Chapter 211: Girls Bravely Battle Robbers, Only to Put the Hostage in Peril (Patreon)

On the surface, everything looked perfectly normal.

But the moment one of the "staff" stepped into the cargo compartment, he suddenly spun around and pulled a pistol with a silencer out of his coat.

A savage grin hung at the corner of his mouth.

Bang—

A muffled shot rang out.

One of the armed police officers dropped on the spot, blood spreading across the ground beside the truck.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

The other two officers went pale. They flicked off their safeties and swung their submachine guns toward the compartment.

The man who had fired didn't panic in the slightest.

"Cut the crap."

"Get moving."

The words had barely left his mouth when one of the officers abruptly turned his own muzzle and shot his partner dead.

Once that was done, they quickly pulled on hoods and began stripping the officers of their gear.

Just then, a woman with a black stocking pulled over her face as a disguise walked around from the front of the truck.

Two more bodies lay sprawled on either side of the vehicle.

They were the cash truck drivers.

Masami Hirota saw the dead officers on the ground, and her face darkened at once.

"What are you doing?"

"Why did you kill them?!"

"Hahaha, come on, lady, don't joke around."

"We're robbing a bank, and you're still playing the saint?"

Masami Hirota clenched her teeth.

They were already dead.

Whatever she said now would mean nothing.

So all she could do was swallow her emotions and urge them on.

"Enough talk."

"Hurry up."

"We don't have much time."

The three of them started hauling out the cash, box after box.

None of them noticed what was happening across the street.

A girl with short golden hair, wearing a distinctive red-and-gray uniform, was walking by.

She was looking down at her phone with a drinking straw between her teeth, the picture of carefree leisure.

But the instant the gunshot rang out, her ears twitched.

Her gaze landed squarely on the cash truck.

"Wow."

"Robbers this high-end still exist these days, huh?"

She quipped lightly, but her movements were startlingly fast.

She shot forward, ignoring the angry horns of the cars on both sides, and vaulted the median guardrail in a low crouch.

In under ten seconds she had appeared near the scene. She stood and looked up at the criminals at work, her tone even a little polite.

"Um—"

"Would you mind not doing this kind of thing?"

The golden-haired girl looked as if she had come out of nowhere.

That vivid gold stood out sharply against the tense scene, like a light that didn't belong yet couldn't be ignored.

The three robbers froze for a moment.

The next second, without hesitation, three black muzzles snapped up in unison and pointed straight at the girl's forehead.

"Heh, looking to die, are you?"

"Blame yourself for sticking your nose in!"

"Hey, she's just a kid..."

Bang—

Bang! Bang! Bang—

The gunfire exploded, numbing everyone's eardrums.

Four bullets flew out one after another, as if tearing the air itself.

Eerily, the girl only swayed lightly, like a shoulder tipping in the wind.

She tilted her head.

The bullets grazed past her hair, lifting a few golden strands, and finally clattered onto the pavement behind her.

The scene froze as if someone had hit pause.

"Hey there, mister."

The girl put her hands behind her back, her eyes curved in a smile, her tone as light as casual chatter.

"That's dangerous, you know."

The moment she finished, she stepped in close.

Her palm shot upward.

The gun in the robber's hand was knocked clean out of his grip.

Right after, her elbow drove in, too fast to follow. The big man grunted and staggered back several steps, nearly landing on his rear.

"Who are you?!"

Masami Hirota's expression changed sharply.

Her eyes flickered as she sized up the situation, and then she pulled back without a moment's delay.

Another robber saw his partner being pinned down. The flesh on his face twitched, and he raised the submachine gun they had taken from the police.

"Let's see you dodge this time!"

Rat-a-tat-tat—

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat—

Fire spat from the muzzle, the bursts as dense as tearing cloth.

The crowd screamed in terror, covering their heads and scattering, shoes scuffing in chaos on the ground.

The golden-haired girl twisted around, her slender body darting nimbly behind the cash truck.

A storm of bullets slammed into the thick bulletproof glass with a harsh metallic ringing.

Clang, clang, clang—

Sparks flashed again and again.

By the time the magazine ran dry, the robber hadn't even caught his breath, and the girl was gone.

A moment later, she appeared on top of the truck.

The wind lifted the hem of her skirt. She held a strangely shaped handgun in one hand, and the smile in her eyes had gone cold.

"I'm Chisato, you know."

"Once you're locked up, remember: next time you try something rotten, you'll bump into me again."

Bang! Bang! Bang—

Three blank rounds fired in succession.

The robber had just reached for his backup pistol when the weapon was shot from his hand.

More rounds struck his chest and throat in a row.

The force of the impact turned his vision black and buckled his knees, and he nearly passed out on the spot.

