You May Not Believe Yae Sakura, but You Can Always Believe Kallen

"Is this what all shrine people are like?"

Ch'en spoke weakly. Just as Hoshino thought she was about to condemn Yae Sakura, Ch'en suddenly changed tack.

"Do you people never make appointments before coming to the Guard Department?"

Hoshino said nothing. She merely glanced at Ch'en lying on the sofa. The latter looked utterly different from how she had that morning—her pale blue hair draped over her shoulders, her crimson eyes showing not the slightest displeasure. The formidable woman who stood tall against all odds now seemed somewhat fragile.

That was simply the kind of person she was.

Naturally, she refused to accept it, but she could not resort to underhanded means either. Flames were forever suppressed in Ch'en's eyes, always lying dormant.

Making her give up on something was truly a challenge.

"Yae Sakura asked me to pass along a message," Hoshino said without changing expression. "Many things in this world can deceive you, but sweat never will. It is only natural that your first instinct upon obtaining an extraordinarily powerful weapon would be to try and master it. But it is like an infant trying to wield a handgun—you went wrong from the very beginning."

"Hm?"

Was she saying that her swordsmanship was as weak and laughable as a baby's?

Outrageous!

But the person who had said it was not standing before her. This white-haired young lady was merely relaying the message, so Ch'en could not exactly fly into a rage on the spot.

This was where the advantage of pretending to be two people became apparent.

Even though she was the one insulting her, she could pose as Kallen and comfort people while insulting them. She got to play both the good cop and the bad cop, fulfilling two wishes at once.

"Yae Sakura recommends that you start with a wooden sword."

"You aren't angry, are you?"

Hoshino asked cautiously. Ch'en laboriously lifted her eyelids to look at her, then nodded. She was not angry.

It worked!

Ch'en sighed. "Although I am angry, everything that fox said is true. I really do need practice. Yae Sakura specifically had you come tell me this—perhaps she knew her presence would make me angry, and feared that my emotions would keep me from learning anything. That does not make her entirely bad."

"Right, right, right."

Hoshino nodded so hard her head bobbed like a rattle-drum.

"I'm not Yae Sakura. You may not trust a shrine maiden, but you can always trust Kallen Kaslana—the people's shield, the watcher of justice."

Ch'en did not answer. Clearly, she did not quite believe her.

Fair enough. Though her face practically radiated convincing righteousness, [Kallen] was still from Yae Shrine. Anyone with eyes could see that she and [Yae Sakura] were connected by countless ties, part of some vast elite organization.

No one could have imagined they were two sets of armor belonging to the same person.

There were many such organizations in Terra, most of them civilian associations researching Originium Arts. For example, the renowned King's Wand.

That was the organization Skyfire belonged to.

Most organizations with such chuunibyou names were proud yet approachable, maintaining a friendly but distant relationship with the authorities. None of them caused nearly as much trouble as Yae Shrine.

Hoshino noticed Ch'en's injured palm. "Yae Sakura anticipated this. Your hand was injured by baleful energy. She just did not expect you to stubbornly put off treatment. Do you really think you're a dragon? You think leaving a wound alone will make it heal by itself?"

"Don't speak to me in such an intimate tone. I'm not close with any of you."

Still, Ch'en explained her reason. "It is all because of this challenge. I have already used up all my sick leave. If I let go now, my full-attendance bonus for the month will go down the drain. Do you think I am some rich person?"

"Ahem."

It was not easy for a corporate drone to earn money.

Although Ch'en had deep connections with Lungmen's upper ranks, her pride meant that she was still currently a self-supporting corporate drone.

Corporate drones had to live, too.

She had to drag this body full of injuries through until the end of the workday. Even if she did nothing but slack off, she had to lie at her desk.

For the full-attendance bonus!

"Yae Sakura anticipated that line of thinking too. She asked you to search your heart and ask yourself: what caused all this, her sword or the anger in your own heart?"

"Maybe she wants me to die of rage on the spot?"

Ch'en said gloomily.

In her heart, Yae Sakura had gained yet another label: the passive-aggressive shrine maiden.

"Close the door when you leave. I do not want my subordinates and colleagues seeing me like this. Also, Rope starts work today. Isn't that shrine maiden coming to take a look?"

Hoshino walked out, leaving behind words that left Ch'en utterly baffled.

"No need. I am her eyes."

"..."

Ch'en lay on the bed. Though her body had weakened to its limit, her mind seemed to have gained a blessing in disguise, racing at high speed.

She began to speculate about Yae Shrine's organizational structure.

"Kallen is Yae Sakura's eyes... Could it be that within the entire shrine system, that crazy, passive-aggressive shrine maiden with such a sharp tongue is the leader of them all?"

Ch'en muttered thoughtfully to herself.

Hoshino never cared about such speculation, because no matter how people guessed, they would arrive at the wrong answer she had meticulously arranged.

Hoshino walked out the door.

There seemed to be no other inspectors upstairs. With Ch'en up there, everyone else had consciously gone downstairs.

Was this some sort of authoritarian power?

Curious, Hoshino looked downstairs. The officers were busy, but none of them were working cases. Instead, they were occupied with something utterly out of place in the Guard Department.

A welcome party.

Inspector Hoshiguma was the most conspicuous one, as well as the busiest. The tower-like woman was lowering her head to carefully tie balloons, and the extreme contrast made her impossible to ignore.

"Is this really necessary?"

Swire stood beside her, helping inflate long balloons.

"That girl works pretty hard. I think we should at least give her a beautiful illusion. We should not let the dream that is the Guard Department shatter too soon."

That was Hoshiguma's answer.

She was lying.

From the second-floor railing, Hoshino came to that conclusion.

Not that Hoshiguma's words were false, but that her motives were not so pure. Other thoughts were mixed in.

Hoshino looked back. The door was shut tight, with Ch'en inside sleeping soundly.

She probably did not want the officers coming upstairs and seeing their superior in that state, indirectly affecting the morale of the entire department.

Especially Swire. She was the key person to guard against.

It was obvious from their positions. Hoshiguma was twisting balloons into letters—the Romanized spelling of Rope's name—while Swire stayed at her side without taking a single step away, constantly pumping the air pump with a sullen expression.

"I just want to go up and take a look..."

"Old Ch'en got tired from fighting and is sleeping now. Before falling asleep, she was still gripping her blade tightly, her fighting spirit overflowing. If you go in, you might end up getting killed in her dreams. You should think more about your personal safety."

Although Hoshiguma was an oni, she always spoke in an exceptionally calm manner.

But did that not just make her want to go even more?!

"I really want to... secretly take a picture of that pink sausage dragon's sleeping face!"

"Then keep wanting to. Just do not put it into action. Hurry up and keep inflating the balloons."