Chapter 95: Quasi-agent

Ephnel took off her earpiece, fell silent, and sighed.

“Onee-chan…”

Yukina cautiously peeked at Ephnel.

Seeing Ephnel lower her gaze with a slightly grave expression, Yukina blinked her beautiful large eyes and whispered tentatively, “Onee-chan… I’m sorry… Please don’t be angry anymore…”

Yukina gently tugged at Ephnel’s arm but received no response.

She could only keep her mouth shut and remain silent.

After a long while, Ephnel suddenly spoke.

“Yukina, the words I just said were not only for my superior but also for you. You heard them all, right?”

“Mmm…”

“From now on, you will follow me on this mission as a quasi-Agent.”

“Onee-chan, does this mean you’ve acknowledged that I can fight alongside you…”

Yukina’s eyes held a hopeful look, but it was immediately shattered.

“I never said that.”

Ephnel glanced at Yukina.

She was still angry, and the unintentional look she gave her scared Yukina into pulling her hand back, but it was immediately grasped by Ephnel again.

A cold, hard object was placed in her palm.

Yukina opened her hands, and the familiar butterfly hair clip appeared before her eyes.

“This is… ‘Fifina’? Onee-chan, are you willing to let me follow you now…”

She looked up happily, only to see Ephnel looking at her with an unprecedentedly solemn and serious gaze.

“Just in case, I’m giving ‘Fifina’ to you now. But Yukina, you have to promise me something. Battles can change in an instant, and danger can arise at any time. Therefore, I require you to stay by my side, to thoroughly and completely follow my commands, to obey my orders without reservation, and to never act on your own. Can you do that? If not, I will have someone send you back right now.”

Startled for a moment by Ephnel’s stern expression, Yukina still gritted her teeth and answered loudly, “I-I’ll do my best…”

“You must say, ‘I can do it’.”

“I can do it…”

Looking at Yukina’s slightly trembling shoulders, Ephnel pursed her lips and took a deep breath.

“And one last thing I must tell you beforehand—if, and I mean if, I run into danger, and I tell you to leave, you must leave without a moment’s delay. Is that okay?”

“That’s… no, if I leave you, Naoko, in danger alone…”

“Answering ‘no’ is not allowed. This is not just to protect you, but also so that I can fight with all my might.”

Yukina couldn’t answer.

Of course, Yukina understood what Ephnel was saying.

Yukina had not undergone systematic training, nor had she received any related learning.

To her, the power of an Agent was just a relatively sharp dagger.

It might be more than enough for simple self-defense, but if she encountered a truly formidable opponent, she would only be sending herself to her death.

Although Yukina was very reluctant to think that way, it was the truth.

If the battle situation was unclear, she would be nothing but a burden by Ephnel’s side, and she would also distract Ephnel, putting her in danger.

Her desire to fight alongside her sister and face danger together was genuine, but many things in this world could not be achieved just by having determination.

Yukina understood this principle.

Meeting Ephnel’s gaze, Yukina tightly clutched the Beacon in her palm, bit her lip gently, and nodded.

“I understand…”

“From now on, you stay with me.”

Ephnel reached out, her hand sliding past Yukina’s waist, and pulled her into her arms.

The faint smell of aviation fuel wafted through the cabin.

The air was noisy, and a biting wind blew wildly outside the window.

The engine ravaged the steel machine, emitting a dull roar.

Just then, the man in black said, “…Miss Ephnel, we are preparing to land.”

“Mmm.”

Ephnel released Yukina, her gaze looking down through the window.

She could see a stretch of desolate, collapsed houses.

This was an abandoned old district, no longer suitable for living after the defensive line was contracted.

At this moment, she could feel the vibration from under her feet and the seat behind her change.

Yukina subconsciously clung to Ephnel’s arm.

Although she had been insisting on coming along, she was still afraid of the unknown battle that was about to happen.

“You should call your aunt and uncle now. They must be very worried about you.”

Yukina had come with her.

Ephnel hadn’t said a word about this outcome.

She didn’t know what her parents were feeling at this moment.

But no matter what, for her parents, they had the right to know what their daughter was doing.

“Mmm…”

Yukina took out her phone and started dialing.

…

The destination was a building next to an abandoned public cemetery.

From a distance, Ephnel could see the figures of no less than forty soldiers in the vicinity.

The helicopter landed on a roadside that hadn’t been maintained for a long time, and then a few figures walked out from the building to greet them.

The person in the lead was a woman.

As soon as she stepped off the helicopter, Ephnel saw her.

“Ayaka?”

Ephnel’s face showed surprise.

The person before her was the current chief of the Special Disaster Division, the overall commander, Fushihara Ayaka.

She was now wearing a set of special combat gear, a rifle hanging from her waist, and was walking towards Ephnel with a smile.

“Long time no see, Ephnel.”

…

Ephnel looked at the fully armed Fushihara Ayaka before her, somewhat surprised, but mostly suspicious.

She had never expected Fushihara Ayaka to be in this place.

Logically, Fushihara Ayaka and Masaki Hinaki usually only commanded from the rear and rarely took to the field themselves.

And now, Fushihara Ayaka was in full combat gear.

It was impossible to think that she was just passing by.

“Ayaka? Why are you here? Aren’t you the overall commander?”

“Yes, the overall commander.”

Fushihara Ayaka giggled, “But there’s no rule that says I can’t come here, right? Or did Masaki Hinaki say something to you?”

“She didn’t say anything. Oh, right, she said someone would be waiting for me here. Could that person be you?”

“It’s not wrong to think so.”

Fushihara Ayaka shrugged.

“Alright, alright, look at you. Isn’t my being here a sign of how seriously I take this matter? There’s no need to be so surprised, is there?”

“No, it’s precisely because you are here that I feel this mission is not that simple.”

Fushihara Ayaka just smiled and didn’t deny it.

“We can talk about that later. Let’s go inside first and chat as we walk.”

With that, Fushihara Ayaka turned and walked into the dilapidated building first.

Ephnel and Yukina followed.

Along the way, Ephnel saw many soldiers on duty, as well as a lot of equipment and weapons.

“Ayaka, can I ask what on earth is going on?”

“You’ll know if you come with me.”

“Is this your temporary command post?”

Ephnel glanced at the soldiers on duty around them and asked.

“You could say that.”

Fushihara Ayaka turned her head and glanced back, pointing to the ceiling.

There was a huge wooden board there, and it seemed like there was something on it, but it was unclear.

“This is an abandoned building, originally used as a funeral home. The crematorium is out back, and as you saw outside, it’s not far from the public cemetery. So, it’s relatively spacious here, and it’s barely acceptable as a temporary command post. Of course, the main reason is that this is where Nishizaki Yuuki was found, so I chose this place as the center of my search network.”

“Yuuki? You found her? Where is she now?”

“No.”

Fushihara Ayaka shook her head.

“She wasn’t found by our people, but she is indeed here. I’ll take you to see her now. But before that, Ephnel, since you’ve brought a new face, don’t you plan to introduce her?”

As she spoke, Fushihara Ayaka glanced at Yukina behind Ephnel and smiled meaningfully.

Ephnel subconsciously held Yukina’s hand.

“She is my younger sister.”

“Eh? Younger sister? Which younger sister?”

Fushihara Ayaka’s words instantly grabbed the attention of both Ephnel and Yukina.

“Onee-chan… do… you have other younger sisters out there?”

…