Will the mission go well with these people?

I decided to stop worrying about it right away.

Kuroinu-san used some connections to let us enter the town easily.

After we walked the streets for a bit, we were now inside the underground casino.

Once we entered the underground casino, the two men’s aura changed completely.

With a sharp expression they checked our surroundings, and there was nothing left from those foolish att.i.tudes from before.

Actually, they were like two different people.

“Kid, this is work.”

They realized I was quite surprised by the pressure and tension they now gave off, so Kuroinu-san explained me.

A white suit and a black suit.

Compared to before, their huge backs looked rather cool now.

Hakunetsu-san was eating 1 cigarettes.

He held a largish attache case in one hand. What does he carry inside, I wonder.

I thought about that, as we heard some noise coming from the casino.

Kuroinu-san leaned on the handrail and started to talk.

“Well, according to the informant we pa.s.sed by a moment ago, the goods are inside the VIP room, where a gamble is taking place.

It seems the SDF is already here.

Since they have to follow this place’s rules, it means there’s a reason they can’t forcefully steal them.

At any rate, we must hurry.”

Hakunetsu-san let out the cigarette smoke and changed his att.i.tude.

Unlike Kuroinu-san, he rested his back against the handrail.

“For the time being, how will we destroy the goods? Should we be fast and violent or use some other quiet means?

Since the SDF is here to collect the goods, they most likely sent men from the colonel cla.s.s and above.

It is extremely annoying to deal with this type of guys.

As for the quiet means I was referring to, that would be to try to collect the goods by following this place’s rules. With s.h.i.+on-kun here, we can cheat as much as we want.

However……..”

Hakunetsu-san grinned broadly.

Kuroinu-san was most likely grinning as well. It felt like he was about to say something nihilistic.

“Right… However, we are Anonymous.

Even though they are gambling inside the VIP room, it’s not like the goods are there too.

Should we infiltrate without them finding out and destroy the goods right away?”

Kuroinu-san took out an anonymous mask from his inner chest pocket.

“Ain’t that thrilling!?”

____________

Our only source of light was the flashlight that Kuroinu-san carried.

Anonymous’ members.

Me. Kuroinu-san. Hakunetsu-san.

Inside the darkness, there were three anonymous masks.

No one complained about how narrow this place was.

It was inevitably so, since it was not a pa.s.sage meant for humans.

We concealed our breaths as we slowly crawled into the ventilation above the ceiling.

“How is it?”

Kuroinu-san turned the flashlight towards us.

Its light illuminated the map we had.

Kuroinu-san paid a large amount of money

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to that informant in order to buy a map of this place.

I looked at the map, as I listened to various sounds and tried to confirm their location and distance.

The map included everything up to this floor.

“………I can hear some sort of dispute going on nearby the VIP room. Perhaps, between the casino people and the SDF.

Something about cheating.”

“Hmm. Did you find the location of the goods?”

“Yes. They’re on a lower floor. They are a lot of men gathered, strictly guarding something.

We might have to use the elevator.”

“In that case, we have to get off this place.”

“There is no one around at this moment, so we can go down now.

But there are about two men close to the elevator, so we might engage them in combat.”

“Then, let’s get out of here.

Nevertheless, it’s not that thrilling anymore with s.h.i.+on’s all-purpose scouting skills.”

“………Sorry.”

“No, it’s all right. We’re only getting started now.”

We were now in a place where no ordinary people could enter.

I searched for the enemy and avoided all possible battles up to this point, so Kuroinu-san and Hakunetsu-san were kind of bored.

However, even so they didn’t unnecessarily invite trouble.

These guys were seeking the very best of thrills after all.

Kuroinu-san, who was in the lead, removed the ventilation entrance and jumped down on the pathway below.

It was quite high.

I hesitated a bit, but Hakunetsu-san pushed me from behind.

I landed on the pathway as well and Hakunetsu-san followed.

Kuroinu-san winked at me and I placed one hand on the wall and listened closely.