Chigusa leapt down from the roof of the truck.

She looked in the direction where the last robber had fled, and her brows drew together slightly.

She raised her gun again, meaning to put the man in front of her out of action first, then chase down the other.

But right then—

"Conan—what are you doing here?"

Not far away, Conan, who had been hiding behind a car, went completely rigid.

Damn.

That was too loud. He'd been spotted!

A chill ran down Conan's back, and his body stiffened.

Chigusa turned her head too, looking toward the voice.

The thug who had been knocked down first seized on it like a last lifeline.

The instant Chigusa's attention slipped, he rolled and lunged.

One hand snatched up a gun.

The other clamped tight around Conan's neck.

"Freeze!"

The moment the cold muzzle pressed against Conan's forehead, everyone around finally reacted.

"Conan!!"

Ran's face drained of color, and her scream was thick with tears.

Chigusa swung her gun around almost at once and aimed it at the thug.

"Freeze!"

They both shouted it together.

But the thug's smile only grew more manic, like a cornered beast, his eyes shot with red.

"If you catch me, I'm finished."

"I'm not about to eat a bullet, so you understand, right?"

"I'll do anything to get away."

He pushed the muzzle forward again.

Conan's forehead throbbed where the barrel jabbed it.

The arm around his neck kept tightening.

"I know you're good at dodging, and bullets can't hit you."

"But can you stop me before I pull this trigger?"

He bared his teeth in an ugly, savage grin.

"And there's no way that gun of yours is loaded with live rounds!"

Chigusa looked at him and let out a soft sigh.

Then she tossed her gun to the ground without a second thought.

Slowly, she raised both hands.

"Let him go."

"I'll be your hostage instead."

The thug wasn't buying it.

He dragged Conan with him, backing into the bank step by step.

His steps were unsteady, but he didn't dare stop.

Once he reached the entrance, he slammed a button.

The rolling shutter crashed down with a clatter.

The metallic noise was harsh and oppressive.

Chigusa tried to rush in at once.

"Don't come any closer!"

The thug's face twisted as he bellowed.

"One more move and I shoot!"

Ran gasped again and froze in place, her hands and feet icy, her eyes full of panic and terror.

Kogoro Mouri was beside himself with anger, and he couldn't stop grumbling.

"How many times have I told him not to run around? Not to run around! That brat never listens!"

"Now look, there's trouble!"

"Damn it, if anything happens to that kid, how am I supposed to face Ms. Fumiyo?!"

"Dad!"

Ran's eyes were red, her voice trembling.

"How can you say that right now? Think of something!"

"Right, right, call the police! Hurry up and call them!"

"Get the armed police here!"

In the chaos, the bank's shutter sealed shut completely.

The light outside was cut off cleanly.

Inside the lobby, the air sank at once.

Megumi Kato, who had been about to follow the manager into a private room, suddenly stopped.

Her ears twitched slightly.

Senses sharpened by her adventurer enhancements caught the commotion outside.

It was messy.

Chaotic.

And mixed into it were a few very faint gunshots.

They were distant, but she heard them clearly.

Those really were gunshots.

Something had happened?

Megumi Kato looked toward the entrance, an indefinable unease rising in her chest.

Before long, a robber with a black stocking over his head stumbled back into the lobby, dragging the little boy in the suit from earlier as a hostage.

As soon as he was inside, he swept his gun across everyone in the room.

The black muzzle passed over each face in turn.

Then he reached back and hit the shutter button.

The metal door dropped completely, and the whole space felt like a sealed can.

Once he'd confirmed the exit was blocked, the robber pointed his gun at the crowd again.

"Everybody behave yourselves!"

"Anyone who doesn't listen, I'll kill!"

The lobby fell dead silent.

A moment later, everyone raised their hands, trembling.

The robber jabbed his gun toward a corner.

"Freeze! Everybody over there! Get down, get down now!"

"Throw everything you have on the floor! Phones, wallets, ID, I don't want to see anything left on you!"

As he spoke, he fired a shot at the security camera.

Bang—

The sound of the bullet and the shattering camera came at the same time.

Glass shards rained across the floor.

Only then did everyone fully realize this was no toy meant to scare them, but the real thing.

No one dared hesitate anymore.

One by one, they forced down their fear and dropped their belongings on the floor.

Bags, phones, keys, loose change, documents.

Soon it all piled up into a small, messy heap.

Megumi Kato had meant to quietly hide the check first.

But the muzzle paused on her.

So she set everything down with an expressionless face.

That included the ten-thousand check.

The robber noticed.

"What's this?"

Megumi Kato silently took half a step back.

[Author's Note: Please send flowers...]

