Chapter Text

P01C02 - V1C1E06 - Into the City of Vices

SCHALE-SRT Joint Base, April 22nd, 2021, 8:10 PM

“Uwaaaaahhh…” Hoshino yawned, stretching both her arms upwards after placing a pen and a paper. “That was the last paperwork for today. You’re done there, Yume-senpai?”

“Yes, I’m done, too. Let’s call it a day,” Yume answered, drinking a glass full of water. “By the way, I know someone who wants to meet you any time soon.”

“Eh? Any time soon? Right when it’s time for relaxing and getting ready for bed?”

That someone couldn’t be any of those fixers or part-timers. Especially not those who had recently joined the attack on the annex building. Not to mention neither of them looked like they want to make any friend with any of the Abydos students.

“Don’t worry, Hoshino-chan!” Yume reassured. “They aren’t with the part-timers and fixers from earlier, and don’t mind meeting you online.”

That was more acceptable. No sane student would go anywhere far from their homes at night unless it’s for a long haul to a faraway place.

“They better not be any of those shady adults…” Hoshino mused in a slightly sour tone.

“No, they aren’t!” Yume insisted. “They’re not even close to their 20s yet!”

“Eh… You mean they’re a student?”

“Something like that.”

“Other than that, what else do you know about them?”

“They’re a great secretary. Give them a few paperwork and they’ll get it done in less than half an hour!”

“Must be a really helpful someone out there.”

Finishing a few paperwork in that time span, while not impossible, wasn’t something Hoshino could do consistently. Could the person Yume was talking about be a very good secretary, or a digital assistant?

“Say, Hoshino-chan, she’s ready to meet you right away,” Yume notified. “Are you ready to see her?”

“Alright, let’s do it,” Hoshino answered.

As Hoshino nodded, Yume turned her tablet’s screen to face her. Inside the screen was Arona in her usual blue-white sailor uniform.

“Oh, so that's her, Yume-sensei? That's wonderful!” the tablet’s speakers let out Arona’s voice. “Good evening, Hoshino-senpai! I'm Arona, the Operating System of Shittim Chest and Yume-sensei's super reliable assistant!”

“Uhe, looks like I’m going to stay with this girl for quite a while. Good evening, Arona-chan! Nice to meet you, too!” Hoshino’s look was directed to Yume. “How could she call me her senior, though?”

“Hehehe, Arona-chan is interested to learn some things from you, so she called you that way,” Yume rubbed the back of her head.

“I see,” Hoshino directed her eyes back to the tablet screen. “The tablet’s called Shittim Chest, eh? No wonder it felt way different from Ayane-chan’s tablet.”

“Yes! I can do a lot of things Yume-sensei asked!”

“Say, how long have you known Yume-senpai?”

“I first met Yume-sensei almost a week ago.”

April 16th, the chaos in Shiratori peaked then Yume-senpai somewhat managed to calm it down before the District of Utnapishtim could collapse. And then the announcement from SCHALE was during the same date at evening.

“I can tell Yume-senpai’s gonna be busy for a while. Arona-chan, can you please look out for her if I can’t stay with her?” Hoshino requested. “Yume-senpai can be reckless, so please watch her back for me, will you?”

“Don't worry, Hoshino-senpai! I have many tricks up my sleeve to help her out!”

“Hoshino-chan, I can show you one of the tricks,” Yume added in. “Arona-chan?”

“Oh, right. Hoshino-senpai, please close your eyes for a few seconds.”

Was Arona going to teleport her or Yume-senpai somewhere?

“What are you going to do?” Hoshino gave Arona and Yume a flat look.

“I'm going to take you both inside the tablet, of course! Please close your eyes, you'll be safe, I promise!”

“Alright then,” Hoshino closed her eyes alongside Yume.

Five seconds afterwards, she could feel her consciousness being pulled into the tablet.

Shittim Chest Virtual Space, 8:16 PM

Waking up with a throbbing headache was never a pleasant experience for Hoshino, even inside what appeared to be a virtual world. The headache faded away after ten seconds, thankfully.

Looking around, she found herself inside a demolished classroom near a shore, in which Yume and Arona were also present.

