The banquet hall, always bustling with activity, was enveloped in a somber atmosphere. A whale curtain hung on the wall, and the aroma of incense and chrysanthemums greeted the mysterious beings in mourning.

「I am sorry for your loss, ui……」

「My condolences, ui……」

「I never thought an accident like this would happen, ui……」

One by one, the mourners wrote their names in the name book. The “Tagaraak’s Farewell Memorial Part One, Vigil Version” was held in a solemn manner, and the venue was filled with deep sorrow.

At the end of the group was Rintaro, clutching a string of prayer beads. Rintaro, who looked unusually well suited to mourning, spoke to the death green transformation gear in his pocket.

「But title aside, couldn’t you have done something about that picture?」

A small coffin was placed on a platform wrapped in white chrysanthemum, and a huge portrait of the deceased was displayed on top of it. The little girl in the picture was making a piece with both hands and sticking out her tongue as if to mock others.

『What is it, jai, Rintaro! You have the nerve to be so picky about my choices and cute face, ja na!』

The voice of a young girl echoed from the death green transformation gear. The voice belonged to “today’s star of the show,” who should have been in the coffin.

Tagaraak funeral was a complete bluff orchestrated by Rintaro and Tagaraak herself. The purpose, of course, was not mourning, but a trap to expose the traitor within the Ark Dominion.

In the unlikely event that she met the attendees, there would be a huge panic, so Tagaraak and Minato were monitoring the situation in a separate room.

「Geez, I would like you to be a little more aware of the fact that you are dead.」

「However, is it really possible for something like this to make them show their tail…… I am skeptical.」

「Leader, please restrain your murderous intent a little more.」

Next to Rintaro, casting a sharp, blade-like gaze around him, was our own General-in-Chief, Dragius III. Tagaraak had brought him in, and he could not have been more reassuring as a collaborator.

The old man is wearing a formal dress, not a tuxedo, but he is clutching a cross and garlic cloves. He is the one who gave us such a crazy title as “Part One, Vigil Version”.

「The important thing at this funeral is to get the word out. Because if the culprits are among us, they will be taking action as early as tonight.」

Rintaro narrowed his clouded eyes as he said this and looked around the venue. Everyone in the hall was mourning Tagaraak’s unfortunate accident. The mysterious beings had been told that the cause of her death was a mishap involving a new weapon under development.

Of course, that was a lie perpetrated by Rintaro and Dragius.

「If the perpetrators only wanted to take out General Tagaraak, they should have done so during the night, just as they did with Butlerm and Maidy. But why go to the trouble of using a time bomb, which is a roundabout way of doing it……?」

「Death Green, only you is left……」

Yes, it was not only Tagarack who was targeted. The villainous mysterious being Death Green is also a target of the criminal.

When Rintaro thought of this, he immediately recalled the scene in the chairman’s office just before Tagaraak exploded.

There were large scratches even on the chairman’s desk, but there was not a single crack in the large window glass. And even though there were burn marks on the floor, there wasn’t a single drop of blood on it, and they all meant one thing.

「To begin with, the heavy battle scars left in the chairman’s office are unnatural. Those remnants were not made in actual combat.」

「It was staged…… They were added after the fact to showcase the incident.」

In fact, the “Tagaden tragedy” became universally known through the roar and flames of the shattered windows that accompanied the explosion of Tagaraak. Ten out of ten people would think, ‘That’s when it happened’.

――That’s exactly what the killer wanted.

The answer to the question that can be drawn from the facts that have been created is the “internal strife drama of the Arc Dominion” that never happened.

If both were eliminated, it would be treated as an internal fight after an altercation between the two executives. Even if one of them survives, circumstantial evidence will not dispel the suspicion that he attempted to kill his colleague, and the surviving executive will not be spared from being removed from office.

Either way, it will result in a major disaster for both armies, and in the not-too-distant future, the Ark Dominion will collapse internally.

「He is a strong and quick-witted guy. In order to lure him out, we have to disrupt the criminal’s calculations and then…」

「Is there no choice but to use Rintaro himself as bait? But if that line is correct, could the other executives be targeted……?」

「I can’t rule out that possibility, but I’m pretty sure they’re going to come after me.」

「Hoo… Do you have any idea why you’re being targeted?」

「……It’s not to the extent that I am sure……」

In order to avoid revealing their intentions, the two exchanged words without looking at each other.

…………

Late at night that day.

The “Tagaraak’s Farewell Memorial Part One, Vigil Version” went off without a hitch, and only a few lights remained in front of the coffin. Inside the dimly lit venue, a man sat vigil lit by the unreliable candlelight.

The name of the man who offered to stay vigil in front of everyone was Kuriyama Rintaro. He was the man who exchanged last words with the late Machinery General Tagaraak.

「…………Guu……」

Around the time of the ox, Rintaro was also starting to row the boat lazily.

The doors of the hall opened without a sound.

「………………」

The eyes staring at Rintaro’s back through the doorway glowed suspiciously in the darkness. The shadow slid into the hall like the wind, and crept up on Rintaro, who was dozing off unprotected.

A knife drawn from their jacket is lit by a candle and clad in orange murderous intent. The intruder stood behind Rintaro, who was quietly sleeping, and looked down at his bare nape.

The knife, heavily coated with the “mysterious being-killing”poison, was slowly raised in the air like a plant rearing its head.

「Honestly, ‘tis intolerable……」

At the same time as the shadow muttered, the area beneath its feet sparkled silver.

「Prison of a Thousand Swords (Million Sword Alcatraz)!!!」

「…………!?」

Countless swords sprouted (…) from the ground and formed a small dome around the intruder. Dozens or even hundreds of swords stacked on top of each other, capturing the intruder, turned into a gigantic sphere about 3 meters in diameter and rolled around.

After confirming the capture of the intruder, Rintaro, who was pretending to be asleep, called out to his companions lurking in the darkness.

「Great job, Minato, although I wish you could have caught them a little sooner.」

「I’m sorry, Rintaro, I’m so nervous, my hands are shaking……」

「Kukuku, Rintaro’s subordinates are quite talented.」

「Fuhyohyo! It’s time to avenge the grudge against Kurara-chan’s body!」

Lights were turned on in the hall, and the sword cage was surrounded by Rintaro, Minato, Dragius III, and Tagaraak, who had been transformed into Ru●ba.

「Well…I guess it’s a nice joke to visit someone at night on their vigil night. I’m sure the deceased is deeply saddened, isn’t it?」

「Rintaro, I don’t mind, do it! Just do it, no ja! Stripping them naked and humiliating them is your specialty, isn’t it, ja ro?」

「Please don’t badmouth people like that.」

With that said, Rintaro kicked the ball that had caught the intruder hard.

「Whether or not we are going to do something bad, depends on you. Come on, why don’t you say something?」

The caught intruder kept their mouth shut for a while, as if in contemplation. But everyone rumbled the ball with their feet, and soon a tearful voice could be heard from within the ball.

「Fueeeeeen, let me out, ssuuuu……」

「…………That voice is…… Sa- Samecchi……?」

The four people present could not believe their ears. It was unmistakably the voice of the shark-shaped mysterious being girl who calls herself the number two in the heinous legion.

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<139: Little Girl Explosion
141: Purgatory Mysterious Being Hinosmera>