“Manager, just toss these guys outside for now. I’ll take care of them later. They were probably deceived into thinking this was just some simple part-time job, and most of them probably brought these things without knowing anything,” Myuhi said.
It was unthinkable to be so naive in this day and age. Maybe they just lacked consideration, or maybe they were just never exposed to this side of the world, but regardless, they sorely lacked the awareness needed when dealing with a job that involved a famous person.
Thinking about that actually put Myuhi in a bad mood, perhaps because she understood how dedicated Monica was to her job.
“Y-Yes, I understand. You, take them to the bus and keep an eye on them. When they regain consciousness, question each one separately!”
Unaware of Myuhi’s internal thoughts, Teresa, realized the gravity of the situation, and she started issuing instructions to her subordinates.
They quickly went into action and took over what Myuhi was doing, retrieving and moving away all the people and objects that Shinichi had marked.
Myuhi had been instructed not to stray too far, so she returned to Monica’s side, but at the same time, she found it odd how efficient and practiced these people were.
Then something else caught her eye.
“Huh, Songstress-san?”
The person she was supposed to be protecting suddenly moved on her own.
Shinichi’s audacious actions had revealed the gravity of the situation at hand. There was no telling when or where something might happen, so Myuhi just positioned herself next to the songstress and kept a watchful eye out.
She could tell where she was headed, but she just kept quiet for no particular reason.
It definitely wasn’t because she found it interesting. Probably.
“You damned brat!”
“Wah!?”
Monica stood behind Shinichi and, without so much as saying a word, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. She lifted him up as though she were dealing with a misbehaving pet.
Shinichi was crouching on the ground searching for something, so when Monica grabbed him, a look of genuine surprise surfaced on him.
But Myuhi was even more surprised because he actually failed to avoid Monica or put up any semblance of resistance.
“Can you not approach from my blind spot? It freaks me out.”
“The one freaking out here is me! I get you have your reasons, but couldn’t you have said something first!?”
Monica scolded him rapidly while pointing all around them. Many of the people around where still too shocked to move, remaining in a state of confusion and awe.
The songstress clearly wanted him to do something about the atmosphere he created, so he spent a moment thinking about it, then out of consideration for her, opened his mouth.
He looked around him and said, “This is an unannounced emergency investigation, so behave yourselves. If anyone so much as makes any unnecessary moves, we will judge that you have something to hide, and you will be dealt with promptly.”
Shinichi said those words flatly with a serious expression and a somber tone. For a moment, silence filled the place, then gasps almost loud enough to be mistaken for screams resounded.
To that, Myuhi could only look up at the sky, while Monica clenched her fists, veins popping on her head.
“Who asked you to threaten them!?”
“Who threaten who? I was just asking them if they had information to share.”
Monica complained, but Shinichi just looked at her like she was dumb.
Monica could see Shinichi’s face, so she knew that he meant that, but that was exactly why this situation made her head ache so much.
“Why can’t you talk with them properly? You spoke perfectly fine when you were the kids!”
“Getting physical is more effective with adults.”
“That just sounds like you can’t be bothered to talk to them!”
“Ahaha.”
“You, Brat! At least deny it!”
Shinichi laughed, devoid of remorse, and Monica held her head as though she was being assaulted by a terrible migraine.
She felt like yelling at him, but it was probably pointless.
“Just come clean already! You’re real purpose here is actually to destroy my reputation, isn’t it!?”
She couldn’t be faulted for thinking that way, but that took Shinichi completely by surprise.
“Destroy your reputation? Me?”
“You do realize that the one who hired you is me, right? If someone like that went around threatening everyone, then obviously my reputation is going to take a hit! I need everyone’s help to make my concert a success, and yet you’re one-sidedly turning everything upside down!”
Shinichi’s eyes swam at that, and for a considerable amount of time, silence flowed.
“…I see, I didn’t consider that.”
Then for some reason, he nodded with admiration.