“Alright, the guest registration is a success! Welcome into the Shittim Chest, Hoshino-senpai!” Arona greeted her.

Hoshino looked around for a few seconds then looked back towards Arona.

“Oya? So this is basically the tablet’s own virtual space?” She asked.

“Yes!” Arona nodded. “Technically, I can invite any student here, but Yume-sensei is the only one with full access.”

That was understandable, considering Yume-senpai’s job.

“Considering Yume-senpai, I can guess why.” Hoshino replied. “Is it safe to say you choose which student can get into this place and hear you, right?”

“Yup! Yume-sensei trusted you the most, so naturally she invited you here. By the way, we have nothing left to do here, so let’s get you two back outside. Close your eyes, please.”

Upon closing their eyes, Yume and Hoshino could feel their consciousness being pulled somewhere.

SCHALE-SRT Joint Base, April 22nd, 2021, 8:19 PM

It hadn’t taken five minutes for Hoshino and Yume to wake back up since they had been pulled into Shittim Chest. Unfortunately for the former, the throbbing headache was back with vengeance, even if temporarily.

“Yume-senpai, I can tell Arona-chan didn’t make anything up about what she can really do. How come you aren’t targeted yet!?” Hoshino broke the silence, looking at Yume.

“Hoshino-chan, to be honest… I have no idea,” Yume admitted.

“No need to worry much, Hoshino-senpai!” Arona answered. “I made sure to clean up as much of Yume-sensei's digital tracks as possible! If that fails, I have other tricks, remember?”

“Right, right.” Hoshino yawned. “Today’s been long, I wanna find a place to nap here.”

“There’s a dorm for guests next to this building,” Yume stood up, pulling Hoshino by hand. “I can take you there!”

The pink haired girl’s drowsy look diminished upon reaching the recently remodeled guest dorms.

Foreclosure Countermeasures Task Force Club Room, April 23rd, 2021, 10:24 AM

Yume sat at the table alongside the Foreclosure Countermeasures Task Force, helping them counting the cash.

“There’s a small bag containing around 100 thousand yen. Can anyone please hand it over?” She requested.

“Here, Yume-sensei,” Shiroko handed over the bag. “That was the last from Hoshino-senpai.”

“Adding that bag, we’ve got 7,883,250 yen to pay them tomorrow,” Serika noted. “Is that all?”

“Yup. I think that about covers all of it,” Hoshino nodded.

“Now that you mention it… Why do we have to pay the debt in cash? Don’t they accept credit?” Nonomi wondered out loud.

Nonomi had a dangerously reckless sense when it came to credit cards, but that was a good question.

“Yes, I want to ask everyone here that question, too,” Ayane agreed.

“It’s because Kaiser Loans doesn’t accept any form of digital payment at all,” Hoshino explained. “Now that you think about it, there’s something different in cash that they look for.”

“It’s my and Ayane’s first time and I’m getting sick of it already! Are those idiots gonna accept any digital payment next month!?” Serika huffed in frustration, to which Hoshino shook her head. “Aaaaaaargh, let’s just pack these cash up already!”

“Right, everyone, let’s pack these cash neatly so it’s easier for the loan accountants to process tomorrow!” Ayane proposed.

Because of how much attention to detail the task at the moment required, no one said even a word. Silence greatly helped the six girls in making sure they get it right.

Still, as minute by minute had passed, Yume’s mood had slowly became more sullen, only stopped by how quickly the other five’s help sped the task up.

By the time they had finished, 7,883,250 yen worth of cash for tomorrow’s payment had been neatly packed and safely stored. After a five minute break, everyone got back into their positions in the club room again.

“Thank you for joining despite the earlier errand. We’ll talk about the armored vehicles from the attacks three days ago and yesterday,” Ayane announced. “I have analyzed their remains before we started counting the cash for tomorrow’s payment. Each of all those vehicles has at least three major components not supplied by any official or legitimate aftermarket manufacturer.”

“Major parts not from any official or legitimate aftermarket manufacturer, eh…” Hoshino mused. “Putting together that many armored vehicles with them would take at least a few visits to a Black Market District. Even then, most gangster cells would rather go with old bikes at most and / or steal cars instead of dealing with the armored vehicle logistics.”

