Without a second thought, I applauded.
Alsuhariya, wearing white gloves, raised her arms in response.
“Quiet, my audience. I’ve destroyed many yuri couples using this method. Love, my friend, is nothing but a bunch of calculations. In other words, if someone better than you appears on the scene, they will definitely switch the object of their affection. I guarantee it. Once we carry out this Mysterious White Yuri Mask V3 plan, you’ll be back to being plain old Hiiro Sanjo, a guy who can’t get them the least bit interested in him.”
“T-teacher! Madame Alsuhariya!”
My eyes were shining brightly as I ran over to Alsuhariya.
“Ha-ha-ha! Take it easy—”
And I delivered a right straight punch and slammed her into the wall.
“That’s for the yuri girls you’ve destroyed! And this—”
This time, I drove my left fist into her stomach.
“—is to vent my frustration!!”
“You ugly human!!”
Alsuhariya’s feet were in the air from my punch, but she made an easy landing on the ground. I disturbed it, and she fell and slammed the back of her head hard against the concrete.
“Don’t perform a combo against a child on the street. Geez. Don’t you know anything about street fighting?”
Alsuhariya got on her feet and dusted her body.
“Anyway, it’s time you got Sylphiel and the others in position. As I’ve kept reminding you, it will be a race against time. It’s also extremely important that your true identity isn’t revealed. Do not remove your mask. Be smart.”
“Hey, don’t you know how high my yuri IQ is…?”
“Three.”
After calmly knocking Alsuhariya unconscious with a sleeper/chokehold, I connected my radio and gave instructions to Sylphiel and the gang.
“Roger.”
Heine Skullface got on her bicycle, the radishes and carrots the neighbors had given her stuffed in a basket at the front, and headed for the dimension gate that led to Alfheim.
I got into the Lamborghini that was standing by at our first operation point and spoke to Sylphiel in the driver’s seat. “I didn’t think I’d be calling you again…but please help me out this one time.”
“It is my joy to be of use to my leader. I am honored.”
She bowed smoothly with a hand against her chest and smiled beautifully.
“Shall we go now?”
“No, wait. I had Snow check Rei’s whereabouts a little while ago. She should be getting back to me… Oh, this is it. Hello?”
A screen spread out in front of me, and I saw Snow’s face contorted with frustration.
As soon as she appeared on the screen, she shouted at the top of her lungs, “Miss Rei has been kidnapped!!”
“…Huh?”
“It must be relatives from the branch families! Do something quick, or we’ll be too late—!”
A pitch-black luxury car passed us, and my eyes met those of a girl squeezed into the back seat.
Rei’s mouth was covered with adhesive tape, and she was tied up. She was struggling in the seat—and in an instant, the car disappeared.
I shouted, “Sylphiel!!”
“Yes, my Lord.”
She shifted gears and gripped the steering wheel.
“I am honored to receive your order.”
The engine roared to life—and the blue car accelerated at once and blasted over the asphalt.
Vroooooooooooooooooom!!
The Lamborghini plunged into a curve, its engine roaring ferociously.
“We won’t manage this curve—we won’t make it—it’s too sharp!”
“We shall see.”
Without slowing down, the blue vehicle plowed into the turn.
Screech! Screech! Screech! Screech! Screech!
Tire marks were etched into the smoking asphalt.
The supercar was mostly sideways, controlled by Sylphiel’s skillful handling and smiled upon by the goddess of speed.
Thud!! She stepped on the gas, and we closed the distance at once.
My whole body was pressed against the backrest as my eyes caught sight of the pitch-black Porsche 911, which was right next to the Lamborghini.
“Hiiro.”
Alsuhariya was sitting on my lap and pointed to her pocket watch.
“Three hours. We have three hours to settle everything. After that time limit, you must assume that the White Yuri Mask Project will fail.”
“I hope you have enough bases to convince me.”
She grinned and tapped her head.
“Data. First, go and rescue Rei Sanjo. I’d figured with my perfect understanding of people’s minds that distant relatives would abduct her. Everything happening is exactly as I’d calculated based on my data, up to the time that Porsche 911 would pass that point.”
“Are you behind this?! I thought things looked suspicious!! When did you pull this off?!”
Alsuhariya shrugged.
“It’s nothing to be surprised about. I set things in motion while you were dozing off. My golden hour is between the hours of one and two in the morning, when you’re totally unconscious. I can even move your body around a little.”
“Huh?! I don’t remember you telling me that! You didn’t abuse it, did you?!”
“Don’t worry. You’re the one in charge, so I can’t do anything to deny your dignity. Simple tasks are about all I can do, like sending a chat or an e-mail. That’s all.”
“So you’re saying you got the contact information for one of the distant relatives from someone close to Snow and created this situation…”
Alsuhariya leaned against my chest and clapped.
“Very good. It appears that you have the intelligence of an ape.”
“Hey, who said I’d put Rei in danger so I could get the girls to like me less…?!”
“Whoa. Don’t get so worked up. It’s just a matter of timing, and they would have eventually taken her anyway. You should thank me for giving you a chance to solve the problem ahead of time. Okay, then. It doesn’t look like this is the time to enjoy idle chitchat.”
The woman riding in the passenger seat of the Porsche pointed a small sword-shaped magic device at us—and fire erupted from its muzzle.
“Excuse me.”
Sylphiel pushed me down against the seat with one hand. With a loud crash, the glass broke into pieces, and hot fireballs flew before my eyes.
“Ow! Ow, that’s hot! It’s as hot as a pinball machine that’s started glowing gold!”
“Hiiro. Stop being a jerk. We’re going to jump out now. Let’s practice some action movie basics.”
Amused, Alsuhariya pointed to the door.
“Don’t you know how to read a speedometer?! We’re going at a hundred and twenty kilometers per hour!! That’s almost seventy-five miles per hour!! The moment we jump out, we’ll be crossing over to the afterlife at that speed!”
“So what? You died once. What’s the problem with dying two or three more times? Don’t waste time shriveling up in fear, and show me how you can become a stain on the asphalt for your helpless sister.”
Sylphiel frowned as a series of shots rang out.
“I don’t appreciate the idea of having a mere human underestimate me.”
The two black suits leaning out of the passenger and back seats aimed at us, and Sylphiel, looking as serious as ever, turned the steering wheel as far to the left as she could. The blue and black cars collided, the tremendous impact distorted the doors, and I bounced off the seat as my butt floated in the air.
The shooter must have had her seat belt unbuckled so she could shoot. She had banged her head on the ceiling and flipped over.
“A double action is a basic move for the advanced. Dear leader, please allow me to warn you that we’ll be experiencing more turbulence, so to avoid fatalities, please make sure your seat belt is securely fastened.”
“Sylphiel?! Don’t we have a bug here if you’re planning your next move on the assumption that we’ll be injured?!”
Steering to the right and stepping on the gas, the Aventador passed the jet-black luxury car, then made a sharp left turn and smacked the black body with its derriere.
The intense friction scorched the asphalt, and the Porsche 911 shook wildly with the smell of melting tires as the driver turned the wheel madly.
At the perfect moment when the shooting had ceased, Sylphiel unlocked and opened the door.
Aaaaaaaaaahh!!
The Aventador exhaled white smoke from all four wheels as it began spinning at a ridiculous speed, and the open door led to the Porsche 911.