What, Failure to Transition!? Volume 4 Chapter 9 (Patreon)

Chapter 9 – For a Safe and Peaceful City 2

While waiting for Yoichi to return, Karin and the gallery decided to get their gear ready and visited a home improvement store in Donna’s car, which was parked a short distance away.

“To think guns and stuff are put up for display just like that…”

“Well, our state has the laxest gun control, so…”

Donna answered Karin’s exasperated musings with a nonchalant look as she rummaged through the handguns and bullets displayed in a section of the store.

Donna purchased a 9mm pistol of the same model as the standard-issue pistol she normally uses, along with bullets.

Misato, who cannot use wizardry or sorcery spells on Earth, was given the same thing for protection.

Incidentally, it is said that in this state, it is not even necessary to show ID for purchases as small as a pistol and its bullets.

“They have compound bows, too. Well, you have pistols in this place, so there should be at least this much.”

“That bow has a lot of tension. Are you okay with that?”

Karin picked out a 75-pound one from the compound bows on display and held it in her hand.

She pulled the string to test it out, and she seemed to be able to handle it without any problems.

Although she couldn’t use wizardry or sorcery, with the innate magical powers (mana) circulating in her body, Karin could now naturally strengthen her body to some extent.

“Y-you’re quite strong, aren’t ya…”

Donna’s eyes widened at Karin’s effortless pulling of the compound bow, half-dazed, half astonished.

Although she could not yet control her magic as good as Alana and thus could not produce monstrous strength like her, she was at least able to produce strength equivalent to that of an adult male in this country, and it seemed that she had also received some compensation for her skill [Bowmanship] for holding a bow, albeit a little.

“Do you have an axe that you can handle with one hand?”

In response to Alana’s question, which had interrupted her watching of Karin, Donna pointed to a corner of the store.

“If I remember correctly, there are firefighters’ tomahawks around that corner.”

The firefighter’s tomahawk that Donna refers to is commonly called a fire axe, a one-handed hatchet used by firefighters to destroy obstacles during a fire. Soon, the figure of Alana was holding two fire axes, each with distinct red-painted axe heads in each of her hands, swinging it lightly on the spot.

“Hm, they’re a little light, but not too bad.”

“Ahaha… quite a unique choice of weapon you got there…”

Donna, who witnessed the bizarre sight of a woman in a dress swinging an axe, said impressively as she pulled a smile on her face.

“Fuu…ha! Sei…!!”

After that, the princess knight continued to swing in the wide aisle in her dress as if to get used to the weight of the two fire axes.

She stepped in, twisted her body, swung down, swung up, and reaped.

Not only her body but the way her dress swayed with each movement was also magnificent.

Alana was simply checking her movements, but the movements of this beautiful woman with long, beautiful silver hair, her luxurious, fluttering blue dress, and her ample, half-exposed breasts swaying in the air, everything on it seemed like a high-level performance.

The female investigator was so fascinated by the beauty and intensity of the princess knight that she forgot her mission for a moment and just watched.

“Oh, it’s Yoichi.”

Karin’s smartphone rang just as she had selected her weapon and paid her bill.

“Hello, Yoichi?”

[Hey, what’s up?]

“Uhm, did I… interrupt something important earlier?”

[Uh, no, it’s fine.]

“I knew it was a bad timing… Sorry.”

[No, really. I’m fine, don’t worry about it. So, why did you call?]

“Un. Actually…”

From there, Karin explained the situation after the three went out of the city.

[You…just what are you doing over there?]

“What do you mean…? We just can’t help it.”

[So, to sum up, you’ve gotten in the way of what is an undercover police investigation, and now you’re gonna help her with it? No, no. I can’t just allow you to do something that dangerous!]

“Eh, didn’t you do something similar as well?”

[I have my skills, so that is different!]

“We have a bit of that, too. Besides, we have an active police officer and Alana here, so we should be fine, right?”

[Mmm… if you insist…]

“Fufufu. Thanks.”

[I’ll join you as soon as I can, so don’t do anything rash.]

“I know.”

Karin gave Yoichi the license plate number of the car she got from Donna and asked him to track it down.

