2 — You Reap What You Sow (02)

"Dude, which part of 'don't cause property damage' did you not understand? Does nothing get through that worm-brain of yours?" one of the masked ones barked in a sharp female voice.

"I'm the one who didn't understand?" the second horse, Ken, snapped back. "Didn't you hear when she said to grab attention? What's more attention-grabbing than an explosion, huh?!"

"Did it have to be that kind of explosion?! What if you'd killed someone? Who do you think would have to clean up your ass?"

"What did you say, you damn—"

Tap! The third person clapped her hands.

"Can you two be quiet for a second? We're in the middle of a mission."

Right in front of us, the three terrorists argued among themselves: one guy and two girls who, judging by their childish behavior, didn't seem very old.

The girl I assumed was the leader stepped toward the door.

"Let's focus, guys. Ken, Lili, you two deal with the hostages. I'll stay by the exit in case someone shows up."

"Tch, I'm not staying next to this idiot. Besides, this mask is triggering my allergies."

"Wait, Ken! Where do you think you're going? We need to stay in position!" the leader shouted, but the hothead ignored her and stormed out of the bar, leaving the two girls behind with dozens of hostages. (Yes, me included.)

"Sheesh… that idiot. Looks like it's just us two, Mari."

"So it seems."

Lili, Mari, and Ken.

I had no idea if those were real names or code names, but either way, the whole situation was bizarre.

I admit their entrance scared me. With all that noise, I genuinely thought I was going to die in the explosion.

But.

Now, seeing the way things were unfolding—plus those ridiculous horse masks—I definitely didn't feel threatened.

…Maybe it was because of the alcohol.

"Sigh."

Threatened or not, I needed to get out of here. But how? There was no other exit. All I could see in front of me was a bunch of people crying in the back of the bar.

It sucked, but for now, all we could do was stay quiet and hope the situation resolved itself.

"Hey… Haruki-kun," Ichika-san whispered into my ear.

"What is it?"

For a moment, I had forgotten this girl was even here.

"Now that it's just the two of them, don't you think it got easier?"

"E-easier?"

The smile on her face sent chills down my spine.

"Yeah! Look… with those weird masks, it looks like they can't see properly. With your abilities, subduing them should be easy, right?"

Whoa, whoa, whoa! What the hell was this idiot thinking? Had she completely lost it?!

"Ichika-san, no matter how you look at it, this is a terrible idea. What if something goes wrong? Someone could get hurt. Think about the hostages! The hostages!"

"Hmmm…"

Damn it, this was bad.

Somehow, I needed to snap some sense into this girl. At this rate, the terrorists were going to hear us.

"Keuk!" I forced my hands behind my back, trying to break free.

Useless.

The strands of white light tightened around my wrists so much I could barely move my fingers, let alone break them.

For as idiotic as they seemed, it was obvious these girls were skilled mages.

"Don't worry, Haruki-kun. I have a plan."

"OI!!! What are you doing?! Why are you standing up?!"

"What's that noise back there?!"

A sharp voice echoed through the bar, making everyone jump. The girl they called Lili began approaching us.

"What do you two think you're doing? Do you not understand the situation you're in?"

A red aura swirled around her. Even from a distance, I could feel intense heat rushing toward us.

My whole body started sweating.

"You, with the orange nails! Didn't I tell you to keep your head down?! Do you want to die?"

It was too late.

Ichika-san was done for.

"…"

What a shame. She looked around my age, so it was even more painful to watch.

Well… what could I do?

This was the price of her own actions.

I just hoped God would have mercy on her soul…

"Who's gonna die? If anyone's dying here, it's you! If you dare touch a single strand of my hair, my boyfriend is gonna destroy you, you third-rate terrorist!"

Oh? Boyfriend? Didn't expect that one. But why the hell would she say that? She was only dragging the guy into trouble— Wait. Why is she looking at me?

"Haruki-kun!!!"

Nooooo! What are you doing, you insane drunk woman?!

"So you're her boyfriend?"

"!!!"

Shit. I'm screwed.

◈ ━━━━━━━ ◆ ━━━━━━━ ◈

Lili stood right in front of me, holding what looked like a glowing dagger. Even behind the mask, her bright red eyes burned intensely.

