The dimly lit room was filled with the smell of medicine. The bottles covering one wall of medicine shone eerily in the light of the standing lamp.

Sitting at the desk was a woman, taller than most, wearing a white coat.

She turned her head toward the door again and again, wondering if anyone will suddenly enter. Each time she did, her long black hair tied up at the nape of her neck shook and her hands stopped leafing through the files.

The red file in her hand was something that had to be handled with such care.

『Investigation report on the relationship between the heinous mysterious Death Green and Rintaro Kuriyama』

It was only a few days ago that Kenmochi Minato received this document.

Jimbocho Hero Headquarters, the headquarters of heroes. This is one of the documents that Rintaro and his men stole from the large safe in the director’s office there.

After retrieving the mysterious beings by helicopter, Samecchi kept the file in her mouth the whole time until they reached the secret base.

「Good job, Samecchi. You don’t have to hold it in your mouth anymore.」

「Itf wofn cahm ouft anymof, ffu (It won’t come out anymore, ssu)」

Samecchi’s sharp fangs were stuck in the cover of the file, and Minato had to help pull them out. She even used every piece of medical equipment in the infirmary to avoid damaging her fangs, which were deeply embedded in the file.

「Fugagamo ffu…… puhah!」

「I- it finally came off… I’m so glad the fangs didn’t fall out.」

「Thank you, ssu, Minato… the jaw, the jaw hurts……」

「You overstretched your masseter muscles. I’ll put some ice on them just to be safe.」

Minato places an ice pack on Samecchi’s cheek and deftly fixed it with a bandage.

It was inevitable that Minato picked up the red file after the procedure. She casually flipped through the file, which was covered in drool and had vicious teeth marks on it.

Information on hero events held in the local shopping district. A recipe for delicious Hero Shokudo curry. Used minutes of the meeting to consider a name for the new hero team, etc.

To put it bluntly, all of this information was irrelevant.

「……Nn? This is……?」

There was only one title in the document that caught Minato’s attention.

The name written in the reporter’s column was Chief of Staff Komorodo Utako. She didn’t recognize the name, but she couldn’t ignore that intimidating title.

The report contained speculative observations based on information she had obtained through her battle with the heinous mysterious Death Green.

The first sentence is this.

「……The Heinous Mysterious Death Green, is not…… a mysterious being……?」

The report contained the name of the “mysterious being” in whom she placed her utmost trust. The report denied his very existence.

But for some reason, Minato, who had been examining Rintaro’s body as a doctor, was strangely convinced. It was as if a breeze had blown through the haze and suddenly cleared her vision.

A small suspicion, hidden somewhere in her mind, slowly reared its head.

「……No, but I haven’t asked him that yet……」

「What did it say, ssuka?」

「Uhyiooouh!」

Minato was startled by Samecchi, who peeked out from behind her, and unintentionally dropped the file. As Minato rushed to pick it up again, Samecchi smiled at her, while icing her cheeks.

「Ah, Samecchi got it! There must have been a great secret hidden by the hero! Mufufu, Samecchi did a good job.」

It must be a big secret, but is it really right to show it to Samecchi? Pressed by Samecchi, Minato answered, with a profuse cold sweat running down her face.

「No no no, that’s not true! Actually… It’s better that you don’t see this! This information is… the thing that would make a shark mysterious being go ‘bon’ if they see it!!」

「Hawaa, ssu!? If Sametchi sees this, she will go “bon”, ssuka!?」

「Yeah, that’s right! This and that happens and in the end your butt explodes…!!」

Samecchi’s face, which had been shining brightly at her accomplishment, turned blue in a flash.

「That’s a problem, ssu…!」

「Right?! So I’ll take full responsibility and dispose of it! And please don’t tell any of the other mysterious beings about this!」

Believing Minato’s words, Samecchi shook her head with a blue face. She then left the infirmary, clutching her small butt.

All that was left was Minato, the file ……, and the stagnant black curiosity that was growing in her mind.

…………

Minato now has in front of her a blood sample from the heinous mysterious Death Green…… Kuriyama Rintaro. Just a drop of this into the test kit is all that is needed to eliminate any doubt.

――Or turn into certainty.

「Haa…… Haa……!」

――But, she can’t do it.

All she had to do was suck up the blood with a dropper and dispense a single drop. Minato’s hands didn’t budge, as if they were frozen solid.

Whatever the outcome, she should wait for Rintaro to tell them the truth. What is the point of hastening the “time” with her own hands?

What Minato can do now is to believe in Rintaro, no matter what the outcome may be.

「Rintaro, I knew it…… for me……」

It was fear.

What if the “unwanted result” was shown?

It would mean that Rintaro had been hiding the truth from her. It would mean that she had no choice but to accept the fact that she was the only one who had been left out of the loop.

The happiest outcome for Minato herself would be to continue to pretend that she knows nothing about the situation and continue to be a member of the heinous legion as she had always been.

Will she accept a temporary happiness, or will she accept the truth? She was sure that her timid self would not be able to choose either.

Tears naturally welled up in Minato’s eyes at the thought. The only thing going through her mind was the feeling of warm lips.

「Okay, let’s not do this!　What’s the point of all this?」

「Minatoo!」

「Higyaaaaaah!!!!」

Minato jumped up from her chair when she was suddenly approached from behind. She thought her heart would jump out of her chest, but it was Machete that jumped out.

The sharp blade sliced through the glass dropper like butter, splattering the content into the test tube.

「Hogyaaaaaaah!!! It went iiiiin!!!」

「Hawa, ssu! Sorry, ssu!」

Minato looked back with teary eyes and saw big round eyes staring back at her.

「Sa- Sa- Sa- Sa- Samecchi, how long have you been here!?」

「Samecchi called out many times, ssuyo, was Samecchi not heard, ssuka?」

「Huh?! I- I- I- Is that so? Sorry, haha…… I was concentrating…… Hehehoha. By the way, do you need something?」

Minato hid the test tube in her hand behind her back, deceiving Samecchi with an awkward smile. Then, desperately trying to avoid letting her know that she was trying to find out Rintaro’s secret, she tried to change the subject.

Samecchi had a puzzled, silly look on her face, but then she seemed to remember and clapped her hands.

「Yes yes, that’s right, ssu! is there anything Minato really really want right now, ssuka?」

「……Something…… I want……？」

「My brother told Samecchi to ask Minato… Ah! Shouldn’t have said that, ssu! Please forget about it, ssu.」

「Rintaro……? To me……?」

Cold sweat trickled down Minato’s face.

Of all times, at this very moment, Rintaro has made an offer a bribe by asking if she has anything she wants.

（He found out I was trying to find out the secret……!? When……!? From where……!?）

Although the circumstances were unknown, Rintaro had taken steps to keep Minato’s mouth shut. Given the situation, that was the only thing Minato could think of.

「Hawa…… Hawawa……」

「Please be honest and say it…… What Minato wants right now……」

Two large eyes stared into Minato’s eyes.

Minato looks away involuntarily, but in her vision, she saw a test tube containing the test drug.

It was an “unwanted result” for her.

---

<180: Lullaby of Mysterious Beings
182: Minato’s Declaration of War>