Chapter 48: The defenseless Yukina

Masaki Hinaki paused, then added.

“Well, that being said, if something really does happen, I personally still hope you can come back and help…”

“If a problem arises that you all can’t solve, I’ll be back even if you don’t ask.”

“Hehe, then thank you in advance. The announcement about your ‘leave’ will be sent out soon. You can pack your things and leave now.”

“You…”

Masaki Hinaki smiled heartlessly.

Ephnel shot her a fierce glare, her face filled with disgust.

“Although everything you said is correct, why do you have to be so punchable?”

…

Ephnel left.

Masaki Hinaki sent a message to her secretary, then sat alone at her desk.

Her gaze drifted into the distance, her fingertips tapping a rhythm on the desktop.

On the desk in front of her lay a document from the Federation.

It was her transfer order.

To say “transfer” was really just a euphemism for “removal.”

Due to three consecutive major failures, the Federation had decided to revoke her position as the Commander-in-Chief of the Seikyo City Order and send a successor to replace her.

The successor would arrive in Seikyo along with the Federation’s support forces to take over from Masaki Hinaki.

And then, Masaki Hinaki’s life as the Commander-in-Chief of the Seikyo Order Organization would come to an end.

“A leave of absence, huh…”

Masaki Hinaki’s face wore a look of desolation that she would never normally show.

“Looks like… I’m going on vacation too. How frustrating.”

But it couldn’t be helped.

A short notification sound drew her attention to the computer screen.

The secretary was very efficient; the notice of Ephnel’s suspension had already been sent.

She skimmed through it, affixed her electronic seal, and indicated for it to be sent out.

The sound of keyboard-clacking ceased, and the air returned to silence.

Masaki Hinaki rubbed her cheeks in frustration.

The words Ephnel had said before leaving kept replaying in her mind.

“Ephnel…”

She sighed and buried her face in the crook of her arm.

…

“Ephnel has been ordered by the commander to be suspended from duty. Date of reinstatement to be determined.”

—This news spread throughout the entire Order Organization within just ten minutes, causing a stir among the staff.

“Hey, hey! Is the commander serious? Why would she suspend you? Ephnel, what happened between you and the commander?”

Yonomikenami pressed, looking at Ephnel with a worried expression.

When Ephnel left the commander’s office, she had run into Yonomikenami and Yukina, and the three of them had returned upstairs together.

During that time, the notice of Ephnel’s suspension had been issued, and Yonomikenami had been like this ever since.

“We just had a little disagreement, it’s nothing to worry about.”

Ephnel replied listlessly, a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth.

She was having a bit of a headache.

She couldn’t explain this matter clearly to Yonomikenami.

Although she herself was willing to believe that Yonomikenami was not the mole, in any operation, it was a basic rule not to act on impulse.

But Yonomikenami’s concern for her was giving Ephnel a headache.

“How could I not be worried! You’ve been suspended! Suspended! Can’t you have a little bit of awareness, hey!!”

“Oh.”

Ephnel was still as nonchalant as ever.

Yonomikenami looked at Ephnel’s completely unconcerned, dead-fish face, took a deep breath, and rubbed her forehead in frustration, looking like she was hating iron for not becoming steel.

“Everyone in the organization is talking about this now! It’s very, very surprising that you’d be suspended… You’ve always been the one working the hardest. Damn it, what was the commander thinking… It’s incomprehensible… Is her head filled with cement!”

Ignoring Yonomikenami’s complaints, Ephnel turned her gaze to Yukina.

As it happened, Yukina was also looking at her.

“Sorry, Yukina. I said I’d give you a tour, but it looks like we’ll have to wait until next time…”

“Don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong, Onee-chan. Why should you apologize?”

Yukina looked away and turned her head.

“Besides, there’s nothing much to see here anyway.”

Her tone was as cool as ever, but this time, Yukina took the initiative to link her finger with Ephnel’s.

Her slender fingers were cool and soft, and trembled slightly.

“I’m tired. I want to go home.”

Yukina lowered her head, and Ephnel stared at her, stunned.

When was the last time they had held hands and said “let’s go home”?

That time was so distant that Ephnel couldn’t remember.

Ephnel carefully hooked her finger around Yukina’s.

Her palm was sweating, and a strange palpitation was surging in her heart.

“Then… let’s go home.”

…

The sound of trickling water came from the bathroom.

Because today was Sunday, and Yukina had to get up early for school on Monday, Ephnel had told her to take a bath first.

As for Ephnel, she took the dirty clothes to the balcony.

The night outside was dark, with a hazy moonlight.

A gentle, cool evening breeze drifted in the air.

Ephnel turned on the balcony light, squatted down, and opened the washing machine lid.

“A leave of absence… huh… Although I just went along with it, I haven’t really thought about what to do…”

To be honest, Ephnel herself didn’t know what to do on a vacation, or what she could do.

She hadn’t had many vacations.

Rest when injured, return to duty when healed.

Even when Seiran and the others were still around and the organization wasn’t so short-staffed, Ephnel had always lived like this.

This was why others called her a “workaholic.”

Sighing, Ephnel absentmindedly put the dirty clothes in her hands into the washing machine and added detergent.

Her mind was filled with a jumble of thoughts.

To be honest, regarding the decision to reveal her and Yukina’s identities, Ephnel still hadn’t figured out the most appropriate way to say it on her social media account.

It would be best if she could take all the responsibility herself and not involve Yukina.

Ephnel wasn’t very good at writing this kind of thing, but if she left it to the organization’s copywriter secretary, it would inevitably give off a feeling of “lacking sincerity.”

Ephnel wanted to confess it in her own words.

Besides, she was currently on “suspension,” so it was better not to get too involved with the organization.

She should probably lie in bed later and think it over properly.

Ephnel lowered her gaze, her fingers on the washing machine’s electronic control panel.

Rumble rumble—At that moment, the sound of the balcony’s sliding glass door being pulled open came from behind her, followed by a pleasant voice.

“Onee-chan, are you doing laundry?”

It was Yukina.

Ever since the relationship between Ephnel and Yukina had been clarified, Yukina’s attitude toward Ephnel had softened a lot.

This seemed to have shortened the distance between Ephnel and Yukina in one fell swoop.

The two of them gradually began to talk more, which gave Ephnel the illusion of having returned to the past.

“Yeah, doing laundry.”

There was finally progress in her relationship with her sister, which made Ephnel very happy.

Even her tone was unconsciously filled with a gentle smile.

“I didn’t have much to do, so I thought I’d wash the clothes. What’s up…”

Ephnel smiled perfectly and turned around, her gaze meeting Yukina’s.

But the next second, she froze.

Yukina had come out of the bathroom at some point.

Having just bathed, she was surrounded by a warm steam.

Her flushed cheeks were stuck with dripping wet hair, making her already tender and lovely face suddenly look alluring and seductive.

She was wearing only a thin, smoky-purple slip dress, revealing her milky neck and slender thighs.

The hazy outlines of her figure were traced by the light coming from behind her, leaving her fine figure completely exposed.

The first time.

This was the first time Ephnel had ever seen Yukina like this in front of her.

Because, after all, “Yanase Naoto” as an “older brother” was male.

In the daily life they shared, Yukina’s attire had always been proper and conservative.

The two of them maintained a perfectly appropriate distance, and as a result, Ephnel had never felt awkward about them living together.

But now…

…