Chapter 29: That Vixen!
Kazuma, having somehow succeeded in placating the actresses, was mentally exhausted and had collapsed onto his desk.
“Haaah~~~”
“Hmph…”
Seeing Kazuma suffering, Momoko, reveling in her delight, snorted.
“What a heartless subordinate, not helping her superior! If your chest is flat, your heart must be flat too!”
“Are those your last words?”
Emitting an extraordinary bloodlust, Momoko slowly rose to her feet.
Those nearby, overwhelmed by the tremendous intimidation emanating from Momoko, couldn’t help but gulp, their throats audibly swallowing.
Amidst them, only Kazuma, remaining calm, stood up and closed the distance to face Momoko.
“It’s alright. I think modest chests are cute too.”
“It’s too late to try and smooth things over now!”
“Uboah!”
Momoko struck Kazuma’s chin with the heel of her palm.
Kazuma recoiled and fell backward, not getting up until the break time ended.
The break ended, and filming resumed, but Kazuma had no scenes, so he observed as planned.
He occasionally asked questions but otherwise watched the filming without interfering or speaking out of turn.
Momoko, while they were observing, asked in a low voice if he, as the Crimson Knight himself, had any complaints.
“Hmm… Fiction and reality are different, aren’t they?”
“So, you mean there’s nothing particularly troubling?”
“That’s right. Even if some weird image takes root, I’m still me.”
“Well, that’s certainly true.”
In the first place, the Crimson Knight now reigned as the world’s strongest Gifted.
It’s unlikely his image will change at this point.
No matter how blatant the setting changes might be, his position as the world’s strongest wouldn’t waver.
“By the way, I’ve been wondering, why are the actors so fixated on you?”
Perhaps they were fired up for the shoot, but the actors, clearly more motivated than in the morning, seemed to be constantly paying attention to Sakura Hakanai, frequently glancing her way.
This bothered Kazuma strangely, and he glared sharply at Sakura Hakanai, the source of it all.
“I haven’t done anything~. If I had to say, I just mentioned that men who work hard and break a sweat are cool, you know~.”
“So that’s the reason… Did you set this up during the lunch break?”
“I didn’t set anything up. I was just having a pleasant chat~.”
“You didn’t use Brainwashing, did you?”
“You know I can’t, because I’m bound by your contract~.”
“Muu… So, you’re manipulating those men purely with your words…”
“I’m not manipulating them. They’re just doing it themselves.”
“What do you think, Momoko-chan?”
“What do I think? This is what happens when you let her run wild. You need to discipline her properly.”
“You’re asking the impossible…”
Kazuma realized that nothing more could be done.
Sakura Hakanai was originally a heinous criminal who had tried to overthrow Japan.
It was too late to try and reform her now.
She would probably never become a respectable adult.
“Such harsh words.”
Sakura Hakanai, chuckling, wasn’t angered by their remarks and was shaking her shoulders in a good mood.
“It’s about to end.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. I think that’s it for today’s filming.”
As the filming seemed to be reaching its end, Seiichi, who had been observing next to them, began to prepare to leave.
Seiichi went to bid farewell to various people, but he got caught by the director, preventing Kazuma and the others from leaving.
They seemed to be deep in conversation, and just when Kazuma thought they were discussing future storylines or developments, the director said he wanted to meet the Crimson Knight.
“Hey, Kanou-kun. Can’t you somehow get an appointment with the Crimson Knight?”
“Eh, ah, well~, I’ll try asking, but please don’t expect too much.”
“But this project involves the Crimson Knight, right? Please, I really want him to participate in the filming somehow~.”
“I did mention at the beginning that he could appear in a special program or a movie…”
“I know, but I still want him to see it at least once, you know?”
“The truth is, you just want to meet him, don’t you?”
“Well, yeah! I mean, he’s a real hero, right?! As someone who’s been directing Sunday morning kids’ shows for years, of course I want to meet him! Please! I’m begging you, can’t I meet him somehow?”
Saeki Director pressed his palms together above his head and bowed to Seiichi as if in prayer.
He must really want to meet the Crimson Knight.
Even when Seiichi told him to stop, Saeki Director wouldn’t raise his head until he got a favorable answer.
Realizing he couldn’t do anything himself, Seiichi turned his face towards Kazuma, seeking help.
“Wait. What are you planning to do?”
Just as he was about to go help, Momoko grabbed the hem of his clothes, and Kazuma turned around.
“Obviously, that I am the Crimson Knight—”
“Are you an idiot?!! No, you were an idiot…”
Momoko, utterly exasperated by Kazuma’s foolishness, pressed her temples firmly.
“Please don’t do anything unnecessary. I’ll handle it somehow.”
“Handle it how…? What are you going to do? Momoko-chan, don’t tell me you’re planning to use seduction?!”
Thwack! Momoko’s fist slammed into Kazuma’s face.
Kazuma’s face caved in like in a gag manga, and he couldn’t see in front of him.
