“Hey.”
“Good morning.”
After finishing our morning routines the next day, we left our rooms and went down to the hotel lobby. There, Ota and other Iga Security employees awaited us. I’d sent them an action plan the previous night, and they’d immediately arranged for a team to accompany us this morning. Very good.
“Sorry for the short notice,” I told them.
“This is our job.”
Today, Ota was dressed in work clothes. Rather than the business suit he’d worn the day before, he had on an outfit that made it obvious that he was personal security—light combat armor and a helmet, to be specific.
That combat armor and helmet’s designs look… How do I put it…? Awfully similar to the ones a ninja would wear. The helmet’s mouth area even looks like a ninja’s faceguard… These guys really are ninja, aren’t they?
“Four guards will protect you directly,” Ota told me. “Four more will stick close on standby in case something happens.”
“What about the last four?”
“Their job will be to counterattack your assailant.”
I see. Of the twelve total guards, eight are assigned to defense, while four are on offense. I have no clue whether that distribution is appropriate, but it’s best to leave things like this to the professionals.
“I must say,” he added, “seeing your crew all lined up like this is…quite a sight.”
“Please don’t.” Ota, I know what you want to say. Mimi, Elma, Mei, Tina, Wiska, Kugi, and Dr. Shouko… They’re a collection of young women who are all beautiful in their own way.
“All I’ll say is that you’re a man worthy of respect.”
“Am I just supposed to thank you now?”
Through everyone’s support, I was actually managing. If not for them, I’d probably have collapsed from stress by now. It was likely thanks to Mei actively handling the situation that things were somehow working out. I really owed her.
I had no way of knowing for sure, since their helmets covered their faces, but it felt like Iga Security’s employees were all staring at me in curiosity. Honestly, because of their presence, everyone in the hotel lounge was staring at me. My group would now total twelve people, including me, and the four Iga Security employees among us were dressed very uniquely. It was only natural that we stood out.
“Nothing good will come of staying here longer, so let’s get going,” I said.
“Very well,” Ota replied. “We’ll guard you from a short distance away.”
His group led the way, leaving the lounge first. They’ll guard us from a short distance away, huh? Well, we’ll have our guard up too. And since he’ll have two groups of four watching over us, that’ll be eight additional fighters. That will definitely make it harder for the enemy to move.
“If this ends up being nothing more than your paranoia, it’ll make for a funny story,” Dr. Shouko teased.
“He hired all these guards because he believes something’s going to happen,” Elma said.
“Something probably will. Master Hiro’s intuition is eerily accurate,” Mimi affirmed.
The two who’d been with me longest seemed to have half given up already. They already assumed that someone really was after us.
“Why don’t we just stay in our rooms, then?” Dr. Shouko suggested.
“We’re not the types to fuss about clothes either, but Doc, you really need to fix your wardrobe,” Tina said.
“If Tina says you need to fix your wardrobe, it means you really need to,” Wiska added.
She and Tina were pulling the hunched-over Dr. Shouko along on either side. The scene was kind of cute, if you ignored the fact that dwarves were really strong, and that it wasn’t likely that anyone could resist two dwarves dragging them someplace. Even physically enhanced nobles would struggle to break free.
“Hm? Where’d Kugi go?”
“I think she’s already outside,” Mimi told me.
I glanced toward where she was looking and saw Kugi outside the hotel entrance. Her ears were pricked up, and she seemed to be examining the surroundings. Mei was with her.
“Are they scouting the way for us…? Let’s get moving too.”
“Okay!”
I sent Tina and Wiska a look that meant “Drag—I mean, escort—Dr. Shouko,” and we left the hotel.
“Hmm…no unusual movements today?” I asked Kugi.
“None, my lord. I do detect individuals examining us, but that’s nothing out of the ordinary.”
“True enough.” We stood out. A lot. Even if I looked relatively normal, the girls in my group definitely attracted attention—especially Kugi.
Here and there, you might see true beastfolk—for instance, bipedal tigers and lions. But “beastfolk” like Kugi, who resembled humans that happened to have animal ears and tails, were extremely rare. Those characteristics were probably unique to Verthalz’s citizens. Actually, maybe people like Kugi are only rare in the Grakkan Empire, and totally normal in other countries?
“Since things have come to this, Hiro, let’s just get it over with as quickly as possible,” said Dr. Shouko. “If it’s unavoidable, then the sooner we deal with it, the better.”
“I doubt this’ll end quickly.”
Although Dr. Shouko seemed to have resigned herself to her fate, I was skeptical that things would go as she wanted. When I’d shopped with Mimi, Elma, and Chris last time, picking out a single outfit for me had taken them a while. Today even more people were with us, and we were going to a giant shopping center brimming with clothing stores. It was unlikely that Dr. Shouko would get her wish… But if I pointed that out bluntly, she might throw a tantrum, so I kept the thought to myself. After all, that store was located here too.
“We don’t want to keep them waiting. Let’s get a move on,” I said.
“Okay! I’ll lead the way,” Mimi responded.
Tablet in hand, she began walking. Our formation consisted of Mimi up front, then me and Kugi, Elma, Dr. Shouko with Tina and Wiska clinging to her arms, and finally Mei in the rear.
“Our guards are staying at a distance that’s not too far away, but not too close.”
“Yeah.”
The traffic made them difficult to see, but I sensed a nearby quartet watching us, and two more pairs of people farther away doing likewise. Those pairs had to move quite a bit to keep up with us whenever we crossed a street. It must’ve been challenging.
“Tough job.”
“Yeah.”
Despite how quickly those guards had to maneuver to keep pace, they managed to do so without causing a scene. They really are ninja, aren’t they? I thought, following Mimi.