Chapter 149

"It's nothing, I just feel that you're still as slow-witted as ever, Efnir."

"Ah?"

Efnir glanced sideways suspiciously, meeting Masaki Hina's meaningful gaze. She immediately understood the other layer of meaning in Masaki Hina's words, and her expression became subtle.

"No... you've misunderstood. There's nothing special between us, and besides, there's no way there could be! We're both girls."

Who knows?

She gave a knowing, subtle smile and glanced lightly at Yukina.

"And, Efnir, you should have a little more awareness of how popular you are with girls."

"Why do you seem to be implying something else?"

"Yeah, probably."

Masaki Hina pursed her lips, staring intently at Efnir with an ambiguous expression.

"Speaking of which, I apologize for unilaterally adding someone to 'Third Group' two days ago without consulting you."

"That kind of thing doesn't matter, this is your own department."

"Speaking of which, you do know that person."

"I know them? Who are they?"

"Uzuki Saori".

"Saori?"

Hearing the unexpected name, Efnir was somewhat surprised.

As far as she knew, Saori had had her Agent Beacon confiscated and was imprisoned after the disaster brought by the Angel ended.

"Huh? How could this be...?"

Efnir frowned slightly.

"She's an agent, and a person with a criminal record awaiting 'removal'... Won't there be any problems with doing this?"

"But don't worry, she has a restraint device around her neck, so you don't need to worry about Saori. And... it's precisely because Saori's identity was stripped and she was removed from the Agent System network that I had the opportunity to bring her into the Third Group. But ultimately, Saori's existence is a top secret, known only to members of our Third Group, so don't tell anyone else."

Masaki Hina looked at Efnir with a serious expression.

"Efnir, Saori is now a 'shadow,' lurking in the shadows of the city, unknown to anyone. So no matter what you do with her, no one will know. Her life and death, and everything else, are up to you..."

"Saori ..."

Efnir lowered her gaze.

Efnir struggled to articulate whether her feelings toward Saori were "hatred," "regret," or "guilt," even though the events had nothing to do with Efnir.

But Efnir understands the choice of Saori.

After that incident, Efnir avoided meeting Saori.

"Was it really necessary to go this far? Wouldn't it have been better to just have her retire?"

"No, it was her own choice."

Masaki Hina said.

"She asked me to ask you: if she wants to atone for her past mistakes—would you... give her that chance?"

219, one of three

The night was bright with stars and moon.

When Efnir and Yukina returned home, it was already 11 p. m.

They came back from United Airport.

A lot happened today.

In the afternoon, Efnir and Yukina went to the United Hospital, but unfortunately, Futaba Erii was not there. Efnir then went to Nishizaki Yuki for another full-body checkup, and both she and Yukina had no abnormalities.

Surprisingly, Efnir's right eye showed no signs of deterioration; on the contrary, her light perception had improved even more than the day before, indicating a growing likelihood of a complete recovery.

Before long, Efnir's right eye will be able to see just like her left eye.

The only thing that remains unclear is what "dust" actually is.

After that, at Efnir's request, Yukina stayed there to learn emergency medical skills on the battlefield from Nishizaki Yuki. Kanade Kotone was also there, so Yukina wouldn't feel lonely. Efnir, on the other hand, went to the Special Disaster Division again to find out the results of the interrogation and investigation of Karina and other Apostle -related personnel.

In the evening, I saw Masaki Hina off.

Just an hour ago, Masaki Hina left the city by plane, and many people from headquarters and the Special Disaster Division went to see her off.

Masaki Hina took away an Apostle's Sacred Relic, along with related research materials and information about Apostle and Angel. This was extremely valuable intelligence, so the Human Federation naturally attached great importance to it, and much of the information was classified as confidential.

In other words, the only remaining Sacred Relic in Xijing City is in Efnir's possession, but this has been kept secret by Masaki Hina, and very few people know about it.

The words Masaki Hina said goodbye as she left still seemed to echo in her ears. Efnir sighed softly, pushed open the door, and turned off the entryway light with a click.

"I hope she's doing well in the Central Province."

The bright light reflected off the clean floor.

Efnir was quite unaccustomed to suddenly having a new boss.

"She'll be so happy to know that Naoko misses her..."

"Hmm... I'll go prepare some hot water for you."

Efnir hesitated, sensing that there was something more to Yukina's words.

She changed her shoes and went straight to the bathroom.

The sound of a door closing came from outside.

The weather is gradually getting cooler, and the empty house feels especially chilly.

Since my parents left, the house has become quiet; places where no one lives always bring a sense of desolation.

When you get home, if you're greeted by bright lights that seem out of place at night, and a "Welcome home" is heard, knowing that someone is waiting for you, all the fatigue of the day will vanish.

In the past, when Efnir came home, Yukina would be waiting for her. Although her relationship with Yukina was somewhat delicate at that time, and she rarely heard Yukina say "welcome back," Efnir remembered that Yukina would always stay alone on the sofa in the living room until Efnir returned home before going to her room.

