章 22: Provocation

The girls had a good sleep even Mariko didn't get to wake up early. But later, they were awakened by the noises from outside their room. "...Huh? What's happening?" Chiho asked as she raised herself and looked at the door. The sounds indicate that there are people outside their room, shouting. They can even hear Yagano and Katsuko's voices mixing with them. "What's going on?" Mariko stood up from the bed and walked to the door. "I know how you all feel! But you can't just barge in on us like this!" Mariko heard Yagano's frustrated voice. "W-What the hell's going on?" Mariko turned back at the two, they looked worried. "You need to calm down!" Mariko heard his voice again and she placed her head to the door to listen more. After a second, she quickly realized what's the ruckus is about. "Tsk... It's those people again! They just won't shut up!" Mariko's face was filled with anger. "W-What do they want?" Chiho asked. "I don't fucking know, Maybe send us there right now?" Mariko answered. "...What else is it going to be?" Shu Fang, beside Chiho, spoke. "Tsk... Well, what do we do? Looks like your father is-" "Please, stop this!" "Your father, as well as your mother, is having a hard time there" Mariko heard Katsuko's voice. "We are already planning! You just have to be patient!" Yagano shouted. "Later, we will go to Gentaro to talk about this!" He continued. "These people are so- Hey!" Mariko was cut off by a kick from the door. "Hey! Fuck off!" Mariko kicked back the door. "Mariko!" Chiho shouted at her. "This shit early in the morning?!" Mariko shouted at the door.

"Fuck this!" Mariko took her axe on the top of a drawer. "Mariko?!" Chiho got nervous seeing her axe. Then Mariko furiously opened the door. The people outside became even noisier upon seeing them inside. "Hey! What are you-!" "Hrah...!" Yagano saw Mariko swings her axe on the people. luckily, no one was hit and they took a step back. "Hey! Calm down!" Yagano quickly grabbed Mariko's arm wielding the axe. He saw how angry Mariko was. "Nothing's gonna happen if you keep doing this shit!" Mariko shouted at them, they become silent. "That's right..." Yagano took the axe away from Mariko. "Nothing's gonna change even if you force us... Go to your leader now. We'll go there shortly after we do our preparations" Yagano's calm yet strict voice made the people regret their action. "Damn it..." "Just when are we going to take action?" "He said to go to Gentaro-sama, We'll know from there" They listened to their whispers as they make their way down. After them, The three staffs came running up. "Yagano-san! Everyone?! Are you alright?!" Suzuka asked. "Yeah, we're alright. Except for the door, one of them kicked it" Yagano looked at the door, there was some small woods on the floor. "If you recognized who did it, make sure to tell me. I will make him pay for this" Suzuka said. "A-Are you going to beat them up?" Alice asked behind Haruki, looking worried. "A-Ah, No... I mean, exactly, pay for this" Suzuka turned to her and smiled. "Money?" Alice asked. "What else?" Suzuka butts in. "You can make him pay by working with us. or at least, let him repair this door" Alice said. "I don't want that idiot to be working with us, not when they just kicked our door. The damage isn't that worse anyway, I will just let him pay with money" Suzuka said. "Hmph... Too soft" Alice hid further behind Haruki.

"But... man, This is the first time we have ever encountered such things like that" Haruki crossed her arms. "They must have really wanted to take action, like right now. What are you going to do now?" She asked to Yagano. "We're actually planning on going to Gentaro now. We'll just prepare" Yagano answered and they realized Yagano and Katsuko was still wearing the Inn's clothes. "R-Right... Everyone's alright? Then we must let you do your thing now..." Suzuka bowed and they went downstairs. "I can't believe they will just force their way here like that..." Katsuko sighed. Yagano was staring at the ground. "...We have to eat breakfast" Then he quickly walked and disappeared to their room. The girls didn't know if he was serious or just hungry. "T-Then, Mariko-san. Do your things, we'll need to get going" Katsuko told Mariko as she went back to her room. "Ah...." Mariko sighed and made a noise. "...!" Mariko slams the door close without showing anger. "Mariko?" Shu Fang called her. "You heard them. Get the hell out of your beds and get dressed" Mariko told them. "Where are we going?" Ayumi asked. Mariko looked at her. "Your father said we have to eat breakfast, that's all he said" She said. "But my father isn't here" Ayumi spoke with a childish voice, making them look at her. "...Then Chiho's father" Mariko sat beside Ayumi. "Hey, come on" Mariko saw them still on the bed. After they get dressed up, they waited for Yagano and Katsuko before heading downstairs. The Inn was full and everyone was busy so they quickly had their breakfast and went to their R37, they forced to fit themselves. Mariko just sat on behind the sidecar.

