Chapter 84: After-School Summons

Christmas Eve.

That day marked the end-of-term ceremony, the student council’s Christmas party, and… the day Souta was summoned to some delinquent group’s gathering.

The day before that, I had received a love letter summoning me to the school rooftop.

Lately, I'd been getting confessed to more often, so I was becoming pretty used to handling these things. But today’s summons had a completely different vibe.

As I stepped onto the rooftop, a group of guys—far more than I could handle—surrounded me. On top of that, two more emerged from the shadows, blocking the entrance.

Some of the guys lying in wait looked familiar. They were part of the delinquent group I’d seen the other day with a guy named Aymock.

“Welcome, Kisaragi-san.”

The one who spoke was the only guy in the group who looked even remotely like a model student.

His words, laced with smugness from being in an overwhelmingly advantageous position, were already irritating.

“The letter said you wanted to confess to me, but… needing this many people to watch over you just to get the words out? That’s a bit too cowardly, don’t you think?”

My jab made the guy falter for a moment, but he quickly brought back his sleazy grin. He must’ve thought I was bluffing.

“That letter was just bait. I had no intention of confessing. We want you to come with us today.”

“…Why? That gathering of yours is tomorrow, isn’t it?”

“To make it a success, we need a proper guest. Wouldn’t want you to bail, so we figured we’d ensure that doesn’t happen.”

“I see. With people like you, it makes sense you can’t trust anyone.”

“Heh… Let’s see how long that tough attitude of yours lasts. Oh right, tomorrow’s Christmas Eve, isn’t it? Let’s spend the night together—just the boys and you, having a blast. We’ll film the whole thing and send it to Kamishiro. Don’t you think it’d make the perfect Christmas present?”

“…You scumbag.”

The guys around me stared with disgusting eyes. I’d found Souta’s gaze a little endearing… but theirs was just plain vile.

“…Was this Aymock’s idea? I thought you guys were trying to recruit Souta.”

If they laid a hand on me, there’d be zero chance of Souta ever joining them. I couldn’t imagine Aymock ordering something so counterproductive.

“I want revenge on Kamishiro… Becoming buddies with him? Don’t make me laugh.”

So this guy had a personal grudge against Souta. Maybe he was a former member of the group that Souta crushed?

“Just thinking about the look on Kamishiro’s face when he finds out the girl he cares about got wrecked because of him… God, it makes my heart race!”

“What a revolting thought.”

“Why, thank you. So, what’ll it be? If you come quietly, great. If not, you’re getting stuffed in there.”

He gestured with his chin.

Over where he looked, there were a few men in what looked like contractor uniforms, standing next to rope and a long, narrow cardboard box—big enough to fit a person. Some of the guys around me now held stun guns in their hands.

They’d clearly come prepared for a full-blown abduction.

“I refuse both.”

“Yeah, that’s not really an option. Guess we’ll take you by force. Blame Kamishiro.”

He raised his hand lazily, then swung it down as a signal to the others.

At the same moment, I finished the chant for Physical Enhancement (Minor).

『Ikuto-san, there are six hostiles in front, two behind, and one hiding—nine total. What’s the limit on magic use?』

『Full power if necessary. Until then, only magic that's hard to detect.』

『Understood. Backing you up.』

As one of the guys lunged at me, I stepped in to meet him—and in the moment we passed, I drove a straight punch right into his crotch.

The guy collapsed in slow motion, clutching his groin, eyes rolled back, convulsing as he toppled sideways.

…Yikes. That looked painful.

Just watching made my nonexistent crotch shrivel up.

But I had no sympathy or time to spare for scum trying to lay hands on an innocent girl like me.

“You filthy little brat!”

Arms lunged at me from all directions, trying to grab hold. I slipped past them or knocked them aside with palm strikes.

Spotting a gap between the legs of a bow-legged guy, I slid through like I was stealing a base.

On the other side, I planted a hand on the ground and kicked off, spinning my whole body like a fan to deliver a powerful kick to the unguarded back of a man. He toppled forward, dragging a few others down with him.

Using the recoil from the kick, I landed smoothly.

『Ikuto-san, enemy at your four o'clock!』

Alicia’s warning made my body move before I thought. I turned and struck the wrist of the man rushing in from behind with a stun gun, slicing through it with a hand chop.

Following through with the momentum, I landed a roundhouse kick square in his face.

I felt the crunch of his nose collapsing against my shin. The man crumpled forward and collapsed, face down.

Immediately after, I closed in on another one behind me, driving a kick straight into the groin that snatched the consciousness from his eyes.

“Six left… Still want to keep going?”

I looked around. The men I’d knocked down earlier had gotten back up.

But the mocking arrogance they'd had before was gone. Now their eyes were filled with unmistakable fear—like they'd encountered something far beyond their understanding.

They thought I was just a small, helpless schoolgirl they could toy with. Now, the tables had turned, and three of their own had been neutralized in mere seconds.

“What the hell are you doing, you idiots?! She’s just one small girl! All of you—get her! I’ll throw in a bonus if you catch her!”

Yelled the model-student-looking guy.

Spurred on by his words, the guys seemed to recover their nerve.

