The amount of times in which Taiyou had met Sakura was so little that it could be counted with his five fingers, furthermore the duration of time in which they spent together is to the extent of putting some hot water into a Cup Ramen and waiting for it to fully cook. He had not really known her for a very long time, however Taiyou felt that he had a connection with her to a certain degree.
She was not this kind of blunt/snappish woman, at the very least, she was usually a lot more composed/calm.
That was the reason he was looking forward to conversing with her, however, she was like a completely different person, it couldn't be helped that he held a bit of doubt and disappointment.
「Taiyou-chan, Taiyou-chan〜」
Seeing the hesitation in Taiyou's eyes, Hera gently whispers quietly into his ears.
「It's not the time to be thinking such things desuyo〜. First of all we need to solve the problem with the girl's 〜」
「...I suppose so」
Taiyou rearranged his thoughts and mutters in a whisper that could barely be heard. After that he one again faced Sakura's direction, and continues to point out his demands.
「I'll ask one more time, the girls....The Hayakawa triplets, I want you to stop pursuing them as some kind of research object」
「I refuse」
She flatly and straight forwardly declined.
「Then allow me rephrase my question, Who should I talk to...No, who has the authority to negate the decision? Who is the person in charge? 」
「It is I」
「...…In that case, what is it that I have to do to convince you? 」
「...」
Sakura was silent and did not answer. Taiyou couldn't really say for sure if what she said was the truth, but, he understood that she was the one in charge of the operations.
「Shirokiyami」
「I understand」
When Taiyou calls out her name, she advances a step towards them, and she takes her fighting stance with the sword she pulled out of her skirt.
The sword is sheathed and put back into its scabbard, her body is inclined forward and she takes on a position that Taiyou has seen previously.
It was the Iai technique, this was the word that came into his head as he saw her stance.
「I never expected, that you would become our enemy」
「I am....A pro, as long as someone, pays」
「It's my mistake to have discontinued the contract, however」
As she said this, (Click), she clicked her fingers together.
When she did, as if acting to her click, the black clothed men around her all took out their weapons one after another.
Just like that, it would seem that various firearms were pointed at us.
Rifles, Guns, Sub-machine-guns, Shot guns, Military Assault Rifles, Large scale machine guns (fixed type), even a rocket launcher was taken out.
「Aren't you exaggerating the situation a little?!」
Taiyou let out a vigorous retort that made his voice crack, however, Sakura had a blank expression on her face.
「『Shirokiyami』is our opponent.....Shoot」
Almost without any warning whatsoever, Sakura issued orders to begin shooting.
Taiyou was surprised.
However, in the next instant, his body moved by spinal reflex and it bypassed his brain. He gripped the slender arms of Shirokiyami, and threw her away backwards.
Although she was petite, she was a full-fledged 16 year old, 140 centimeters tall woman. Even if the weight was not something excessively huge, it was a decent weight of a person.
And Taiyou was able to easily fling her away.
Shirokiyami, was fluttering about in the middle of the air, and she had an astonished/amazed expression.
In the next instant the earth shook.
Guns, rifles, short machine guns, rocket launchers, shot guns, assault rifles and Gatling guns…
Various firearms were all fired simultaneously towards Taiyou, and total destruction ensued.
It was the kind of barrage that could only be seen as overkill if it was to be used on one man, if it was any normal living thing, the thermal power and destructive power of such a barrage would definitely cause a person to be grinded to dust without an exception.
However, there was an exception.
As the volley of attacks is stopped, the smoke/dust begins to clear away gradually. The ground which was relentlessly bombarded should have been gouged out——however in the center of the explosion, Taiyou was still standing there alive and well.
Not to mention his body, even his hair and clothes were completely unharmed.
Looking at such a spectacle, Sakura and her gang of black clothed men could only stare in fright/astonishment.
「Y, you….What is happening? 」
「I've said this before but, if you want to defeat me then you better be prepared throw a nuclear bomb」
「Tha, that can't be…..」
Looking at such a ridiculous spectacle Sakura was at a loss for words. The people who actually fired the shots (black clothed men) showed a different reaction. Originally the firearms they held within their hands, gave them an absolute sense of power and security. The moment that such an absolute existence is denied, what grasped into their hearts was instead the feeling of fear.
「F, fire!!」
「Uwaaaaaaaaa!」
「You monster!」
They lost their senses due to the fear/panic and they let out a second volley of attacks almost instantly.
Just like the first time, they aimed at Taiyou's general location accurately...however, the fact that it was completely useless against Taiyou was once again clarified.
When the smoke clears up, Taiyou was as per usual flawlessly unharmed. In order to produce an even more overwhelming sense of futility, Taiyou squatted down in that location.
This was very effective, an absolute sense of despair sunk into the black clothed man and seeing the calm appearance of Taiyou, the men began to run away and disperse like a spider's children.
