I pull Elysia's hand away from the attacker, who is actually a former colleague of mine.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. What the hell is going on?

Let's just get out of here!

　I shouted to the confused Gran.
　I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not, but it's a good idea.

　...... Well, at least things went according to plan.

　Now for the first obstacle.
　First, I have to get Gran and Mize away.

I'm not letting them go.

　The marauder caught up with us right on schedule.
　Shortly after, something unexpected happens.
　Gran clenched her fist and confronted the attacker.

"Gran, stop!

　Seriously, stop!

Stop!

　There was no time to stop him. Gran thrusts out his fist.
　Gran thrusts out a fist. He hastily looks at the man acting as the assailant. The man replied with a quick gesture, "I can afford it.

　The man, as he had declared, received Gran's fist as if he were smug.

"What?

I'll say it again. I'm only here for the woman.

　He gulped and choked.
　That was a rush. I should have thought a little more about ...... Gran's character.

"Gran, take Mize and run somewhere.

...... What are you guys going to do?

We're going to run away too. ...... Don't worry, we'll catch up soon.

............ Shit. I don't know about you, but I believe in you, Twight!

　And with that, Gran fled with Mize.
　Okay. I'm not sure what to do, but I'm going to do it.

You can run too. If you give me that woman, I promise I won't touch anyone else.

"If you don't give me ......, you'll give me your hand.

That's right. ---- That's right.

　A man is coming at me.

Elysia!

"......!

　You call out to Elysia, who stands still, and you both run away from the man.

I thought I told you I wasn't going to let you go.

　In a moment, a crescent-shaped slash came from behind.
　You can't defend yourself in time.

　Good timing.
　This way, I can protect Elicia in a natural way.
　And I took the slash instead of Elysia.

"Guh!

"Twight!

　I moaned, but there was no pain.
　The slash I had just struck was just an apparent blow. But Elysia would think it was a near-fatal wound.

"You move well, but you're only a student.

　The next thing the attacker knows.
　The blade pierced my stomach.

"Ha-ha.

　A thud. A heavy, unpleasant sound came from inside me.
　But of course, the blade that pierced my belly wasn't a real blade.

　It was a toy made of three copper coins.
　It is designed in such a way that even children can easily use it, and the tip of the blade can be retracted by pressing the tip. By using this function, I acted as if I had been stabbed by a blade.

　As soon as the sword was removed, I tore open the bag of gore that I had prepared and let a large amount of red liquid drip from my stomach and mouth.

"Lie ...... to eight ............?

　I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but it's a good idea.
　It's a little heartbreaking. It is true that I am making Elicia feel uncomfortable even though I am acting.

Elicia ............ escape ......

　She spat out the words while spitting out a bright red liquid.
　I don't care if these are my last words. That's how I felt when I said it.

　...... Well, it's not my last words, but...
　It's a matter of feeling.

　Anyway.
　She finally realized the beauty of having a future.
　She's looking forward now, and I don't want her to die.
　Even if it means I die.



　............ Well, I'm not dying.
　It's a metaphor.

Come on, get out of here. ......!

Get out of here!

　Perhaps it was the power of her desperate words that made Elysia run away without a second thought.
　After watching her walk away, I slowly stood up.
　The man who played the assailant stared at me and muttered.

You're a great actor.

I know. ...... Are we geniuses?

　It seems that I am not only a pick-up artist, but also a talented actor.
　This is not the time to be talking nonsense.

"As planned, I'll play the assailant from here on out. You got the head?

Here it is. Here.

Hey, don't throw it. ----

Ah!

　He fails to catch the fake head and drops it on the ground.
　I'm not sure. I'm not sure what to do.
　When you pick up the head, you see .......

...... Oh no. All the hair on the top of my head is gone.

Wow, that's tragic.

　Gran has alopecia areata.
　It's hard to be this bald at this young age.

...... We can't let him go in front of Elysia like this.

I'm not sure what to do.　What do you think? Should we just take the head of this girl named Mize?

I'm not sure what to do. I would like to take the heads of both of them somehow. ...... Speaking of which, you have brown hair, right?

"...... Hey, 28. Just in case you were wondering, what is it then?

Transplant your hair onto this head. This is your responsibility.

Huh?　It's because 28 didn't get it right.

What kind of idiot throws away a valuable prop? This is your fault for being careless.

......

"......

　The man instantly activated his "toughness" and tried to break away.
　But I'm faster than him at this distance. I activate Materialization and thrust the blade from my palm at the man.

　I dove into the pocket of the man who had stopped moving, and in the next instant...
　I grabbed the man's head.

"Whoa!　You've got to be kidding!　My hair is mine!

No hard feelings.

　Gran's hair is shishi colored.
　It's a slightly different shade than brown hair, but a partial transplant might be deceiving.

Ouch!　It's buzzing!

No hard feelings.

You!　You -- seriously, remember that!　Next time I see you, I'm gonna kick your ass!

No hard feelings.

　He took out the gore bag from his mouth and used the viscosity of the liquid to graft the man's hair onto his head. If you give it a strong shock, it'll come right off. We have to be delicate from here.

　And ---- we immediately resumed the play.
　When we caught up with Elysia, we pretended to be marauders and faced each other.
　The man opened his mouth first.

"You're too late.

"Yeah. There were a couple of guys in the way, so it took a while.

　Ignoring the man's murderous glare, I concentrated on my performance.
　I rolled the two raw heads to Elysia's feet.

"Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ............?

　When Elysia screamed.
　To be honest, I was relieved.