Editing Cute Kunoichis:Volume1 Chapter3 (section)

===6: Offline Strategizing===

“Mh.”

The underground mall was as complex as a spider web and it connected one giant train station with an entirely different subway station. Extremely-small Shizukuma Asagao groaned at a café there.

The small-faced girl in a white military uniform with a short tight skirt used the fingertips sticking out from her baggy sleeves to operate a handheld game system capable of ordinary internet browsing.

“Alert: a stir is running through the crowds around the stock exchange. They seem to be noticing an oddity in the flow of traffic.”

“Roger that, Asagao. Keep watching via satellite,” said Nantou Hoozuki over the radio. “I’ve confirmed some things while walking around outside. There are an awful lot of vehicles with large enclosed spaces, like a delivery truck, a hot dog stand, a TV broadcast van, and a refrigerator truck. Nothing conclusive yet, but there must be dogs hiding out here. Be on the lookout for heavy equipment they can’t let out in the open.”

“They might all be Shogunate jack-in-the-boxes,” said Hanasawa Bara, also over the radio. “But isn’t their formation odd? They are scattered around the building, but they don’t seem to be surrounding the stock exchange.”

Financial institutions closed even earlier than the schools. Even regional banks closed their general teller windows at 3. Maintenance workers like cleaners and electricians might still go there, but it seemed unlikely a hot dog vendor could do business there in the evening.

“Maybe they intentionally left a hole in their security because they figured we would leave after scoping the place out if they were too obviously surrounding the place,” suggested Asagao who was acting as the host of this chat.

“It might be Sensei,” said Ouka.

“If so, why? To capture us? Or to let us escape?”

Either way, it was rare to find a complete answer on the scene. More often than not, there was no correct answer. They could only use what information they had to search out the most likely candidates and make their choices based on whether they had the upper hand or not, whether they could take an optimistic or pessimistic view, and whether they were on the offensive or the defensive. Instead of using the flexible thought processes of a human, the best way to survive was to use simple, insect-like thought processes: did they smell anything sweet or not, was there light there or not, was the ground wet or not, etc.

“It doesn’t really matter. This isn’t enough to get rid of ush!”

“Hm? Is there something wrong with your tongue, Ouka?”

Small Asagao frowned, but there was no response for a while. And when one came, it was from Bara instead.

“Oh? Having a flashback, you dirty girl? Was kissing Sensei that much fun?”

“What!?” “What!?”

Hoozuki and Asagao had not heard about that and shouted on reflex, but Ouka remained silent and Bara must not have understood the power of the bomb she had unleashed.

“Okay, technically she gave him the antidote mouth-to-mouth. Besides, greeting him with a kiss is perfectly normal. I do it all the time.”

“What!!!???” “What!!!???” “What!!!???”

Ouka snapped out of her confusion to join the shouting this time. Bara was referring to how she would surprise him with a touch to the cheek, forehead, or top of the head while gently biting his neck, but she intentionally left that part out.

Bob cut Asagao trembled in her seat.

“I can’t believe this. Now I want to know how Sensei has been interpreting my ‘I’m going to marry you when I grow up’ magic spell!”

“You’ve been abusing your cuteness to seduce him too?” “You’ve been abusing your cuteness to seduce him too?” “You’ve been abusing your cuteness to seduce him too?”

Based on this, it seemed likely that Hoozuki, the impeccable cool beauty biker girl, had prepared a special helmet for a certain someone and wore a special perfume when letting that certain someone ride with her.

The four girls began seriously thinking they should have gotten to the bottom of those questions before leaving him, but what was done was done. They would have to ask him after solving this problem and reclaiming his honor.

They were willing to fight against everything to do that.

Even if someone they respected from the bottom of their hearts was included in that. They had to figure out whether this formation was meant to rescue them or meant to trap them.

Kuhou Ouka made a decision on her end of the radio.

“It doesn’t matter what it was meant to do because we can slip past this either way.”