No Incidents Today

Early morning.

"Kyaaa~~~"

Hearing a sudden shriek from the second floor, Akihi Yu, who was busy cooking, flashed into motion. Cloaked in crackling electricity and wrapped in a gale—moving with literal lightning speed—he flew upstairs and threw open the bedroom door.

"Sora, what's wrong?"

What met his eyes was Akihi Sora, clutching a can of insecticide and spraying it frantically in every direction.

"Wait, wait~~ stop spraying!"

Stepping forward to snatch the can from the girl's hands, Akihi Yu couldn't help but wave his hand in front of his nose.

"That's not how you use this."

"But, but there are mosquitoes~~"

Throwing herself into Akihi Yu's arms, the girl pointed aggrievedly at her arm, where a red, swollen bump stood out clearly against her fair skin.

What?!

Damn mosquitoes, I'll blast you all away, I'll blast you all to pieces!!

Fortunately, Akihi Yu still possessed his sanity and didn't unleash ninjutsu inside his own room, though summer had indeed arrived, and it was time to start mosquito control.

"Let me handle this."

The air was thick with the scent of insecticide.

If he let Sora keep going like this, it was unclear whether the mosquitoes would die, but Akihi Yu, with his keen sense of smell, certainly wouldn't be able to stand it.

"Go downstairs and eat first."

Thump, thump, thump.

After opening the window to ventilate the room, the two headed downstairs, only for a knock to sound at the entrance.

"Who is it?"

In truth, there was no need to ask; with Akihi Yu's current strength, he knew exactly who was outside even through the door.

"Nao, good morning."

Standing outside the door was none other than the class representative, Nao, who lived not far away.

"Yu, summer is here and the mosquitoes are rampant. This is some lemongrass oil my mother made herself; I brought some for you."

In the class representative's hand was a box of yellowish-brown essential oil that emitted a refreshing fragrance.

"Thank you, this is a huge help."

Lemongrass oil, a type of mosquito repellent, was a very common item.

Traditional housewives would often grow lemongrass themselves and extract the essential oil.

"Do you want to have breakfast with us?"

Faced with Akihi Yu's invitation, the class representative took half a step forward before pulling back.

"No, thank you."

"My mother has already prepared breakfast. See you later."

"Right, see you later."

"Sora, come here and put some lemongrass oil on."

"I don't want to."

In the living room, Akihi Sora turned her head away, looking thoroughly displeased.

"I don't want to use anything from that woman."

"This was made by Aunt Iai, don't be stubborn, come here—"

Dabbing a bit of the oil onto his fingertip, he pressed it against Akihi Sora's arm and rubbed it gently. Although the girl protested, she didn't pull away.

"It'll be better soon."

In fact, Akihi Yu had already secretly used medical ninjutsu to heal the swelling for Sora.

If the nobles who were waiting in long lines for Amame Ei's treatment knew this, they would surely weep in despair.

"Yu, Sora."

"Nao~~"

After finishing breakfast and heading out, the class representative was already waiting not far from the Akihi House.

"Let's go."

The three of them walked to school together, just like any other ordinary students.

"Summer is here, so your Swimming Club should be opening up again soon, right?"

On the way, Akihi Yu was reminded of this by the mosquito repellent oil she had brought over that morning.

"Yes."

The swimming pool at Suimi High School is outdoors, and with summer here, it is the peak season for the Swimming Club. In other words:

"Sorry, I have club activities after school, so for the next few months, I might..."

...not be able to walk home together.

"It's fine."

Akihi Yu didn't really mind.

Meanwhile, Akiyu Sora, standing beside him, had her attention fixed on something else—the magnificent peaks of the class representative.

Swimming class naturally calls for the classic school swimsuit. That kind of form-fitting swimwear is the best at highlighting one's figure.

Comparing the two, it was a crushing defeat!

Looking down at her own chest, Akiyu Sora turned her head away.

"Hmph."

?

Akihi Yu scratched his head, confused by his sister's sudden bout of temper.

Could it be because of the mosquitoes?

He decided he would summon a bug-type spirit beast to get rid of them.

He looked up at the blue sky and white clouds; for Akihi Yu, today was another peaceful day.

However, for others:

Chiyoda Ward, Prime Minister's Official Residence, conference room.

The small conference room was packed. Nearly every high-ranking official in the Island Nation qualified to know the truth about the transcendent was present.

The Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Finance, the Chief Cabinet Secretary, the Chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, the Minister of Defense, and Lieutenant General Ooba Akira of the First Division were all in attendance.

Of course, besides the people from the Island Nation, representatives from America were also seated in the room, led by Brigadier General Thomas.

So many top-tier figures gathered for one reason: the events of last night.

"Four newly emerged transcendents, and an entire regiment's worth of modern weaponry gone."

Such shocking intelligence made even Brigadier General Thomas shake his head.

American soldiers are human, too. If those transcendent beings could silently control the Island Nation's Self-Defense Force, they could naturally control the American Marines. As seen in the images on the projector, whether facing the Armored Samurai or Mr. Three, the ordinary soldiers and police couldn't even pull their triggers.

How is one supposed to fight this?

