CH 77

Chapter 77 – Continuing the Conversation

A dull pain ran through my abdomen as I was hit by two shots in quick succession. The sound of the gunshots also hurt my ears, but I ignored all that pain and jumped forward.

Akechi was visibly startled at that, which created a fatal gap.

I used the Slave Tamer Whip that I had hidden until just now and hit Akechi on the cheek. In an instant, his body shook, as if he was hit by an electric current, and then he stopped moving.

Without hesitation, I grabbed his head and activated Enslave.

“Wh… What is…” Akechi muttered.

Seems like he can speak a bit.

“Don’t be scared, I won’t kill you.” I told him.

Of course, he isn’t stupid enough to take these words at face value, so he tried resisting, and his struggle made his face get drenched in sweat.

It was futile though. His body was abnormally tense and didn’t even twitch.

“A… A…” Right next to us, the small girl was crouching down and holding her head. She looked completely frightened.

“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you-” I started telling her.

Immediately after that though.

“Boss! What’s wrong!?” Oda, who had heard the gunshot noises, burst inside the room.

And then, his eyes widened in astonishment.

For a moment, our eyes met.

“Wh-what are you doing, you bastard!?” Oda exclaimed.

“Tsk.” I clicked my tongue, let go of my grip on Akechi, then approached Oda while kicking the sweets on the table and swinging the Slave Tamer Whip.

“Damn you!” Oda exclaimed.

His reaction was quick. As soon as I let go of the boss, he pointed his gun at my forehead and pulled the trigger.

“Guh-” I groaned as I felt the impact on my head.

Suffering from the blow, my body instantly arched backwards and fell on the table, shattering some dishes.

Am I dying for real now…?

A moment after thinking that, I recovered my senses.

Regardless of what just happened to me, as long as I can move my body, I must fulfill my obligations.

“M-monster!” Oda was astonished.

Well, understandably so.

Still, I was able to hit him with the Slave Tamer Whip on the chest with this opportunity.

“… Damn it!” Oda exclaimed.

Just like Akechi, he too was unable to move anymore.

“Ah… Gah… Go…” He muttered those incomprehensible words.

I silently grabbed him by the back of his shirt, then hid him in a blind spot behind the sofa.

After that, I resumed the Enslavement of Akechi.

“S… To… P…” Akechi muttered.

Ignoring his protesting words, I successfully enslaved Akechi.

(Once you can move your body, clear the table. Act as if nothing happened.) I told him telepathically.

“Gu…” Akechi’s expression was horrified as he received this order that he was unable to refuse.

After that, I used Enslave on Oda.

The tension in the air sent shivers down my spine, but I kept going anyways.

Before long, Akechi slowly sat up, then began carefully throwing the scattered sweets and broken tableware on the table into the trash can.

He was clearly dissatisfied about it, but he couldn’t resist the order.

That said, even if I was prepared for it, it still doesn’t feel good to forcefully give orders to people.

… And as I was thinking about that, Oda’s enslavement was completed too.

Justice prevails!

Though I can’t act triumphant just yet. I still can’t be sure I’ll survive this situation.

After all, Oda and Akechi shot their guns three times total in this short confrontation. More people should soon come to check, to see what caused the gunshots.

For now though, I reached out to Yoshida, who was still crouched down, “Are you okay?” I asked.

“Ye… I-I-I…” Yoshida tried replying.

“I’m sorry for frightening you, but I won’t do anything rough, so could you keep quiet for a while?” I asked her.

She then immediately shook her head with an expression of absolute submission, even if I hadn’t used Enslave on her.

Next, I quickly checked my face on a hand mirror.

If I’m not mistaken, I should have been shot on the head, but… The wound is far from fatal. It at most needs a band-aid.

Just to be sure though, I also looked at my abdomen that was shot twice, and the wounds there were about as light as the one on my head.

That’s definitely only possible due to Defense V. Before I realized it, I became tough enough to withstand bullets.

… I don’t think there is anyone who would want to marry me after that.

Well, for the time being, let’s just lightly wipe the blood with a handkerchief. With this, almost all traces of the shooting were gone.

And just as I finished doing that, I heard the footsteps of multiple people coming from outside the door.

(Speak as if nothing happened. Deceive them.) I ordered, then sat down on the sofa where I was originally at.

This is it.

While waiting for them, I started eating some of the snacks that I didn’t stomp on.

“What’s wrong, boss!?” The people burst inside, and one of them asked.

“We heard gunshots!” Another one exclaimed.

“Hey, Oda! What are you doing!?” A third one asked.

Three flustered executives had come inside.

Pretending that nothing had happened, I threw a salami into my mouth.

Oh, this is delicious. I want to put it on bread and make a sandwich.

Meanwhile, Akechi started demonstrating his surprisingly amazing acting skills, “Nah, you don’t need to worry about it.” He said with a soft smile, “I just got a bit too drunk and decided to have some fun. Everything is fine.”

Everyone seemed to be a bit puzzled about that, but their expressions soon changed to relieved ones, “A-aah, Is that so? Seems like we were worried for no reason then.”

Oda, who currently had an emotionless expression in his face, seemed to want to say, ‘What are you so convinced of, you idiots?’

“Yes, but thank you for the worry. Close the door and go.” Akechi told them.

Then, they left.

Now that’s a relief… Seems like I won’t need to cause a massacre here.

Of course, I still need to be vigilant and keep on giving them orders, (From now on, do not call your friends or do anything that will endanger me. If I see any such behavior, I’ll immediately order you to suicide, understood?)

“Understood.” Akechi nodded.

“… Same.” Oda nodded.

The order is only valid for five minutes, but they don’t know that. If I tell them this, they won’t do anything that harms me for now.

So, I can finally relax a bit.

Therefore, I smiled as broadly as I could and told them, “Well then, shall we continue? Both the meal and… The conversation as well.”