Chapter 12 – The Fox’s Question (2)

R‌e‌a​d ​on​ ​Ka‌t​R‍e‍ad‌i‌n​g‍C​a‍fe‌

 

“By the way, why don’t you use a gun?”

Out of nowhere, Hibiki asked me that question while we were discussing new equipment. She must have been waiting for Utaha to be absorbed in her designs to bring it up.

Hmm.

Why fight with fists instead of guns?

As everyone knew, the standard weapon in Kivotos was the gun. In the game, fistfights were practically nonexistent—guns were as common as common sense here. 

That’s probably why I stood out even more.

Taking down enemies with nothing but fists and skill, maintaining order without ever firing a shot. But there was a clear reason for it.

I explained it to Hibiki.

“Because I can’t protect civilians that way.”

“…Why?”

Hibiki’s “why” was natural—from a logical standpoint, guns were stronger, more reliable for taking down enemies.

But to me, guns were just tools that tied up my hands.

“I always have to be ready to move to a civilian’s side. If I’m holding a gun when I suddenly need to reach out or shield someone, I’d be at a disadvantage, right?”

“Oh… That makes sense…”

“And unlike guns, fists let me physically dismantle threats. If an enemy points a gun at a civilian, I can grab and twist the barrel—or even break the gun itself. I can even intercept bullets if I read their trajectory.”

“Yeah. You’ve really thought this through.”

Hibiki, who was deeply invested in my hero work, listened with sparkling eyes. She even wagged her tail while looking at me with admiration. Kind of adorable, honestly.

Playfully, I added one more thing.

“Also, it just looks cooler.”

“Yeah. It is cool…”

Hibiki nodded along with my joke.

There were other reasons, but those were the main ones.

“That’s why I asked you and Utaha for help.”

“The weapon you requested?”

“Right. I fight with my fists, so I need to reinforce that. The enemy I’m facing this time… isn’t normal. So, please.”

“Got it. Don’t worry. We’ll make something that can take down even the strongest foes.”

Maybe because she saw the worry on my face, Hibiki suddenly patted my head and gave me a thumbs-up.

Laughing, I smiled and fed her a snack as thanks.

“I’ll win. Thanks.”

“Yeah. Win for sure.”

With Hibiki’s encouragement, I felt like I couldn’t afford to lose this fight.

***

“This is Wakamo’s current hideout.”

As soon as we gathered in the clubroom, Himari projected a hologram—a location marked in D.U.’s outskirts.

Wakamo’s hideout, huh?

According to Himari, Wakamo would stay there for a few days, planning her next attack.

“…Are you sure?”

“Hehe~ Of course. Our dear Eimi even confirmed it in person. Right, Eimi?”

“Yeah. Saw her myself through binoculars.”

Their certainty was absolute. But I couldn’t help feeling uneasy. The Wakamo we’d been chasing—the one who always fled—was just sitting there now?

Himari smirked, reading my thoughts, and patted my shoulder.

“You think it’s a trap, don’t you?”

“…Yeah. Isn’t it suspicious?”

She shrugged.

“Oh, it’s definitely a trap.”

“Yes?”

Definitely a trap?!

I shot Eimi a look. You said you confirmed it!

“I just confirmed she was there.”

“……”

“Wakamo knows we’re tracking her. Yet she’s flaunting her location. There’s only one meaning to that.”

Wakamo, who’d gone as far as setting fires to evade pursuit, was now waiting in the open?

Meaning—

“She’s waiting for me?”

“Exactly. She wouldn’t just give up. She wants you to come.”

There had to be a reason.

Himari laid out the possibilities.

“Wait, you could’ve just said that from the start.”

“Hehe~ Consider this payback. Waking up the greatest genius hacker in Millennium from her beauty sleep is a grave sin, you know?”

“That’s… I was wrong. I’m sorry.”

“As the magnanimous beauty I am, I’ll forgive you. But don’t do it again~?”

I nodded.