Even just by started moving out, they can already feel everyone's gaze towards them. It became worse when they reached the Center, everyone was whispering. When they are near, they started to see some soldiers heading in the same direction. "What's this?" Chiho watched the soldiers run and with their carriage. And when they finally reached the place, a noisy crowd and soldiers preventing them from storming the place came in sight. "Whoa! Look at this!" Chiho stopped the R37 to watch them. "They're crazy..." Mariko watched the people's angry looks. "...They really wanted war so bad. I have never thought of Saijuns like this..." Shu Fang was astounded seeing them. "These people are actually gentle, as you may have heard. I've been entering this village so many times, and I haven't seen them so upset like this before" She continued. "Damn... So how are we going to get through with that crowd?" Mariko asked. "Let's force our way in?" Ayumi said. "...Is there any other option?" Shu Fang asked. "Well... They might get crazy again" Mariko sighed. "Then let's use my power!" Chiho turned to look back at them. "What power?" Yagano asked. "Teleportation!" Chiho drives the R37 to a safe side then looked at them. "Hold onto me!" Chiho asked them to hold onto her. They all reached for her, Shu Fang hugged her from behind. behind her, Katsuko reached for her shoulder. Mariko also went for her shoulder, Ayumi and Yagano held her hands. "Alright..." She focused. Then she thought of the image of Gentaro's building's interior and they were teleported there, they fell to the ground with their magical leaves.

They let out a noise when they fell, But Chiho was wheezing. "C-Chiho! Are you okay?!" Yagano was still holding her hands even when they fell. "I'm..." Chiho couldn't speak. "Those powers eats the user's energy or strength instead of something else they call 'mana'" Shu Fang explained. "Um.. How did you guys get here? You just popped out like that" Gentaro and Itsumi, along with two soldiers, stared at them. "We used powers" Mariko quickly replied. "That's why we practiced the powers. They are different than what we thought. It doesn't need mana, It drains your power instead. So if you overuse your powers, it could eat your life and die in your own carelessness" Shu Fang explained further. "That's horrible!" Katsuko looked so worried. "I... I never... thought it would take more of my strength if i... drag you along..." Chiho tried her best to speak. "...And the worse part is, you're not used to it yet, the risk of dying was high. Glad you're still breathing" Shu Fang nodded. "Yeah... I'll be fine... I'll be fine, don't worry... I will tell if I feel something different" Chiho held her chest and grips the collar. "A-Are you sure?" Itsumi asked. "Yeah... Just... Just give me a moment" Chiho stopped wheezing and was just panting now. "Alright... So, why did you all come here?" Gentaro asked. "What else is it going to be? We wanted to talk about the situation" Yagano and the girls beside Shu Fang and Chiho stood up. The two remained on the ground. "R-Right... Without telling them, the Jima sent a message about agreeing on going to war. They even counted their armies to the message" Gentaro told them about the message. "How about the others?" Yagano asked. "I haven't received anything from the others yet. I'm planning on setting up a meeting of all leaders to talk about this. I'll have them prepare their armies" Gentaro answered. "Are we seriously going to war soon?" Mariko asked. "That's a foolish question to ask, Mariko-san" Gentaro looked at Mariko. "People wanted war. We can't stop them or they will go crazy and make their own moves to the enemies. when that happens, the enemies will just blame us. It all leads to war" He continued. "Damn... Can't you like, change their mind?" Mariko asked.