The robber walked over and picked the check up off the floor.

He glanced down at it, and his eyes changed at once.

"Hahaha..."

His laughter was full of greed and delight.

When he looked at Megumi Kato again, it was the look of a man who had spotted an easy mark.

"Didn't expect a windfall like this."

"Hey, girlie, you're loaded."

"Don't worry, even if somebody has to die, I'll make sure you're the last."

Megumi Kato kept her eyes lowered.

The corners of her mouth slowly flattened.

On that placid face, the emotion wasn't large, but her eyes had gone cold.

This guy...

He actually dared to go after my hard-earned money.

Just then, Masami Hirota, already changed into a staff uniform, pushed in through the door behind the counter.

The moment the robber saw her, his expression tightened.

He first tossed the unconscious, oxygen-starved Conan onto the floor.

Then he quickly stuffed the check into his pocket.

With his other hand, he pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The bullet struck the counter in front of Masami Hirota, wood splinters flying.

"Freeze!"

"Say it, where did you come in from?!"

Masami Hirota cooperated by letting out a scream, crouching down, her face full of panic.

"Th-there's a staff passage behind the bank!"

The two exchanged a glance.

It was brief, and no outsider could have read anything from it.

The robber barked at once, "Take me there!"

With that, the two of them quickly slipped behind the counter.

Seeing the robber leave for the moment, the bank manager went pale, but he still leapt up and rushed madly toward the shutter.

He dropped to the floor and pressed the button.

The shutter began to rise with a clatter.

The manager's eyes lit up, so happy he nearly wept, and he flattened himself and started crawling out.

Then, the next second—

Bang! Bang!

Two gunshots rang out.

The manager clutched his thigh, screaming so hard his voice cracked as he rolled on the floor.

The robber had come back after all.

"I knew you people wouldn't behave!"

But before he could follow up, Chigusa outside had already charged in with one stride and dragged the wounded manager out through the gap in the shutter.

The moment he was out, the manager, drenched in cold sweat from the pain, still forced himself to shout.

"The back door!"

"The bank has a back door!"

Chigusa froze for a moment.

Her instinct was to rush for the back door, but the next second she forcibly held herself back.

Because there was a wounded man in front of her.

All she could do was shout outward first.

"Where's the ambulance?!"

"We have a wounded man here, hurry!"

Kogoro Mouri ran over, ripped off his own shirt without a word, and clumsily applied emergency bandaging to the manager.

Ran hurried to check on the other two drivers.

Unlike the armed police officers, they had only taken heavy blows to the head and passed out, and for the moment there was no danger to their lives.

Meanwhile, inside the bank lobby.

The enraged robber slammed the shutter shut again.

The metal door crashed down.

His face was dark enough to drip water, and he glared fiercely at the remaining hostages.

"You!"

He pointed his gun at a gray-haired girl with glasses in the corner.

"Get over here!"

"Go tie them all up!"

The girl was clearly terrified.

The moment the muzzle swung toward her, her pupils shrank.

Her shoulders trembled beyond her control, her limbs went limp as if drained of strength, and she couldn't even stand steady.

Her name was Shino Asada.

As a child, she had lived through a bank robbery.

That time, she had accidentally picked up the pistol the robber dropped, and fired a shot at him.

That memory was like a thorn lodged in her body.

Ever since, even someone simply making a "gun" with a thumb and forefinger was enough to trigger a severe stress reaction in her.

Let alone now.

Right now, what was pointed at her was a real gun that really fired.

Her mind went blank.

Her ears buzzed.

Even her breathing fell apart.

The robber saw that she wasn't moving, and a look of impatient cruelty crossed his face.

His index finger on the trigger pressed down slightly.

"Hurry up!"

"I'll do it."

A calm voice cut in.

Megumi Kato stepped forward and stood in front of Shino Asada.

The robber was startled, then laughed.

"You've got some sense."

"Hurry up, and no tricks."

Megumi Kato nodded obediently.

She dug a rope out of the robber's backpack and began tying the hostages to chairs one after another.

Her movements were neither fast nor slow.

She looked completely sluggish.

But inside, she couldn't help feeling a little envious of Mai Sakurajima's magic.

The "Passerby" ability really was convenient.

It let her blend naturally into any environment.

Like a backdrop that no one would deliberately notice.

In some situations, it could even reasonably blur her identity and lower her presence.

People subconsciously ignore passersby brushing past them.

They can't remember what the person across from them at the cafeteria table looked like.

And they don't deliberately notice the person lined up ahead of them at the supermarket checkout.

Megumi Kato could even, in certain settings, slightly nudge people into assuming she held some particular role.

In a police station, for instance, she could pass as an officer without anyone questioning it.