Ch.24Wumi, Awakening

The meeting place was the park.

On the way to the park, Umi remained strangely silent. Umi… she seemed oddly uncomfortable around Taiga. Was meeting up so awkward for her?

If that was the case, she could have just not come along. I had considered that thought, but since Umi herself insisted on coming, there was nothing I could do.

As we walked to the park, slimes were wobbling around the streets. They weren’t particularly aggressive creatures, and monsters generally had a tendency to avoid attacking visibly strong humans. So we got a free pass.

‘I wonder if Umi… can see them.’

I glanced at Umi. It seemed she still couldn’t see the monsters.

Anyway, Umi and I headed to the park.

Emoshita City Park.

It was once an ambitious large-scale park project by the local government, but the plan was scrapped midway when the budget was cut. As a result, construction dragged on, and only the central part of the park was completed.

It was a testament to the tragedy of small cities always struggling with budget constraints. This game is unnecessarily realistic, I tell you.

Anyway.

Taiga and Sasitsu were there. The two weren’t talking to each other at all. Well, Sasitsu wasn’t exactly the friendly type. And Taiga wasn’t one to speak first unless the topic interested her.

Yare yare. Is it time for me, the mood maker, to step up?

“Sasitsu!! Taiga!! Let’s plaaaaaay!!!!!”

I immediately approached them while shouting at the top of my lungs.

“Stop being so loud!!”

Taiga grabbed me by the collar to shut me up.

“Shota… our Special Investigation Club is an organization that must be kept secret. We need to act more discreetly.”

Sasitsu said.

Wait. Special Investigation Club… had he already come up with a name? This cute guy secretly loves that kind of stuff, doesn’t he? I looked at Sasitsu with a smile.

“What. Is there a problem?”

Sasitsu asked, his face slightly flushed.

“Special Investigation Club!!!! You already decided on a name!! You’re really enthusiastic, aren’t you?!!”

I immediately patted Sasitsu’s shoulders.

“N-not really… I just thought it would be troublesome not to have a name.”

Sasitsu tried to maintain a cool tone. This guy… he’s really committed to his cool-but-awkward concept. I couldn’t help but respect him.

“But… who’s this? We agreed not to accept outsiders.”

At that moment, Taiga looked at Umi.

“Ah… Umi found out about it. She insisted on coming along.”

I explained.

“You careless bastard…”

Taiga glared at me with cold eyes. No way. I really did keep it a secret. Umi just found out through some mysterious route.

“Sigh… that’s problematic. We can’t involve civilians.”

Sasitsu also seemed displeased.

“Well, let’s just call it a club observation or something. She’s already here, we can’t just send her back, right?”

I said to Sasitsu.

“This isn’t something we’re doing as a club…”

“But the name is ‘Special Investigation Club,’ right?”

“Urgh…!”

Sasitsu fell silent at that.

I understand. It’s a severe case of chuunibyou. Those in the early stages of chuunibyou are simple. They just come up with cool-sounding names like “Human Complementary Alliance” or other grandiose titles.

However, when they evolve one step further, the pattern changes. They start attributing meaning to ordinary places like clubs or churches. They reach a state where they’re fascinated by the urban fantasy concept of places that are ordinary by day but secret societies by night.

That’s why they try to incorporate elements of everyday life that they would normally despise. That’s why Sasitsu deliberately included the term “club.”

I understand you, Sasitsu. I looked at him with benevolent eyes.

“That look… is annoying.”

Sasitsu said. The moment he verbally expressed his annoyance, his cool-but-awkward concept went out the window, but I decided not to point that out.

“Besides… Umi is likely an awakened one like us. She could be an asset.”

I said in a serious tone.

“Based on what?”

Taiga asked.

“Just my gut feeling.”

Of course, I had no real evidence. I couldn’t exactly explain the possession special privilege.

“This guy… talks nonsense every time he opens his mouth!!”

Taiga immediately grabbed me from behind and put me in a headlock.

Squish-!!

Due to the headlock position, I was inevitably buried in Taiga’s chest. W-warm… soft… somehow… my will to resist is fading away. Taiga… scary girl…

“G-get off!! What kind of inappropriate skinship is this?!!”

Umi, strangely angry, tried to separate me and Taiga. Umi, she’s surprisingly loyal.

“What’s it to you? In this organization, Shota is my underling. I can do whatever I want with him.”

Taiga glared at Umi as she spoke.

“Underling…”

“Should a Level 5 talk back to a Level 7?”

“No, ma’am.”

I immediately shut my mouth.

“‘No, ma’am,’ he says. Hehehehe.”

Taiga, seemingly pleased with my response, roughly ruffled my hair while keeping me in the headlock.

“U-underling… doing whatever she wants…”

Umi seemed angered by Taiga’s outrageous behavior. Oh… Umi.

“I-I’m jealous…”

Umi’s next words shattered my positive interpretation. Is Umi also a slave to the desire for power…? Ah! This cursed chain of exploitation!

Anyway, after somehow escaping Taiga’s punishment, I summarized the situation.

