Life Is Short-Why Take Shortcuts? (5.5K)

Okay, let him retract his statement. Kisara noticed the awkwardness between them, and his fair cheeks gradually flushed red.

Moreover, he unconsciously increased the force in his hands, pulling hard on the tie.

"No, this kind of job isn't for me."

Kisara almost braided the tie into a bow, but just as she was about to give up, Mahiro suddenly grabbed her hand.

"Don't give up so easily, President Kisara."

He sighed, then, like a puppeteer, manipulated Kisara's hands, moving them across his collar.

First, he untied the tangled tie, and then, according to his memory, tied it back in a crisscross pattern.

"See, it's finished, isn't it? President Kisara, you're just too nervous."

"... Isn't this basically the same as tying it yourself?" Kisara said quietly. "And besides, if you can tie it yourself, don't make me do it."

"Wasn't this what you asked for?" Mahiro shrugged innocently.

"... never mind."

Kisara longer, and instead took out a pocket watch from his handbag.

"The time has come. Listen carefully. Although I've told you before, I'll repeat it again. Basically, this kind of ceremony is held by cutting into His Seitenshi Emperor's precious time for official business, so everyone has a tacit understanding to end it as soon as possible."

So for her questions, just answer 'yes' or 'no,' keep your answers as brief as possible, and absolutely do not ask any more questions. Do you understand?

"Yes."

"Well answered."

Despite Kisara's repeated reminders, he, as Mugen's companion at the banquet, took Kisara arm and finally stepped into the chalk Holy Residence once again.

However, as he stepped through the gate, Kisara suddenly turned around, gave him a gentle smile, and said:

"Although I've said it before, I'd like to say it again—thank you, Mahiro, for everything you've done for us."

This time, he didn't answer, but responded with a smile as well.

Meanwhile, the gate behind them had been closed, and they followed the attendant into the depths of the Holy Residence.

A winding marble staircase, covered with a red carpet, led to the front, where the Seitenshi sat leisurely on his throne.

The room was spacious with a high ceiling, and gentlemen and ladies of high society were gathered around the table, chatting noisily beside the honor guard.

"Mr. Mahiro, welcome."

The Seitenshi, dressed in pure white, rose from his throne and descended the steps with a beaming smile.

Although this was not the first time I had met the Seitenshi, and I had even been in close proximity to him before, I must say that her beauty was several times more dignified than when I saw her on a monitor.

Just like the purity of a saint, it is a completely different feeling from the pure black of Kisara.

It is said that the Queen of the Holy Chamber is famous for producing many beauties, and the current Seitenshi is the most beautiful in history.

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to attend this banquet.

"You're too kind, Your Seitenshi."

"So, how do you feel about becoming the savior of the Tokyo Area?"

"I don't have any particular thoughts, I just need to find a time to pay the payment."

As soon as she said this, Kisara was immediately the focus of everyone's attention, as if they were blaming her for how she had trained her employees, saying that they were just a bunch of rude guys.

Kisara himself couldn't help but facepalm.

Although... even if the payment hasn't been settled yet, you shouldn't say that in this kind of situation.

However, she still believed from the bottom of her heart that Mahiro was very reliable, and even at this moment she did not forget about the reward.

Completely different from that Satomi-kun!

"Hehe, Mr. Mahiro is still as fond of joking as ever. As for the payment, I will naturally not break the contract. It will be paid in full after the banquet."

Are you kidding?

No, that's his honest opinion, but since he's already prepared to pay, it's fine to take it as a joke.

"However, I am very honored to have someone of your talent present in Tokyo, as the head of the Tokyo Area. Mr. Mahiro, thank you for everything you have done for the Tokyo Area. I hope you will continue to fight for the Tokyo Area in the future."

The Seitenshi originally wanted to ask, "Will you also dedicate yourself to the Tokyo Area from now on?", but she couldn't bring herself to ask, and instead changed her words.

Based on past interactions, the Seitenshi also had some understanding of his character.

Perhaps my own thinking is a bit narcissistic. Sometimes, I can motivate Mr. Mahiro by being myself, rather than the head of state, but most of the time it's because of money.

Furthermore, on many occasions, Mr. Mahiro didn't care at all about her status as the head of state.

Just like now--

"Thank you for your praise, Your Seitenshi."

Mahiro bowed respectfully.

The gentlemen below were in an uproar. Normally, a knightly kneel should be performed here, but Mahiro only bowed slightly?

This is disrespectful to the Seitenshi!

That's incredibly arrogant!

Such thoughts emerged from these people.

But the Seitenshi paid no attention, gracefully stepped forward, raised his hands, and solemnly declared.

"Did you all hear that? The heroes standing here will fight for the Tokyo Area from now on."

"Defeated Zodiac 'Scorpio', defeated Hiruko Kagetane and Hiruko Kohina (originally ranked 134th on the IP list), and killed three mecha-modified soldiers from the Five Wings Society. Based on the above reasons, I and IISO have agreed to recognize this achievement as a 'Special First-Class Achievement' and decided to raise Police Officer Yotsuba Mahiro's IP ranking to 134th."

Although the audience wasn't particularly happy, they still applauded enthusiastically.

The Seitenshi then turned his gaze to Mahiro and smiled.

"Mr. Mahiro, do you accept this decision?"

"It's my pleasure."

The Seitenshi chuckled mischievously and continued in a low voice, "To be able to rise from 970 to 134th place, such a speed of improvement is probably unprecedented in history, right? It might even be recorded in the Guinness World Records."

"I'm sorry, but I haven't publicized your miracle; I've kept the information under wraps. Mr. Mahiro, you won't blame me, will you?"

