Chapter 96: Unexpected Encounter

Yukina’s face was filled with an indescribable sorrow.

“No, don’t listen to her nonsense.”

Ephnel denied it outright, looking at Fushihara Ayaka with a grim expression.

“Tell me, what other younger sister do I have?”

“Oh, I remember now,” Fushihara Ayaka smiled and glanced at Yukina, slowing down to walk beside her.

She looked Yukina up and down curiously, “Her name is… Shiomi Yukina, right?”

“That’s right.”

Ephnel didn’t hide it and repeated what she had told Masaki Hinaki to Fushihara Ayaka.

“She’s following you into battle as a quasi-Agent with the codename ‘Fifina’?” Fushihara Ayaka frowned slightly, lost in thought.

“It’s ‘Fifina’ again…”

She looked at Ephnel, keenly noticing a ripple in her calm eyes.

“Never mind…” Fushihara Ayaka sighed, then put on a smile and extended her hand to shake Yukina’s.

“Nice to meet you, Ephnel’s dear sister. I’m Fushihara Ayaka, your sister’s friend and semi-comrade-in-arms. It’s a pleasure.”

At Ephnel’s signal, Yukina said somewhat awkwardly, “Um… I’m Shiomi Yukina. Nice to meet you, it’s a pleasure to meet you…”

At that moment, they arrived inside the temporary command post.

Passing through a group of working soldiers, Ephnel immediately spotted three familiar figures.

“Ephnel~”

“Ephnel-senpai!”

“Senpai! Good afternoon~”

They all greeted Ephnel at the same time.

“Aya, Mahiru, and Sara, good afternoon. Why are you all here too!”

Ephnel chatted with them briefly and also introduced Yukina, which caused the three to crowd around and look.

Yukina, on the other hand, shyly greeted them one by one.

Oguri Aya, codename Ayse, and Kiri Mahiru, codename Canary, were both Agents who had fought alongside Ephnel three days ago.

The other, Tachibana Sara, codename Erincia, was one of the Agents who had supported the headquarters during the Erosion disaster a week ago.

She was usually responsible for the stability of the West District’s defensive line and the suppression of Erosion disasters, one of the few Agents stationed outside by the Order Organization with a fixed area of activity.

Her Order weapon was a “sword and shield,” a one-handed combat sword and a sturdy shield of over twenty inches, making her one of the few Agents who wielded a weapon or equipment in both hands.

Tachibana Sara was here this time because this was the outskirts of the West District, a place very close to the Boundary Monument and also near the defensive line, which was precisely Tachibana Sara’s area of responsibility.

“You five are the Agents for this operation. Alright, follow me this way now.”

Fushihara Ayaka led them to a separate room on the side.

As soon as they walked in, Ephnel saw a figure in a white lab coat.

It was Nishizaki Yuuki.

“Yuuki!”

Ephnel called out.

Nishizaki Yuuki turned her head upon hearing Ephnel’s voice.

“Ephnel? You’re here too!”

“Are you alright?”

Ephnel quickly walked over to Nishizaki Yuuki’s side and only then got a clear look at her current state—a bandage was wrapped around her forehead, and her white lab coat was stained with large patches of blood and dirt.

Nishizaki Yuuki was very weak at the moment, resting on a temporary medical bed.

Just then, another gasp came from behind Ephnel.

“Miss Yanase?”

The voice was very familiar.

Ephnel turned her head and was slightly taken aback.

She saw the friend of Shiomi Yukina whom she had briefly met yesterday—Hanasou Kotone.

“Hanasou Kotone? What are you doing here?”

“I…”

Hanasou Kotone was holding a basin full of water at the moment, staring blankly at Ephnel.

She opened her mouth to explain, then saw Yukina beside Ephnel and was stunned again.

“And Yukina? Why… are you two here??”

She was truly a bit confused.

She had known for a while that Miss Yanase was young and rich, and probably came from an extraordinary family, but she never expected Miss Yanase to be connected with the Special Disaster Division.

You see, she had just met the young ladies surrounding Miss Yanase and had just learned their identities.

They were all very powerful Agents.

But for some reason, they all seemed to revolve around Miss Yanase…

…

Seeing her friend Hanasou Kotone appear before her, Yukina was also a bit dazed.

She and Hanasou Kotone were very good friends, but that was limited to their “daily life” or “school life.”

Now, seeing her friend in a temporary combat command post filled with a solemn and murderous atmosphere gave Yukina a strong sense of disconnect.

