Chapter 70

After saying that, she hung up the phone, then bent down slightly, pushed off with her feet, and charged towards the helicopter without any regard for anything else.

She... was planning to jump.

Her position was only about 20 meters horizontally from the plane and no more than 5 meters vertically. With Yukina's current physical condition, theoretically she could indeed do it.

However, the dangers involved are self-evident.

If Yukina hadn't properly judged the distance and direction, then all that awaited her was a fall from the hotel rooftop, or being struck by the rapidly spinning propeller, and then...

Yukina is just an untrained quasi-agent; no one knows how far she can go.

Efnir realized Yukina's intentions and turned pale.

"Yukina! Don't come any closer! It's dangerous!"

"Stabilize!"

Efnir hurriedly called out to the driver.

"I am doing..."

Yukina had reached the edge of the top floor, and she looked directly at Efnir, meeting Efnir gaze.

She leaped up suddenly, her hair and skirt fluttering in the night air.

"Yukina!!"

With a shout, without thinking, Efnir snapped the strap and jumped off the plane towards Yukina.

"Miss Efnir!!"

The man in black on the helicopter was stunned.

In mid-air, Efnir and Yukina reached out their hands to each other, but their fingertips only touched for a moment before slipping apart.

--Yukina jumped not high enough.

"Elder sister..."

"Yukina!"

Efnir screamed Yukina's name with all her might, her clothes instantly enveloped in a silver halo as she entered into Synchronization.

A halo appeared beneath her feet, and Efnir looked like a bat hanging upside down in the night. She bent down slightly, used the "Stairway" for leverage, and swiftly flew towards Yukina, catching Yukina's hand that had just slipped away.

"Naoko..."

Efnir pulled Yukina into a tight embrace, using the "Stairway" for leverage, and then grabbed the rope thrown down by the man in black.

"You're being too reckless!"

Efnir yelled at Yukina.

Her face looked terrible. She took a deep breath; cold sweat covered her vest, and her heart pounded in her chest.

To be honest, Efnir was really angry.

But in her arms, Yukina just smiled at her adoringly.

At this moment, Efnir was in Exile Form, looking like a silver-haired girl who was a head shorter than Yukina. Even when she was angry, she didn't seem particularly intimidating.

"Naoko, I knew it."

"You do not know!"

"I'm really angry!" Efnir shouted loudly and forcefully.

"Hmm..."

Although Efnir's voice sounded really sweet and coquettish at this moment, Yukina could still sense the anger in Efnir's tone.

"I'm so sorry... Naoko, I promise I won't do it again, I was wrong..." she pleaded, lowering her stance. "I'll make it up to you..."

As she spoke, she wrapped her arms around Efnir's neck, looked at the silver-haired man in front of her, and made a move to kiss him.

However, this time Efnir dodged by turning her head slightly.

"Three days."

Efnir gritted her teeth and breathed heavily.

"Don't touch me for three days!"

"Sister~ I'm so sorry..."

"Get away from me!"

Efnir ruthlessly slapped away the hands that were about to hang around her neck.

Sitting opposite the sisters was a man dressed in black.

He watched the performance between the two people in front of him, his face showing embarrassment.

Although he had heard long ago that Efnir had a younger sister in high school and that Efnir loved her very much, he never expected that this younger sister would be so fierce.

If Efnir hadn't saved her, she would undoubtedly be dead.

These two sisters, one is the most powerful chief among the agents, and the other is the hidden "Absolute Compatible Candidate," and their personalities are... indescribable.

I must say, they really are a family.

"No... Sister... I was wrong..."

A soft apology came from Yukina's ear. Yukina pitifully rubbed against Efnir's shoulder, but Efnir remained unmoved.

His dim gaze was fixed on the view outside the window.

The city's night view and the starry night sky complement each other beautifully.

But Efnir was in no mood to appreciate it at the moment.

These rays of light, shining from the universe, have undergone countless distortions throughout the vast expanse of spacetime before reaching Earth. When they finally reach people's eyes after White Hole Erosion, they have lost their original brilliance.

The difference is indistinguishable to the naked eye, but research shows that "a portion" of their starlight has been taken away, and they are no longer the same.

Efnir was terrified; she feared the White Hole Erosion might take a part of her.

She took away Yukina's life.

Efnir was really angry, yet she couldn't help feeling sad.

She sighed.

Beep beep--

At that moment, a voice came through the earpiece; it was Masaki Hina contacting them.

94. Uneasy

Masaki Hina's call request was not made through the usual communication network, but rather through a secret communication line.

Because of serious incidents of intelligence leaks and infiltration within the Orderkeepers Organization, Masaki Hina is now using this special communication line to contact Efnir much more frequently than before.

