Chapter 44: Masaki Hinaki

The two of them broke into a brisk jog.

As they rounded a corner, they saw a man on duty standing at the entrance to the corridor like a sturdy pine tree.

“Looks like we made it.”

Yonomikenami finally let out a small sigh of relief and led Yukina over.

“Please state your identity.”

“Here’s my electronic card.”

“Please come over here to verify.”

Yukina followed quietly, her gaze locked on the handgun at the man’s waist.

“Yukina, come with me.”

Yonomikenami easily passed the identity verification and led Yukina inside.

“Are you curious? That someone is armed in a place like this.”

Yukina nodded honestly.

“Well… it’s because of the nature of our work… The headquarters here is even equipped with soldiers, who are a step above the duty officer you just saw.”

Yonomikenami stared straight ahead, her tone serious.

“I was just worried your sister would do something stupid. This narrow space puts her at a disadvantage. It would be bad if a conflict broke out with the soldiers. Luckily, it doesn’t seem to have reached that point yet. And…”

Yonomikenami raised a finger and tapped the earpiece by her cheek.

“I’ve got someone keeping an eye on things for me here too. So far, so good.”

Yukina’s gaze fell.

“There are soldiers here too…? In a situation like this, where we don’t know what’s going on, if my sister were to make a dangerous move, would the soldiers open fire, even if she’s an Agent?”

“They would.”

“Even against an Agent who’s always fighting on the front lines… they’d go that far…”

Yukina murmured, a strange mix of thoughts churning in her mind.

If you disobey orders and do something detrimental to the group, you will be punished.

This was an irreproachable action.

But… from the way Yonomikenami described it, something seemed different.

If one were to distinguish between the pattern of behavior and the objective, the punishment Yukina knew of was generally a reckoning after an event had occurred.

But the soldiers Yonomikenami spoke of seemed to be a precaution against some unforeseen event.

This subtle difference caught Yukina’s attention.

Yonomikenami glanced at her.

“Actually, something like that has happened before… It resulted in very serious casualties. It’s a problem that must be taken seriously.”

“Before?”

Yukina looked up in disbelief and met Yonomikenami’s gaze.

Yonomikenami was looking straight ahead, so Yukina couldn’t see her expression.

Yonomikenami continued:

“Even though they’re Agents, they’re still human… And since they’re human, they’re capable of anything, right? Although it’s rare, there have been Agents who, for various reasons, have turned against the organization. As far as I know, there was an incident where an Agent attacked the organization even before the existence of Agents was widely known to the public. After that, the Agent escaped. According to the senior members, she fled to the ‘Outer Sakahi,’ but it’s never been confirmed whether she’s still alive… Well, sorry, I’ve been telling you all these unrelated things.”

Yonomikenami pursed her lips worriedly and continued.

“But it’s precisely because of this that your sister’s actions are very likely to touch a raw nerve in this organization. That’s why I was so worried… If, by any chance, something happens, little Yukina, you must talk your sister down…”

“Me…?”

“That’s also why I brought you here. I’m sure you’ll be able to do it.”

Yonomikenami nodded with conviction.

The two of them continued walking.

Just then, Yonomikenami suddenly stopped.

“Ephnel has appeared? Then what about the commander?”

She asked into her earpiece urgently.

A moment later, her brow slowly relaxed.

“The commander is fine…”

Hearing this, Yukina also breathed a sigh of relief.

“It was a false alarm… Thank goodness.”

…

“I came here to confirm a few things with you.”

Ephnel’s voice was not loud, but it echoed in the quiet room.

She looked at the girl sitting behind the desk in front of her.

“Do you take me for an idiot? You look like you’re here for a fight! Your killing intent is leaking out, hey!!”

Cold sweat dripped down the girl’s cheek.

Although she was still sitting upright in her chair, a familiar, beautiful smile on her face, she couldn’t help but lean back as far as she could, as if facing some terrible beast.

Before her stood Ephnel, exuding a dignified and stern aura.

“Ah—I get it. Since you were just discharged from the hospital, you probably want to stretch your limbs a bit. I understand. If you want to spar, I’m not against it.”

“Hey! Are you serious?!”

She kept glancing at the silver spear in Ephnel’s hand, the smile on her face incredibly stiff.

This girl was dressed in a crisp, gray military uniform.

Beneath her cap, long, black hair cascaded down her back.

From her profile to her neck, her skin was as white and smooth as fine snow.

From her appearance, she looked to be about the same age as a new college student, and her height was also… less than impressive.

Thanks to this, while she looked serious for the most part, whenever she smiled, she radiated a natural cuteness that was at odds with her status, by no means wasting her soft, pretty face.

She was the complete opposite of Ephnel’s cold, deadpan expression.

—But in reality, this was a severe case of deceptive appearances, as she herself was about to cross the threshold of thirty.

And, although her body looked very slender, she was actually an incredibly skilled expert in combat and tactics, the real deal.

She was Masaki Hinaki, the commander of the Seikyo City “Order” Headquarters Command.

Right now, Masaki Hinaki was like a startled cat, putting on an act of being terrified yet unwilling to show weakness.

She shrank her neck tremblingly, while at the same time cautiously watching Ephnel, baring her canine teeth as if in a show of defiance.

“Let me be clear, I will—ab-so-lute-ly—not fight! Besides, I’m not fully healed yet. You can’t take advantage of me when I’m down!”

Masaki Hinaki raised her bandaged left hand, a symbolic white flag.

As she said, she had been injured in the previous attack on the headquarters, and her body was far from recovered.

She was barely at a state where she could return to her post.

“So it’s okay once you’re healed?”

Masaki Hinaki shrank back again and quickly shook her head.

“That’s not okay either!”

“Not even if we bet on it?”

“Umm…”

At the mention of this, Masaki Hinaki immediately hesitated.

Incidentally, Masaki Hinaki loved to gamble.

If it weren’t for the fact that, as the commander, she had very little free time, she would definitely be spending her days at the casino.

“Alright, that’s enough nonsense. I’m being serious now.”

Ephnel’s lips twitched with annoyance, and she let out a weary sigh.

Contrary to her appearance, Masaki Hinaki was usually very serious and diligent.

But every time she was alone with Ephnel, she would start to joke around, which gave Ephnel the impression that she was very unreliable.

Ephnel had more or less gotten used to this, but every time she faced Masaki Hinaki, she still had to resist the urge to give up on verbal communication altogether.

But, whether it was because Masaki Hinaki’s “strategy” was effective or not, the dark, unclear anger that had been building up in Ephnel’s heart when she first arrived had dissipated quite a bit.

Or perhaps her nerves were shot, so it was only natural that her anger had subsided as well.

Ephnel retracted her spear and deactivated her “Exile Form.”

Yanase Naoto appeared before Masaki Hinaki.

Masaki Hinaki also looked relieved and casually straightened her posture.

“Go ahead. I’m in serious mode now, not kidding around with you.”

“The fact that you’re saying that makes it sound even more like a joke—”

“Hey, what’s with that attitude! I’m trying to cooperate with you.”

“Do you want to spar?”

“No, absolutely not that.”

Masaki Hinaki denied it flatly, her sincere gaze making it seem as if everything she had just said was a lie.

Ephnel ignored her and sat down on a nearby chair.

“I’ll be direct. I’m here about that so-called ‘Apostle.’ I’ve already asked Canary to send back the relevant records. You should have already read them, right?”

…