Chick 195
by CristaeHunter of the Chick Class Does His Duty! Episode 195
“I turned into a tree! Gru’s really become Groot!”
“……”
“……”
Beilach glanced at Mephisto, as if to ask what “Groot” was, but Mephisto was just as clueless.
“Myuu myuu.” (Probably just half-asleep. Keep patting her.)
“Piit.”
The two, knowing nothing, tried their best to soothe Gru, but sadly, it didn’t help her at all.
I have to find Daddy!
Gru draped the top of her monastic robe over her head like a kerchief, tying the strap beneath her chin with a ribbon.
She was determined to hide her sprout, exposing only her face, lest anyone realize she had turned into Groot.
Like that—sprout hidden, face alone peeking out—she sprang to her feet.
If it’s Daddy, he’ll be able to pull out the snow rabbit!
She stepped out of the room, determined to turn back into a human from Groot.
Tutututututut—
“Hm?”
It was the sound of helicopter blades.
Over the temple buildings of Yeonhamsa, the door of a helicopter slid open, and soon a wire ladder swayed down.
Armed special forces troopers began to descend into the temple’s central courtyard, one after another.
The last to descend was alone—and dressed in a suit.
Gru hid herself behind a pillar.
The noise roused people who had been temple-staying; they came out, rubbing their eyes, and the monks of Yeonhamsa hurried over as well.
“Who are you! This is a sacred place! How dare you come here unannounced!”
The man in the suit gave the monk a glance and then ordered the troops.
[“Move swiftly and efficiently, if you please.”]
[“Understood.”]
They were Japanese.
The moment the order was given, the special unit soldiers scattered with practiced speed.
A tense atmosphere began to ripple through the crowd.
“What’s happening in the middle of the night?”
“Are those some sort of special forces from Japan?”
“Maybe they’re here to catch that handsome yakuza?”
To Gru’s mind, the only people tied to the Japanese had to be her master.
She started running to find Joorim and Kazuki.
“Huff! Huff! Huff!”
Following Mephisto’s lead, Gru ran until she was gasping, and as she rounded the temple building, the wide wooden main hall came into view.
There, it was all unfolding.
The special forces, lined up with assault rifles at the ready, were led by the man in the suit, who stepped forward.
[“Hunter Amakusa Kazuki. I am Yamaoka Shun, agent of the Bureau of Public Safety. I’ve come to escort you. Please come with us.”]
Kazuki casually dug in his ear.
[“Didn’t call for a taxi—who is anyone escorting, and for what?”]
Yamaoka Shun continued smoothly, as if he knew every move Kazuki was planning.
[“Your life belongs to Japan.”]
Kazuki puffed a breath onto the finger he’d used to clean his ear and grinned.
Had they been watching him all this time?
Not even allowed to choose the day of his own death… worse than a dog on a leash.
His value was so great, they wouldn’t even let him escape by dying.
They must have conveniently looked the other way, until now, while he was out seeking a curse-lifter.
Then, suddenly, a chilling fragment of truth flashed through his mind.
…Did Prime Minister Takahashi already know there was no way to lift the curse?
Otherwise, why else allow him to roam the world looking for a cure?
He was the kind of man who could claim even someone’s death was property of the state.
Details of Takahashi’s background flashed through his mind. Wasn’t he from a family of onmyoji dating back to the Heian period (794–1185)?
Onmyoji, who divined omens, exorcised evil spirits with spells, cured illness, and used witchcraft to avoid curses.
And that was why they could help slow the progress of the curse.
But they could also do one other thing very well.
If anyone could lay a curse, it would be an onmyoji.
‘…….’
He’d been played. Pathetically.
A surge of anger blackened Kazuki’s vision, but his grin hardened as he clenched his teeth.
[“Dear taxi driver-san, do tell Prime Minister Takahashi that even forcing things has its limits, will you? I’ve just found one more reason not to go back.”]
[“I am Yamaoka Shun of Public Safety. You may deliver that message yourself.”]
At the same time Yamaoka Shun raised a hand, a heavy sword hilt appeared in his grasp.
