Seeing me, Hiyori seemed to let out a sigh of relief as she muttered:
"Sensei's okay... ehehe, that's great... ah, no, um, Sensei brought reinforcements... counting Sensei, that makes four people... no, there's even more behind them..."
Noticing Misaki's deep gaze, Hiyori, who had apparently been relieved to see me unharmed, hurriedly corrected herself.
Since I had already decided to fight with proper preparation and had also planned to rewrite the treaty, there was no way I would come with only the Make-Up Work Club. It was just because we detected Azusa's traces that I arrived ahead of the others.
Saori's gaze, however, shifted away awkwardly after meeting mine briefly and turned toward the three girls beside me.
"What now, who are you people?"
"Just ordinary Trinity students."
Hifumi met her gaze without the slightest hesitation.
"You shouldn't..."
Azusa struggled to stand, only to try and stop us.
"Sensei, Hifumi, everyone... why did you come to a place like this...? Especially Hifumi... this isn't a place for an ordinary person like you..."
Among everyone who came to support us, I obviously did not count. My identity as Schale's advisor already put me far from being ordinary.
Hanako was a genius girl once considered as a Tea Party candidate, someone deeply connected to the Sisterhood and numerous other factions.
Koharu, though still inexperienced and only responsible for guarding contraband, was still a member of Justice Task Force, Trinity's strongest regular combat organization.
It really did seem as though only Hifumi had nothing to do with dangerous situations like this.
"...That's right."
Hifumi nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
"I really am ordinary and average. And I already understand now that the Azusa-chan I saw wearing that gas mask was the real Azusa-chan."
Hifumi closed her eyes, her tone strangely calm.
"If that's the real Azusa-chan, and the world you live in is one someone like me could never reach... then I understand everything you wanted to say."
"Hifumi...?"
"But!"
The blonde girl suddenly opened her eyes, her expression firm as she raised her voice.
"Azusa-chan got one very important premise wrong!!!"
Under the somewhat confused gazes of Azusa and the others, and my rather expectant one, Hifumi opened the zipper of her Peroro backpack.
"At this very moment, I'll show you my true self! My real identity is actually..."
From inside the bag, she took out an utterly ordinary-looking paper bag with only the number "5" written on top in marker and two round holes cut into it.
If the rain had not just stopped, the paper bag probably would have quickly become soaked and fallen apart.
Upon the silent ruins, Hifumi placed the paper bag over her head and, in a solemn tone, announced to everyone present the hidden identity she had concealed for so long:
"The leader of the Masked Swimsuit Gang, Faust!!!"
SAUCE
After the declaration fell, aside from my excited yet restrained applause, not another sound could be heard.
"...Eh?"
Azusa blinked, looking utterly confused by the scene before her.
Meanwhile, Hifumi continued her passionate speech.
"Please look! This terrifying appearance! Even standing beside Azusa-chan, this spine-chilling aura loses in no way whatsoever! Some people might even think I look scarier and more terrifying this way!"
That's right! Exactly like this!
"H-Hifumi...?"
Azusa cautiously asked:
"What exactly are you talking about...?"
"So!"
Hifumi loudly interrupted her, staring intensely at her friend still held in my arms.
"So we are not living in different worlds! We belong to the same world! I can stand beside you too! So please stop saying things like we can't be together because we're from different worlds...!"
At that, the blonde girl took a step forward.
"Even if you reject me, I'll still come to your side! I want to...!"
At the perfect moment, I opened one arm slightly, and Hifumi stepped closer, almost as though she were entering my embrace as well.
"I want to stand beside Azusa-chan! Right here, within arm's reach...!"
After thinking about it briefly, and considering how many eyes were on us, I refrained from pulling Hifumi into a hug too.
Instead, I secretly took hold of her slender, burning-hot hand.
Hifumi glanced at me and gave a faint nod.
"Hifumi..."
Azusa's expression became touched yet conflicted after hearing those words. She hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"But even if you say those lies for my sake..."
"Who said it was a lie!?"
At that moment, a sudden voice rang out from nearby, drawing everyone's attention. Instinctively, I almost let go of Hifumi's hand and released Azusa from my embrace, but stopped myself in time.
The ones who appeared were four girls wearing knitted masks in pink, blue, green, and red, with the numbers "1," "2," "3," and "4" on their foreheads respectively.
Among them, the girl wearing the pink mask, with a stubborn ahoge sticking out from the top, spoke in a laid-back tone.
"Ara, arriving right at the climax, huh?"
Hanako's gaze sharpened as she exclaimed in shock:
"That mask... could it be...!?"
Then she looked toward me.