“………..It’s all right. They didn’t notice us.”

It would have been great if I could nullify sounds, but I couldn’t do that at the moment.

I didn’t even know if that was possible in the first place.

I figured that because it’s about sound, there are surely a lot of things I could do, but I can’t even control my ability properly at this time.

I needed more practice.

However, spying for enemies was quite tiring.

I must restrict the sounds I’m hearing after all.

Since I couldn’t lose control, I decided to wear the restraint ring just in case. It might get more or less comfortable if I take it off, but I’ll keep it on just to be sure.

I was now walking in the lead as I constantly listened to the enemies’ movements.

When we got close to the elevator, I made a sign and Hakunetsu-san took the lead instead.

If we turn that corner, the elevator should be right in the front.

As well as two men. Most likely guards. They were gossiping.

Kuroinu-san raised two fingers and bend them towards that corner.

Hakunetsu-san saw that sign and nodded.

He then sneaked a look at what was waiting for us if we took that corner.

The next instant, he retreated and looked towards us.

Then he took the map I was carrying and crumpled it. The moment Hakunetsu-san opened his palm, the map turned into ash.

The ashes fell down on the floor.

“Wonderful. We bought a fake map.

There’s no elevator.”

I was startled by Hakunetsu-san’s normal tone.

The guards will find us…….!

“Who’s there?”

Just as I thought, I could now hear the steps of those two guards getting closer.

I hurried and took my stance, not knowing that their lives would come to an end right at the moment they turned around that corner.

I could hear a sharp sound and looked at the two guards, who had knives stuck on their foreheads now.

Most likely, Kuroinu-san threw them from behind us.

Hakunetsu-san caught hold of those men’s heads, as they were about to fall down, and he slowly and noiselessly placed them on the floor.

I never imagined that knives get implanted so easily into people’s heads…..

I looked on in mute amazement, but Kuroinu-san moved in front of me and stepped on the map that was now nothing more than ashes.

“Did they sneak up fake maps too?

But it seems it wasn’t completely fake after all.”

“What did those two guard then?”

“Maybe it’s a safe that looks like a room.

For the time being, s.h.i.+on-kun, is anyone approaching us now?”

I listened carefully.

There was no one approaching us.

“Hm?”

I noticed a sound from below that suddenly started to go far off.

This was the sound of…….

“………The elevator, I found it.”

“Good job.”

“Great. Take us there.”

Kuroinu-san beat me on the shoulder.

I went in front of Hakunetsu-san and was about to guide them to the elevator.

However, it was then that I realized something.

Before I knew it, I couldn’t hear the quarrel anymore.

I stopped in place and listened closely one more time.

I concentrated my sensitivity towards the VIP room.

Having done so, I was able to pick up these words.

‘I made one of my subordinates go bring that thing.’

‘The negotiations are complete. We will close our eyes for this time’s incident.’

‘What about the money?’

‘They’re inside here.’

…………I see. This is bad.

“…….What’s wrong s.h.i.+on? Did something happen?”

“This is bad. The SDF will soon get their hands on our goods.”

“……What?”

“They concluded their negotiations with the casino people.”

Hakunetsu-san fixed his mask.

“We must hurry.”

__________

We walked along the hoisted wall of the elevator, cautiously descending.

Kuroinu-san and Hakunetsu-san were quite experienced at this and I couldn’t keep up with them.

We looked down but there was nothing but complete darkness.

The elevator was not moving.

Kuroinu-san helped me and I, somehow, managed to arrive just above the elevator.

“Well, this is where things should get interesting.”

We concealed our breathing.

I could hear the sound of footsteps. They were…….three people?

I raised three fingers and told them.

“Three people are coming.”

“Three guys? That’s an easy victory.”

The elevator’s door opened.

Then it closed.

………They’re here.

Then, the elevator started to move.

“s.h.i.+on. I’ll show you my ability. Hold this for a moment.”

“Eh?”

Kuroinu-san entrusted me with his anonymous mask.

