"How's it going?" (Mitsuha)
"Thieves have invaded the school. They have taken some of the students and teachers as hostages and are barricading themselves inside. The two of them stand out because of their hair color, and if there were foreigners among the hostages, it would create a political problem and give the bandits an advantage in negotiations, so I think they were taken hostage as a priority." (Lorena)
How did Lorena know this?
No, of course, that's because the Sabi-Colé duo had a wristwatch-shaped communication device.
If they pressed and held the send button, it would keep sending.
Of course, after sending the necessary information, it would probably switch back to receive mode to conserve battery.
It could be roughly inferred why they were able to do such a thing even though there were criminals.
It didn't matter if they're adults, but if two foreign girls, about 10 years old, were holding hands and talking in another language, they'd probably think they were scared and trembling and encouraging each other, and leave them alone.
Would there be anyone who would think that the wristwatch in their clasped hands was located just near their mouth and that it was a micro-compact communication device that was in the transmitting state?
…and that the foreign language spoken by the young girl with a pale face and teary eyes who seemed to be encouraging each other was reporting accurate information about the current situation and the criminals… .
Hostages?
In that case, there was no need to worry about anything happening right now...
First, a request would be made, the government would consider it, gave a reply, various things happened, and after that, threats were likely to be made using the hostages as shields.
So probably it's okay for the time being. There was no point in hurting the hostages now.
Of course, Lorena thought so too, which was why the report was 'SSA'.
If this was a more dangerous situation, the urgency level would have been S instead of A, and the report would have been 'SSS'.
In that case, the moment I appeared here in the apartment, Lorena would have shouted out the location of the two of them, and I would have immediately transferred and retrieved them.
Naturally, we have had many meetings and practiced about this.
In other words, I completely trusted Lorena's judgment when she reported the level of urgency as A instead of S.
I would never choose someone who would make such a mistake for such an important mission, and I trusted the judgment of the person I chose.
That's what a boss and a commander is like.
…also, even if they had to "hurt a little" to show an example, I thought it would be done to the teacher first, who is an adult.
Of course, if they were to commit violence against an 11-12 years old elementary school girl, there would probably be a lot of criticism against them and the organization they belonged to.
Also, I hated to say this, but the two foreigners would be great hostages, so they should be saved until the end.
…if the criminals weren't stupid…
If this was truly a time-sensitive situation, I would immediately transfer to the two of them and took them home.
Since it was a sleight of hand that lasted just 1 millisecond, the others would only think that the two had suddenly disappeared.
…the risk was almost zero.
However, this method had a few drawbacks.
An explanation was needed for why the two suddenly disappeared after the incident was successfully resolved.
Also, what kind of impact would they had, the fact that they abandoned their classmates and ran away on their own have on their classmates and their hearts….
And if their classmates were not safe….
Therefore, there was no need to rush things now that there was no immediate danger.
Especially when there was a way to know immediately if the two of them were in danger.
"Understood, I understand. What is the number of robbers and their purpose?" (Mitsuha)
This was important.
This greatly changed the probability that the criminal would take hostages.
Was the goal money, the release of a fellow prisoner, a political statement, or a religious reasons?
Was the crime solely by these people, or by an organized group?
"6-7 people. Purpose unknown." (Sabine)
I see.
I wondered if there is a criminal who would take the trouble to give a detailed explanation to the hostage...
"Okay, standby completion notification, send! Click!" (Mitsuha)
I clicked a switch on another device connected to their communication device.
…yeah, it's a special additional device that was borrowed as a set with the wristwatch-type communication device and fixed device that the two of them were wearing.
A special control signal was sent. A special reception mark would appear on both of their watches.
Secretly without ringing.
This should let them both know that I was in standby position.
Then, the communication device, which was set to receive mode to save battery, changed to transmit mode….
"The enemy and hostages are split in two locations. Here, in our classroom, the hostages are the teacher and 12 students, including us. There are two enemies. The other main force is unknown. There appears to be no immediate danger. We decided that we should just wait and see what happens. The action was put on hold." (Sabine)
Immediately, a report came from Sabine-chan, who had set her communication device to transmit mode.
Of course, it was the language of the other world, and the tone sounded frightened…
Perhaps, visually, it looked like she's hugging Colette-chan in fear, and praying to God in her native language. The content of the words seemed like a formal report.
…maybe that's why they didn't keep watch or do anything and let both of them do whatever they want.
Since I couldn't reply from here, it would only be a one-sided report from the other side, but that's enough. No problem.
…especially if the reporter was a smart person and knew what to report.
Ah, Sabine-chan, you said students, but elementary school students are children… I don't care about that!
Were the hostages being dispersed to prevent police from storming in?
If you take forced action, would they kill half of the other hostages?
Of course, if they killed them all, there would be no hostages left, so it's just a guess that they would leave half of them.
I had figured out their current location.
I was allowed to see the places in the school that we would likely go to…the classrooms, special classrooms, nurse's room, gymnasium, staff room, and various other places…when I was going through the study abroad procedures, and part of it had become integrated into my spirit remembered the coordinates, so I could transfer to anywhere.
Oh, we also confirmed the children's bathroom as a place for the transfer to arrive and depart.
There was almost no chance that someone would be using the children's restroom during class. It's a perfect transfer place.
The TV was turned on, but there's no breaking news broadcast yet.
Well, it's obvious.
It had only been a few minutes since the Sabi-Colé duo reported the incident at the same time it occurred.
Television stations probably didn't even know that the incident had occurred yet.
Or maybe even the police?
Okay, let's get ready now.
"I'll get the equipment." (Mitsuha)
I said that to Lorena, and then continuous transfer.
I traveled via the other world and brought the necessary equipment from my own warehouse rented at Wolffang's home base.
It only took a few tenths of a second because I had categorized it properly for times like this. I didn't have to choose each one.
…there was no need to tell Lorena.
Ah, that's right!
Transfer!
"Is Katie here?" (Mitsuha)
"Ah, yes, she is cleaning the guest room… Katie! Mitsuha-sama is calling!"
"Yes, right now!" (Katie)
Then, Katie came rushing over…
"Emergency business trip, special allowance available! Let's go!" (Mitsuha)
"Huh? Um, no, y-yes!" (Katie)
"Transfer!" (Mitsuha)
Okay, now we have a replacement for Lorena.
Well, sure Lorena probably wanted to go to the bathroom too.
And I changed my clothes.
…Yeah, I was the type of person who starts with the form.
Author's Note
We apologize for the inconvenience, but due to manufacturing issues, the release date of the Blu-ray BOX has been postponed by about two weeks.
I'm really sorry!
Release date before change: Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Changed release date: Wednesday, June 14, 2023
In addition, Sukima-sensei, who is in charge of the illustrations for the novel version of "Potion," has created a "Potion" spin-off comic called "I Shall Survive Using Potions! ~ Hanano and Lotte's Journey for Two~" Episode 5 has been updated in Kodansha's free web comic magazine "Wednesday Sirius" (in Niconico Seiga). (^^)/
Added on April 28th.
Sorry, I forgot the announcement.
I will be taking my usual Golden Week vacation for two weeks next week and the week after.
I have two holidays. (^^)/