Silence.
Inside the office, the cadets who could clearly see the print: "..."
Outside the office, the cadets who can't see it, but have heard about it by word of mouth, and thus have delayed knowledge of it: "..."
Even the silence spreads with delay.
Expecting Ichijō Mirai to come to their rescue, thinking rationally that it's unlikely, and somewhat reluctant that Ichijō Mirai would be implicated by them, the defeated Hashimoto Yūhito: "..."
Is it illegal to hold the chief of the detention center hostage? Yes, it is.
Is it illegal to kill the director's secretary? Yes.
Is it illegal to rob a prison? Of course it is.
This training exercise in disguising criminals is not a real criminal operation, it's just a disguise, an exercise of a somewhat unique nature.
If Ichijō Mirai had actually killed and robbed a prison with impunity, then of course he would be committing an offense.
But no.
He didn't really take anyone hostage, he didn't really kill anyone, he [Taken hostage], [Dead (throat slit)].
It's saying, "I'm still practicing.
It's a loophole. It's a loophole in the sense that you can't rescue a fallen cadet without breaking the law.
All cadets: "..."
A dead man, a hostage-taker: "..."
The silence of this moment was the silence of everyone except Ichijō Mirai.
The dead lady silently raised the printout so that the death message completely covered her face, revealing only a bit of her white neck and lipstick scratches.
"Ku-Kujō-san," Hashimoto Yūhito, who doesn't have the last name 'Inuo' but does have a canine tail, had wagged his tail wildly in emotion, "You really did come to save us!"
"Even if I'm exposed, I'll fail myself!"
He was so moved that he almost whimpered, staring at his leader with an expression that looked like it was about to sparkle.
Ichijō Mirai looked over, smiled, and held up a finger, "Shhh."
"But we cannot run away."
He softened his voice so that the cadets in the office would have to concentrate on it, "We are not 'criminals' to be crudely labeled as such, not to carry the name of 'criminals', and not to escape in disgrace."
Slippery?
Actually, everyone in the room felt less grim, and less desperate.
"We are heroes."
"Heroes who are responsible for protecting the people, who are ready to die at any time, who are destined to have a higher-than-normal sense of morality, and who will do anything to fight for what they believe is right."
Ichijō Mirai's eyes are red, with the texture of a blood moon, and they look somewhat sinister.
He curved his unsettling red eyes, "Now, there is an opportunity."
"Half an hour ago, Division One Superintendent Matsumoto organized a major operation, and due to a lack of manpower, won badly."
"For this victory, the police paid a heavy price with twelve police killed in action and fifty-four wounded, including Administrator Matsumoto, who was shot at point-blank range with a shotgun and his life was in danger."
"But unfortunately," Ichijō Mirai said with his standard smile and nonchalance, "they let the leader of one of the parties go free."
The police chose tonight because tonight, there was a deal between the blacks.
The biggest piece of evidence is the capture of the stolen goods.
Unfortunately, the police caught the murderer they wanted, but not the leader of the other gang.
Before the deal was made, the leader left, leaving behind a henchman dressed and built almost exactly like him.
Maybe he was just being cautious, or maybe he got the message.
Anyway, it turned out that one of the chiefs had escaped.
"No one would take all their men with them when making a deal," Ichijō Mirai said, still smiling, "and letting the leader go back would be like letting a tiger return to the mountain."
His eyes were still bent, "And the worst part is that he knows the strength of the police."
Knowing the predicament of the police, which had been otherwise stiffened by the arrest of the cadet, and the true strength of the criminals, which was almost too much for them to see.
Ichijō Mirai asked, "What would he do if he survived and knew that the police were in a rare state of weakness?"
Actually, not much.
At most, he'll take a little revenge, and make it clear that he's done it, and the score will be settled.
Otherwise, can we put the police out of business? It's the criminals who will be put out of business.
But the fallen police cadets, one or the other, were not familiar with professional criminals, and when they heard Ichijō Mirai's words, their hearts sank.
Director Inuo, who was familiar with professional criminals, concentrated on playing the role of a hostage, not even daring to raise his head, only daring to scan Ichijō Mirai's expression and those curved red eyes with his afterglow.
It's as if he's a real demon.
A demon that has no sincerity in his body, a sincere expression and a sincere tone of voice, and a demon that makes humans feel like counting their money after being tricked around.
He guessed that even if Ichijō Mirai said that the sun rises in the west and sets in the east right now, these fools would go 'gah? They nodded their heads in realization.
Especially the goose with tears in its eyes.
Director Inuo, acutely aware of how apt the pronoun 'Satan' really was, sensibly lowered his head a bit more to signal his silent agreement: Yes, you're right.
"I don't want to carry the name of a criminal on my back until the fifteenth day has passed, only to be given a cold 'training is over, you've passed' notice, and then meekly return to the academy to be subjected to the instructor's seemingly biased targeting," Ichijō Mirai enquired mildly, "do you?"
The instructor was targeting this year's cadets.
Any cadet with a brain that could think, or a mouth that could ask, knew it, and knew it was malicious.
That's why they're quickly coming together as a team, more than ever before.
...Although the main direction of their unity was the trusting worship of Ichijō Mirai.
They certainly don't want to be targeted.
Hashimoto Yūhito was the first to respond, "What are we going to do, Kujō-san?"
"To get rid of the leader who survived?"
He hesitated.
Not because the decision was too crazy, not in reaction to Ichijō Mirai's direct incitement, but: "I-Is it okay if we do?"
"Will it get in your way?"
It's a distrust of your own abilities.
Knowing himself well, Ichijō Mirai almost sighs with a smile, "Of course not."
And he did smile and sigh, "With me, of course not."
"I'll be in charge of this battle that can only be won, directing your attacks, dodges, advances and retreats, and all you need to do is just give up control of your bodies, give up turning your brains to think, give your bodies to me, and just listen to my commands in the headset."
"It's very simple, isn't it?"