“Hoshino-senpai is right,” Ayane noted. “After tracing where the components came from with our friends’ help, it turns out that most of them came from a Black Market district right next to this one.”

“So what? We’re going there, right?” Serika asked, cracking her knuckles. “Can’t wait to teach those guys a lesson or two.”

“Yes, we’re going to investigate the district, but we can’t just get there as we please without preparing, or we’ll get into trouble,” The bespectacled elf responded. “Any idea for preparations to go there?”

Foreclosure Countermeasures Task Force Club Room, April 24th, 2021, 7:12 AM

Eyes on the front gate, Yume sat on the floor just outside the annex building’s main double door, knees on chest.

The rest of the previous day had gone smoothly, aside from the meeting.

It did not make the anticipation easier. Instead, with each passing second her heart slowly sank further.

“Good morning, Yume-sensei, is there anything bothering you?” Ayane’s voice greeted, helping her relax.

“Good morning, Ayane-chan,” she greeted back. “I’m just reminiscing the old days.”

Ayane paused for a few seconds before she continued.

“Yume-sensei… This isn’t your first time, is it?”

Yume could only shook her head.

“I see… What is it like?” The girl with glasses asked.

“Sometimes, you could only feel relief if you could pay more than usual. Other times…” Yume took another deep breath. “You just don’t know when this will end.”

“309 years of repayment schedule, at this rate…” Ayane could only silently mutter.

“Scary as it sounds, isn’t it?” Yume stood up. “Sometimes, the only thing we can do is just move forward and focus on anything in front of us.”

Yume and Ayane caught a glance of other students from Abydos approaching them.

“Yes, I understand, Yume-sensei,” The girl in glasses nodded. “Let’s meet them and prepare for the payment.”

“Good idea. Let’s move, Ayane-chan,” Yume started walking to the other four, with Ayane following behind.

April 24th, 2021, 8:29 AM

The moment Yume had been restless about had finally arrived.

A white van arrived, entering the school through the front gate. Upon stopping, two automatons exited.

“Good morning, we are from Kaiser Loans, and we’d like to process the payment for your loan,” the loan accounting automaton greeted. “Has the payment been prepared?”

Ayane stepped forth with the prepared cash.

“Good morning. Here is the cash we’ve prepared.”

“Thank you. Please wait while I’m counting the amount.”

It took six minutes for the android to count the cash by hand. Despite the automaton’s speed, however, there was only silence from Yume and Abydos students.

“A 7,883,250 yen payment on your loan, including variable and additional interests, has been confirmed,” the loan accounting automaton reported. “Paid in cash, no issues to report. Thank you once again for doing business with Kaiser Loans. See you next month!”

The two automatons didn’t waste a milisecond to load the cash and get back into the van. Afterwards, the van began accelerating almost instantly, leaving the annex building in less than ten seconds.

As the van passed the front gate, the girls walked back into the building.

“Yume-sensei, the surrounding cameras have captured the images of the van and its occupants,” Ayane was the first to break the silence, showing everyone else photos of the recent transaction. “It’s safe to say that Kaiser Loans breached the automaton exclusion zone agreement.”

“This is pretty much not the first time they’ve done it, but thanks for photos, Ayane-chan,” Hoshino remarked.

“Those people in Kaiser Loans surely love to break rules with impunity, Yume-sensei,” Arona noted. “By the way, I just got an encrypted call from RABBIT squad. Should I accept it?”

“Please do so, Arona-chan, they likely have an important information,” Yume requested before turning to Abydos’ students. “Everyone, I have a call to accept. Please wait for a few minutes.”

“Alright, stand by... They're here.”

“Good morning, Yume-sensei here,” Yume accepted the call.

“Good morning, Yume-sensei~ I just caught sight of the van that just exited Abydos' Annex Building,” Moe’s voice reported. “Safe to say, the van's owner breached the Abydos automaton exclusion agreement, so we've been tracking it since earlier this morning.”

“Understood,” Yume responded. “Is there anything else of note?”

“The van came from a Black Market district right next to this one. I think it's going back there even with a rather roundabout route. I'll keep monitoring the van and let you know in case I find something interesting.”

