160: Purple-feathered Yuuka
When they got off the elevator, they were already in a room.
「Hawaa, so spacious, ssu!!」
「Don’t run around too much. If you fall, you might crash through the window and hit the ground from a height of 85 meters.」
The top floor of the hotel was a suite of the highest class, with an entire floor devoted to it. Rintaro later found out that it cost 2 million yen per night.
Kamiki, the guide leading the way, suddenly stopped and bowed reverently.
「Yuuka-sama. I have brought Death Green-sama and his party.」
「Ho- Hokya…… Fi- Fi- Finally face to face with SHIVA……!」
「Aniki’s face is scary, ssu」
Rintaro’s stagnant eyes opened wide, and the group members were rather more concerned about such a leader’s condition than SHIVA.
Ahead of the group’s gaze, that person was standing with his back turned.
The first thing they noticed was his beautiful hair, a light purple color, like the scales of a butterfly. It was not bleached or dyed; he must have been born with this color.
He is thin and tall, like a fashion model. His long, white arms and legs stretched out from his light-colored gown, giving him the appearance of being weightless.
Even just his backside seemed to radiate a magic that captivates others.
「………………」
Like a petal floating on the surface of the water, SHIVA turned around with a relaxed motion.
His face was covered from the nose up by a white phantom mask, like that of the Phantom of the Opera.
「Yuuka-sama said, “Thank you for coming”.」
「Ye- Yes! No, Real-, that, Thank you for your kind words……」
「It’s ruined, Senpai. The hug from earlier was ruined.」
「But come on, it’s the real one, the real one, Ahyuuh」
Rintaro was completely soaring in front of SHIVA.
Even though it is through a mask, …… no, it is because it is through a mask. Combined with his bewitching mannerisms, Rintaro lost his bearings.
The eyes hidden behind the mask make you feel as if they are judging the man named Rintaro. In this way, those who face him are forced to realize that “SHIVA is the one who holds the reins”.
His eyes, lost in thought, were drawn to the thinly smiling, rouged lips. Like black lilies blooming under the moon, a bright red tongue peeked out from the gap between the lips, which blossomed slowly and soundlessly.
「……………………」
「Chori, ssu!」
Even as Rintaro stiffened with blood rushing to his head, Samecchi exchanged a surprisingly light greeting with SHIVA. Samecchi approached SHIVA as if they were friends, but with surprising speed, Rintaro grabbed her under his arm and pulled her away.
「Samecchi! Samecchi! Sameeecchiiiiiii!!!」
「Hoee? What is it, ssuka, aniki?」
「Don’t ‘What is it, ssuka’ me, what are you doiiing!? What is ‘Chori, ssu’, what kind of distance is that!? Awawa, I apologize for her rudeness……」
Rintaro’s face turned pale and cold sweat dripped from his head. SHIVA quietly smiled at the flustered Rintaro.
「……………………」
「Yuuka-sama said, “No problem. Please have a seat”.」
Rintaro was relieved to hear that he apparently was not angry.
However, to Rintaro’s eyes, SHIVA did not seem to have uttered a single word, and he wondered what was going on in the system where Kamiki translated.
No, no, he was called the “top-ranked archmage”, so it was no surprise that he could at least use telepathy, Rintaro told himself.
「……………………」
「Yuuka-sama said, “Since the show is about to start, I would like to briefly inform you of what I need”.」
If that were the case, wouldn’t it be even faster to explain the situation with his own mouth? Rintaro suppressed the words that were about to rise to his throat by stepping on the brake in his heart.
Sitting down on the incredibly fluffy sofa, once Rintaro had regained his composure, the conversation got to the point.
「……………………」
「Understood, Yuuka-sama. Now then, Let this unworthy Kamiki, explain.」
Kamiki then took out a map that looked like Minato Mirai’s map and spread it out on the table.
Several locations on the map were marked with purple crosses. Perhaps it was a security plan for the magic show.
A large green cross was painted quite far from the center.
「Death Green-sama. And the heinous legion, we want you to become a diversion.」
「A diversion…? Even though it’s a magic show? Ah, Is it misdirection??」
When Rintaro asked back giddily, Kamiki silently shook his head.
「It is not the eyes of the audience that should be drawn, but the eyes of the Hero Headquarters!」
「…………Hero……!?」
The familiar words made the faces of not only Rintaro but also all the members of the heinous legion grim.
Rintaro, who had been in high spirits, gasped at the word “hero”.
SHIVA looked at their faces and put his index finger to his temple. His expression was almost unreadable, but apparently he had a headache.
「As you may know, Yuuka-sama had been marked as a suspected mysterious being by public security around the world.」
「Yeah, well. If you keep erasing cultural heritage sites and landmarks like that……」
「It doesn’t matter if it’s only while tonight’s magic show is going. I would like you to draw their attention to prevent the Hero Headquarters from intervening.」
「I see, so it’s a diversion…….」
The big green crosses probably meant that they should make a conspicuous commotion there to provoke the Hero Headquarters.
「Rintaro…… As expected, isn’t the enemy bad……?」
「I want to be helpful to SHIVA… I want to be helpful but, I can’t put everyone in danger…」
As Minato said, heroes whose mission is to hunt mysterious beings are natural enemies of mysterious beings, and he wanted to avoid getting involved with them as much as possible.
Furthermore, Rintaro had one major concern when dealing with heroes.
The “Death Green Suit” that was burned up by Hinosmera in the previous battle had not yet been repaired.
No matter how much a respected person asks for a favor, it is no good if you don’t have the means to do it in the first place.
「The duration is one hour during which the show is on. We are offering a reward of 1,000,000 yen per person, for a total of 4,000,000 yen!」
「Gunuh…… 1,000,000 yen per hour……!?」
「If the heroes don’t show up, we will still pay you the full amount. What do you think, Death Green-sama?」
Rintaro looked at the group members in distress.
「It’s close to the sea, so Samecchi can do it, ssuyo. Mushamusha!」
Samecchi munched on the sweets accompanying the tea that was served to her.
「I umm, don’t want to draw too much attention…… But if Rintaro tells me to do it, then I will……」
Minato looked uneasy and uncomfortable when she heard the word hero.
「…………! …………!!」
And Kirika, who silently gave a thumbs-up and a wink, as if to say, “Leave it to me”. She seemed to think that more than her reward or heroism, she saw it as an opportunity to have Rintaro in her debt.
「……You will be accepting it then.」
Kamiki asked Rintaro as if he didn’t need to hear the answer. Rintaro crossed his arms and thought for a moment, then his eyebrows furrowed as he spoke out.
「I understand. We will accept it…… But.」
「But……?」
With a red face, Rintaro mentioned the condition.
「Sh- Sh- SHIVA’s autograph……」
SHIVA let out a small laugh at his timid request.
Leave a Reply