I thought it was a bit strange and looked over at his face, but all I could see now was a glossy, black fur.

My eyes turned round.

Is this Kuroinu-san’s ability……!?

“Enhancement type, the a.s.sa.s.sination Hound.

This is Kuroinu’s ability.”

Hakunetsu-san said.

He was a pitch black werewolf.

That was the impression he gave.

However, I could not admire that appearance any longer.

That’s because Kuroinu-san started to move.

Now that he changed into the a.s.sa.s.sination Hound, Kuroinu-san ripped off the elevator’s ceiling with his sharp claw.

Then, he jumped down inside the elevator, and the next instant a splat could be heard as those three men inside stopped breathing.

“Finished. I also got the goods.”

We heard Kuroinu-san’s voice from beneath.

I took a quick look inside and saw three dead bodies and Kuroinu-san, who returned to his normal appearance, standing next to them.

He held in one hand a box the size of a fist.

Hakunetsu-san saw that, then took the anonymous mask I was holding and threw it at Kuroinu-san.

He caught it and put it back on his face.

“It was much easier than expected.”

I looked up and saw that the elevator was reaching the top.

Hakunetsu-san jumped down inside the elevator and I followed his example.

“Well now, I’ll destroy this as we still have the time.”

Kuroinu-san said and opened the box.

Inside was a ring.

I knew exactly what it was the moment I saw it.

Yes, it was the restraint ring’s first prototype.

It had a different design than the one I was wearing, but its efficacy was mostly the same.

If this was to fall into the SDF’s hands, the “ability restraining” technology that Anonymous developed would have been stolen.

Kuroinu-san handed the first generation restraint ring to Hakunetsu-san.

Then, Hakunetsu-san grasped that ring tightly.

A short time later, Hakunetsu-san opened his palm in order to show me the result.

What I saw on his palm was a completely melted former ring.

Hakunetsu-san took out a transparent case from his pocket and inserted the muddled ring inside.

Then, he said.

“Mission complete.

Now, all that’s left is to go back.”

Right at that moment, the elevator arrived at the top.

We got out of the elevator and started walking calmly towards the casino’s exit.

Leaving this place without anyone noticing was already something extremely easy to do.

Everyone inside the VIP room was still foolishly waiting for “the thing” to be brought to them.

They will probably realize it was already destroyed by the time we left the town.

They will find the anonymous mask that Hakunetsu-san left behind inside the elevator and lament about their defeat.

Hakunetsu-san made sure to bring a spare anonymous musk just for the sake of making that happen.

I concentrated all my nerves and picked up the sounds.

“There are two guards at the next corner.”

I couldn’t be negligent when scouting for enemies.

I let my two companions know about the enemies’ positions anytime there was a need for that, and so we got close to the exit.

Since crawling inside the ventilation was most likely going to take some time, we decided to walk the normal pathway.

These two guards as well are about to get killed by Kuroinu-san.

I thought and left him in the lead.

Kuroinu-san went ahead and turned around the corner.

Hakunetsu-san and I stopped right before it.

With a small shriek, the two guard’s breathing started to fade…….No, one was still alive?

“Hiii, please save me…….! I, I will do anything…….!”

“Shut up. Next time you speak, you’re dead.”

We could hear Kuroinu-san’s yakuza-like voice from the other side of the corner.

The other guard was already dead. I couldn’t hear his breathing anymore.

However, for some reason, one guard was still alive.

Up until now Kuroinu-san killed them in the blink of an eye without any hint of hesitation………So why?

I thought it was strange so I turned to look at Hakunetsu-san.

Why? I asked him with a questioning look, but he answered me with silence.

I could not see any emotion in his eyes.

Then, a voice could be heard again.

“s.h.i.+on. Come here.”

Me?

I didn’t understand what was going on, but I turned around the corner and walked towards Kuroinu-san.

He was standing up there.

In front of him, the guard was sitting down, frozen in place.

An expression of terror covered all his face and his nether region was completely wet.