[That car is parked in a warehouse district on the outskirts of town. Uh, probably that’s where their hideout is.]

“As expected of our Yoichi. You work fast.”

[It’s all from my ‘skills’ though. I’ll send you the address by email. For now, there are about 20 armed men and about 10 women who look like they’ve been kidnapped. I’ll also send you detailed information about the enemy’s placement and equipment.]

“Thank you. That really helps a lot.”

[The more information you have, the safer you guys are. But don’t go overboard, okay?]

“Yeah, I got it.”

Within a minute of hanging up the phone, Karin received an email.

A URL was listed, and when the link was tapped, a map and markers showing the location of what appeared to be a hideout appeared on the screen.

“Donna, this is probably where the enemy is.”

Donna’s eyes widened in surprise when she saw the map and markers displayed on the smartphone.

“You figured out this much already!?”

“I told you, we have a leader we can count on.”

“…wow. That’s impressive.”

A few minutes later, another email was received and this time it’s with a floor plan attached that appeared to be of the hideout.

There were handwritten notes on the floor plans indicating the changes due to the placement of people, equipment, and past remodeling.

Perhaps the information was added using an image editing application on a smartphone.

The site of the supposed hideout was originally a commonly used warehouse, and the floor plan was borrowed from the builder’s database.

All passwords were meaningless in front of [Appraisal+], and it was easy to break in anywhere as long as the connection was online.

Yoichi’s skills also taught him how to access and cover his tracks so that he would not be discovered.

“…wait. No matter how you put it, this is just too good. What in the world kind of organization are you guys in?”

“Fufu. That’s a secret♪”

Karin put her index finger to her mouth and winked at Donna, who looked both impressed and dismayed.

Donna drove the four of them close to the hideout, where they parked their car a short distance away and moved quietly.

Donna, who knew the area well, led the way and hid in the shadows near the hideout.

“We are here.”

They peeked out from the shadows and saw a large warehouse with two men standing in front of the entrance, who appeared to be guards.

They were both standing there empty-handed, occasionally puffing on cigarettes and chatting.

Even though it is on the outskirts of town, people may pass by on rare occasions, so they probably can’t openly display their weapons.

According to information from Yoichi, each has a pistol on his waist or in his pocket and a short submachine gun or automatic rifle hidden in the shadows a few steps away.

[Any changes in placement or equipment?]

Karin sent this short message, and Yoichi sent her an image of a new floor plan describing the enemy situation.

There was some time lag, but for now, it did not appear that there would be any major changes in the enemy positions.

“I’ll take care of the guards. Misato, you take care of the rest.”

“-kay.”

Karin handed her smartphone to Misato and quietly moved away from the shadows, setting up her compound bow.

“Hey, they’ll find you…!!”

Donna appealed strongly to Karin to rebuke her for completely revealing herself to the guards while keeping her voice down.

“Fufu. That’s okay. But Donna, you go hide in there.”

Karin, equipped with the magic tool that inhibits recognition, would not be found unless she did something extraordinary.

Donna, not knowing this, was puzzled, but since the guards did not seem to notice Karin for some time, she forced herself to believe that this mysterious organization had something special that prevented them from finding her.

“Phew…”

After exhaling a bit louder than usual, Karin pulled the string and took aim.

(Yep. I guess my skills work here, even though it’s Earth.)

Although they cannot use skills that release magic outside their bodies, such as wizardry and sorcery, the skills that are activated by kneading magic inside their bodies seem to work properly.

Fluttering her deep-slit cheongsam and generously exposing her thicc thighs, Karin took aim with a sharp gaze.

(…so pretty.)

…Is what Donna could only mutter.

It was on the outskirts of town and in the middle of the night. Yet, Karin’s figure, faintly illuminated by the dim streetlights, was almost ethereal, and she almost forgot the situation for a moment as if she had fallen for that figure.

Karin, who was able to aim easily thanks to her [Bowmanship] skill, nocked her arrow immediately after the first shot and fired another in rapid succession.

“Guaah…!!”

“Gyaaa…!!”