Himari giggled, pleased—until Eimi suddenly spoke up.

“Himari-senpai. You were happy about it, though.”

“Q-Quiet, Eimi! When was I ever giggling happily?! I, the genius hacker, swear on my honor—it never happened!”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Silence!”

“…Let’s just get back to the meeting.”

This is getting awkward.

Himari cleared her throat and tapped her wheelchair, refocusing us.

Then, she explained Wakamo’s real motive.

“From my analysis, Kosaka Wakamo suffers from extreme distrust of others. Her records suggest she was deeply betrayed in the past. That’s when she turned to being a delinquent—bringing calamity ever since.”

“……”

“This next part is just my profiling. I believe Wakamo resents your hero work. Someone who can’t trust others couldn’t believe you act purely out of goodwill.”

Wakamo’s distrust was evident in the game too—especially in her relationship with Sensei.

Betrayal. Corruption. Transformation.

That was what made Kosaka Wakamo the Fox of Calamity. What drove her endless destruction and bloodshed.

Her skill names alone hinted at it.

But why direct that resentment at me?

“Maybe she sensed it. Like how you have sharp instincts.”

“Instincts?”

“To her, you’re just another villain—wearing a hero’s mask. So she instinctively recognized you as an enemy. And investigating you only deepened her disgust.”

It made sense.

I’d always assumed Wakamo and I would clash eventually. 

This was just sooner than expected.

“So her real goal is…?”

“To expose your limits. To tear down the hero everyone believes in. That’s Wakamo’s objective.”

“…Hah.”

Pathetic. And sad.

A girl who fell to darkness, unable to trust goodwill. 

A hero who chose goodwill, unable to forgive evil.

Maybe we were fundamentally incompatible.

Who knows?

I never expected things to escalate like this. Not even Sensei would’ve predicted it. But my role was already decided.

“Are you going?”

“I have to.”

Himari chuckled, grabbed my hand, and gave it a playful tap.

“Thought so. Then go get her.”

“Come back safe.”

“Yeah. I’ll be back.”

Mask on. Weapons ready. It was time to end this.

But I wasn’t planning to just finish things.

“Hello?”

Stepping outside, I made a call.

***

“You came. The City’s hero—Silk.”

“…Wakamo.”

Arriving at the marked location, I found Wakamo waiting—just as she appeared in the game.

A fox mask, similar to mine but more ornate.

What expression is she making under that?

Disdain? Hatred? Rage?

I couldn’t tell. I only understood the situation before me.

As I clenched my fists, Wakamo tilted her head and spoke.

“No grand speech? No lecturing me about morality?”

“We both know enough. No need.”

“Ha! What do you know about me?!”

Her voice sharpened with irritation.

What do I know about Wakamo?

Too much.

Her likes. Her past. Her future.

Even who she’d fall for.

But.

“Right now, all I need to know is that you’re my enemy. What else matters here?”

The rest could wait.

“Ahaha! Right, nothing else matters!”

BOOM—!

Wakamo stomped the ground, poised to lunge like a beast. Her murderous aura made me tense behind my mask.

“To the end, you’ll play the hero. Noble. Righteous. Everyone’s hope.”

“……” 

“How admirable.”

Her voice, once mocking, turned icy with contempt.

“—No such person exists.”

So you must be no different. Just another calamity in the end.

Those were the tears of a girl betrayed by many.

The lament of a student who broke.

“I see.”

So that’s why you fell for Sensei.

A man who shouldn’t exist.

A voice overflowing with love for his students.

A conviction so pure it could wash away her past.

To Wakamo, Sensei wasn’t human.

Not one of the betrayers—but salvation itself.

I understood what Sensei meant to her.

Why she obsessed over him. Why she loved him.

But.

“Then beg him for forgiveness.”

That wasn’t a reason for me to spare her.

I wasn’t here to teach.

I was here to punish.

A hero. That was my role.

“We’ll talk after this is over.”

That was my decision.