I Joined the Sentai Heroes Who Were Beautiful Girls Other Than Me but the Heroines Were All Yanderangers

72. Philance Red is in its Growth Period

“The Shadow’s Nest. That’s the station platform-like space I got caught in when I first met Akane-san, right?”

According to the Doctor, many unexplained accidents are caused by mysterious beings called Shadows, and they secretly create their nests on Earth to store energy. It is impossible for ordinary people to enter the Shadow’s Nest, but it seems that humans who are present at the moment when the nest is generated are sometimes caught up in it.

In fact, I was caught up in it once myself. Philance Red came to my rescue right away that time, but I shudder to think what would have happened if Akane-san hadn’t noticed me.

“Unfortunately, I have never entered the Shadow’s Nest myself. I have been researching a method to detect and enter it before it is generated, but at this point, I can only search for it when an ordinary person gets caught up in it. is almost impossible to enter it intentionally. So, Sora-kun, you were told that this video is the Shadow’s Nest… What do you think of it now that you’ve seen it again?”

“Well,”

At the Doctor’s words, I looked at the dim video projected on the screen again. The indescribable space that seemed to be covered in black shadows in the sky and air certainly reminded me of the day I first met Akane-san. The place I saw was very similar to the station platform, but what was shown in the future prediction looked more like a city street than a building.

“I can definitely see how you could say this video is the Shadow’s Nest. I was confused that day, so I don’t remember it very clearly, but it does feel vaguely similar.”

“I see, thank you. I actually already showed this video to Akane, of course without telling her about the future prediction. Akane also said it looked like the Shadow’s Nest.”

It wasn’t just a dimly lit video, it had a unique ominousness that sent chills down my spine. If Akane-san, who was most familiar with it, said so, then the Doctor’s reasoning seemed to be correct.

“…So, why is there something like that in my and Akane-san’s future?”

The futures I had seen so far were not exactly loving-dovey married life, and some of them didn’t even have me in them. However, I could somehow imagine the ‘process of how they came to be’.

But the ruined cityscape currently being projected onto the screen, shrouded in shadows, doesn’t connect to my future with Akane no matter how I think about it.

“You and Akane aren’t in the footage, so it’s hard to imagine. What do you think?”

“Uun. Like, a nest that only I can enter, trapping me, making it the world’s safest solitary confinement…”

Of the Shadow Nests that have already been created, Akane is the only one in this world who can enter them. If, by some mistake, I were to be trapped again, I definitely wouldn’t be able to meet anyone other than Akane unless the nest were destroyed. Well, I’d also have to live together with those creepy shadows.

“…Sora-kun.”

“Yes?”

“You’ve gotten really good at coming up with scary ideas so easily, haven’t you?”

True.

“No, it’s proof that my understanding of yandere has increased. By imagining crises like that yourself, there will probably be fewer futures that you can’t avoid. That’s a good thing.”

Even if you say that, it’s a bit complicated. If I complete my mission as Philance Blue and return to being an ordinary person, will I still be able to maintain normal values?

“I wish you would do something about Akane in that same vein.”

“Do something, you say?”

“Yeah. That first piece of despairing news wasn’t just that the Shadow Nest was in the future vision… The truth is, Akane’s ability is starting to get out of control.”

“Akane’s!?”

Philance Red, who possesses the abnormal power of a dragon crammed into the body of a human woman. If she can’t control her ability, there’s no telling what will happen.

“The reason the Shadow Nest appeared in the future vision. I imagined something else.”

The doctor lets out a small sigh and stares at me intently. Her wide-open eyes, unlike when she’s teasing me, are shining sharply with a deep purple light.

“That the real world of the future is being swallowed by the Shadow Nest.”

“…!?”

“It’s just my imagination. Yes, my worst-case scenario. There’s no proof that this is the truth, or how trivial a path it would take to reach that future. However, this is what I’m thinking. Philance Red, rendered powerless because she can’t control her ability. A human who has lost the means to suppress the shadows will have their entire world taken over by the shadows…”

That’s the end of the world. The complete and utter bad end.

“But I can’t imagine Akane losing.”

“That might have been true of her in the past. But recently, things have changed.”

As she says that, the doctor reaches for the mouse and opens an unfamiliar application pinned to her desktop. What appears is a tab that says Philance Red and countless line graphs.

“This is data measuring the heroes’ abilities. We frequently record it like this as a reference for improving the Hero Suits, assigning missions, and determining whether we need more personnel. The data is automatically sent from the Hero Suits… Well, to put it simply, it’s the results of regular physical exams.”

“Physical exams?”

If the heroes were to take physical exams for real, they’d probably keep getting results that were off the charts. If Momo were to do shuttle runs with her weapons, it would probably look like she was doing jumping jacks.

“And here are Akane’s results.”

She holds out her hand, palm up, like she’s on a cooking show, and shows me the line graph. The first half of the graph is constantly level, but at one point it starts going up at a sharp angle, as if it’s going to dislocate her shoulder. A wavy line has been drawn on the vertical axis of the graph, and the most recent data has entered the immeasurable range.

“I think you can probably guess, but this is the day you reunited with her.”

The cause of the dislocation, as expected, seems to be my encounter with her.

“From then on, Akane’s ability kept increasing without stopping, and the other day, she used her ability so recklessly that she destroyed her Hero Suit.”

“Whaaat!? C-can she do something like that?”

“She didn’t hit it into anything or get it caught on something. The suit simply fell apart because it couldn’t withstand the sheer amount of energy she released. It was like she’d been mugged. When Akane came back, hiding her body with her cape, I nearly fainted. I thought that an opponent had appeared who could leave even Akane battered and bruised… But that wasn’t the case. Apparently, she’d made a mistake with her energy output when she used her ability to resolve a minor incident.”

If her suit can get damaged from overuse of her ability, she might be seen by other people if she’s in the wrong place at the wrong time. Is Akane okay?

“For the time being, we’ve given her a new suit as quickly as possible, but I don’t know whether the improvements we’re currently working on will be enough to keep up with Akane’s growth. Right now, we’re having Akane go out on missions all the time to use up her ability and keep her from storing up any more energy. Actually, the reason I haven’t been able to contact you for so long is because I’ve been busy with this. I’m sorry.”

“That’s fine, but… That means,”

Akane’s ability is out of control. Or rather, it’s growing so fast that it’s exceeding the capacity of her Hero Suit. And there’s only one condition that causes a hero’s ability to increase: the amplification of the power of love.

“Sora-kun is really quick on the uptake today. That means Akane is crazy in love with you.”

“I-it’s come to that, hasn’t it?”

It’s a very cute way of putting it, but I’d be troubled if the recipient were someone like the nightingale who proposed to her or the peach who had a meal with her, but it’s too much to be self-aware when the recipient is Akane, whom I haven’t met or contacted. Even a self-unaware protagonist has at least a minimum of conversation, but I’ve just been tossed around by the responses of other heroes and haven’t really done anything to make Akane like me, literally.

“It’s common for a yandere’s affection to grow even when they haven’t met. For better or worse, they have a rich imagination. However, the current Akane hasn’t met the real you in too long. That’s why her feelings of love have become uncontrollable… It can’t be helped, Sora-kun. Please go on a date with Akane, just the two of you.”

“…Huh?”

The solution proposed by the doctor was quite simple.