When he woke up, he was lying in a hospital bed.
His ribs are believed to be cracked or broken, as his chest is held in place by a corset. Chatting with familiar voices from next door. There is one familiar face and two familiar faces.
Yumio immediately understood the situation he was in.
"Are you finally awake? How long do you think you slept?"
Takahiko, who was sitting on the bed next to me in his pajamas, called out to me.
"It hasn't even been a day! It's said that he has two broken ribs."
Mika told me what she wanted to know before Yumio asked.
"It's too strong to be a rubber bullet. I was surprised when I shot it. Ah, Yukioka was there until just now, but the boss of Hachiku's rest was also hospitalized at this hospital. I'm going to use him as a toy. So, I took that guy and quickly returned to the research institute."
Makoto said while peeling the skin of an apple.
"It was not necessary for us to crush it, but it was like Junko-chan handed over the guidance to the broken bamboo rest. Hahaha."
The moment he laughed, the bow man felt pain and frowned.
"Shin is so good at rounding up Junko! At this point, you won't be used as a test subject!"
"I don't know."
Hearing Mika's words, he expressed his sincere thanks with a bittersweet face.
"You look like you're not convinced."
Makoto holds out a plate with an apple on it to the bow man.
The person who sent him to the hospital came to visit him like this, and in the end, Yumio received the plate with mixed feelings when he was handed an apple peeled. Moreover, the opponent is a younger child as an added bonus.
"I have no choice but to convince you, this. Normally, I would have been killed, but I was saved after being beaten by some sweetie."
Although he said so, he was a bow man who was thinking about the opposite in his stomach. I will make you regret helping me someday.
"It's true that I didn't have enough power right now." It was his first painful defeat. But he survived so it's still possible. A being that plays with its own destiny on a whim should never be allowed to live.
I don't want to live the rest of my life in a state where I don't know if his actions are his own will or Junko's will. I might be happy if I don't think too deeply about it, but I absolutely couldn't forgive the bow man.
However, it seems that she can actually see through my own thoughts. They must have helped me knowing that.
"In a sense, you may be much purer and have a stronger sense of justice, but that naivety is dangerous, isn't it? In my experience, such people die prematurely. Yes. Well, it's much dirtier where you can't see it, because you have to make sure you don't die first."
"It's unexpected to be called lenient, but I have absolutely no intention of losing to anyone, and I intend to survive, so even if I'm lenient, there's no problem."
Expressionless, but the light of conviction in his eyes sparkled as he affirmed the truth, and Yumio couldn't bring himself to deny it out of his head. The bow man also knew that such enthusiasm was absolutely necessary in this world.
In addition, considering the boy's extraordinary ability, I can't help but feel that it is realistically possible.
"Besides, I've seen dozens of allies of justice created by Yukioka, but I felt like you and Mika were a little different."
"I'm glad!"
Takahiko made fun of him after receiving his true words.
"Haaaaa~...Takahiko really wants to connect with you."
The bow man artificially sighed deeply at the excessive persistence.
"You used to look down on yourself as a hypocrite, but if you really were a hypocrite, wouldn't you fight a battle that looks like you can't win?"
Yumio was taken aback by this truthful remark.
"I didn't need to go out of my way to pick a fight with Yukioka by saying that I was going to break the curse. But you couldn't overlook Yukioka, so you went out of your way to step on the tiger's tail.A hypocrite wouldn't do that.That's because you're an ally of justice in the true sense of the word."
"Ummm, even if you say that directly from the front. I'm so embarrassed and I'm at a loss for words, this."
The archer's eyes were watering with a wry smile on his face.
To be honest, I was really happy with that point. He is right. If you want to be treated like a hero and be flattered, and continue to maintain the peak of your life, you shouldn't take on any dangerous battles.
However, there is no such calculation in the bow man. To be precise, it is not possible due to the character of the bow man. Whatever evil is in front of him, he cannot retreat. Even if he loses everything, he can't help but stand up.
The current Amano Yumio is made that way. He spent five years on the battlefields of the world, and that's what happened.
"However, it's strange. Why is a good girl like you hanging out with Junko-chan? What's more, it's a game?
Immediately after I asked him to hide his embarrassment by forcibly changing the subject, he noticed that Mika gave off a very disgusting aura.
The bow man immediately understood what it meant. Takahiko seemed to understand, too, and he smiled.
"I see, I see, that's what it is."
"Is that so? Yes, I understand. Yeah."
"What is that?"
At the grinning Takahiko and Yumio, Makoto let out a displeased voice.
"But what will happen if I try to stop Junko-chan's evil deeds? For example, even if I can interfere well, she's still a mad scientist, right?"
"Until you give up and change your mind, you just have to poke it as many times as you want. Then I'll train you. That's why I'm on his side."
His voice was still lacking in intonation, but the bow man could hear it as if he had a strong determination. Although he is sweeter and more naive than I had imagined, he actually has the power and strength to get through it.
"Should I leave it up to you, this? If you manage to get Junko-chan to change her mind, I won't have to try to break the curse on her."
"You can leave it to me. You can rest assured and work hard at another revolution in another country."
Leaving that behind, Makoto left the hospital room.
"A child who thinks Mika-chan is pitiable~?"
Mika glared at Takahiko, who raised his hand with an inside-out voice, with eyes full of anger.
"So what are you actually going to do?"
Takahiko asked when Mika had also returned.
"It's just as I said. Let's leave it to that girl. If Junko-chan targets me again... at that time, I will fight back as hard as I can. Yeah."
"Ah? Is that okay? It doesn't look like you."
Judging from Yumio's personality, Takahiko had thought that he would aim at Junko again as soon as he was fully recovered. He meant to ask how.
