Previously!
After organizing the company, I found out that our operating costs are insane! Our current total assets are 250,000 yen, but a single day's operation costs 150,000 yen!
So, to save on advertising costs, we decided to perform a minor, un-negotiated act of public nuisance and violence for the sake of noise marketing at the Millennium Prize!
Doing it on the day of the Prize would be too much, so we decided to hit Millennium the day before, which is two days after the company's founding!
"And two days have passed."
At my monologue, an employee who was preparing looked at me strangely.
"? What the hell are you on about?"
"Shut your mouth. It's a thing."
"Are you nervous?"
"...A little?"
What do I have to be nervous about?
Just as I said, two days have passed since the start of the business. In other words, today is the day we attack Millennium.
"Boss."
"Ah, Arin. How are the preparations?"
"All done. You can depart now."
Of course, we didn't just play around for two days.
First, I handed over all the existing guns and ammunition to Sarin and asked her to create blueprints as detailed as possible.
The main request was 'to be able to hit as painfully as possible'.
Thankfully, Sarin did this almost perfectly.
Based on this, we refined the factory equipment and ran it all day, successfully producing the original output of ten guns and five thousand rounds.
Of course, this process incurred an expense of 170,000 yen for production costs and other things, leaving us with only 80,000 yen.
Maybe that's why I'm trembling.
If it were just me, it would be different, but this is a job for all the employees.
Aren't they employees I've only known for three days?
Try living with someone for three days. Honestly, they're more comfortable than my sister.
"Everyone's gathered."
Everyone had changed from their pajamas/work clothes into their old Sukeban outfits and were standing in front of the factory.
Of course, they were also wearing masks to hide their faces.
"Today, we raid Millennium. There are three important things to remember."
One. Be as loud as possible, but cause minimal damage.
"Since our goal is advertising, let's be noisy, but not crazy."
Two. Do not, under any circumstances, reveal that we are 'The Farm'.
"We are now 'Sukeban who happened to get their hands on some really good quality weapons'. If our identities are revealed, we're all screwed."
Three. We will abandon all the weapons.
"Leave the guns, even if you keep the bullets. That's the most important part. Everyone got it?"
"Yes!"
"Got it!"
"Okay, roger!!"
"Acknowledged."
"Alright, let's go!"
And so began the first external activity of the munitions factory, 'The Farm'.
— And the Millennium terror attack, which would later become the starting point of a damn persistent and helpful relationship, had begun.
"...Anyone know the way?"
"Boss, you don't know?"
"Nope. Arin, do you?"
"What would a Sukeban know?"
"What would a runaway teenager know?"
In the end, we could only truly set off after equipping the GPS provided by the General Student Council.
* * *
"Where does this go?"
"Ah, you need to take that to Section C-3!"
This is the preparation site for the Millennium Prize.
As it's Millennium, one of the major academies, thousands of inventions and a similar number of waste products pour in every time.
Moreover, many students and adults gather to see the promising inventions or just to look around, making it a spectacle in itself.
In a word? For the staff here, it's pretty much a living hell.
"Yuuka-chan, have a drink while you work!"
"Ah, thank you, senpai."
And here is one student.
Hayase Yuuka, a third-year middle school student at Millennium.
In the distant future, she might be treated as a boss mob, the 'Cruel Accountant of Calculation', but for now, she was a prime example of why being a middle manager sucks.
Of course, this work was something she volunteered for.
The student council of Millennium Science School, Seminar.
With the youngest-ever student council president at its head, Seminar was almost deified by Yuuka's generation.
Most students admired Seminar, and a small number of them hoped to join.
Yuuka was one of that small number.
In other words, this was a kind of work experience. To be precise, it could be seen as an internship.
"Excuse me, where's the restroom..."
"Ah, that's over there to the right!"
Not that it wasn't tiring, though.
"Excuse me, where's the trash can?"
"It's against that wall over there!"
"I'm thirsty, where's the vending machine..."
"It's just around the corner!"
Perhaps because of that, she was exhausted.
Moreover, today was the last day. Her mind and body were starting to relax, her limbs feeling heavy as her thoughts began to unwind.
"That goes over there... ah, that's not under my jurisdiction... no, you can't touch that!"
"...That's rough."
"No, it's not that I'm ignoring you, it's just... ah, for that, you need to see someone named Noa in Section A..."
It was only natural. Isn't this too much for a third-year middle schooler to handle?
The serious problem of disregarding student rights in Kivotos also plays a part, but let's move on for now.
Just then, a student approaches.
"Haa... haa..."
"You must be tired. Have this while you work."
A truly warm gesture of goodwill.
But there are rules.
"Ah, I'm sorry. We're not allowed to accept things like that..."
"Really? That's a shame."
"Yes... I'll just accept the thought..."
"Even so, just have one bite."
"No, excuse me, I told you I can't—"
If she keeps refusing, well. That's a shame for us.
"Here. One bite."
The first taste is a special-made bullet.
BANG—!!!
"...Huh?"
"Sorry, but the boss told us to make it big and flashy if possible."
It's a truly pitiful thing. A pitiful student.
"It's an attack!! Run!!"
Hah, I really am a warm-hearted person. Shooting her so she can get some rest.
After being shot once, Yuuka had already fainted.
"What? Where?!!"
"Grab them!! Make sure the inventions don't get damaged!!"
Look. Everyone is so moved by my kindness that they're expressing themselves with such passion.
"Who the hell are those guys?! They're raiding Millennium?!"
Well, if I'm providing such a service, I should give something in return.
Exploiting students for labor and not even letting them receive food...
"Shouldn't we just destroy a damn place like this, fellas!!!"
"""Yes!!!"""
"This place is now under the control of the Thriving Helmet Gang!!!"
Okay, we're Sukeban, not the Helmet Gang, but let's just go with it.
