Chapter 86: Special Disasters Department

I don’t know if it was the professional nature of a gossip or if she was already mentally prepared, but Yanase Kaoru didn’t look surprised at all.

She continued to ask, “What’s her name?”

“Her name… I’ll tell you guys in the future…”

“A university classmate?”

“No… I’ve lost contact with all my university classmates.”

Ephnel’s first battle had been a mess.

She was injured in that fight, and when her classmates found her, she was sitting on the ground, dragging her heavily injured body, wiping away tears.

It was only then that her classmates suddenly realized she was a girl.

After that, she dropped out of university and completely severed ties with those people.

Except for one person.

After Ephnel left the university, that person somehow found her home and offered to take care of her.

Of course, Ephnel later moved and changed her number, and she never saw that girl again.

However, at that time, Mother Yanase had once wanted to leave her job and come back to take care of Ephnel, so she had a bit of an impression of that girl and admired her, which was why Mother Yanase asked.

“I see…”

Mother Yanase didn’t give up at all and asked again, “Then… how old is she? Is she an adult yet?”

“Mom… what’s the use of asking that…”

“Got it, so she’s not an adult yet?”

Ephnel covered her head.

…

By the time Ephnel finally managed to deal with Yanase Kaoru and secretly replied to Yukina’s text, quite some time had passed.

Ephnel spent the entire morning accompanying her parents in collecting data.

After lunch, Ephnel drove to the Special Disaster Division.

It was currently lunch break, and there were no people in the front hall of the Special Disaster Division.

It was very quiet, with only the soldiers on duty standing like straight, sturdy pine trees in front of the sentry post.

The predecessor of the Special Disaster Division actually had military roots, a fact that could be seen from the people who worked here.

Because of this, their style of carrying out missions was always exceptionally decisive and strict, with the unique fiery and iron-willed nature of soldiers.

Similarly, this was one of the reasons why the Special Disaster Division and the Order Organization didn’t get along well.

In terms of their functions, the Order Organization was closer to the ruling class, and its shadow could be seen in many of the decisions made by the government.

The Special Disaster Division, on the other hand, was always active on the front lines of disaster response and post-disaster management.

Because of their different positions, their perspectives on matters also had subtle differences.

But in comparison, the Special Disaster Division treated Agents a little differently.

They were always exceptionally friendly towards Agents, a completely different attitude from how they treated other departments of the Order Organization.

This was one of the direct reasons why Ephnel was recognized by them.

“Dad, Mom,” Ephnel stopped the car, looked in the rearview mirror, and asked, “I’m just going in to get something. I’ll be back soon. Can you wait for me in the car?”

“It’s fine, you go ahead. Your dad and I will wait for you here.”

Yanase Kaoru said with a smile.

Yanase Takuma, on the other hand, was tapping away at the keyboard and gave a simple grunt of acknowledgment.

Ephnel gave a helpless, wry smile, left the electronic key in the car, and got out herself.

She showed her identification e-document at the checkpoint and easily obtained permission to pass.

Entering the stern and cold-styled building, Ephnel didn’t linger in the front hall but took the elevator with practiced ease to the chief’s office.

However, the chief was not in, only her secretary was waiting here.

“Eh? Where’s your chief?”

Ephnel looked around but didn’t see the familiar figure.

“Miss Ephnel, our chief left here at noon. She should still be at the Order Organization’s headquarters now.”

The secretary recognized Ephnel and answered her question honestly.

“At headquarters?”

Ephnel was somewhat amused.

This chief usually didn’t get along with Masaki Hinaki.

The two of them would bicker whenever they met and would occasionally “compare skills.” They were not harmonious at all.

“If you need to see her, I can pass on a message for you.”

“It’s nothing important… Did she say what she was going for?”

“She didn’t say, but she went over directly after receiving a communication from Commander Masaki.”

“I see…”

Ephnel nodded and didn’t press further.

Judging by the timing, it was highly likely that the chief had gone to the Order Organization’s headquarters to assist with the Uzuki Saori matter.

