Chapter 69: I want to call the police.
When Morofushi Sora'aki came out of the changing room, not only Hagiwara Kenmi and Matsuda Jinko, but even the sales assistant who had just escorted Morofushi Sora'aki in with a puzzled look on her face showed a confused expression.
It was only then that she realized: the person who had just come in was a girl who looked like a boy! No wonder the two ladies had no questions about her changing into women's clothing!
Hagiwara Kenmi: No, I have so many questions, okay?!
Matsuda Jinko: "Your height has changed."
Morofushi Sora'aki: "Because I was wearing height-increasing shoes just now."
Hagiwara Kenmi: "Your hair has gotten longer?"
Morofushi Sora'aki: "Because I was wearing a wig before."
Matsuda Jinko: "My facial features are completely different now!"
Morofushi Sora'aki: "Because of the omnipotent makeup."
Hagiwara Kenmi: "...You win."
Morofushi Sora'aki was happy.
Matsuda Jinko: "So, are you a man or a woman?"
"The kind of gender that needs to keep its distance from women." Morofushi Sora'aki replied.
"Oh—what a pity, I was just thinking of giving Umeko-chan a hug!"
Matsuda Jinko: "Who is Umeko?"
Hagiwara Kenmi: "Huh? Didn't you hear Sora'aki and Umeko at all?"
Morofushi Sora'aki: "I am Umeko, but I am only temporarily using Umeko's name. The real Umeko is him."
Morofushi Sora'aki took out his phone and flipped through the album to find a commemorative photo taken during a previous simulated girls' social event.
Among them, Nozaki Umetarou wore a rabbit ear hair clip and was dressed in a normal school uniform, while Mikoshiba Mikoto had a cute smile with a girlish charm. On the contrary, the only girl, Sakura Chiyo, had a somewhat stiff expression.
Morofushi Sora'aki wasn't in the photo because he was the one taking it. At the time, only Mikoshiba Mikoto was shy and upset, wanting Morofushi Sora'aki to delete the photo. Sakura Chiyo immediately had Morofushi Sora'aki send her the photo because it featured Nozaki Umetarou, and the focus was on Nozaki with bunny ears.
Nozaki Umetarou also gave Morofushi Sora'aki a thumbs up, saying it was a great source of inspiration and asking Morofushi Sora'aki to send him one as well.
Ultimately, losing 1 to 3, Mikoshiba Mikoto was extremely aggrieved and exclaimed: Why is this photo only collected by you guys! Don't exclude me! Morofushi, send me one too!
It was at this moment that Sakura Chiyo and Mikoshiba Mikoto realized they hadn't exchanged contact information with Morofushi Sora'aki at all. Then they did.
It's unclear whether exchanging contact information held any special meaning for Mikoshiba Mikoto, but after the exchange, he genuinely began to treat Morofushi Sora'aki as a friend, without the previous wariness and awkwardness. This is why he later took the initiative to invite Morofushi Sora'aki to the amusement park.
Looking at the photo, Hagiwara Kenmi hesitated: "So, who is it this time?"
"Don't tell me it's that guy again... the tall guy wearing bunny ears."
Morofushi Sora'aki nodded: "It's him, it's her."
Hagiwara Kenmi doesn't need to change his address at times like this!
Since arriving in this world, he's mentioned Nozaki far more often than usual. Why is that?
"Ha, high school boys." Matsuda Jinko said sarcastically from the side.
It seems that as long as the words "male high school student" are added, no matter how funny or strange the things they do are, they are considered normal.
In short, after saying goodbye to the two female police officers, Morofushi Sora'aki planned to leave, as her mission of "when in Rome, do as the Romans do" was complete.
Although the amulet has provided an unscientific development, it's still better to avoid people when it comes to things like disappearing on the spot.
However, accidents happen at times like these.
It was already getting dark when Morofushi Sora'aki, who had deliberately chosen a deserted alley to leave, heard a noise.
