Assistant

"Right now, apart from Ito Seigo, we can confirm that everyone who awakened supernatural powers had swallowed something. Can we assume that humans need the 'Dan Fruit' brought by a high-energy plane in order to awaken supernatural powers?"

"What about the Ninth Guardian? He used to be an ordinary person too."

"Rather than awakening, I'd say it seems more like he was possessed."

At the Special Affairs Bureau, people discussed the existence of the supernatural every moment of every day.

As they gathered more clues, their theories about the supernatural became increasingly varied.

For the time being, though, the best-established facts seemed to be that humans needed pills from a high-energy plane to awaken, and that Advent Bodies from high-energy planes couldn't stay in this plane for long.

But judging by the destruction wrought by the handful of awakened humans native to this world, even if the Advent Bodies' time here was limited, they could probably level Tokyo several times over.

With a sword of Damocles hanging over their heads, many of those in the know could barely sleep. Some high-ranking officials had even gone abroad and were running things remotely, afraid that fighting might break out back home without warning and they wouldn't even know what killed them.

"After talking things over, Inagaki Miki agreed that we could join forces when facing demons or certain evil beings."

At the routine meeting, Noguchi Yuji reported the results of the previous day's discussion.

The senior officials were reasonably satisfied with the outcome.

Even if they weren't especially capable of getting things done, they could still read a situation. It was clear that every supernatural being might have an Advent Body behind them, and the Special Incident Countermeasures Bureau's first priority had to be trying to communicate and cooperate—especially when the other party hadn't shown any hostility. In their eyes, this outcome already reflected Noguchi Yuji's competence.

"Good work, Division Chief Noguchi. Thank you for your efforts. Now, onto the next item. The Holy Infant Society has opened ten membership slots to our Special Affairs Bureau and offered us two Holy Son Pills. Let's discuss whom to send, and who should take the pills to strengthen our immediate combat capabilities as quickly as possible." Kihara Wa, Minister of Defense and director of the Special Affairs Bureau, sat at the head of the table and glanced at his subordinates on either side.

"Based on our investigation, we're leaning toward giving the pills to colleagues with more intense emotions."

As Kuroki Niizumi spoke, she instinctively glanced at Noguchi Yuji.

"Use willpower, emotions, and loyalty as our three criteria. Discuss it among yourselves and decide who's suitable. Then Kuroki can submit the names to me."

After the meeting, William went to find Kuroki.

"Division Chief Kuroki, I want a membership slot."

Kuroki wasn't surprised that William wanted to join. He effectively represented the United States, and its senior officials were probably eager to find out what secrets the Holy Infant Society was hiding.

She was only puzzled that he hadn't asked for a pill.

"I've already taken one." William offered no further explanation. Kuroki assumed it was part of a deal the Holy Infant Society had made with them.

"Really? Have you noticed any changes?" Kuroki asked curiously. William was the first of their own people to take a pill, so his account would be more credible than most.

William rubbed his chin and thought for a moment. "I don't really feel much different. I'm still me, but there's an extra force in my body, and I can vaguely tell how to use it."

After undergoing a series of anti-brainwashing procedures and tests of his independent will, William was confident that his core consciousness hadn't been replaced.

And it had been Commander Ricky who'd ordered him to apply to join as a representative of the Special Affairs Bureau.

"By the way, William, as a Westerner, you might have an easier time with this. We need experts familiar with demon history, customs, rituals, and the like. Do you know anyone? Ideally, someone who's religious."

"No problem. I'll invite some of them to come and serve as consultants."

"Hirosue, I heard you like Master Macchiato's work too. Her exhibition opens at the art museum tomorrow. Would you like to go together?"

"Really? I haven't been keeping up with her work for ages. There's been a lot going on with my family lately, so I don't have time right now."

"Oh, that's such a shame."

After returning to school for a day of classes for the first time in ages, she felt completely out of place among her classmates.

No, she'd felt that way for a long time. She'd never liked immature people, and in her eyes, even at an elite high school, plenty of students were hopelessly scatterbrained.

After encountering the supernatural, she could sense that the invisible gap between them had grown even wider.

By comparison, she much preferred taking part in the Ninth Guardian's experiments, rationally recording the results of nature at its most savage.

A few days earlier, after she'd offered to help, the Ninth Guardian seemed to have been freed from a burden. He'd handed her a huge number of observation tasks without hiding a single detail, making it clear that the purpose was to study how well animals adapted and evolved after taking the Holy Son Pill.

As an observer, Hirosue Ryomiya had gained a faint, uncanny sense of what it might be like to play God.

She'd gradually fallen in love with the work and had even suggested a few ways to optimize the experiments.

Today, after class, she'd changed out of her school clothes at the hotel and evaded her pursuers on her way to the experimental warehouse. Once she'd finished taking stock of all the animals they had, she came up with a general plan.

"Release the surviving animals from each batch into the wild?"

Shiraishi Wataru considered whether doing so might encourage mutations.

"Yes. Our miniature food chain is more brutal than the one outside, but it has no room to grow. We can only simulate animals fighting each other, and we're missing many real-world factors. You also said, Dharma Protector, that the Holy Infant Lord knows what abilities each animal has awakened. We can leave the animals that have completed the initial experiments alone, let them return to the wild, and allow them to continue playing their part."

As she spoke, Ryomiya consulted the notebook in her hand, which listed all the surviving animals being kept separately.

"These animals consume food much faster than the others. If the forest can't sustain them, they'll probably come out and attack humans. What then?" Shiraishi Wataru asked, studying Ryomiya's still-youthful features, curious to hear her answer.

Ryomiya's naturally alluring face broke into a sweet smile. "Then all the better. Wild, mutated animals attacking people will draw the Special Affairs Bureau's attention. We can treat their attempts to hunt down the animals as part of the experiment. If any of the animals awaken as a result, I think that will only benefit the Holy Infant Lord. Our experimental subjects are connected to a smuggling ring in a roundabout way, so even if they suspect the Holy Infant Society, they won't dare to turn against us lightly. We might have to suspend our experiments for a while then, though."

Shiraishi Wataru liked people who considered things entirely from his point of view. He casually formed a Holy Son Pill and handed it to her. "From this moment on, you're a member of the Holy Infant Society."