Chapter 65

Efnir paused, her heart softening as if baked into frozen cream, a sweet, mellow feeling filling her entire being.

She touched her phone screen with her fingertips, and before Efnir could reply, she saw two more messages from Yukina.

("Yukina misses her older sister a little...")

("I want to get out of school early so I can see my sister! I wonder if she wants to see me too?")

"What are you looking at?" At this moment, her mother, Kaoru Yanase, suddenly leaned in, startling Efnir.

"Mom... what are you doing...?"

"I was just curious because you look so happy. Tell me, who's that over there? Your boyfriend? Or... your girlfriend?"

Clearly, Kaoru Yanase had just glanced at the corner of Efnir's phone screen, and her gossip-loving spirit was now ignited.

At this moment, Takuma Yanase, the father who was sitting to the side fiddling with data tables, also looked up and glanced at Efnir, clearly very curious about Efnir's love life.

"Mom~~~~~"

Efnir's face flushed slightly, and she awkwardly pushed away Kaoru Yanase's arm.

"Mom, please don't make wild guesses! I'll tell you all about it later! I definitely won't hide anything!"

"Ee~~~?"

Suddenly, Kaoru Yanase's eyes lit up. She drew out her words, seizing on the loose end in Efnir's sentence, "So, you have it?"

Yes, of course.

But she's your other daughter! If you knew your daughter had been slept with by your other daughter, would you still be able to laugh so happily?!

Efnir was filled with longing.

But Efnir knew she couldn't go against her mother's wishes at this point, so she nodded slightly, indicating her agreement.

"As expected! I knew you weren't telling the truth yesterday!" Kaoru Yanase wasn't angry, but her aura was unusually intimidating. She simply got up from next to Takuma Yanase and sat down next to Efnir: "Quickly, tell me, which young master is it?"

"I've already told you I don't like men..."

"That must be a woman!"

"Mom~~~"

86. Special Disaster Division

Whether it was due to her professional gossip skills or because she was already mentally prepared, Kaoru Yanase didn't seem surprised at all. She continued to ask, "What's her name?"

"I'll tell you the name later..."

"A college classmate?"

"No... I haven't been in contact with my college classmates."

Efnir's first battle was a disastrous one.

She was wounded in that battle. When her classmates found her, she was sitting on the ground, wiping away tears, her body badly injured. It was then that her classmates suddenly realized that she was a girl. After that, she dropped out of university and completely severed ties with those people.

Except for one person, who somehow found Efnir's house after Efnir left university and offered to take care of her.

Of course, Efnir later changed her address and phone number, and never saw the girl again after that.

However, at that time, Yanase's mother had considered leaving her job to return home and take care of Efnir, so she had some impression of that girl and admired her, which is why Yanase's mother asked that question.

"I see..."

Undeterred, Yanase's mother asked again, "Then... how old is she? Is she an adult?"

"Mom... what's the point of asking this...?"

"Got it, you're not an adult yet, right?"

Efnir covered her head.

It was quite some time later when Efnir finally managed to deal with Kaoru Yanase and quietly replied to Yukina's text message.

Efnir spent the entire morning accompanying her parents to collect data. After lunch, Efnir drove to the Special Disaster Division. It was lunch break time, and the front hall of the Special Disaster Division was deserted and very quiet, with only the soldiers on duty standing like straight and strong pine trees in front of their posts.

The Special Disaster Division actually had military roots, which can be seen from the people who work there. For this reason, they are always exceptionally decisive and strict when carrying out missions, with the iron-blooded intensity unique to soldiers.

Similarly, this is one of the reasons why the Special Disaster Division and the Orderkeepers sometimes have difficulty getting along. In terms of their functions, the Orderkeepers is closer to the ruling class, and many government decisions reflect the influence of the Orderkeepers Organization. The Special Disaster Division, on the other hand, is always active on the front lines of disaster response and post-disaster management. Because of their different positions, they have subtle differences in their perspectives on things.

However, the Special Disaster Division treats its agents differently. They are always exceptionally kind to the agents, which is completely different from their attitude towards other departments of the Orderkeepers Organization. This is one of the direct reasons why Efnir is recognized by them.

"Dad, Mom," Efnir stopped the car, looked in the rearview mirror, and asked, "I'm going inside to grab something. I'll be right back. Can you wait for me in the car?"

"It's alright, go ahead, your dad and I will wait for you here."

Kaoru Yanase smiled.

Takuma Yanase, meanwhile, clattered away on the keyboard, offering a brief reply.

Efnir gave a helpless wry smile, left the electronic key inside the car, got out, showed her electronic identification document to the checkpoint, and easily obtained permission to pass.

Upon entering this austere and stern building, Efnir did not linger in the lobby but instead took the elevator with practiced ease to the section chief's office.

However, the section chief was not there; only her secretary was waiting there.

"Huh? Where's your section chief?"

Efnir looked around but didn't see anyone she recognized.

"Miss Efnir, our section chief left here around noon and should still be at the Orderkeeper Headquarters."

The secretary knew Efnir, and answered Efnir's question sincerely.

"At headquarters?"

Efnir found it both funny and absurd.