Even excluding that guy—who still hadn’t lifted a finger—the other five clearly thought they still held the advantage.

“…You guys never learn, huh.”

I muttered while inspecting the stun gun I picked up from the guy earlier.

Its design was simple. Pressing the thumb switch sent a loud crackling current through the electrodes.

“Alright, let’s give this thing a spin.”

That was the cue. The guys rushed at me again.

In the end, the stun gun turned out to be a perfect match for me—who lacked raw power but had speed on my side.

No need for precision. Just pressing it against someone’s body and holding the switch for a few seconds was enough to drop them. The short reach was a bit of a hassle, but against mindless thugs, it wasn’t a problem.

A few minutes later, only two people were left standing on the rooftop: me, and the model-student-looking guy. Around us, his companions were either unconscious or writhing in pain.

It looked like a scene straight out of hell.

“Just the two of us now.”

I smiled sweetly at the guy.

Not to brag, but I think it was a pretty damn charming smile.

“Hi—hii…!!”

Yet when I smiled at him, his face twisted in terror as he staggered backward.

I walked toward him slowly, closing the distance.

He backed up until he lost his balance and fell on his butt.

“W-What are you… What the hell are you?!”

“I’m Kisaragi Alice. You’ve heard of me, right? …Come to think of it, I never got your name.”

In a flash, I closed the distance and snatched the student ID from his breast pocket.

Right there on the spot, I opened it to check the contents.

“W-Wait… you—!”

“…Jirou Ootaki from Class 2-7, huh? I’ll remember that.”

I tossed the student ID back at him.

“So then, what kind of payback do you think would be fair for what you’ve done here, Senpai? I really ought to make sure you never get another stupid idea like this again…”

“Hii—! P-Please…!”

『Ikuto-san, are you not going to cut off the root of the problem?』

『Even criminals can’t be killed without consequence in this country. Killing’s off the table.』

In another world, wiping out bandits to the last man was the standard tactic for avoiding future threats. But I couldn’t do the same in Japan.

“I-I won’t do anything like this again! Just please… let me go…!”

『Ikuto-san, would you mind asking him about this Aymock person?』

“Aymock—who is he? What’s your connection to him? Can you tell me?”

“A-alright…”

Wearing a pitiful grin, Ootaki started speaking far more readily than expected. Apparently, he didn’t have the faintest sense of loyalty—no hesitation about leaking internal info to an enemy.

“About six months ago, he was walking around downtown in what looked like a cosplay outfit. Back then, our group was on edge because our old leader had just gotten picked up by the cops, so we messed with him… and he turned around and wrecked us with some strange power.”

“…Strange power?”

“His physical abilities were off the charts, and then… these invisible black shadow-blades came flying at us. They cut right through our clothes—and skin. He called it magic, and honestly… I don’t think he was lying.”

“Magic…”

“I figured we could use his power—and his charisma—so I asked him on the spot to become our new leader. That’s how we started working with him.”

Six months ago. Cosplay. Magic…

Way too many suspicious keywords.

“Thanks to his strength and leadership, our group kept absorbing others and growing larger and larger. Tomorrow’s gathering is supposed to be a sort of ceremony to unite all the local groups under one banner.”

…Got it. That was just about everything I needed to know.

“But there’s no way in hell I’d ever team up with that bastard Kamishiro…! It’s his fault my brother ended up in the hospital. That’s why…!”

“So that’s why you attacked me.”

So this was more of a personal grudge than something ordered by the group.

But I didn’t give a damn about his circumstances. If they brought harm to us, I wasn’t going to let it slide.

This time, they just happened to target me—someone who could handle it. But if they’d gone after one of my friends instead, things could’ve ended in disaster.

“…Was I the only one you were targeting?”

“I didn’t give any other orders! Maybe Aymock’s doing something on his own, but I don’t know! The group’s pretty much just running on his will now!”

“…Tch.”

I needed to wrap this up quickly and check that everyone was okay.

“I’ll make sure your body remembers never to try messing with us again.”

I held up the stun gun and flicked the switch, letting the electric crackle flash dramatically in front of Ootaki, who was collapsed on the ground.

“H-Hiieee!? Please, don’t! I swear I’ll never come after you again!”

His voice cracked with fear as his face twisted in terror.

“But that’s a shame. You people don’t trust promises, do you? So I’ll just follow your way of doing things.”

I leaned over Ootaki and slowly brought the stun gun closer.

“If you ever try to harm us again… I’ll crush this place.”

I pressed the stun gun to the guy’s groin as I said it.

“S-Stop! I—I’ll pay! If it’s money you want, I’ll give you as much as you need! Just—anything but that!”

“Nope.”

I flashed him a bright smile—and pressed the switch.

With a scream, his body convulsed and collapsed. Looks like he passed out.

The crotch of his pants darkened as liquid soaked through from inside. A sharp ammonia stench hit the air.

I tossed the stun gun aside and pulled out my phone to check on my friends.

Before making the call, I had a thought. I snapped a photo of Ootaki lying there, eyes rolled back.

I didn’t love the idea of keeping it on my phone—but it was a necessary insurance policy. Something to keep him from even thinking about revenge.

Praying for my friends’ safety, I made the call to Yuna and left the rooftop.