Most of them ran away but, there was a couple who remained to stay.
Their expression were still ruled by fear, however they held it down, and they stepped in front of Sakura as if trying to protect her. (Illustration: Come At Me!)
Though the majority of them still held up their firearms, about two people threw away their guns and pulled out a knife/dagger.
Taiyou hesitated.
His only skill was "Long range immunity" that was it. In other words, if it was just bullets or even cannonballs being shot at him he could remain completely calm, however if the opponent was holding a sharp blade, this logic no longer applied to him.
In addition, if you were to exclude his only ability so far, he was in fact just a normal high school student. The possibility of him winning against the men whom held weapons.....there is no guarantee that he will be able to defeat them without getting stabbed.
What should I do…..Just as he was thinking this?
「Ah....」
Taiyou was able to perceive something from the corner of his view.
Far away from Sakura's location above the skies, something bright and white was floating in the sky like a harvest moon. It was like the rabbit that lived in the moon, a white shadow. (TL: The Moon rabbit in folklore and it is a rabbit that lives on the moon. Based on pareidolia that identifies the markings of the Moon as a rabbit)
「Shirokiyami」
Her name slipped out of his mouth. Before he was aware, the white girl explosively leaped from the back, and like an angel she swooped down gracefully.
「Free Style 『Reverse-Heaven Wandering Bird』passes by」(TL: 「自在流,『逆天の流離るり』,まかる通る」if anyone can help me get a better meaning, that would be awesome. 逆天 can also mean "Against the Gods" just like the title of my favorite novel, maybe "God-Slaying" can be used as well)
Unlike the way she would normally pronounce her words, the name of the technique she called out was awe-inspiring.
Shirokiyami flew right into the midst of the enemy's camp and began to cut down everything in her sight with the national treasure 『Reverse-Heaven』 (Against the Gods: name of her sword). In the blink of an eye the remaining men clothed in black were all cut down by her sword.
The event doesn't even pass a minute, Taiyou could not even comprehend what she was doing as it all occurred so fast. The only things displayed to him was a glint/flash of moonlight that shone in his eyes, and the black clothed men who fall noisily to the ground one after another in less than a breaths interval.
The type of technique she used? He had absolutely no clue.
「With this, it should cover.....My wag-es」
Shirokiyami points her sword at the scruff of Sakura's neck, and looked at Taiyou in her usual expression.
It was an expression that asked him, "is this good enough?"
「...You, are amazing」
「I'm...A pro after, all. I will work, for my sala-ry」
「Is, is that so? Come to think of it, the thing that was said before—-」
「Taiyou-chan, Taiyou-chan〜」
He was about to ask Shirokiyami a question, but Hera suddenly whispered in his ear.
Taiyou was about to be derailed from the objective and Hera was trying to remind him of what was important, he "thanked" Hera with his gaze and he strengthened his resolve as he faced towards Sakura, who had a sword on the scruff of her neck.
「With this it has been decided, right? Now, please promise to withdraw taking any action against the girls」
「Even if you do this kind of thing, it will not have any meaning」
Sakura didn't answer with a 「yes」or a「no」.
「What are you talking about? Weren't you the one in charge of the operations? 」
「Yes, I am the person in charge. 『Site/location』, Although I am only in charge of the dirty work」
「What do you mean?」
「If you say it in a single phrase, I am a replaceable existence, above all the plan which has been set in motion cannot be stopped even if I were to die, that's the kind of meaning it has 」
「In other words–」
「Ahh〜, does she mean that she is a chief clerk?」
Hera instinctively let out a few words in his ear. He didn't really grasp the meaning behind her words when she said that she only had authority at the site/location, however when she mentioned that she was only a chief clerk, he understood immediately.
The fact that someone of a clerk status could not really effect the decisions of a company, is something that even Taiyou. Who was a high school student could easily imagine.
This was Taiyou's blunder, he was seeing things only in the way that he wanted to.
He gave the person known as Junishima Sakura a high evaluation of his own accord, and (Taiyou thought) that amongst her own organization, she would be quite important in terms of her position, being able to hand down orders and such.
This was totally unrelated to how it actually was. Taiyou was at a loss for words, and he was confused as to what actions he should take from now.
Even if he could fling a girl the same age as him tens of meters away, or even if he could withstand a bombardment of heavy firearms, after all in the end he was just a high school student.
The ability to make informed decisions and more importantly his experience were overwhelmingly insufficient.
Therefore, he could not think of a method to break down the problem into manageable pieces. Even the mind that was supposed to be more calm the more he is in a pinch, did not work as he would have liked it to.
In the midst of his despair, Shirokiyami, fired out a few striking words.
「I have…..A method」
「What is it?!」
Taiyou grabbed at her words of hope, it was as if he was stuck in hell and there was a single strand of spider silk dangling in the air that could pull him back to safety.