OTO Chapter 83

[Asserting Lullaby]

The members who gathered in the second meeting room seemed to be only the uncooperative bunch. Perhaps these bunch will make this situation more dangerous.

While thinking so inwardly, once again, I looked over the gathered faces from the right.

First of all, Getsuri-san*. He was sitting farthest from the entrance and was staring at me for some reason. (TN: previously Tsuki Hanare. See the note at the end of the previous chapter.)

Getsuri-san is pretty decent as long as Roll isn’t involved, I don’t have to worry that much about him. I don’t have a bad image of Getsuri-san anymore, partly because he helped me the other day.

The problem is the person sitting next to him.

I shift my gaze to the right along the large round table that draws an ellipse.

Hikisaki-san.

At the end of my gaze, he was putting his foot on the round table and chewing gum messily.

If he and Getsuri-san paired up, a hooligan combination would be completed.

Hikisaki-san is a man with an androgynous looks and brown permed hair that extends to his neck, but his ears, nose, and lips are pierced, ruining his neat face.

If I remember correctly, he is two years older than me.

Perhaps noticing my gaze, he met my eyes.

I then turned my gaze to the right accordingly.

After a large interval, my gaze stopped at Face Punch-san.

He has an obedient look on his face and is waiting for Byakurei-san to speak.

He also seems to be one of the ‘untouchable human beings’ in Anonymous, but he maybe the type who rises up in the pinch of the organization unexpectedly.

I move my gaze in a flowing manner.

There are several people who I have never seen before. If I was asked for their codename, I might say ‘is it that person?’; I still can’t match the faces and names of all members of Anonymous.

While thinking about such things, I moved my gaze, and I noticed that Kaya-san* was there.(TN: Previously Hiya)

If I remember correctly, Kaya-san and Face Punch-san were partners.

Our gazes met, so I gave her a light bow, and she raised her middle finger toward me.

“…”

I can’t say anything.

As I’ve heard, I seem to be resented by Kaya-san.

She seems to have deeply worshiped Hakunetsu-san, and she turned her sadness and anger for his death toward me.

That kind of thing doesn’t really matter to the current me though.

The death of those two was not something that I decided. Neither Hakunetsu-san nor Kuroinu-san want me to be dragged by their death forever.

When I regained my mind and looked around, I found some acquaintances here and there, such as Inshi-san and Lily-san.

However, it really seemed as if all the uncooperative members were gathered here.

Even with just a brief look around, the number of people is ten-odd people. The number of all the forcibly gathered combatants in the hideout are quite small. To be honest, I don’t think there is a chance considering the number of the enemies.

However, I think our individual force is not bad. I can’t expect for cooperation though.

In the tense air, Byakurei-san, who sits opposite me, finally opened his mouth,

“The situation is as was conveyed by Shikkou. All the members here will face Nursery Rhymes. They will arrive in about 30 minutes. I want us to buy time somehow.

Thanks to the ‘Observer’, we’ve determined that the number of the enemies is a little less than 50. Facing the enemies with the number of people here is quite disheartening, but we have to do it—”

The members here…huh.

Eh, come to think of it, Chiyaku-san hasn’t come.

“Is Chiyaku-san not coming?” I asked Byakurei-san. If that person is around, it seems that the front line can be taken care of easily.

Because she has the strength to cope with that Midou Ryuusui almost evenly.

“Of course, Chiyaku will fight too. Seems like she is preparing various things currently.”

“Eh, Chiyaku can fight?” The one who opens their mouth is Face Punch-san.

“Chiyaku is stronger than me y’know. Hm? Am I allowed to say that?” The conference room buzzes at those words.

Byakurei-san who answered that puts his hand on his chin and raises his eyebrow.

Come to think of it, the fact that Chiyaku-san is strong is not well known.

Perhaps, it was hidden. If they knew that she is a former SDF, there would be some people who couldn’t trust her; it is possible.

“Well, anyway… the SDF will join the fight and make this a free for all battle. But their strength is indispensable to overcome this difference in strength.”