‘It’s possible that Saori has betrayed the organization—of course, this is just one of my speculations, not enough to be conclusive yet.’

Even if she already held that very crucial piece of evidence.

But this matter had wide-ranging implications.

As far as Ephnel knew, before she became an Agent, another Agent had defected from the organization and caused great losses.

This had a very strong negative impact at the time and was a significant blow to the Order Organization.

More importantly, an Agent’s betrayal was a very bad sign for this precarious city.

It would also greatly diminish the credibility of the Order Organization.

The public had always trusted the Agents.

If an Agent were to abandon or even harm them at this time, the resulting public outcry would be imaginable.

“By the way, Miss Ephnel, the chief instructed me to give you the prepared interrogation and investigation materials if you came by.”

“Is that so…” Ephnel recalled her phone call with the chief yesterday and smiled.

“That’s quite thoughtful of her. In that case, I’ll have to trouble you.”

“Then please wait here for a moment, Miss Ephnel. I’ll go get them for you right away.”

“No need, they should still be over there, right? I’ll go with you, and I’ll take a look at that person while I’m at it.”

“Over there,” of course, referred to the cells and interrogation rooms where important criminals were held.

Of course, the interrogation section of the Special Disaster Division was no ordinary building, but a separate area of considerable size located underground.

People were rarely held there.

It could be said that the Apostle was one of the very rare “guests” there.

“Then… please follow me.”

…

Ephnel followed the secretary and took the elevator all the way down to the fifth basement level.

This was a building inherited from the former military department, used specifically for detaining and interrogating criminals.

But due to the special nature of the Special Disaster Division, it had rarely welcomed “residents” since it was inherited.

“She’s just ahead. Miss Ephnel, would you like me to pull up the real-time video for you?”

“No need, I’ll go take a look myself. Just bring me the prepared materials.”

“Yes!”

The secretary turned and left.

Ephnel didn’t let the secretary accompany her but started walking, then stopped in front of a cell.

The cell had three walls.

The side facing Ephnel was separated by a high-strength alloy mesh and high-strength glass.

In the corner, the number of the person belonging to this cell was marked.

The Apostle girl was currently squatting in a corner.

Compared to when Ephnel first saw her, her face was a few shades paler, and she looked a bit weak.

Her cheeks and arms were covered with bruises and wounds.

She squatted there motionlessly, her gaze vacant.

This glass was specially treated one-way glass; it was impossible to see outside from inside.

Ephnel picked up the intercom, glanced at the girl’s name written next to the number, and softly read it out: “Sakurai Sachi.”

The Apostle girl inside remained blank-faced, without any movement.

Ephnel had been carefully observing the Apostle girl’s expression, but she couldn’t see anything.

The other party was curled up in the corner like a puppet, as if she hadn’t heard anything.

Just then, the secretary came to Ephnel’s side with a USB flash drive.

Seeing that Ephnel was trying to talk to the girl inside, she explained, “Um, Miss Ephnel, I’m very sorry, but she just underwent an injection interrogation. I’m afraid she’s currently unable to respond to external information…”

“Is that so…”

Actually, Ephnel had already noticed something when she saw the girl’s vacant gaze.

She had wanted to probe whether this Apostle girl named Sakurai Sachi knew anything about Uzuki Saori, but it seemed there was no possibility of further communication now.

Ephnel felt a pang of regret and reached out to take the USB flash drive from the secretary’s hand.

“I’ll come back next time…”

After saying that, she prepared to leave.

However, Ephnel suddenly thought of something else and asked the secretary, “By the way, has your chief received any orders from the Federation?”

“The Federation?”

The secretary shook her head in confusion.

“I’m very sorry, Miss Ephnel, I’m not very clear on this. Would you like me to ask the chief on your behalf?”

“No need, I’ll ask her in person next time. Anyway, thank you. See you next time, bye-bye.”

Ephnel gave a faint smile, waved her hand, and left.

…