“That district? We’re about to go there soon.”

“Eehehe, that's daring, Yume-sensei. I hope the help from those fixers is enough. Good luck!”

The line disconnected.

“Yume-sensei, it sounds like we’re not going to that district alone,” Shiroko noted. “Who did she mean by the fixers?”

“The fixers? Don’t you mean…” Serika’s expression darkened as she began cracking her knuckles. “They can’t be the girls who attacked this place two days ago, can they?”

“Ahahaha, you’re right, Serika-chan-” Yume looked to her left as a small girl was about to crash to her.

“GOOD MORNING, YUME-SENSEI!” Mutsuki loudly greeted, being the first girl to enter the building, followed by the rest of Problem Solver 68, Karina, Eriana, Ramu, and Amarisu.

Unfortunately for Mutsuki, Yume’s durability and defense were too tough to crack. As the result, the latter was just pushed no more than five steps back.

“Looks like we came here a little early!” Karina mused as she and Ramu pushed a cart, on which laid a few large plastic ammo crates. “Good morning, Yume-sensei! The packages you requested are here!”

“Thanks for coming!” Yume started patting Mutsuki’s head. “How are you and your friends doing?”

“HUH!?” Serika could only shout. “SERIOUSLY, YUME-SENSEI!?”

“We’re doing great and ready! What about you, Yume-sensei?” Mutsuki answered, deliberately ignoring the fuming black-haired cat girl.

“I can tell today isn’t going to go well…” Ayane could only groan and grab her face in frustration.

“Uhehehe…” Hoshino could only guffaw as she looked at Kayoko. “Sorry, Serika-chan, we’re going to need the resident Black Market district experts’ help, so we’re taking them in.”

“Mutsuki, just let go of Yume-sensei,” Kayoko could only sigh. “We’re going to help you navigate through the district but-”

“First, we’re going to introduce ourselves as a courtesy to our client!” Aru declared loudly.

The next five minute passed with self-introduction, closed by Aru’s.

“You’re just four persons! What’s with these overly fancy position names!?” Serika hadn’t calmed down a bit.

Kayoko gave her a symphatetic look.

“Sorry, missy, we have a sense of flair, you know,” Mutsuki, in contrast, retorted with a smile.

“Don’t forget we have our own prestige and track record as well!” Aru proudly added in.

“That was surely earned given how many major incidents in Black Market districts just three of you got involved with…” Eriana groaned. “Is Haruka your newest member?”

“Yes, She has proven her potential as well!” Aru answered.

“U-u-um, n-n-nice to m-meet y-y-you all,” Haruka shakily greeted.

“With this lineup, we’re surely going to teach the district a lesson to remember!” Nonomi boasted, seemingly oblivious of what happened two days ago.

“Nn, but let’s get back to business.” Shiroko put the meeting back on track, holding her urge to glare. “We need to make final checks before we depart.”

Black Market District, April 24th, 2021, 10:35 AM

All it had taken for the atmosphere to start choking Yume had been merely crossing the unseen border between this and Abydos Districts. To its existence and proximity to Abydos had been harrowing, to actually enter it even moreso.

She was standing inside a store full of firearms of myriad qualities, with ammunition being openly displayed, from standard to outright exotic ones. Joining her was Aru, Mutsuki, and Shiroko. In the meantime, Nonomi and Amarisu were outside, looking out for anything that might spell trouble.

“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here…” Amarisu’s words when her group had been about to enter, had never felt this true.

Fortunately for her, none of the shop’s staff nor visitors seemed interested to talk, too busy minding their own businesses.

“U-um, how much is this assault rifle?” Aru inquired in a slightly awkward manner. For all her boasts, seemed to be doing the shy nerd act quite well.

“You meant this AUG A3 M2? That would be 50 thousand yen. No discounts since we didn’t need one anyway,” no shopkeeper in any other district had been this proud of what they had just said.

“Oh? N-no need for discount, you say? How could this place…?”

“We got a big order a few days ago. The client was anonymous, but they paid a lot of money. Some crates were lost, but almost all made it to their address. I can say these guns’ quality are unlike what you’ve usually seen in those convenience stores.”