“Why?”
Monica dropped her shoulders in disappointment, and Myuhi patted her on the back in a display of empathy.
Shinichi looked apologetic, but he nonetheless took advantage of that opening to run away and destroy the sensor interference devices buried in the ground, then he kicked the man whose hands were dirty from the soil.
Monica and Myuhi obviously heard the commotion, and as a result, felt their head aching even more.
“Sigh, I might as well ask. This isn’t the only place you have to check, is it?” Monica said.
“Yep, that’s right. I’m going to be making rounds, so you…” Shinichi said.
“No, take me with you too.”
“Hah?”
“Monica!?”
Teressa wore a look of disbelief, but Monica just leisurely laughed.
“I can’t rehearse under these circumstances anyway, and you have to isolate and monitor the ignorant ones yourselves, so it would be better for me to accompany him until then,” Monica said.
Teressa could only groan in response to that. They indeed lacked the hands to deal with all the people that Shinichi would be dealing with.
“But then it will be dangerous if we find someone who’s seriously after you,” Shinichi said.
“Didn’t you say you’d protect me? You gave your word, so take responsibility, you brat,” Monica said.
Monica smiled fearlessly as though she wouldn’t allow Shinichi to back out now. The sight of that put a smile on Myuhi.
“She’s got guts,” Myuhi said.
“Nah, this isn’t guts, it’s something else. It doesn’t matter, I guess,” Shinichi said.
Shinichi could tell from her eyes that this was something else, but in the end, he decided not to say anything and just shook his head. He looked at Teressa without any expression.
“I’ll let you off for now. It’s normal for you guys to have communication devices and self-defense weapons, after all,” Shinichi said.
“…Should I thank you for that?” Teresa said.
“No. What was your name again, Belinda Berlitt?” Shinichi said.
“───” Teresa said.
“─────Her name is Teresa Maddox,” Monica said.
“Sorry about that. I’m bad with names,” Shinichi said.
He shrugged his shoulders and apologized. He was actually talking normally.
However, Shinichi and Myuhi didn’t miss how her subordinates reacted when her name was mentioned.
“Oh?” Teresa said.
“I’ll say this in advance, but I have no intention of working with you. I won’t antagonize you either, but if I judge you to be in my way, I will remove you. Be sure not to deviate too much from your original job,” Shinichi said.
“Hey!” Her subordinates said.
“I understand. I’ve made plenty of mistakes, so I have no right to argue,” Teresa said.
Her subordinates didn’t seem to like that, but Teresa raised her hand to quell them down and just nodded to Shinichi.
Not a hint of that emotional woman in the waiting room could be seen on her, only the face of a warrior concealing things that couldn’t be yielded.
“But of course, should you act in away that puts Monica at risk, we will also move to expel you. Please understand,” Teresa said.
“I’ll try not to test your patience,” Shinichi said.
“…That doesn’t sound reassuring, but okay. Also…”
“What?”
Shinichi looked surprised, and Teresa avoided his gaze as she struggled to say it.
“At the very least, please decide on one face.”
Shinichi and Myuhi’s constantly changing face not only made identifying them difficult, it was also unsettling, so Shinichi and Myuhi sincerely agreed.
“Is that fine?” Teresa’s subordinate said.
Shinichi transformed into a typical Japanese male, blending into the crowd effortlessly, while Myuhi turned into a black-haired cat-eared beauty.
Teresa had returned to the waiting room when someone asked her that.
She just gave a bitter nod in response.
“Well, there’s really no other choice. We relied entirely on the sensors, and just one shield had rendered us useless. To eliminate the threat, we have no option but to use them. Being on their side is the safest bet!”
To be safe, Teresa would keep one or two people watching them, but the thought of having to rely on them still made her grit her teeth.
They didn’t intend to be negligent, yet their failure to maintain security was still shown to them in the easiest way possible.
It was so bad that they couldn’t even joke about it.
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