When An and Yukari stepped out of the Entertainment District again, they felt as if they had returned to the human world from hell. Their entire bodies went limp.
"Are you two okay, An! Yukari!!"
The other girls had gotten out of the car and gathered around them. The two girls were pale and trembling all over.
"That was terrifying, really terrifying..."
"So this is what the other students went through? Now I understand how they were coerced."
An was still shaken. To be honest, when she had first learned about this from Makoto Niijima, she had looked down somewhat on the idiots who had fallen for the scam. She had thought they were simply too stupid and had let others gain leverage over them. Only after experiencing it herself did An understand how terrifying it was to be threatened by gang members. At the time, her and Yukari's minds had gone completely blank. If Airi had not been following them while invisible, they probably would have burst into tears long ago.
"That was also part of those guys' act."
Airi dispelled her invisibility and appeared beside them, patting their shoulders.
"An act...?"
"That's right. Put simply, it was intimidation and deterrence. See, they started out by speaking loudly to seize the initiative. By yelling at you, they gave you no room to think, forcing you to answer their questions on instinct. In that situation, you gradually fell into their trap, until it ended up like this..."
"Right, they still have our Student IDs!"
After Airi's reminder, Yukari's face immediately turned pale, and An was equally alarmed.
"Don't worry. That was part of the plan too. If everything goes well, we can solve this completely tomorrow."
"But I still don't understand, Miss Airi."
Amagi Yukiko asked in confusion.
"Why did