“Ah, I see. T-thank you very much.”

“Come back here if you’ve made up your mind, girl. With a lot of cash in hand, of course,” the shopkeeper waved as Aru took steps outside.

In the meantime, Mutsuki and Shiroko were reviewing the firearm selection when Aru tapped their shoulders, which was the cue to gather with Yume.

“These firearms are of the similar models to the ones from three days ago,” Shiroko whispered to Yume as the former approached the latter.

The day where Yume had taken the girls to a treasure hunt and had come across the gun crates. Shiroko still remembered well.

“Fufufu, this store is still quite popular as ever,” Mutsuki mused, tongue out behind her mask. “That said, the competition is getting a lil’ stiff.”

“Y-yeah, some other stores are going to rival it in a few days,” Aru added in. “The store processed a large order and lost a few crates in shipping a few days ago.”

“Those seemed to be timed coincidentally well with a few crates found a few days earlier,” Ayane noted. “You should be able to see the second group at the moment.”

“We're coming out from the large gun store across the street,” Hoshino’s voice, altered slightly by radio interference, announced. “It's just as crowded as the one the first group is visiting.”

“Our shop also got a large bulk order a few days ago and lost a crate in the midst of shipping,” Kayoko continued.

“Understood,” Ayane answered. “Stay sharp, there could be more. Keep looking around while we're headed to the target.”

Across the street, Yume could see Hoshino, Kayoko, and Haruka exiting a crowded gun store. The latter three were joining Serika and Eriana, who were also looking out.

So far, everything had been working so well, especially their disguises. No one in the black market district had identified any of the group, especially any of the Problem Solvers. The fixer girls had surprisingly supported the idea, likely because them being spotted whilst working with Yume and Abydos here could spell trouble. It helped that many stores they walked past was crowded, making it easier to blend in.

The next fifteen minutes had both groups passing a small street, with Yume’s group walking ahead of Hoshino’s. Many open small storehouses at its sides were offering exotic food, rare collection trinkets, and even contraband merchandise.

Speaking of contraband merchandise, there was one selling Peroro merchandise that Yume’s group had just walked past. From there, they could hear automatic gunfire and a fight. What followed was a brunette girl in clothes that covered almost her entire body running away from a few sukebans.

“HAND THAT PLUSHIE OVER TO US!” An assault rifle-wielding sukeban “THIS IS OUR TERRITORY!”

“HAAAAAAUUUUU, I DON’T WANNA!” The brunette fled towards Yume’s group. “I HAVE SAVED FOR MONTHS TO AFFORD THIS!”

“Shiroko-chan, can you handle the Sukebans?” Yume detached a ballistic shield from its mount on her back, no longer able to hold back her urge to help the brunette. “Six of us should be enough, we’ll rendezvous with the other group later.”

“Eh?” Hoshino incredulously asked, her group about to enter the street and assist. “Alright then, we'll meet again at the second RV point. Watch yourselves out there.”

“Nn,” In a single motion, Shiroko grabbed the brunette whilst latter was still running and moving her behind Yume’s protection.

“Hey! Do you want some money? We have plenty! Just hand over the girl-” A Sukeban offered.

“Not interested,” Shiroko cut her off, firing a gray SIG 556 assault rifle captured from the helmet gangsters.

“Eh!?” The brunette could only exclaim in shock.

The chasing sukebans were put to sleep by the gunfire. In response, at least a dozen more showed up at the end of the street Yume’s group was about to head to and the nearby alleyway.

“Everyone, let’s clear out a path then escape through the alleyway!” Yume instructed before turning to the recently rescued brunette. “Can you fight?”

“Y-yes! Thank you for rescuing me!” The brunette’s right hand reached her dark gray L85A3 assault rifle’s pistol grip. “We need to get out of here soon, the Black Market Guards are going to catch us if we don’t!”

“Got it! Looks like the chaos in this and Abydos districts are almost the same,” Amarisu pulled her Mk 14 Enhanced Battle Rifle’s charging handle. “Eyes on the alleyway, but mind the enemy’s positions!”