It was the scariest horse I'd seen in all my 20 years of life.

"Aren't you gonna answer me, you little shit?"

The other terrorist, Mari, stayed planted by the exit.

Both the door and the hole the hothead blew open were on the same side, meaning: escaping was practically impossible.

What should I do in this situation?

"Excuse me, Lili. I think this is a big misunderstanding," I murmured, still sitting on the floor.

She was small, but her aura was immense... almost like an advanced-level mage (though I couldn't confirm it).

"Misunderstanding?— Hey! How do you know my real name?"

…So they weren't code names after all.

"Yes, yes, a complete misunderstanding. For starters, I don't even know this girl." I nodded toward Ichika-san, who looked at me in pure betrayal.

"Kyaaa! How could you say that, Haruki-kun?!"

Sorry, Ichika-san, but you reap what you sow. Don't you dare drag me into your mess.

"After everything we've been through? After promising we'd get married… sniff… you're really going to abandon me? Do you not love me anymore?"

"What?!"

Is this woman seriously crying?!

The hostages stared at me with disgust. Some even started whispering:

"What a repulsive young man… abandoning his girlfriend to save himself?"

"She's such a pretty girl… seems she chose the wrong guy."

"If it were me, I'd protect her with my life."

What the hell?! They were all against me?!

Why was this suicidal woman doing this to me?!

"Silence, all of you! Want me to melt your bones?! And you! Didn't you hear what I asked? How do you know my real name?!"

She was still stuck on that?!

Persistent girl, but more importantly: she sounded willing to talk.

…Or so I hoped.

"Well, I only heard when you three said it earlier…"

Lili tilted her head. "And the eavesdropper thinks he can call me by my—"

"But the moment I saw you, I couldn't help but be charmed."

"W-what did you just say?"

Her energy dipped slightly. I took that as my cue to stand.

"You have a rare talent, Lili… reaching this level at such a young age is no easy feat… and yet, here you are."

I stood up.

"I'm not trying to kiss up or anything, I'm just stating the obvious."

"W-why are you standing?! Are you crazy?!"

"I just wanted to see you better. Hic! I had my doubts before, but now I can say for sure: even with that mask, you're really beautiful."

".............."

The moment I said that, everyone went silent. The collective cringe was overwhelming.

"…I mean— I didn't mean it like that, I just wanted to say that— uh— it didn't work, did it?"

"Y-y-you!"

"!!!"

Before I could explain, the entire floor shook.

I thought it was the result of my stupid attempt to seduce a terrorist, but that didn't seem to be the case. She wasn't causing the earthquake.

Crack! A bottle fell.

Right after that, all the glass in the bar began to shake. The noise kept growing louder and louder until it was almost impossible to hear anything else.

Everyone (and I mean everyone) started screaming.

"Lili! He's here! Looks like we caught a big fish this time! Hm? Who's that with you? A rebel?"

Mari came running our way. With each movement of her body, the mask nearly slipped off her head.

"H-he's nobody! Just some drunk idiot! More importantly: Did we get one? Did we attract one?!"

The two horses looked at each other, then turned toward the entrance.

"Exactly."

What were these terrorists planning?

Something felt off, but screw it. In all this chaos, I'd finally be able to escape.

…Or so I thought.

Right as I was about to make a dash for the exit, I saw reflected in a glass the image of a red-haired man smiling.

I knew that face.

"Everyone behind the line! The great Lakas has arrived!"

His cliché announcement was followed by a snap of fingers.

Snap!

In a matter of seconds, a huge golden circle spread across the floor, with the terrorists at its center.

"『Unique Magic: Physical Reconstruction: Radius Maxima!』"

"That magic…?"

No.

This was not the time to be impressed.

As famous as it was, I had to make sure I wasn't in its range.

I followed the glowing line across the floor until— Holy shit! Ichika-san?!

WHY ARE YOU INSIDE THE CIRCLE?

I didn't even think. Instinct kicked in and I sprinted toward her.

I know it was reckless, but I couldn't leave her behind.

"Ichika-san!!!"

"Huh?! Haruki-kun? What are— Oi! Oi!! Aaaah!"

—And just like that, the spell activated, and we were teleported along with the terrorists.