The men on guard, who were shot through the shoulder almost simultaneously, could not understand what had happened and were confused by the sudden intense pain.

However, it was clear that they had been attacked, and that they were still conscious.

But when they were about to shout to warn the others on the inside, a woman in a blue dress with a fire axe in her hand appeared in their line of vision.

“Ggghh…!!”

“Guh…!!”

It was Alana, who had rushed out at the same time Karin fired her arrow.

She approached the men, her blue dress fluttering and her large breasts swaying.

And just as the two men were about to act out from their confusion, she struck the head of each of them with the back of her axe head and the end of the handle, cutting off their consciousness altogether.

“…Really, what kind of organization is this?”

Stunned by Alana’s ridiculous strength, Donna rushed to the front of the entrance with Karin and Misato.

“Misato.”

“Yes.”

Misato, who had guessed what Donna was up to just by calling her name, took out the cable ties she had previously purchased at a home improvement store and bound the fallen men’s arms and legs.

In the meantime, Donna held up her gun and kept a watchful eye on her surroundings. Then, she said.

“The coast is clear. Let’s keep it that way once we get inside.”

“Roger.”

The roles of each member were determined.

Alana, acting as the vanguard, would storm into the enemy position, wielding two fire axes, while Karin would cover her from the rear with her bow.

Misato would navigate with Karin’s smartphone, while Alana and Karin would restrain the incapacitated enemy and rescue hostages if possible.

Donna’s role is to protect Misato while keeping an eye on the surroundings.

“Although that has been taken care of…how do we get inside now?”

As it was a warehouse, the entrance was a huge shutter, which of course, was locked and could not be easily opened.

Since it is a shutter, if you try to open it, a loud noise will be made at that point, which will alert the people inside.

“I think we should enter through this side entrance.”

Misato answered with her smartphone in hand, and Donna, who had guessed her intentions from her body language, followed suit.

There was a metal door by the shutter that was large enough for one person to pass through.

Yoichi’s note added that it was preferable to enter from here, considering the enemy’s current positions.

“No, even if you enter from here, it’s gonna be locked, isn’t it?”

“Then, let’s just kick down the door.”

Donna could not understand Alana’s words, but she understood that she was talking about something dangerous from her tone and expression.

“Alana, I think there’s one down the path… probably in this direction.”

Misato, who was looking at a floor plan, smiled lightly at Alana as she told her this.

“It’s okay. Even I can already tell their presence when I get this close.”

Alana grinned proudly as she said this, and stood in front of the door with two axes in her hands, then slowly crouched as she took off her heels and went barefoot.

“Are you ready?”

In response to Alana’s question, Karin and Misato nodded vigorously.

“Hey, wait! What are you going to do!?”

But Donna, who did not understand Alana’s words, was puzzled.

“Alana is going to kick down this door right now, and then we’ll go in first.”

“You’re just gonna kick it? How the hell are you…”

“Fufufu. Trust me.”

“That again? Fine. I don’t care anymore. Let’s do this so that we can finish this quickly!”

After smiling at Donna’s words, Alana stepped forward with force and delivered a full frontal kick to the metal door.

――GOGAAAN!!

With a dull metallic sound, the metal door was bent, the key and hinges burst off, and a cruelly disfigured piece of iron that had once been a door was kicked into the warehouse.

“Gyaaa!!”

One of the enemies got caught in the door that was kicked, and he was blown away by the force and weight of the kick.

“What the… what the fuck was that!?”

Among those stationed in various parts of the hideout, several people relatively close to the source of the sound rushed toward them.

A woman in a blue dress stood in front of the side entrance, holding an axe in each of her hands.

“What’s going on? It’s an enemy attack. That’s what’s going on.”

Alana calmly announced in a language the men did not understand and stepped quickly toward the gathered group.

The men could not recover from their confusion at the presence of an unrealistic axe-wielding woman in a dress, and a few of them were already blown away before they could return to their senses.

“What are you doing? It’s just one woman, get rid with her and—Guaah…!!”

One man recovered from his confusion early, only to get shot in the shoulder and drop his gun.

