"That was behavior anyone would find suspicious. She had no authorization, and I have no idea how she managed to reassign all those guards. She never told anyone what she was planning to do either... She's as willful as ever, that girl."
Shinomiyami Nami wore an obviously indescribable expression, let out a long sigh, and muttered a complaint.
"Yukina, did Efnir say anything to you before coming here?"
"I... don't know..."
Yukina shook her head blankly, quickly going over everything Efnir had said to her since the afternoon. But much of it had already become hazy, leaving her unable to make sense of what Efnir was thinking.
She lowered her lashes slightly.
"She... never tells me about her own affairs... This time was the same..."
"I see... That personality of hers really is troublesome."
Shinomiyami Nami pinched the bridge of her nose in distress and took a deep breath.
"So why, exactly...? She was perfectly fine just now, then suddenly did something that would absolutely make people misunderstand. She isn't planning to hold the commander hostage, is she? But could that really work...?"
"My sister would never do something like that!"
Yukina instinctively retorted, only to receive an unreadable look from Shinomiyami Nami.
"Of course... Your sister is a very disciplined and calm person. I do believe she would never do anything impulsive or irrational. But even for your sister, moving through headquarters fully armed without authorization is a serious violation and a dangerous act. Especially in a place like that—if things go badly, she'll immediately be seen as someone with ulterior motives and put in a dangerous situation. This isn't something that can simply be brushed aside. If the soldiers surround her, even an Agent will have trouble getting away... No, more than that, I'm worried about the soldiers' safety. Efnir isn't easy to deal with. If she wants to, no one in this headquarters can stop her right now."
"Huh? My sister..."
"Your sister is very strong. 'The strongest First Seat' isn't just something people say."
Shinomiyami Nami revealed a faint, inscrutable smile.
"Well, anyway, since she's gone this far, I'm afraid she might do something foolish. If it's for your sake, I don't think it's beyond her."
"..."
Yukina fell silent.
There was no need to deliberately guess what Shinomiyami Nami meant.
It had been the same when they were young. Because Yukina had been bullied, that usually quiet "brother" who never caused trouble had gone and beaten every one of them until they cried, leaving herself with bruises all over. To buy Yukina that limited-edition collectible card, that honor student brother who had never skipped class had skipped school for the first time.
She talked back for Yukina, lied for Yukina—before Yukina, that brother who had seemed incapable of doing such things would do anything.
"Well... Even so, if this was something she did after serious consideration, then she must have her own reasons. No matter what, as her operations officer and adjutant, I'll stand by your sister's side. So you can trust me."
At that moment, the elevator doors opened.
The temporary central command tower was on the lowest floor. This was also the nerve center of the entire Orderkeeper Headquarters.
Shinomiyami Nami quickly pressed the buttons for the other floors, then pulled Yukina away at a brisk pace.
"This isn't an emergency elevator, but just in case, if something really happens, it should at least buy us some time. Anyway, this happened suddenly. I overstepped my authority and intercepted the order on my own, so the matter hasn't spread through headquarters yet. We still have time. Let's get there quickly..."
Masaki Hina
The two broke into a quick, short-stepped run. As they rounded a corner, they spotted a male guard standing at the entrance to the corridor in the distance, straight as a pine.
"Looks like we made it."
Shinomiyami Nami finally let out a small breath of relief and led Yukina over.
"State your identity."
"Here is my electronic card."
"Please come over here for verification."
Yukina quietly followed, her eyes fixed on the pistol at the man's waist.
"Yukina, come with me."
Shinomiyami Nami passed the identity check with ease and led Yukina inside.
"Does it bother you? That people are carrying guns in a place like this?"
Yukina nodded honestly.
"Well... that's the nature of our work... Compared to the guards you just saw, even the soldiers at headquarters are equipped with them."
Shinomiyami Nami stared straight ahead and spoke gravely.
"I'm worried your sister might do something foolish. A narrow place like this puts her at a disadvantage, and it would be bad if she came into conflict with the soldiers. Luckily, it doesn't look like things have progressed that far. And besides..."
Shinomiyami Nami raised a finger and tapped the earpiece beside her cheek.
"I have people over here keeping an eye on things for me too. So far, it should be alright."
Yukina lowered her gaze.
"There are soldiers here too... In a situation like this, no one even knows what's going on. But if my sister does something dangerous, even if she's an Agent, would those soldiers shoot her?"
"They would."
"Even against an Agent who has always fought on the front lines... they would go that far..."
Yukina murmured, strange thoughts churning in her heart.
If someone disobeyed orders and acted on their own in a way that harmed the group, they would be punished.
There was nothing unreasonable about that.
But... according to Shinomiyami Nami, something seemed different.
If there was a distinction in the pattern and purpose of such actions, then punishment as Yukina understood it was generally a reckoning after something had happened. But the soldiers Shinomiyami Nami spoke of seemed more like a precaution before some accident could occur.
That subtle difference bothered Yukina.
Shinomiyami Nami glanced at her.
"Actually, something like that happened before... In the end, it caused very serious casualties. It isn't a matter we can afford not to take seriously."
"Before?"
