Make Some Big News?

Hoshino slipped away without a sound.

She roamed effortlessly across the rooftops, leaping from eave to eave and scaling walls, making perfect use of Kallen's agile body.

A warrior by nature, yet she looked every bit like a thief who stole hearts.

As Hoshino wandered between the buildings, she suddenly looked down and unexpectedly spotted a white figure.

Rope.

Dressed in black, Rope had actually bought a conspicuous beige coat before starting work. Her light-purple hair hung loosely around her shoulders, radiating a youthful air she had never possessed before.

Of course, Rope still was not used to the feeling.

But she was trying to adapt.

Changing herself in an unknown direction—Hoshino thought that was a good thing. Seeing that Rope was about to enter the Lungmen Guard Department, she did not stop to greet her and continued toward the shrine.

On the ground, Rope seemed to suddenly sense something and abruptly looked up, only to see blue sky and clouds. A warm breeze blew softly, carrying the bustle of ordinary life. It was indeed wonderful, but it still felt as though something was missing.

The person she had noticed was already gone.

Rope withdrew her gaze and gently stepped onto the stairs. After explaining why she had come to the guard at the entrance, she gathered her courage and walked into the Lungmen Guard Department.

"This is a first. I'm entering this place not because I was caught, turning myself in, or selling intelligence, but because I'm starting a job here."

Rope muttered softly to herself, not daring to let anyone notice the faint nervousness in her heart.

"Rope, Rope... once you're inside, you have to get rid of your bad habits. You can't steal things on instinct anymore."

She climbed the stone steps and clocked in at the entrance.

Looking around, it seemed that the Lungmen Guard Department was preparing a welcome party. Hoshiguma was hanging balloons. She was the tallest person in the department and could even reach the wall without standing on a stool, so she was currently stretching onto her tiptoes to hang them. Amid the colorful lights, a sullen tiger stood on an air pump, inflating balloons while muttering under her breath. The scene was harmonious and lovely.

Only half of the balloon lettering had been hung up, but its meaning was already clear. It spelled Rope's name.

Hoshiguma stopped what she was doing and turned to Rope.

Under that blazing gaze, Rope immediately felt at a loss. Just as she tried to quietly back away, Hoshiguma grabbed her and pulled her back.

"You came at just the right time."

What did she mean, I came at just the right time? They hadn't even finished preparing the welcome party.

"Don't be too confused." Hoshiguma handed Rope a balloon. "It's your welcome party, but you have to help with the work too. This is a traditional Lungmen Guard Department skill. Go work with Superintendent Swire."

"I'm going up to check on old Ch'en."

Swire wanted to go along, but Hoshiguma refused with an extremely forceful attitude.

"Get to know the newcomer properly. Be careful, or old Ch'en might kill you with her sword."

"?"

Swire was thoroughly displeased. She glanced at the bewildered Rope beside her, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly as she asked,

"Do you dare stop me?"

Before Rope could react, Swire clicked her tongue and turned away first, apparently deeply disdainful of her own behavior just now. She went back to inflating balloons, while Rope dragged over a stool to stand on, only to find that she still could not reach the wall.

"Why are you so short?"

Swire handed the air pump to Rope. "I'll hang them. You just inflate them beside me. Put some strength into it and don't slack off."

Uh...

Rope looked at Swire. Her oversized bomber jacket covered her hips, revealing a strip of pale skin between it and her black thigh-high stockings. Her thick tail hung down behind her; because of that tail, Swire would never wear long skirts or trousers that hindered her movements.

She was a little curious.

If Swire suddenly stepped onto the chair dressed like that, what exactly could one see from below?

Rope never found out. When she looked up, Swire's tiger tail remained directly in front of her eyes, creating an effect like a holy-light censor bar. She could not see a thing.

Rope's work was somewhat special, and she usually did not work at the Lungmen Guard Department headquarters.

After all, she was only an auxiliary officer.

While moving through Lungmen's streets and alleys, she compiled what she heard and saw into intelligence reports, then sent them to the Lungmen Guard Department through a mailbox collected once a day in exchange for her monthly salary.

So she had no uniform, nor did she have an ID badge.

Only her Lungmen Guard Department file and her fixed monthly pay were enough to prove that Rope was a member of the department.

Naturally, Hoshino knew that perfectly well.

After all, it was obvious enough that this world discriminated against the Infected at every moment.

She knew how the story would unfold. When Rhodes Island came to Lungmen, they would request a group of operators from the Lungmen Guard Department, and Rope would find her true spiritual home then.

As for Hoshino herself, she had some uninvited worshippers to receive.

A reporter.

She was a cute crow tengu, with black wings extending from her back. She wore a red hexagonal hat, a Western-style white shirt, and a black short skirt. At a glance, she looked exactly like the sort who could make some big news.

According to the reporter herself, her name was Wenwen.

Hoshino had no idea when she had arranged to meet a reporter. In any case, just as she returned to the shrine and changed back into Yae Sakura mode, Wenwen came knocking without an invitation.

Since she was here, Hoshino might as well answer her questions.

Wenwen also looked strangely familiar to Hoshino, constantly reminding her of someone from another work.

"You want to make some big news, don't you?"

Hoshino asked. Reporter Wenwen shook her head like a rattle drum.

"If the information is insufficient, I absolutely won't turn it into news. We reporters can't just believe every rumor we hear, exaggerate things recklessly, and write fake news for the sake of a headline."

"Do you believe that yourself?"

The interview began.

Hoshino was quite familiar with this sort of thing. After a string of vague, misleading answers, she had not revealed much useful information.

Only when she needed to demonstrate her swordsmanship did she stand up and slash at the air. Cherry blossom petals drifted down from nowhere, filling the room with a light, elegant fragrance.

"This is just a visual effect from swinging a sword. You get it after practicing long enough. It's nothing particularly unusual."

Reporter Wenwen gently lifted a petal. The pale-pink fragment shattered bit by bit in her palm before gradually vanishing into the air. Correspondingly, a shallow cut appeared on her palm, clearly inflicted by the cherry blossom petal.

"I know how to write this article now."

Reporter Wenwen suddenly stood up, flapped her wings, and vanished from the room. Powerful gusts of wind shook the place, making the room creak for a moment.

"I was going to berate the reporter, too..."

Hoshino could neither laugh nor cry, though she did not take the matter to heart.

She had not expected that this gushing report written by the tengu reporter, which emphasized how beautiful and sharp the cherry blossoms she created with a sword slash were, would be delivered to a bar.

A penguin wing pressed down on the newspaper.

"The paper says... the cherry blossoms that shrine maiden cut out were beautiful and sharp, enough to leave a cut on someone's palm..."

"What do you think? If we drank them, would it feel amazing?"