Is It Tough Being A Friend? Volume 2 Chapter 3 Part4

The next day had arrived. It was probably about five o'clock in the evening.

While waiting for Mion and Jyuri to return from shopping, I was playing video games with Kiki in the living room.

It was a fighting game released years ago that I was fairly confident in. Though I intended to go easy on her to let her get used to the game, I ended up suffering twenty consecutive defeats…being completely beaten by the girl apostle.

“Baron Ichirou, you're weak.”

“J, just one more time! I'm going to get serious now! I'm not going easy on you any longer!”

“You said that before.”

“Play time's over, little one! I've seen through your attack patterns long ago!”

“You said that before as well.”

“Boss, let me take over. You're not letting your subordinate show what he can do. Hey Kiki, this is as far as your arrogance will take you. I will show you the tremendous might of the ‘Evil Spirit!'”

“We've already fought many times, Baron Taotie.”

We kept talking to each other, with Taotie joining the conversation as well.

Then, I heard the front door slam open and the sound of footsteps rus.h.i.+ng down the corridor.

“Ichirou! This is bad!”

As expected, it was Mion who came.

While carrying shopping bags in her hands, her facial expression changed as she got closer to me. It was obvious that this wasn't a trivial matter.

“What's wrong, Mion? Did something──”

“Jyuri started a battle of her own accord!”

Taotie, Kiki, and I all said “Huh?” while shocked in response to the unexpected report.

“…What?”

“Like I said, she started a battle! Three of Hinomori Ryuuga's friends are involved!”

According to Mion, when they were returning home from the supermarket, they spotted the three main heroines gathering together, Yukimiya s.h.i.+ori, Aogasaki Rei, and Elmira McCartney.

Seeing that, Jyuri charged at them, not listening to Mion's warnings, as if she had been waiting for that moment to arrive. She said that the battle's still ongoing.

“Jyuri was supposed to make her debut during phase two, though…!”

The plans I had crafted were in deep trouble.

At the same time, I blamed myself for having dawdled around for too long.

…Come to think of it, Jyuri did seem unsatisfied with my orders for her to be on standby. She didn't voice it out loud, but perhaps she had been frustrated the entire time.

(I should have expected this. She has been in this house for a little under two weeks…and even her subordinates were being defeated.)

This was definitely my blunder. I didn't have a good grasp of her nature. I held an overly strong impression that she was just a lewd character and didn't see her as “Jyuri the Apostle.”

“I'm sorry, Ichirou. I couldn't stop her…”

I shook my head bitterly in response to Mion's meek apology.

“No, this isn't your fault. This is my negligence as the boss.”

However, now's not the time for apologies. Seeing that the story has begun to pick up, immediate action is necessary.

“So it's three-on-one? Boss, this is bad, even for Jyuri.”

“Baron Ichirou, let's help Jyuri.”

Taotie and Kiki didn't need to say it for me to know. I got up.

I'm not planning to back down. I can't afford to lose Jyuri at a time like this. If I abandon her, then I'm not qualified to be a boss. i would also lose Mion's and Kiki's trust.

…No, that's not it. I don't care about such selfish things.

Jyuri's my colleague. She has been exhausting herself each day for my sake.

What's wrong with her carrying out her own actions just once? What was the point of that “one for all, and all for one” thing I had preached about? As the final boss of part two, am I going to let her fall?!

“Mion, lead the way.”

“Ichirou…”

“Now that it has come to this, we don't have any choice. However, our purpose isn't to battle, but to rescue Jyuri. Let's go!”

Mion and Kiki both said “Yes,” in response to my order.

The scene of the battle was the rooftop of a multi-story building near the vicinity of the large supermarket.

It was a fifteen-story apartment complex with few tenants. Fortunately, it was easy to trespa.s.s since there were emergency stairs, but travelling up them was not enjoyable.

“Jyuri doesn't change locations when she battles…so finding her didn't take too much time.”

As we headed up the stairs, Mion griped of such things. I was right behind her, silently following while staring at her tush. I couldn't see any panties when I tried looking for them.

…Before long, we approached the rooftop, and at the same time, signs of a violent battle became apparent.

