Chapter 58: Inspection

“Her? No one would dare bully her… If there’s any bullying to be done, she’s the one doing it to others!”

Hanasou Kotone’s answer surprised Ephnel somewhat.

Bullying others?

Ephnel’s eyebrow twitched slightly.

“Who did she bully?”

“N-no, that’s not it… Yanase-san, you’ve misunderstood…”

Seeing Ephnel’s subtle expression, and knowing she had clearly gotten the wrong idea, Hanasou Kotone quickly explained.

“Actually, it’s Yukina… she received a love letter…”

“A love letter??”

“That’s right, a love letter. Because the person who likes her is quite impressive, so of course, no one at school would bully Shiomi-san.”

“Is that so… an impressive person, huh…”

Ephnel was taken aback.

It would be a lie to say she didn’t feel a sense of loss.

Although she had long been mentally prepared, the thought of her own sister being coveted by someone else made her feel short of breath.

Moreover, an “impressive person”—she herself should be able to fill that role.

If that guy’s only skill was of that level, then he was completely unqualified to be her sister’s boyfriend.

“But hey, even if someone was blind enough to mess with Shiomi-san, I would protect her!”

Hanasou Kotone puffed out her chest confidently.

“That love letter… who was it from? Don’t tell me Yukina accepted it?”

Ephnel hesitated for a moment before asking.

No matter what, as an older sister, it wasn’t overstepping to keep an eye on her younger sister’s love life, right?

A love letter delivered to a girls’ academy?

Wasn’t this junior who wrote the letter a bit too persistent?

Simply put, Ephnel was not happy.

“Um… Yanase-san might not believe this, but the one who wrote the love letter was a girl from an upper grade.”

Hanasou Kotone was unaware of the turmoil in Ephnel’s heart, merely stating the facts with a subtle expression, then casually letting her gaze drift over.

“An upper grade… a senpai?”

Ephnel was stunned again.

Weren’t they all girls?

“Yes, a third-year senpai. She’s the current student council president, very handsome and confident. She met Shiomi-san in the student council, and then claimed it was love at first sight, so she pursued Shiomi-san for a long time.”

Hanasou Kotone was very satisfied with Ephnel’s dumbfounded reaction.

Simply put, it was just like when she had found out Yukina had been confessed to by a girl.

A girl confessing to another girl—at that time, Hanasou was even more shocked than Ephnel was now.

Later, she learned that while this sort of thing wasn’t exactly commonplace at Yuzumi Girls’ Academy, it wasn’t rare either.

But for girls who lived elsewhere, this kind of thing was probably still quite shocking, right?

In fact, many girls were opposed to such relationships, so Hanasou had no intention of going into detail with Ephnel, merely stating the facts from an observer’s point of view.

“But in the end, Shiomi-san didn’t accept.”

Hanasou Kotone added.

She saw Yanase-san lower her gaze, lost in thought.

…

Ephnel chatted with Hanasou Kotone for a while longer, and the two of them grew closer.

“It’s about time.”

Picking up her phone, Ephnel glanced at the clock.

She estimated that Yukina’s full-body examination was almost finished and took the initiative to end the conversation.

“Well then, Kotone, you rest for a bit. I’ll come get you later.”

“Okay!”

After closing the door to the hospital room and informing the nurse, Ephnel headed towards Nishizaki Yuuki’s office.

At the corner, a familiar figure flashed by, catching Ephnel’s attention.

“Saori?”

The person had just stepped into the elevator.

The back looked very much like Saori, and Ephnel subconsciously called out her name softly.

The person did not respond to Ephnel.

One had to be quiet in the hospital, so Ephnel’s voice wasn’t loud.

Was it that the person didn’t hear, or was the familiar back not Saori’s at all, and that’s why there was no response?

Ephnel couldn’t tell.

It was also possible that the person simply didn’t want to see her.

After all, that incident had happened between them.

Although it hadn’t led to a fight, it had indeed created a rift.

“…”

Ephnel pursed her lips and sighed.

Just then, Nishizaki Yuuki appeared in her line of sight with Yukina.

“Ephnel? I was just about to look for you.”

“Onee-chan…”

Nishizaki Yuuki saw Ephnel too and came over with Yukina.

Yukina looked normal, and Nishizaki Yuuki wasn’t smoking, which made Ephnel breathe a sigh of relief.

…

“What are the results?”

Ephnel inquired.

Ephnel was very concerned about the abnormalities in Yukina’s body.

A clear enhancement in her five senses, strength, and physical toughness—Ephnel had only ever seen such changes in Agents who had entered a state of deep sync.

But Yukina was clearly not in that state.

The unknown was unsettling, which was why Ephnel had asked the teacher for leave without a second thought and brought Yukina here.

Nishizaki Yuuki was holding a clipboard and didn’t immediately answer Ephnel’s question.

“The test results need to be confirmed again, but the preliminary conclusions are out. Anyway, let’s talk in my office.”

Giving Ephnel a look, Nishizaki Yuuki walked ahead.

“Okay.”

Ephnel took Yukina and followed.

The special care unit of the United Hospital had been handed over to the Order Organization’s medical department for use as a temporary branch six days ago.

Therefore, there were many personnel dispatched from headquarters here.

Most of them knew Ephnel, and at this moment, some of them cast curious glances her way.

Everyone knew Ephnel had been suspended, and the reason was likely for defying the Commander—this was a rumor from headquarters.

Many people still didn’t believe it, and some had other theories.

In any case, Ephnel’s appearance naturally attracted attention.

Nishizaki Yuuki and Ephnel were close friends, so no one suspected anything about Ephnel’s presence here.

Besides, Ephnel never cared about the gazes of others.

But she had to consider Yukina’s feelings.

Moreover, this was a special time.

An enemy had infiltrated the organization, and if they were too careless, a mistake could happen anywhere.

Indeed, this was not a suitable place to talk.

…

Nishizaki Yuuki’s office was at the end of a long corridor, separated from the experimental area by only a few walls and a glass door.

On both sides of the corridor were the offices of other researchers, and occasionally people would pass them by.

The deeper they went into the corridor, the quieter the human voices became.

Instead, a faint mechanical hum, as if coming from underground, gradually became more prominent.

It was the sound of the equipment in the server room and experimental area operating.

Although the dull noise wasn’t loud, it was constant.

Yukina followed behind Ephnel, listening to the electronic hum in the increasingly silent, disinfectant-scented air, and felt inexplicably nervous.

She didn’t like the smell here.

…