LIGHTNOVELSTORY chapter 54
54. The Scenery Philance Pink Sees
“So, senior. Pack Momo’s things in your backpack… and then do this.”
Momo, who was unconcerned about my confusion, packed her things with great familiarity and stretched out the plastic band.
“That’s something you use to tie things down when you’re carrying them, right? You use it to put big things on the back of your bike.”
“That’s right. It’s also convenient for carrying things normally. Oh, senior, can you pop your ears?”
“I can. …So why are you wrapping that around me?”
The band, which had been stretched out tightly, circled around my body several times, crossing over my shoulders and armpits, passing over my back and waist, and then it was fixed to Momo’s body. To put it another way, it was fastened as if Momo was making it easier for herself to carry me as luggage.
“I’m going to tie you up a little tighter.”
When Momo pulled the band in front of her chest, there was a grinding sound, and my back was suddenly pushed and pulled close to Momo’s body.
“Whoa!”
“So, senior, put your arms like this…”
My stomach was pressed tightly against Momo’s back. Her pink hair, which was around the level of my chin, was drenched with rain, but she didn’t seem to mind at all as she grabbed my arm.
“Like this, hold on tight like this.”
The arm that was grabbed was then moved around to the top of Momo’s chest and made to embrace her opposite shoulder, and I was instructed to do the same on the other side.
“Momo, um, this position is…”
The so-called back hug. I’m pretty sure it used to be called an asunaro hug or something back in the day.
With her body firmly bound by plastic bands, Momo wraps her arms around my upper body as if she’s hugging me from behind. Looking at just our upper halves, it might seem like a romantic couple making out in a secluded spot, but thanks to the bands binding us like a mummy, there’s no way this is going to end up on the news as a Philanspink love affair.
“Momo’s top speed is when she’s using her weapons. In this position, I can move just as well as I would on my own, so we can fly through the air efficiently. Though I think it’ll still be slower than when I’ m by myself. Oh, and the PP bands were specially made for me by the doctor, so don’t worry, there’s no chance of them coming off. However, it’s hard to move if you move around too much, Senior, so please try to stay as close to me as possible and don’t move around too much, okay?”
“Uh, y-yeah.”
I could have guessed that I’d be strapped in like luggage, but is she really planning to move around like this?
“You can still move your legs, so if it gets too hard, you can put your feet on the ground when we’re landing. But I’d like you to try to match your knee movements to mine as much as possible. Also , when we land, Momo will put her feet down first. If a normal person lands from a high place, they could break their legs.”
“Y-yeah…”
Momo seems unusually reliable and cool today. She’s a little dry, which is a bit scary.
“Think of it like when you’re riding double on a bicycle. Just relax and let the other person handle the weight distribution.”
“Well, I’ve never ridden double…”
And I’ve definitely never been the one in back.
“Well then, here we go!”
At the same time as Momo speaks, thin metal wires shoot out of the two toyish-looking, brightly colored guns she’s holding, making a loud “whoosh” as they pierce the roof of a three-story building in front of us.
With a loud “whirrr,” the wires rapidly reel in, and Momo powerfully kicks off the ground, leaping into the air.
“Whoa!?”
At the same time, my body is pulled towards Momo, and we shoot towards the building. The intense gravity and impact make me feel like a cannonball, and my whole body is thrown in all directions.
Just before we hit the wall, the hookshot at the end of the wire retracts back to Momo, and immediately shoots out towards another building in front of us. Like a monkey swinging from tree to tree, Momo uses the hookshots, which she wields like her own limbs, to propel us forward at an incredible speed.
“Th-this is…”
As I open my mouth, the wind and rain rush in. The scenery changes so rapidly as we fly through the city like we’re on a rollercoaster that I can’t help but stiffen up like a piece of luggage. In the blink of an eye, the familiar scenery disappears, and we’re moving so fast that anyone watching from below would probably mistake us for a UFO or a cryptid.
“This is Philanspink’s speed…”
I don’t know how fast a jet plane or a rollercoaster goes, but this isn’t a speed that I can experience on my own two feet.
Humans are amazing creatures. Within minutes, I start to get used to the impossible speed. With a little more margin, I focus on holding onto Momo tightly without getting in her way and clearing my mind.
When people talk about heroes with super speed, I always imagine the kind of popular superheroes you see on TV, but Momo is definitely in a league of her own.
Her sense of balance would have to be incredible to withstand this, and she wouldn’t be able to move this fast without amazing judgment and reflexes. The dual pistols that she claims to dislike are probably the perfect weapons for her talents. Even a layperson like me can see that her weapons have become extensions of her limbs, and it’s no wonder that so many people say that Philanspink has wings.
She’s not a gentle angel flying through the sky, but something much faster, freer, stronger, and cooler. Without a doubt, she’s a hero of the skies. Of course, not in the sense that she’s “mine.”
“Momo might not like it… but Philanspink is really cool.”
It must be complicated for Momo, who is so obsessed with being cute.
But to me, the way she rushes to the aid of those who need her faster than anyone else is beautiful. Momo’s comment earlier about not feeling like she’s doing enough as a hero might be because her incredible speed is so far beyond the norm that her own sense of speed is off.
Perhaps because I was thinking about all of this, I wrapped my arms around Momo a little more tightly.