"No. I'm afraid that giving them any more excuse will no longer work and our village might fall into chaos if we continue to deny their wishes... We have to do it" Gentaro shook his head. "For the sake of Tsuchiya too. With your powers, we should be able to fight back" Itsumi said. "Well, don't forget that Chiho and Ayumi were the only ones who were able to get the powers" Mariko scratched her head. "Yes. You stay with the people on the ground then. Shu-san, Chiho-san, and Ayumi-chan will be always ahead of you" Itsumi nodded. "Huh..." Mariko was a little bit disappointed. "Don't worry! We'll bring you their juice!" Ayumi encouraged her. "Their magical grape juice please" Mariko said. "So... We will send messages right away, please" Gentaro looked at the two soldiers and they responded with a yes and moved out. "It's impossible, but we will try to send some messengers to the West. Our former allies, to see if they can help us" Gentaro said. "We will also try with the North. But I doubt they will help. If the West denied our call, we will be on our own. It will be the Tsukosa against this organization" He continued. "Of course they are not going to help! It's been so long since we had interactions with the West, after all!" Ayumi shouted. "Right, but it's worth the shot. They can at least help us by letting us borrow some equipment" Gentaro nodded. The silence built after that, so Yagano crouched beside Chiho. "Do you feel alright now?" "Hey! Where's that Northern bitch?!" Someone shouted outside along with Yagano's calm voice, Mariko clearly heard the shout and looked outside. "I feel okay. I felt like I had asthma" Chiho smiled a bit. "Next time will feel like going to heaven. Don't be reckless next time" Shu Fang said to her. "Yes..." Chiho nodded.

Yagano, confirming Chiho's condition, nodded and stood up. "So, Gentaro. How if these civilians wanted to go too?" He looked at Gentaro and asked. "Eh?!" Itsumi didn't expect the question. "B-But... There's no way they will charge into battles" Gentaro couldn't answer properly. "Just in case, Gentaro. If one day or even now, they will ask you to allow them to go to battles" Yagano said. "Well, in that case..." "Will you allow them all or will you limit them?" Yagano asked before Gentaro could answer. "Of course. If that's how things are gonna be, I will let some of them join the army. We'll know who to accept and to reject" Gentaro nodded. "I see. Letting them join the army, huh" Yagano thinks of the idea. "Yes. Some soldiers are going to test them if they are capable of fighting before they can get in" Gentaro explains. "Hm... Age?" Yagano asked. "Of course, I'm not letting kiddos like Ayumi-chan to the army. Minimum age will be sixteen, any lower than that is not acceptable" Gentaro answered. "What age can you normally join the army?" Ayumi asked. "Eighteen, Ayumi-chan. You are going to be the youngest on our army" Gentaro smiled at her. "Yeah, Twelve" Shu Fang looked at Ayumi. "I'm Twelve! I'm no longer considered as a kid! I can be on my own!" Ayumi puffs her chest out. "...By the way, Where are your parents? I noticed that I haven't seen you and Mariko's parents" Shu Fang asked. "My parents are dead" Ayumi answered normally, like it was no big deal, everyone noticed it. "A very loving daughter, indeed" Itsumi said. "The last time I saw my mother was back in our village" She looked at the ceilings, to show that she's thinking. Then Shu Fang turned to Mariko. "I'm adopted" Mariko quickly answered. "...Oh?" Shu Fang got surprised. "My parents gave me to a person here in the South. Not that they didn't want me, they had something to do that they didn't want me to get involved" Mariko tells her story. "...I see. What happened to your parents then?" Shu Fang asked. "Dunno" "Gentaro-sama! The Kosun and the Yugaran leader said that they will be on their way! The Messengers are currently on their way to Soma!" Two soldiers came in after Mariko answered.

