CH 64

By Effugium February 1, 2023

This is Mt. Takao, a long way west along the Chuo Line from the Asagaya Hero temporary headquarters. A man crept out of his tent and breathed in the fresh winter mountain air.

「Umu! It’s a great weather today as well! Seems like it’s been decided!」

Kurenai Retto said, sleeping his exposed brown arms. Surprisingly, the outside temperature was 5 degrees below zero, and he was wearing short sleeves as if a matter of course.

Due to repeated pay cuts, Retto had been living on bread crumbs, but recently he made the terrible mistake of having his Victory Transformation Gear stolen by a mysterious being. This was the deciding factor in his inability to pay this month’s rent, and he has been forced to stay in the field since the beginning of the New Year.

Since he would have to take a leave of absence without his transformation gear anyway, he decided to take a mountain retreat while he was at it.

「All right, let’s do this!!!」

Retto slapped his cheek and began sparring with a log hanging from a tree. It was hard to believe that just the other day he had been subjected to a high-voltage electric current and had been caught in a dust explosion that left him with severe burns all over his body.

「Not yet, not like this!　I won’t be able to beat that Death Green!」

With the defeat of Mayuzumi Kirika, the face of the Victor Rangers is completely destroyed. Nevertheless, Retto, as the leader, has the mission to keep the Victory Rangers alive.

Blue, Pink, and Yellow had already submitted a request for leave of absence as of the end of December due to the strain of their consecutive battles. In particular, Yellow, whom he visited at the end of the year, was in a condition that he could not bear to look at.

『Hey Yellow, do you recognize me?』

『……Ooo…… Hooo……  Humuu……』

Although he didn’t eat enough, he was devouring adult magazines in his hospital room to the point that Retto couldn’t bear to look at him. According to the doctor, his body instinctively went berserk in an effort to procreate because of his sudden weakening. He doesn’t think he will ever be in a worse condition, but he is a little worried.

「I need to be firm!!! Fun! Fun!」

With a light body movement, Retto stood upside down and kicked the log up with his legs. Then, in his upside-down view, he caught a glimpse of the edge of a long white coat.

「Good morning, Asaka-san!」

「What’s wrong with your outfit?」

That person was Retto’s immediate superior, Victor Ranger Commander Samejima Asaka. Retto raised his body with the spring of his arm and grinned, showing his white teeth.

「Asaka-san, why don’t you join me for some training!」

「No, thank you.」

The place where Retto pitched his tent was right next to the Mt. Takao trail. For a mountain retreat, it was too public a location. Tourists visiting the observatory for New Year’s vacation raised their eyebrows when they saw Retto in his short sleeves.

「I’m going to have breakfast now. Is there anything Asaka-san can’t eat?」

「I’ll pass.」

Even though it had only been a few days since he had started camping out in the field, there was a thick smell of earth wafting from Retto’s tent. Asaka was a little worried that he might be eating beetle larvae.

「So, Asaka-san, what brings you here today?」

「We have received numerous complaints from the local tourism association and have come to bring you back.」

「No way!　If I get kicked out of here, where else am I supposed to go?」

Retto clung to Asaka’s long coat, half crying. Asaka sighed loudly when she saw Retto like that.

「We will prepare a room for you as soon as possible, so please pack your belongings.」

「Yes!　Asaka-san!」

Asaka had to help clean up the tent early in the New Year in the midst of the crowd. It was a headache for the commander to deal with a hero who did as he pleased.

…………

Meanwhile, at the secret underground base of the secret society Ark Dominion, Rintaro had just returned home carrying Samecchi on his back.

A tall, dark-haired beauty Swordminas greet the sluggish Rintaro.

「Welcome back, Rintaro…… Are you tired? Samecchi also seems to have been asleep.」

「Yeah, she seemed to be tired and fell asleep.」

When Samechi came out of the bathroom, Rintaro was nowhere to be found. Samecchi, who had been left waiting at the lost-and-found center, cried loudly for more than 30 minutes upon seeing Rintaro’s face.

「It seems, Samecchi’s eyes…… Are a little swollen?」

「It was very troublesome, she cried very hard …」

「Being together and doing something tirin…… Made Samecchi “cry”……？　Ahaha, that…… Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry……！」

Swordminas turned red and smiled very awkwardly. It’s not that Rintaro did not feel as if he had planted some unwanted misconception again, but he did not even have the energy to deny it.

With the help of Swordminas, Rintaro carried Samecchi to his room and put her on the bed. Then he sat down on the big sofa and let out a exhausted sigh.

「I’m so tired……! No more……!」

「It’s not like you to speak out of weakness, Rintaro.」

「I just ran into an old acquaintance.」

「I see…… Thank you for your hard work.」

Swordminas made a cup of tea and did not want to hear more. It is not appropriate for mysterious beings to talk about their past, as many of them have had a hard time after awakening.

This is convenient for Rintaro, who is hiding the fact that he is not a mysterious being. However, he has no one he can talk to about this matter.

Pipipipopopopi!

At that moment, a familiar electronic sound echoed through the room. It was the call of the Victory transformation gear.

「…………Huh?」

Rintaro checked his gear, but there seemed to be no incoming call. From the source of the sound, it did not seem to have come from Rintaro’s jacket in the first place.

Pipipipopopopi!

The electronic sound echoed again.

When Rintaro looked toward Swordminas, the tall maiden was clutching a teacup and sweating profusely from her forehead. Under her long eyelashes, her timid eyes swam as if she were about to cross the Strait of Dover.

「Hey, Swordminas-san? It can’t be, you…」

「……I don’t know what you mean……」

When Rintaro looked under the table, he saw a paper knives spilling from the hems of Swordminas’ pants like a waterfall.

Pipipipopopopi!

Rintaro stripped off Swordminas’ jacket without asking questions.

「This girl, you had hidden a terrible thing!!」

「I didn’t mean to!　I didn’t do it on purpose!」

「Shut up, give it up! Hurry up and get the thing out!」

「Haun! I’ll, I’ll get it out myself so stop, Stoppp!!」

「Where is it?!　Where did you hide it?!　Is it here?!」

Hearing the commotion, the mysterious beings hurriedly opened the door to Rintaro’s room. As soon as they saw the two, they quietly closed the door without saying a word.

Ten minutes later, a “red dangerous thing” was placed in front of them, leaving them both breathless. It continued to make electronic noises as if it was announcing itself.

Rintaro silently disconnected the call.

「When did you pick it up?」

「……At Saitama Shin-Toshin.」

「You’ve had it hidden for three days?」

「I- I couldn’t tell you……」

It originally belonged to the leader of the Victor Ranger, Kurenai Retto, aka Victor Red. It was “Red’s Victory Transformation Gear” that was stolen from him.