“We’ll do as you requested!” Aru aimed then pulled the trigger of her modified FAL battle rifle, putting a sniper rifle-wielding Sukeban to sleep.

“Fufufu, looks like we get to test how well our new guns work!” Mutsuki brandished her FN Minimi Light Machine Gun with a wide, toothy grin.

“It’s punishment time~!” Nonomi rolled out a black minigun confiscated from the helmet gangsters.

The firefight lasted only five minutes as Yume’s group pushed to the alleyway as fast as they could. Yume was at the rearmost position to stop gunshots from behind, unlike when she had first arrived back in Shiratori just over a week earlier.

In the meantime, the sukebans would be forced to fend off and flee the Black Market guards, giving the distraction needed for Yume’s group to escape and hide.

Black Market District, April 24th, 2021, 11:16 AM

It was supposed to be a normal black market trip for Ajitani Hifumi, but things had made it more chaotic. It would have been almost impossible to escape that many sukebans if it hadn’t been for those six girls helping her out. Her disguise would have been outright useless.

Now that the seven girls were in a relatively secluded corner a few blocks far away from where they fought sukebans off, they could catch a break at last. The two alleyways made it easy to defend the place from.

“Thank you for saving me again!” Hifumi was the first to break the silence.

“You’re welcome!” Yume approached her before opening her helmet’s face shield. “By the way, what are you doing here?”

“A-ah, I bought a Peroro merchandise, where is it…” The brunette began searching her bag, in which a Peroro plushie was resting. Thank goodness she had time to neatly wrap it up in the midst of dealing with the sukebans.

“Well, well, well, you’re not the only one looking for such rare merchandises,” Mutsuki mused. “How much did it cost, by the way?”

“E-eh… Almost a hundred thousand yen?” Hifumi scratched her head.

“Oh!” Nonomi approached Hifumi to inspect the plushie. “This is one of the ultra rare Peroro plushies which was sold out in just minutes!”

“What!?” Yume exclaimed before scrutinizing the plushie herself. “Wait, you’re right! This one has Peroro’s voice actor’s signature as well!”

“Right?” Hifumi chimed in. “The signature was a real one, too!”

“Kufufufu, surely that plushie hadn’t been scalped, right?” Mutsuki merely giggled at the sight. “Some people love doing that for profit, after all.”

“T-that’s true…” Hifumi could only nod. “It was thrice as expensive as its original retail price.”

“No worries, Missy. Since you’ve already earned the ultra rare plushie, you’re not going to chuck it away, are you?” The white-haired small gremlin teased.

“M-Mutsuki!” Aru called out.

“Huh? Heck no! That would be a heresy to Peroro-sama!” Hifumi loudly retorted.

“Nn, looks like her group is here,” Shiroko wasn’t even bothered with the plushie nor the Peroro conversation. Instead, her look focused at the alleyway the seven girls had come from, from which five more girls came out.

“Uhe, looks like your group got a girl,” Hoshino mused. “Finally, a shaded place! Seriously, this mercenary getup is stuffy. It’s getting hot even if I’m not moving around…”

“A-are those five girls with you?” Hifumi began freezing like a deer in the headlights.

“Yes,” Yume nodded. “Don’t worry, they won’t hurt or ask anything from you.”

The introductions felt awkward as it turned out that everyone in the corner, including those from Abydos and Gehenna, had been wearing clothes not containing any school or work uniform.

“A-a-are you eleven here to e-extort me?” She trembled.

“Of course not!” The short pink-haired girl shook her head. “We wouldn’t stoop so low to rob a single person, but since my friends helped you out of the trouble, well…”

“Please! Don’t hurt Peroro-sama, I will do anything!” Hifumi begged.

“You’re beginning to bother her,” Kayoko sighed before looking at Hifumi. “We won’t hurt either of you. We’re here to investigate this district. Is there any standout place you have in mind?”

“Eto… This district doesn’t exactly have many places of interest, but it has a bank you all need to know about!” Hifumi answered with stutters. “Should I show you the directions as well?”

“We don’t mind if you jump ship at any time. Just know you have a high chance to jump out of the frying pan into the fire, though,” Amarisu nonchalantly answered, to which Eriana gave her a dirty look that she only answered with a shrug.