"Y-You have already been to two countries?!" Gentaro was surprised. "Yes sir, We used Chiho-san's R37 parked on the side. Then the messengers used carriage from Kosun and we returned the R37 here" one of the soldiers said. "If that's so, then why did they went for the carriage?" Gentaro asked. "We... We just took it without telling them, so we were worried" the same soldier said. "Idiots..." Mariko whispered and the two soldiers heard her. "P-Plus the leaders coming here would at least calm the people down!" the same soldier said. "Are they still there?" Mariko asked. "Yes. It looks like they are not going anywhere" the same soldier nodded. "Great. That could help. So the Soma and the Chu-yuan is only the remaining" Gentaro said. "Yes!" the two soldiers responded. "Hm... Anything you want to talk about? Yagano-san? Us Leaders will have a meeting soon enough. I will have to prepare too, so if you have something else to talk about, now will be a good time" Gentaro asked Yagano. "We just came here to see the situation. If you're going to be busy, then we will have to go" Yagano chose to leave. "Ah, I almost forgot. Apologize for the people that went into the Inn" Gentaro mentioned the people barged into their Inn and apologized. "Ah, yes. No worries" Yagano shook his right hand. "Ah... At my second thought, I think I will stay here with the soldiers. I have no other things to do. So, I will act as one of the guards" Yagano said. "Then, Wanna teleport us outside again, Chiho-san?" Shu Fang asked and Chiho just stares at her. "Please don't make a joke like that" Katsuko smiled at Shu Fang. "...Hm.." Shu Fang giggled. "I-I can do it!" Chiho stood up. "Chiho!" Katsuko's smile suddenly fades. "I can do it, Mother! Father isn't with us now so I can do it!" Chiho insisted. "Chiho!... Ah!" Katsuko's still against it but Chiho forcibly took her hands. "Hold onto me again!" Chiho took Shu Fang's hand and Ayumi and Mariko rest her hands on top of their hands.

"Here goes!" As soon as Chiho made the warning, they quickly disappeared, replaced with the magical leaves. "Oh...!" Itsumi went to pick a leaf. "What is this?... Ah!" The whole leaf became bright blue before disappearing. "How beautiful..." Itsumi stared at her palm. On the outside, they appeared on the same spot as before. "S-See...?" Chiho started panting again. "How are you feeling?" Katsuko immediately checked Chiho. "Tired..." Chiho tried to smile. They can see how breathless she is with how her body was lowered. "So... Where's the..." Mariko was about to look for the R37 but it was on the same spot. though, facing the other direction now. "They used this vehicle within that whole time we were there?" She stared at the R37. "Yeah, must be that boost thing. They came to Kosun and Yugara flying" Ayumi said. "Heh..." Chiho chuckled. Then they rode the R37 back to their Inn. Chiho parked the R37 and they went inside. Instead of hearing Suzuka's usual words, they heard her calling Alice whos jogging towards them carrying a big box in front of her. She dropped the box to talk to them. "Ali-chan! Blocking them like is very rude!" Suzuka scolded her, But Alice ignored her. "Can you use your R whatever to Kosunja-jun?" Alice asked Chiho. "Kosunjin-yi?" Chiho makes sure. "Koska. Can you?" Alice asked once more. "Uh.. Yeah. returning something?" They all looked at the box. "Smuggling can be the answer, even if Suzu-chan knows about it" Alice said as she picked up the box. "Uh... A-Alright, then let's go" Chiho didn't know what to say so she just went ahead. "Are you girls going? I will stay here" Katsuko asked. Ayumi and Mariko nodded. "Are you going to stay here as well? Shu-san?" Katsuko noticed that Shu Fang didn't respond. "...Yes" Shu Fang nodded in response. "Then, We'll get going now!" Chiho went outside and they followed her. "Be careful out there! Don't get into trouble!" Katsuko waved at them. As the door closes, Shu Fang looked at Katsuko. "...Aren't you worried about your daughter's safety?" She asked. Katsuko noticed that she was serious about her question. "Well... I actually do. I and Yagano do. But She's already grown up so it's fine!" Katsuko smiled at them.

