Chapter 142

"..."

A pillow flew over.

207. Cumulonimbus clouds

Morning--

Before dawn, Efnir slowly woke up.

Beside her, Yukina was still fast asleep.

Yukina slept very quietly, without moving or making a sound. Even her breathing was as light as a feather. She was completely naked, with one arm wrapped around Efnir's waist, nestled in Efnir's arm, like a peacefully sleeping kitten.

Efnir carefully lifted Yukina's hand, pulled her arm away, leaned down and gently kissed the corner of Yukina's lips, then sat up from the bed.

She couldn't sleep.

There was still no news about the Apostle, the situation of the Angel Qinglan was unknown, the disappearance of the mysterious girl Codename H left countless questions unanswered, and the recording that suddenly appeared in her terminal seemed to be constantly reminding Efnir— "You've made a mistake."

Efnir has experienced more than once how difficult it is to want to protect someone.

But this time, Efnir felt the same sense of powerlessness she had felt when she first became an agent.

Fighting skills alone are not enough.

Or rather, merely being content with one's current strength will soon lead to its limits.

Even though Efnir hasn't lost a one-on-one duel in a long time, precisely because of this, Efnir path of honing her skills through training and practice has stagnated for quite some time.

--Without stronger competitors, it means that Efnir will find it difficult to make further progress.

This alone is not enough to protect Yukina.

This time, Yukina was injured right before his eyes; what will happen next time?

Efnir clenched her fists tightly, and after a long while, she sighed softly.

She took out her phone and scrolled through it.

There's nothing particularly noteworthy.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

A short while later, she straightened her disheveled nightgown, went to the sink, washed up, and tidied her clothes.

The person in the mirror is very beautiful.

The curves of her facial features and the contours of her cheeks were perfect. Efnir didn't usually wear makeup when she wasn't performing, but for some reason, she suddenly felt the urge to wear makeup today.

Is it because of the feeling of "being in love"?

So I'm spending more time in front of the mirror than before.

Efnir gently raised her hand, pressing her fingertips against her lips, deforming them.

She put down the facial cleanser, then paused, and subconsciously, she untied the bandage from her right eye.

The white strips of cloth slowly fell down, revealing the gauze.

Along with the dust motes in her field of vision, she saw the girl's dark purple eyes reflected in the mirror, between her fingers.

It was like an agate sunken at the bottom of the sea, faintly shimmering with an eerie purple light. The stinging sensation left over from the past few days was becoming increasingly less noticeable. On the contrary, the light perception in her right eye had recovered considerably compared to last night, and her vision had become clearer. With a little effort, Efnir could see the girl in the mirror.

The dark purple dust in my field of vision did not disappear; on the contrary, it became clearer and brighter due to the improvement in my right eye.

This is something that cannot be ignored.

It's worth noting that even Nishizaki Yuki admitted that Efnir's right eye was completely incurable and she would remain blind.

But the fact is, Efnir's right eye began to recover.

Efnir hesitated for a moment, then returned to her room. When she came back to the sink, she was holding a pair of light-colored sunglasses.

She put on her glasses, looked around, then took them off, squinting as she stared at herself in the mirror.

"Naoko..."

A soft call.

Efnir instinctively turned her head to look towards the bedroom. She saw that Yukina was already standing in front of the door, rubbing her sleepy eyes and looking at her.

Yukina was only wrapped in a thin blanket.

"Naoko... why are you up already? Your... your eyes... are they feeling any better?"

"Hmm, it's nothing serious."

Efnir hesitated for a moment, then instead of covering her right eye with the bandage again, she slightly turned her gaze away so that Yukina couldn't look directly at her.

She smiled.

"Sorry, did I disturb you?"

"When I woke up and you weren't there, I got up to look for you..."

"Sleep a little longer, you must still be very tired, right?"

No, thank you.

Yukina covered her mouth and yawned. Although her eyes still showed signs of fatigue, she still smiled at Efnir.

