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<998 – Hi Hydra (3)>

It’s empty.

Oknodie looked like it was about to cry, touching the flesh that the Bikini Armor couldn’t quite cover with its own palm.

It felt like a chill running down my spine as if cold winter snow had been stuffed down my clothes.

The Bikini Armor’s revealing nature was a stark contrast to the skirt that I had almost gotten used to, even if it wasn’t explicitly men’s clothing.

“Please at least let me wear a cloak… I’m begging you…!”

“Ha ha! I’ll let it slide this time. Just behave yourself from now on.”

“Yes…”

To subjugate Oknodie, it turns out you don’t need overwhelming power or crazy techniques, just some high-exposure clothing to threaten them into submission!

The Jigoku Pirate Group, along with the Second Years, Third Years, Spirits, and Hydra realized this.

“I hate Jonna. Why didn’t you stop me?”

“I judged that it would be better to clean up some of the karma you’ve built up, so please forgive my cowardice for allowing you to suffer this moment for your future.”

“I’ll forgive you…”

Honestly, Oknodie got so excited at the thought of passing everything off to Cooking Oknodie that it lost control.

Causing a commotion big enough to grant each person a baby Giant Monster pet!

It was such a stellar event that even Professor Buzhaar would be sulking, saying he’d rather be a student than a professor if he saw it.

Of course, speaking of that, Buzhaar isn’t someone that easy to beat even if he lost to Oknodie.

He’s a guy who commands top-tier professors capable of solo raids against Giant Monsters.

Among Buzhaar’s subordinates, Professor Siegfried is an absolute powerhouse who can aim for the ultimate upper echelon, just like Michael.

“If you don’t make it into the top 100 this week for the best Bikini Armor girls in Bikini City, you can forget about coming back to Gift Academy dressed like that for the new term!”

“Hmph. But we can just do a parade…”

Having grown to the point where she’s nearly shoulder-to-shoulder with professors, Oknodie suddenly found herself wandering the streets at night, trying to earn voting rights like a poor little match girl.

“Just one voting right, please…”

“Oh my! Look at this little one. So cute! Here, I’ll give you one.”

“Wow, your hair is super pretty. I wish I could touch it! If I give you some voting rights, can I touch your hair?”

“Just ten, please…”

“Deal! I’ll make it into twin tails for you.”

Oknodie, receiving voting rights from passing tourists and letting them play with her hair.

Her strong hair was just as powerful as her body, perfect for styling without worrying about losing any strands.

“Oh my. Aren’t you a bit too young for this competition?”

“Look at her! She’s wrapped in a cloak because it’s cold. Where are her parents?”

“They’re gone…”

“Oh dear. How old are you, sweetie?”

“Ten… no, eleven…”

“And where do you live?”

“I just came out…”

A kind-hearted lady nearby started tearing up as she pried into Oknodie’s backstory.

The husband, who had come along for the tour, handed Oknodie some voting rights.

“Here, kiddo. Take this and give us a bit more time. Did someone send you here?”

“The Jigoku Pirate Group…”

“The Pirate Group!”

People started whispering and gathering around the couple.

“Are you being forced to do this?”

“Yeah…”

“So it was the pirates who made you?”

“Exactly…”

“Did you eat anything?”

I did eat, but since that was through a ‘wormhole’, I can’t really say I had a proper meal, right?

Oknodie shook her head left and right.

Stick katsu and hot dogs with ketchup were now in her hands.

“Thank you!”

“Eat up and get your energy back. If you want more, just tell us.”

“Can I have three more servings?”

The couple started tearing up again.

“Has the kid been starving for a week?”

“Look at her! She’s so skinny!”

“Wait? She’s got abs though?”

“Being that thin and having abs is just sad.”

“Is that so?”

The higher the mana compression rate, the skinnier their body tends to be.

None of the tourists realized they were being conned by Oknodie’s ability to get all the essential nutrients through mana breathing, and they happily handed over food and travel gear.

Everything they were given went right into her strangely skinny pocket dimension, making her appearance seem rich in things she didn’t own at all.

Seeing a figure like Oknodie, ranked among the top 100 wealthiest in the world, receiving donations from street tourists seemed absurd to Sing, who knew the whole story.