"What are their abilities?"

"Hypnosis, mental manipulation, or physical domination?"

America has produced so many superhero movies that they are naturally very familiar with "superpowers." Even if they didn't know what type the Island Nation's transcendents were, as long as they understood the operating principles, they could attempt to develop countermeasures.

"This Armored Samurai..."

Pointing to the screen, Director Takeya stood up to explain.

"The soldiers were clearly conscious, yet they lost control of their own bodies."

"Our experts lean toward the theory that the opponent possesses a 'physical domination' type of ability, and..."

Although one shouldn't air dirty laundry in public, considering the government had been infiltrated like a sieve, Director Takeya spoke bluntly:

"It is highly likely that the perpetrator is someone from within our own Self-Defense Force."

?!

Lieutenant General Ooba Akira of the First Division froze, nearly blurting out the classic triple denial.

It wasn't me, I didn't do it, don't talk nonsense!

"The perpetrator headed straight for the armory while consciously avoiding cameras along the way, and they controlled the soldiers to open the doors with practiced ease. This almost certainly points to..."

An inside job!

Especially since that Armored Transcendent hadn't slaughtered the soldiers—since when did monsters have such kind hearts?

But there are at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, people qualified to visit the Self-Defense Force. After all, the political landscape of the Island Nation is intricately tangled; many are in-laws who see each other every day, and political marriage has always been the ultimate tool for maintaining family status and preventing rapid decline.

"I will take responsibility for investigating the Self-Defense Force."

Lieutenant General Ooba Akira volunteered for the task, though he had no intention of actually finding anything.

If he truly uncovered the truth, not to mention that the perpetrator might be an acquaintance, the sheer amount of weaponry from an entire regiment in their hands meant that if they were to lash out, the casualties would be immeasurable.

But he couldn't just play the ostrich and pretend not to see, could he?

Sigh, transcendents, transcendents!

For various reasons, the Island Nation's Self-Defense Force adheres to the principles of "quality over quantity" and "sea and air priority."

The historically well-funded Navy even exceeds that of the old-guard nation of England. But in the current situation, should he have the Maritime Self-Defense Force sail warships into Tokyo Bay, or have the Air Self-Defense Force bomb Tokyo?

"Our Ground Defense Force needs more military funding!"

Everyone present was "in the know," so Lieutenant General Ooba Akira threw caution to the wind.

"Drones, robotic dogs, and exoskeleton armor—these light weapons that can truly shine in urban street warfare are exactly what we need right now!"

Whether it be warships or fighter jets, these things could not be used on home soil. Faced with Transcendent beings that emerged endlessly and possessed terrifying mobility, the Ground Defense Force would ultimately have to be the ones to step up. Since that was the case, Lieutenant General Ooba Akira naturally had to seize the opportunity to ask for money.

When the cannons roar, gold is spent by the ton; without money, how can one wage war?

"Agreed."

The Prime Minister nodded and made the final decision; a shift in military spending was inevitable.

Even the America carrier strike group could not sail into Tokyo to eliminate the Transcendent beings. Besides, given America's style, it was hard to say if they could eliminate the threats, but turning the place into a pile of ruins would be quite easy.

Regarding this, the American military, having already received instructions, did not object.

If they didn't let the Island Nation's Ground Defense Force deal with the Transcendent beings, were they supposed to send their own Marines to the front lines?

What a joke!

The soldiers of the Great Power were so precious; how could they be used so lightly?

As for the Black Hawk squad rushing over to snatch the Island Nation's Transcendent beings not long ago, that was the work of the previous Nigo. What did that have to do with them, the old white guard?

"To deal with Transcendent beings, the best method is still using Transcendent beings."

Lieutenant General Thomas spoke up.

"I have heard that the Metropolitan Police Department has three Transcendent individuals in its hands."

Here it comes!

Director Takeya's expression turned grim; this was the very definition of "internal trouble and external pressure."

"Of course, these individuals are precious talents of the Island Nation. We in America would never make things difficult for heroes, so—"

"We want five doses of the Transcendent Serum!"

?!

His vision went dark, and Director Takeya nearly fainted on the spot.

In the secret base in Setagaya Ward, they had "just so happened" to have extracted exactly five doses of the Transcendent Serum!

To think that even a place like that had been infiltrated to this extent, sigh...

It wasn't just Director Takeya; the other high-ranking officials of the Island Nation all looked grim. Regardless of whether there were any "Island traitors" among them, at the very least, they had to show some attitude at a time like this.

"I cannot make that decision. Please discuss this with the Minister of Foreign Affairs."

Director Takeya squeezed these words out through his teeth.

Hearing this, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, whose expression had suddenly turned even uglier, had no choice but to bite the bullet and speak.

"Five doses is too many."

"Hmph, you already have Tanimura Wataru in your hands, along with the Transcendent dogs he transformed."

With a heavy slam of his hand on the table, Brigadier General Thomas finally revealed the true face of a Great Power overlord.

"This is merely the first batch. The foundation of our cooperation is that both sides share all Transcendent resources!"

Since it was sharing, what was yours was mine, and what was mine remained mine!