Chapter 244: Capture

「Haa, Haa, Haa, Haa…」

Roppongi’s back alleys. On there, my sister(Onee-chan) and I were both leaning against the wall of a building, breathing hard. No… I’m the only one gasping for air. It’s hard being an indoor person. It’s been years since I’ve done any real running.

◇ ◇ ◇ It was about an hour ago. We had escaped from the studio by taking advantage of the devil’s rivalry, and escaped out of the building. The red lights were spinning, and ambulance sirens could be heard in the distance. Looking around, the police officers are just getting out of their patrol cars in a hurry. In addition to the staff and celebrities who had escaped, onlookers had gathered from all over the place and the area was in a state of commotion.「L-l-l-let’s get the police to protect us!」 Ponpoko-san, who’s been crying her eyes out since a while ago, pulls on my hand.「You’ve got to be kidding」「Yeah」 My sister(Onee-chan) and I looked at each other and nodded. Even if the police protect us, it will only get us stuck. After all, we were dealing with the kind of guys who would appear out of nowhere, like that goat-headed butler. A mere police station is nothing but a cul-de-sac.It would be great if the devils(Akuma) would fight each other, but we are angels’ servants. We’re saints. The devil is our mortal enemy. There’s no way we can turn a blind eye to it.「Anyway… for now escape! And stay hidden! No matter how many lives we have, it won’t be enough if we have to fight with such a bad guy」「I’m pissed, but with one hand like this, I guess I have no choice」 To be honest, I’m glad that my sister(Onee-chan) was injured. If she had been in perfect condition, I don’t think she would have escaped… For now, I shook off Ponpoko’s hand and smiled at her.「See you later, Ponpoko-san」「Eh?」 She looked puzzled. But it would be wise to part ways now. There’s no point in running away with her, and if anything, it’s more dangerous for her to be with us.「Come on, Claudia!」「Okay, okay」 Following behind my sister(Onee-chan), I rush into the crowd of onlookers.After managed to break through the enclosure, ignoring the accusing voices of the onlookers, like “Hey, don’t push me!” or “Wait”, we went away from the studio into the night.

◇ ◇ ◇「Oh.. I’m so thirsty…」 I took off my mask and hat, and loosened my tie. Running straight from the studio and didn’t bring any money. It made me stare resentfully at the glowing vending machine across the street.「Well then… the question is, what are we going to do now?」 As expected of a track and field coach, my sister(Onee-chan)

opened her mouth with a calm face.「The luggage is left in the dressing room… and without a wallet or a smartphone, it’s a little anxious, isn’t it?」「Well, if it’s money, it’s all right. If we sell the detailed information about what happened today to the informant, we can get enough money to pay for the bullet train ride home」「Well, that’s true. Actually, it’s the phone that causes the pain」 My phone contains the contact information of all the people I’ve been working with. Although I’ve erased my call history and social networking sites, and at a glance, it doesn’t seem to be in any danger of being seen, losing them is honestly quite painful. Just when I let out a big sigh…「Don’t worry, I got it back properly」 Suddenly, I hear such a voice from the side of the vending machine across the street, and I gulp.「Claudia!」 When my sister(Onee-chan) prepares to hide me behind her back, I see a girl step out from the shadow of the vending machine.「…Shiratori?」 Her face, lit up by the vending machine’s lights, is as pouty as ever. It is Shiratori.「I saw you running」 The color that surrounds her words is blue. There was no lie in her words.「First of all, I retrieved your luggage from the dressing room, is this correct?」 With that said, she dropped my backpack and my sister(Onee-chan)‘s shoulder bag from her shoulders to the ground.「Too good」「Totally」 My sister(Onee-chan) and I looked at each other and let out a sigh of relief. Shiratori is really good.（Seriously, will she be our manager?）「If we head for Tokyo Station now, we can catch the last bullet train」「That’s right. I think it’s best to leave Tokyo as soon as possible. It’s not quite what we originally planned, but we’ve achieved our goal.」 Fumio’s true identity could not be revealed, but it was just a means for us to gain publicity. At that time, the boy who appeared in place of Fumio was probably Kasuya. I knew that when I saw Hikaru jumping into the room with blood in her eyes.（Which means… Hikaru was also on the devil side?） The goat-head seemed to have only come to save Kasuya and Hikaru. If that’s the case, I must’ve been really blind to have recruited Hikaru.「The popularity must have been enough, but just in case, I’ll arrange for an official announcement to be made through the entertainment agency that “the devil was repelled by Detective JK”. With that, Detective JK will be a hero」「Oh, you’re going that far? That’s great, Shiratori」「If Detective JK becomes famous, it’ll be beneficial for me too… right?」 I don’t know what she was thinking, but suddenly Shiratori snapped her fingers. Immediately, four doors appeared surrounding us.「What!?」「What is this!?」 Aside from our screams, the doors open with a creaking sound, and a figure steps out from inside.「Tsk! We’ve been tricked!」「Sh-Shiratori! What do you mean by this!?」 Apparently, four maids appeared. Except for one with platinum-pink hair, they all wore the same maid uniform with short haircuts. However, in their hands were battle-axes, great swords, and other heavy weapons that one would not expect to see in modern Japan.

「What do you mean…? I was just enjoying hunting detective JK from the beginning.」 Her words are colored blue. It’s not a lie.「That’s ridiculous. Then why did I…」「Couldn’t see through the lie?」 Shiratori raises one eyebrow and lets out an exasperated sound.「Well, I don’t know that, that’s why you’re in this situation, isn’t it?」 Could it be that there’s some way to fool me? But now’s not the time to think about that. The question is how to escape from this situation…（No, it’s impossible. At least not for me. But if it’s onee-chan…） I secretly whisper to my sister(Onee-chan).「Onee-chan, run away without me」「…No」「Don’t be selfish. It’s the only way. Onee-chan can run away. So run away and come back and save me. I know where Shiratori lives」 If my sister(Onee-chan) can get out of this place, she can at least finish off Shiratori and get her to let me go. She must have understood what I was trying to say. Then, my sister(Onee-chan) grits her teeth tightly.「Well, then, please do」「「「「 Yes, Saki-sama!」」」」 At Shiratori’s words, the maids slowly begin to shrink the perimeter. There’s no way to tell how good the maids are, but at least one of them is bad enough to seriously injure my sister(Onee-chan). Probably, the girl with the axe, whom my sister(Onee-chan) keeps staring at, is the one. I give my sister(Onee-chan) a look. Then I shouted.「I give up! I surrender! I’ll be quiet! Don’t hurt me!」 I raised my hands in the air as if to show no hostility, and the maids seemed to relax for a moment. Of course, I was expecting that to happen. But then my sister(Onee-chan)…「Claudia! I’m sorry!」 Suddenly, she turns her back on the maid with the axe in her hand and rushes towards the maid with dyed platinum pink hair.「This way!?」 Platinum Pink hurriedly raised the hammer in her hand.「Y-you son of a bitch!」 But my sister(Onee-chan) didn’t just rush in that direction. She must have aimed at the heaviest weapon, the one that would be the most difficult to use. My sister(Onee-chan) sidestepped the hammer swinging down from above her head and ran past her. But the only one who panicked was Platinum Pink. The other maids, without even looking at her, grabbed me by the shoulders and hair and pinned me to the ground.「Ow! You’re hurting me! No violence!」（Ouch… what a stupid power. She’s smaller than me, but she’s not normal） Anyway, I think it’s best not to resist now. I’m sure my sister(Onee-chan) will come to save me. I need to stay safe until then…