“Heh, what a strange sight, isn’t it? She’s just as mischievous as her father.”

“Which father are you talking about?”

“Who knows? It might just be both!”

I see.

As Sing nodded in agreement, she jumped at the sound of a voice, only to find Jibsa Jang Okashii-ne had appeared and vanished without a trace.

An arcane being enjoying life, just like the principal, was a sight to behold.

“How can twin tails be so cute?”

“Hang in there! Get that voting right and secure your city citizenship and you can distance yourself from those nasty pirates!”

“Filthy pirates! Let Oknodie go!”

“Don’t even think about it! Bikini City is not your land!”

“You want food? Get lost, there’s no room for you scoundrels here!”

“Skewers? I’d rather close up shop today than sell skewers to you!”

The real injustice was happening to the Jigoku Pirate Group.

Their reputation tanked rapidly thanks to Oknodie, leading to whispers and glares wherever they went.

“Is that them over there?”

“Yeah. They kidnapped a kid and brought her to Bikini City, collecting voting rights to exchange for souvenirs. We need to protect that kid to make sure she doesn’t lose her voting rights.”

“Let’s call the guards. We need to isolate her with a no-contact order.”

By the time something felt off, it was too late.

Before Jigoku could be apprehended by the guards surrounding the Pirate Group, they had to hastily create a smoke screen and head back to the ship.

“Our festival is ruined. There’s no pirate festival anymore. Sigh.”

“Don’t cry, Captain! We’re just fine. Our festival is about enjoying time with you! The ship is our festival place!”

“You idiots… how do you expect to survive this harsh world being so nice!”

Embarrassed, Jigoku ruffled the hair of his subordinates playfully while their warm festival was happening aboard the ship, while the voting-right-begging girl Oknodie was surrounded by an even larger crowd, climbing into the rankings.

“Let’s vote to free the poor girl captured by the pirates!”

“Let’s gift her human rights with the power of tourists gathered from all over the world!”

Men who had come to gawk at women in Bikini Armor now happily bought voting rights, pressured by their wives, girlfriends, family, or friends.

“We didn’t come here for girls. We came to save this poor kid!”

“See, I even gave her voting rights! What? Why do you ask if I gave voting rights to another girl yesterday? That’s just for information gathering!”

“Buying a thousand voting rights bundles to spend the night? What are you talking about? No, that’s not it. If it weren’t for that, I’d totally give them all to her… Of course, I would… right? I gave them to her?! Sigh… Why are you crying? It’s just so moving to think of the happy life she’ll have… Sigh sob.”

Surrounded by women, Oknodie, who came to the city for unfortunate reasons, suddenly found herself in the upper echelons of the rankings.

“Oh no. How can I get into the Bikini Armor rankings this way? If I rank up, I might inadvertently threaten the upper echelons in their tax exemption efforts. Talk about getting blindsided.”

“Is your plan to turn the kid into the world’s richest? Didn’t you do the citizenship exchange ages ago? Just how many votes are you giving out?”

This terrifying upward trend ruffled the feathers of the current ranking Bikini Armor girls.

Some aimed to become famous as the top dancers.

Others sought to profit while receiving tax benefits.

As the top-ranked Bikini Armor girls expressed their displeasure, the lower-ranked minions echoed the unfounded rumors about Oknodie.

“Is she in cahoots with the pirates?”

“Look at that boat. You’d believe it was a cruise ship. Why’s that kid begging for voting rights from such a big vessel?”

“Looks like a capital erosion in a shady business! What if the pirates are using the kid as a figurehead and gathering voting rights to invade the market?”

Showing competitiveness is fine, but excessive slander was a risky move.

It was bound to annoy Jezel, who boasts of unrivaled wealth.

“I’d like to buy some votes.”

“How many will you take?”

“The votes for rankings 1 to 10, please?”

“Yes. You can see them on the wall over there…”

“Give them all to me.”

“Pardon?”

“I’ll take the total quantity of votes combined from rankings 1 to 10. I’ll buy them all at once.”

Weekly Best Bikini Armor 1st Place.

The best Bikini Armor girl.

Oknodie, elected!

 

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