"...I'm not sure what to say. Mothers in my village are strict even if their daughter is grown-up" Shu Fang said. "Well, those kinds of mothers exist" Katsuko said. "Especially when they know that a guy is after their daughter" She winked. "Ah..." Shu Fang didn't expect that. "Hey, You've been with Chiho with all those years, right? Did any boys try their luck on her on the North?" Katsuko whispered. "...There are few, very rare. She rejected them, obviously. Most youngsters there don't bother hitting up on girls. You know those people, Katsuko-san" Shu Fang found the question hilarious. "Well... You girls are like walking bouquet! Men wanted to have a wife as beautiful as you girls~" Katsuko touched her cheek. "P-Please let us drop the topic" Shu Fang started to blush and chose to get away from their conversation. "Well? Tell me more about the boys who went after you!" Katsuko happily asked her. "A-Ah..." Shu Fang just stood there, wondering how did the topic arrive.

At the same time outside. Alice went to the sidecar and Ayumi stood there staring at her. "Come on, Ayumi. You know Alice can't sit here with that goddamn box. Sit here with us" Mariko said as she sits behind Chiho. "Hmph..." Ayumi went around and throws her butt on the seat, shaking the R37 a bit. "Goddamn it, Ayumi!" Mariko shouted but Ayumi just looked away. "Right, right. Enough of that, we're going" Chiho then starts the engine and moved out. On the gates, they were asked as usual and Alice handled them. On the field, "To Kosun, right?" Chiho looked at Alice to ask. "Kower. Yes" Alice nodded. "Why don't you pronounce the name properly?" Mariko asked. "What? You're offended? I thought you were a Northern?" Alice tries to piss off Mariko. "Tsk... Just why?" But she didn't bother being mad. "It's dreadful. Awful! What kind of people will name their village like that?" Alice looked disgusted. "Them Kosuns apparently" Mariko answered, making Alice sigh. "Hey... We also don't like calling their full name so we mostly call them just Kosun even when mentioning the village" Chiho agreed. "Huh... Then I will call them Koska" Alice said. "What's Koska? Does that mean something in your language or what?" Mariko asked. "...I made it up" Alice responded. "Huh... It's not even near their name" Mariko repeated the name. "At least the two K made it" Alice shrugged. A few minutes after they left the Saijun borders, they felt a presence watching them. "Man... I don't feel so good" Mariko was the first to react. "I also feel like being watched..." Ayumi looked at the direction of the Tsuchiya. Unfamiliar space-like structures are surrounding the Tsuchiya along with obvious defensive MG-mounted positions. But they were too far away to even feel the presence of the people there. "What are you guys saying?" Alice looked so afraid. "You... You don't feel it? I feel so weird, you feel it too right?" Mariko asked Chiho and Chiho nodded. "I don't get it..." Alice became more nervous as she's the only one not feeling something.

"Whatever happens, we will prote-" "Aaah!" Chiho shouted as their R37 suddenly flies backwards, sending them to the ground and the R37 further bounces back. "What the hell?!" Mariko looked up. "Whoops! Sorry!" A familiar guy with brown hair stood in front of them. "I...It's you!" Chiho immediately recognized him, then later the rest of them. They got annoyed by his smug smile. "This guy...!" Mariko immediately stood up but managed to hold herself, they all stood up. "Oh? Attacking me already? That's not good!" Mark noticed her intention. "Sorry for the surprise, I really am sorry. I'm very shy!" He apologized. "Shy my fucking ass, look at yourself" Mariko gets even more pissed. "What? I'm really shy!" Mark shrugged. "So! By the way... I heard that you're planning on finally fucking with us? What took you so long? Huh?" He asked them, the girls ignored his question. "W-Who's this guy?" Alice looks so frightened. "He's one of them" Chiho angrily answered. "Yes! Sorry for my rudeness. Mark Higashino. Half-American, Half-Japanese. Nice to meet you girls" Mark introduced himself. "Mark? then a southern last name, what a weird combination" Alice spoke with her language, surprising them. "Oh? You speak English?" Mark observed Alice. The three got no idea what they are talking about. "It seems you are wearing one of our names. So I thought you can speak our language" Alice's fear becomes anger. "It's OUR world's language! Go fuck yourself!" Mark continued to speak in English and shouted. "Hey, Hey! We can't understand what you two are saying!" Mariko shouted at Alice. "It's your fucking fault! English is used everywhere in the world!" Mark continued to shout in English. "Hell! Hey you fucker! Is it English you're speaking?!" Mark asked Alice. "So what if it is?" Alice responded. "Then this language, This fucking language?!" Mark started to speak Japanese. "What do you call this language?! Tsuchiyan?! It's Japanese!" Mark shouted. "Your world, Your fucking world! Our world... Then our fucking world!" Mariko charges with the last words.