“Hanasou-san, you…” Yukina hesitated and asked, “Didn’t you go home first after school? Why are you here…”

‘Could it be that Hanasou-san, like my sister, has another identity? Usually my friend Hanasou Kotone, but actually a special agent of the Special Disaster Division?’

That would make sense.

However, Hanasou Kotone’s answer did not confirm Yukina’s speculation.

“I didn’t go home after school…”

Hanasou Kotone looked back and forth between Ephnel and Yukina.

Thinking about their relationship and the budding feelings for Miss Yanase in her heart that had been buried before they could sprout, her speech became hesitant.

She didn’t know how to explain it for a moment and truthfully recounted what she had done after leaving school.

“I bought flowers and then came to pay respects to my mother…”

“Eh? Pay respects to your mother… could it be… those outside?”

Yukina recalled the abandoned cemetery she had seen from the air when she first arrived, which was not far from here.

“Mmm…”

“I’m sorry… for bringing up something that makes you sad. I thought this place was already abandoned, so I didn’t think much of it…”

Hanasou Kotone smiled uneasily, an inexplicable look in her eyes.

“It-It’s okay… it’s just the truth. As for this place, it is indeed an abandoned place… it’s just that for some reason, my mother’s grave was never moved, so…”

As Hanasou Kotone spoke with Yukina, her mind was on Miss Yanase and Shiomi Yukina.

She suddenly asked, “By the way, Shiomi-san… and Miss Yanase… why did you come here?”

This was the question she was concerned about.

During her time here, she had already learned that this place had become the temporary command post of the Special Disaster Division.

In other words, something incredible might happen here later.

The activities of the Order and the Special Disaster Division were always broadcasted and explained on TV, but hearing reports on TV about things that happened yesterday or the day before was a completely different experience from seeing the tense and solemn atmosphere with her own eyes.

Moreover, seeing the pre-transformation appearances of three Agents from such a close distance made it difficult for Hanasou Kotone to remain calm.

And yet, in this place that was definitely not accessible to ordinary people, she saw her friend Shiomi Yukina, and the sister of her friend whom she had only met once but for whom she had secretly developed feelings, Miss Yanase.

From what happened yesterday, Hanasou Kotone could already guess that Miss Yanase’s identity was certainly not ordinary.

Miss Yanase was so rich, not to mention her appearance and figure.

Her speech revealed an unusual temperament and confidence, and she could freely enter and exit the special care unit of the United Hospital and had a good relationship with its head, Dr. Nishizaki Yuuki.

If any of these things were taken individually, Hanasou Kotone might not have guessed anything, but if so many things that were impossible to ignore were all concentrated on one person, then that person was definitely not simple.

Hearing Hanasou Kotone’s question, Yukina stiffened.

She looked at Ephnel hesitantly, not knowing how to answer.

She and Ephnel were here as Agents, as combat personnel.

This involved the Order Organization and the Special Disaster Division, as well as her own and Ephnel’s identities.

She was very hesitant about how to explain it to her good friend.

“We are here on a mission.”

Seeing Yukina’s difficulty, Ephnel explained to Hanasou Kotone on her behalf.

“A mission? Eh? Are you two perhaps…” Connecting Ephnel’s relationship with Nishizaki Yuuki, Hanasou Kotone had already vaguely guessed something.

“That’s right, I’m an Agent, codename: Ephnel.”

“Ephnel…”

Hanasou Kotone was stunned for a moment, then her eyes widened.

“Eh eh eh!? E-Ephnel… could it be that Ephnel!?”

Ephnel nodded.

“So you are…”

Hanasou Kotone was really flustered.

Although she didn’t have the same level of admiration and longing for Magical Girl Ephnel as Yukina did, she had heard a lot about her as the chief Agent of Seikyo City and understood what Ephnel represented.

But…

She looked at Yukina strangely.

As far as she knew, wasn’t her friend a complete fan of Ephnel?

In that case, Yukina was a fan of Miss Yanase, and the relationship between these two… was not that simple.

They had long since broken through the layer of sisterhood and entered another enviable relationship.

“As for Yukina, she is now a quasi-Agent, and her codename is ‘Fifina’.”

Ephnel seemed to have guessed Hanasou Kotone’s thoughts and explained.

“Shiomi-san… is Fifina???”

Hanasou Kotone looked at her friend numbly, completely stunned.

An hour ago, they were still ordinary students living a normal high school life, gossiping about things they had heard from somewhere.

But now, the scene before her was a world away from the life she remembered.

“So… Shiomi-san is Fifina… no wonder…”

…