Morofushi Sora'aki peeked half his head out from the edge of the alley wall and met the gaze of the long-haired woman who was sitting on the ground, clutching her shoulder.
She was a woman with an extremely powerful aura. Her dark green eyes were very sharp. Her long hair, stained with blood, fell messily to the ground, with dust inevitably sticking to the ends. Her bangs were swept back, with only a curly strand clinging to her forehead.
She has a great figure and is wearing a tight black outfit. It's not just her shoulder that's injured; there are other obvious wounds on her body as well.
Upon seeing half a head peeking out from the corner, meeting those cat-like eyes, and seeing the black hair falling down with gravity, the woman sitting on the ground visibly relaxed her guard: "You came pretty quickly this time, Scotch."
Scotch? Morofushi Sora'aki blinked in confusion, then watched as the woman in front of him closed her eyes, exhaled, and said, whether sarcastically or casually, "Bourbon's intelligence is probably about to be upgraded; there's an unexpected person on their side."
Morofushi Sora'aki: "..."
The long-haired woman probably trusted Scotch a lot, because she fainted after saying all that—or perhaps she was already exhausted and just waiting for help.
Morofushi Sora'aki: "..."
Morofushi Sora'aki took out his phone and dialed the police: "Hello, is this Kenmi-san? I want to call the police."
Hagiwara Kenmi, who was already lying in bed: "...Huh?"
When the two female police officers arrived from the apartment after getting dressed, they saw Morofushi Sora'aki squatting down, poking at the injured woman's hair that was hanging to the ground. When they noticed the newcomers, Morofushi Sora'aki obediently withdrew his hand.
"She mistook me for someone else, and then fainted without worry." said Morofushi Sora'aki.
Matsuda Jinko clicked her tongue: "Who cares who she is, save her first!"
As they were saying this, they were about to carry the long-haired woman away when Morofushi Sora'aki tilted his head and stared at their preparations for a second before naturally taking matters into his own hands and carrying the black-haired woman in a princess carry.
Hagiwara Kenmi also noticed that Morofushi Sora'aki deliberately clenched his fists and kept a certain distance during the process to ensure that she would not touch the places she shouldn't touch.
Matsuda Jinko: "...Since you could carry her, why didn't you do it just now?"
Morofushi Sora'aki: "She's covered in blood; she'll scare people if she goes out."
Hagiwara Kenmi: "...Don't waste time, let's save them first."
Hagiwara Kenmi opened the back seat of the car, and after Morofushi Sora'aki carried her inside, Matsuda Jinko squeezed in as well: "I'll give her some emergency bandaging, you close your eyes."
Because the woman was injured in the shoulder and abdomen, it was necessary to cut off her clothes. Although Morofushi Sora'aki was now dressed as a girl, he was still considered a man by the other two police officers.
Five minutes after they left, Scotch and Bourbon, whom she had mentioned, arrived. They looked at the bloodstains remaining in the alley and fell silent.
Bourbon: "Yeah, report it. Rye is dead, and she's been mutilated beyond recognition."
Scotch: "...Perhaps there's still a chance to salvage it?"
Bourbon: "Tsk."
On the other side, after giving the person emergency first aid, Matsuda Jinko immediately recognized that the most serious wound was a gunshot wound, in addition to which the mysterious woman had many other scars on her body.
No matter how you look at it, this mysterious woman is the kind of person who is extremely dangerous.
Sitting in the driver's seat, Hagiwara Kenmi praised Morofushi Sora'aki: "Well done, Sora'aki-chan. When you encounter something dangerous like this, you must call the police immediately."
"However, after calling the police, you should also make sure you are safe, as staying in the vicinity can easily lead to danger."
Morofushi Sora'aki: "I am Umeko."
Hagiwara Kenmi: "..."
"Yes, Umeko-chan! You did a great job!"
Morofushi Sora'aki was happy.
