"I see, then Sylpha, you stay too. I'll need your help in a bit."
Hachiman noticed the slightly awkward expressions on Nishikigi Chisato and the others, and instantly understood there must have been a little friction between them just now.
But since they all seemed fine, he didn't say much. He nodded and smiled, asking Sylpha to stay.
Normally he didn't plan to let peace-loving elves get involved in killing. When necessary he always called Ursula over to handle it.
However, Sylpha was a forest guardian skilled in combat, so she probably didn't have any aversion to killing.
"Yes, Savior."
Sylpha bowed respectfully, then stood behind Hachiman without shifting her eyes.
Even though she and the Savior were already very intimate in private, having done everything, personal matters were personal, official matters were official. In front of others she still had to maintain the Savior's dignity.
"Miss Nishikigi, here's the situation. The missing person is Miss Ebihara Urara's fiance, Saijo Takayuki. After failing an investment, he owed a massive debt and then disappeared. The creditor came to threaten Miss Ebihara Urara, saying she had to work as a teacher at the notorious Kokutetsu Academy to have the interest waived."
Hachiman thought for a moment and simply explained the current situation to Nishikigi Chisato, asking her to use Lycoris's intelligence network to locate Saijo Takayuki, and while she was at it, find the cult's base.
"I suspect this creditor may have kidnapped Saijo Takayuki, and I also suspect something is wrong with this Kokutetsu Academy."
"Miss Nishikigi, Miss Inoue, I'll trouble you two to use Lycoris's resources to investigate for us."
"Okay okay, I'll contact our intel personnel right now, see if they have any detailed information."
Hearing Hachiman get to business, Nishikigi Chisato straightened up, quickly lowering her head and sending a message to the intel member she knew to help mobilize intelligence.
"Oh right, Mr. Hikigaya, just call me Chisato. Same for Takina. You don't need to be so polite."
"Found him."
"Huh, found him? That fast?"
Still trying to multitask by chatting up Hachiman, Nishikigi Chisato snapped her head up, shocked as she stared at Inoue Takina beside her. She had only just sent the message, so how was it already found?
"The mission updated. Seems the cult clashed with someone during an activity, and a Lycoris who happened to be searching nearby found the target."
Inoue Takina turned her phone toward Nishikigi Chisato with a blank expression, letting her see the latest intel on the cult extermination mission.
"This cult seems to be pretty large, with a lot of people. They apparently have more than one base. The Lycoris on site didn't engage recklessly, and is hiding in the dark requesting reinforcements."
"The base that was found seems to be the Kokutetsu Academy you just mentioned, Mr. Hikigaya."
"Kokutetsu Academy?"
Hanamori Kotomi, who had been silent, didn't react to the cult part, but the name Kokutetsu Academy made her cry out instinctively.
Ebihara Urara's face also turned several shades paler the moment she heard it.
So Kokutetsu Academy was actually a cult base.
If she hadn't listened to Hiratsuka Sensei and sought Hikigaya-kun's protection, and had instead gone to Kokutetsu Academy to work as a teacher for the sake of removing the interest...
"Then there's no time to waste. Let's head over right away to prevent more people from being harmed by the cult."
Hearing that Inoue Takina and the others had already located the cult, Hachiman, who had been trying to guide them to the cult anyway, no longer delayed. He stood up and pulled Nishikigi Chisato and Inoue Takina along to pick a fight with the cult.
Sylpha, standing behind him, immediately followed.
"Ah? Wait, this is the fifth floor? Ahhh!"
Hachiman was absurdly decisive. Nishikigi Chisato didn't even react in time.
Only when she noticed that he had taken her to the guidance office window, opened it, and jumped out, did her expression change drastically. She instinctively clung to Hachiman.
Even Inoue Takina, usually expressionless, struggled to maintain her calm at this moment.
'Why are we suddenly jumping off a building?'
From this height, even with bushes below, they'd be half dead.
"Hikigaya-kun!"
"Mr. Hikigaya!"
"Hikigaya? You-you jerk!"
Hanamori Kotomi, Ebihara Urara, and Hiratsuka Shizuka were all terrified by Hachiman suddenly dragging people down with him.
But when Hiratsuka Shizuka rushed to the window and saw the familiar white hooded robe floating in midair, her anxious expression darkened instantly. Her fist clenched reflexively.
'This Hikigaya, showing off again, is he? Just wait until he gets back.'
———
Kokutetsu Academy, the Nest of Delinquents—
Not only was the school's location isolated, even the surrounding area was desolate and empty.
Only trash students rejected by every other school would come to this "Yakuza prep school," and only such a place would allow it to keep operating.
Outside Kokutetsu Academy, two girls wearing the same gray uniform as Nishikigi Chisato hid in the shadows, looking at the rusted open gate. They took handguns from their school bags while contacting intel through their earpieces.
"This is Chiba Branch Intelligence. Reinforcements are on the way. What's the situation at the scene? Do you require heavy fire support?"
"So far the cult members haven't spotted any firearms. We only need reinforcements to prevent them from escaping."
"But we observed that this cult, calling themselves the Self-Liberation Society, doesn't seem to operate in this remote school regularly. They only came today to perform a ritual."
"There are still many students in the school. Should we evacuate the innocent students before wiping out the cult?"
"No need. Intel just confirmed that Kokutetsu Academy is also a criminal nest and frequently exchanges victims with the Self-Liberation Society. Aside from the young women who were recently tricked into these two places, all the others are delinquent students and delinquent teachers with long criminal histories."
"Only the newly deceived young women? Then the others..."
"They're already at the bottom of the sea."
"Understood."