"Hoohoho...!" Mark excitedly watches her. "Haah...!" Mariko shouted as she takes out her axe and swings at Mark. "Whoops!" Mark evaded her attack with a smile. "Don't fuck with me!" "Mariko!" Chiho called her as Mariko continues to attack him. "Lay the fuck off!" Seeing a very exposed opening, Mark sends his fists against Mariko's stomach, sending her back to the girls. "Urgh... Why is it always my stomach!" She whined. "Now let's be serious. What took you so long, huh? Oh, You were powerless? Then suddenly one of the countries betrayed us and shared our power with you... Where's that cunt?" Mark looked for Shu Fang. The girls were thankful that she wasn't with them at that time. "Whatever... Now you have some of our powers, right? Come on, let me see!" Mark excitedly smiled at them. "Come on!" While he forces them to show their powers, Ayumi bought back her chained sickle with her power and made the chains disappear so she can spin it without noise. "Come on!.. Oh!" Mark noticed Ayumi do a throwing motion. He didn't saw anything so he was just curious. Then her invisible sickle hits something like a barrier. A light flashed where the sickle hits and blue pattern of hexagons faintly appear behind the flash before disappearing in a second. "Heh... You flinched!" Ayumi giggled at him as she pulls the chain that is becoming visible again. "What the hell..." Mark whispered as he stared at Ayumi. "You're not that strong, are you? You're just relying on that magical shield!" Ayumi insulted him. "The hell you talking about? Want me to show you how strong I am?!" Mark shouted before charging towards Ayumi. "...!" Ayumi prepares. "Hey! He's going for-!" Before Mariko could speak, A white-haired girl appeared in front of Mark, with pink magical leaves falling to the ground, they quickly knew it was the teleportation. "That's enough, Mark" Maeru stopped his charge. "Shichiro is looking for you at the base here. Go back there before I beat you up and throw you back there" She sounded angry. "It's you again!" Chiho accidentally shouted, making everyone look at her. "Huh? So it was you!" Mark pointed his finger at Chiho.

"You were lucky back then, fucker! If I hadn't-" Maeru turned to glare at Mark before he could finish his word. "Tsk..." Mark uttered, looking at Chiho, before teleporting out. Then Maeru looked at the utensils that were thrown out of the box, then she turned to Chiho. "Sorry for the trouble he caused" Maeru bowed at them. The girls didn't respond. "That guy lied on us about taking a walk to that village. I felt his presence going somewhere and there I knew he's planning on something" She explained. "...No one cares" Mariko responded, bothering everyone except Maeru. "Of course..." Maeru walked to the box and kneeled to pick up everything back to the box. They didn't help her or even bothered to help. "...Why is she so kind?" Alice asked. "Don't know... They're probably stupid" Mariko answered, they were talking like Maeru wasn't there. "Look at you..." Mariko sat down to observe her. Maeru glanced at her. "You haven't given us your name... That's unfair that you know our names yet we don't know yours" Mariko said to her. "...It's Maeru Shigawa" Maeru told them her name. "You even introduced..." Alice said, looking so confused. "Yeah, that's Prohorovkans to you. Being so kind to the people they fucked with" Mariko chuckled. "Just... Look at you doing all this" Mariko watch her pick up the utensils back to the box. "Isn't it better if we all just became friends?" Mariko asked, making Maeru stop for a second for continuing. "Tsuchiya would have welcomed you with open arms. They are not bad people and in fact, they love and accept everyone" Mariko continues to watch her. "You want more people with your organization? You could have asked for volunteers and many would have happily joined. Same goes for your resources!" She continued. She noticed Maeru's reaction towards her words, making her sigh. "This incoming war is bullshit. I wish you could have approached us in a different way..." Mariko looked at the sky. Maeru felt her misery and quickly finishes the box.

