Chapter 4:
Bunny Girls: The Stuff of Dreams
“THIS’S OUR BUDGET. Do with it as you see fit.”
“Yes, Master.”
Once we’d reached the shopping center, I entered break mode. Handing our budget over to Mei, I ceded full responsibility to her. After all, this trip’s purpose was to shop for clothes for Dr. Shouko, and those would naturally include lingerie. Accompanying the others would definitely be uncomfortable for me, so I didn’t plan to.
“Don’t wander around,” Elma warned. “Hear me?”
“I’m not a kid. I’ll be fine,” I insisted.
“This is you we’re talking about, hon…”
I had no way to refute that, unfortunately. Going by my track record, I wouldn’t just run into trouble no matter what I did, a stream of issues would assault us from all sides. What’d I do to deserve this? I wondered, wallowing in self-pity.
“Let’s see here…”
Although I’d employed a security company, simply staying on the defensive didn’t suit me, since whoever was targeting me would still get the jump on me in the end. Whether in games or anything else, if your enemy got the initiative, you were in for a one-sided beating. Sometimes you needed to be passive; still, I wanted to turn the tables, whether by setting a trap or doing something else.
Looking ahead and left, I spoke to a seemingly empty space by a vending machine. “I want to reclaim the initiative somehow—any ideas? I’ll act as bait if needed.”
My question wasn’t answered, but no, I hadn’t gone crazy. Though no one appeared to be there, I could tell that someone was. They were probably using some optical camouflage to remain invisible.
The camouflaged person began to move, and I followed them with my eyes.
“Can you see me…?” they asked.
I shrugged. “No, I can’t, but I know you’re there.” Although they weren’t actually visible to me, I could detect their thought waves.
“This thermal optical camouflage can supposedly fool even a military combat bot’s sensors…”
Vwoom. Someone dressed like a ninja—more specifically, a kunoichi—appeared out of thin air. So she was using some kind of optical camouflage. Thermal camouflage… Does that name mean it can also hide your body heat? Mm…I must say, that skintight suit’s nice. Why “nice,” you ask? You know why.
I’d never seen my own crew wear anything like that. Tina and Wiska’s work jumpsuits were somewhat similar but not nearly as thin or skintight. Suits like this showed up all the time in sci-fi manga and anime, but I figured anime and manga weren’t real in the end.
The formerly camouflaged kunoichi turned to me. “You are making it a little too obvious where you’re looking…” Although she was facing me, I still couldn’t see her features; they were covered by a full mask.
“I’m just appreciating your impressive gaze-guidance techniques.”
She sighed and shrugged. “You didn’t even pretend to look away, despite my warning…but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” Her voluminous chest jiggled.
Ah, yes, a feast for—no, I need to stay on guard. She might attack me. I’m a capable man, so I never avert my eyes from potential threats. Yes. Infallible logic.
“So…you’re volunteering to act as bait? Have you broken the part of your brain responsible for self-preservation?”
“Wow…vicious. I’d say I place a lot of weight on self-preservation. But right now, our enemy is basically chipping away at our mental endurance. I’d like to reclaim the initiative if possible.”
“Is that so? You’re willing to endanger yourself if that breaks you out of the current situation? In that case, why did you employ us in the first place?”
“I’ve just been outreasoned by someone in a skintight erotic outfit.”
“I’ll sue you for sexual harassment.”
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“Anything but that.”
As we conversed—harmoniously?—I got her to contact her boss, Ota. Together, we solidified a plan that used me as bait.
“That is a plan indeed,” the kunoichi concluded. “But it’s rather ham-fisted—I mean, ambitious.”
“You’ve got quite a sharp tongue on you. I’m your valued customer right now, you know? I’m paying a pretty penny for your services.”
“If a customer is polite, I am polite in turn, but I see no reason to be civil with customers who are not.”
“Fair enough.” This kunoichi in the erotic skintight suit is pretty interesting. I wish I could see her face.
“So,” she continued, “You must figure out how to portray yourself as a vulnerable, idiotic mercenary.”
“Don’t worry about that. I ordered my incredibly capable Maidroid to prepare the things I’ll need for that. As soon as you guys ready the trap, we can get started.”
“Is that so? Our chief says that it should be ready by tomorrow.”
“Let’s go with that. I’ll start pretending to be an idiotic mercenary right now, then.”
The kunoichi shrugged, then vanished with a sound like static.
✦ ✦ ✦
“So, yeah—that’s what happened.”
“I see. Her skintight suit made quite the impact on you.”
“Well, yes, but is that the point?!”
I was telling Dr. Shouko about my discussion with the camouflaged kunoichi. Dr. Shouko must’ve been exhausted from being treated like a dress-up doll; she was hunched over in a daze. And for some reason, she’d missed the point of what I’d described, focusing on an odd detail instead.
“How come you’re so tired, anyway? You can try outfits on using scan data and preview functions.”
“Those aren’t good enough for undergarments. Scans can be used to obtain measurements, but you can’t tell from those whether the fit of something feels good. They made me try out so many different undergarments, I’m exhausted.”
“I lack the courage to enter a lingerie shop, but I kind of wish I’d been there to see it.”
Dr. Shouko smirked. “You’ll see all the purchases at some point. Look forward to it.”
Nice. I will look forward to it. “So the others are still shopping?”
“Yeah, Mimi was grinning ear to ear. I think she’s taking the group to her favorite store.”
“Her favorite store… I see.”
She must’ve been taking them to that Lolita fashion shop we’d visited previously. It had all sorts of Lolita-style clothes, and I was sure that shop clerk would do an excellent job.
On my terminal, I sent Mei a message: Elma and Tina might try to run away, but don’t let them.
As usual, she immediately responded, Understood.
“After you rest a bit, we should join them,” I told Dr. Shouko, “I’ve been there before myself.”
“You’ve been there too?”
“Yeah. I went with Mimi last time we were here in Arein. It ended up being her favorite store we visited.”
“Hm…well, why not?”
It seemed that Dr. Shouko sensed that something was a little off but wasn’t sure what. That stands to reason. Only a telepath could deduce my intentions with so little information. So unless you suddenly awaken telepathic powers greater than Kugi’s, there’s nothing you can do.
When I thought about it, Dr. Shouko was quite tall, and she had a voluptuous figure. Would Lolita fashion even suit her? No, it definitely will. Fashion is a profound art. I’m sure the classical style Mimi wears occasionally would look great on her.
“You’re thinking something perverted.”
“No, I’m not. Who do you think I am? Why do I get the sense that you think I’m a lecher?”
“You aren’t?”
“Well… No, I am.”
Dr. Shouko giggled. “You’re so cute when you’re honest.”
Even if I’d wanted to refute her, I wouldn’t have a very convincing defense. I had no choice but to simply accept her assessment. Your chickens eventually come home to roost. What a heartless world.
“So what exactly are we doing?” Dr. Shouko asked.
“We’re going to perform some normal mercenary activities.”
“I see…?” she responded, puzzled. She probably wasn’t sure what “normal mercenary activities” meant.
“Y’know—stuff like drinking, acting violent, and purchasing people.”
“Oh. That’s what you meant. I thought that you can’t hold your alcohol, though?”
“Yeah. That’s why I’ll only do the other two.”
“You’re going to pay certain people…?” Dr. Shouko asked in a tone that clearly implied, “Even though you already have me?”
I’d expected that reaction, which was why I’d prepped an explanation to resolve it in advance. “Don’t worry. I don’t intend to neglect you or the others.”
“Hm…what’re you planning?”
I smirked and showed Dr. Shouko my terminal screen. “Heh heh heh… You see…”