Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 6 - Chapter 4

Reminiscence (Part 1)

Saturday, December 19th

The following Saturday was a beautiful day with clear skies and no wind. Thanks to that, it felt surprisingly warm despite being the dead of winter.

“Koutarou, what about your coat?”

“I don’t need it. It’s hard to move around in, and besides, it’s plenty warm today.”

Koutarou shook his head at Kiriha, who was reaching for his coat. Instead, he picked up a nearby jacket. He was planning on going out in something comfortable.

“I see. Then I’ll do the same.”

As she helped Koutarou put on his jacket, Kiriha smiled gently.

It was now officially the weekend, and because of their promise from last Sunday, Koutarou and Kiriha would be going out together today.

Five pairs of eyes stared at Koutarou and Kiriha as they got ready to go. They belonged to Sanae, Yurika, Theia, Ruth, and Shizuka who had come over to play. None of the five girls were quite sure what they were watching unfold.

Sanae, Yurika, and Theia sat in front of the TV playing a game, but instead of concentrating on the game, they were stealing glances at Koutarou and Kiriha. Ruth and Shizuka sat across from each other at the table having tea. Ruth, however, seemed to be in a bad mood. Her lips were lightly pursed into a frown. In contrast, Shizuka was in a great mood. Her eyes were sparkling as she pretended to drink tea while watching Koutarou and Kiriha.

“All right. Then let’s go, Kiriha-san.”

“Yes. Well then, everyone, we’ll be going now.”

After finishing getting ready to leave, Koutarou and Kiriha moved towards the front door. None of the remaining five girls so much as moved. Even Sanae, who normally would have made a fuss and asked to go too, was sitting still in front of the TV.

“Kiriha-san, do you need the shoehorn?”

“Thank you. Heh, Koutarou, the heel of your shoe looks like it’s collapsed.”

“That’s why I won’t need the shoehorn.”

However, once they were sure Koutarou and Kiriha had reached the front door, all five girls made a move. They gathered at the other end of the hallway leading to the front door, and one by one, their heads peeked around the corner like an odd totem pole. From the top to bottom was Sanae, Shizuka, Yurika, Ruth, and finally Theia.

“Koutarou, you haven’t forgotten anything, have you?”

“You handed me my cell phone, handkerchief, and wallet just a moment ago.”

“Right, of course. It’s just a habit that kicks in whenever I’m about to leave.”

“That sounds like a really roundabout way of telling me how forgetful you think I am.”

What the group of five saw as they peered around the corner was Koutarou and Kiriha happily getting ready to leave together. And at that sight, four of the five of them were glaring. But the next moment, each of them hurriedly pulled their head back. Koutarou had put his hand on the door and turned around to say goodbye.

“I’m off!”

“See you later!”

It was a close call. If they hadn’t pulled their heads back when they did, they would have been caught.

“Bye!” all five girls called in harmony.

If Koutarou or Kiriha had been paying more attention, it would have been pretty obvious the girls were up to something based on their voices. But neither Koutarou nor Kiriha seemed too concerned about it as they turned back towards the door.

When they did, five heads reappeared in totem pole fashion again. They watched Koutarou and Kiriha leave the apartment. The twenty-five year old door creaked slightly as it shut behind them. As it did, the five girls lost sight of Koutarou and Kiriha, but they remained where they were for a few more moments, motionless and silent.

“It’s a date! There’s no doubt about it!”

The first one to speak up was Shizuka, the only one of the five that was smiling. As a teenage girl, she had a vested interest in this sort of thing, and her eyes were sparkling with excitement at the prospect.

“When did they end up in that kind of relationship? I’m dying to know!”

She then began muttering her suspicions about Koutarou and Kiriha’s relationship.

“I won’t forgive him for this betrayal when he has Sakuraba-senpai! Th-This is an offense to Sakuraba-senpai and me!”