"There..." Maeru closed the box and pats it. Mariko saw Maeru glance at her before turning to Chiho. "I'm sorry, but I have to go now. See you soon" Maeru quickly teleported away, replacing her with the pink magical leaves. "...I didn't know you can be dramatic sometimes, Mari-chan" Alice looked sad. "Heh..." Mariko ignored her nickname and just chuckled. "Just trying to make them regret it. She was kind enough to do that, might as well try it" She said. "Geez, I thought you were serious" Chiho sighed. "Well, I kinda am. I was half serious and half not" Mariko stood up. "Well, Let's go" She took the box. "Oh?" She noticed the R37 flipped upside down on the far. "Tsk..." Mariko uttered before going there. "I got it!" Ayumi went running. Her sickle became yellow and used it to return the R37. It loudly hits the ground. "Ah... Wish I could get one soon" Mariko said as she reached the R37 and throws the box to the sidecar. Then they proceeded to their destination.

After Alice delivered the box to the Kosun, They immediately wanted to go home. "Job's done. Thank you, Chi-chan" Alice thanked Chiho. "W-Wait, is it the first time you call me that?" Chiho asked. "I guess so" Alice shrugged. "Eh..." Chiho ignored it and started to drive. On the same spot before, They saw Mark standing there once again. "You fucks better hold out long!" He shouted at them. "Because we are all out!" He continued. "Tsk..." Chiho got annoyed and drives past him. "Hey! I will crush you! Remember that!" Mark didn't bother stopping them and shouted instead. "...He'll be the first one I'll slaughter in the war" Mariko said, They noticed a slight excitement on her voice. "And get that fucking smug off his face" She continued. "Though, sadly you'll never see him until you crush his army" Alice said. "His army?" Mariko looked at Alice. "Yes. He might be a Count and leading a huge number of troops" Alice nodded. "Huh?" Mariko still didn't get it and was ignored. Once they got inside the gates, they immediately went back to the Inn. Parked as usual and head inside. "Welcome back!" Suzuka greets them. "Hey, Chiho~!" Katsuko stood up from a chair, Shu Fang was with her on a table with empty plates. "Ow...!" Katsuko pinched Chiho's cheeks. "Hey!" Chiho tried to move her hands away. "You naughty girl!" Katsuko pulled her cheeks. "Ah... Stop it" Chiho flailed to lose her grip. Shu Fang went walking to them. "Believe it or not, We came across with the enemies" Alice told them and everyone was surprised. "O-Oh? Am I not supposed to talk about that?" She noticed that the three are also surprised. "You... You bumped into one?!" Katsuko suddenly became worried. Chiho sighed. "Yes..." Then Katsuko invited them to their table and Chiho told them everything. It was short, so they didn't take long.

