Chapter 3: Unsafe Protection【Part 2】
【言語に関するご注意 / Language Notice】本作はすべて、英語と英語の表現で書かれています。翻訳作品ではなく、オリジナルの英語ライトノベルです。あらかじめご了承の上、作品をお楽しみください。
See chapter one for the main author's note.
Renji
His smirk deflates.
Blinking, he stares down at his skates.
“Oh. These?” He rubs the back of his neck.
Zzzt-clik.
He shifts his weight. The wheel chassis hinges backward, tiling up to lock flat against his calves.
With a tongue flick he looks at us with a grin. “First-years, huh?”
“Sure am!” I pump up my fist, throwing an arm over Jiro his shoulder. “The dream team is here!”
“Well, actually—” He starts, but a wince cuts him off. Clutching his ribs, he glances at my grinning face and lets out a sigh.
“Dream team, huh?” the boy chuckles. “Well, I’m Shun. Nice work out there.”
“I’m Renji, and this is Jiro,” I say, bumping my shoulder against Jiro his side while my eye drop right back to the modified skates. “But tell me! What are those things exactly? Some kind of rocket boosters?”
“Heh.” Shun taps the side of his ankle casing with his opposite boot. “Power-assisted frames. Standard issue for patrol units.”
“Wow... where can I get a pair?”
“In your dreams, kid. Restricted to officers of the force only.”
I lean in closer, cupping a hand over my mouth. “Officers? So what are you guys? Like the campus military? Secret police?”
He leans back, fixing me with a deadpan look. “No... Just the OPB.”
I blink. Jiro blinks.
“The what?” we say in unison.
Shun pauses, his eyes lingering on our clueless expressions. “Right…”
“The Order Preservation Bureau,” he says, waving a casual hand. “Basically, we just chase down bag thieves and so on.”
My jaw drops. “An entire department just for catching bag thieves…”
“I don’t think he meant that literally,” Jiro deadpans.
“Yeah, listen to your buddy there,” Shun chuckles, flashing a wry smirk. “Clearly he got custody of the brain cell today.”
He shifts his posture, focusing on Jiro. “But seriously. You’ve got a killer sprint, not to mention a tight grip. You should consider stopping by the bureau once you get settled into campus life —we could use people like you.”
“Nah, I’ll pass,” Jiro says immediately. He looks past him, offering a subtle shrug. “You don’t get to deal out judgment without catching the recoil. I’m just here to focus on my studies.”
“Hey, I’m completely free!” I chime in, pointing to myself. “I can join right now!”
Shun looks at me with surprise before looking back at Jiro. “Well, if you ever change your mind, the offer stands.” He straightens his shoulders, facing me. “And as for you—”
“Hey, Shun! Standing around chit-chatting on the job again, are we?” A mocking voice calls out from behind him.
He turns to a student in casual clothes approaching us, walking off to join him.
“Please,” Shun shoots back, keeping his stride. “At least my job requires a pulse. I’m pulling way more weight for this school than a low-class bartender ever could.”
“Ouch!” The student stops with a smile, clutching his chest. “Right in the professional pride.”
Shun chuckles, throwing us a two-finger salute over his shoulder. “Hey, I’ve gotta run. See you guys around, okay? Try to stay out of trouble.”
We wave goodbye and continue along our path.
Leaving the central plaza behind, we enter the smaller streets.
“...the guard turns the corner, I slide under the desk, and grab the master key,” I say, gesturing wildly as we walk down a quiet avenue. “I swap my slippers for their skates, and boom! The dream team goes high-tech.”
Jiro walks beside me with his hands in his pockets. “At the volume you’re talking, the whole campus already knows the plan before it started.”
“It’s called strategizing! We have to think ahead—”
A girl steps into our path, blocking the alley walkway.
Hands tucked behind her back, she offers a welcoming smile. A small orange ribbon catches my eye.
“Excuse me,” she says, her tone sweet and playful. “Are you the people who caught that nasty bag thief at the plaza earlier?”
“The one and only!” I strike my best pose, pointing a finger skyward. “A crime was in progress, and the dream team handled it swiftly.”
She tilts her head as her eyes widen. “Wow... how brave.”
“Oh, it was nothing, just a casual day in the life of—”
“Do you want to know what happens to brave people on this campus,” her smile stays frozen, but the warmth completely vanishes from her voice. ”Who don’t mind their own business?”
My breath catches. A sudden weight settles in my stomach.
“Hm. I thought it over. Nope, I’m good!” I mutter, scrambling backward.
No such chance is given.
Bringing her hands out from her back, she flings a rope weighted at its end straight for my feet. The cord coils tight around my ankles. A sharp yank pulls the world out from under me.
Thud!
“Ow! What did you do that for?!” I yell, rolling over to clutch my stinging knee.
Before I can scramble up, she hurls the loose end to a nearby guy. He catches it in stride, snapping a painted animal mask over his face before I can see his face.
The accomplice is wearing skates.
Only now do I register his presence. We passed plenty of people on skates today so I did not think much of it, but on second thought—
Thwack!
The line goes taut.
Wind knocks out of me as my entire body jerks forward.
“HEY!” Jiro shouts, his hands tearing out of his pockets as he lunges into a frantic pursuit.
Rough concrete scrapes my stomach. I slide down the path like a sack of potatoes.
a polite giggle fades behind me.
Ssszzzrrr!
A mechanical whine strikes my ears.
Relief sparks over me—but it was not meant to last.
* * * * *
Discover what happens next in: Chapter 3: Unsafe Protection【Part 3】
Written by Limited_Infinity. Extras, official publishing platforms and updates are publicly available only on the Patreon page “_Limited_Infinity_”
To support this series, you can engage with it and rate it
* * * * *
