(Heartfelt thanks to 'Long Qian Yue' for the 1888 reward, and to 'Yunqi Qinggu', 'Xing Ming Qing Kong', and 'mrlsrain' for their rewards!)
Tengu City, entrance to the AST garrison base...
Under the dark night sky, AST members dressed in military-style work uniforms stood in neat ranks across the vast open ground. Like troops at a parade, they held themselves upright with their heads high and chests out, like a well-trained honor guard. Their eyes were fixed ahead, their faces solemn.
Before the formation, several stern-looking middle-aged men stood in a line as well, fully prepared. Kusakabe Ryoko stood more than a step behind them. Clearly, these middle-aged men all outranked her!
And that was indeed the case. These middle-aged men were the people in charge of the Tengu City Anti-Spirit Team—AST—garrison under the Ground Self-Defense Force. They held the highest positions in the entire base. Though their status might not have been the very highest in the country, they were certainly among the most influential.
Yet even people like them stood in a line with the reverence of soldiers meeting a general.
It was easy to imagine just how high the status of this DEM big shot was.
Everyone from AST stood neatly in formation, maintaining absolute silence beneath the dark night sky. Even their breathing was deliberately muted, and no one dared breathe too heavily. A thick sense of oppression filled the entire open ground.
Fortunately, that heavy silence did not last long before it was broken by the sound of a luxury sedan approaching.
The moment they saw the luxury car, the AST higher-ups' eyes lit up. They stepped forward slightly to welcome it head-on, while the car seemed to notice the situation and slowly drove up before the formation before coming to a gradual stop.
With