This was about ten minutes before Minato was threatened by Samecchi. A girl visits Rintaro as he lied in bed in the infirmary.

「Aniki! aniki!」

With the hood of her shark-print hoodie swinging back and forth, Samecchi shook Hayashitaro’s body with both hands. Still, Rintaro could only groan and moan.

「Anikiiiiii!」

With Samecchi on top of him, Rintaro finally stopped her, holding his head that felt like it was about to split. He was like a father who’s been sleeping in on a Sunday morning and was begged by his child to go out.

「…… Don’t shake a patient who has collapsed from acute alcohol poisoning too much. Tears might come out of his mouth with too much force. aniki doesn’t even have anything to throw up anymore, though.……」

「Aniki, hungover again, ssuka!」

「I’m glad you understand. Well then, I guess it’s about time to get up.」

Rintaro held Samecchi, who had been straddled on his own waist, with both hands and lowered her to the floor.

「Uuu……  Damn it, my vision is still blurry……」

「Kukuku, how about some cold water to cure your hangover?」

「Aah, Than……」

After Rintaro pulled himself up and received the cup, he finally realized that Samecchi wasn’t his only visitor.

「Leader Dragius!」

「Ooh, I’m glad you’re doing better than expected.」

It was Dragius III, who had escaped alone into a dark space in the middle of Tagaraak’s alcoholic harassment hell.

「Yes, it ended up like this thanks to you. Why don’t you go and drink some, Leader Dragius? I think there’s still some industrial ethanol left.」

「Come come, don’t be so angry. It was my bad, fuhahahaha! But I am here to deliver you and your heinous legion good news.」

Dragius, not feeling the least bit guilty, cleared his throat and took out a document. Rintaro looked suspicious, but the moment he picked up the document his expression changed instantly.

「Leader Dragius…… This is……!」

「This time, the operation to destroy the super giant robot was successful largely due to the achievements of you and Tagaraak. Therefore, Ark Dominion will provide you with an extra bonus.」

The document listed, in detail, the tireless deeds of the heinous legion.

And at the bottom was the total amount of payment, along with Dragius’ signature. A significant amount of money, well worth the effort.

Rintaro looked back and forth between the document and Dragius’ face several times.

「I can’t believe we got so much!」

「Well, to be honest, it’s quite painful. But this time, especially since Tagaraak… the Machinery Army had caused me so much trouble, I can’t help but give them some compensation.」

「But what does that have to do with us, the heinous legion?」

「If we gave out extra bonuses only to the Machinery Army, it would raise some eyebrows, wouldn’t it?　So we decided to give them all at once. Well, you can accept it to save face for Tagaraak. Kukuku…… Fuhahahaha!」

With that said, Dragius left behind a high laugh and disappeared into the dark-colored, ripped space.

All that was left were Rintaro and Samecchi, who now had a small fortune. Rintaro couldn’t hide his smirk at this unexpected bonus.

「I no longer have to overcome injuries and participate in professional wrestling or make my subordinates appear in an AV(animal videos)……!」

「One, ten, hundred, thousand…… Hawawa, There’s a lot, ssu! aniki suddenly got rich, ssu！」

「That’s right, Samecchi. Do you have something you want?」

Rintaro asked Samecchi with a smug look on his face. He was like a father with a summer bonus in his hand.

「I need to give everyone a reward for all their hard work.」

「Really, ssuka! Then…… Samecchi wants that, ssu……」

Samecchi looked away and down in embarrassment, fidgeting her body. Rintaro couldn’t help but smile at such an adorable appearance.

「Maybe a cake? Or new clothes? We have money, so go ahead and tell me what you want!」

Samecchi quickly looked up and said with a big smile.

「Deserted island!!」

「I see, I think I should ask the others for their opinions on this one.」

「Aniki will buy a deserted island, ssuka? Yay, ssu!」

Rintaro put his hand on Samecchi’s head and spoke to her with a stiff smile on his face.

「Okay, Samecchi, could you ask Minato if she wants anything? She’s probably in the next room.」

「Roger that, ssu!　Samecchi will ask as soon as possible!」

Samecchi ran out of the infirmary with joy.

Left alone and completely forgetting the pain of his hangover, Rintaro sighed as he looked at the amount on the document.

「As expected an island is out of the question… Well, Minato wouldn’t suddenly ask for a deserted island. I’m sure a domestic recreational trip would be enough.」

――――And ten minutes later.

「Now, tell Samecchi what Minato wants! Confess, ssu!」

「Hiiiiiiie! I’m sorryyyyyyyy!!!」

Samecchi closed in on Minato.

For Minato, whose mind was occupied with Rintaro’s secret, there was only one thing she could come up with as to why she was being pushed by Samecchi.