“Do you think you still have the luxury to talk at this point?”

Karin, dressed in her Chinese dress, followed Alana into the room. She held up her compound bow and scanned the interior, targeting mainly the enemies in an intercepting position and shooting them in the shoulder and legs.

She already had the layout of the floor plan in her head beforehand, so she had a good grasp of the enemy’s position, albeit to a certain extent.

“Damn! What the hell are these women?”

“Shut up! Just quickly intercept them!”

The men, who were in a place far from the side entrance, began shooting while hiding in the shadows.

But Alana just dodged or parried bullets flying past her with her axe as she made her way deeper into the warehouse.

“What the hell is this woman? Is she a monster?”

The men continued to pull the trigger, half confused by the sight of the woman in the blue dress, who was impervious to gunfire.

“Hmph… This level of attack won’t hit you anything.”

But her blue dress fluttering and her face smiling wryly, the princess knight continued to run through the warehouse, dodging the hail of bullets as she took down her enemies one by one.

At this point, Alana had already removed the magic tool that inhibits recognition.

Her flamboyant outfit, which exposed a large portion of her chest and was not appropriate for this location, combined with the flamboyant movements of the red firefighting equipment in both hands, it was in no time that she became the focus of everyone’s attention. This also made it difficult for them to spot Karin however, who was wearing her magic tool for blocking recognition as she assisted Alana by providing covering fire with her arrows.

“Guaah…!!”

“Gieee…!!”

Therefore, the men who had focused their attention only on Alana were struck by Karin’s arrows, which were shot from outside their consciousness, and quickly they were helplessly deprived of their ability to fight.

“Really, what kind of bullshit is this!?”

Donna, pistol at the ready and occasionally firing at the enemy, moved with Misato from shadows to shadows, also restraining those whose consciousness had been mowed down by Alana’s axe or whose movements had been impaled by Karin’s arrows.

“Alana! The room to the left!”

“Got it!”

At Misato’s signal, Alana destroyed the lock on the door to her left.

“Fuck… these damn women!!”

At that moment, one of the men, who had been shot through the right shoulder by Karin’s arrow and was lying on the ground, switched his gun to his left hand and raised his upper body.

Because the man was lying in a blind spot from both Alana and Karin, neither noticed him.

The man who had woken himself up then looked at Misato, who was about to open the door to the room where the kidnapped tourists were locked up.

“Die you… bitch…!!”

But just as the man was about to pull the trigger, Donna noticed it.

“Misato!”

――BAM!

Donna jumped between the muzzle of the gun, which had just breathed fire, and Misato, the one being aimed at.

――BANG!

And as she jumped in, Donna readied her gun and pulled the trigger.

(Not good! I was too late…!!)

At that moment, Donna felt like the world had gone into slow motion.

It was as if she could see the bullet that should have reached her in an instant slowly coming toward her.

But in the slow-motion world, Donna could not move her body as she wanted, and she could do nothing but wait for the bullet to reach her.

――KABLAM!!

Another gunshot was heard.

KAPWIIING! Just when it seemed as if something had ricocheted, the world regained its original speed.

(Just now… the bullet… was deflected by another bullet?)

That’s what it seemed like to Donna’s eyes.

It could all be just imagination, or an optical illusion…

However, the bullet that the man seemed to have fired in agony did not reach her, and conversely, the bullet she fired herself caught the man between the eyes, and the enemy was dead.

“Yoichii!!”

Misato’s voice made her turn around and follow her gaze, and from there, was an Asian man dressed in a three-piece tweed suit.

The man was holding a heavy machine gun on a tripod mount as if he had prepared it some time ago.

――DUDUDUDUDUDUDU!!

A series of gunshots immediately came next as the man fired a barrage of bullets into the empty wall.

High-calibered bullets fired in rapid succession from the deadly anti-materiel weapon mercilessly destroyed the props and equipment in the warehouse and shattered the concrete walls.

The roar and the sight made everyone in the room stop moving.

“Drop your weapons if you don’t want to become a piece of meat!”

The man shouted.

After a few moments of silence, the rattle of guns being thrown away echoed through the warehouse.

