novelraw Chapter 218 – Unwelcome Guests
Chapter 218 – Unwelcome Guests
“I’m back! Hecate, how are you doin-” The bounce in my voice disappeared the moment I stepped into the dorm. Two people that didn’t belong sat at the dining table with Shinji. The girls stood behind him, crossing their arms, frowning their lips, avoiding eye contact… I wasn’t expecting to be greeted with something such an uncomfortable sight.
So, who were these two guests?
One of them was Daisuke, Katja’s uncle if I’m not mistaken, and the other a rough-looking dude I had never seen before.
The two sat down on the same side, facing Shinji. Both he and Daisuke looked fairly similar so close together. Clean suits and presentable hair. Daisuke’s glasses gave off a stern and professional aura, while Shinji’s longer hair and beige suit made him a lot more approachable.
Or maybe I just feel that way because he’s always been our ally.
The other guest, however, looked nothing like them. He was a younger guy, probably not much older than us. Short black hair carelessly swept back, a black sleeveless shirt that showed off his muscles, and green army pants.
“Oh… You were the newest member of Shinji’s squad, weren’t you?” With the ruckus I made, I was immediately spotted. “Come in.” Daisuke said. “Looks like everyone’s finally here.”
Arghh… Dammit… I can’t escape anymore…
I should have stayed with Bea and slept with her… But I was too worried about Hecate, and here we are…
“Uhmm… What’s going on here…?” I walked over to the others, who welcomed me with sympathetic looks.
“Don’t worry too much about it, Iroha…” Shinji said. “This gentleman’s here on some official business… Nothing too serious.”
Why am I immediately being reassured.? Am I that visibly rattled?
“It’s okay, Shinji. Allow me to explain.” The man from across the table interrupted. “In our previous meeting, I believe I introduced myself as an inspector of the PSF. Today, we’re here to conduct said inspection. This is my partner, Rook, a skilled fighter under my direct command.”
“Yo.” Rook lazily waved while leaning back with a grin. So professional and so relaxed… Night and the day, the difference between those two.
“Let’s not get carried away, shall we?” Shinji said. “At the overseer of those girls, an inspection involving them is not allowed until I’ve given my approval. We’re still in the talking stages, so don’t talk like anything is set in stone just yet.”
“Spontaneous inspections require the acknowledgement of the agents’ handler, or anyone in a similar position, but not their permission. In other words, we start when you allow us, but you’re not allowed to refuse us.”
Shinji gritted his teeth. Has he been dealing with these things for our sake all this time?
We have a lot of things at the House that would be bad if they were to get exposed. First and foremost, me. If the PSF were to learn of my powers, we’d be in a lot of trouble. The other big problem is how lax life is here. Compared to the PSF, Shinji’s House of Imaginary Boundaries gives us a lot of leisure time to enjoy our lives and pursue whatever we want. The PSF’s stronger focus on creating strong and obedient soldiers hates us for that, and they would shut us down if given the chance. That’s the gist of our situation that I’ve picked up from my time here.
“Maybe so, but as their handler, I’m allowed to limit the scope of a spontaneous inspection.” Even with his soft tone, Shinji pushed back. “You may not be aware of this, but this building is these girls’ living quarters. It’s a gross violation of their privacy for you to barge in here without my consent. I’ll allow your inspection, but only of our official facilities. The living quarters are off limits from now on.”
“Tsk… Sure. It’s decided then. I’ll limit our inspection to the official facilities.” Daisuke stood up, and the guy next to him did the same. “Since all your members are here, I’d like to get started right away.”
…
Shinji escorted them out of the dorm and took them to the main building. The others and I followed slightly behind. We had no choice but to tag along so we wouldn’t have the opportunity to hide anything that could be used as evidence or whatever.
“Sorry… This is all my fault…” Katja whispered as we waited outside the infirmary.
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“Daisuke is my uncle… The Kurokawa family holds a lot of power in the PSF. I’m the reason why they’re here. It’s my fault you have to go through this. I’m sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing? It’s not like you called them here.” Carol glared, whipping Katja into shape.
“I didn’t, but… They’re here to take me back… I’ve been hiding from my grandfather this whole time. Shinji has been hiding me… But now that they’ve found me, they won’t stop at anything to bring me back.”
“And why were you hiding? You wouldn’t hide if you didn’t have a good reason, would you?” Hecate caressed Katja’s shoulder.
“It’s because they resent me…” Katja bitterly shook her head. “The Kurokawa family is a very big family. I’m the family’s rightful heir, but they resent me for that. But they still need their heir, even if they don’t like me, so they want me back as soon as possible. So that my grandfather can start preparing me to follow in his footsteps after his own death.”
Is her family like those rich families with their own weird traditions? Still, with the way she phrased it… “Doesn’t that mean they just want to use you? Screw them! Who do they think they are?”
“They have a lot of power… My grandfather is the head of the PSF.”
N- no way… Like… The whole thing…?
“The way things are right now, we have some immunities that make it hard for him to do whatever he wants to the House. Shinji negotiated with them before they knew I was with him, and I’ve been able to stay here for the time being. But it was never going to last… They’ve been looking for excuses to revoke those immunities for years now… If I’m just going to keep things worse for you all, maybe it’d be better if I just went with them.”