During the conversation, Hagiwara Kenmi also asked, "But what do you mean by mistaking you for someone else?"
"She just called me 'Scotch'." After Morofushi Sora'aki briefly explained what had just happened, Hagiwara Kenmi and Matsuda Jinko both showed thoughtful expressions.
Matsuda Jinko: "Hagi, let's skip the hospital and go straight to the police station."
Hagiwara Kenmi: "Okay!"
As she spoke, Hagiwara Kenmi turned the steering wheel and drove at a speed that would make even a traffic cop cry.
Perhaps because the driving speed was too terrifying, Rye, who should have been unconscious, also woke up.
She did not show that she was awake, maintaining the appearance of being unconscious while absorbing information from her surroundings.
From the bandaged wounds and the conversation, she confirmed that the person she met in the alley was named Umeko, not Scotch.
The people driving and bandaging her are Japanese police officers—she's surrounded by them!
Perhaps because her injuries were too severe, the two female police officers in the car lowered their guard and did not believe that she could wake up halfway, so they did not tie her up.
They had to get out of the car before they reached the Metropolitan Police Department. Rye made that clear, and then, as Matsuda Jinko yawned, Rye immediately sat up and elbowed Matsuda Jinko!
Seeing this through the rearview mirror, Hagiwara Kenmi immediately shouted, "Watch out!!"
Matsuda Jinko's instinctive reaction, honed by years of boxing training, was no joke; in that instant, she instinctively threw her fist out!
The two started fighting right there in the back seat. It wasn't convenient for Hagiwara Kenmi to park on the road, as it could easily cause an accident. She had to drive to a secluded spot!
Rye took advantage of the police's sense of responsibility and jumped out of the car to escape as soon as she had the chance!
Morofushi Sora'aki compared the angles and positions, and the instant Rye jumped out of the car, he casually picked up an ornament from inside the car and threw it at her!
Then, Hagiwara Kenmi immediately stopped the car, got out, and asked, "Are you alright?"
Matsuda Jinko rubbed his shoulders: "It's nothing, but the person ran away."
Hagiwara Kenmi and she exchanged a glance, then both looked at Morofushi Sora'aki, who was standing to the side: "So it really is related to her, isn't it?"
Morofushi Sora'aki obediently acted as if he hadn't done anything: "Her?"
After finally managing to jump out of the car and escape, Rye touched the back of her head. Luckily, she had dodged quickly enough, otherwise, she felt she would have been knocked flat on her face by that blow.
Did that little girl have a grudge against her? With this question in mind, Rye contacted the two teammates who were supposed to come to meet her.
Bourbon clicked her tongue in obvious displeasure on the other side: "Not dead?"
Scotch, ever the good-natured one, chimed in for Bourbon, "We'll be there soon."
After Bourbon arrived and completed the pickup, Rye casually asked, "Scotch, do you have any sisters?"
Scotch was wiping her sniper rifle when Rye asked the question. The muzzle shifted slightly, and she asked calmly, without any change in her tone, "What's wrong, Rye?"
As if she hadn't noticed anything, Rye touched the wound on her shoulder that had been treated in an emergency: "I was lucky to be saved by two kind policewomen—well, I also mistook them for you at the time."
"Fifty-fifty, it was my lack of vigilance." Rye's tone was relaxed, but her sharp, dark green eyes fell on Scotch: "So I'm a little curious, Scotch, don't you really have any sisters?"
"Haha, did you two plan this?" Scotch lowered her eyes and continued wiping the sniper rifle in her hand: "Today, Bourbon asked me the same question, asking if I have any brothers."
"After all, there are people in the world who look alike. Speaking of which, did that little boy I saw at the station get home safely?"
"I don't know about that." Feeling the murderous aura surrounding her in the car, Rye sighed helplessly: it seemed like she was determined to fight the car again today.
If she said she was just asking casually, would these two people believe her?