“Hello.”

“Good morning.”

The next day. After getting dressed, we all went down to the hotel lounge and found Ohta waiting for us along with other Igasek personnel. I made an action plan last night and sent it to them. I’m grateful that they responded quickly and assembled an escort team to accompany us even on such short notice.

“Sorry for the unreasonable request.”

“It’s our job after all.”

Ohta was wearing work gear today. In other words, he wasn’t in a business suit. Instead, he wore gear fit for special security personnel. Specifically, he was equipped with a lightweight combat armor and helmet.

But what’s up with that? His light combat armor and helmet’s designs kinda felt like they had a subtle ninja motif, and the helmet even came with something resembling a menpo mask with that iconic scowl…… As I thought, are these guys really ninjas?

“In total, there are twelve of us that have been dispatched. There will be four accompanying you, and another four will be acting separately but will be ready to quickly offer support in case of an emergency.”

“What about the remaining four?”

“They will act when an opportunity to launch a counterattack against the enemy arises.”

I see. Eight of the twelve will focus on defense, and the remaining four will be in charge of offense. I’m not sure if this arrangement was the most ideal, but I won’t voice any opinion on the matter. After all, stuff like this was better left to the pros.

“However, I must say…… That’s quite an impressive lineup, sir.”

“Please just leave it at that.”

I cut off Ohta who was smiling wryly as he looked at Mimi and the others. I get what you’re trying to say man. Mimi, Elma, Mei, Tina, Wiska, Kugi, and Dr. Shouko. All of them were beautiful young women who gave off different impressions.

“Well, uh, I merely meant to express my admiration.”

“Should I be thanking you then?”

I’m doing well because everyone was supportive and tried their best to get along with one another, but if that wasn’t the case, then my mental health would probably be in jeopardy due to too much stress. I think Mei actively working to balance everyone’s relationships was a major help in keeping things as they are. I really owe her too much.

However, I couldn’t exactly tell because they were all wearing helmets, but it felt like the Igasek personnel were looking at me curiously. Or rather, it felt like everyone in the lounge was paying attention to me due to Igasek’s presence. It was a big group of twelve people including me, and the four Igasek members were dressed in eye-catching professional gear, so we really stood out.

“It wouldn’t do us good to cause even more commotion, so let’s go ahead and get out of here.”

“Understood. We will guard you all from an appropriate distance.”

After saying so, Ohta and his men left the hotel lounge first. Guarding us from a distance huh? Well, I and the girls are also making sure to keep our vigilance, and the mystery party would probably find it hard to make a move with eight security personnel keeping an eye out.

“If this ends up as just a baseless worry, then it would really be a stupid joke.”

“Didn’t you go to this extent because you thought that isn’t the case?”

“Your intuition is a little too accurate to be dismissed as paranoia after all, Hiro-sama……”

Mimi and Elma, who have been with me the longest, had already half-resigned themselves. For them, it was almost certain that a mystery party was targeting us, or rather, me.

“Uh, wouldn’t it be better to just turn back and stay in the hotel room?”

“I ain’t too hot on shoppin’ fer clothes myself, but we should really do somethin’ about yer wardrobe, Doc.”

“Since it’s Big Sis saying so, it sounds a lot more convincing.”

Tina and Wiska were standing on each side of Dr. Shouko who was hunched over and looked pretty listless. It was a heartwarming sight for sure, but there actually weren’t that many who can resist being pulled by two dwarves. Perhaps even nobles who’ve undergone body strengthening would find it difficult to resist the two tiny powerhouses.

“Huh? Where’s Kugi?”

“It looks like she’s already heading outside.”

Following Mimi’s line of sight, I spotted Kugi’s back as she went out of the hotel. She seemed to be paying attention to the surroundings with her ears pricked up on top of her head. And it looked like Mei was also with her.

“Are they conducting advanced recon or something……? Anyway, let’s get outta here as well.”

“Yes!”

After giving a quick glance toward our escorts, we stepped outside of the hotel, with Tina and Wiska dragging Dr. Shouko along.

“Hm…… Things are pretty quiet today, huh?”

“Yes, My Lord. I do sense traces of probing from time to time, but other than that, it is the same as usual.”

“Right. I guess that’s not surprising.”

We really stood out from the rest of the crowd after all. Leaving me aside, all the girls were quite eye-catching. That’s especially true for Kugi who had a pretty unique appearance.

There were some ‘beastfolk’ among the crowd who looked like bipedal lions or tigers, but besides Kugi, I wasn’t able to spot other folks who looked almost human apart from animal ears and tails. Maybe those characteristics are unique to the people native to the Holy Vuelzarus empire. Well, they may not be a common sight in this empire, but maybe they were a lot more present in other countries?

“Let’s get this over with quick, Hiro-kun. If I can’t escape such a troublesome matter, then it’s better to get it done as soon as possible.”

“It would be better for you if this ended early huh?”

I sent Dr. Shouko, who was steeling herself, a lukewarm gaze. After all, it took Mimi, Elma and Chris a lot of time to finish choosing my outfits back then. The number of our members has grown since then, and we were also heading to a large establishment that was packed to the brim with fashion and apparel-related shops. So I don’t think she’ll get her wish anytime soon, but…… Dr. Shouko might end up throwing a tantrum if I told that to her straight, so I decided to just keep quiet about it. Also, that particular shop was located there too. Y’know. That shop.

“It won’t be good if we dawdled too much, so let’s get going.”

“Yes! I’ll lead the way!”

After saying so, Mimi started walking ahead while holding her tablet terminal. Mimi was in front, while Kugi and I followed behind. Elma followed after us, with Tina and Wiska dragging Dr. Shouko trailing behind. Mei was at the very back of our group.

“Our escorts are keeping a respectable distance from us, My Lord.”

“Yeah.”

They were hard to make out in the crowd, but four presences were paying close attention to us. They were moving in pairs of two. It seemed that the furthest pair was changing their position often as they followed us down the street. That looks like a lot of trouble.

“They seem to have it hard……”

“It does seem pretty tough……”

However, there were no signs of them standing out from the crowd. They remained pretty inconspicuous. ‘They really are ninjas, aren’t they’, I inwardly thought as I and Kugi followed behind Mimi.