Next to him was the other guard who was nothing more than a piece of meat now.

I stood up there without understand the situation, when Kuroinu-san threw a knife at my feet.

“To tell you the truth, we more or less had a reason for shading you tonight.”

Kuroinu-san turned half of his body towards me and started to talk.

“It’s about Roll.

That girl always refused pairing up with anyone, so we were curious as to what turn of events made her team up with you.”

What’s this about all of a sudden?

“………”

On the other side of the anonymous mask Kuroinu-san had a serious expression.

“This guard.

He’s an ordinary person working at this casino. He’s an innocent person.

He’s a normal man living a normal life.

s.h.i.+on, you’ll be the one to kill him.”

“………..”

I see. I understand what you’re trying to say.

“What we fear the most is that an ordinary high schooler like you will make Roll go through some really unfortunate and stupid events that otherwise she’d avoid.

Roll is strong, but she’s still a kid. And there are things that only adults can teach you about.

We are part of an evil organization.

We sacrifice many for the sake of one. And among those many people we sacrifice, they are also a lot of innocent, harmless people.”

“………I understand what you’re trying to say.”

I said, but Kuroinu-san continued nonetheless.

“We kill many for the sake of one.

Now that you got tricked by this inviting sentence and ended up joining Anonymous, this is the road you must walk on.

Even though it’s not for anyone’s sake.

A kill that has no meaning at all, this is something you will have to do from now on.

There’s no need for a reason.

Kill him.”

I focused my eyes on the trembling guard.

I could hear the sound of smoking cigarettes from the other side of the corner.

“Is it all right to have a reason though?”

“Let’s hear it.”

“Killing people in order to survive, for my own sake.

That’s what I’d like to think now.”

I picked up the knife at my feet.

“You pa.s.s.”

Kuroinu-san said.

I strongly grasped the knife and stepped forward.

Tears were overflowing from the guard’s eyes as he started to desperately rub his head against the ground, trying to silently beg me for his life.

Does my heart ache?

Of course it does.

However, I already killed a lot of innocent people during my manifestation.

And I also knew about Anonymous’ wrongdoings.

Thus, I always thought about it since the moment I joined Anonymous.

I didn’t expect, however, to be demanded an answer this quickly, but I must find it right away.

The answer is yes, no matter what twisted reasons I have.

I’m sorry but you will have to die for my sake.

I approached the base of the guard’s neck and cut through it without hesitation.

That day, I got the first spurts of blood all over my anonymous mask.

Hakunetsu-san let out a word that I will probably never forget:

“Congrats”

Still, if I were to tell my thoughts.

Killing a person was much easier than I expected.

_________

“Iyaaa, hwaaaaaaaaoooooo!!! s.h.i.+on-kun! I never imagined we would finish up this mission so early!”

The car was roaring.

“Aaah! I love this feeling of liberation after a completed mission!! Should we go drinking!?”

“Oooh! That’s genius! s.h.i.+on-kun will come too, right!?”

After we completed the mission, these two had a sudden change.

Even though I just killed someone, for some reason I too felt refreshed as I gazed at the night scenery.

“I can hear those SDF fools’ angry roars!!”

“Ha ha! Go faster!! Woohooo!!”

We could already see our town.

We were driving way too fast.

“Oioioi! You should try shouting too, s.h.i.+on-kun!!”

I was about to decline this invitation when my phone started to vibrate.

Of course, it was the work phone. I let my private phone at home.

When I looked at its screen and saw who was calling me, my back froze completely.

‘Roll’

“Wait! Roll is calling me! Please, be quiet!”

“Wha!?”

“You’re joking, right!?”

“What should I do!?”

Should I ignore her? Will I make the right call if I ignore this now?

But she’s calling on my work phone.

“Hakunetsu! Drop the speed!’

“I know that already!”

The sound of a sudden break could be heard and the car’s speed dropped considerably.

Hakunetsu-san put an end to the roaring sound of the engine and immediately returned the interior of the car to silence.