After contacting the intel personnel, the two Lycoris on site fell silent, not in the best mood. But they didn't let their guard down and continued watching the school for movement while checking whether their hiding spot had been exposed.
They were professional agents. Against ordinary people with no firearms, taking them down would be easy.
But unfortunately they were facing a cult with many followers and an entire school's worth of delinquents.
What they needed to consider now was whether they had enough bullets.
Once their bullets ran dry, even if they were trained in close-quarters combat, they'd still have to retreat when facing so many evil people.
Normally these cowards only bullied the weak and would run, but their mission was to annihilate them all. Acting rashly before reinforcements arrived would let these criminals escape to harm others again.
"Kurumi, the reinforcements this time... don't they seem kind of strange?"
"Huh? What? In the sky?"
The Lycoris observing the school tugged at her partner. The other followed her gaze toward the sky above the academy and was stunned to see several figures falling from high school height.
They were too far to see clearly who they were, but two of them were wearing uniforms they knew well, the red and navy uniforms of the First Seat and Second Seat.
In midair, Sylpha, already dressed in leather armor, raised her bow. A magic arrow filled with power shot straight toward the ground of the academy.
BOOM!
The powerful magic arrow blasted the courtyard in the center of the buildings apart. The shattered ground revealed soil, and the plants within it grew instantly.
Through the mist of greenery, the silhouettes of four people appeared.
"Cough! Cough! Why did you have to shoot first? There's so much dust!"
Nishikigi Chisato covered her mouth and nose while looking around and complaining about Hachiman and Sylpha's actions.
She was often told she was too reckless, too impulsive, but now she felt she had been too conservative and calm.
They'd jumped out the window the moment they got the intel, nearly scaring her to death.
And now that they arrived at the mission location, they had to shoot first as a grand entrance.
This was nothing like the missions she normally took.
Inoue Takina also struggled to adapt to Hachiman's style, but she didn't speak. She held her breath and quietly drew her handgun, watching for delinquents and cultists drawn by the commotion.
"Sorry! I'm not very practiced at doing this the first time. I'll pay attention next time."
Wearing his white hooded robe, Hachiman used cleaning magic to remove the dust as he surveyed the vegetation-covered buildings.
'Truly worthy of being called a Yakuza prep school, located somewhere this deserted. Even flying with magic, me and Sylpha needed a while to get here.'
Still, the remoteness made things easier. He didn't need to worry about outside influence. He just needed to protect the innocent and kill everyone else.
Right now Hachiman's vision was filled with red lights marking enemies and prey, with only a few green and blue lights marking allies.
Hawk-Eye Vision. This was the first time he'd seen so many red lights. Back in Sobu High he nearly never saw any.
Which meant one thing, these people basically all had to die.
"Chisato, Takina, can you kill?", Hachiman suddenly turned to Nishikigi Chisato and Inoue Takina.
Unlike agents who had a license to kill, Nishikigi Chisato was a pacifist.
For her, self-preservation and completing the mission took priority. Even enemies were only incapacitated, not killed. She even treated those critically wounded.
But clearly the scum here didn't deserve to live even if you shot them.
"No problem."
"Huh?!m Kill them? Can't we send them to prison?"
Inoue Takina answered immediately. Nishikigi Chisato hesitated.
Since she stopped a terror attack as a child, she'd always used non-lethal rounds.
Killing... was a big problem for her.
"Chisato, this is a cult base, not a playground."
Hachiman looked around at the many people approaching with knives and clubs. He reached out and placed a hand on Nishikigi Chisato's head, trying to activate his Absolute Domination passive while explaining.
"On the way here, both you and Takina learned about the situation, right? Beatings, imprisonment, torture, these are everyday occurrences here."
"The women they vi*lated, the people whose families they destroyed, would never want them to live comfortably in prison."
"These people are already beyond saving."
"I... understand."
Thinking about the updated mission intel, Nishikigi Chisato bit her lip and slowly nodded.
"Chisato, don't burden yourself too much. I know you use rubber bullets and other non-lethal rounds."
Hachiman gently patted her head and comforted her.
"Whether you want them alive for me to torture in all sorts of ways, or you want to use your excellent marksmanship to put bullets straight through their eyes and kill them instantly, I'll support you."
"Huh?"
Nishikigi Chisato stared blankly at Hachiman after being given those two choices.
Inoue Takina swallowed involuntarily as she looked at Hikigaya's smiling face.
For the first time, this boy around her age felt terrifying. Even more than when he jumped off the building with them.
She didn't care about the targets' fates. As long as she completed the mission, killing enemies wasn't a problem.
But clearly Hikigaya knew Chisato hated killing and brought her here to force a dilemma.
Either break her principles and kill, or stick to them and let people suffer.
'Mr. Hikigaya... Is a demon.'
"Takina, later you just cover me from afar with Chisato. Keep yourselves safe and don't let anyone get close."
After soothing Nishikigi Chisato, Hachiman turned to Inoue Takina and stroked her sleek black hair with his other hand.
"Well... Mr. Hikigaya, I would actually prefer we find advantageous terrain and wait for reinforcements."
Inoue Takina didn't dare ask why he patted her head too. She whispered her suggestion as he seemed to show concern for her.
"I don't have enough bullets. There isn't a perimeter set up outside. With this many people, they might choose mutual destruction."
Ordinary people feared guns. A single handgun could intimidate dozens. But cultists who lost their minds might rush them fearlessly and drain their bullets, leaving them unable to protect Hikigaya.
Even though she knew the silent Sylpha beside them was an elf from the elf princess's side and definitely stronger than them, she had never seen the elf fight, so she had no confidence.
"Don't worry. Just save your bullets for self-defense. Honestly, I planned to take care of them myself from the start."
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