Free for all battle with the SDF, huh.

In that case, I wonder if Anonymous, which numbered few, will be defeated first.

Our strength is not cohesive. If we were to be deployed, one person should be placed at each entrance of the hideout and someone will give command according to the movement of the enemies.

“They will break through the southwest gate in the direction of New Road and infiltrate the city. Assuming they also know the entrance to the hideout, they will bring it into a free for all fight with the SDF. It can’t be helped if the SDF entered the hideout.”

Some people nodded to Byakurei-san’s strategy, but I frowned.

If it’s these members, it should be easier for them to move alone because they don’t have to think about cooperation.

There was a total of 5 entrances to the hideout, including the cafe.

In that case, after placing someone at each entrance, the remaining people can turn to attack.

Furthermore, if we lock the entrance of the hideout firmly, we should be able to earn enough time.

“Byakurei-san.” I lightly raise my hand and speak.

“What is it, Shion?”

“Can you leave the command to me?” I felt like the air was frozen, but I’ve expected it.

What is he saying – such gazes gathered at me, meanwhile, I looked over each person’s eyes once.

I’m not joking – I conveyed such intention through my gaze.

What I can’t stomach right now is that Byakurei-san is assuming that there will be casualties.

Certainly, there will be casualties. However, I don’t want to fight and risking my life on the premise that I will be a casualty.

Even I almost laughed myself, but even in this situation, I don’t want to die, unlike the others.

I’m different from the people here who can easily prepare to die.

Having said that, I don’t want to avoid the fight so much that I will abandon Anonymous.

It should be possible to fight more properly without acting suicidal.

If Kemuri-san was around, I wouldn’t have to say this.

In the end, I stare at Byakurei-san’s eyes.

He laughed and said,

“Okay, then you take command, Shion. I knew I wasn’t suited to it in the first place. We don’t have time. You have a plan, right?”

“No no, wait a sec. In this room, the only one who can unify us all is Byakurei-san. No one’s going to obey a nobody like you, Shion.”

*thud* the one who slammed his foot on the round table was Hikisaki-san.

He was staring at me with his mouth half-opened.

I clicked my tounge.

This is why I hate this person. You don’t have to flare up at everyone y’know.

I sighed and said,

“I don’t think this is the time to say something like that. Given the travel time, we have to act within 10 minutes.”

“Ha? That doesn’t matter.”

Not good. I can’t have a talk with him.

Byakurei-san, please say something.

I shifted my gaze to Byakurei-san with that meaning, but he didn’t look at me.

Unify them somehow – I wonder if he wants me to do something along that line.

Even when I looked around, everyone kept their silence. It can’t be helped.

“Hikisaki-san. You know my ability, right?”

“Ahh.”

“Then what about Byakurei-san’s ability?”

“There’s no way I don’t know about it.”

“In that case, do you understand the phrase ‘the right person in the right place’?”

“Are you making fun of me, you bastard?” Getting his feet off the round table, Hikisaki-san stands up.

This person seems to be quite belligerent.

I have to silence him head-on.

“My ability is sound control ‘Dominant’. I can pick up sounds and send them pinpoint up to 1.5km… no 2km. I’m confident in my perception. And if I command, I can give all the instructions without lag. Since I can send sounds directly, we don’t need a receiver or a phone. I can also know the position of the enemy as long as they are within range. Therefore, I’ll get in the range of the enemies’ infiltration point and grasp their position. In that case, I can precisely guide everyone to the enemy. If I keep in touch with Shikkou-san, I will be able to detect more precisely.

I think these advantages are great, so I thought I should take command.”

“…………”

“Even the enemy won’t just swaggering into the city, right?

With the members here, I think we can expect more results if we fight individually rather than cooperatively. For Hikisaki-san too, it is easier to fight alone, isn’t it?”

“Tsk.” After clicking his tongue, Hikisaki-san sat back in the chair deeply.

I was surprised because he backed down more easily that I expected.

“Are there any other people who are dissatisfied with me taking command?”

I look over the round table.

