Chapter 20: Crisis is coming

Ephnel saw the helplessness in Yukina’s expression.

To be honest, her focus wasn’t on the plate in Yukina’s hand.

She just looked at Yukina’s expression and found it cute.

Meeting Yukina again with a different identity was a novel experience.

She had never seen this side of her sister before.

At home, her sister was a cat-like master who kept everyone at a distance.

Now, she was a startled little rabbit.

‘I really want to pet her.’

However, now was not the time to be staring foolishly at her sister.

“Hello there. You must be the new ‘person in charge,’ right? I actually wanted to talk to you, as the head of the fan club, about some necessary matters for the future. Please forgive my assistant’s sudden invitation.”

A very ordinary opening.

Ephnel flashed Yukina a brilliant smile, her eyes curving into crescents.

She greeted her, moved closer to Yukina, and naturally took the cake plate from her hand, placing it on the table.

In her “Exile Form,” Ephnel’s height was rather pathetic.

She tilted her head up to meet Yukina’s gaze.

She suddenly broke into a brilliant smile, her eyes curving into crescents.

“You’re… little Yukina, right?”

“Y-Yes… I’m Shiomi Yukina… I’m your fan! I like you very much… and… it’s… an-an honor to meet you!”

Her attention was completely on the cake plate.

Yukina blurted out all the greetings she could remember in one breath, almost biting her tongue.

So many lines were missing.

She couldn’t remember them at all.

Her mind was a chaotic mess.

It sounded like gibberish.

Ephnel also seemed a little surprised.

“Hmm… yes… Nice to meet you.”

‘Will she hate me now?’

She looked nervously at the idol who was a head shorter than her, feeling a wave of dizziness wash over her.

Yukina’s whole body was tense.

In the originally cool room, she was breaking out in a sweat.

Ephnel just tilted her head thoughtfully, a starlight glinting in her eyes again.

“Well… little Yukina, you’re just as cute as your name suggests.”

Yukina choked, completely at a loss for how to respond.

She could probably accept being called cute on a normal day, but standing next to Ephnel, she immediately lost the courage to accept such a compliment.

She wasn’t good at handling praise to begin with, and now her mind was completely filled with shame, robbing her of the strength to speak.

‘Acting so flattered all the time is also very impolite, right?’

Yukina suddenly felt that becoming the person in charge was a mistake.

But Ephnel didn’t seem to mind.

She smiled dazzlingly, revealing a hint of a cute canine tooth.

“Thank you for the letter you sent me, and for the magnolia cake last time. Did you make it yourself?”

“Eh-eh? That was… how did you know I…”

When she had sent the prayer slip last time, Yukina had included a magnolia cake she had made herself.

For fans, it was common to occasionally send small gifts to their idols.

Yukina had only done it because she had learned how to make magnolia cake in her home economics class at school and wanted to make one for Ephnel.

But she had never imagined that Ephnel would actually receive and eat something like that.

“Because you used corn flour instead of mochi flour, right? It was different from the ones sold outside, so I guessed you might have run out of ingredients…”

Ephnel said.

In fact, when Yukina was busy in the kitchen making the magnolia cake, “Yanase Naoto” had been watching from the side.

How could she not have known?

“But I still thought it was delicious.”

Ephnel smiled with just the right amount of elegance, which, in Yukina’s eyes, became a brilliant starlight.

“Th-Thank you for the compliment…”

Yukina nodded, completely flattered.

If Ephnel opened every gift from her fans and wrote a reply to every letter, it would undoubtedly be impossible.

So, the fact that Ephnel had tasted the magnolia cake she had sent and remembered her name was, in a way, saying that she was special.

‘She’s both an idol and an Agent, so it’s normal for letters and gifts sent to Ephnel to disappear without a trace, right?’

‘But… I’ve never heard of anything like this. Could it be that Ephnel actually remembers me?’

Yukina couldn’t help but think.

Ever since their first meeting, Yukina had been unable to forget anything about Ephnel from that time.

She had thought it was a one-sided thing, so she had never held any fantasies about it.

But now, receiving an unexpected response from Ephnel, she suddenly felt like a girl who had received a reply from her crush, her heart soaring with joy.

This was the happiest moment for Yukina.

“Is this your first time here, little Yukina?”

“Y-Yes… it’s my first time…”

“How do you like it? The venue in the morning must have been very hot, right?”

“It was indeed very… hot… but! Everyone was also very happy! Very excited!”

Her words were flat and she was at a loss for what to say.

For the first time, Yukina thought it might be better if she just didn’t speak.

Ephnel covered her mouth and chuckled.

“You’re very cute, little Yukina.”

“Umm…”

“By the way, are you still a student, Yukina?”

“Actually… I’m a student at Yuzumi Girls’ Academy…”

“Eh? That Yuzumi? That’s a super amazing school. I have two juniors who are students there! You might even know them.”

Ephnel naturally took Yukina’s hands as if they were sisters.

This intimate gesture startled Yukina, and she subconsciously pulled her hands away.

Her palms were sweaty.

“S-Sorry…”

She guiltily raised her eyes, and unfortunately, met Ephnel’s gaze.

“You don’t have to be so formal, little Yukina. Just relax a little.”

