Episode 152: Investigate! The Secret of Group Brainwashing!
“It’s over…! I’ve completely gotten myself into trouble…!”
Ryuko, collapsing to her knees and placing her hands on the ground, lamented.
For some reason, Ryuko just seems to fit this kind of pose.
Beautiful Girls shouldn’t have clouded expressions—so why does she?
“Why did it come to this!? My elegant day off…”
Right now, we’re hiding in a certain place in the tourist district.
Deciding that flying would only make us targets, Ryuko had us land and stay hidden quietly on the ground.
On the rooftop of a building, inside the wings of a dragon, we exchanged glances as we were deep in discussion.
“Ryuko, please try to be quiet…”
“No worries, no worries. Baltius is in Invisible Dragon Mode right now. We can’t be seen by those around us. So, let’s lament all we want!”
Saying this with an almost reckless tone, Ryuko gave a thumbs-up.
Her bloodshot eyes were somewhat frightening.
“Now, let’s organize the situation. I apologize for dragging you into this, but you two are probably involved in an incident related to this girl.”
With that, Ryuko placed her hand on Rei’s head.
“Hey, don’t touch me so casually!”
“Candy?”
“Touching is fine.”
She already understands how to handle things well.
Ryuko opened her mouth resolutely.
“Actually, this girl is a clone of a certain S Rank individual.”
“Eh!?”
Toa seemed unaware until now.
She probably thought of Rei as just a cute little girl.
This is my chance to show off my intelligence before anyone else.
“…I kind of suspected it. There aren’t many Explorers who can handle this much ice.”
“Kei sure is smart. That’s right, this girl is a clone of Reiko Hyououdou. And I was in the middle of a mission to stop this cloning project.”
With a serious expression and a hint of pride, Ryuko made the announcement.
What—!?
“A clone…this child is…?”
Toa looked at Rei in disbelief.
Rei, on the other hand, continued licking her candy without a care in the world.
How cute.
“Clones…interesting, so that’s a thing too?”
Don’t say ominous things like that.
We’re being serious here; why are you so focused on exploring genres?
“S-Rank clones might be an effective method against calamities. That’s all I thought.”
Sorry, I’m the one being unserious.
Seriously sorry.
“The concept of Solciera hunting down and killing her own misused clones…good…Could you make a pained face while asking to be killed? Spontaneously fall into self-loathing and apologize while vomiting?”
Give me back my apology.
Besides, why assume misuse from the start?
At least use it effectively.
“? Isn’t Solciera’s mental torment being effectively utilized through this?”
Would you stop showing glimpses of madness occasionally?
It’s really scary.
“Originally, someone from Ariannrod was supposed to come to protect her…but it looks impossible now. It seems someone has already taken action.”
“So, what do we do?”
“Ryuko, I’m out of candy.”
“Here’s chocolate.”
“Oh! Ryuko carries a lot of sweets! Let me give you my highest praise!”
“Yeah, yeah, thank you.”
As Rei started eating the chocolate, Ryuko quietly peeked down from the rooftop.
“Do you remember the scene earlier? Everyone there had turned into enemies.”
“So, does that mean everyone there was bad?”
Shaking her head, Ryuko replied,
“No, not the ones behind it. They were normal until halfway through. That’s why we let our guard down. No, maybe we were lured in. It was…yeah, closer to brainwashing, I guess.”
While saying ‘lacking personality,’ this capable presence remains impressive.
She calmly assesses the situation; truly worthy of S-Rank status.
“That level of brainwashing must involve some trickery. I think this is related to it.”
Saying that, Ryuko took out a crystal.
The cold, ice-like crystal, small enough to fit in her palm, was sharp.
Getting stabbed by this would hurt…
“Hmm, I can make these too.”
After seeing the crystal, Rei casually created an identical one while eating her chocolate.
“This…was this also made using Rei’s abilities?”
“I infused it with a trace of freezing power. One stab should be enough to freeze the target.”
Rei said this nonchalantly.
This is ridiculous stuff being circulated.
