

… So she wasn't aiming to hit me? Running for his life, Raul's thoughts raced.

This Sonia-san, just who the heck is she… and against someone willing to casually use illegal items, no matter how you slice it, an unarmed guy doesn't stand a chance!!?

The magic-item technology that had originally been developed to counter the demonkin threat could, naturally enough, also be applied to weapons. Just as anyone could use a MagicLight by flipping its switch, you could build items where anyone could take a person's life by flipping a switch.

Of course, items with functions that could harm people or be used in crimes were classed as illegal, and not only their manufacture and sale but even mere possession was strictly regulated… But in the corners the law's eye couldn't quite reach, they circulated quietly among the dicier criminal outfits (gangs), so they were mostly carried by that sort of person, and…

… So how the hell did I end up getting dragged into this?!!!!

For the moment, Raul angled his course back toward the sandy beach, kicking up sprays as he ran.

Sonia had had plenty of chances earlier, but she'd only made her move when no one was watching. Whatever her "pacifist" talk really meant, it did seem true that she didn't want to make a scene.

If he could just keep running until he reached somewhere with people… !?

Abruptly, the feel of something coiling around his foot.

Raul's footing gave out, and his body pitched forward in an instant—

"!!!!?"

He toppled headfirst into the sea with a tremendous splash. Pushing his upper body up at once, Raul checked his feet, and clicked his tongue the moment he saw what had tripped him.

Maybe it had drifted into the shallows. Wrapped around both of Raul's legs as if to bind them was a rope of a strangely smooth, slick texture.

… Dammit, of all times for this!!!!!

He scrambled to undo it, but no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find the rope's end… huh?

"Hehe… that thing, undoing it bare-handed is basically impossible, you know?"

Into the ears of Raul, who tugged at the rope in mounting panic, drifted a voice that sounded somehow amused.

"That magic rope, see, has a binding 'Syntax Module' on it, one taken from the vines of a carnivorous plant. Once it wraps around its target, the two ends fuse together. There's no knot, so it can't be undone, and you can't tear it bare-handed. The only way to get free is to cut the rope and break the syntax, so… gangs find it suuuper handy for taking hostages or for torture, you know?"

"… …!"

Sonia's explanation, threaded through with a smile, sent a chill through Raul, and he clenched his teeth on reflex.

"W-why are you going after this bracelet of all things?!"

"Hmm… fine, I guess. It's supposed to be a secret, but… I'll tell you, just this once, okay?"

Pressing one fingertip cutely to her chin, Sonia smiled brightly.

"If you build an 'Iridescent Stone' into an illegal item, the mana-conversion efficiency goes way up… With that much iridescent stone, you can kill a whole lot of people with just a tiny bit of mana, you know?"

"Wha…"

Raul fell speechless, and she giggled.

"So pleeease… hand that over to me quietly, okay?"

… Tch!

As Sonia waded splashily closer, Raul's heart, his legs still bound by the magic rope, was squeezed tighter and tighter.

… Rotten as he might be, he was a former hero-aspirant. After hearing that, there was no way he could just hand the bracelet over.

But the only way to fight back against a Sonia armed with illegal items was magic, and for that he needed a "Base" with mana conductivity. The only metal he had on him was the hands of his wristwatch. There was no way that could serve as the "Base" for a "Magic Circuit"… dammit, if only he had a sword on him!

"Hehe, finallyyy caught up."

… Sonia's laughter at last came raining down on Raul.

When Raul looked up, he found Sonia, magic gun gripped tight, smiling down at him, her gaze fixed on his…

… In that moment, an idea flashed through Raul's head.

Honestly, it was ridiculously stupid and reckless no matter how you looked at it, but… if giving up was the only other option, it was worth a try!

As simple as possible…

Glaring up at Sonia with a hard stare, Raul muttered inwardly.

And making the "Circuit Line" as thick as I can…!

"Hehe, Raul-san, gotcha—"

"—'Boot'!"

The instant Sonia opened her mouth, Raul's fingers slid across the surface of the sea… and the moment he shouted, pale-blue mana-light raced across the waves.

The sea surface, sheathed in light, swelled in an instant, and the next moment, a great, collapsing mountain of seawater came crashing down on top of Sonia and her gun.

"Wha…?!"

"YES!!!!!"

Sonia was swallowed up by the wave with no chance to react.

