Chapter 42: Epilogue (2)

Several mornings after the battle with the Panty-Flash Monster Villain.

Without anything particularly changing, I headed to school.

When I arrived at the school gate while yawning largely, I could see a crowd had formed just like several days ago.

"You lot, hurry up and show the contents of your bags! Don’t you understand you’re blocking the people behind!"

"Uoh, ttoh"

A strange voice leaked out at the angry shout that smashed my sleepiness.

Wondering what it was, I pushed through the crowd and peered into the schoolyard.

What was reflected in my eyes was Harukaze distorting his strict face while holding a bamboo sword — and the female students snickering. The girls who had largely disheveled their uniforms grinned.

"Man, but— approaching sensei and having my panties seen is scary, you know—?"

"I’ve gotten trauma from that earlier thing, so can you not approach—?"

"Or rather, by blocking the path like this, aren’t you waiting for the skirts to flip, Harukaze-sensei—"

Giggle, giggle, laughter.

The girls who stood while protecting their shortened skirts with bags seemed to understand that Harukaze could not use force.

If he tried to forcibly grab the bags, they intended to raise the hems of their skirts at the timing. Ah, Harukaze-sensei flipped my skirt, they would say.

Although there was no punishment regarding the rampage of the Monster Villain’s power, Harukaze’s desire had become known throughout the school.

Therefore they were utilizing that. Even the contents of the bags, not just the uniforms, were surely full of things that violated school rules, but by using their own skirts as shields Harukaze could do nothing.

——It didn’t go so smoothly after all.

Even though I had spoken at length in the form of Vigilante Atel Octo, that alone apparently couldn’t do anything.

And this current situation looks like neither Shusawa Senjumaru nor Atel Octo can deal with it.

Both I and Atel Octo are men before being humans and Vigilantes. If I interrupt at this timing it would just be a repeat of Harukaze.

"——Harukaze-sensei, please check the luggage."

However.

In front of Leas who fluttered her silver hair and quietly held out her bag, the mocking voices of the female students stopped.

"Mu—— a-ah, understood. ...Sorry."

Harukaze received the bag with movements considerably more awkward than usual.

Was he apologizing for her intervening at this place, or for flipping her skirt many times several days ago?

No, surely both.

Looking at Harukaze’s expression that twisted his strict face as if regretting, even I could understand that much.

"Lot-saaan, isn’t there no need to obey a guy like that—?"

"Yeah yeah, that a pervert like that was student guidance means this school is finished!"

"You’re the biggest victim of having your skirt flipped, so make him dogeza, dogeza! Come on, apologize, apologize!"

It was an ugly smile that said if they made Leas an ally, Harukaze would become unable to say anything.

In fact, Leas had received the concentrated fire of Harukaze’s desire.

Because he was about to become a Monster Villain, because the power had rampaged, therefore Harukaze as a human is innocent.

But humans are emotional creatures no matter how they struggle. If Leas, the biggest victim, got angry at Harukaze, if she despised him, the other students would have sympathized with those emotions. Those gyaru girls were also stirring Leas while hoping for that.

"Hah... are those idiots"

In front of a man who had his own desires forcibly exposed, who sincerely regretted causing trouble for the students and humiliating them — there is no way the girl named Leas Lot, the champion of justice named Sacred Saber, would spit words of abuse.

"Everyone has things they can’t tell anyone. Only one of those was exposed."

——Or do you have no such secrets at all?

It was a quiet yet strongly strongly accusing tone and gaze.

She neither yelled in a loud voice nor restrained them with physical strength.

But the dignified bearing became a blade more powerful than anything and sliced through the gyaru lot.

"B-but, the fact that Harukaze had that kind of desire is true, right? Don’t you think it’s disgusting?"

"What are you saying that’s so obvious"

At the words that seemed to affirm, the gyaru grinned.

See, you’re on this side too. Using this incident, let’s make Harukaze into a wallet, they thought.

Really, fools.

Even though they are being directed such cold gazes, are they still dreaming of such a sweet future?

"If you drag the emotions hidden at the bottom of the heart to the surface it is only natural that they look ugly; even I, if I became a Monster Villain, would surely expose ugly desires. What should be hated is the Monster Villain, and the Diabolic that creates them. Never the human who is the victim."

Saying only that, Leas averted her gaze from them.

I said what needed to be said, it said.

Therefore — there is no value in involving myself, it said.

With only that, the surrounding atmosphere changed.

Originally it was clear that they were trying to use the Monster Villain transformation uproar to demean Harukaze. In the middle of that, if Leas who had suffered the most damage forgave him, the villains become the gyaru-type female students.

Saying something like that to justify violating school rules, aren’t you embarrassed?

Probably, no matter who else said the same thing, they would have turned the tables. The surrounding people, while understanding the correct words, would have maintained neutrality.

But Leas has accumulated things.

The image of a girl who is good at both literary and martial arts who extends a smiling hand to students in trouble. The things Leas accumulated thinking "I want to be that way" cannot possibly be contended with by the jeers of frivolous types.

This is surely what Leas sought.

The figure of a champion of someone’s justice who thoroughly maintains correctness and can protect people who are being trampled.

"...At times like this, Leas-senpai’s character is strong, right~"

"Yeah... what’s wrong with you?"

I started to respond lightly to the familiar junior’s voice, then felt doubt at the figure tightly gripping the hem of the skirt on the butt side.