“Who the hell is he…?”

Donna asked Misato, but there was no answer.

“Huh? Misato?”

She looked around but could not see Misato, Alana, or Karin.

All that remained in the warehouse were the fallen, bound, or dying enemies, plus the tweeded man walking to the doorway shutter while making some sort of phone call.

The man unlocked the door from the inside and opened the shutter with a rattling sound, and a group of men in combat uniforms rushed in from the other side.

The logo on their combat uniform indicated that it was a special forces unit.

The members of these combat units pulled up the members already bound with ties, some of them opening the door Alana had destroyed to free the women inside, who appeared to be tourists, and led them out while protecting them.

“You must be Agent Valentine of the City Police Department. My name is Grover.” A member of the unit came running up to Donna.

“Ah, yes.”

Donna, unable to quite grasp the situation, managed to reply, albeit with some trepidation.

“Thank you for real this time! Thanks to your efforts, we were able to destroy one of the international traffickers’ strongholds and rescue some of the kidnapped hostages.”

“Human trafficking? International…? Eh!?”

Not expecting that her investigation would lead to an incredibly big fish, Donna let out a crazy cry.

“Uhm… about Karin and the others… what happened to them?”

“Karin?”

“Yeah. They’re the guys who helped me when you came in here…”

“We have not received any reports of such people.”

“What? I was just going along for the ride, and they were the ones who took control of the place.”

At that moment, something caught her attention, and she turned her head, only to see three women in familiar dresses mixed in with the rescued hostages.

Then, noticing Donna’s gaze, the woman in the black Chinese dress smiled and made a small wave.

“Kari ――”

But then Grover interrupted Donna’s gaze by blocking her view of the woman and continued talking.

“With all due respect, we have this place under control with the help of Agent Valentine.”

“Huuh!? What are you talking about? Oh, yeah, I remember! Did you see that tweeded guy who unlocked the entrance just now?”

The lock was opened from the inside by Agent Valentine, who had gone in ahead of us.

“No, no, no! I was just standing here, you know!? Why can’t you realize that? It was the guy in the tweeds who unlocked the entrance before you guys went in! I think his name was Yoichi or something…”

“It seems you are tired after your great task. We will escort you home so you can have a good night’s sleep tonight. You can file your report tomorrow.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Donna raised her voice in protest, but Grover only gave a small nod before leaving.

Two female police officers appeared later, and they carried her into a car, and before she knew it, she found herself at her home.

“You did a good job out there! See you tomorrow!”

After dropping Donna off, the car slammed its doors and drove through the night view of the residential area.

“…what the hell is going on here, really!”

Donna stood there stunned for a while, but when she suddenly snapped back to herself, she entered her home, took off her dress, and showered, all in a sulky mood.

Then she took a bottle of whiskey from the kitchen cabinet, filled the glass halfway, and downed it in one gulp.

“Phew…”

After the searing sensation went down her throat, her head shook with a jerk from the alcohol that had been poured into her empty stomach.

This was partly because she had consumed all of the strong alcohol in one go but also because so many incredible things had happened tonight that her brain was on the verge of a flat tire.

“Sigh…”

Donna let out an alcohol-infused exhale.

Then she briefly recalled the events of tonight.

First, she tried to pretend that she had been kidnapped by walking down in an alleyway in a conspicuous outfit to infiltrate an enemy facility.

Then a woman in a blue dress jumped in and knocked out one of the men who was trying to drag her into the car.

(…Well, these things could happen by accident.)

The operation was already a bust at that time, but then she discovered that the women who saved her were members of a mysterious organization and were willing to assist in her investigation.

(But compound bows and fire axes? Well, it’s not like it’s impossible, but…)

And then, there was the reliable leader of the group, who gave them almost real-time information from the enemy’s hideout to the floor plan and placement of the enemy.

(No matter how much I put it, they’re just too reliable for their own good…well, whatever!)

Letting out a heated ‘Hmph!’ right after, maybe from the alcohol, she grabbed the whiskey bottle, poured the contents again into the glass, and downed it for the second gulp.

