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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Akatsuki Teacher Rescue Operation 1
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Akatsuki Hiyori had been defiled by Tanaka from the very first day of the game.
She drank a beverage laced with some kind of drug, then got raped by him.
Akatsuki's suffering didn't end there.
Addicted to the drug, she couldn't defy Tanaka's orders. After him came other teachers, delinquent boys, and then some mysterious higher-ups whose identities she never learned. Day after day, she was passed around to different men.
There was no choice in the game that could save her.
It was a tutorial meant to showcase the game's grim atmosphere.
Akatsuki was fated to be sacrificed for it.
Even after the story progressed and Tanaka died, she still wasn't saved.
She managed to keep a somewhat clear head during classes, but once they ended, she wandered the halls like a drug-addled whore, desperately seeking her fix and men.
Yuuki's heartfelt scolding and encouragement would occasionally remind her of her pride as a teacher, but right after that, she fell victim to a terrorist attack by Rune Holder haters.
She was the epitome of this trash game's identity—a character with zero dreams or hope.
A stickler for rules and a hysterical old maid.
Akatsuki might have been uptight like that, but even she had her reasons.
As I mentioned earlier, Akatsuki was a first-generation Rune Holder.
She'd fought monsters since childhood and survived the Great Catastrophe.
But in that hellish battlefield, she witnessed a comrade slaughtering allies and raping others right before her eyes.
That memory became her trauma.
In an era where might trumped law, she saw firsthand just how dangerous humans could become without discipline.
After the Great Catastrophe ended, Akatsuki became a teacher at the academy.
To guide the second-generation Rune Holders down the right path.
To keep them from repeating the mistakes of her dying first-generation peers, she turned herself into that nagging, hysterical teacher.
For her story to end like that? I absolutely refuse to accept it.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Ugh... What the hell did this guy do to the President in there?"
To skip the annoying opening ceremony, I'd been hanging out in the President's office with her for two hours.
The ceremony had ended, and all the students had gone home.
The only students left in the school now were me, the President, and a handful of her guards.
A few staff members were still around too.
Like Tanaka. Or Akatsuki.
"Why is the President blushing like that? Like something embarrassing happened!"
And the woman rambling weird delusions right next to me was Shinoshino, captain of President Mizuki's guards.
"No way... Did this guy do something indecent to the President?!"
No, I was the one who got indecently assaulted.
What do you take me for?
I'm the victim here!
"Why is the President hanging around a guy like this...? I absolutely refuse to accept it!"
"Shinoshino."
"Don't call me that!"
"Shh. What if Tanaka hears you?"
"Tch."
Sinozaki Shinobu, captain of the President's Guard.
I call her Shinoshino out of affection.
Even though she clearly hates it.
"Don't stray from my side. Who knows what kind of trap Tanaka's hiding."
"You little... Are you looking down on me? I can protect myself. No, scratch that—my body doesn't matter. As long as I can protect the President..."
"Yeah, yeah. Be careful so you can keep guarding that President of yours forever. She won't be safe without you."
"...Hmph. Got it."
"Does this guy actually care about the President? Or is he just trying to lower my guard...?"
Earning Shinoshino's trust was going to be a long, bumpy road.
Still, in this godforsaken world, her paranoia was a damn fine trait.
I hoped she'd keep suspecting everything like that from now on.
"Shinobu. Tanaka's a vulgar man, but he's a first-gen who survived the Great Catastrophe. Like Naibusu says, he might be hiding some ability, so caution won't hurt."
"But President, blindly trusting this guy..."
"Sino. Didn't he say he could entrust his life to you? Should we not trust that either?"
"Urk..."
Sinozaki Shinobu was appointed captain after the massive purge thinned out the President's Guard.
And my influence played a big role in selecting her.
Most of the student council execs got purged as traitors. The previous guard captain stepped down taking responsibility.
Discovering rebels hidden among her trusted student council and guards plunged President Mizuki into distrust of everyone. She had no one left she could rely on.
That's where I recommended Shinoshino.
In the original game, Shinoshino was an extra who didn't even get a name.
She was the disposable meat shield killed during the student council coup event.
Thanks to Shinoshino blocking for her, President Mizuki survived a bit longer—but that just meant she got defiled by the successor president. Damn it! What a pointless meddle! Should've let her die! Too late to withdraw the recommendation now?
Either way, Shinoshino died pointlessly in the original without even a name.
All that remained was a single death CG. Even that had shadows over her eyes, hiding her face properly.
And yet, that CG was burned vividly into my mind for some reason.
Even in this trash rape game, hope existed.
In a game rife with betrayal and violation, Shinoshino's sacrificial spirit for the President shone brighter than anything. It was the one glimmer of hope I found.
