“Wait a minute. What are you doing!?”

I lifted up my skirt and reached for my underwear.

“Close your eyes, cover your ears, and don't smell it.”

“No way...”

“We have no choice but to do it here!”

　I said in a low voice, my eyes filled with tears.

I was so embarrassed that my face was burning hot.

“...”

Hirasawa seemed flustered too, his face red and his expression changing constantly.

I might have seen him this confused for the first time.

“Please! Turn around quickly, cover your ears, and breathe through your mouth.”

　I turned Hirasawa-san around and pulled down his underwear.

After confirming that Hirasawa-san had covered his ears, I sat on the toilet.

It's so embarrassing... I feel like I'm going to die from embarrassment!

But there's one last trick.

If I flush the toilet while doing it, it should be okay!

I flushed the toilet and used the sound of running water to cover up the sound of urination while taking care of business.

　◆◆◆

“... ”

“... ”

Without speaking to each other, we passed through the gate at Bulkenesia Airport and entered the country.

It was a little awkward. Hirasawa didn't make eye contact with me at all.

I was happy to feel a little humanity, but when I thought about it being caused by my own urine, I felt so embarrassed that I became depressed.

“Um... I didn't see the suspicious flight attendant.”

“...Oh, right.”

The silence was awkward, so I tried to break it with a work-related conversation.

But this was actually strange.

The flight attendant who had stolen the poison—the one with eyes that showed no human emotion—was nowhere to be seen.

“Right. I forgot... I need to put on my headset.”

“Oh, yeah.”

Hirasawa handed me the intercom.

She still didn't make eye contact with me at all.

“Hey! What are you two doing? You're taking too long to communicate!”

The moment I put the intercom in my ear and turned it on, I heard Mari-sama's anxious voice.

“I'm sorry. There were some complications.”

“I see. So you know the situation now, right? The security guards at the airport are looking for you. I found out by intercepting the communications inside the airport.”

“...”

Wait a minute.

Are that flight attendant and the airport staff in cahoots?

“Hey! Don't suddenly go silent. We hacked the surveillance cameras and know your location. So I'll tell you the escape route, and you run.”

“Ah... okay. Please.”

“Really, stay focused!”

We attempted to escape from the airport under the guidance of Miss Mari.

“Marti... Miss Mari. You mentioned intercepting communications inside the airport. Have you received any information about bodies being removed from the plane?”

"No... I haven't heard anything like that... Wait a moment. There are about eight large pieces of luggage being carried out of the airplane's passenger cabin."

“Government officials from various countries were on board the airplane. But they may all have been killed.”

“I see... There are indeed groups of people waiting in the airport lobby. They all seem to be from different countries.”

We moved forward, blending into the crowd under Miss Mari's guidance.

“Wait a moment. There's no place to hide ahead. Security guards are coming... Hide naturally behind the pillar.”

“...I have no choice. I'm sorry.”

“...What!?”

Suddenly, I was hugged by Mr. Hirasawa and pressed against the wall with the pillar behind me.

My body was pressed against his, and he stroked my head.

"...!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!"

I screamed inside my head because I couldn't make a sound.

All the blood in my body rushed to my face.

Held tightly in his muscular arms, surrounded by the scent of Hirasawa-san mixed with sweat, my heart was beating so fast it felt like it was about to burst.

Oh no, this is bad, this is bad, this is bad!

　However, there was something I needed to do for the sake of the performance.

I wrapped my arms around Hirasawa-san's body and hugged him back tightly.

—Huh?

I noticed something. Was Hirasawa-san also nervous?

I could feel his heart beating strongly against his chest.

Hehehe. He has a cute side to him.

I regained a little composure.

“Alright, the security guard is gone. Next, go straight ahead and then turn left.”

We resumed our escape following Miss Mari's instructions.

◆◆◆

“Why did this happen?”

“It can't be helped. The security guards were reinforced, and there's nowhere left to escape to.”

We are now walking on the roof of the airport.

　We were following Miss Mari's instructions, but eventually, there was nowhere left to escape.

There were routes along the way that only authorized personnel could access, but we made our way through using lockpicking and hacking. I didn't feel any excitement like, “This is like a movie, so cool!” I was just nervous the whole time. Once you start feeling like this, you realize that you've become a resident of the underworld.

“We'll send a transport AI drone, so wait there.”

“Got it.”

Finally, we can rest!

I sat down and looked around at the scenery.

Bulknesia is composed of mountainous areas and smart cities.

The landscape blends natural beauty with futuristic cities, creating a strange yet fascinating scene.

　A large building in the city center, which led to the identification of the video streamer's location, stood tall.

A pleasant breeze blew, and I felt my fatigue ease slightly.

“Hey, Hirasawa-san. That transport AI drone is amazing. What kind of thing is it?”

“I don't know either. We had Mar... Miss Mari arrive at the site first to prepare spy gear and set up a base. That transport AI drone must have been developed here.”

“That's amazing. And to be able to create something like that in such a short period of time...”

How advanced is Miss Mari's technology?

She's not only reliable in everyday conversations, but also in situations like this!

“Right? Mariko-sama is a genius engineer.”

Hirasawa-san made a proud face. Like an innocent child.

That's when I realized.

She's usually blunt and clumsy, but she has deep affection for her friends.

When I tried to do something dangerous, she got really angry.

“Oh, how nice of you to say that... Wait a minute! Someone is rushing toward the roof at incredible speed! Hurry! Run!”

At Mari-san's frantic instructions, I immediately stood up.

And the two of us started running.

Could it be that CA?

　The peaceful mood from earlier vanished in an instant, and fear took hold of my entire body.

The assassin who had been poisoning government officials.

Are we really going to have to face such a dangerous person...?

――We might really get killed.

“Run! Quickly! Wait... Someone went up to the roof. The CA? And on a skateboard?”

　We turned around.

There stood the flight attendant with a skateboard.

“Hey, Hirasawa-san. Which is faster, running or skating?”

“Of course skating is faster!”

Hirasawa-san was also sweating. He didn't seem as calm as usual.

“Hey... Hirasawa-san. What's that person holding in their hand...”

“...Hide behind me.”

The CA placed the skateboard on the roof and brought the Japanese sword he had been carrying on his back to the front.

Then he drew the sword from its sheath.

The blade glinted in the sunlight.

“Here it comes!”

The CA slid toward us on his skateboard, brandishing the Japanese sword.