Chapter 175: Underground Great Cavern (1)

This town’s investor, and the chairman of a large company Japan is proud of, Tomioka Seijiro.

Prompted by him we rode the car, and just like that were about to enter the hotel we went to eat with Leas and them a little while ago. Locus Amoenus Tomioka.

Re-entering the hotel we headed to on foot by riding a black-painted luxury car. I got a bit tense.

No, more than that.

"Ah... that, I dirtied, sorry."

"Fumu? Aa, I do not mind. Please relax. Vigilante."

Even if said so I confirm the seat I sit, and inside become "hie" at that far softer than the dorm bed being super wet. Will I not get a compensation claim later? Really fine...? Would it not be better to mimic human from now and pull out the juice component...?

There is wine or something and glasses too, but what should I do with this? Should I drink? Is there that kind of manner of rude if not drinking...!?

"Uwaa, amazing! Riding this kind of car is my first time! Is it fine to drink the ones here? No, I am a minor so I cannot drink alcohol."

"Aa, since sending you all of course I have also prepared non-alcohol drinks. Is there any request?"

"Thank you! Frankly I do not understand this kind of thing at all, if something sweet and delicious anything is fine!"

"Fumu, then I will have it prepared."

Adaptability!

I shudder at Knuckle making noise kyai-kyai while sinking her body into the fluffy seat. What is this guy, scary...!?

Toward shuddering me Arrow glares half-lidded while entrusting her body to the soft seat.

"...Calm down Atel, you have been suspicious in behavior from just now."

"Wh, where is the evidence I am suspicious in behavior...!?"

"Is that tone not the evidence, is even the mental small fry? Zako zako zako."

Damn, I cannot talk back...!

Because Knuckle is having non-alcohol sparkling wine or something poured by black clothes and making a fuss.

Somehow while trying to enjoy the aroma by rotating the glass, "Nn, as I thought I do not understand! As expected me, commoner tongue!" she laughs and starts drinking like juice. Too normal operation I almost grow grass, but from tension the throat pulls and voice does not come out...!

At that state of mine Arrow laughs in a mesugaki style.

No, wrong?

The tone is precisely mesugaki style fanning me, but what is floating on the expression is relief from the heart.

What to say, a feeling of thinking good I am pathetic.

Faster than me thinking suspicious asking, the car stops in the garage.

Already arrived. Thinking that I almost float my waist, and gatan the ground shook.

The ground sinks. No, wrong. It is carrying the car like an elevator, down, down.

Apparently a hole closed overhead, for an instant leaving the light in the car it becomes pitch black, and light turns on all at once.

What peeks from the gaps of the elevator of sturdy-looking iron frames though crude is a great cavern.

I do not know whether they deliberately hollowed or are using a place that was originally there, but in a space large like a dome many people are seen working.

A group arming like a special unit, the figure of scientists in white coats researching some shining crystal-like things, a cafeteria that would be a rest place for those kinds of people.

Yes, this is precisely.

"S, secret base...!"

Certainly many scenes of Sacred and Tomioka talking I remember had a background like some base.

But I do not know a talk of this large-scale facility. At most I thought the inside of some building.

Whether not depicted because unrelated to the main plot, or only me skipping reading. Well either is fine! I stick to the window and peek at the scenery below.

A large-scale base hidden underground. Somehow with only that the feeling is fulfilled...!

A non-everyday space hidden in facilities like school or museum has romance with only that. Is there no robot? Does a super-evolved bullet-train robot not come out...!?

"...Hey, Atel who was rigid until just now suddenly has pupils shining. In the physical meaning."

"No no Arrow-senpai, a secret base is romance, romance. I also super understand the feeling of rejoicing and I am also super fun! When I first entered the hidden training facility near school too I super raised tension and made Leas-senpai draw back... ah, and Atel-san’s eyes shining is a common thing. In Monster Villain fights or such."

Toward the noisy Sacred I turn my gaze to the window "a?" and become startled seeing the red eyes peeking from the gaps of tentacles shining ran-ran.

Who is this creepy one. It is me, this creepy one.

I calmed a bit. At the same time the red pupils that were shining ran-ran also return to usual.