Shizuka was thoroughly enjoying herself, but just below her was Yurika, shaking with anger. The gentle Yurika was—unusually enough—quite outraged. Both her trembling fists were clenched in resentment.

“He’s going on a date with the wrong person! Satomi-san should be going out to play with Sakuraba-senpai and me!”

Yurika felt that if Koutarou was going to date someone, it had to be Harumi. Yet when Yurika imagined Koutarou and Harumi on dates together, she was always with them for some reason. Yurika, however, thought nothing of it and ultimately didn’t understand half the reason she was so angry.

“Koutarou, you stupid idiot! How can you not see all this is part of that woman’s trap?!”

Sanae was also angry that Koutarou had gone out with Kiriha, but unlike Yurika, she was mostly concerned about his safety. She was worried that Koutarou had fallen for her temptations.

“Now that it’s come to this, I have no choice but to expose that woman for who she really is and protect Koutarou!”

The whole reason Sanae hadn’t gone with Koutarou was because she knew if she did, Kiriha wouldn’t show her true colors. Instead of getting the tail, she wanted to make sure she got the head.

“Ruth, can you track them?”

“I already am. I’m tracking them with Blue Knight’s firing control system.”

The two bottom heads of the totem pole had already jumped into action. They were using Blue Knight’s monitoring systems to keep tabs on Koutarou and Kiriha.

“What’s their current location?”

“They’ve left Corona House and are heading east. I believe they’re heading towards the station.”

Theia was the one who had a tendency to go overboard, but right now Ruth was just as eager. Normally, she would call something like this an invasion of privacy and prevent Theia from going astray, but this time was different.

“Her Highness’s knight is meeting with a woman in secret... This kind of scandal cannot be tolerated!”

With bloodshot eyes, Ruth gave command after command to Blue Knight. In her mind, Koutarou had to be Theia’s knight. He had to be a noble, strong, just, and true hero. Naturally, something like problems with other women would get in the way of that. To Ruth, the most important thing right now was setting Koutarou back on the right path. And to that end, privacy was hardly an obstacle.

“Curse that Koutarou! Conspiring with the enemy is a serious crime! Does he not even understand that much?!”

Despite what Theia was shouting, she didn’t really think that Koutarou was conspiring with the enemy. He wasn’t that kind of man, and Theia knew that better than anyone.

You’re acting too much like a knight this time! You have to look the other way and say no to people sometimes!

That was Theia’s hunch. Based on Kiriha’s behavior over the last couple of weeks, Theia had a vague idea that she was going through something. Koutarou was just getting himself involved. If Kiriha had a problem, there was no way Koutarou could just ignore it. That was her hunch as a princess, and her desire as a woman.

“That fool! He really is a fool!”

Worry and a bit of jealousy tugged at Theia’s heart. However, above all else, she was actually happy.

“Koutarou and Kiriha are heading towards the station, right? They must be planning on hopping on a train to go somewhere!”

“Taking the train from here, you can either get to the city or the beach. I wonder which way they’re going...”

If they were planning on shopping, bowling, or any other kind of urban amusement, the closest place would be to head into the city. But if they took the train in the other direction, they would end up at the coast where there were seaside resorts and large-scale entertainment venues. Since it was now winter, it was unlikely that they were heading for a seaside resort, but there was still the possibility that they were going to the nearby aquarium or amusement park. Either way, based on which train they took, the girls would be able to narrow down Koutarou and Kiriha’s destination.

“Nothing will come from waiting here! We’re heading for the station too!”

“Here we go!”

“W-Wait for meee!”

Theia dashed out of the room. Sanae quickly followed suit, and Yurika scrambled after them both in a panic.

“Then I shall go too.”

Ruth hurriedly stood up and headed for the front door. She had to give Theia backup.

“See you later then, I guess,” Shizuka said with a forlorn sigh.

Hearing that, Ruth stopped and turned around just as she was about to reach the hallway.

