Ch.149[Chapter 149] Tank Union

Office of Senator Big Muscleman, member of the Tanker Union.

Senator Muscleman was wearing a neat suit while polishing a trophy with a cloth.

This golden trophy, which showed Senator Muscleman displaying his healthy teeth with a bright smile while striking a double biceps pose, was the reward he received for winning the natural division of a bodybuilding event.

Muscleman was looking fondly at the life-sized trophy.

Just then, a sheet of paper shot out from Muscleman’s fax machine.

“…?”

Although fax machines were relics of the past in the highly technologized Gachaland, this one had been placed here at the whim of his nephew who was nearly the same age.

Senator Muscleman pushed up the glasses perched on his nose with his finger as he approached the fax and picked up the paper.

As he read the contents written on the paper, Muscleman’s eyes widened in surprise.

“…Is this true?”

Muscleman wondered if he might be wandering in a dream right now.

That’s how shocking the contents written on the paper were.

…

“…Who is that woman?”

On one of the utility poles outside Gachabucks.

A ninja appeared there… specifically, Kunoichi Hime.

She was biting her nails while looking through the clear glass windows of Gachabucks at Sir Dominic chatting amicably with women.

Yes, women.

Sir Dominic was at Gachabucks with not one, but two women.

She couldn’t tell what they were talking about, but the atmosphere didn’t seem bad at all.

Why was Hime watching Sir Dominic from here?

It was a coincidence.

For Hime, the previous “date” had been close to a failure.

Although she had performed splendidly alongside Sir Dominic, she had failed to improve their relationship.

Upon realizing this fact, Hime had shut herself in her room and spent days complaining to her attachment doll, Usagi-san.

Hime’s father, Musashi, had visited and offered some advice, but Hime remained unmoved.

‘How about getting some fresh air?’

That was what Hime’s mother, Ichiko, had said when she couldn’t bear to see her daughter like that anymore.

The fact that her mother, who had infinite affection for her daughter, would say such a thing showed just how much of a mess Hime was in.

Hime must have also thought her state was too unsightly, as she nodded at Ichiko’s suggestion.

And so Hime went downtown.

Was it because she hadn’t been out in a while?

The world looked beautiful, and the air she breathed was fresh…

The change of scenery seemed to be working.

“I should have come out like this earlier.”

Hime smiled as she walked down the street.

She would look around the shopping district, stopping to browse items that caught her eye, and buying delicious-looking snacks to try.

And when she was pleased, fox ears and a tail would pop out without her realizing it.

As Hime was finding peace of mind this way.

Hime thought it was time to eat lunch rather than just snacks.

Not only was it that time of day, but it was unlikely that a kunoichi with high activity levels would be full from just a few… no, a few dozen street foods.

Hime clutched her hungry stomach and headed to her regular restaurant.

“…The line is too long.”

A popular restaurant in front of the card pack exchange.

It was a place that specialized in inari sushi, which Hime had recently become obsessed with.

Normally there would have been a seat or two available, but today there were so many people that she would have to wait in line.

Hime thought for a moment and then left.

She was too hungry to wait.

Back on the main street, Hime bought five chicken skewers as a quick fix and was about to pay when she froze in the act of handing over the money.

“…Sir Dominic?”

She quickly scanned the crowd, looking for the person she had just glimpsed.

And finally, she saw someone who appeared to be Sir Dominic passing by.

…No way. But still…

Hime’s mind became complicated.

But her gaze was still directed toward Sir Dominic—

“Here’s your change.”

“…Ah! Yes! Thank you.”

Hime’s thoughts were interrupted by the vendor’s kind words.

After receiving her change and five chicken skewers, Hime immediately wolfed down all five skewers and left the empty sticks behind.

Finding Sir Dominic was now more important than her hunger.

Hime made her way through the crowd on the main street, heading in the direction where the person presumed to be Sir Dominic had gone.

However, since Hime wasn’t particularly tall, her field of vision was very limited.

But who was Hime?

She was a kunoichi, wasn’t she?

In an instant, Hime kicked off the ground, soared into the sky, and landed on a building rooftop.

From there, she carefully observed the people passing by below.

In the distance, she could see someone with three-colored feathers walking.

Judging by the brown hair, knight’s attire, and shield… it was definitely Sir Dominic.