「Come on! Come on! Come on, ssu！」

（I’m going to be erased! Rintaro is really planning to erase me now that I know his secret!!）

Secrets are sanctuaries that everyone builds in their hearts. Whoever sneaks into it must have his or her mouth shut.

For the guardians of the sanctuary are able to hear every chirp.

The thief must be put to an end. So that they will never open their talkative mouth again.

The guardian of the sanctuary (Samecchi) approached the thief (Minato) who unintentionally stepped into the sanctuary.

「For example, how about the southern island…… Wanna go, ssuka……?」

「Ahih?! Wa-Wait! Let’s talk and you’ll understand!」

When Minato heard the word “Southern Island”, one word came to mind,“Antarctica”. She had heard that Rintaro and Samecchi actually came close to death in Antarctica.

Samecchi’s eyes were blazing with an unusually serious intensity as she pressed closer to Minato. With a grin on her face, the fangs peeking out from between her lips were sharp and white, emitting a menacing glow.

Minato thought, today will be the date of her death anniversary.

「There is something Minato wants……ssuyone……?」

「Hahi, ju… just the feeling! Just the feeling is enough…!」

To utter that one word was the best Minato could do at the moment. Her head, which had been confronted with a shocking fact, had not yet recovered from the shock of the confusion.

「…………Feeling, ssu?」

However, upon hearing those words, Samecchi quickly distanced herself from Minato.

「Just feeling, ssuka? Is that really all, ssuka? Hohoon?」

「……Wh- What……?」

「Hohoon? Is that so, ssu…… Hohohooon……」

Samecchi slowly and soundlessly backed away, keeping her eyes fixed on Minato. And then, as she stepped out of the room and into the hallway, she quietly closed the door without looking away from Minato.

After the blackmailer left, the room was once again silent. Minato finally remembered how to breathe as she slid off her chair.

「Haa… haa… th- that was scary…」

She had never imagined that it would be such a dangerous bridge to explore the secrets of others, much less those of Kuriyama Rintaro, a man who bears the name “Heinous”.

The test tube placed in front of Minato’s eyes revealed his “true identity” that Rintaro had been hiding from her.

Without a doubt, Rintaro Kuriyama is a “human being”.

Of course, it is not hard to imagine that there is some deep reason why he is hiding his human identity. Tears welled up in Minato’s eyes as she realized that this was something she should not have thoughtlessly touched.

「…………」

Minato wanted to know Rintaro as much as possible, that’s all. How could she stop that impulse?

However, Minato’s actions ultimately angered Rintaro.

That’s why he had sent Samecchi to her, she was sure of it. Regardless of the actual situation, Minato’s story was complete in her mind.

「……I’ll apologize.」

Minato mumbled to herself in the dark room.

Let’s be honest that I have touched on a sensitive issue. Let’s go back to the warmth of our relationship as before, not knowing anything about it.

「It’s my fault for being so pushy……」

We can’t give back the memory, but we can rebuild the relationship.

–With these thoughts in mind, Minato’s face turned pale all at once as she fixes her disordered white coat.

It was a spur-of-the-moment thing, but now that she thought back on it, she wondered what she had said in response to Samecchi.

『Just the feeling is enough』

Minato had certainly told Sametchi that.

Not asking for too much from others is a sign of nobility and can be considered a virtue similar to modesty. However, as can be seen from the fact that it is a common phrase showing modesty, it also contains a certain amount of rejection.

In other words――

『I will not accept anything in return. I will not negotiate. Don’t expect me to give in to your threats!』

―― To someone who was dangling bait while asking for what she wants, Minato’s words could be interpreted as the exact opposite of modesty.

After all, Minato knows the other person’s secret and has the upper hand. Since Rintaro is good at outwitting people, there is a high possibility that he will take this as a rejection.

「Awa…… Awawawawa…… Could it be, this is actually really bad……?」

In other words, Kenmochi Minato, of all people, knew Kuriyama Rintaro’s “absolute secret” and yet rejected his proposal.

This is now nothing less than a declaration of war.

「……!」

Minato rushed out of the room, but when she looked around the wide hallway, Samecchi was no longer anywhere to be seen. On the contrary, Rintaro, who was supposed to be lying down in the infirmary next door, was also gone.

「……Wh- wh- wh- wh- what should I do……」

Kenmochi Minato sat down in the empty hallway, scattering shurikens from the hem of her white coat.

………………

…………

……

Little did she know that a terrible misunderstanding had occurred. Walking alone down the hallway, Samecchi puzzled over Minato’s words..

「Hmmm, just the feeling…? What exactly does it mean…? Will Ojiki and Colonel Usanyi-chan know?」

The quickest way to find out what you can’t figure out is to ask. With many question marks in her head, Samecchi headed for the training room of her former home, Hundred Beasts Legion.

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<181: Absolute Secret
183: Family’s Embrace>