Efnir answered the communication request from Masaki Hina, but the headset was filled with noisy chatter, indicating that Masaki Hina was neither in her office nor at the command post.

But she didn't think too much about it. Although she was still angry, she knew the mission was the mission and she shouldn't let her emotions get in the way. As always, she spoke in a calm voice:

"This is Efnir."

("Efnir, did anything go wrong on your end?")

The voice of Masaki Hina came through the earpiece.

Efnir glanced at Yukina, who was staring at her with wide eyes, and pursed her lips.

"No."

"Efnir said."

If we consider the aerial acrobatics he and his younger sister just performed as not being unexpected...

The thought of this made Efnir angry, but there was nothing Efnir could say at this point. If Yukina insisted on coming along, she would definitely have a hundred ways to make Efnir willingly take her with her.

From Yukina's leap, Efnir had fully understood Yukina's feelings for her.

So Efnir got angry.

Because of Yukina's recklessness, and also because of her own inner turmoil.

From yesterday's "Yukina" confession to her until this afternoon, although the time was short, the relationship between Efnir and Yukina had rapidly heated up. The happiness born from this soft and warm love suppressed the vague unease that was vaguely emerging in Efnir's heart, numbing Efnir heart.

Love is indeed more intoxicating than alcohol; even Efnir was so captivated by it that she almost forgot her mission.

This mission, however, ruthlessly pulled Efnir back to reality, making her realize once again that she could not spend her life with Yukina in a carefree existence. She was an agent, and it wouldn't be surprising if she died at any time. She had long been mentally prepared for this.

But all of this was just Efnir's one-sided realization; what did it mean for Yukina?

That's too cruel.

For Yukina, the relationship between them was unfair.

Efnir could understand Yukina's relentless desire to catch up, so... in the end Efnir compromised. She could have knocked Yukina unconscious and sent her away, but she didn't.

She could find no answer.

("Very well, then, Efnir, there's something I need to tell you first.")

Masaki Hina's voice pulled Efnir back to reality. She sighed softly and returned to the mission.

"What's the matter?"

("Well, to make a long story short, I'm calling to remind you not to rush into battle if a fight breaks out later.")

"Why don't you want me to participate in the war?"

Upon hearing Masaki Hina's words, Efnir asked a question.

The sole purpose of the Agent since its inception has been to fight, eliminate the Erosion Entity, protect the peace of the city, receive mission notifications, and then go into battle—this is simply the life trajectory that Efnir has long been accustomed to.

But Masaki Hina seems to have other plans this time.

Efnir frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and asked, "I haven't received any reports of the Erosion Disaster... Does that mean the mission is unrelated to the Corruption?"

("I can't be sure, but it's possible.")

Masaki Hina said.

"Not sure?" Efnir asked doubtfully. "What does that mean? Was the detection inaccurate?"

("That's not the reason. To be precise, we haven't detected any very obvious signs of the Erosion Entity yet. The reason I'm not letting you join the battle is that this mission isn't necessarily a battlefield for agents.")

Masaki Hina's voice, mixed with some kind of static, came through the earpiece.

"The initial target of this mission is identified as an armed group possessing lethal firearms. Therefore, this operation will be temporarily led by the Special Disaster Management Division, with Section Chief Fushihara Ayaka in overall command. We, the Orderkeepers, are an unofficial operations team on standby as support in case of an 'accident,' or rather, we are there as a safety net and a backup plan. If there is no need to use us, that would undoubtedly be the luckiest outcome. However, we don't know if such a stroke of luck will actually happen, so don't let your guard down. In short, do not act without authorization before the Special Disaster Division issues the signal; that is not your battlefield."

"Armed militants...? I've heard that some unruly criminals have appeared in some urban areas recently. Could it be these people?"

("If it were that simple, I wouldn't have called you over. I could have taken care of those guys by myself.")

"Can I find out what happened?"

("Yes, we've obtained some information... In short—we've found Nishizaki Yuki.")

"Yuki!?" Hearing her friend's name again, Efnir asked worriedly, "Where is she? Is she alright?"

("I cannot reveal the details here, Efnir. This is why I am using secret communications to contact you.")

Instead of answering Efnir's question, Masaki Hina changed the subject.

("I know you have many questions, but you should be able to find out soon. Also, someone will tell you the specific arrangements for this operation. Okay, that's all I have to say. That's all for now. Remember, do not go into battle without authorization. Wait for instructions...")

"Please wait a moment, I have something to report."

("What's wrong?")

"I need to add one more combat personnel slot."

("Hmm? That's rare, but no problem. And... you can just ask Shinomiyami Nami to do this kind of small thing.")