I wonder, it’s an attitude like having to cut through a typhoon in a miniskirt without show panties. Though if I shift my gaze downward I can see the usual spats.

"Ah, no, um~... since then, somehow I can’t calm down when wearing a skirt..."

"Ah? Why, you should have been wearing spats the whole time even during that, right?"

Th-that’s true but, Reiko spat unusually inarticulate words with a bright red face.

What on earth is it — I thought, then finally noticed.

Certainly in the form of Reiko she hadn’t had a panty flash — but in the form of Sacred Knuckle her underwear had been fully exposed.

"G-girls have various things! And look, Atai— Knuckle-san or whatever was in a really pitiful situation, right! As a girl of the same age I have thoughts!"

"Certainly, it was reposted on things like ’Sacred Images That Make You Cum Blog,’ panty-full-exposure images that went beyond panty flashes with the butt sticking out."

Recent smartphone cameras are amazing. Even though it should have been taken from the classroom window, it was uploaded in quite high quality.

And Reiko is a high school girl living in modern Japan. She apparently had the literacy ability to reach such threads and blogs — or rather, to end up reaching them.

The scene where the cheongsam-style skirt flipped up with a flap while the butt was sticking out, and the moderately plump butt and the pink polka-dot underwear wrapping it were fully exposed, had spread to a degree that couldn’t be helped even if one blog was crushed. Thinking that way this reaction is also understandable.

While nodding alone, somehow an aura of emotions like anger or confusion or shame drifted from next to me.

What is it, I looked directly at Reiko’s face—

"Wha, ah, Se— Senpai Shusawa? That, d-did you see it...?"

Looking at Reiko who had a bright red face and was trembling while staring at me, I thought Oh no I messed up.

In the flow of the conversation I ended up letting it slip, but doesn’t this amount to declaring "I’ve thoroughly seen your panties as image data"?

"Ah, no— hahaha, even toward you it wasn’t a conversation to have in front of a girl! S-sorry sorry!"

I involuntarily took one step, two steps back.

While staring fixedly at me, Reiko muttered.

"...D-did you use it!?"

"W-what for?"

"Hah? Well of course for that... —!?"

This girl tried to make a usual joke and self-destructed...!

The red face and body trembling have become about twice as much as earlier.

This is bad.

Somehow continuing to face Reiko like this feels bad—!

"...Seeenpai!"

A nikori smile.

In front of that adorable expression, the current me can only feel fear.

Because this girl’s face is still bright red, her ears are still bright red!

I can feel that her head is completely overheating from shame. Common sense doesn’t apply to the current Reiko—!

"Could you lend me your smartphone for a bit? It’s fine, I’ll return it right away———— to the dirt."

What is this junior saying while shadowboxing!

"D-don’t fuck around! What do you intend to do with my smartphone—!?"

"I-it’s fine, please rest assured— ju-just, juuust destroying senpai’s internet environment."

The laptop broke, right, she said.

While clenching her right hand she headed straight this way. Scary.

"It’s not ’just’ and it’s not ’fine’! Whoa hey, stop! O-or rather, why are you angry, you’re unrelated to the Sacred—!?"

I fully avoided the fist released toward the smartphone and fully fled.

Or rather having the smartphone smashed is too severe considering modern student life!

"Guh!? That is, that is— a-as if I can stay silent watching the readers of my articles being humiliated! Uoooooh! Prepare yourself!"

Ah shit, this girl is using something like the pretext I used when contacting the Sacred as Atel Octo—!

Damn it, I cursed while running through toward Harukaze.

"Mu, what’s wrong Shusawa. The luggage—"

"I’m leaving everything so look as you like—! Always thank you for the student guidance—!"

"O-ou...?"

I pushed the bag onto Harukaze, gripped the smartphone and dashed with full force.

From behind I sensed the presence of Reiko hesitating as she tried to chase this way. Of course. Reiko hasn’t compartmentalized as much as Leas, and she has a weak point from the incident of having her skirt thoroughly flipped.

Then by using Harukaze as a shield I can safely escape! I don’t care about the textbooks in the bag! Yes, the smartphone is heavier than study tools...!

"Gugugu... Leas-senpai! Please catch Senpai Shusawa! I want you to deliver divine punishment on the senpai who is looking at the erotic images of the Sacred who fought for everyone!"

"!?"

Leas opened her eyes wide as if saying What are you suddenly saying, Reiko, and the boys and Harukaze who were there quietly averted their gazes from Reiko. Of course! If you’re a man! You’ll look! You’ll search! That!

But you misread, Reiko.

I only looked at the images uploaded to the blog — that itself is questionable, but at least I didn’t lay hands on anything myself. Yes, by chance! There also exists the possibility that I happened to reach the site where the images exist.

Can Leas who is a champion of justice do something about such an ordinary person? No she can’t!

This match is my win. I was convinced of that and slipped past Leas’s side—

"Incidentally that blog also thoroughly reposted photos of Sacred Saber who became half-naked when facing the Poison Monster Villain, you know—!"

"Te-yah"

—It was an extremely light shout, and yet an extremely sharp hand-chop.

Apparently released almost unconsciously, it scored a direct hit on the smartphone I was gripping — and with a meshaa forcibly bisected not only the screen and board but the case as well.

In the morning school my scream and the voice of Leas who had come to her senses deeply apologizing rang out.