When you add confusion to an already chaotic place? Doesn't it naturally become even more of a pandemonium?
"Fire! Destroy everything!!"
That's why it's the perfect place for noise marketing.
"Ugh, you people are..."
"What's with you? You're tough."
Hayase Yuuka, was it? She got up even after taking a bullet head-on.
Isn't that about average for a Kivotos student, you ask?
"Haa... haa... what kind of bullet... ugh..."
That's for a normal bullet.
What Yuuka just got hit with was a special hollow-point round containing Sarin's know-how, with materials altered to better contain Mystic.
And it wasn't just any other employee; it was Arin, second only to Sarin, who shot her.
Of course, it's not fatal or a serious injury, but normally, getting hit by one should knock you out for a few hours.
I'm not lying. As a test, I shot an employee, and they just slept for about three hours.
"Hey, you withstood that? You're gonna be something big one day."
"What are you, saying... terrorist..."
"Hey now. It's not terrorism, but a minor, un-negotiated act of public nuisance and violence."
Of course, it seemed even that was a final burst of energy, as Yuuka fainted shortly after.
Leaning her against a wall, I asked Arin, who was in the middle of some calculation.
"How many bullets do we have left?"
"Approximately three thousand rounds left."
Three thousand rounds. We brought five thousand, so we've used nearly half.
Looks like most people have evacuated, so there's no one to see... and it's about time they showed up.
"Everyone. Pack up. Arin?"
"Yes. Understood."
This noise marketing plan was conceived in two major stages.
The first stage is right now. Crashing the Prize preparations and causing a ruckus.
This has already been a success. Plus, we've gained a pretty decent witness in Hayase Yuuka, so it's exceeded expectations.
The second stage is a follow-up to the first.
What would the people who ran away do? Obviously, call for help.
And Millennium has a group perfectly suited for this.
"Boss! There are maids coming!"
"Okay! Everyone remembers, right? I'm counting on you!"
The maids. It's similar to what you'd normally think. Except they bring submachine guns instead of omurice to greet guests.
C&C, in a word, is Millennium's version of the SRT.
A sort of special mercenary club that handles most of the dirty work for money.
They supposedly wear maid outfits for disguise purposes, but in my opinion, the bastard who ordered them to be made is just a pervert. What's with the maid outfits?
In fact, even I, whose information access was somewhat restricted by my sister, and my ex-Sukeban employees know about them, so I'll spare you the details of how piss-poor their secrecy is.
Anyway, to explain the second stage simply.
"Run!!!"
It's to run away.
At my single word, everyone dropped their guns and started sprinting.
Huh? Are we leaving just like that? No way.
This is a matter of perspective. To the kids who were preparing for the Prize earlier, getting shot with our modified guns and bullets would only feel like the difference between 'painful' and 'really fucking painful'.
But to those experts? They will definitely feel the difference.
That's why we're dropping the guns. For them to examine them and clearly feel that difference.
As far as I know, Millennium has its own engineer department, but mass production is impossible for them. So they will naturally look for the factory that made the stronger guns. All we have to do is wait for them to find us using the initials carved on the guns.
This is the full story of the noise marketing I devised.
...Yeah, that was the original goal, anyway.
"You're dead!!!"
"What the hell are you!!"
"It's a maid, you little punk!!!"
A kid who looked like she was in elementary school from C&C caught up, and the plan went to shit.
First of all, the firepower coming from two submachine guns is a problem. And the amount of Mystic imbued in them is greater than Sarin's.
"...Fuck."
"Can't run away now, can you?"
To make matters worse, her insane mobility allowed her to catch up, turning this into a close-quarters fight.
Naturally, the superiority in mobility and strength would be twice as effective in close combat than in a ranged fight, in a word—
"I'm screwed."
"Ha! Right?!"
"Haa, shit."
I can't get caught like this. I guess I have no choice.
I have to at least struggle.
"Everyone! Run ahead!!"
"Huh? But how can we..."
"Just shut up and go!! I'll catch up soon!!!"
First, I send the employees ahead. They could get hurt if they stay, and against a monster like that, a human wave tactic wouldn't even buy time.
Behold our beautiful friendship. They all ran away as soon as I told them to go.
...Thanks a fucking lot, you bastards.
"...Haa, what now."
"What do you mean, what now? Just get caught! And arrested! What else is there?"
"Sigh, getting caught by a single brat..."
"What did you say, punk?! How old are you!"
"Third-year middle school, you?"
"Ha! This lady is a high schooler! A first-year, though."
...What?
Well, come to think of it, she's the same age as my sister, and my sister is short too...
But is being short an advantage? Both my sister and this kid are short and fight well.
Sarin is also short compared to Arin... hmm...
"What are you thinking about right now?"
"Oh, nothing."
"What? You're taking the fun out of it."
As I was talking with the short maid, another maid who was running alongside us stood next to her.
"Who are you?"
"Wow~ What's that mask? Can I take it off!"
"True, it was bothering me too. Why are you hiding your identity? Are you some kind of president?"
"Bullshit."
How the hell did you know.
Anyway, I'm facing two opponents now. One is the short maid with incredible mobility. The other is a tall, puppy-like maid.
She's big in other places too... no.
"Are you both going to attack me at once?"
"Hah~? Isn't that obvious, you bastard?!"
"Heehee, this is going to be fun!"
It seems I've been caught by some seriously crazy bitches.
A rough estimate of their combat power puts them at least at my sister's level. And since they won't be holding back, it'll be even harder.
But I have an advantage too. My goal is to escape, not to win.
"...Come at me."
"Ha! A guy who gets it! Let's go! Asuna!"
"Okay! Neru-chan!"
With my leap, the battle began.
The battle that would, in the distant future, be the start of a relationship.