As the middle of January approaches, the New Year’s mood has completely faded away. The New Year’s shopping season is over, and theme parks entered a long quiet period until spring vacation arrive.

A girl in a blue hoodie was bouncing around on the beautifully laid cobblestones.

「Uhyoooo, ssu! It’s almost like we are reserving the place, ssuyo, aniki!」

「Hey, hey, don’t run around, Samecchi. If you fall and hit someone, your whole body might be shattered like those in a splatter[i] movie!」

Rintaro and Samecchi were visiting Tokorozawa Mucchiland, an amusement park in South Saitama.

The amusement park is based on a slapstick cartoon about a giant hamster named “Mucchi,” who awakens to his self-identity through a series of inhumane experiments, and his cronies.

Incidentally, his cronies consist of a herding dog and a house cat who are plotting to catch and eat Mucchi but keep pretending to be his friend in order to get him off guard.

However, its high-quality animation was world-famous and popular among men and women of all ages.

In most of the films, Mucchi always ends by muttering a few words of “nonsense”.

「Aniki! Mucchi, ssu! There is Mucchi, ssuyo!」

『That’s why, I’ve told you before, didn’t I.』

「Wow!　Real Mucchi, ssu!　He is saying some nonsense, ssu!」

『Your place sure doesn’t hold back in your consumption of Chinese red chili oil.』

Rintaro had no idea what was so good about this mascot character. But he was not here today to play around; they were here for Ark Dominion’s business.

There is a rumor that the park’s mascot character “Mucchi” is actually a mysterious being.

Dragius said that he wanted them to actually go there and check it out.

「Hmm, no matter how you look at it, it’s just a costume」

『Eh, you bought a Chinese wok even though it’s IH(I ecchi?)?』

「This guy really says a lot of nonsense……」

『Somehow, the entrance at your place smells like candy… Gueeh!』

Rintaro slowly thrust his hand into Mucchi’s throat. Then, he grabbed the “tool” by the throat.

Mucchi jerked and twitched, then went limp and stopped moving.

「Awah! aniki, did Mucchi die!?」

「It looks like he fell asleep. I guess he got tired because of the New Year rush.」

「Mucchi, is sleeping with his eyes open, ssu……」

「Oh no, then he needs surgery」

Rintaro moved his wrists and began to remove Moochie’s head, just to be sure. Although Mucchi himself was a costume, it was quite possible that he was a mysterious being inside.

Rintaro had no hesitation in fulfilling his duties, even in front of the eyes of a pure child.

With a “kokyoku” sound, Mucchi’s head came off with a jerk. A strong man with a shaved head, whom Rintaro recognized well, was frothing with white eyes.

「Anikiiii! Bancholf came out from inside Mucchi, ssuuuuu！」

「Yeah, It appears that the rumors are true.」

Mucchi’s true identity was the gray wolf mysterious being Bancholf, one of the Zako fighters belonging to the secret society Ark Dominion.

Tokorozawa Mucchiland is run by the Tagaden Group. In other words, it is a subgroup of Ark Dominion.

「What exactly is this about……?」

Many question marks pop inside Rintaro’s head.

Two shadows watched from afar. They were Mucchi’s friends, Ho-san, the Mongolian dog, and Skold, the family cat.

「Wh- Wh- What should we do!? He was exposed immediately!」

「He sure is a useless Zako? As expected, I should have become Mucchi.」

The giant Ho-san, or rather, the tall and beautiful Kenmochi Minato, was overwhelmed by the failure of the strategy earlier than expected. This time, they are on a mission to act as mascots at this amusement park.　

Skold, a cat with strangely bad eyes, or rather, Mayuzumi Kirika, calmed Ho-san down.

「Our purpose is to buy time until the preparations for the “Heinous Legion Commemorative Party” are complete. Let’s go as well.」

「Impossible, impossible, impossible! What are you going to do if you were grabbed by your neck!?」

「This is a place where you should put your body on the line to stop it, Ho-san.」

「N- Noooooo!!」

That is right, Rintaro and Samecchi had not yet heard about the establishment of the heinous legion. It was their role to hold Rintaro here in Tokorozawa Mucchiland in order to prepare for the surprise party that was currently being steadily prepared.