We were safe driving now.

With a speed not exceeding 40km/h.

“………Good, you can answer now.”

Kuroinu-san gave me the ok.

My heart was thumping as I answered the phone.

“………h.e.l.lo.”

‘h.e.l.lo, s.h.i.+on. Where are you now?’

“……..I was sleeping.”

I imitated an annoyed tone as if I just got my sleep disturbed.

However, her next words left me speechless.

‘Hmmm. For the time being, I must punish you for not following my instructions. I checked up your mission log, you know. Even though you made it private.’

I could hear the sound of my beating heart.

This was bad.

I somehow managed to regain my composure when Hakunetsu-san said those words.

“Ah, it’s over.”

What Hakunetsu-san was looking at was a street. That street was leading towards the town.

Or……..was it the shadow of a person?

Roll was standing right there.

‘At this range you can clearly hear me without using the phone, right, s.h.i.+on?’

She hung up.

“This is bad, this is bad, this is bad, this is bad, this is bad! What do we do now, Hakunetsu!?”

“This is over. Checkmate. Let’s resign and receive our punishment.

We are already inside the Stray Cat’s range of attack.”

Hakunetsu-san’s voice was s.h.i.+vering.

“I see…….It’s hopeless.”

We stopped the car close to Roll.

Next to her, a motorcycle was parked. Did she ride it here?

“All of you, get off.”

Roll’s voice echoed and we got off the car.

We were now standing in front of her.

The two rather tall men tried to look down on Roll, who was releasing an intimidating aura, but they eventually ended up kneeling down on the ground.

I was already kneeling.

“First of all, Hakunetsu and Kuroinu.

Show me your hands.”

They both looked downward. There was nothing left of that coolness that surrounded them during the mission.

“Hurry up and show me your hands.”

Unwillingly, both of them raised one of their hands.

I thought about what she was going to do to them and looked at Roll as she touched those two’s hands.

A painful sound could be heard as their hands got bent in a weird direction.

“!?”

What the heck was that!?

“Gaaaaaaaaah!”

“Guuuuuuuuh!!”

Their shrieks resounded on the main road.

“Once you return to the hideout, go ask Chiaku-san to fix you up.”

Roll said, then she turned around to look at me.

So this is what the frog feels like when the snake glares at it!?

I couldn’t move at all.

After having seen that, there’s no way I wouldn’t get cold feet.

Those two were groaning in agony somewhere inside my field of vision.

“s.h.i.+on”

“Y, yes!”

“Don’t be so nervous.

It’s your first time so I’ll forgive you with just this.”

Roll held her hand aloft.

I closed my eyes.

Not knowing what was about to happen, I was quite scared, when my face got slapped.

It was quite a strong slap in the face, but in the end it was only that.

I rubbed my hurting face. The pain was sharp.

“That’s…….! s.h.i.+ooon…..!”

“d.a.m.n it…..! We’re guilty of the same crime, you knoooow!?”

Kuroinu-san and Hakunetsu-san complained.

However, when Roll sent them a short glance, they immediately held their hands and started to moan.

It appears that I will be forgiven with only this.

“Don’t you have anything to say? I was quite worried about you.”

Roll said.

I raised my head and looked her in the eye.

“……………Sorry.”

I lowered my head and apologized.

It was clear to me that Roll was actually worried about me.

I, too, felt honestly sorry.

Instead of feeling relief that my punishment was light, the remorse I felt was slightly stronger.

“I was really looking forward to our first mission as partners, but you selfishly spoiled it for me.”

When she told me that, my chest started to ache.

“……..I’m sorry, really.”

“Hmm….!

……Let’s go back. Get behind me.”

Roll straddled the motorcycle then threw a helmet towards me. I caught it.

Then, seemingly telling me to get on right away, Roll roared her motorcycle.

I looked over at Hakunetsu-san and Kuroinu-san, and even though their hands were broken, Hakunetsu-san made a sign with two fingers.

It was the sign for “Go”.