That's why I recognized her at first sight.
The ponytail reaching past her shoulders, the mole under her left eye, her rigidly prim outfit, and more.
Above all, hearing her inner voice up close made it clear.
How deeply she adored President Mizuki.
"The President hanging out with a lowly scum like this? I absolutely refuse to accept it! If that's how it is, then rather—! Haah... haah... President Mizuki... ♡"
...Her affections were a bit off-target, but she'd probably be fine.
She wouldn't suddenly pounce, right?
"President Mizuki. Wait here a moment."
We'd reached the staff section of the academy building.
From here, I planned to go in alone.
I couldn't reveal my combat abilities to those two.
And if Tanaka had some hidden power, I might not be able to protect Shinoshino.
The President would be fine, but Shinoshino worried me.
She got gruesomely killed in the original too.
"Naibusu. Going in alone? At least take Sino with you."
"No. I'm enough on my own. Shinoshino wouldn't listen anyway."
"President. My duty is to protect you."
"Hm... All right. Be careful, Naibusu."
Huh? She's backing off surprisingly easy?
"She wouldn't let me follow anyway, right? Fine—I'll sneak in after Naibusu goes!"
Of course.
No way the troublemaker President would let this chance slip.
"...Then, I'll be off."
Arguing would just waste time.
So I'd just go fast enough that even the President couldn't keep up.
Staff-only section.
I set foot into that forbidden zone for the first time.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Students weren't allowed in the academy's staff-only section.
This was an ironclad rule no academy student could break. Even if you got killed on the spot, you had no grounds to complain.
The only exceptions were the Student Council President, plus approved council execs and guards.
If I weren't in the guard, I'd be punished even for busting a drug-rape scene.
The academy rules were that strict and insular.
Which meant ordinary students had no way of knowing what went on inside.
The staff section was further divided into two zones.
This first one was the general staff area.
Think standard school offices, staff rooms, labs, all clustered together.
But today, I wasn't here for the general zone.
I slipped past presences, heading to the deepest part of the general area.
The darkest depths, where not even fluorescent lights reached.
A heavy iron door and a "Strictly No Entry" sign greeted me.
Restricted zone.
This was the real deal.
All kinds of illegal shit happened here.
Monster dissections and taming, breeding experiments, and so on.
Testing weapons that worked on monsters, manufacturing poisons—all done here.
Why build such dangerous facilities inside a school full of kids?
Because the academy gathered humans who could fight monsters.
As usual in these stories, this restricted zone dungeonized when test subjects rampaged.
That's why the monster lab was built inside the academy. It had kids who could fight monsters.
Thanks to that, the game only had ── casualties.
Though more got raped than died.
I pushed open the restricted zone's iron door and stepped inside.
-Thud.
My first step.
The air changed.
Familiar monster stench, blood and chemicals, agony and death.
It recalled the battlefield from long ago, when I fought alongside Yuuki.
No time to reminisce.
I focused my mind and deployed the Mind Rune.
As faintly as possible, but as widely as possible.
By expanding the mind-reading range, I could detect presences.
Only the Mind Rune allowed this kind of application.
Efficiency sucked, but beggars can't be choosers.
──Found them.
Two faint first-gen presences.
Tanaka. And Teacher Akatsuki.
...Plus, behind me, the President and Shinoshino's presences.
They followed after all.
-Suuu.
I took a deep breath.
And.
-Bang!
I accelerated to shake them off.
Distance to target: about 600 meters.
I plotted the shortest path.
Kicked off the floor, ran up walls, leaped over windows.
At a speed neither Shinoshino nor even the President could match.
I sprinted full-tilt through the labyrinthine corridors of the restricted zone.
──Arrived.
-Crash!
I smashed through the door into the lab.
The one with Teacher Akatsuki and rapist Tanaka.
"Wh-who the hell are you?!"
Tanaka, pants halfway down, spun around grabbing a knife.
In front of him sat Teacher Akatsuki, clothes half-torn, slumped over.
"Hoo—."
I exhaled the breath I'd held.
A bead of sweat trailed from my forehead to cool my spiking body heat.
I straightened up and pulled out President Mizuki's fan from my uniform pocket.
"What the—?! Uniform and blond hair? Pfft! Naiad bitch's little brother!"
Rapist Tanaka relaxed upon realizing the intruder was just a regular student.
Figured he could handle some nobody.
Clueless that I was the reaper come for his life.
-Suu.
I drew another deep breath.
Then, pointing the fan at the trash rapist, I declared:
"Tanaka. For the charges of attempted rape and illegal drug administration—I sentence you to execution."
──All rapists will be slain.