“Aren’t you coming along too, Shizuka-sama?”

“Nah, I have to work today.”

“Ah, you did mention that you would be helping out at another show.”

Shizuka was also interested in what Koutarou and Kiriha were doing, and she would have loved to join the other girls in their investigation. But alas, there was a scheduling conflict with the new part-time job she was offered last week. She’d be starting this weekend, so she had to get ready to go in any minute now.

“Aaah, if I’d known this was going to happen, I never would have accepted this job!”

Shizuka gritted her teeth in frustration, but Ruth just smiled wryly.

“I’ll have a report for you about what happened when you get back.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Just leave it to me!”

Ruth smiled at Shizuka as she sighed.

“Then what are you still doing here?”

“Yes, of course! Very well then, Shizuka-sama! I will take my leave!”

“Hahh... See you later then.”

And so Theia and the other girls left the despondent Shizuka behind in room 106 to chase after Koutarou and Kiriha.

Koutarou and Kiriha boarded the train headed towards the coast. Once they did, Theia and the others got on the next express train to chase after them. Because of that, Theia and the others actually arrived at the station where they believed Koutarou and Kiriha were going to get off first.

“Your Highness, as we expected, Satomi-sama and Kiriha-sama got off at this station.”

“I thought so...”

Hearing Ruth’s report, Theia nodded.

“This is a definitely a date.”

“Grrrrr, if we don’t do something fast, Koutarou will fall prey to Kiriha!”

Theia, Ruth, Yurika, and Sanae hid in a small alley and kept an eye on the entrance to the station.

“However, it seems the two of them have entered a roofed area, so the unmanned craft has lost track of them.”

As the four girls followed them, they had an unmanned craft from Blue Knight follow Koutarou and Kiriha from above. The only problem was that once Koutarou and Kiriha entered the station building after getting off the train, it was no longer possible to track them from the air.

“No problem. They’ll have to leave eventually.”

“But with that many people, how are we going to spot Satomi-san?”

Yurika pointed her finger at a huge crowd leaving the station. Since it was the weekend, there were plenty of people out and about. Even if Koutarou and Kiriha appeared, they would be hard to pick out of a crowd.

“Heh, leave this to Sanae-chan!”

But Sanae stepped forward full of confidence and volunteered to handle the situation. She stood in front of everyone and squinted her eyes.

“Don’t forget that I, Sanae-chan, have a special bond with Koutarou!”

Sanae was looking for Koutarou’s aura in the crowd. Since she was always clinging to him, she knew exactly what it looked and felt like. And it paid off. Sanae was quickly able to spot Koutarou and Kiriha without any problems.

“I found them! They’re over there! Just in front of the convenience store!”

“Ruth!”

“I’ve got a lock on them! The unmanned craft is following them again!”

Thanks to Sanae, the unmanned craft began tailing Koutarou and Kiriha once more. With that, Theia and the others didn’t need to worry about accidently losing him.

“Sanae-chan, that’s amazing!”

“Praise me some more, you jerk!”

Sanae boasted proudly as Yurika complimented her. However, since Koutarou wasn’t there to pat her on the head, she didn’t feel as fulfilled as she normally did.

“Satomi-sama and Kiriha-sama are on the move.”

“Where are they going?”

“Let’s see... According to the map, there’s a zoo in the direction they’re heading.”

Once Koutarou and Kiriha left the station, they continued in the same direction. Further that way still was the Harukaze Zoo, the largest zoo in the prefecture. Going right after leaving the station would have taken them to an amusement park, and on the left would have been an aquarium. The area was so crowded because all of those attractions were so close to each other.

“All right, let’s keep following them at a safe distance.”

“Don’t we need to get a little closer?”

“The zoo is mostly open air, so we should be fine with the craft, right?”

“Aaahh! H-How could this be?!” Ruth loudly stammered just as the other girls started to follow after Koutarou and Kiriha again. She sounded like she was about to scream.