“No.”
Carol cut her off. We were all in agreement.
“You can’t go with them! We need you here!” Narumi said.
“She’s right! I’ve been here the shortest, but I can’t imagine the House without you! Don’t say something like that.”
Katja faintly smiled. “Thank you, but I’m sorry… I don’t know if there’s anything we can do…”
She has already resigned herself, hasn’t she? Dammit… I can’t even imagine it… Even if we were to fight off Daisuke, wouldn’t they just bring back more people? Can we fight off the entirety of the PSF? What if Three Records turns against us? There’s no way…
But we can’t just give them Katja! Is there really nothing we can do?
First Hecate, now this… This is the worst… How many times are the people I care about going to get hurt without me being able to save them? I have to do something… I won’t let anything happen to Katja!
“Hmm… Your facilities seem to be in order, as expected…” Daisuke stepped out into the hallway with Rook and Shinji behind him. “That should mean we’re almost done here… Only thing left is the practical exam…”
“Practical Exam?” I blurted out.
“That’s correct.” Daisuke replied. “We need to verify that your training standards and skills match what’s required of PSF agents. A single round of sparring between a representative from your side and Rook will suffice. Katja, you’ll represent them.”
Yeah… It’s so obvious… Katja really is their goal…
“Of course. I understand.” Katja went along with them without putting up a fight. Even Shinji didn’t try to say anything. I guess this is another thing where he doesn’t get a say…
“Oh, but before that…” Daisuke eyes slid past Katja and settled on me. “Since we’re already here, I’d like to take the opportunity to interview Iroha. As the squad’s newest member, we need to build her profile. Can you find us a private place?”
Am I on his sights now?! Scary…
“I can find you a place to talk, but I’ll be with her.” Shinji said. “You’re not allowed to interrogate one of my subordinates without my permission.”
“That won’t be necessary. This is not an interrogation, and nothing she says will be recorded. Just find us a place where we can talk.”
Somehow, that was enough to quiet Shinji, and he agreed to go along with their request for a private interview. Since we were going to end up in the dojo later for the practical exam, Shinji told us to speak there while they waited outside. Are they planning to do anything to me?
“Sorry…” As I walked past her, Katja muttered with a soft voice. Don’t make that face…
I get it now…
Change of plans. You can do your worst to me, but in exchange, I won’t let you touch Katja. “So? What’s this interview about? My name’s Iroha Shinohara, and I joined the House to protect society from monsters. I don’t really care about anything else.”
They had me sitting on one of the benches up against a wall while the two stood in front of me. Rook one step behind Daisuke. I don’t know what you’re planning, but you’re not getting anything out of me! Though, my attitude didn’t have the effects I wanted. Daisuke shook his head with a surprised smile, and Rook poorly hid his laughter.
“You don’t need to be so hostile towards us.” Daisuke said. “To be honest, Iroha, I don’t really see you as an enemy of ours. You haven’t been with Shinji that long, have you? Your attachment to this squad can’t be that strong compared to the other girls.”
My attachment?
His voice got softer, like he was trying to win me over. Is he actually nice? Is he trying to be kind? Somehow, I really don’t trust that…
“What does my attachment have to do with the interview?”
“That’s because this interview doesn’t matter. The inspection doesn’t matter.”
They don’t matter?! Wh- what does that mean?
“Truth be told, the only reason we’re here is to follow up on an investigation the PSF launched into the fight that happened in the mall where your group was involved. We found traces of magic being used from the holes and destruction caused by your fight. Normally, this would be normal, since monsters are known to possess supernatural powers, but this time, our investigation led us to believe that magic was used by both sides.”
Both sides… Ayumu obviously used magic, and so did the monsters she summoned. Of course, that makes sense. Now, if she was responsible for that side’s use of magic, then our side the one using magic would have been…
Me!?
What did I do that would leave a mark? I used Impact Rounds, didn’t I?
Oh no…
I’m actually the one they’re after! It’s all my fault! Katja was completely off! This had nothing to do with her!
Whew… I’m glad… But now I need to focus! If I say something dumb, today is going to end with me getting dissected! I thought we were long past that, but I guess not!
“Since our evidence points towards both sides having used magic, Shinji and his squad are currently under suspicion of harboring something supernatural.”
“I see… But do you really think I know something you don’t?” Like magic? What’s that? Do you seriously believe that’s real? “I wasn’t there when the fight went down. I didn’t see anything."
And just like that, problem solved. How clever am I?
“Oh, but that’s fine. It doesn’t matter if you saw anything or not.” Daisuke leaned closer, letting a hint of enthusiasm leak through. “All we need you to do is sell out Katja. Just testify against her and say you saw her using magic.”
“Huh?!”
“We’ll take care of the rest, don’t worry. Our goal here is to pin it on Katja and use it as an excuse to take her into custody. You’ll make our life easier if you choose to collaborate with us. We’ll protect you afterwards no matter what happens, and we’ll free you from this life. You won’t have to risk your life anymore if you give us a hand.”
Pin it on Katja? Collaborate with them… Huh…?
“What do you say? Shall we work together?”