Sometimes when I get home too late, Yukina is already asleep on the sofa, Efnir have to carefully carry her into the bedroom.

That time has unknowingly become a distant memory, and now Yukina is by Efnir's side.

Such a change was something the former Efnir could never have imagined.

Efnir placed her coat beside the sofa, took off her sunglasses, and went to the bathroom to wash her face.

The water temperature is just right.

In the mirror, her right eye still shone with a deep, dark purple hue.

In the middle of the night, Efnir slowly woke up in bed.

Still somewhat dazed, Efnir felt her body aching terribly, and it took her a great deal of effort to roll over and sit up.

She looked around.

Night fell outside the window, and the person beside me was fast asleep, completely naked. On the inner thighs, which were as white as scallion segments, the word "Ephnel" was written in black oily ink.

Similarly, there is a line of "Fifina" under Efnir's leg.

--A signature game where one point is awarded for each time the other person gets an erection, and each point corresponds to drawing a line on the other person's leg.

Whoever finishes writing their code name on the other person's leg first wins.

In terms of the outcome, Efnir won.

Because Fifina has more strokes, a full ten or so, while Ephnel has far fewer, Efnir easily declared victory.

However, precisely because Fifina has so many strokes, Efnir was constantly tormented by Yukina until the very end, resulting in a crushing defeat for Efnir in the "battle for the dignity of the older sister."

In the end, Efnir had pretty much figured out Yukina's little scheme—as the saying goes, "Winning or losing is just the surface; the real issue is the battle between the top and the bottom."

So from beginning to end, Efnir was almost always pinned down by Yukina, and she was not freed until she lost consciousness and fainted.

It's somewhat poignant to think that Yukina's fingers were far more dexterous than they appeared, as if they weren't used for drawing a bow or plucking the string, but rather for playing the zither or painting—long, precise, and powerful.

When Efnir's gaze fell on Yukina's slender, white fingers, she felt a stirring in her heart and her cheeks flushed.

Although she didn't want to admit it, she had actually gotten used to that feeling.

Sensing that Efnir was feeling down, Yukina comforted her in her own way. Yukina could naturally sense Efnir's good intentions, but Efnir hadn't anticipated that she would slip further into the Efnir while indulging in Yukina's presence.

Efnir had to admit that she was falling deeper and deeper into her feelings for Yukina.

With a helpless smile, Efnir picked up the ballpoint pen that was lying on the bedside table, leaned down, and kissed the corner of Yukina's lips.

She tucked the blanket around Yukina, got up, moved off the bed, went to the bathroom to dry herself off, then put on her pajamas, picked up her laptop, and went to the living room.

Efnir gently closed the bedroom door and sat down on the sofa.

She was holding a USB flash drive in her hand.

Those were documents copied from Masaki Hina.

Efnir opened the recording file she had received yesterday, put on her headphones, and carefully listened to the sounds coming through them.

"Fifina-X" appeared most frequently in the recording.

She sang that song too.

But no matter how I listen, "Fifina-X's" voice sounds very similar to Yukina's voice after she enters the Synchronization...

Or rather, they sound like the same person.

Efnir was confident that she could not mistake Yukina's voice, but... in the period between four and two years ago, did Yukina really work as Fifina? Efnir's memory of that time was very clear, and she really couldn't imagine whether there was a gap somewhere.

Efnir frowned deeply.

There must be an error somewhere among the audio recordings, my own memories, and headquarters documents.

Where could it be?

220. Song of Tomorrow (End of Volume)

On the plane from Xijing City United Airport to Central Province --

Aircraft capable of carrying "Shielding Device" and corresponding power supply equipment are almost all modified from military transport aircraft left over from the Old Era.

Masaki Hina sat alone by the window, her pale hand supporting her cheek, her head tilted to the side, her eyes lowered, her curled eyelashes lightly catching the silvery moonlight, her moist eyes reflecting the fleeting clouds and starlight outside the window.

She had been sitting there alone for more than two hours.

The noise emitted by the "Shielding Device" never stops pouring into your ears when it's running, and as soon as you close your eyes, countless annoying thoughts will surface.

There were still so many things to do, but he was transferred at this crucial juncture.

It was just like when she first came to Xijing City a year and a half ago. As a rising commander, Masaki Hina's promotion was unstoppable. She was searching for answers from the perspective of a mountain climber, tirelessly climbing upwards. But the higher she went, the more the thick fog became. Masaki Hina tried to remove the veil of truth, but even though she was only one step away, she was suddenly ordered to be transferred from the Defense Department.

How similar this moment is to that moment!

A sense of powerlessness overwhelmed her.

Masaki Hina sighed softly, leaning against the window, her hair cascading down her cheeks, the nighttime glass reflecting her beautiful profile.

Outside the window at night, only the stars and moon can be seen; the white mist beneath the clouds is nowhere to be seen.

"See you tomorrow~ Goodnight~"

"Good night!"

Herul disappeared into the opposite room, and Anilas returned to her room, turned around, and closed the door.