“What’s wrong?!”

“They’re holding hands!”

Smack in the middle of the footage relayed by the unmanned craft was the image of Koutarou and Kiriha holding hands as they walked.

“Wh-Whaaaaat?!”

“Satomi-san! Are you serious?!”

“You’re being tricked, Koutarou! Tricked, I tell you!”

In reality, Koutarou and Kiriha were only holding hands so they wouldn’t lose each other in the crowd, but that’s not what it looked like to the other girls.

“We’re going to close in! I want to know what they’re talking about!”

“Roger!”

“I’m glad we followed them... I never imagined it would turn out like this...”

“Once we get home, he’s going to be punished. This behavior is shameful and unworthy of a knight!”

Having entered a rather incredible misunderstanding about Koutarou and Kiriha’s relationship, the four girls chased after them in hot pursuit.

Although the streets were quite packed, once they actually got inside the zoo, the crowd thinned out. There was no longer any risk of losing track of each other, so Koutarou and Kiriha let go of each other’s hands.

“Koutarou, there’s a giraffe over there.”

“Oh, hey.”

And because Kiriha tended to walk off on her own, there wasn’t even another chance for them to hold hands anyway.

“What’s up with her today...?”

Koutarou scratched his head as he chased after her.

Normally Kiriha gave off the composed impression of a mature woman. She was by far the most mature of the residents of room 106.

“Koutarou, is it true that giraffes sleep standing up?”

“Supposedly. I hear they have no problems standing and sleeping for short periods of time.”

“I see.”

However, as Kiriha stared at the animals, she had none of her normal mature appeal. In fact, rather the opposite, she seemed like an innocent child.

The answer to that question might be around here...

When Koutarou had asked Kiriha about her intentions regarding the surface invasion, she’d said there was somewhere she wanted to go with him. This was where they’d ended up, and here Koutarou was seeing a whole new side of Kiriha. Not even Koutarou was dull enough to think they were unrelated.

“Koutarou, where are the penguins?”

“The penguins would be in the aquarium section.”

She had an honest smile, her eyes darted back and forth as she looked at all the unusual animals, she spoke her mind without hesitation, and she had her hands pressed together in childlike excitement.

I guess I’ll play along for a while.

Seeing Kiriha like this, Koutarou was overcome with a feeling of gentleness. He wanted to let her do as she pleased for now.

“Even though the flamingos are there?”

“Yup, they’re still in the aquarium. The polar bears should be in there as well.”

“I see... Their classifications are surprisingly vague.”

“Do you want to go to the aquarium later?”

“Please! I really want to go!”

Today was the first time Koutarou really felt like he and Kiriha were the same age.

“So this is how it tastes...”

Kiriha had a satisfied look on her face as she bit down on her red candy apple. Koutarou was sitting next to her on the bench as the two of them had lunch.

“Is this your first one?”

Koutarou stopped eating his yakisoba and looked at Kiriha. She nodded in response as she munched on her candy apple.

“Yes, this is my first time eating one. I saw them once here in the past, and I’ve been interested in trying one ever since.”

Koutarou and Kiriha were sitting in a resting area located in one of the corners of the zoo. There were snack shops, stalls, and candy stores lining the area, which gave it the feeling of a festival. They’d even gotten Kiriha’s candy apple from one of the small stores.

“Hmm, so how is it? Is it as good as you thought? Or is it disappointing?”

“If it’s just the one, it’s delicious.”

“Hahaha, that’s true for most street food like this.”

“Including the yakisoba?”

Kiriha looked at what Koutarou was holding as he laughed.

“Yeah. Want a taste?”

“Please. I’m quite curious.”

Kiriha had an intrigued look on her face as she borrowed Koutarou’s chopsticks and lifted some of the noodles to her mouth. And after chewing on it for a while, she looked back at Koutarou.

“It’s greasy and sticks with you... but it’s not bad.”