That was a vaguely threatening sentence. Did she mean there would be a chance of running into the sukebans without any help coming?

“I-I’ll guide you there, then!” Hifumi fidgeted before taking a step to the other alleyway. “Stygian bank is this way!”

The walk to the bank was an uneasy one. For every step she took closer, the gloom in the surrounding air only thickened.

“Why do you all want to go there, though?” Hifumi asked. “This district has its own police forces sweeping the place. The bank has its own security force which is a cut above them as well!”

“We want to get to the bottom of the criminal activities in the districts close to this one,” Shiroko elaborated.

“Oh, then you’re coming to the right place! The bank is basically behind at least 25% of this district’s economy!”

“You said this district has its own police force, not those from Valkyrie Police School, right?” Eriana took her turn to ask.

“Yes, I mean it!” Hifumi nodded. “Just like Valkyrie, they would come down and quell any chaos that comes up. But, unlike Valkyrie, they only care about crimes that can threaten the district’s economy.”

“Does it mean that this district is not managed by General Student Council?”

“This place has its own government, but it’s managed by the big banks. Stygian bank is one of them,” Hifumi corrected.

“Eh? Why doesn’t the General Student Council do anything about this?” Serika balked.

“That’s because they can’t do anything about it without raising chaos,” Kayoko took turn to answer. “Preparing to investigate it would take preparing for a possible war as well.”

“Is it safe to say the entire city is gonna get involved in that case?” Hoshino concluded.

Kayoko wordlessly let out a small nod.

After taking a left turn, Hifumi stopped then pointed at a large building. It didn’t look much compared to the ones at its left and right. However, it had more people entering and exiting it than both of the latter two.

“We’re here. Stygian Bank is across the street,” Hifumi announced, her stomach letting out a growl.

“I wonder if there’s any restaurant or food court around…” Nonomi mused.

“You’re out of luck, sadly,” Mutsuki responded. “The closest restaurant would be at least a hundred meters away and it’s a rip off. Your best bet is the nearby food stalls. Good thing there’s one for Takoyaki right there!”

Hoshino, on another hand, looked at a certain direction away from the bank and the takoyaki stall.

“Anyone wanna try out inarizushi?” Hoshino proposed, walking the opposite direction of Stygian Bank’s. “There’s a stall nearby, so let’s take a look.”

“Sounds like a good idea, let’s go,” Eriana agreed.

Hifumi, Eriana, Kayoko, Haruka, and Yume joined Hoshino in search of the inarizushi stall. Six others approached the nearby takoyaki stall instead.

“Good morning! If you’re all looking for a meal, can I interest you in some delicious inarizushi?” the stall’s attendant, a pink fox girl wearing sunglasses, offered.

Near Stygian Bank, April 24th, 2021, 12:06 PM

The taste of inarizushi brought the much-needed relief to Hoshino and five other girls accompanying her.

She was also glad Yume got to taste Niko’s inarizushi for the first time. Her senpai had been struggling to hold her shaking throughout the walk to this very spot, even if that had been hidden by her disguise clothes and tower shield.

“The inarizushi is still as good as ever,” Eriana was the first to comment. “If only I could invite the other girls…”

“Hehehe, I appreciate it, Eriana-senpai,” Niko chuckled. “By the way, how are they doing?”

“One is now a virtual streamer, three others are in civilian jobs, and the remaining four are doing security jobs.” Eriana briefly looked at Amarisu’s direction before huffing. “One of those four is with me.”

“I know who you mean,” Niko glanced at the stammering Hifumi. “Also… Didn’t expect you to tag a new friend along, senpai.”

“She’s just tagging along at the moment.”

“Oya? While things are getting crowded here? Interesting.”

“S-sorry, I was looking for a rare merchandise…” Hifumi cut in.

“It’s alright. Many scalpers target special edition merchandises. Sadly, only a quarter of such cases have been taken seriously,” Niko’s ears perked to another direction. “Is it just me, or does it sound like I’m going to serve special guests soon?”

Roars of motorcycles’ and dune buggies’ engines echoed throughout the street, followed by a softer hum of a van. Six seconds later, four motorcycles slowed down in front of the bank, followed by two dune buggies and the same white armored van from earlier this morning.