There were some people who looked a little dissatisfied, but no one said anything.

“Okay, then it’s decided, right? Shion, what should we do?”

“Alright. The plan I thought about is—”

ーーー

I wonder what is their purpose of attacking Anonymous in its current state where there are only a few people around.

The hideout certainly has importance as a base, but if the members survive, the activities can be continued with the branches scattered all over the place as a base again.

Furthermore, it is possible for us to pack up some luggage and escape without intercepting them here.

Perhaps the purpose of Nursery Rhymes is to destroy Anonymous itself.

Or rather, why is Byakurei-san sticking to intercepting them even though it is a clearly disadvantageous battle?

Is there anything here that he wants to protect that much?

What comes to my mind is ‘Observer’, but it seems that only the executives have been told about it in detail, and I’m not sure what the ‘Observer’ is.

To begin with, I thought that the ‘Observer’ was a person, but having seen the situation in the monitor room earlier, I became unable to understand what the ‘Obersver’ was.

I wonder if that thing was communicating with someone somewhere other than here?

――Currently, I was looking on the road leading to the southwest gate with binoculars from the roof of a high-rise condominium outside the center of the city.

The enemies are already visible.

They were driving a number of cars at a tremendous speed while making dust cloud and heading for the city.

On the other hand, the ones who is standing at the southwest gate is the SDF. Thanks to Shikkou-san disseminating the information, they(SDF) have been able to respond this swiftly.

However, in addition to Nursery Rhymes, there is also the troops of the ‘Association’. The SDF of this city alone would be easily broken through. Honestly speaking, the SDF of Slaceid is just like an ornament. That’s why Anonymous was able to set up a hideout in underground of the city.

However, they should know that too and call for reinforcements. Will the main force return in time before the Self-Defense Forces reinforcements arrive? Probably they wouldn’t be in time… When the three troops come together, the city will fall into chaos.

I guess there wasn’t enough time to evacuate the residents.

Tsurugi was at the Self-Defense Forces base yesterday, so I guess he wasn’t here. If he is still there, it is likely that he will be sent to Slaceid as reinforcements.

I turned around and looked towards the center of the city.

The Neo Slaceid Building, which rises almost right in the center, is the tallest skyscraper in the city.

I can see all the gates from the rooftop over there. I can also make the most of my ability from there, it is a great spot.

After I deployed people to the southwest gate, I guide them to those invaders and move to the rooftop of that building.

When I got to that position, the operation started.

I’m glad that the SDF is sticking to the southwest gate. Since they will suppress the enemy’s movement a little, I can act calmly.

I look at my watch and check the time.

It’s about time.

Thinking so, I took out my phone and called the Anonymous Tsuhara branch.

While calling, I turn around and leave the roof.

The phone was connected after about 5 calls.

[Hello.]

“It’s Shion.”

[Oh, Shion-kun! It was hard while you weren’t around! Taking care of Renga I mean! Or rather, it seems to be dangerous over there.]

The person who answered the phone was a woman named Cuffs-san, who is in charge of managing the Tsuhara branch.

“I’m sorry. About Renga, can you release it?”

While going down the stairs, I tell her my objective. I’d like to have a talk with her, but I’ve got no time.

[Haa!? No no, now it is obedient since it is following Shion-kun and Desuko-chan’s order, but I don’t know what will happen if it was released. I think it will probably go there though. Considering the situation there, wouldn’t it be bad…]

“No, that’s fine.”

That is my intention.

Because it was an overwhelmingly disadvantageous situation in the first place, even if an uncertain factor like Renga was introduced, it would not change.

And Renga is smart. I’m sure it will listen to me.

[Ah~, well, yeah. Got it.]

Perhaps she guessed my thought to some extent, Cuffs-san agrees.

“I’m counting on you.”

[‘kay~.]

I hang up the call and put the phone back in my pocket.

With its speed, it would take Renga around 20 minutes to arrive here from Tsuhara Plateau.

The timing is just right for the reveal of my weapon(Renga).

Now, it’s your turn, Renga.

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