Incidentally, the reason they chose an amusement park was to cheer up Rintaro, who has been in poor health recently.

However.

「Why is is it that even though it’s a job from Ark Dominion, there is someone related inside Mucchi…? This Tokorozawa Mucchiland… it smells fishy.」

Rintaro was more of a hard-worker than they thought.

He believes that once he accepts an assignment, he must deliver results. This has not changed since his days at Hero Headquarters.

His brain instantly simulates dozens of worst-case scenarios. The worst possible case was that of an internal struggle between evil organizations.

Rintaro knows firsthand that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down without mercy. It is not surprising that insiders jealous of Rintaro’s success would send in assassins.

「Something is wrong with this amusement park. Samecchi, be careful!」

「Understood, ssu! Ah, Ho-san! It’s Ho-san, ssuyo, aniki!」

「I’ve just told you to be careful, Samecchiiiiiiii!!」

As soon as Samecchi spotted Minato’s character, Ho-san, she leapt into the air like a missile and dove into her big belly. Ho-san’s air-filled body was shaken violently by the impact.

「Ho-saaaaaan!!」

『Ugh!　……Gufu…… Y- Ya pretty lady! I wonder what your name is?』

「Samecchi is Samecchi, ssu!　Samecchi owns Ho-san’s Blu-ray, ssu！」

『I see, thanks for your continued support. Wait, don’t hug me so hard or I’ll die.』

As a result of the tight hug from Samecchi, the air was released from Ho-san’s stomach. Ho-san looked like a dried persimmon, and Rintaro grabbed her firmly by both shoulders.

「Hey Ho-san, congratulations on your successful diet. Who are you?　What’s your purpose?」

『Ababababababa! Come on, Rintaro-kun! I(watashi)…I(boku) am here to make you smile, you knoooow?』

「Just get on with it and tell the truth. Or I’ll make you go to sleep with your eyes open like Mucchi.」

『Nooooooo!　H-Help me, Skold!』

Ho-san’s earnest cry resounded throughout Tokorozawa Mucchiland. At that time, Skold, played by Kirika, was being beaten up by Sametchi.

「You, ssu! You, ssu! You’re the bad guy who always picks on Moochie!」

『A-ha-ha, You are so slow just like an Ocean Sunfish. You can’t even kill a mosquito with that kind of kid punch.』

Skold, still in her costume, dodged Samecchi’s punches with light steps. Occasionally, when an effective hit is about to come, she safely guarded with her paw pad.

It was uncharacteristically immature for a mascot of a children’s amusement park.

「Apparently, your partner is better at fan service than you are.」

『Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!!』

As soon as she realized that Skold’s reinforcements were unlikely, Ho-san ran away like a hare. However, Minato, who was not only athletically challenged, but was also wearing a costume she was not accustomed to, was hopelessly slow.

Within seconds, Rintaro catched up to her and puts his hands around her waist from behind, pinning her down.

「Come on, spit it out, whose orders are you working under!」

『Ueeeeeeeeeeen! I am soorryyyyyy!!』

Rintaro forcefully thrust his hand through Ho-san’s collar, who had given up resisting. If she was a mysterious being, there was a good chance she had a weapon or self-destruct mechanism hidden away. This was one of the know-how he had acquired at the hero school.

Gyumonyun!

Rintaro’s palms felt the touch of an amazing weapon.

「……Perhaps, are you…… Minato?」

『Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Where did you draw that conclusion frooooom!』

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[i] A splatter film or gore film is a subgenre of horror film that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of gore and graphic violence. These films, through the use of special effects and excessive blood and guts, tend to display an overt interest in the vulnerability of the human body and the theatricality of its mutilation.

<87: The Heinous Legion and The Three Executives
89: Rintaro, Preyed Upon>