The sight of the girl with long red hair driving one of the dune buggies made Hoshino start twitching. There was an urge to grab the modified MP-155 shotgun slung on her back.

“That's the same armored van from a few hours earlier, with the same license plate!” Ayane’s voice gave the alert and distraction she needed.

“I can tell you’re gonna serve a few particularly demanding ones,” Hoshino answered.

“Hardly my first time serving such customers,” Niko giggled.

“Kaiser Loans, eh?” Mutsuki cut in. “That name sounds like an omen in itself.”

“From what I’ve heard, it is…” Hifumi shakily nodded.

The van stopped at one of the bank’s entrances with special booths and gates, after which an automatons exited it.

“That’s the same automaton from earlier this morning,” Yume gritted her teeth, trying hard to even her breathing.

Another automaton wearing a fedora hat exited the bank, approaching the accounting automaton who had just closed the van’s door. After a handshake, the two then walked into the bank as the gate opened, allowing the van to enter.

Niko and Eriana could only look at the sight in silence.

“Those guys…” Serika, on another hand, trembled, anger pulsating throughout her body. “That was the money we’ve paid earlier today, right?”

“Yes,” Shiroko nodded, glaring at the entrance.

“Now we know why they only accept cash as well,” Nonomi nodded.

“That was your money!?” Hifumi stammered, to which Hoshino and Yume gave a nod. “Is that why Tea Party and Sisterhood have been doubling down on keeping an eye of Kaiser Loans?”

“Yes,” Kayoko confirmed. “From those automatons’ manners alone, I can tell they’ve been doing this for years. No doubt they’d try and pull this off on unsuspecting Trinity students.”

“Looks like Kaiser Corporation hasn’t changed their ways at all,” Amarisu noted, tightly gripping the case containing her enhanced battle rifle. “I have a bird watching to do.”

On one side, Hifumi’s mention of Tea Party and Sisterhood could point to her being a Trinity student. On another, the sight of that van and automaton, followed by the girl with long red hair, meant one thing.

“Looks like you had a reasonable idea, Shiroko-chan,” Hoshino mused. “Still carrying those?”

“Nn,” Shiroko opened her bag’s zipper slightly, revealing eleven numbered hockey masks.

“Wait, are you all going to do it for real!?” Ayane’s panic echoed through the communication line. “Yume-sensei, please say something!”

Hoshino and Yume nodded at each other. The latter then turned to the ten other girls.

“Everyone, you’ve all seen that exchange with your eyes.” Yume announced before taking a deep breath. “We’re going to find the evidence and see how long they have been doing this. Any questions?”

It was good to see Yume-senpai finally realizing the limits of her optimism, but that came with another question. Hopefully she wouldn’t jump off the slippery slope and become much worse one day.

Silence answered Yume’s question alongside everyone except Hifumi shaking their heads.

“Understood, Yume-sensei,” Ayane was the first to respond. “Everyone, you all heard what Yume-sensei said. We're going in to find only the evidence. Please give me fifteen minutes to prepare.”

“W-w-w-what’s going on-” Hifumi looked around in confusion, only for Shiroko to fit a brown paper bag with a scribbled ‘0’ to her head.

“Sorry, Hifumi,” Shiroko apologized. “This should do as a mask for now.”

“W-w-wha!?”

In the meantime, Hoshino and Niko looked at each other.

“You’ll need the evidence, but there’s a high chance you’ll also get money,” The latter noted. “What would you do in that case?”

“No one’s taking it, that’s for sure,” She firmly answered. The debt had to be paid with legitimate means, no matter what. “Not even myself.”

“Glad to hear that, Hoshino,” Niko sighed in relief. “Go, we have your backs.”

“Hoshino-senpai, Yume-sensei, Stygian bank has robust digital security systems. I can spoof them and help Ayane out if you want to go there,” Arona’s voice buzzed through her earpiece.

“Yume-senpai, please give us your blessing,” Hoshino asked as everyone’s eyes, Niko’s included, looked at Yume’s.

Yume took a deep breath, then let out a voice.

“Everyone, let’s do this.”