“I-I’m sorry…”

“You don’t need to apologize for something like that.”

Smiling, Ephnel reached up on her tiptoes, like she was calming a small animal, and gently ruffled Yukina’s hair.

Yukina quietly lowered her head.

Ephnel’s palm was so soft and cool.

For some reason, Yukina was suddenly reminded of her brother.

When she was a child, her brother would often pat her head like this.

Ephnel’s face also always wore a beautiful smile.

“Th-Thank you… I’m much better now…”

“Don’t just stand there. Let’s go sit over there.”

Ephnel was much more enthusiastic than Yukina had imagined.

She was pulled along to the side and sat down by the window.

They sat side by side, Yukina on the left, Ephnel on the right.

Ephnel brought over a plate of fruit, and when she reached for it, her arm brushed against Yukina’s.

Yukina flinched tightly, but a soft touch kept coming from her arm.

Being so close to her idol felt unreal to Yukina.

She cautiously glanced sideways.

Ephnel’s side profile was just inches away.

It had to be said, Ephnel was really beautiful.

In person, she had a much more overwhelmingly strong presence than in her photos online.

She was small, looking even shorter than herself as she sat there.

Her skin was very fair, an alluring white.

Her faintly vermilion lips were slightly moist, translucent and smooth.

The bright sunlight shone down, making her moon-like silver hair shimmer.

Her curled white eyelashes gently evoked the color of summer snow, and in her twilight-colored eyes, it was as if the Milky Way was flowing.

A light, floral scent lingered in the air.

Yukina was confident in her own looks, but even so, she paled in comparison to Ephnel.

“What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?”

When she realized, Yukina met Ephnel’s gaze.

“I-I’m very sorry… It’s just… you’re very beautiful. I got lost in looking at you…”

“Pfft… I heard Nami talk about you before. Now that I’ve finally met you in person, you’re just as cute as she said.”

Ephnel suddenly laughed, her smile blooming.

Yukina blushed, feeling like she had messed up again.

“By the way, has Nami told you about this afternoon?”

“She’s already explained it to me in detail…”

“Well then, is there anything I can help you with? It’s not easy being the person in charge. If there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“N-No, there’s nothing like that…”

As if intentionally trying to start a conversation, Ephnel talked a lot about Yukina.

Ephnel would ask, and Yukina would answer.

Most of it had nothing to do with work; it was just Ephnel using her position for personal reasons.

For example…

“It must be a long ride from your house, Yukina, right?”

“It’s actually okay… I came by train, so the time just flew by listening to music and chatting…”

“Eh? Is that so… who did you come with today?”

“With… friends from the club…”

Yukina answered truthfully.

“Eh? You didn’t come with your boyfriend?”

Ephnel asked the question she was most concerned about, feigning surprise.

“Eh? B-Boyfriend?”

The topic suddenly turned intimate, entering the realm of girly secrets that Yukina was least equipped to handle.

Yukina immediately tensed up, her cheeks flushing red.

Yukina shook her head like a rattle.

“N-No! Absolutely not! A boyfriend… I haven’t even had my first love yet…”

‘Good.’

Hearing Yukina say it herself, Ephnel finally smiled in satisfaction.

Actually, besides this, there were many other things Ephnel wanted to ask, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask them openly.

For example, about “herself,” about Yanase Naoto.

‘If I use my identity as “Ephnel” to ask, Yukina would probably say things she wouldn’t normally say, right?’

But in the end, Ephnel didn’t ask.

“Well, by the way, how old are you?”

“I’m fifteen this year…”

“Fifteen.”

Ephnel nodded thoughtfully, though she was just asking what she already knew.

“By the way, one of my juniors is actually about the same age as you.”

“Eh?”

“Her codename is Fifina, Sagittarius Fifina. Have you heard of her?”

“Yes! Fifina often fights alongside you. She looks very, very cool!”

“I see.”

Ephnel didn’t say anything, just looked out the window and smiled.

The faint light in her eyes was unreadable, making Yukina feel a little uneasy.

The news of Fuurin Shion’s serious injury had not been made public, so naturally, Yukina didn’t know.

Just then.

The door was thrown open, and a grim-faced Yonomikenami strode in.

Yukina was startled, and Ephnel’s brows furrowed slightly.

A bad feeling began to grow in her heart.

Ephnel gently reassured Yukina and looked at Yonomikenami.

“Ephnel! Emergency!”

“Go on.”

“The ‘Beacon’… has been stolen… and…”

Before Yonomikenami could finish, a scorching red light ignited in the sky outside the window.

A shadow suddenly swallowed the sunlight completely.

The three of them looked up at the sky at the same time.

At the edge of the horizon, a massive “floating island” that stretched as far as the eye could see was slowly moving through the air, blotting out the sky.

Accompanying it were countless black dots flying by its side.

The black dots quickly descended, followed by a burst of fire.

The sound of sirens and explosions rose one after another.

The building itself began to shake.

Without any warning, the “Erosion” had already invaded the sky above the venue.

It was as if… it had appeared out of thin air.

Exactly like the situation when it had appeared at headquarters last time.

At that moment, a piercing alarm filled her ears.

Ephnel knew this was a “call” for her.