In that opening, Raul twisted his body and rolled away to put distance between them, then reached out the hand of his consciousness once more toward the patch of sea he'd set his palm against. … Concentrate!

"'Boot'…"

A flash of light arced across the waves. In that instant, with a sharp snap, the magic rope binding Raul's legs tore apart and fell limply into the sea.

… A faint stinging at his ankles… he hadn't quite controlled it perfectly and had scorched his skin a little, but, well, for a first try, not bad!

… And then.

"… W-what was that?!"

The moment Raul, finally freed, sat himself up, the girl's voice came in, sounding utterly stunned.

"Seawater conducts mana, sure, but… using the surface of the ocean as a 'Base'…"

"… Honestly, I didn't think I could do it either."

To Sonia's words, muttered as drops slid from her soaking hair, Raul could only agree.

A "Magic Circuit" had to be laid on top of a "Base", so naturally, if the "Base" moved, it would fall apart and vanish. A still water surface would be one thing, but using the surface of a rolling liquid as a "Base" was something you normally wouldn't even consider. But…

… if you could trigger the magic before the "Base" collapsed entirely…!

What Raul had thought up in his cornered state was the same kind of joking notion as, "If you put your left foot down before your right foot sinks, you can walk on water." He had confidence in his concentration and his speed at assembling a "Magic Circuit", and he'd made the "Circuit Line" absurdly thick so the mana would flow even if it warped a bit, but… well, you really do have to try things.

"… Raul-san, just who are you?"

Magic gun in one hand, Sonia looked Raul straight in the eye.

"You're just a magic shop clerk, but the ShockGun doesn't work on you, and you're using some crazy magic… Raul-san, just what…"

"I'm…"

Sonia's gaze was probing.

Faced with her wary expression, Raul nearly answered for an instant, then shook his head.

"… No. Forget that, Sonia-san, you're the one who—"

Having gained a means of fighting back with magic, and feeling the psychological upper hand, Raul moved to turn the question back on Sonia. And then.

"…!?"

Suddenly, she looked up.

Sonia, with a hand to one ear, went pale in a flash, then shouted toward the area around her own shoulder.

"Got it… I'm coming!"

"Hey, what're you—"

Blindsided by Sonia's about-face, Raul could only watch as she glared up at him, then closed the distance in an instant—

—and grabbing the arm of the reflexively braced Raul, Sonia spoke in a forceful tone.

"Raul-san, come with me!!"

"Wha?! H-hey!!!"

Without waiting for the bewildered Raul's reply, Sonia broke into a full sprint. Yanked along hard out of nowhere, almost stumbling, Raul raised his voice in protest.

"H-hey! What the hell?! What is going—"

"Your friends are in danger!!!"

"Haaa?!?"

"… Argh, come ON!!!"

Honestly, he couldn't follow any of it. To Raul's reflexive question, Sonia clicked her tongue impatiently.

"Explanations later! … Come on, hurry, Raul-san!!!!!"

The girl, dragging Raul by the hand, shouted in frustration.

 

*

 

… As if blending in with the surrounding crowd.

The two of them quietly slipped around behind their targets, exchanged a glance, and called out together.

"""Welcome to our store～～!!!!!"""

"""!!!!!?"""

In that instant.

Manager Seara and Assistant Manager Visor whipped around as if struck. Airi and Fino, having pulled off their surprise attack flawlessly, exchanged a delighted high-five.

"Wha… y-you brats!!?"

"My, my."

Beside Assistant Manager Visor, whose voice cracked spectacularly, Manager Seara smiled with her usual composure.

"Airi-san, Fino-chan, we were looking for you, you know?"

"Sorry for getting separated, Manager."

Apologizing to Manager Seara, Airi smiled brightly.

"It looks like we interrupted the two of you. Sorry about that. We'll be off on our own from here, so please, take your tiiime…"

"A-Airi-kun!"

At Airi's teasing words, the Assistant Manager hastily raised his voice.

"Y-you shouldn't tease grown-ups like that, you know…"

"That's right, Airi-san."

Agreeing with the Assistant Manager's admonishment, the Manager nodded.

"Just me and Visor-kun would get awkward, after all…"

"Eh."

… At the Manager's casual, perfectly serious reply, the Assistant Manager froze, shocked.

Smiling gently, Manager Seara turned to Airi and Fino.

"Since the whole store's gathered together, why don't we all…"

But Manager Seara's words never made it to the end—

"—Don't move."

—Together with the low voice of a man.

