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Inyouchuu Kyou Chapter 4 Part 1

CHAPTER 4: Infiltration Once Again

The night after Sui was captured by the enemy and disappeared, the corridor of the old hospital ward behind the Hongouin Clinic.

「—— “Daiichiku Himei”.」

A petite girl holding a large stuffed bear to her chest coughed softly as if she was talking to herself. In no time at all, a myriad of white blades flashed in the air and carved three black fissures into the otherwise empty space.

The scenery around the girl flickered for a moment, then immediately returned to normal.

Her appearance hadn’t changed at all, but the tension in her cheeks slightly deepened as the girl with the red ponytail and the petite one-eyed girl stood in the dark hallway. In the eyes of the two, who were skilled in various types of spellcasting, various types of barriers that were stretched out like spider webs were clearly reflected as thin streaks emitting pale phosphorescence could be seen.

「Yet another barrier, huh…… There’s no end to it, we just keep on slashing and slashing. Last night there was no vigilance like that in here at all……」

While unconsciously fixing the collar of her uniform, Mikoto lowered the tip of her Exorcism Sword and stood naturally.

「The enemy must have predicted that we could come back here and try to infiltrate the facility once again in order to try to save that dairy cow of a woman.」

Kokonoe Rinko, the one-eyed girl pressed her slender chin against the stuffed bear’s head that she was holding to her chest while she was saying that.

When it comes to Rinko, she was so overconfident in her own abilities that she doesn’t even blink when she would call herself a “genius beautiful girl”, and her outward appearance was as lovely as that of an angel. The black gothic lolita dress that she would always wear, the eyepatch that covered her right eye, and the way she would constantly mumble and mutter poisonous words to others was giving off a rather strange impression, but even if you were to subtract those things, she was still more than that. By the way, she was small and slender as far as her physique would go, making her a truly small and beautiful girl.

She was also a genius when it comes to spiritual knowledge, skill and ability. Because she would usually see big breasts as her sworn enemies, she did not get along well with her big-breasted colleagues such as Mikoto, but in order to rescue Sui, who was chosen by her arch-nemesis, as soon as possible, she said, “Only this one time.” and “I’ll make an exception”.

But that did not mean that she was going to get along with either Sui or Mikoto.

「If she had been undercover from the very beginning and would not break out of her role, this would not have happened. Truly, women with big breasts are so useless that it is unbelievable……」

Her audible soliloquy was something that she would repeat over and over again for a while now.

Teamwork was essential for the success of this rescue operation, and it was the worst possible combination for a rescue team to get into dangerous enemy territory when they would not get along and place the utmost trust in one another, but it was also something that couldn’t really be helped here.

Takeru, whose physical and mental wounds have not yet fully healed, was someone who could not be considered as a genuine fighting force at the current moment, and Yamato needed to be preserved as a trump card in the event that they would need to fight against a strong opponent. Black Cat’s Yoru was perfect as a fighting force, but he was indispensable as a commanding figure and a skilled and experienced strategist, so they also had to keep him in the rear guard until the identity of their enemy would be clear to them.

And that was exactly why,

「We already knew that this hospital was suspicious to begin with. So there was no use for us staying undercover all the time, especially if it wouldn’t lead us to discovering the identity of our enemy. So in a sense, we had no choice but to act.」

Mikoto also had no choice but to pair up with the one-eyed girl whose way of acting seemed to rub the nerves of those around her the wrong way at all times.

(But well, I guess it cannot be helped now. And I cannot really blame Rinko for saying things like that…… After all, this entire situation is the direct result of that blunder on my end. So I cannot really criticize her for what she is saying, at least not until we manage to find Sui and get her out of her safe and sound……)

So Mikoto bit her lip and suppressed the urge to fire off a counterargument that was already looming up at the back of her throat.

Since it turned out that the Hongouin Clinic was infested with youmas, Yamato suggested that the Branch Office should devote all of its strength to attack it head-on, but this was immediately dismissed for two particular reasons.

First, they still had no idea who their enemy here actually was.

Second, they had no idea about the scale of the forces that their enemy might have under their command.

Spiritual arts are powerful techniques that transcended the laws of physics of this world, but instead of the usual laws of physics, they were firmly bound by spiritual rules instead. For example, fire-attribute spells were almost always ineffective against water-attribute spells and so on and so forth.

In addition, it was certain that there was a youma nest inside of the old ward of Hongouin Clinic, but it was still unknown whether it was the main body of the nest or just some of its branches. If it was just a mere branch, the enemy might escape while they would be busy dealing with the nest, and there was always a risk that they might have taken Sui with them somewhere else.

Of course, if the old ward of the Hogouin Clinic was just the edge of the nest, it was also possible that Sui had already been taken away from it, but if that was the case, they would just need to follow the traces of Sui’s spiritual power in order to track her down. But if they wanted to track her down, an undercover investigation is essential.

And just like that, an impromptu team with a really bad compatibility was formed on the spot.

To be honest, Mikoto was already pretty much fed up with Rinko’s attitude and her antics, especially since the girl did not seem to think anything about improving her teamwork abilities, but anyways, the two of them needed to find Sui as soon as possible and save her before something would happen to her.

That is why Mikoto had ‘Raikou’ deployed and at the ready, keeping her eyes fixed on the darkness at all times,

「Are you sure that we are heading in the right direction? Aren’t we just being deceived by the enemy’s barrier?」

Mikoto suddenly asked Rinko that question, her voice filled with anxiety.

Immediately after that Rinko, who was one step behind her, puffed up her soft cheeks.

「Are you seriously doubting the skills of the great Rinko-sama now of all times?」

「W-Well, it’s not that I doubt your skills, but……」

「Those who believe will be saved. Damnation awaits those who do not believe. Just leave everything to this here Rinko-sama and everything will be fine!」

Rinko puffed out her barely bulging breasts as hard as she could, narrowed her left eye that wasn’t blocked by her eyepatch, and looked through the dark corridor as if she was searching for something.

She was neither casting any spells nor using ofuda talismans to perform her spiritual arts. She could discern the lines of the barrier and determine its nature by simply concentrating her mind on it.

「…… There is an alarm barrier further ahead of us. No matter what happens, be sure that you do not cut through it or touch it.」

「Roger that!」

Even Fukakoto, who answered her briefly, knew that at the very least whether they had to deal with barriers of any sort, Rinko was an expert on the subject.

However, it was difficult for even the veteran Exorcists to be able to discern the true nature of a barrier just by looking at it briefly. Which was only adding to the mystery that was Kokonoe Rinko.

Regardless of their compatibility with one another, it was the right choice for Mikoto to come here together with Rinko. Had she been here all alone, she would have made a blunder for sure during her first few steps and by now would have been far from getting closer to saving Sui, or even worse — being captured herself.

(So no matter what happens, I believe in you, Rinko……)