Looking at the red and white fire alarm in front of her, Natsuhi flashed a smug smile that said, 'All according to plan.'
This was the solution she had come up with after much deliberation: trigger the fire alarm to create chaos.
She didn't believe for a second that if a fire broke out, the people inside wouldn't come out.
No matter how important their business was, could it really be more important than their lives?
[Perfect! I really am a genius!]
As soon as the alarm sounded, she would use the confusion to rescue Saki, then pick off the three of them one by one to happily claim her mission rewards.
Reading the instructions on the device, Natsuhi muttered to herself:
"Hmm, just press the middle part."
With that, she extended her thumb and pressed the center button with great excitement.
*Click.*
The button depressed, and the fire light above immediately began to flash with a piercing red glow!
[Looks like it's working.]
She could almost hear the deafening alarm already. Her body was coiled and ready; the moment the people inside came out, she would rush in to get her best friend.
However—
One second...
Two seconds...
Three seconds...
...Nothing happened.
Aside from that red light flashing silently, there was no other reaction.
The entire corridor remained so quiet she could hear her own heartbeat.
Huh? ╬!
[????]
Natsuhi's head was full of question marks, and the smile on her face froze.
Frowning, she leaned closer to the still-flashing device and slapped its plastic casing.
"Wait, it's broken?! Don't you dare fail me at the critical moment!"
Anxious, Natsuhi's slapping of the alarm became increasingly violent.
"Hello?! Is anyone there?! Make some noise! Are you a dud?!"
"This building looks high-quality and newly built, so why are the hardware facilities so crappy?"
"Could it be that I pressed it too lightly?"
Thinking this, Natsuhi pressed it hard again, but there was still no sound.
She pressed it again. Still nothing.
*Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack!*
Her hand speed got faster and faster, but the fire alarm acted as if it were asleep, refusing to utter a single sound.
Time was tight and the mission was heavy; if she dawdled any longer, the show would have already started over there.
Seeing her perfect plan fail because of a defective product, a surge of irrational anger rushed to Natsuhi's head.
[It must be a loose connection! One good hit should fix it!]
Even now, Natsuhi thought it was a matter of force. She firmly believed that there was no problem that couldn't be solved by 'brute force creating miracles.'
If it didn't work, it just meant the force wasn't great enough.
*BAM!!!*
Natsuhi took half a step back, wound up her arm, and slammed a massive haymaker into it.
Her fist, carrying the full weight of her body and her rage, smashed squarely into the fire alarm. The plastic casing shattered instantly, and components popped out, scattering all over the floor.
Shaking her slightly numb fist, Natsuhi looked at her still-smoking 'masterpiece' and nodded.
"Now it should..."
The alarm didn't sound, but a shocked and angry voice did.
"Hey! What are you doing over there?!"
Natsuhi startled, her neck turning slowly toward the source of the sound as if it were rusted.
A middle-aged man in a security uniform was standing in the hallway, looking at her in disbelief.
Their eyes met, and for a moment, the atmosphere was incredibly awkward.
[Crap!]
Security Guard (#ﾟДﾟ): "Holy crap, you smashed the fire alarm to bits?"
"What school are you from? Don't you know destroying public property is illegal? Hurry up and call your parents!"
The guard wasn't in a much better mood; the man stomped forward angrily to grab her.
Natsuhi's heart skipped a beat.
If she got taken away, wouldn't Saki be in trouble?
She had just wanted to be clever, but she'd ended up summoning a security guard.
"This fire alarm was broken. I just wanted to fix it. I guess my good intentions led to a bad result."
Natsuhi spoke while backing up a few steps, ready to bolt at any second.
"Fix it?"
The guard thought he had misheard. He looked at the pile of fire alarm fragments on the floor and fell into deep thought...
Look, girl, is your idea of 'fixing' the same as mine?
"Anyway, I just remembered my grandma is about to give birth. It's an emergency, gotta go, bro!"
Natsuhi pretended not to care, acting as if nothing had happened, then turned and sprinted toward the fire exit.
"Even if your great-grandma is giving birth, it's no use! Stay right there! If you don't give me an explanation today..."
The security guard clearly hadn't expected this little slip of a girl to run faster than a rabbit. After a brief stun, he immediately gave chase.
[Saki! Just hang in there! I'll come save you as soon as I shake off this over-enthusiastic uncle!]
System (facepalm): [I'm really done with you. I was waiting to see your brilliant performance, but I didn't expect you to drop such a giant turd right at the start.]
...
After shaking off the guard in a few turns, Natsuhi leaned against a hallway wall, panting. She felt like she had used up her entire lifetime's quota of exercise.
While catching her breath, she questioned the system in her mind.
"Haa~ What happened just now? Why didn't the fire alarm work?"
System: [Is it possible that because of the plot, external interference isn't allowed, so the alarm was muted?]
Natsuhi: "Damn it, that counts too? Then why didn't you say so earlier! You made me waste so much effort."
System (whispering): [Actually, it's my first day on the job too. The database is still updating, and I'm not very clear on many of the hidden rules...]
"Tsk, you're even more unreliable than I am."
Natsuhi clicked her tongue in disdain. She realized that the system she was bound to was essentially an intern—a total amateur.
Supposedly a 'Guardian Alliance' for the sake of love and peace, yet neither the human nor the system was reliable. She truly worried for the girls of this world...
Before she could catch her breath, Natsuhi was startled by a sudden system notification. The system's usually mechanical voice became urgent, sounding like a top-level alarm!
[Warning! Warning!]
[Emergency event triggered! Highest priority!]
[System has detected that the protection target 'Wada Saki' is undergoing substantial physical coercion! The violation has entered the countdown phase!]
[Repeat! Violation has entered the countdown phase!]
[Core plot is undergoing severe deviation! If no immediate intervention occurs, the target will suffer irreparable trauma, and the fate line will slide completely into the 'Corruption' abyss!]
[Huh? So fast? It seems I delayed too long just now.]
Natsuhi had originally wanted to find a way to take the three of them down one by one, but now it seemed time was running out. She needed to strike immediately.
At the same time, from behind the door that wasn't perfectly soundproof, came Saki's tearful, desperate screams and sounds of struggling:
"Let me go! Get away! Don't touch me!!"
And Inoue's sickening sneer: "Now you're scared? Too late!"
Along with the heavy, encroaching footsteps of the Black guy!
"Why does it feel like it's always like this? I didn't want to use violence."
The girl who wanted to solve problems through her amazing intellect was forced to use violence every time. It was truly helpless.
At the thought of Saki's beautiful red eyes losing all their light, becoming hollow and desperate after being broken...
Natsuhi felt a surge of hot blood, her body heating up.
One against three—no advantage. But my name is Natsuhi, and I am the Guardian who ensures beautiful girls live happy lives.
Forget the nonsense. Let's do this!
Opening the fire hydrant cabinet, Natsuhi pulled out a heavy fire extinguisher and a blood-red crowbar, then marched toward the door with an aggressive aura!