Against Manager Seara's white cheek, a gun's muzzle was abruptly pressed.

"""Manager!!!!!"""

The staff of Magic Shop Leon, Royal Capital Store, reflexively braced themselves.

A scream rang out across the sandy beach, and the people around them fled in a panic… in no time at all, the beach was empty save for them and the man with the gun pressed to Manager Seara.

—Sand-colored hair, and gray sunglasses.

The man, still holding the Manager hostage, swept his gaze over the faces of the Royal Capital Store staff, who looked ready to pounce at any moment, and spoke as if to warn them off.

"Move, and this woman gets a hole in her face. Got that?"

"… Who are you?"

Even with the gun trained on her, Manager Seara spoke in her usual calm tone.

"You, just who are—!"

"—Hand over the bracelet."

Cutting off her words, the man twisted the Manager's arm and put his demand to the grimacing girl.

"The prize from the beauty pageant earlier. We know that you, as the winner, are—"

"The bracelet, I've already… given it to someone…"

The moment he heard those words, the sand-haired man clicked his tongue bitterly.

"… Given it where? To who?!"

"Hehe… that's something… I can't tell… a bad man…!"

Slowly, agonizingly, as if to torment her. Her arm wrenched by brute force, Manager Seara nonetheless smiled gamely and stonewalled him.

"… Looks like you don't seem to understand your position."

… Eventually, the man muttered as if exasperated.

Loosening the pressure on her arm, he used the muzzle pressed against her to sweep aside Manager Seara's hair… and re-aimed the gun at her now-exposed ear.

"H-hey, stop that!!!"

"""Manager!!!"""

Glancing at the staff who'd raised their voices, the man shook his head theatrically.

"… A waste, on such a pretty girl."

Murmuring in a tone of mock regret, the man slid his finger onto the trigger—

In the next instant.

A sharp gunshot rang out across one corner of the beach.

"Wha…!?"

The gun he'd had against Manager Seara was knocked clean out of his hand. The sand-haired man's voice held confusion.

"—T-that's far enough!!"

The voice was oddly nervous. As everyone present turned their eyes in the same direction, there stood a single woman, both trembling hands clutching a gun—

"Ah."

—Coal-black hair, curly, in a short cut. The moment she saw the girl's somehow timid face, Fino's eyes went wide.

"That's, the lady who was emceeing the beauty pageant…"

"P-put your hands up!!"

Her voice unsteady, the gun-bearing woman edged toward the sand-haired man.

Cornered, the man, still holding Manager Seara hostage, suddenly drew something from his coat.

—A ring of a cold, slate-gray metal.

In the man's hand, part of the metal ring split open and spread wide. The instant it was pressed against the Manager's neck, Manager Seara's amber eyes went wide—

"…!?"

As if a string had been cut.

Manager Seara's body went limp, her eyes closed, and she collapsed onto the sand.

"""Manager!!!!!"""

Overlapping screams from the Leon staff.

The Assistant Manager sprang forward on reflex and lunged at the sand-haired man.

"You bastard, how dare you do that to the Manager!!!!!"

Grabbing the man's collar in a fury, the Assistant Manager moved to drive a fist into his face… But before that fist could land, the man's own strike sank deep into the Assistant Manager's defenseless solar plexus.

"Gah…"

The Assistant Manager's breath was knocked out of him. Clutching at his stomach, he sank painfully to one knee.

The moment Fino and Airi tried to spring forward, that was when—

"HEY——!!!!!"

—A familiar voice came flying into the girls' ears.

When they turned their faces toward the silhouette that came barreling onto the scene, panting… in that instant, the two girls cried out almost as one.

"Raul!!!!!"

"Raul Chaser!!!!!"

 

*

 

"H-hey, what the hell is going on… Manager! Assistant Manager!!"

Manager Seara, collapsed limply; Assistant Manager Visor, doubled over in agony beside her… taking in the sand-haired man sneering coldly over the two of them, Raul ground his back teeth.

"You did this to the Manager and—!!"

Sliding in to shield Fino and Airi behind him, glaring hard at the man, Raul moved to step in. And Sonia, coming up behind him, gasped the moment she saw the ring fitted to Manager Seara's neck.

"… That's a 'Breaker' ring…!"

"… Oh? Well-informed about our new product, aren't you?"

At Sonia's bitter mutter, the man cocked the corner of his mouth, impressed.