“Yeah, you can’t eat too much of it at one time.”

“Heehee, I understand now.”

The yakisoba had been altered in order to make it cool slower and so that the taste would remain unchanged even if it did get cold. They used plenty of oil and cooked it at a lower temperature to keep it from drying out, but it definitely affected the taste and made the dish heavier. It was fundamentally different from yakisoba that had been made fresh and was meant to be eaten that way. But lots of street and carnival foods were like that, and the bottom line was that it was difficult to eat so much of it.

“So it’s only meant for special occasions...”

Kiriha smiled and went back to eating her candy apple. Meanwhile, Koutarou nodded and lifted some more noodles to his mouth.

“Thaht’s rhight.”

“Mind your manners, Koutarou.”

“Ith’s fhine aht thimes lhike thish.”

Kiriha took a bite of her candy apple.

“Heehee, thath’s thrue.”

And just as Koutarou and Kiriha were laughing at each other...

“I found you, underground people!”

A familiar voice echoed through the area.

“What?”

“Koutarou, over there!”

Koutarou looked up from his yakisoba, and right in front of him was a lone man wearing a red outfit.

“Fate brought us together here today! This time—”

The man in red was in the middle of his speech, but he stopped halfway through. Koutarou’s eyes met the man’s through the visor of his helmet.

“Wait a minute, aren’t you...?”

“Oh? You’re that guy from the other day...”

They were practically talking over each other.

“Baron Demon-san and Black Rose-san?”

“You’re a Sun Ranger, right?”

The Sun Rangers of the Sun Squad were the five-man hero group Koutarou and the others met at the Harukaze Man hero show last week.

“I am terribly sorry for intruding on your hero show last weekend!”

After recognizing Koutarou, Red Shine bowed deeply. Remembering how angry he’d made Koutarou on stage, Red Shine used this chance to formally apologize.

“No, no, you were hardly intruding!”

Compelled by the man’s gentlemanly and proper apology, Koutarou and Kiriha hurriedly stood up and bowed their heads respectfully back.

“At the time, Harukaze Man had gotten into some trouble, so you guys appearing and buying time really helped us out. Thank you.”

“I’m glad to hear it, but I’m still sorry for leaving without apologizing then.”

Having both been raised to be respectful and polite, Koutarou and Red Shine made a connection and smiled at each other.

“By the way, Baron-san and Black Rose-san, based on the way you’re dressed, are you two enjoying some private time?”

“Yes. We wanted to talk some things out.”

Koutarou and Kiriha were in casual streetwear now. Seeing that, Red Shine assumed that they had come to the zoo for fun.

“And are you in the middle of work?”

“Hahaha, I’m afraid so.”

Red Shine was wearing his red suit. Seeing that, Koutarou assumed they were holding a hero show somewhere at the zoo.

“But it seems this mission was for naught.”

Red Shine smiled dryly as he shook and smacked a small device that looked like a handheld console of some kind.

“I see.”

I guess the show was a bust.

Based on what Red Shine said, Koutarou assumed that he meant they’d had a show that didn’t go well.

“Well, if underground people really were to appear, that would be a problem too, you know? Ahahaha!”

“That’s just how it is for heroes.”

Red Shine and Koutarou had a good laugh together. Neither one of them seemed to realize they weren’t on the same page.

Did he say underground people? And that device... The group that showed up last week mentioned something about underground people too. Could it be...?

Only Kiriha picked up on what Red Shine had said, and her expression grew serious as she thought about it.

“Kenichi!

“Kenichi-kun!”

But before long, two more Sun Rangers appeared from behind an animal cage: a woman and a fat man. Koutarou remembered seeing them at the show too.

“Oh! They’ve...!”

Seeing the other two rangers emerge, Koutarou’s eyes began sparkling.

“Hey, Red Shine!”

“That’s right, Baron-san!” Red Shine boasted proudly as he saw Koutarou getting excited. “Behold Pink and Yellow! They’re properly colored now!”

