Fuyuu Gakuen no Alice and Shirley Vol 1 Chapter 5.4

The place where they got off the griffon seemed to be a factory.

It was a dark place.

The ceiling was extremely far-off at about 20 meters away.

Hariya opened the hole and s.h.i.+rley made it bigger.

It had become extremely wide.Several thick pillars interrupted the field of vision andthe wallsweren’t visible.

There were several conveyor belts and robots making clothes automatically.

“…This is the second underground level.The food should be made below the tenth underground level. And right at the bottom, the 30th underground level is where the water purification facility is.”

“H~mm?”

“…Why do you think that I explained this, s.h.i.+rley?”

“Erm, so, so that I won’t damage it?”

“Ah, of course, it would be a disaster if the food manufacturing facility and the water purification facility were destroyed.”

“…That isn’t wrong, but it isn’t the correct answer either.”

Alice declared.

“…What I wanted to say is… that it doesn’t matter if you destroy the facilities around here.”

“O~kay!”

“No, try not to destroy them!”

Masaki’s Ring Gear received a message.

A window opened.

It was Midorikawa-sensei.

“You guys! Are you alright!?”

“Yes.”

“That b.a.s.t.a.r.d escaped to a really bad place!! It’s no joke if a powerful Globalizer starts to destroy the underground facilities!”

“We also talked about it. In particular, if we don’t protect the food and water facilities…”

Apart from that, anything else could be destroyed is what the conversation was about.

“It seems like that b.a.s.t.a.r.d Hariya is heading towards the Center Pillar.”

s.h.i.+rley started running.

“I’ve got it!”

“Hey, s.h.i.+rley!?”

If she was the type of person to stop when being called, it wouldn’t have been difficult. She was running at a superhuman speed.

“…She runs fast.”

Alice dropped one card to the ground while she muttered.

An ostrich taller than Masaki appeared.

“…No.”

She dropped another one. He heard the sound of hooves and an armored army horse appeared running.

It stopped in front of Alice and then mysteriously lowered only its torso so that it was at the height of a bench.

When Alice sat on its back it returned to normal.

s.h.i.+rley didn’t manage to catch a glance of the figure behind the pillar.

“…Masaki-kun.”

“I’m going as well of course!”

“…We’re partners. Therefore, we should allocate roles. You identified Hariya and contributed to obtaining the evidence. You should leave the rest to me.”

“Huh!? s.h.i.+rley might be able to win by herself but… if Alice goes as well I won’t have any doubt about it…”

From the fight that he hadseen alittle while ago, s.h.i.+rley was stronger than Hariya even with his increased power.

He had thought about a place where an attack could be made, but his opponent had escaped.

If Masaki also came along, Alice’s horse would be slower, and if he needed to be protected in the middle of a fight, he would probably be a burden.

“…The work that you’ve done so far isn’t bad for a manservant.”

“I was your manservant?”

“…Is there a person who can stand at the same level as a King?”

“Ha, haha…”

It’d be fine for her to be silent if she was worried about him but didn’t want to say it.

She wasn’t frank.

Alice brushed the war horse’s neck gently.

“…Go.”

The war horse snorted then started to gallop.

He was left alone.

It didn’t bother him since he was in a hurry, but he was hearing the repet.i.tive sounds of the conveyor belts and robots moving. It was an unexpectedly noisy place.

There was nothing wrong with him returning to school now.

Rather, he might be praised.

However––

“I’m not strong like s.h.i.+rley and might be a hindrance for Alice… but I can help when it comes to tidying things up.”

Masaki decided to go after the girls so that he could help out in his own way.

Da, da, da….

“Woo.”

Do, do, do, do, do…

“Huh!? An ostrich!?”

Come to think of it, Alice called it out a little while ago but didn’t want to use it so left it alone.

“…Woo.”

He got a strange impression when the ostrich cried out such a voice.

“I was also left behind. Well, I hope we get along with each other.”

He couldn’t understand the bird’s expression but the ostrich followed Masaki.

The lone human and the lone bird went after the two girls.

After a short while, the Ring Gear rumbled to indicate the arrival of a message.

Midorikawa-sensei appeared in a window.

“Kusunoki!”