"That girl bought me and did her best to help me. I thought, of course, I want to finish it with my own hands."
"Is it ugly for the loser to struggle?"
"In addition, it seems that the possibility is higher for that child than for me."
"It's frustrating, but I have to admit it." In the first place, the fact that even if you lose, your life is still saved, it's an impossible story in this world, so Yumio decided to close the curtain on this matter.
＊＊＊
Fukuda wanted to smile wryly at himself, who had gotten used to the dramatic change in the environment in a few days, but he couldn't.
"Fukuda-kun, aren't you holding back just because you're a newcomer? "You should show yourself more here!" 』
"Ha, ha..."
"It's not surprising that I am as strong as Sakaguchi."
"You... why are you citing me? sweet bean? "Are you jealous of my recent achievements!" ? 』
The brains in the glass containers that surrounded them were screaming loudly with artificial voices today as well. Fukuda was annoyed when he first arrived, but he gradually got used to it.
(I'm also a strong person, but these three are not me, they're me...)
Thinking that, Fukuda was somehow afraid of letting himself go halfway.
"Yo-ho, the four of us are going to take the professor, shall we have tea time in the afternoon?"
The door opens, and Junko and Makoto, a boy with blond hair and green eyes in a kimono he's never seen before, and a person familiar to Fukuda enter the room.
"eh? "Boss..."
Fukuda muttered involuntarily.
The person who brought the tray with the teacup on it was Daisuke Kura, the former boss of Hachiku's Rest. His expression is very dark and sunken.
"Ah, Mr. Kura, this is Mr. Fukuda."
Junko pointed at the brain floating in the central container.
"What a terrible figure... I can't say anything about other people either."
"nothing? "What the hell is this rude person?"
"You're a newcomer, but you're impertinent"
"We are transcendental beings who have discarded unnecessary parts of our bodies. An ordinary person would probably be able to understand it.』
The brain-only mad scientists who received Kura's words were indignant and triumphant.
"Well then, Kura-san, please."
"Understood"
After bowing respectfully, Kura took out mineral water and drank it all at once. Furthermore, when I thought that I threw a tea leaf into his mouth ... ...
"Funnooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!"
Leaning forward and holding on tight, he let out a groan with all his might. His face literally turns bright red, and white steam erupts from his mouth, nose, and ears.
After about a minute, Kura picked up three teacups and
"Ugeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Spit out the boiling liquid from his belly toward the teacup.
"please"
"Arigatosamamama"
Junko smiled as she received the tea cup that was offered to her by the storehouse, and drank the tea deliciously.
"please"
"Hey... what is this?"
Instead of accepting the tea that was offered to him by the brewery, Makoto turned to face Junko and instead of her usual expressionless expression, asked Makoto with a clearly stunned expression.
Kura let out a small sigh and handed the teacup to the remaining blond boy.
"What, as you can see, it's a human teapot. Mr. Kura, you said you were going to commit suicide, so I asked you to accompany me in my research. And it was a great success, so I hired him at my house."
"As expected of you, Yukioka-kun, turning a human into a teapot! "I admire that extraordinary idea!" 』
"Hmm, we're losing too."
『Hohohoho, what an elegant style. Which one would you like to have a cup of?』
Fukuda felt uneasy about the brainless mad scientists who praised them unanimously. I wondered if there was a promise that Junko would have to praise everything she did here. Or, if she was here, would her thought process naturally become like that? Scary either way.
"Haa... Will I live here for the rest of my life doing this job..."
"Isn't it an easy job if you divide it?"
Makoto said to Kura, who sighed deeply, that he didn't care.
"Hmm, if you want to work somewhere else, I think it can't be helped, and I won't force you to do it. I think there are ways to make the most of that power." -The human experimentation is repeated, but after I finish remodeling my body, it's up to the person himself whether or not he can further evolve the power he draws out. If you're going, you don't need to be here, and I'll support you."
"How do you make use of it? It will only be a one-shot performance. So you want to sell it?"
For a moment, Kura sees a vision of himself appearing on a TV program as a human teapot.
"By the way, why did Yukioka-kun make you become an ally of justice after you blossomed your test bench abilities? 』
Fukuda asked a question.
"It's simply because it's easier to evolve that way. I can tell at a glance whether it's for heroes or monsters.It's not just about good guys and bad guys.Well, there are a lot of people who refuse transformation suits, after all, Mika-chan and others. Like Yumio-kun, there are many times when I settle down to help out."
"You're lucky if it's judged to be suitable for monsters. And who is he there?"
Kura turned his gaze toward him. Considering that he's an exclusive assassin, I think he's a favorite with considerable power, but he doesn't look like a hero of justice either. Also, even Makoto occasionally made remarks that didn't like Junko's behavior, which was questionable.
"I'm not a test subject for Yukioka. He said he doesn't need supernatural powers or body modification. It's just purely honed strength and technique. Besides, if I'm in the position of serving this guy, I'll be even stronger. I think I can polish it."
"That's what it's supposed to be, and the real intention is to protect me by my side, so what a pain."
"It's true that it's for training."
Expressionless, Makoto twisted Junko's nose from the front and picked it up.
"Also, it seems that this guy's goal is the evolution of mankind, but I want to prove to him that even if he doesn't force himself to evolve through remodeling, he can grow stronger through effort. I will change my mind soon."
(Are you serious?)
Hearing Makoto's words, everyone except Junko thought so, but for a moment it sounded like she was joking or being sarcastic, but Makoto was staring at Junko with a determined gaze.
"I'm also looking forward to it. The time will come when you will produce results in a way other than what I show."
Junko stared at Makoto with a genuinely happy smile. Looking at Junko and her true state, Kura and Fukuda, who had only been to the research institute for a short time, felt like they had caught a glimpse of their feelings.