Chapter 78 Life is short, why take shortcuts? (5.5K)

"A very wise choice, Your Seitenshi." Mahiro smiled slightly.

He didn't actually care about the police officer rankings; he already knew what he needed to know long ago.

Even confidential documents were easily accessed and cracked long ago.

He wasn't particularly concerned about empty fame.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that by doing this, the Seitenshi could save him from many unnecessary contacts.

"That's good. But Mr. Mahiro, please don't leave the Holy Residence after the banquet. I have something I want to say to you."

Upon hearing the Seitenshi's soft words, Mahiro glanced at her with slight surprise.

At the same time, the Seitenshi gracefully stepped forward and announced the start of the victory celebration banquet in the Tokyo Area.

After the awards and recognition for his merits were given, his involvement was effectively over.

So they went downstairs and started eating and drinking.

Originally, he shouldn't have been the only one attending this banquet; Rentaro Satomi, who was also an employee of the agency, was also eligible to attend, but unfortunately, he was still lying in the hospital.

He probably won't be able to leave the hospital for at least a month.

As for Senju Kayo, one of the participants, besides disliking this kind of place, he also couldn't get away from the numerous affairs piled up by his hands-off management.

That's right, Senju Kayo has officially joined Arcadia, along with the children who were resurrected during the great war.

After all, for him, it was just a matter of tracing the intelligence network and, incidentally, enduring their painful lives.

He was still very passionate about saving these Cursed Children.

Of course, this doesn't include the kid codenamed Hummingbird; he wasn't so kind as to save even the enemy.

Furthermore, joining Arcadia was entirely voluntary, and no one refused.

After all, as Cursed Children, they had heard many things about this utopia.

As for the last person in the agency, President Kisara Tendo, he was currently eating voraciously with an elegant demeanor, as if he hadn't eaten for days...

"President Kisara, you previously said that this kind of ceremony was taking away from His Seitenshi Emperor's precious time for official business, so you told me to keep quiet and end it as soon as possible... But now it seems that's not the case, is it?"

"You just want something to eat, right?"

He's already so rich, so why is he still like this? Is this just Kisara Tendo nature?

"How is that possible?!"

Upon hearing his words, Kisara abruptly raised his head and hurriedly explained, "I was thinking of His Majesty the Seitenshi!"

"Yes, yes, but could you please swallow what's in your mouth before you speak? And look at you, you've got food all over your face."

Mahiro was both amused and exasperated. He reached out and wiped the cream off Kisara's lips, then stuffed it directly into his own mouth.

And Kisara saw this scene... boom...

Her face flushed instantly, as if hot air was blowing from her head.

"I'm truly, truly, Mahiro for you, you you you you... I I I I I..."

They've become unable to speak.

If the occasion hadn't been inappropriate, she probably would have frantically waved her hands.

"What's wrong with me?" Mahiro asked, puzzled. "You can't just let the cream sit there, can you? Or wipe it on your clothes? Or on the table?"

"But you can't put it in your mouth! I just ate that..."

Kisara blushed, wanting to say that, but the next second her face returned to its fair state, her expression turned serious, and she looked intently behind him.

Turning my head, I saw that not far away, beside the Seitenshi who was surrounded by a group of guests, Tendo Kikunojo was standing there.

A burning hatred had risen in Kisara's eyes, and he even unconsciously bent the fork in his hand.

That's terrifying grip strength.

"I say, do you really need to be so angry right now? Didn't you manage to make that old guy suffer a big loss this time?"

Mahiro patted her on the shoulder, instantly bringing Kisara back to her senses from her reverie, which was consumed by hatred.

She gazed at Mahiro with a complicated expression, then gently closed her eyes and shook her head.

"No, Kutsuwada and those on the petition are just scapegoats, and this childish squabbling can't possibly cripple the Tendo Family."

Tendo Kikunojo had his subordinates never explore the area to retrieve the [Seven Stars' Legacy], and even entrusted Hiruko Kagetane to tacitly allow the summoning of the Zodiac in Stage Five, all in order to remind people of the horrors of Gastrea and to push for the <Category Deprivation Law> to stifle the <Gastrea New Law> proposed by the Seitenshi.

Although it may seem abstract, the idea that this would cause a mass extinction in the Tokyo Area is, in fact, true.

That old man, like Kisara Tendo, was a vengeful spirit, only his targets were different.

Even though many unexpected events occurred during this revenge process, and it almost led to the true destruction of the Tokyo Area.

After the affair was exposed, Tendo Kikunojo took an even more decisive approach, directly pushing out the scapegoats he had prepared beforehand and severing all ties cleanly.

Moreover, almost all of these people committed suicide on the day they were arrested.

"Therefore, I need more concrete evidence to completely refute the Tendo Family's weapons."

"Is that so? If that's the case, I have a suggestion: why don't you start from the direction of the Monolith?"

"What do you mean?" Kisara looked at him, puzzled.

"Haven't you noticed? This whole thing is full of anomalies. Stage 1 Gastrea suddenly appeared and attacked the convoy escorting the heritage, and swallowed the boxes. Under Hiruko Kagetane's pursuit, the Stage 1 Gastrea escaped into the Tokyo Area."

Normally, the magnetic field emitted by holmium supermetal is lethal to Gastrea, so how could a mere Stage 1 member possibly get in? Don't you think there's something fishy about this?"

Hearing him say that...

Kisara gradually went from silence to surprise, his eyes widening as if he had thought of something extremely terrifying.

"Mahiro- kun, you mean...?"

"It's best to keep it to yourself; I'm just guessing."