"This thing's the next step up from a ShockGun. As long as this collar's fitted, this woman's 'Breaker' stays tripped. The only thing that can get it off is this 'Magic Key', built as a set with the collar… Pretty useful for transporting hostages, wouldn't you say?"

From the man's fingers a small "Key" dangled, as if on display. The moment Sonia saw it, her voice sharpened in anger.

"Log! You were with her, and you let him put that thing on her?!"

"I-I'm sorry…!"

At Sonia's reprimand, the black-haired woman who'd fired the first shot bobbed her head, flustered. After a moment, Sonia, who'd been biting her lip in frustration, spoke up.

"… Raul-san. The bracelet from the pageant, hand it over to him."

"Huh…"

A hard tone, brooking no argument. Raul flinched, and the man's expression shifted slightly.

"Heh… you sure cut to the chase. Don't tell me, you, you're an 'Agent', or—"

"In exchange for your 'Key', no objections, right?"

Cutting off the man's words flatly, Sonia turned her gaze to Raul.

"Raul-san, hurry!"

"B-but, this is…"

—With that much iridescent stone, you can kill a whole lot of people with just a tiny bit of mana, you know…?

Sonia's earlier line flashed through the back of Raul's mind. No matter how you looked at it, there was no way he could just hand something like that over… but…

"There's no other way to save Seara-san!!?"

Sonia's earnest voice, pleading with the hesitating Raul.

At the edge of his vision, Manager Seara, slumped, her cheeks drained of color…

… After a beat.

Raul, as if making up his mind, reached for the bracelet on his left wrist.

The moment he caught the bracelet Raul tossed him, the man twirled a finger and intoned "'Open'."

"… Doesn't look like any funny business has been done to it. Good, confirmed."

The man muttered, satisfied, and tucked the bracelet into his coat… and Raul raised his voice.

"Hey! The Manager's 'Key', quickly—"

"… Calm down."

At Raul's panicked words, the man let out a low chuckle in his throat. With deliberately ostentatious movements, in place of the bracelet, he drew something else from inside his coat.

"The 'Key'… I'll give it to you after the festival's over—"

"!!!!?"

What the man had drawn out in place of the "Key" was a small glass orb.

Raul tensed in an instant, and it began to glow…

In the blink of an eye, an overwhelming flood of light scorched his vision.

The brilliance lanced through his retinas. Raul shut his eyes on reflex, then realized his eyelids couldn't shut it out at all and hastily raised his arms to block it, but it was too late—

—By the time the light faded and Raul's eyesight came back, the sand-haired man was already gone.

 

*

 

"—Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Sonia Magicgate, Illegal Magic Item Agent, head of the Special Investigation Unit… and this is my subordinate, Log Firewall."

"Illegal Magic Item Agents?!"

… Hold on, that means you're super elite from the Magical Science and Technology Ministry, doesn't it?!

"… Mmm… I really am sorry about this time, you know…"

At Raul's exclamation, Sonia, looking sheepish, bowed alongside the timid-seeming older woman.

—In recent years, illegal-item crime had been on a steady rise across the country.

The illegal items that had once circulated in the shadows had mostly been crude things, "Copy-pasted" by amateurs imitating what they'd seen. They were simple, and their functions were nothing special… but lately, illegal items of a higher quality and performance than anything before had started turning up.

"—So when we examined some of the new-type illegal items we'd seized, we figured out that 'Iridescent Stones' had been built into them."

Manager Seara lay unconscious; Assistant Manager Visor was hunched, hands pressed to his stomach in pain. Around the two of them stood the Leon staff… and before them, Sonia, brows knit, explained the situation.

"Iridescent stone's so rare that it almost never hits the market, so we figured procurement had to be a headache. When I had Log look into it, sure enough, there'd been a string of iridescent-stone-related theft cases over the past few months… so we decided to run an undercover sting in total secret."

"""An undercover sting?!"""

Raul and Airi spoke up in unison, and Sonia nodded easily.

"The Crown of Light Festival's beauty pageant is a big event, and if we announced loud and clear that the prize was an iridescent stone, there was no way the criminal making the new illegal items would let it slip by, was the idea…"

"What is that?! That's way too dangerous!"

"Mmm… but there wasn't another way, and we couldn't just leave a criminal who's putting dangerous items out on the streets…"

At Airi's protest, Sonia shook her head a little.