The two Sun Rangers running up to them, unlike last time, were not also Red Shines. Their suits were colored pink and yellow, making them Pink Shine and Yellow Shine respectively.

“See? You can do it if you try, Sun Rangers!”

Getting worked up, Koutarou forgot his manners and began slipping into Baron Demon’s character as he slapped Red Shine on the back.

“That’s right! We took what you said into account and got different colors to make it easier for the kids to tell us apart!”

Pink for the girl, and yellow for the curry lover. Their colors fit their personalities perfectly.

“Yeah, that’s more like it! Now I’m sorry for being so hard on you last week, Sun Rangers!”

“No, this is all thanks to your guidance, Baron-san!”

“Damn, I wish I had an outfit too!”

Yes, this is it! This is how heroes should be!

Compared to last week, the Sun Rangers were starting to look like real heroes. Even Koutarou was getting more excited for them.

“Wait, no way! Daisaku-kun, isn’t that Baron-sama?!”

“Looks like it. Oh, is that girl next to him holding some yakisoba? I want to eat some too...”

When Pink and Yellow noticed Koutarou and Kiriha, they picked up the pace as they ran over.

“Baron-sama! It’s been a while!”

“Kenichi! Kenichi!”

Pink ran straight up to Koutarou, while Yellow ran over to Red. They then each started talking before they’d caught their breath.

“Look, Baron-sama! I’ve gotten cuter, right?!”

Pink spun around in front of Koutarou and showed off her suit. Seeing that, Koutarou complimented her like he thought a villain might.

“Wahahaha, you’re looking a lot more like a hero now, Pink Shine. However, all that’s changed is your appearance. Without your allies, you will only fall prey to my powers!”

“How wonderful! I’m prepared for anything you’ll do to me!”

Pink’s pupils turned into hearts as she wiggled with giddy excitement. Normally, Yellow would tell her to not be so shameless, but he was too occupied to notice her.

“Kenichi! I want some yakisoba too!”

“Yakisoba?”

“Yeah! That girl is holding some, see? They must be selling it around here somewhere!”

Yellow pressed himself up against Red as he eagerly pointed at Kiriha, who was holding Koutarou’s yakisoba for him. Red answered Yellow while pushing back his gigantic body.

“C-Calm down, Daisaku! There don’t seem to be any enemies here, so you can go buy some if you want!”

“Really?!”

Hearing those words, Yellow backed off and immediately began scanning the area for stalls selling yakisoba.

“Hahh... Jeez...”

With Yellow off his case, Red slumped his shoulders in a sigh of relief. As Yellow looked around, he stretched his hand out in front of Red.

“The wallet, the wallet!”

“Here.”

“I’ll see you later!”

“Don’t forget to get a receipt!”

Once Red placed the wallet he’d pulled out of his pocket into Yellow’s hand, Yellow ran off to a nearby snack shop.

“Jeez, what a troublesome bunch...”

Red couldn’t hide his uneasiness as he looked at Pink still wiggling in front of Koutarou, and then at Yellow as he disappeared into a snack shop.

“Oh well. There doesn’t seem to be any threat here...”

“Nii-chan, is it true that there are no enemies?”

“Oh, Koutaro.”

While Red was sighing and rubbing his shoulders, a fourth Sun Ranger came over. His suit was green. Although he didn’t stand out much because of his short stature and green outfit, he’d actually chosen the color exactly because he thought not standing out was safer.

“So about there not being any enemies...”

“Yes, well, I came all this way chasing a reaction on the detector, but there aren’t any underground people around. As you can see, it’s the very definition of peaceful here.”

“You’re right. It seems to be indicating a reaction somewhere nearby, but all I see are zoo guests.”

Green Shine pulled out his own device and looked at the screen while scratching his head. It was definitely showing a reaction to the technology the underground people used, but the enemies they were looking for were nowhere to be seen.