Unlike the jet-black hilt studded with mana stones, the blade itself was white and razor-sharp, engraved with the distinctive pattern of the Amakusa series.
The very first-generation Amakusa model.
Tsurugi ‘Kagehira (影比良) (S+).’
[“Pulling out my precious baby like that, now, that’s just mean~”]
[“…….”]
Staring down the expressionless Yamaoka Shun, Kazuki curled his lips into a long, thin smile and summoned his mana.
[“If you come at me like that, taxi driver-san, you’re bound to rile me up too.”]
Space warped, and, as if a zipper opened, a subspace portal yawned wide.
[“Just try and escort me.”]
Glinting shapes began to emerge from the depths of the void, and Yamaoka Shun assumed a defensive stance, tense.
Countless sword tips erupted from the darkness, all aimed at Yamaoka Shun and his soldiers.
[“If you think you can, that is.”]
The blades gleamed wickedly, menacing and sharp.
Amakusa series failed prototypes—their very failure proof of what it meant to ascend to S-class.
Yamaoka Shun’s face tightened.
‘To think he could do this…’
Had he concealed the true extent of his powers as a crafter until now?
That’s why unaffiliated hunters were always a wildcard to the authorities.
Yamaoka Shun forced himself to master the tension prickling through his core.
He trusted his weapon.
One of only four masterpieces of Amakusa, his Kagehira.
As if responding to his will, the mana stones embedded in Kagehira began to devour his mana.
The air trembled with amplified power.
Whooooo—
“Stop, all of you!”
Just as the atmosphere turned savage, Monk Hyungak stepped in to halt them.
He didn’t know what the confrontation was about, but he couldn’t allow a high-level hunter brawl at Yeonhamsa—especially with civilians staying at the temple!
Far too many innocents could get caught in the crossfire!
But as Kazuki prepared to attack, ready to clash head-on with Kagehira, his fury was already overwhelming his reason.
“Layman Amakusa! Don’t do this!”
“Master!”
Along with the monk’s plea, a child’s voice rang out.
‘Gru?’
The child, her head tightly wrapped in monastic robes, came running, and the company commander, who had been shielding the civilians, quickly scooped the child up.
Cheng, cheng, cheng, cheng!
Clatter!
In that instant, the prototype Amakusa swords dropped en masse to the ground, suddenly inert.
“Gru-chan!”
“Master…!”
Gru, held in the officer’s arms, reached out desperately, and Kazuki snarled, face contorted with concern.
[“Let her go. Unless you want this to blow up into an international incident.”]
[“Cooperate and she’ll be released.”]
[“Don’t try to bargain. You know who that child is, don’t you?”]
They were the public security bureau—they dealt in information from all across the world. Of course they knew who Gru was.
At last, Yamaoka Shun nodded, raising a hand to quiet the commander.
With a puzzled expression, the officer set Gru down, and she immediately rushed to Kazuki.
“Master….”
Gazing at the civilians watching from behind Gru, Kazuki was filled with bitter regret.
What had he been thinking, ready to start a fight in such a place? Had his anger blinded his sanity?
He’d almost caught Gru up in it.
Right now, he was a danger to Gru. He needed to step away before he did anything more inappropriate.
Kazuki bent down, met her eyes, and gave her a broad grin.
“Gru-chan, go inside. Master needs to go to Japan for a while with these men.”
“J-Japan?”
“Mm. There’s something urgent I need to take care of.”
“What is it…?”
“It’s nothing Gru-chan can know. Sorry. I’ll explain it next time… For now, just wait inside, okay?”
Gru lowered her eyes, glancing around.
A tense atmosphere still lingered after the near eruption of battle.
In the middle of the night.
A helicopter on the temple grounds.
Armed troops everywhere.
Gru stared steadily at Kazuki’s awkward smile.
Tension thickened the air, a dangerous edginess present in every movement.
All of it set off alarm bells in the mind of a child.
‘Master is a liar.’
Something bad is going to happen to Master…
But adults never explain anything properly to children….
In that case, there’s only one way to know for sure.
[Registering ‘Amakusa Kazuki’ as a caregiver.]