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V2 Chapter 11: Serika’s Great Crisis
🕑 Added 2025-09-26 00:27:54 +0000 UTCInside the empty Shiba Seki Ramen shop, I worked remotely until night fell, and finally waited until Serika got off work.
I hurriedly packed my things, waved, and ran up with a bright smile.
"Serika-chan! Good evening! What a coincidence, we ran into each other again!"
At the sight of me, the fatigue Serika had been carrying drained away as if injected with energy.
"Coincidence my foot! You jerk, you were clearly waiting for me to get off work, weren't you? Gross. You are not really a stalker, are you?"
Very good, full of spirit.
"Ahaha... I guess you caught me… don't pull your gun on me yet! I'm here to apologize."
Serika scowled, glaring at me with obvious displeasure.
"I do not need your apology, I am not going to forgive you."
She stamped off with a tsundere huff, chin up and pride intact, deliberately walking around me.
The childish, petulant tone tugged at my heartstrings, and for a moment I was dazed.
So cute...
I hurried after her and fell into step at her side, laying on the sweet talk to beg forgiveness.
"Serika-chan, don't be so quick, listen to me first…"
At first Serika forced a serious face and ignored me, not even glancing my way.
Then her temper flared. She shouted, "You are so annoying, stay away from me," and quickened her pace to shake me off.
Finally...
"Boohoo, Serika-chan, I really know I was wrong."
Serika still furrowed her brow and pouted, but her tone had unconsciously softened into something like playful affection.
"Stop calling me so adorably. Who do you think you are? Honestly, sticking to a schoolgirl like this, Sensei, do you have no shame?"
I put on a crestfallen look.
"Of course I do, but if I do not get Serika-chan's forgiveness, I will regret it for the rest of my life."
"Hmph~ then? You made me angry."
"I really am sorry. Please, merciful, gentle, reasonable Serika-sama, forgive me just this once, please?"
Serika, so easy to appease, could not help but smile, clearly pleased by my flattery.
"All right. Since you said it like that, I will reluctantly forgive you. But there is no next time, got it?"
What an amusing child.
A classic tsundere like Serika, pure and kind at heart. Put down the pride, act pitiful and say a few nice things, and she lights up.
Of course, that only works because Serika already thought reasonably well of me.
Seeing her in a good mood, I planned to strike while the iron was hot and flatter her some more, building up a little more favor.
But as we reached an intersection, a dozen or so delinquent girls wearing steel helmets and carrying guns leapt out from the shadows.
More similarly dressed thugs closed in behind them and cut off our escape.
"The Helmet Crew? Their influence has spread here… wait, this was an ambush from the start!"
Serika grit her teeth, glanced at my unarmed state, and said in a low voice.
"Sensei, I will cover you. Look for an opportunity and run."
I nodded in silence. A weak me would only slow Serika down.
Then something unexpected happened again.
"Hey! You adult over there, aren't you Schale's Sensei?"
The leader called out. "What happens between us and Abydos is none of your business. If you do not want to get hurt, get lost!"
They recognized me immediately. Had they got my info through some channel?
That they were willing to let me go probably meant they did not want trouble and preferred not to attack an important figure from the General Student Council's affiliated institution.
They were not just mindless thugs.
So should I run, leaving Serika behind?
My hand brushed the small device in my bag, and I hesitated. The battery level was not high. If a firefight broke out, I did not know how long it would hold.
I was a burden, but if they were reluctant to hurt me because of who I was, maybe staying could serve as a distraction.
While I wavered, Serika exhaled with relief.
"Great, Sensei, you go! Tell Hoshino-senpai and the others. I will hold out until reinforcements arrive!"
My internal scale tipped decisively.
"…All right. Be careful."
And so I ran.
I told myself it was the right choice.
After leaving the Helmet Crew's line of sight, I quickly sent messages to everyone at Abydos.
I had only sent half of them when a violent explosion went off behind me.
My steps faltered and my face twisted.
'What if, if I had not run, those people would have held back from using heavy fire because of my identity?'
I squeezed my eyes shut in pain, and when I opened them, resolve had replaced doubt.
There was no time to look back.
I ran as fast as I could.
But a moment later my speed slowed, not because of an obstacle, but because reason suppressed impulse and took control. I realized I could do more and do better.
There was a safer way to rescue Serika.
I sacrificed speed and used my phone to launch an unmanned helicopter, hovering it over the Abydos neighborhood while I kept walking with long strides, glued to the feed from its camera.
Having Arona do it would have been more efficient, but I needed to conserve battery.
The original skirmish site was already deserted, so I extended the search range.
At last the screen revealed a suspicious dark speck.
A truck was heading down a straight road toward the sand-swallowed no-man's-land beyond Abydos.
That was it.
Even though the no-man's-land (Abydos) had no signal, knowing the general direction would suffice.
I ordered the helicopter to return to Abydos Academy, since it could not operate in the signalless zone alone.
I opened manual control and notified members of the foreclosure task force who were converging at the school.
As for me…
My destination had never been the academy.
Soon after, at the entrance to Hoshino's house in the Abydos residential area, I fixed a simple transmitter under the White Wolf's seat and calmed my racing breath.
No one could know whether the Helmet Crew would abandon their vehicle mid-route, so I planned to catch up to them as fast as possible.
Then wait for everyone's backup.
I would be the final insurance.
Ring the bell once.
I gripped the handlebars and switched on the lights.
Ring the bell twice.
I pushed the pedal, the crank turned, the chain drove the sprocket, life flowed in.
Ring the bell three times.
Both wheels spun, the engine spirit rejoiced.
The White Wolf, granted uncanny abilities by its power, moved like an extension of my limbs.
A single press of the pedal could carry me dozens of meters in a breath.
Whether on ground blown to ruts by explosions or on roads piled with soft yellow sand, it felt like riding on flat pavement.
This is the Highway-Breaker road bike.
I rode the White Wolf into the wind and sand, cutting through neighborhoods and alleyways while an image flashed through my head.
Surrounded by enemies, Serika had shown pure, unadulterated joy when she realized I could get away.
How could I betray that feeling?
Only one thought remained.
Absolutely, absolutely.
I will, absolutely, rescue Serika.
This is the fastest way to save Serika, but at what cost?