"I want to start training a little earlier today."

"Oh, okay? Then I'll go prepare breakfast for you."

"Hmm..."

Suddenly, Yukina ran over barefoot and gently hugged Efnir.

"Thank you so much, Naoko."

Yukina tilted her head and giggled.

"Also, good morning, sister."

Efnir paused for a moment, then smiled.

Shena hadn't called her that in a long time, and suddenly felt a little strange.

Today, as the Commander of the Orderkeepers Organization steps down and is replaced, is undoubtedly special.

When Efnir and Yukina arrived at headquarters, the atmosphere had completely changed. Masaki Hina was about to step down, and the new commander had brought reinforcements from the Human Federation. Announcements were being sent out from the official account, and the headquarters staff were the first to receive the news.

This is a big deal.

Naturally, this also stirred up quite a stir.

"Nami."

Efnir ultimately opted not to keep the bandages, opting instead for sunglasses; now, at least outwardly, she doesn't appear to be injured.

Upon Shinomiyami Nami, Efnir asked her:

Is the commander still busy?

"Yes... Commander... no... the Major General is making final arrangements for what happens after she steps down..."

For Shinomiyami Nami changed into that crisp, fitted black uniform, and her usual playful expression was gone, replaced by a melancholy and thoughtful look.

"Is that so..."

Efnir glanced around.

The command center was as busy, tense, and serious as usual, but now there was an added, inexplicable sense of heaviness.

Perhaps for ordinary people living in this city, Masaki Hina is too far removed from them, and it doesn't matter who leads the Orderkeepers Organization; they don't care about that. But for those who have always worked under Masaki Hina, her departure cannot be summarized by a simple announcement.

Most people are unsure whether to feel happy or worried when faced with this uncertain situation.

"Speaking of which, Efnir, your eyes..."

"It's getting better."

Efnir smiled, lifted one side of her glasses to reveal her purple right eye, and blinked.

Shinomiyami Nami stared in stunned silence for a moment.

"Then take me to the training ground."

Efnir lowered her glasses again and said.

Only Efnir and Yukina were in the locker room.

Masaki Hina is currently going through the process of stepping down and handing over her duties, Shinomiyami Nami is also very busy.

Although it was just a simple explanation of work arrangements and a handover notice, there was no doubt that this kind of thing could not be handled carelessly.

"It seems like Training Ground One is being used today. Let's go to training ground number two."

"Um."

Yukina had already changed into her training clothes. Efnir held Yukina's hands in his palms and wrapped them tightly with layers of bandages.

Does it hurt like this?

"It doesn't hurt."

"Since this is your first time training this, I'll tighten it a little more for you."

"It doesn't matter."

Yukina gazed quietly at Efnir, then suddenly asked a question.

"Naoko, are you sure it's okay for you not to attend the handover ceremony?"

Efnir paused for a moment.

"This kind of thing has nothing to do with our agents; we just need to do our own job."

Efnir put gloves on Yukina.

That's fine.

Yukina raised her hand and tried to clench it.

Unlike making a fist with bare hands, making a fist with the straps wrapped around it feels more powerful.

Just then, the phone rang.

It's Shinomiyami Nami.

"Efnir, are you... at the training ground?"

"Um, what's up?"

"It's like this... Canary... she might have run into some trouble... she got into a dispute with the replacement agent and challenged someone to a duel, right here in Training Ground One..."

Efnir paused for a moment.

She recalled that a similar thing had happened between Canary and her a year ago.

208. Girl and Gun

Air convection and adiabatic cooling cause water vapor to saturate and condense, forming cumulonimbus clouds.

Differences in opinions and disagreements between people often occur, and when these clashes and escalate, they can lead to conflict.

This kind of thing is unavoidable no matter where you are.

"Canary seems to have had a dispute with the new agent. According to Ayse was present earlier, they've borrowed Training Ground One... They've probably arrived by now..."