Ah! As soon as Hime recognized Sir Dominic, she broke into a bright smile.

Her ears and tail, which had appeared without her noticing, swayed gently.

Suddenly, Hime remembered some advice her father, Musashi, had given her.

‘If you give up after one failure, you’ll never get what you want. Just as you wouldn’t give up on a tree after hitting it once and not felling it, there’s nothing you can’t accomplish if you try ten times, a hundred times.’

Yes. Hime had failed on the previous date.

So what?

As her father said, if she tried ten times, a hundred times, she would succeed at least once.

With that thought, Hime sprang from her position and leaped toward where Sir Dominic was.

“Sir Dominic—”

Hime was about to greet Sir Dominic, pretending it was a coincidence, but Sir Dominic wasn’t there.

Instead, what Hime saw was Sir Dominic entering Gachabucks with a woman.

And to make matters worse, a moment later, another woman dressed as a maid sat down in front of Sir Dominic!

Hime’s expression changed to something so malevolent that no rakshasa, asura, or yaksha would dare to compare.

Who on earth were these women, and why were they chatting so amicably with Sir Dominic?

Why on earth was Sir Dominic smiling with such a bright expression?

No, that’s not right.

Hime’s expression softened to one as gentle as Buddha’s.

Hime, are you going to fall for it again?

Are you going to misunderstand again and cause trouble for Sir Dominic like last time?

Hime tried to calm herself down.

However, she couldn’t completely calm her mind, and a devil and an angel remained to whisper softly in her ears.

Look at that. Sir Dominic is with a knight again? And even with a maid this time?

The devil whispered.

I know. With a maid there too, could it be a one-on-one? Or perhaps a young lady from a wealthy family?

The angel whispered.

Wow, look at that beauty. Young, beautiful, and even strong…

Hime raised her head at the devil’s whisper and looked at Pandemonia.

Half of her was covered in pus and plague, but from Hime’s angle, she looked relatively normal.

Yes, that’s right. Sir Dominic is a man too, wouldn’t he choose someone even slightly more beautiful?

The angel agreed with the devil’s words.

It was truly a situation where one couldn’t tell who was the angel and who was the devil.

However, when both the angel and devil spoke so negatively, Hime’s mind actually became clearer.

Yes. These whispers stem from my misunderstanding. Otherwise, why would both of them be so negative?

Hime had barely calmed her mind.

But then something happened that reignited the fire in Hime’s heart.

“Th-th-that…that!”

Hime pointed at Sir Dominic and Pandemonia.

Pandemonia reached out and caressed Sir Dominic’s cheek, and then their faces overlapped.

From Hime’s position, she could only see Pandemonia’s back, which made it look even more like… they were kissing.

After their faces had been overlapping for quite some time, Sir Dominic and Pandemonia moved apart again.

Pandemonia’s face was flushed bright red, as if on fire.

Hime’s face once again transformed into something more terrible than any rakshasa, asura, or yaksha could ever match.

…

“First, I want to apologize—”

“Wait.”

Sir Dominic was about to politely express his refusal, but Pandemonia interrupted him.

“There’s something that’s been bothering me.”

Pandemonia’s face moved closer to Sir Dominic’s.

Pandemonia was suffering from a serious illness, so her eyesight wasn’t very good.

Especially at times when her vision suddenly worsened, like right now.

Pandemonia’s face scrutinized Sir Dominic’s face up close.

And finally, she nodded.

“It has the same feeling.”

“…What do you mean?”

Sir Dominic questioned Pandemonia’s statement.

“The inside of your eyepatch. It serves a similar role to my mask.”

“I thought you were wearing it as a fashion statement,” Pandemonia chuckled.

She had quite a self-centered personality.

Just then, Pandemonia’s vision suddenly returned.

And she realized that the distance between her and Sir Dominic was much closer than she had thought.

So close that their lips would meet if they moved just a little closer.

Of course, this was an optical illusion caused by her disoriented sense of distance as her vision returned, but Pandemonia suddenly pulled her head back and blushed.

This was the first time she had looked at a man this closely.

Even though her vision had been impaired.

“I, you know I didn’t mean to, right?”

“…Mean to do what?”

Sir Dominic genuinely questioned Pandemonia’s statement, not understanding.

This was how misunderstandings bred more misunderstandings.