There were continuous sounds of impacts, explosions, and crashes. Mixed in were voices of anger, yells, and screams coming from some girls. Unfortunately, it seemed that they were really getting into the heat of battle.

Before rising any further up the stairs, I stopped both Mion and Kiki, and then stuck only my head out to peek at the rooftop.

──Sure enough, there stood an apostle whose lower-half had turned into that of a serpent's.

Yukimiya, Aogasaki, and Elmira were surrounding her.

(So that's what Jyuri looks like when as a peculiarity…!)

Her appearance resembled the so-called lamia monsters. Her size didn't differ that much from a human's, but her tail effortlessly spanned ten meters. Her enormous b.r.e.a.s.t.s were also going strong, but I couldn't see any nipples since she was covered in scales.

(Did we make it in time? Still…this is a pretty bad situation.)

Just as I thought, Jyuri had gotten herself into quite the predicament.

She had cuts all over her body and her left arm dangled loosely without any power in it. A portion of her beautiful blonde hair had burnt, causing it to frizzle.

She was definitely riddled with wounds…no wait, I suppose I should say that she had been hanging in there pretty well.

Her being able to contend with those three is already a big enough accomplishment. However, it would only be a matter of time until things would be over. In contrast to the exhausted Jyuri, the heroines were unwounded. They were just a little out of breath.

While the three encircled Jyuri, they slowly closed the gap between her and them.

“Hmph, my Kagura suzu was supposed to have sealed your movements, and yet its effects are this weak…”

“Don't get careless, s.h.i.+ori, Elmira. This person isn't your run-of-the-mill apostle.”

“She seems to be someone from the upper echelons. Just what I wanted. I'll cook her with my h.e.l.lfire until she's well-done.”

It kind of seems like the heroines are the villains here. Well, that's not necessarily a problem since I'm a human on the side of the apostles right now.

Jyuri's long tail squirmed while she spoke the to girls without faltering.

“Sorry, but I don't feel like going down so easily. For the sake of the ‘Evil Spirit' and the one who has become the vessel…I just wanted to do something with at least one of the four G.o.ds!”

Did that mean she wasn't planning on retreating? Now that I think about it, despite her appearances, Jyuri has quite the sense of duty. Perhaps that's also why she had been sneaking into my bed every night.

(That being the case, would she follow an order to retreat….?)

I was getting worried about it.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of feathers spreading out from behind me.

“Ichirou. I'm going.”

When I turned around, Mion, who had turned into a heron type peculiarity, stared straight at me. I had seen her like this before during the final battle of part one, where she looked like a harpy.

“I can't sit still when they've hurt Jyuri that much. Though the concept of a family doesn't apply to us, no bond is stronger than that of the three princesses.”

“I'm going too.”

Agreeing with Mion, Kiki turned into a Hokkaido wolf type peculiarity. Her entire body was covered in thick, dense fur, and she sprouted ears and a tail. She resembled the so-called werewolf.

“Ichirou, stay here with Taotie. This isn't something the ‘Evil Spirit' needs to bother with.”

“Do what she says.”

“W, wait a minute. Listen, the objective here is to rescue Jyuri, not to battle with──”

Not listening to what I was saying, the two had already rushed towards the rooftop.

Mion soared into the sky, Kiki dashed on the ground, fiercely charging towards their opponents.

“!”

The heroines' complexions changed in face of the sudden intruders. Despite being caught off guard, they quickly responded to deal with the a.s.sault.

Not missing the opportunity, Jyuri had instantly understood what happened and began to take action as well. The once one-sided situation was now beginning to reverse. It became an evenly matched three-on-three.

First, Mion and Aogasaki clashed with each other.

“Y, you, Mion!”

“You remember me? That makes me so glad, ‘Swordswoman of the Beheading Dance.'”

Next, Kiki and Elmira rushed towards each other.

“A, a newcomer?!”

“I'm a newcomer.”

Like that, Jyuri ferociously closed in on the only one remaining, Yukimiya.

“Hmph! I won't falter from something like this!”

“Let me teach you a lesson. I'll show you how vindictive a serpent can be!”

…The rooftop of the building had quickly become a free-for-all between the three princesses and the heroines.