Apparently even Hanako, clever as she was, and someone who had once glimpsed part of the truth through Aru's slip of the tongue and Nagisa's schemes, had ultimately still been fooled by Lord Faust's masterful disguise.
Hoshino solemnly chanted:
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Merciless and solitary, walking my path as though traversing a demonic realm..."
Beside her, Shiroko nodded in agreement.
"Mm. That's our motto."
Nonomi enthusiastically added even more strange lore.
"Normally we work as idols, but at night we take side jobs defeating evil people~"
"When did we ever have a motto like that!?"
Serika, being extremely bad at reading the room, protested in embarrassment.
"And stop adding weird settings!?"
Finally, Ayane, wearing a yellow mask marked with the number "0," appeared through the communication feed.
"Following the orders of Lord Faust, leader of the Masked Swimsuit Gang, we have assembled!"
Koharu looked completely unable to process the situation.
"Eh, eh!?"
Hanako muttered:
"I-It really exists...?"
Then the way everyone looked at Hifumi subtly changed.
"Those people are..."
Saori frowned slightly and asked to the side:
"Where exactly did they come from?"
"T-The Masked Swimsuit Gang..."
Hiyori said in shock.
"I saw them on social media before. Supposedly they rampage through the Black Market, committing all sorts of crimes, even robbing banks owned by huge corporations and kidnapping student council presidents of mega academies... I thought it was just rumors, but they really exist..."
"...So they're that kind of group?"
Even Saori, who considered herself somewhat experienced in the Black Market, could not help but feel impressed, along with renewed respect toward the friend Azusa had made.
Misaki mercilessly exposed the truth.
"No, aren't these just the people we ran into yesterday...?"
"...So it was them."
After hearing that, Saori carefully examined the group opposite her as though facing a great enemy.
"Hmph. They're not wearing tactical masks today. No wonder I almost didn't recognize them."
"Uh, Captain, you..."
Misaki looked like she wanted to say something, then shook her head.
"Forget it. Close enough. Just stay careful."
"Whaaaat? You made our leader cry?"
At that moment, the pink-haired girl in the hood dramatically shouted toward Arius Squad.
"Hey~ over there? We take absolutely no responsibility for what happens next, okay? When our Lord Faust gets angry, she's super scary, you know?"
"After all, Faust-chan is the legendary figure who defeated a Kaiser Corporation executive!"
"Attacking Black Market banks is practically routine for her."
"And last time, she even blasted Kaiser PMC away with artillery fire!"
The other three chimed in one after another, boasting about Faust's glorious achievements.
The important part was that every single thing they mentioned had actually happened.
Hoshino concluded:
"Yep, very scary indeed~ Truly a walking calamity, a being that rules the underworld like a boss."
"Mm."
Shiroko nodded.
"That is Faust."
Then everyone shouted Faust's name in unison:
"Faust! Faust! Faust!"
Their actions pushed Hifumi's embarrassment beyond its limit. She tore off the paper bag, revealing a face red as a tomato, and the cheering finally stopped, leaving me rather disappointed.
"Ahh, Faust-chan took off the bag?"
Nonomi said in surprise.
"Ah~ probably because it was too embarrassing...?"
As Hoshino said that, she casually removed her own mask as well.
The instant Saori saw her true face, her pupils shrank sharply.
"Takanashi... Hoshino?"
"Ara, isn't this little Saori~? What a coincidence. Ufufu, I almost didn't recognize you just now. When was the last time we met again?"
As though seriously trying to remember, Hoshino suddenly realized.
"Ah, right! It was just yesterday, wasn't it? Sigh, this ojii-san really is getting old. Even my memory's getting worse."
Saori did not answer. She merely stared at the smiling Hoshino while silently tightening her grip on her gun.
"Anyway, let me introduce ourselves again."
Ayane said seriously through the communicator.
"The Foreclosure Task Force has come to help Hifumi-san!"
"Thank you so much, everyone from the Foreclosure Task Force..."
"Ufufu~ no need to thank us. We're just helping out while passing through."
Hoshino waved her hand before looking toward Saori.
"I already had something I wanted to properly discuss with little Saori anyway. What was it you said to me when we met yesterday again? Mind repeating it? Can't remember? That's okay, you can take your time thinking about it. Anyway."
Casually taking out a hair tie and tying her hair into a ponytail, Hoshino held a shield in one hand and a gun in the other, her expression growing gentler and gentler.
"So first, why don't you pick your favorite way to die?"
Within those shining heterochromatic eyes remained nothing but bone-deep coldness.
Saori merely replied coldly:
"...You think you're stronger than me? If you can do it, then try."
"Sure."
Hoshino nodded casually.
"I'll come right now. Don't disappoint me too much, okay?"