Chapter 190: Powerless Two

And Yorihisa mercilessly pulled the trigger.

At the two helpless high school girls.

Pointing the machine gun's barrel at them.

"——huh!?"

That was an action completely beyond my understanding.

I just wanted to live quietly, that's all—just an ordinary person like me.

You know, guns... aren't they something people who can't solve things through dialogue pick up as a hobby?

I can't believe it.

Why is it like this?

Even as I thought angrily, my feet wouldn't move.

Even though I knew it was dangerous, the thought of dodging an attack—something that should have been obvious—completely vanished from my mind.

It was only the shoulder charge from Asada-san that snapped me back to my senses.

"Senpai!"

The two girls tumbled across the asphalt ground.

A moment later, the ground where I'd been standing was riddled with bullet holes—tatatatatatatata—punctured through in rapid succession.

"Hey now. No more holding back—time to fight back, huh?"

That was Yozu Ginsho.

I had dodged the first shot not by luck, but because he'd deliberately aimed wide.

"——Gh!"

Masada pulled a small pistol from behind his thigh and fired while lying on his side.

Yozu, in contrast, merely shifted his shoulder slightly to avoid the bullet.

"Uh-huh. Well-trained. Normally, it'd be a headshot."

I couldn't believe my eyes at this overly dramatic, manga-like scene.

"——Gah!"

Mr. Asada continued firing bullets without pause.

Pssst, pssst—the beige coat began to develop holes with each shot.

This time, Yozu didn't even try to dodge.

The masked man spoke to Asada as if trying to reason with him.

Don't bother. I'm wearing a bulletproof vest.

"Senpai! Help me—this is either Ritsuko or Asuka who's here to save me...!"

As for me, I could only stammer something like "Eh... a...?" while completely losing my composure.

It still hasn't been properly accepted.

The fact that such a barbaric event is occurring within a few meters of me.

but

Hurry up!

Thanks to Asada's scolding, I managed to keep running even though part of my brain had died.

Of course, Yoi could have shot me in the back at any moment.

"Hey... what the hell is this?"

But he just scratched the back of his head and let me go.

Wiping away tears that kept dripping from my eyelids for some reason, I dashed toward the school.

"Haah... haah...!"

Arriving at the school bathed in the hues of sunset, panting for breath, I slipped through the back gate, dashed across the field now transformed into soft, spongy earth, and finally burst into the maintenance shed.

There, a group of bearded men resembling pirates stared at me in shock, exchanging wide-eyed glances.

"Please help! Some weird old guy with a Tommy gun is lying down, blocking the way!"

was my first cry.

"You're... the one from... the incident..."

Hurry up! Mada-san's in trouble!

"But..."

"Gun! We need someone with a gun!"

However, my request was easily rejected among them.

After that, the adult conversation reaching my ears was

Hey, could this possibly be one of those weirdos' cases?

Then there's nothing we can do about it.

"Leave the villains to other villains to deal with."

That was it.

It was more than enough information to disappoint me.

Of course, I still don’t fully understand the situation.

But even without clear understanding, I’ve at least realized one thing: these people can’t help us.

“Ri-tsu-ko-san and Asaka-san!?!”

At my question, they slowly shook their heads.

“…They’re always free to move about, so we don’t even know where they are.”

"Then, who else can we rely on—"

"Unfortunately, the ones who could fight have already left... If we're talking about anyone else capable of fighting besides those two..."

He spoke with almost prayer-like solemnity.

"Can't really think of anyone at the moment."

"Wha—?"

A bitter feeling wells up inside me.

Even though she's just a girl I just met, the thought of her dying is unsettling, to say the least.

"Ah, but wasn't that girl just passing by a moment ago?"

"That kid?"

Then the pirates chimed in one after another,

"Yeah, right, right. That one was there."

"The one with the weird outfit—"

"Usually hangs around the air park."

"Seemed to be in a hurry, came over this way a moment ago."

"Just perfect. I heard that one was a villain too."

Who the heck is that kid?

My mind buzzed with confusion,

"Good day, —'Warrior' lady."

Emerging with graceful steps was a girl in a maid uniform, her hair a striking shade of purple.

I stared, momentarily wide-eyed.

There was something unreal about her posture and presence.

A cosplay girl in a post-apocalyptic world.

It felt utterly out of place, like she was hosting a ball right in the middle of a quarry.

"Long time no see—though you don't remember, do you? I've heard all about it."

"Oh, uh, yes!"

"I am Tenko Tsuzuri."

"Tsuzuri... san?"

Who are you?

"One of those you once saved, long ago."

"Hmm."

I grimace slightly, feeling a hint of frustration.

Why is it always like this—why do things keep happening behind my back, completely unknown to me...?