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Not just a little, but more. Seeing how her hand is on her stomach, it seems like she’s experiencing a lot of stress. And yet the old man is fine as a fiddle. Their boldness is way different.

「We’re in extremely high spirits right now, so I hope you could overlook it.」
「Please, don’t. Every personnel is shaking in fear right now. There’s a limit to what we can do.」

Each personnel should have a good understanding of their protectees, though. It’s exactly why the old man, their chief and the only one who can deal with me, came here. So that they keep at least one of us in control.

「We currently don’t have anyone acting as a stopper, so it isn’t possible for me to control them by myself. And the meat shield isn’t really serving its purpose as well.」
「Umm, excuse me, but who exactly are you referring to as meat shield?」
「Nagatsuki.」

The supervisor puts her hands to her temples. The reason why Nagatsuki isn’t serving his purpose as a meat shield is because one is far from enough. With that number of people, a single meat shield is far too weak. Besides, even if I side with him, it won’t get any stronger.

「Then in this case, shall we have some personnel inside?」
「Please stop it. My subordinates will collapse.」

I can’t deny that. We’re not really doing anything dangerous, but it’s also true that our actions might eat on their nerves. And I don’t intend to waste Akane and Mr. Shizuo’s thoughtfulness, so I’m not letting any adults in.

「The chief has already warned me, so I’ll try to keep things indoors. As much as I can, that is.」
「We’re counting on you. We’re really counting on you.」

No need to say it twice. Now then, I have to go back soon to check the situation. I’ve warned them earlier but there’s no assurance that Aya will stay true to her words. Hadzuki as well.

「Don’t forget your promise.」
「I’ll try my best.」

Us doing all this in an apartment corridor, I wonder what the people watching think of this. I bet they’re wondering who exactly is this man who just iron clawed a daughter of the twelve families.

「I’m back…… What the heck are you doing, you lot.」

Why the heck do you guys have the animal pajama I kept hidden? The one holding it spread out, proudly showing it off, must be the root of this crime. What do I even do with you, Aya?

「Got ittt!」
「Shuddap!」

What’s with that victory screech? Want me to pick a fight with you? Not only did she search for an embarrassing part of my past, she’s exposing it to everyone. What kind of punishment is that? We still haven’t even started with the game yet.

「I told you not to snoop around.」
「And I’m not the type to stop when I’m told to.」

Of course you are, I was about to say, but seeing Rin frantically apologizing next to her, I held back. She likely tried to stop her sister but couldn’t.

「To think that Kotone would have such an adorable thing.」
「I was surprised when I saw Aya with it too. I never would have thought that you’d have such a cute taste.」
「It’s all okay for me!」

What do you mean OK, Kotori? Also, stop approaching me with the pajama in hand. That beaming smile is scary. Someone, get something to stop her!

「I’m not wearing it. I’m definitely not wearing it, okay!」
「You’re acting tough, but don’t worry, we understand.」

With the paper fan I prepared since things might go wild, I smacked her on the forehead. I’m completely reverting to my old self, but I don’t have the leeway to care. If I’m careless, I’m definitely going to get eaten alive.

「Oof, I thought it was just for show, but you’re actually using it, huh.」
「With the people here, I can’t feel comfortable without any weapon at hand.」

Honestly, I don’t really intend to use it much. I’d rather we just have harmless fun from start to finish. Though I was 80% sure that things would never end that way.

「Still Kotone, you’ve worn this before, right?」
「Just once. I got swept up in the moment and wore it. Back then though, it was too hot for me to feel any embarrassment, so I didn’t have much of a reaction.」
「When was that?」
「In the middle of summer.」

Looks like everyone is convinced. A thinner one would’ve been nice, but it’s clearly for winter use. Even now, it’s still tad early season wise. But again, not wearing it.

「So you weren’t the one who bought it? That’s somewhat disappointing.」
「You know my personality. There’s no way I’d buy cute stuff like this.」
「Nono, while you might say that, maybe you subconsciously like these sorts of things?」

Hadzuki. What kind of backstory are you trying to impose on me? I mean, sure, I’m not really against trying stuff that might look good on me, but just not this. I don’t think cute stuff suits me.

「Heck no. Adorable stuff like this would fit Kotori better.」
「Personally, I really want to see a gap from your usual look. Don’t you have other more of these?」
「What do you think?」
「Yeah, no.」

I don’t have any other animal pajamas. I’ve already checked all my clothes when I first started living here and all I buy are the usual stuff. I occasionally get recommended clothes when I have someone with me, but I haven’t bought any of those.

「Okay, Kotone. Wear it!」
「Pay attention!」

Aya is really stubborn. Still, perhaps the smack from earlier worked, since she’s keeping a good distance away. Though in exchange, it seems like she’s trying to win the others over.

「Then in the next game, let’s make sure Kotone loses!」
「A concentrated assault in the game of life, how immature.」

This version of the game of life didn’t sell much because you could obstruct and attack other players. So having a concentrated attack on just one person is practically bullying. Moreover, announcing this before the game even started, is she sane?

「Welp, I’m stumped.」

Aya, Hadzuki, and Kotori go without saying. Rin also has a look of anticipation in her eyes and Minadzuki would probably join for the fun of it. Nagatsuki would probably self-destruct even if left to his own devices.

「You can give up and just wear it now.」
「At least give me a chance to fight. I don’t want to surrender before even trying.」
「Aren’t you pretty stubborn.」

At least let me fight. Even if my chances of winning are lower than 10%, I want to bet on that chance. These guys can probably crush it to 0 though. Still, is Nagatsuki lost? Or did something happen?