“Surprisingly, the only ones I found were Baron Demon-san and Black Rose-san. They have today off and came to have some fun.”

“What good will finding the underground people from a hero show do us?”

The only people at the location the detector had indicated were Koutarou, Kiriha, and several other visiting families.

So that really is what’s going on...

Watching Red and Green, Kiriha understood the situation. This Sun Squad wasn’t staging hero shows for children; they were actually a real combat squad. On top of that, they were working to prevent a surface invasion by the underground dwellers. And it even seemed like they had a device capable of detecting their spiritual energy technology.

Maybe I should test them now...

Kiriha’s demeanor suddenly changed to that of a leader of the People of the Earth, and she made a swift decision.

She looked down slightly, hiding her face from the Sun Rangers and whispered, “Karama, Korama, Class II Stealth Mode.”

“Ho! Understood, ho!”

“Roger!”

She got an immediate response from the two cloaked haniwas next to her. They whispered back quietly enough that only Kiriha could hear them.

Normally what Karama and Korama used to conceal themselves was a function called Class I Stealth Mode. This obscured electromagnetic radiation and visible light, making them invisible to radar and the naked eye.

Compared to that, the Class II Stealth Mode that Kiriha had just ordered additionally concealed their auras. By doing that, the haniwas disguised the spiritual energy their generators were emitting, making it so that they could no longer be tracked by spiritual energy sensors. Such precaution was usually only required when fighting against other People of the Earth, so Kiriha had never had the occasion to use it until now. In Class II Stealth Mode, Karama and Korama’s performance dropped dramatically, so Class I Stealth Mode was usually preferable.

“Ah, it vanished, Nii-chan.”

“Same here.”

It seemed that when Karama and Korama changed their stealth mode, the devices Red and Green were using stopped reacting to them.

“I’m starting to doubt whether or not this thing actually works.”

“It was a little dubious from the start.”

As I suspected, they were detecting spiritual energy. Has our technology been leaked somehow? No, the accuracy of their detectors is too poor for that. Maybe they’ve produced their own spiritual energy technology, or perhaps they analyzed and reproduced ours. It’s probably one of the two...

Kiriha was able to read the situation based on how Red and Green reacted. The technology they were using was vastly inferior to what Kiriha and the underground dwellers used. Even though they were using Class II Stealth Mode, not being able to detect Karama and Korama from this distance made that much pretty obvious. Regardless of whether they’d developed the technology on their own or managed to reproduce it, they were still only taking their first steps into spiritual energy technology.

But even so, Kiriha couldn’t let her guard down. If they’d managed to analyze and reproduce the People of the Earth’s technology, that could be problematic. It would mean that the Sun Rangers, or some other part of their organization, had come into contact and engaged in combat with the People of the Earth.

I just hope the radical faction hasn’t accelerated their plan...

What Kiriha worried about the most was the faction of the People of the Earth that wanted to invade the surface using force. It wasn’t too hard to believe they may have appeared on the surface to pick a fight. In the worst case scenario, they may have even leaked spiritual energy technology to the surface by doing so. If they had been branded as combatants by the surface dwellers and compromised their proprietary technology in the process, Kiriha’s plan for a peaceful invasion was in jeopardy.

“Oh, hey, where’s Hayato?”

“He’s still not here? He left chasing after the reaction before I did.”

No, I’m just overthinking it... I’ve been a bit too suspicious lately...

In the end, Kiriha decided that she was worrying too much. Seeing how casually the Sun Rangers were acting, she couldn’t imagine they really felt like they were in danger.

Suddenly, a man’s voice rang out from above Koutarou and the others.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting, Kenichiii!”

It was a cool, deep voice coming from the top of a nearby cage.

“Of course Hayato-niichan climbed up to a place like that...”

“That idiot. What’s he doing up there?”

On top of that cage stood a lone man.

“Is he one of your friends?”

