Confinement King

Ichida Sanae's POV

（This is bad, this is bad, this is bad, this is bad...）

The word "this is bad" fills my head.

The old man is engulfed in a mysterious space, Ichida escapes, and the reception room is quiet.

Next to me, Asuka is standing dumbfounded, looking up at the devil girl floating in the air.

（Devil? A devil! That's not what I heard!）

It is a thing of the past that the devil was a fictional existence.

No, there are still some who insist that they are fictional, but the world has generally accepted that they exist in reality ever since a devil with a face like a goat's skull appeared in front of a TV camera and carried out a massacre.

But I still thought that it was something that I had no connection to, something that happened somewhere far away from me.

（And yet! Why? How did this happen?）

It is fun to see other people suffer from the terrible things.

Especially, when I see someone who is in a good mood stumble, I even feel a sense of relief.

It was the same today.

We trapped Ichida who was getting carried away in Okinawa. We expose her evil when she is at the pinnacle, and push her into the abyss.

And Asuka and I came in at the best moment to give the final push.

**a

When President Kijima told me of such a plan, I was thrilled to think that such a pleasant thing could happen in the world.

I was so excited.

I was even more excited than when I saw a Busako （Hanabusa） picking up her torn uniform stuck in the toilet with tears in her eyes.

In fact, Ichida's face when she saw me and Asuka was a masterpiece.

She looked so surprised that I want to display her face in a frame. I thought the artistic score was the highest ever.

But that was the end of my smile.

Once the devil appeared and I saw the old man thrown into the mysterious space, I couldn't laugh any longer.

（Oh no, this is bad, this is bad, isn't it...?）

Unsure of what to do, I let my eyes wander aimlessly.

The person who has been in control of the conversation since a while ago is the man sitting next to President Kijima.

He is a man in his twenties, I guess, but he looks dull, disheveled, and has the appearance of an employee who has fallen on hard times.

According to the meeting I had with the President before the meeting, I was told that she would be accompanied by Fumijima-san, the President's head of the office.

Probably, this man is the Fumijima-san.

「Don't just stand there, both of you, have a seat」

President Kijima urges us to sit down, and Asuka and I fearfully sit down on the sofa across from the President and Fumijima-san.

**b

Inwardly, we were tempted to run away, but we were afraid of what would happen to us if we disobeyed.

As we sit down, President Kijima puts her cheek on Fumijima-san's shoulder and leans against him as if to pamper him. I wonder what kind of relationship they have.

（Lover? Young lover of an older woman?）

As I was thinking about this, Asuka opened her mouth slowly.

「Um, President... Is it okay? I mean, you don't chase after Ichida」

「Don't worry, Devi」

The devil, not the President, answered the question, and we couldn't help but jerk back.

「Your reaction is hurting me, Devi...」

We were afraid of what the devil might do to us.

She is a devil who might do something to us, who might even kill us at any moment.

It would be wrong to say that we should not be frightened.

Then, President Kijima looked at Fumijima-san's face lovingly and opened her mouth with a somewhat romantic sigh.

「Danna-sama...」

（Danna-sama?）

「...What should we do with these two?」

Asuka and I looked at each other.

（What are they going to do to us? Don't tell me that we're going to be killed to keep our mouths shut, now that we know about the devil?）

**c

Then Fumijima-san hugged President Kijima's shoulder.

「Chihiro. You're going to scare them off if you talk like that, okay? Like I said before... I'm just saying that I won't forgive those who hurt Saori-chan. I'm not a demon, and I don't want to hurt anyone indiscriminately. At least, I'm not」

「You're being slyly disrespectful, Devi」

The devil's lips twitch.

（But if that's the case... I don't know who this Saori-chan is, but I guess we're in safe hands...）

I patted my chest in relief.

Anyway, the only thing I can think about now is to get back home safely from here. I decided to be careful not to get involved with them again.

But Asuka was different.

「S-so... that big job at the airline company that you said I was selected for... W-well... you're going to let me do it, right?」

I was so surprised that I looked at Asuka twice.

（Hey, how can you still want to work here with the devil involved?）

I was not the only one who was surprised, and both President Kijima and Fumijima-san widened their eyes for a moment.

However, Fumijima-san immediately opened his mouth while looking at Asuka as if he was watching something interesting.

「What do you want to do, Chihiro?」

「Well... I was thinking of assigning that job to Misuzu or Akira, but if she wants to do it...」

Fumijima-san cowered his shoulders and said.

**a

「Okay, she's all right. I'll leave it to you」

（Wh-what about her?）

And then, he looked at me as I sat up, and said to me.

「Mimura-san, right? You're no good」

「Wh-why not?!」

Before I could even think of being scared, a reproachful voice came out of his mouth.

「I told you that I don't forgive anyone who hurts Saori-chan, didn't I? If someone hurts her friend, Saori-chan gets hurt too... well, before that, there is a girl who is even more furious than I am about you」

As Fumijima-san's words came to an end, I heard a girl's voice behind me and behind my ear.

「Yes, I will never forgive you」

「Eek!?」

I turned around in a panic, and there was Ritsuko Sakon with a gaunt face.

She suddenly grabbed my chin and looked into my eyes as she pressed her forehead against mine.

「For bullying Hanabusa-san, whom Kaitou-senpai had chosen as her successor, for tearing up Kaitou-senpai's uniform and flushing it down the toilet. What you did disgraced Kaitou-senpai and is absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely not forgiven」

Her eyes were not sane.

It was the look of someone crazy, as if possessed by some kind of evil spirit.

「Eek! N-no!」

As soon as I got up, the maids who had opened the door and rushed to the room grabbed my hands and restrained me.

They had such tremendous power that I could hardly believe they were human. I tried to fight them, but I was not intimidated.

「Well, Sankon. I'll give you this girl and you can do whatever you want with her. The price is the rest of your life, is that right?」

「Yes, Kijima-senpai... no, Confinement King-sama」

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Thanks for reading.