“Ah, how is everything? Has it been settled already?”

“Where are you now!? If you’re still in the underground facilities, leave now!”

“Eh? What about… Alice and s.h.i.+rley?”

“Reinforcements are on their way but, since Hariya was nice enough to destroy the Center Pillar elevator, it’s gonna take some time.”

Midorikawa-sensei’s expression was unusually hard. And she ignored Masaki’s question on purpose.

He suddenly got a bad feeling.

“What are they doing now!?”

“……They’re on the south side of the 15th underground level… there are dangerous facilities there. There are securitydevices there, but I don’t know if Hariya has broken through them! If worst comes to worse, everyone might have to leave Canaan!”

“Huh!? What on earth…”

“It’s the Generator Plant! It’s completely isolated and is the latest style that can be left to robots to maintain. It can’t be contaminated and there are no accidents, but acts of terrorism are a different story! Worst comes to worse, Canaan will be gone in a month!!”

“No way…!?”

“Kusunoki, where are you heading, too!? No, it doesn’t matter. Come back to school right now!”

“Un-understood.”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll come back with Alice and s.h.i.+rley!”

“Huh!?”

“Knowing those two, they’ll be chasing after Hariya. Right!?”

“Even so, what’s going to happen if you go!?”

“I don’t know. But I can’t leave them alone.”

“Don’t be stupid! There are security devices! If they haven’t been stopped you’re gonna end up dying before you even get there, you know!?”

“But still… it’s because I’m Alice’s partner and s.h.i.+rley’s childhood friend.”

He closed the window with Midorikawa-sensei shouting.

He launched the Ring Gear navigation.

He didn’t know where Alice and s.h.i.+rley were but… he searched for the underground 15th level––it was a pitch black area with “Generator Plant” displayed on it.

When he looked for directions it said “No Entry.” After he acknowledged the warning three times, the navigation started.

The destruction of the Center Pillar elevator was reflected on the data. An x mark was displayed and another route was suggested.

––It was a route where he would have to walk one kilometer then go down two kilometers by the stairs.

He felt dizzy.

But he wouldn’t stop. He’d absolutely never give up.

While he was running, Masaki contacted s.h.i.+rley.

No answer.

Next, Alice.

A window popped up.

Alice had a tired-looking face.

“…What is it? I’m really busy right now.”

“Alice! Are you alright!?”

“…Masaki-kun is as rude as ever. It’s impertinent of you to worry about the king––!?”

The window was shaken.

Alice’s had a look of shock on her face.

Lots of noise started rising.

The image disappeared.

But her voice could still be heard.

“…Gu.”

“Alice, are you in the Generator Plant!? Could it be that you’re not fighting there!? You and s.h.i.+rley’s power could completely destroy the area.”

“…That’s why… what are you saying?”

“Run away!”

“…If I leave that low-life villain at large… I wouldn’t be qualified to be the King.”

Masaki squeezed his fist.

What a stubborn person!

However, s.h.i.+rley would probably give the same answer, no matter how disadvantageous the situation was , she would keep on trying to do what she thought was right.

“……Masaki-kun, it’s fine… go back to school.”

“I refuse.”

“…You’re not listening to the King’s orders… I’ve made a terrible miscalculation. A person like you… isn’t appropriate… for me.”

“Alice!?”

“…Goodbye… I’ll declare ‘Partner Cancellation’.”

It was a voice full of pain.

Masaki’s chest tightened.

“Really, that’s too bad Alice… but the agreement of both parties is necessary to cancel the contract. I don’t plan on quitting as your partner!”

“……It’s already too late.”

Her voice vanished.

The noise disappeared along with it.

Masaki was still on the 2nd underground level.

They must have already been on the 15th underground level fighting against Hariya.

“I need to be… faster… I hope those two… are safe…”

The stairs were still far away.

The speed of Masaki’s running on the map showed that he still had one kilometer ahead of him to go, it was irritating because it felt like he was staying in one place.

The ostrich running behind him gave a large cry.

“Wooooooo!!”

“Huh!?”

The ostrich flapped its wings.

“Woo, woo.”

“Wh-what… are you going… to give me a lift…!?”

“Hey BOY!! Stop running sluggishly and get on my back!”