"Besides, I was armed with items myself, just in case, and Log was emceeing alongside me, ready for the worst… but we figured they wouldn't try anything during the pageant, with so many people around. The criminal would definitely come after the winner after the contest, was the theory…"

"Wait! You meant to use the winner as bait from the start?!"

"And so you got Manager Seara, who has nothing to do with this—!"

At Raul and Airi's outburst, Sonia pressed a hand to her forehead.

"… That's why I was supposed to win and be the bait."

… She heaved a deep sigh, looking somehow troubled.

"I'd win, make a big show of having the iridescent stone, then catch the criminal when he came near… only I was supposed to be the target. That was the plan…"

"B-but then why did Manager Seara end up winning?! Didn't you put in a word with the pageant so that you'd win?"

"Eh…"

But at Airi's accusation, Sonia just blinked her big eyes, looking somehow puzzled.

"I didn't pull any strings, you know? All we did was anonymously provide the iridescent stone as the prize, and slip Log in as the emcee. None of the pageant's organizing committee knows anything about the sting…"

"B-but then, how were you planning to win?"

"How, you ask… a beauty pageant, obviously I'd win, right? What's the point of pulling tricks for that?"

… Without a trace of shame in her tone, Sonia stated it flat out.

Airi lost her words. Sonia, with a knitted brow, gave a sigh that sounded almost regretful.

"… Well, even so, I ended up losing to Seara-san in the end… mmm, that really was outside my calculations. I guess I still have a ways to go, or maybe I should've pushed a little harder…"

No, well, sure, if Manager Seara hadn't done something extra, Sonia-san would've won… Raul couldn't help muttering inwardly. This girl, she's crazy self-assured, or just kind of off, or…

"… Anyway, since Seara-san ended up winning, we had to make her the bait instead. But then the bracelet that mattered ended up with you, Raul-san, so we had to recover it before the criminal noticed…"

"But, if that's the case, you could've just told me and I'd have handed it over! When you casually started using illegal items to try to take it by force, I was totally sure you were the bad guy here!"

"… I'm sorry, Raul-san."

Sonia took Raul's hand, looking up into the face of the boy who was venting at her.

"The sting was top-secret, and I wanted to avoid getting rough as much as I could, so I thought if I kissed you and grabbed the bracelet in that opening, it'd be over quickly… but when that didn't work, I had to do that. We Illegal Magic Item Agents (us) are allowed to use seized illegal items if it's for the investigation, so I figured if I just threatened you a little with one of those, it'd be fine…"

"… …"

"Really, I didn't mean any harm… please, believe me, okay?"

Gazing at Raul with welling eyes, Sonia pleaded in a coaxing voice.

The hand she'd quietly taken was, somewhere along the way, pressed against the cleavage of a girl whose chest he could hardly look at directly… I-if she's apologizing like this, how am I supposed to even stay mad?!

Suddenly remembering kissing Sonia, and the sensation of it coming back to him on top of that, Raul couldn't help going red in the cheeks.

… And then.

"So, Sonia-san isn't Raul's 'girlfriend' after all…"

Fino, who'd been quietly listening all this time, spoke up and looked up at Airi.

"That's great, isn't it, Airi?"

"Eh…"

At those words, Airi stared blankly for an instant. And then, going red all the way to her ears, she grabbed Fino's shoulder beside her with sudden force.

"W-w-what are you saying?!"

"Eh, but, Airi…"

"Y-you were just saying that on your own! I never agreed to a single word of it!!! … Honestly, this is why demonkin…"

"… Demonkin?"

"Ah, no, that's, just kind of a nickname for her…"

Raul hurriedly stepped in to cover for Airi's barely-saved remark. Beside Sonia, her subordinate, the plain-looking woman, opened her mouth hesitantly.

"Sonia-san… what should we do from here?"

"Hmm…"

At her subordinate's tentative words, Sonia ran a troubled hand through her hair.

"… There's Seara-san to deal with, and losing the iridescent stone is bad too. Honestly, I'd love to go after him right now, but we've got no leads… I guess we head back to the office for now and put out an APB based on the criminal's face and voice…"

And then.

"—We have a lead…"

Picking up Sonia's voice, perhaps. Assistant Manager Visor, hunched over beside Manager Seara enduring the pain, suddenly spoke up.

"Earlier, when I grabbed that bastard… I shoved my employee badge into his clothes…"

In that moment.

"Assistant Manager, niiice!!"

"Assistant Manager, that's so cool!!!"