“So that’s why you tried to stab me earlier…Everyone there had one of these. Being there would’ve been dangerous. Haha, there’s nothing left to do but laugh.”
Ryuko laughed weakly.
Where did the dignity of S-Rank go?
“Ryuko, what will we do next…?”
“Hmm, first, I want to figure out how they’re brainwashing everyone. If they can brainwash that many people, there must be some common factor. Something more inconspicuous than this crystal…”
Saying that, Ryuko looked down at the pedestrians from the rooftop.
Next to her, Toa mimicked her by poking her head out.
“Hey,”
Toa suddenly exclaimed, noticing something.
“Um, isn’t everyone wearing bracelets? The kind with crystals embedded in them?”
Surprised by Toa’s words, Ryuko looked up.
“Eh, can you see them!?”
“Yeah…is that strange? I can see them all from this distance.”
Perhaps due to her long-distance capabilities, sharp vision might be necessary.
Toa’s eyesight is strong, huh.
“Wow, amazing…I was about to give up and head down to the ground.”
Seeing Ryuko genuinely surprised makes you question if she’s really S-Rank.
Even now, she’s protecting us with this stealth dragon capable of concealing our presence, yet her greatness doesn’t quite register.
“Those bracelets were being handed out everywhere. I saw it happen.”
“Is that so? I didn’t notice. How about you, Kei?”
“I didn’t notice either.”
Because I was watching Toa in the first half and ogling the increasing number of Beautiful Girls in the second half.
“My goal this time was food tourism, so I wasn’t interested…but receiving one of those might lead to brainwashing.”
“For now, that possibility seems high…Alright.”
Nodding, Ryuko stood up.
“I’ll go ask where those were handed out. If there’s someone nearby distributing them, I’d like to rough them up a bit first.”
““Eh?””
Faced with our stunned expressions, Ryuko was enthusiastically stretching her shoulders.
“Alright, lend me your tail, Baltius!”
“Wait, wait, wait! Eh, ask who?”
“The people below.”
“That’s impossible! We’re being chased, right? If we’re spotted, we’ll be captured!”
Toa shook her head frantically, pleading desperately.
As for me, I stayed silent.
That’s because Ryuko knows it’s possible.
“Don’t worry, Toa. Right now, I’m practically a hollow shell. In this form, I oddly go unnoticed. I think you two will become unrecognizable if you separate from Baltius too.”
Saying this, Ryuko smiled.
That’s right, when she’s accompanied by Baltius, her presence becomes incredibly faint.
Other S-Ranks can recognize her as an exception, but others won’t identify her as Ryuko.
This is due to Baltius’ special nature, but that’s beside the point right now.
More importantly, Ryuko is about to set out.
Everyone, let’s cheer her on!
You can do it!
“You can do it!”
“Eh, are you really going…? Kei, what should we do?”
“If Ryuko says she’s okay, we have no choice but to trust her. Since she’s S-Rank, her word is trustworthy, I believe.”
Hearing my words, Toa reluctantly seemed to agree.
Just then, Rei, who had been eating chocolate until now, grabbed Ryuko’s arm.
Her expression was serious.
“Don’t worry, I’ll just be gone for a little while.”
Ryuko said this while patting her head.
Then, Rei said this:
“Vanilla, chocolate mint, strawberry please.”
“Ah…so it’s an ice cream order, huh…?”
Realizing she wasn’t worried, Ryuko slumped in disappointment.
An awkward silence filled the air.
“Okay, alright. Then I’ll be off! See ya!”
Attempting to forcibly change the atmosphere, Ryuko shouted and grabbed Baltius’ tail.
Without waiting for our response, she dove off the rooftop.
Baltius’ tail stretched like rubber, stopping perfectly just above the ground.
Ryuko landed without any issues.
No one paid attention to Ryuko, who had just appeared after diving off the rooftop.
None of the surrounding people recognized her as Ryuko.
Ryuko gave us a peace sign from the rooftop and headed toward the people wearing bracelets.
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ni hyōi tensei shita ore wa TS o akiramenai, かませ役