“Don’t say such ridiculous things. Who do you think would resort to seduction?”
“Then, what will you do?”
“I don’t want to, but I’ll go read his true intentions. If he’s thinking anything wicked, I’ll deal with it on my end.”
“Wow… It feels like I’m seeing the proper use of Mind Reading for the first time!”
Momoko turned on her Mind Reading, which she had kept off, and headed towards Seiichi and Saeki Director.
Seiichi noticed Momoko approaching but, unaware of her Gift, continued talking with Saeki Director.
“Therefore, even if you say that, there’s nothing I can do.”
“But, but, you’re the only one who can get an appointment with the Crimson Knight, right? Really, I’m begging you! Please! Just meeting him once is fine!”
Were those words truly without deceit?
Momoko listened to Saeki Director’s inner voice to read his true intentions.
“(Waaah! Why won’t you let me meet him! I want to talk to the Crimson Knight too! In fact, I want to film a tokusatsu show starring the Crimson Knight! If only I could negotiate, there’d be a chance!)”
“(…Ugh, this person is just a troublesome fan, isn’t he?)”
Saeki Director was a hardcore fan of the Crimson Knight.
Having become a director because he originally loved tokusatsu, it was probably inevitable that he’d be smitten with the Crimson Knight, who embodied the heroes he’d only seen on screen. The only flaw was that this admiration was a bit troublesome.
“(Hmm… If I tell that man this fact, he’s likely to go berserk, isn’t he…)”
He would undoubtedly go berserk.
If Kazuma found out he had a fan, he was the kind of idiot who would go above and beyond for Saeki Director.
“(I don’t want to get dragged into trouble, so maybe I should take care of this.)”
Momoko judged that it would definitely become troublesome if Kazuma found out, so she decided to call her colleagues on her work phone and pull Seiichi away from Saeki Director.
However, things didn’t go according to Momoko’s plan; Kazuma had unknowingly approached from behind and thwarted her actions.
“Wha-!?”
“Fufufu… Not so fast! You were thinking of dealing with it before it became troublesome, weren’t you!”
Kazuma, unnecessarily high-spec, had read Momoko’s intentions from the change in her expression and her series of actions, and had acted first.
“I figured Saeki Director probably doesn’t have any particularly wicked thoughts! In other words, that person is just a troublesome otaku of the Crimson Knight!”
“(Th-this man, just how unnecessarily high-spec is he!)”
Though she hid her expression so as not to be found out, Kazuma was holding Momoko’s hand.
He had seen through everything, from her pulse to her perspiration, and sensed her agitation.
“Momoko-chan. Unfortunately for you, I won’t let you have your way~.”
“Please don’t create more unnecessary work!”
Momoko resisted, but she was no match for Kazuma and easily had her phone snatched away.
“Sorry, but this looks interesting! I’m going!”
“Damn it!”
Momoko’s wish was in vain; Kazuma headed towards Saeki Director to hear the details, but an unexpected enemy appeared.
“I won’t let you do that~.”
“Ngh… Are you saying you’ll interfere with me?”
The one who stood in Kazuma’s way was Sakura Hakanai.
She was blocking the path so Kazuma couldn’t go to Saeki Director.
“Why? Why are you interfering?”
“Your lines are completely those of a villain…”
“Just answer me. Why are you getting in my way?”
“You should know without me saying, right? I’d rather not get involved.”
“Why! You’re a hedonist, aren’t you! If something interesting was right in front of you, you’re the type to do it without hesitation!”
“I like to watch, not to participate.”
Now that he mentioned it, Sakura Hakanai wasn’t the type of person to take the initiative herself.
Even if she made plans, it was her brainwashed subordinates who carried them out.
In other words, she was the complete opposite type of Kazuma, who took initiative and acted on his own.
“So, you were an enemy after all…!”
“How sad…”
A cold wind blew between the two of them.
At this point, there was no choice but to fight.
“You, who can’t use Brainwashing, are no enemy of mine!”
“Fufufu, I wonder if that’s really true?”
“What? What do you mean—”
The next moment Kazuma spoke, multiple figures moved.
Kazuma, noticing their presence, turned around, his eyes widening at the sight before him.
The actors and actresses, along with the stuntmen, were lunging towards Kazuma.
“Impossible! Since when!”
While fending off the fierce assault from the attacking actors, actresses, and stuntmen, Kazuma turned his gaze to Sakura Hakanai.
“You had given Momoko-chan the authority to command me, hadn’t you? I secretly received permission from her to use Brainwashing.”
“Did you know it would come to this!”
“To some extent…”
“But, if you do something like this, the other people will notice something is wrong…! Just how thoroughly prepared are you all!”
Behind the broadly smiling Sakura Hakanai, staff members were cleaning up as if Kazuma and the others didn’t even exist.
It seemed Sakura Hakanai had predicted this outcome and had Brainwashed all the staff members beforehand.
Realizing this, Kazuma keenly felt that he truly didn’t want to make an enemy of Sakura Hakanai.