Raul and Fino, their eyes lighting up in unison, cheered together.

"H-hey, what's going on…"

Airi was bewildered and couldn't follow. The Assistant Manager pushed himself up with a groan.

"Ngh… Fino-kun, your employee badge, lend it to me…"

"Mm!"

At the Assistant Manager's instruction, Fino, nodding firmly, immediately pulled her employee badge out from the hem of her swimsuit.

—A small metal badge, stamped with the Leostad Trading Company logo… taking it from Fino, murmuring "'Open'," the Assistant Manager held the badge out toward Sonia, its "Magic Field" surfaced.

"Sonia-san… can you track him with this…?"

"Eh…?"

At the item abruptly thrust at her, Sonia made a puzzled face. But the moment she ran her eyes over the syntax written on it, she gasped.

"This… you mean you put one of these on him?!"

"S-Sonia-san, what is going—"

"This is a tracker… wah, if I just tweak the syntax on the receiver I've got on hand, we can be after him in no time—?!"

So saying, Sonia gripped the badge the Assistant Manager had handed her like something precious.

"Log! Take care of Seara-san and the others—!"

"H-hey, wait a second!!! Are you planning to go alone?!?"

Grabbing the arm of Sonia, who'd been about to dash off the moment she said it, Raul shouted.

"Agent or not, Sonia-san on her own against a guy like that is way too dangerous! I'll go with—"

"—… …"

… And as Raul pressed his case in that hard tone, Sonia slowly turned her ash-gray eyes on him, then opened her lips.

"Raul-san, you'll help me out?!"

"Huh?"

"Waaah… if Raul-san comes with me, that's a hundred allies in one!!?"

… Gripping Raul's hands as he reflexively asked back, Sonia smiled happily.

"I don't really get it, but Raul-san is super strong, and honestly, I wanted to ask you, but I didn't know how… I mean, I can't drag civilians in any further, and I tricked you and did awful things to you, so I don't have the right to, but… hehe, Raul-san, you really are kind…"

Looking somehow moved, her big eyes welling, Sonia leaned her face right in toward him… At the heated gaze leveled at him from point-blank range, the flustered Raul let his voice crack.

"H-hey! I-I just, I just want to save Manager Seara…"

"Mm, mm, I get it, you know? Even though you don't know what kind of guy you're up against, going to face danger to save your friends, Raul-san, you might just be cool…"

Still holding Raul's hand, Sonia murmured as if entranced. And then.

"Hey, we're coming too!!!"

"I want to save Manager Seara too!!!"

Glancing at Airi and Fino, who'd cut in, Sonia narrowed her big eyes in obvious irritation.

"… Eeh, do you two really have to come along?"

"Wha… listen here! We want to save the Manager too! Like we'd just leave it to someone like you!!!"

"But, someone strong like Raul-san is one thing. For normal people, it's dangerous, you know? You two, have any special skills or anything?"

"… Did you even watch our self-PRs at the pageant?!"

"Hmm… I mean, I wasn't interested…"

"Wha…"

Airi choked on her words, and Sonia shrugged bluntly.

"… Well, I get how you feel, and if you have to come, fine, but… seriously, don't drag us down, okay?"

Brushing off the protesting Airi as if she couldn't care less, Sonia suddenly clung to Raul's arm.

"!!!!?"

"… Now, Raul-san, let's gooo?"

Pressing the swelling chest beneath her swimsuit against Raul's upper arm.

At the breath tickling his bare neck, Raul couldn't help twitching. Watching the two of them, Fino quietly spoke up.

"Raul and Sonia-san, you two, kind of, look like you get along…"

"H-hey, d-don't stick to me so much!!!"

"Hmm…"

Beside Fino, who'd let that slip a touch enviously, Airi raised her voice. Sonia, still clinging to Raul's arm, gave the girl a look that seemed somewhat annoyed.

"… But Raul-san doesn't seem all that against it, you know?"

"Wha… y-you! Right as we're heading off to save the Manager! I'm disappointed in you, Raul Chaser!!!"

"N-no, this is, she's forcing it on me… p-please get off, Sonia-san!"

"Eeh… that's lonely…"

H-hey, what the heck is with this weirdly hostile atmosphere?!

Glancing at Sonia, who reluctantly released his arm, and at Airi, who for some reason had gone completely huffy, Raul, with a vague sense of rough roads ahead, heaved a sigh.