The burning sensation ran down her throat and into her esophagus once again. As her stomach heated up, her brain felt even hotter, and her consciousness wavered.

“Puhaaaah…!!”

The infiltration of the hideout was successful. But just as Karin and Alana were about to gain control of the compound, Misato was shot.

Although she intervened successfully, Donna was ready to die at that point.

However, the enemy’s bullets were bounced off by something and did not reach Donna. Even now, she still did not understand what had happened.

(Was it another bullet after all…?)

Then, presumably, what Karin described as their dependable leader – the man in the three-piece tweed suit – appeared and, without a second thought, pulled out a high-caliber weapon and unleashed it, guns blazing on the enemy, demoralizing them.

(Hah! If it were a movie or drama, this plot would be outright rejected for being tacky.)

“Good grief…”

Before long, the special forces unit rode in and overpowered the enemy. The kidnapped people were safely rescued, and then…

(Karin and the others are gone…)

Among the people who were rescued, three of them looked like Karin and the others. She even thought Karin’s figure was waving at her at that time, only for her to think she was mistaken at the end.

Having consumed a strong alcoholic beverage all at once, Donna’s mind, about to go flat due to the excessive information it was receiving, began to heat up even more, and her consciousness began to cloud over.

“Haaaaah…”

Wondering if everything that happened tonight was a dream, Donna exhaled heavily, hot breaths mixed with alcohol.

“…time to hit the bunk, I guess…”

Then, naked with only a bath towel wrapped around her, she collapsed onto the bed. Soon began to breathe in and out of her sleep.

〇●〇●

Going back a little, right after the special forces unit had entered.

After the shutters of the hideout were opened, Yoichi went outside as if to replace the members of the special forces that were going in.

It seemed that they had been told something in advance, as although a few of them looked at Yoichi, they did nothing in particular and went on their way to suppress the hideout.

“Good job, That was quite a trick you pulled off.”

Before he knew it, Charlotte stood by Yoichi’s side as he went out of the warehouse.

“I didn’t do much, actually.” He spoke in reply.

“Fufu. As casual as ever. So the credit belongs to that agent this time, is that correct?”

Charlotte’s eyes followed Yoichi’s, and there she saw Donna talking with Agent Glover.

“Yeah, we don’t want to show off too much. Sorry for the hassle.”

“No, no. You guys were a big help. Thanks to you, we were able to take down one of the traffickers’ strongholds. We also rescued some of the hostages. The presence of a group like this, even though it is only one of the tails of their organization, is already a big stain on the reputation of the city.”

Apparently, at this point, they had already determined that the kidnapping group was part of an international human trafficking organization.

“I see. Now that this is settled, it is your turn to do your part. I hope you fulfill your part of the bargain.”

“You can count on us. We will hide the information about you guys and everything you have done here. Then we’re even, correct?”

“…so, if I give you this, you’ll owe me one again?”

Yoichi then pulled out a few sheets of paper from his pocket and offered them to Charlotte.

“This is…”

It contained a complete description of the huge organization that was the mainstay of this group of kidnappers.

The list included hotels, casinos, tourism industry collaborators, and even rats in the city police and federal police.

“No way… is this still a human trafficking ring…? It’s so big…”

The full details of the international human trafficking organization, which spanned the globe and is active in the dark, were also described there.

And the fact that this group of kidnappers didn’t even comprise the tip of the nail of this humongous organization, it left Charlotte in huge shock.

“I… I will take this home and examine it closely.”

Charlotte was temporarily flustered by the provision of so much vital information, but she quickly regained her composure and turned to Yoichi with a mischievous smile.

“However, with this much information, the proportion of concealing the source of it would rise dramatically. So, as I said, we’re still even with this.”

“I see. Welp, that’s too bad.”

Then an out-of-place limousine appeared and stopped near Yoichi.

“But still, allow me to express my gratitude, even though albeit a small one. I will take you and your companions back to the hotel.”

“Ah…Okay. Thank you.”

Yoichi was somewhat bewildered by the sudden appearance of a limousine in front of him, but he also did not forget to express his gratitude for Charlotte’s thoughtfulness.

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