“That’s right, Baron-sama! Hayato loves to stand out!”

Koutarou couldn’t really make out the color of his suit because of the sun shining in his eyes, but based on the silhouette, he was almost certain it was another Sun Ranger.

“Haaa!”

The man then leaped off the cage towards Koutarou and the others. The suit gave him amazing leg strength, allowing him to jump close to ten meters in the blink of an eye. He landed right in front of everyone, all while maintaining perfect posture.

“The heavens call! The earth calls! The people call! They all call for me to protect the planet!”

He then swung his arm around and posed.

“I am the son of the sun! I am flame incarnate!”

He thrust his hands overhead as if to grasp the sun. It was a move he must have practiced countless times, but he looked manly and powerful doing it.

“Reeeeed Shiiiiiiiine!”

As he shouted his name, his red suit caught the light of the sun.

“Quit messing around!”

However, Koutarou’s axe kick was far more powerful than his pose.

“Agh, ugh...”

Eating the vicious kick from Koutarou, the second Red Shine slammed into the asphalt of the zoo grounds before bouncing back up and finally landing on his back.

“O-Ow, just what... Why...”

“No whats or whys! Damn it, it was going so well too! Why would you ruin it at the very end?!”

“Huh?! Baron-san?!”

“Don’t ‘Huh?! Baron-san?!’ me! Do you understand what you just did, you bastard?!”

Now that he was angrily shouting at him, the second Red Shine finally noticed Koutarou. Although he was wincing at being berated, he got up and desperately tried to plead his case.

“Now just hang on a minute! Why are you so angry this time, Baron-san? We colored ourselves after our roles, just like you suggested!”

“Then why are there two Reds?!”

“Please calm down, Baron-san!”

Still rather worked up, Koutarou was about to axe kick the second Red Shine once more, but the first Red Shine was quick to stop him. Little did they realize there was another scene unfolding right behind Koutarou.

“That ferocious and intense voice! Immense power that would be unstoppable if it wasn’t for this suit! Those fiery, evil eyes! Kyaaaaah, I want him to turn that scorching glare my way!”

“Calm down, Megumi-neechan!”

Seeing Koutarou burning with rage, Pink Shine’s excitement was reaching new heights. Green Shine was frantically trying to keep her from approaching Koutarou. If Pink got involved, she would only fan the flames of Koutarou’s anger even more. Green knew better.

“Daisaku-niichan, help me stop Nee-chan!” Green shouted, turning to Yellow for help.

“Hmm? Okay. I’m almost done eating this yakisoba, Koutaro-kun.”

“Baron-sama, your Pink is over here!”

“Wh-What am I supposed to do in the meantime?!”

However, reality was unkind. Without any backup in his hour of need, Pink dragged Green along with her as she walked over to Koutarou.

This is bad! Baron-san is going to kill us!

Green cast a worried glance in Koutarou’s direction. He was still visibly furious.

“Are you guys doing this on purpose?! Is it fun to make me this mad?!”

“You’re wrong! That’s not what we’re trying to do! Please calm down!”

“As if I could!”

“We still haven’t officially decided on who’s the leader, so we decided to keep the two candidates in red!”

“Quit messing around! There can only be one leader! The only time there could ever be two leaders would be in the movies, or around episode 26 when the leader changes!”

“S-So that really is true...”

“What was that?! You knew and you did this anyway?!”

“Oh crap!”

“Hayato, you idiot! You just had to go say something stupid, didn’t you?!”

“Baaaron-samaaa! Unleash your powerful fists on me!”

“Nee-chan, nooo!”

“Mm... This yakisoba is delicious. I’ll get some more on our way home.”

Being a secret, elite government task force, the Sun Rangers of the Sun Squad were quite strong. They were well trained, and their suits provided extra power and protection.

“Dieeeee! Pay for you sins with your lives!”

However, the enraged Koutarou was still stronger than all five of them combined.