I let out a breath relieved, but immediately think "wait?"

Come to think of it original CG Monster Villains also had eyes shining in ero scenes. Probably when emotions rise the eyes shine.

And that. Shining in Monster Villain fights means in other words...

"...N, naa, Knuckle, I want to hear a bit."

"Panty-shot Monster Villain fights or such eyes were sparkling? Or the mirror Monster Villain fight when about to have a mirror thrown at Saber-senpai, a bit sparkling matter?"

"Infringement of freedom of the inner heart!"

Not a lie detector but an excitement detector, precision high!

But it cannot be helped. Of course I help and work hard fighting, but ending up thinking I want to see erotic figures too is a man’s nature.

Thus what to say. I do not want them to sink, but I want to see heavily damaged images, I want them to do energetically and fun, but that is that I want to worship skin-color component...!

That kind of excuse passes the throat and reaches the mouth and almost rides the tongue. I gulp.

"No, that... really sorry, until now too, from now on too..."

"Ah... well, as long as you properly fight, I do not mind...?"

Toward me lowering my head with full power Knuckle answers while averting her gaze as if troubled.

"And see, you do not do blatant imitations like ’uwaa my hand slipped’ while making eyes shine, Atel-san. Therefore well... r, reacting is, because a man it cannot be helped, that way."

"Ah... no but, in the panty-shot Monster Villain fight I also eagle-grabbed Saber’s butt, there was..."

"A, ah... there was. But that, you were quite seriously flustered, and before touching eyes were not shining. ...Several seconds after touching a bit shining was that, but well un, accident so safe, maybe?"

And.

Placing one beat she smiles nikori.

"I will not give up on a person who has fought together until now with only that."

Of course I think a bit more how, maybe, but.

Those words and smile full of trust are a bit heavy.

"...Even saying that I unlike you lot am not fighting holding a great ideal."

Therefore I end up averting my gaze. As if saying I do not have a vessel of a degree to receive head-on.

Actually the reason for fighting differs between Sacred and me.

Ally of justice someone and ally of justice Sacred, them who want to save an unspecified many and me who thinks of wanting to save a specific someone, what to say at that point the loftiness of ideals or such feels different.

"Ee...? Me and Atel-san, is it that different a thing?"

Toward me self-mocking it seems like victim delusion even to myself Knuckle said.

Without bracing, without keeping up, with raw words ’there is not that great a difference between myself and me’.

"Of course I am fighting ’for someone’, but what comes to mind at that time is school friends and teachers, clerks of shops I often go to. Of course I hate even someone I have never seen getting hurt, but the most hateful is a nearby someone getting hurt is natural, right?"

She does not intend to put superiority or inferiority on lives, but prioritizing thinking of someone beside is natural.

With a face of seriously not understanding the meaning why holding guilt at that kind of thing Knuckle talks.

"Of course I do not know how senpai Sacred everyone are thinking, and maybe fighting with some amazing logic I do not understand well, but at least I am thinking the extension of nearby people is ’someone unspecified I should protect’. That area, Atel-san too is so, right?"

Not that great a guy. I almost reply that, and the figures of Niekawa or the chairperson bunch pass my head.

Since those guys are ordinary humans there is no reason for me who called myself ally of justice Sacred to mind.

Of course there is also the aspect of having to protect to maintain Sacred’s mental, but even if there was a timing fine to abandon, can I abandon?

Impossible.

Even if I convinced those guys dying and Leas not grieving, I myself cannot allow abandoning those guys.

That is, why?

Toward confused me Knuckle directs a gaze like ’why do you not understand even this kind of thing? Are you an idiot?’

"In the first place if wanting to protect only Sacred, if doing only ally of justice Sacred in the literal meaning, there is no reason to respect Saber-senpai’s way or such. As Arrow-senpai said, because justice is justice there are limited things that can be done. I think a dark-hero route doing shady things Saber-senpai and them cannot do can contribute more to combat."

If to protect Sacred better to act in the shadows like a dark hero and behave viciously taking distance.

Maybe antagonized by Saber or Knight, but even they would not try to hunt a dark hero to the point of leaving people they should protect.

And yet Atel Octo chose the path of coordinating with Sacred.