Yukina raised her eyes in disbelief and met Shinomiyami Nami's gaze. Shinomiyami Nami was looking ahead, and Yukina could not make out her expression.
Shinomiyami Nami continued.
"Even Agents are people... And since they're people, anything is possible, isn't it? It's rare, but there have been Agents who eventually became enemies of the organization for various reasons. As far as I know, even before the existence of Agents became widely known to the public, there was an incident where an Agent attacked the organization. After that, the Agent escaped. The seniors said she fled Beyond the Boundary, but there has never been any conclusion on whether she's still alive... Well, sorry. I ended up telling you something completely unrelated."
Shinomiyami Nami pressed her lips together worriedly before continuing.
"But precisely because of that, your sister's actions could easily strike a sensitive nerve within this organization. That's why I'm so worried... If something happens, Yukina, you absolutely must talk your sister down..."
"Me...?"
"That's also why I brought you here. If it's you, there definitely won't be a problem."
Shinomiyami Nami nodded with certainty.
The two continued onward. Then Shinomiyami Nami suddenly stopped.
"Efnir appeared? What about the commander?"
She urgently asked into her earpiece. Before long, her brow gradually relaxed.
"The commander is alright..."
Hearing that, Yukina also breathed a sigh of relief.
"A false alarm... Thank goodness."
"I came here to confirm a few things with you."
Efnir's voice was quiet, yet it echoed through the silent room.
She looked at the girl sitting behind the desk before her.
"Do you take me for an idiot? You're obviously here to fight, aren't you!? Your killing intent is practically leaking out, hey!!"
Cold sweat slid down the girl's cheeks. Though she still sat upright in her chair, wearing the same pleasant smile as always, she could not stop herself from leaning as far back as possible, as if some flood beast stood before her.
Before her stood Efnir, radiating a stern and commanding presence.
"Ah—I get it. Since you've only just been discharged from the hospital, you probably want to stretch your muscles now and then. I understand. If you want a sparring match, I wouldn't be against it."
"Hey! You're serious!?"
Her eyes kept darting toward the silver spear in Efnir's hand, while the smile on her face became incredibly stiff.
The girl wore a crisp gray military uniform. Beneath her cap, long black hair draped over her shoulders. From her profile to her neck, the exposed skin was smooth and pale as fresh snow. Judging by her appearance, she looked about as old as a student who had just entered university, and her height was difficult to comment on. Because of that, while she could look imposing when serious, whenever she smiled, she gave off an innate cuteness that did not suit her position at all. It did not waste her gentle, pretty face in the slightest. She was the complete opposite extreme from Efnir's cold, expressionless face.
—But in reality, that appearance was a very serious deception, because she was actually about to cross the threshold into her thirties.
And though her body looked quite slender, she was in fact a formidable combat and tactics expert, without question.
She was Masaki Hina, the commander of the command division at Xijing City's Orderkeeper Headquarters.
At that moment, Masaki Hina looked like a startled cat—terrified but unwilling to show weakness. She shrank her neck back tremblingly, carefully peeking at Efnir while baring her canine teeth as if in defiance.
"Let me make this clear in advance: I will—abso—lutely not accept your challenge! Besides, my injuries haven't healed yet. You can't take advantage of someone's condition!"
Masaki Hina raised her bandaged left hand, symbolically using it as a white flag.
Just as she said, she had been injured during the previous attack on headquarters. Her body was still far from recovered, and she had only barely returned to her post.
"Then you can once you've recovered?"
Masaki Hina shrank back again and hurriedly shook her head.
"Not even then!"
"Not even if we put something on the line?"
"Mm..."
At that, Masaki Hina immediately hesitated.
Incidentally, Masaki Hina loved gambling. If not for the fact that, as commander, she had very little free time to spend as she pleased, she would undoubtedly have spent every day in casinos at high intensity.
"Alright, enough nonsense. I'm here to discuss something serious."
Efnir tugged at the corner of her mouth coldly and let out a somewhat helpless breath.
Contrary to her appearance, Masaki Hina was normally a very serious and conscientious person. But whenever she spoke alone with Efnir, she became fond of joking around, making Efnir feel that she was extremely unreliable.
Efnir had more or less grown used to that, but every time she faced Masaki Hina, she still found it hard to resist the urge to give up on verbal communication altogether.
Yet perhaps Masaki Hina's "strategy" was truly effective. The murky anger that had accumulated in Efnir's heart when she arrived had already faded considerably.
Or perhaps her nerves had simply been worn down, so naturally her anger had weakened too.
Efnir withdrew her spear and released Exile Form, and Yanase Naoto appeared before Masaki Hina.
Masaki Hina also seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, casually straightening her posture.
"Go ahead. I'm in serious mode now. I'm not joking with you anymore."
"When you say that, it sounds more like a joke—"
"Hey, what kind of attitude is that!? I'm trying hard to cooperate with you here."
"Do you want to spar?"
"No, absolutely not that."
Masaki Hina denied it flatly, her sincere gaze making it seem as though everything she had just said had been a lie.
Efnir stopped paying attention to her and sat down in a chair nearby.
"I'll be direct. I came to see you about that so-called Apostle. I already asked Canary to send back the relevant records. You should have read them long ago, right?"
Suspicion
Before you continue