"Wait a moment, I'm coming to open the door right now."
Seeing the silhouette cast by the setting sun turn back, Natsuhi finally breathed a sigh of relief and stopped shaking the door.
She then took a few steps back to prevent the other person from seeing her movements through the frosted glass.
The corners of her mouth curled into a cold arc, and her sharp eyes fixed on the entrance; her focused expression carried even more pressure than Inoue's had just moments ago.
[Good, you finally came back. This way, I can reduce their numbers by one right off the bat. A one-on-two will be much easier.]
Watching the silhouette behind the door come to a halt, Natsuhi's small hand reached for the bright red fire extinguisher, lifting it and clutching it with both hands.
This was a fire extinguisher for a commercial building, a larger water-based model, six liters, with a total weight of about ten kilograms.
Natsuhi had specifically chosen the heaviest one in order to defeat the enemy in a single blow.
The sunlight was blocked by the silhouette, and the sound of a lock clicking came from the other side of the door. The room fell into a sudden silence. Old Hei and Fujino both turned their gazes toward the door.
They had felt the vibration earlier; honestly, it wasn't a small commotion. What exactly was outside? They couldn't even tell if it was a man or a woman by the sound.
The person said they were checking the water meter, but they didn't believe it because the timing was too sensitive—why now, just when they were about to succeed...
"One!"
"Two!"
Two crisp shouts reached the room. The owner of the voice seemed to be preparing for something, sounding very much like a chant to build up strength.
"Three—!!!"
After swinging it twice to increase momentum, Natsuhi exerted a sudden force and threw the fire extinguisher in her hands with all her might, even stumbling forward slightly from the inertia as it left her grip.
Boom—Crash!!!
Without any suspense, in the face of absolute mass and kinetic energy, the seemingly sturdy glass door shattered instantly!
Countless crystalline shards exploded inward in a radial pattern, reflecting thousands of points of crimson luster in the afterglow of the setting sun!
Inoue, being the first to bear the brunt, didn't even have time to fully show an expression of shock before the heavy metal canister struck him squarely in the chest!
Puff—!
His eyes instantly bulged, and he was sent flying backward uncontrollably, as if struck head-on by a massive force!
Bang—Clang!!!
His body traced a short arc through the air, and his back slammed heavily against the wooden reception desk!
The immense impact caused the thick counter to make an ear-piercing cracking sound, caving inward into a large crater!
Inoue slumped into the wreckage of the counter, his head hanging limply, no longer moving, his fate unknown.
For a moment, there was only the crisp pitter-patter of glass shards continuing to hit the floor, like a horrific lingering melody striking the hearts of everyone present.
The two men and one woman inside were completely dumbfounded, their pupils contracting from shock.
The scene before them was as if a bomb had just been detonated.
What happened? A terrorist attack? A lunatic? A mental patient?
They looked at the mess at the door, at Inoue embedded in the counter with his life uncertain, and at the glass shards reflecting orange light all over the floor, their minds going blank.
Everyone's heart rate quickened and their breathing became shallow as they stared fixedly at the door, afraid to miss even a single moment.
"Oh my~ being looked at with such expectation makes me a little embarrassed."
A cheerful female voice rang out; she didn't seem to realize how much of a commotion she had just caused.
Stepping on the shattered glass, she entered the deathly silent space with steady steps. The friction between her soles and the glass made a 'crunching' sound, each step seeming to tread on everyone's heart.
"Natsuhi? How can it be you?"
Wada Saki never expected that the person at the door would be her best friend. For a moment, she felt that what was happening today had truly exceeded her understanding, feeling somewhat unreal.
"Nothing is impossible. I'm here to take you home... Uh, fainted? As expected, entering the plot triggers a forced coma..."
Indeed, the moment Natsuhi entered the room, a mysterious drowsiness washed over Wada Saki. After forcing herself to ask one question, her head tilted, and she fell asleep.
A smile of relief was on her sleeping face. For some reason, she felt a strange sense of security after seeing Natsuhi, especially after the other girl said the words 'take you home.'
It was strange; Natsuhi was clearly the same as her, and her sports grades were even worse, yet it seemed that as long as she was present, all problems could be resolved.
"Yo! Sorry to disturb you. Looking at your expressions, did I overdo it a bit?"
After entering the room, Natsuhi grinned and rubbed her head, showing her white teeth. Although she seemed to be apologizing, there wasn't a hint of sincerity in her tone.
Unlike Wada Saki, who had fallen into a sweet dream, Old Hei and Fujino beside her felt an indescribable fear—even though the person before them was just a young girl.
Glancing again at the silent Inoue over by the counter, the two of them swallowed hard in unison.
"Am I dreaming..."
Fujino pinched his own face. Everything had happened too suddenly; he was still somewhat dazed even now.
Fujino: "Hey, hey, hey, hey—! What on earth did you do?!"
"You killed him?!"
"Well, it looks that way, but he hasn't turned into light and dissipated yet, so he probably has half a breath left."
She tilted her head to look at Inoue embedded in the counter, her tone as calm as if she were discussing the weather.
She casually pulled a packet of tissues from her school uniform pocket and slowly wiped the stains that had splashed onto her hand.
"You, you..." Fujino pointed at Natsuhi, his finger trembling as if he'd been electrocuted, "Do you even know what you've done?!"
"I know."
Natsuhi crumpled the used tissue into a ball and tossed it onto the glass shards at her feet.
"I'm performing cleanup work."
"People like you who shouldn't be here should stay where you belong."
"Don't you know being a 'cleaner' is very tiring? So don't you two give me any trouble. Cooperate quietly, and you'll suffer less."
Natsuhi put on an unquestionable expression and beckoned the two men over with her hand. Her attitude clearly showed she didn't take them seriously at all.
What familiar lines; Inoue seemed to have said something similar to Saki, and his current situation was...
"Hey! What are you still standing there for? Didn't you hear me?!"
Seeing that the two of them weren't moving, her face instantly darkened as if she were reprimanding subordinates.
For some reason, even though the person opposite them was just a young girl, the two of them didn't dare to make a move. Perhaps what happened to Inoue had given them too much of a shock.
Old Hei looked at his thick arms, then at the imposing girl before him, and fell into deep thought...
Why was she so confident?
He was being completely intimidated by her.