“Umi may seem like a frivolous girl on the surface, but she can keep secrets. Let’s just have her join us for today. Besides, she’s a pretty girl, right? It boosts morale.”

I said casually.

“Who seems frivolous on the surface?!”

Umi objected.

Anyway… it would be good if Umi awakened her abilities on this occasion. That would follow the original storyline.

“Pretty girl? Am I not enough for you?!!”

Taiga punished me with another headlock.

Crack-!!

“Taiga is super pretty too!! But the more beautiful women, the better, right?!!”

I desperately shouted while being headlocked.

“Right? I am pretty cute. Hehehehe.”

Fortunately, Taiga was easy to flatter. She immediately released the headlock and patted my head.

“Isn’t the skinship a bit excessive?”

Umi seemed displeased with Taiga’s behavior.

“He’s my subordinate. This much is natural.”

Taiga said nonchalantly.

“Shota, say something!!”

Umi turned to me.

“I’m satisfied as long as I can be embraced by Taiga’s large chest.”

I inadvertently spoke without filtering my thoughts.

“Pervert!! Go die!!”

Umi jumped up and down as she shouted.

At that moment, Sasitsu finally spoke up. This guy… he’s so quiet that he can’t join conversations.

“Quiet. The enemy has arrived. And it’s an aggressive one.”

Sasitsu immediately picked up a wooden club.

It was true.

“Grrrrrr…!”

“Grrrrrrk…!”

Monsters in the form of tin dolls approached us.

At that moment, Umi wore a confused expression.

“T-this is…”

She seemed bewildered by the sight of these unfamiliar creatures.

Ah… has she finally started to see them?

“They’re monsters. I’ll explain the details later. Let’s fight now.”

Sasitsu immediately summoned his Gladiator.

“Alright!! Let’s take them down quickly!”

Taiga also brought out Fenrir, preparing to spray flames.

“Fire won’t work!! This one has resistance to flames!”

I immediately offered advice. It’s a characteristic of a possessed person. I can’t resist giving tips.

“Huh? More nonsense?”

Taiga said that and immediately had Fenrir shoot flames. This girl… she really has no faith in me.

Whoosh-!!!

The flames from Fenrir’s mouth directly hit the tin dolls.

Of course, the tin dolls were unaffected.

“You were right?!”

Taiga was surprised.

“Hmph.”

Slightly offended, I turned my head away.

“I… I’m sorry.”

Taiga, who was surprisingly soft-hearted, apologized to me.

“Hmph.”

I kept my head stiffly turned away.

“…….”

Taiga visibly sulked. This is… fun.

Anyway, I’ll tease Taiga more later… I turned to Umi.

“Umi. You have to do it. If you can see the monsters, you should be able to awaken your power.”

I spoke to Umi in a serious tone.

The weakness of these tin men is lightning. Sasitsu could also use lightning-type techniques, but he hadn’t unlocked the skill yet. It was Umi’s time to shine.

“Power? Awakening?”

Umi seemed confused.

“You can do it.”

I held Umi’s shoulders and spoke seriously.

“……..”

Umi stared at my face for a moment, then blushed.

“Alright!! I’ll do it!!”

Umi seemed to instinctively know what to do. She closed her eyes and concentrated.

“Psycho… Robo.”

Umi uttered those words, then opened her eyes wide.

“I understand… this is my power!!! Come forth!! Cupid!!!”

As Umi’s eyes glowed, something emerged from behind her.

A mechanical-looking beautiful girl holding a bow appeared.

“Thunder!!!”

Immediately, Umi chanted a technique.

Zap-!!!

Cupid shot an arrow crackling with lightning.

When the arrow hit the tin men directly, lightning surged.

Bzzzzzzzzt-!!!!

Due to their weakness to electricity, the tin dolls all collapsed.

“Now!! All-out attack!!”

Under Sasitsu’s command, we immediately charged with our weapons.

“Kiyoooooo!!!!!”

I smashed a tin doll’s head with my iron pipe.

——–

Thanks to Umi, we were able to defeat the formidable enemies.

After the battle, Umi asked what was going on.

Sasitsu gave a brief explanation about the hidden world. Sasitsu was surprisingly good at explaining things. Due to his blunt personality, the conversation didn’t stray much.

“So… we’re trying to prevent innocent people from being harmed by monsters. I won’t force you, but you have power. Won’t you help us?”

Sasitsu asked.

In the original story, Umi, who had fallen for Sasitsu, would immediately accept… but I wasn’t sure how it would play out here.

At that moment, Umi looked straight at me and asked a question.

“Shota. What would you like me to do?”

Umi asked.

Well… is the ball in my court now?

“It would be great if Umi joined us!! It’s reassuring!! And with your outstanding beauty!! You’re like Athena, the goddess of war!!!”

I immediately responded to Umi with half sincerity, half flattery.

“Well… then I’ll join.”

Umi said, twirling her hair and blushing slightly.

And so, Umi awakened her power and became our comrade.

The four-person party was complete.

It was fortunate that the party formed at this timing.

‘Soon… it will be time for the dungeon to appear.’

I cast my gaze across the street.

There, a castle with a twisted appearance had appeared. That was the first dungeon we needed to conquer.