This section chief and Masaki Hina don't get along. They usually argue when they meet, and occasionally they even "test their skills," which is anything but harmonious.

"If you need to speak with her, I can pass on your message."

"It's nothing important... did she say what she was going to do?"

"She didn't say anything, she just went there immediately after receiving a communication from Commander Masaki."

"I see..."

Efnir nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

Judging from the timing, it's highly likely that the section chief left for the Orderkeeper Headquarters to assist in dealing with Uzuki Saori's situation.

Saori may have betrayed the organization—of course, this is just one of Efnir's guesses, not enough to confirm anything.

Even if they had already obtained that crucial evidence.

However, this matter involves a wide range of issues. As far as Efnir knows, before she became an agent, an agent had defected from the organization and caused great losses to it. This caused a very strong negative impact at the time and also dealt a significant blow to the Orderkeepers Organization.

More importantly, the agent's betrayal is extremely bad news for this crumbling city, and it greatly undermines the credibility of the Orderkeepers Organization. The people have always trusted the agent, and if the agent abandons or even harms them now, the resulting public outcry is predictable.

"By the way, Miss Efnir, the section chief instructed me to hand over the prepared interrogation and investigation materials to you if you arrive."

"Is that so..." Efnir smiled, recalling her phone conversation with the section chief yesterday. "That's quite thoughtful. Then I'll trouble you."

"Then please wait here a moment, Miss Efnir, and I will fetch it for you immediately."

"No need, it should still be over there, right? I'll go with you, I'll check on that guy while I'm at it."

The "over there" refers, of course, to the cells and interrogation rooms where important criminals are held. Of course, the interrogation room of the Special Disaster Division is not an ordinary building, but a separate area of considerable size located underground. People are rarely imprisoned there, and it can be said that the Apostle are one of the very rare "guests" there.

"Then... please follow me."

Efnir followed her secretary in the elevator down to the fifth basement level.

This building was inherited from a former military department and was used specifically to detain and interrogate criminals. However, due to the special nature of the Special Disaster Division, it has rarely seen any "guests" since it was inherited.

"She's right ahead, Miss Efnir. Would you like me to retrieve the live video feed for you?"

"No need, I'll go take a look myself. Just bring me the documents I've prepared."

"Yes!"

The secretary turned and left.

Efnir did not have her secretary accompany her; instead, she strode forward and stopped in front of a prison cell.

The cell has three walls, and the side facing Efnir is separated by a high-strength alloy mesh and high-strength glass. The cell number is marked in one corner.

The Apostle girl was squatting in the corner. When she first met Efnir, she was pale and looked weak, with bruises and scars on her cheeks and arms.

She squatted there motionless, her gaze vacant.

This glass is a specially treated one-way viewing glass, so you cannot see out from the inside.

Efnir took the walkie-talkie, glanced at the girl's name written next to the number, and softly read, "Sakurai Sachi."

The Apostle girl inside remained expressionless and motionless.

Efnir had been intently watching the Apostle girl's expressions, but she couldn't discern anything. The girl was curled up in the corner like a puppet, as if she hadn't heard anything.

At this moment, the secretary came to Efnir's side with a USB drive. Seeing that Efnir was trying to talk to the girl inside, she explained:

"Miss Efnir, I'm very sorry, but she has just undergone interrogation involving injections and is probably unable to provide any feedback to the outside world at the moment..."

"Is that so..."

In fact, Efnir had already noticed something when she saw the girl's blank stare.

She had originally intended to test whether this Apostle girl named Sakurai Sachi knew about Uzuki Saori, but now it seemed there was no possibility of continuing the conversation.

Efnir, with a hint of regret, reached out and took the USB drive from her secretary.

"I'll come again next time..."

After saying that, she prepared to leave, but then Efnir suddenly remembered something and asked her secretary, "By the way, has your section chief received any instructions from the Joint Forces?"

"The other side of the alliance?"

The secretary shook her head, bewildered.

"I'm very sorry, Miss Efnir, I'm not entirely sure about this. Would you like me to ask the section chief for you?"

"No need, I'll ask her in person next time. Anyway, thanks, see you next time, bye-bye."

Efnir smiled faintly, waved, and left.

87. Interactions

Good morning, Kanade- kun~

"Good morning, Yotsuya ~"

After greeting the classmate next to her, Kanade Kotone carefully supported her fractured arm and sat down at the desk.

My arm is recovering quite well after going to the hospital yesterday.

Although she was very concerned about Yukina's strangely large power, Kanade Kotone did not blame her friend for Yukina injuring her.

At this time, there were not many students in the classroom, and only a few students in the corridor. Because of her arm injury, she was worried that it would cause some inconvenience and delay her time, so Kanade Kotone arrived at the classroom much earlier than usual today.

She shifted her gaze; the seat beside her was still empty.

That was her friend Shiomi Yukina's desk. In Kanade Kotone's memory, Shiomi Yukina always arrived at school very early, but she was a little late today for some reason.

When she received the call, Shiomi Yukina had just left the house.

Even top students are just ordinary people, and occasionally they will be delayed by various things. Kanade Kotone didn't care too much about this.