"Did anyone of you got scratched or something?" Katsuko looked at the four. "...Nope" Alice shook her head. "I see... That girl is something" Katsuko thinks of Maeru. "Sure does. Maybe she's just being forced to join them or something. I can see her face clearly when I talked to her" Mariko agreed. "How did she looked like?" Katsuko asked. "I don't know... Sad? One thing I am certain of is she's deep in thoughts at that time" Mariko thinks of the scene. "They're full of mystery huh..." Katsuko looked at ceilings. "After Gentaro-sama's meetings, the remaining countries will prepare everything. once we got their signals, we're finally going to fire up a war. I hope you are all prepared to what's going to happen from that point" Haruki approached them with a tall pitcher and some glasses. The pitcher contained a brownish liquid and the body has moisture, showing how cold it is. She placed six glasses on the table and poured the content of the pitcher to each glasses. "Iced tea!" Alice took one of the glasses. "Oh? Iced tea? The hell?" Mariko took one glass. "It's cold..." She felt the glass. "It's Iced tea! Western's refreshing drink!" Haruki winked at her. "Oh! I only know one kind of tea, I wonder what this taste like" Katsuko took a glass and sips. "...Lemon?" Katsuko guessed. "That's right! It has lemon in it!" Haruki pats Katsuko's shoulder. "How did you make these?" Katsuko asked. "That's a secret!" Haruki didn't tell her how. "Hm... Well, whatever! This will take more than one ingredients anyway! Can't make it at home..." Katsuko said. "Right" Haruki placed the pitcher on the center of the table and walks away. "Oh... What's this? I'm a customer now" Alice noticed that she was sitting with them.

"It's fine, Ali-chan! You went out to take care of things, you should take it easy!" Haruki seems to hear her and shouted from the bar. "Yes~!" Alice happily responded. "...Right. So...." Mariko finished her glass and took the pitcher to pour some more. "When the war broke out, what are we going to do?" Mariko curiously asked. "What else? Of course, we're immediately going to follow Gentaro-san's orders!" Ayumi answered. "Yeah, That's right" Chiho nodded in agreement. "Though... I will be finally hitting a real person with a real intention of killing them..." There was fear and excitement in Ayumi's voice. "...Hm.. Amateurs..." Shu Fang whispered and giggled. Mariko just looked away while the four were quietly terrified. "T...These two..." Alice shivered at the thought that she had been hanging out with two people that had already killed a person or even more. "So... How are we going to fight them? We can't obviously charge there. It's like we're going there bare asses! We are charging at death!" Mariko turned to ask. "...B-Bare ass?!" Shu Fang blushed. Mariko looked at her and became annoyed. "The hell are you blushing for? I mean like going there with our ineffective armors and getting shot to death!" Mariko said. "...Yeah. Right..." Shu Fang nodded. "They even have those buildings acting like watchtowers! Those buildings with small windows! You see 'em?" Mariko asked. They nodded. "That alone can wipe our entire army with its rapid-firing gun. That Machine gun or something" Mariko thought of the bunkers with MG mounted in it. "So just charging there like we used to is out of the choices" She continued. "...Chiho-san can teleport there and neutralize those buildings" Shu Fang said. "Good one! But don't you think she'll be cornered there?" Mariko thoughts of the idea. "Don't forget that my teleportation has a limited range too. I can't just teleport everywhere" Chiho said. "Don't worry about that. You will go with us then when we are in position, you will teleport from there" Mariko makes a thumbs up. "So the whole plan is, we go into a safe distance. Without telling them that we are going to fight them, they will stand there confused for a few moments. That's where you will use that chance to teleport and kill everyone on those buildings!" Mariko looked so happy. "Ooh! I see!" Ayumi gets it and was also happy. "If you can, though. You can teleport there with us so we can help you" Mariko said. "Yes! Certainly! I already know how it feels to teleport with someone!" Chiho agreed. "Then! When it starts to get messy, we will signal the army to charge in and kill everyone who's shooting at them! We'll keep their attention to us!" Mariko sounded really excited. "Then " "Wow! We already have plans!" Ayumi cheered. "Of course! It's better to be prepared!" Mariko laughed. "That will be our call for war!" Mariko raised her right fist above her. "Yeah!" "Wooo!!" The men on the tables near them shouted at her words, making her uncomfortable. "Way to go, champ! Beat em up real hard!" Haruki shouted and grinned at them.

Knowing that they can plan out a proper strategy, they've become less afraid and more willing to fight. There's nothing they wanted to do during that time and they wasted the day in the Inn. Talking about war-related things.