Chapter 72
96. An Unexpected Encounter
Yukina's face was filled with an indescribable sorrow.
"No, don't listen to her nonsense."
Efnir denied it outright, then glared at Fushihara Ayaka. "Tell me, which other sister do I have?"
"Oh, I remember now," Fushihara Ayaka smiled and glanced at Yukina, slowing her pace to walk to Yukina's side. She looked Yukina up and down curiously. "Your name is... Shiomi Yukina, right?"
"That's right."
Efnir didn't hide anything and repeated to Fushihara Ayaka what she had said to Masaki Hina.
"Will she accompany you into battle as the prospective agent codenamed 'Fifina'?" Fushihara Ayaka in thought. "'Fifina' again..."
She looked at Efnir and keenly detected a ripple in Efnir's calm eyes.
"Never mind..." Fushihara Ayaka sighed, then smiled and shook hands with Yukina. "Nice to meet you, Efnir's sister. I am Fushihara Ayaka, your sister's friend and half-comrade-in-arms. Please take care of me."
At Efnir's prompting, Yukina said somewhat awkwardly, "Um... I'm Shiomi Yukina, nice to meet you..."
At this moment, they arrived at the temporary command post, passed through a group of soldiers who were working, Efnir immediately spotted three familiar figures.
"Efnir ~"
"Senior Efnir!"
"Good afternoon, senior!"
They both greeted Efnir.
"Aya, Mahiru, and Sara, good afternoon! What brings you all here!"
Efnir chatted with them briefly and introduced Yukina, which attracted a crowd of onlookers. Yukina greeted them one by one with a reserved demeanor.
Oguri Aya, Ayse, Kiri Mahiru, codenamed Canary, were both agents who fought alongside Efnir three days prior.
The other one, Tachibana Sara, codenamed Elincia, was one of the agents who supported the headquarters in the Erosion Disaster a week ago. She is responsible for the stability of the West District Defense Line and the work of repelling the Erosion Disaster. She is one of the few agents of the Orderkeepers Organization stationed outside with a fixed area of activity. Her Order Weapon are "Sword-and-Shield", namely a one-handed armed sword and a sturdy shield that is more than twenty inches long. She is one of the few agents who can hold weapons or equipment in both hands at the same time.
This time, Tachibana Sara came here because this is the outer perimeter of the West District, which is very close to the Boundary Stele and also close to the Defense Line. This is Tachibana Sara's area of responsibility.
"The five of you will be the agents for this battle. Alright, come with me this way."
Fushihara Ayaka led them to a separate room on the side. As soon as they entered, Efnir saw a figure wearing a white coat.
It was Nishizaki Yuki.
"Yuki!"
"Efnir shouted."
Nishizaki Yuki turned around when she heard Efnir's voice.
"Efnir? You're here too!"
Are you alright?
Efnir quickly approached Nishizaki Yuki's side and then saw her clearly—her forehead was bandaged, her white coat was stained with large patches of blood and dirt, and Nishizaki Yuki was very weak, resting on a makeshift treatment bed.
Just then, another gasp came from behind Efnir.
"Ms. Yanase?"
The voice sounded very familiar. Efnir turned her head and then paused for a moment, slightly startled.
She saw Shiomi Yukina's friend, Kanade Kotone, whom she had briefly spent time with the day before.
"Kanade Kotone? What are you doing here?"
"I..."
Kanade Kotone was holding a basin full of water, staring blankly at Efnir. She opened her mouth as if to explain, but then she saw Yukina next to Efnir and paused again.
"And Yukina? What are you all doing here??"
She was genuinely confused.
I knew long ago that Ms. Yanase was young and rich and probably came from a very unusual family, but I never expected that Ms. Yanase would be involved with the Special Disaster Division.
You see, she had just met those young ladies surrounding Ms. Yanase, and only then did she learn their identities—they were all very powerful agents.
But no matter how you look at it, it seems to revolve around Ms. Yanase...
Yukina was somewhat bewildered to see her friend Kanade Kotone appear before her.
She and Kanade Kotone were very good friends, but this was limited to their "daily life" or "school life." Now, however, she saw her friend in a temporary combat command post filled with a chilling atmosphere, which made Yukina feel a strong sense of separation.
"Kanade- chan, you..." Yukina hesitated before asking, "Didn't you go home after school? Why are you here...?"
Could it be that Kanade, like her older sister, actually has another identity? Is she her friend Kanade Kotone, but actually a special agent of the Special Disaster Division?
That would make sense.
However, Kanade Kotone's answer did not confirm Yukina's guess.
"I didn't go home after school..."
Kanade Kotone glanced at Efnir one moment and then at Yukina the next. Thinking about their relationship and the budding feelings she had for Yanase- san that had been buried before they could even sprout, she became hesitant and stammered. She didn't know how to explain it for a moment, so she truthfully told her what had happened after she left school.
"I bought flowers, and then came to pay my respects to my mother..."
"Huh? A memorial service for Mother... Could it be... those things outside?"
Yukina recalled the desolate cemetery she had seen from the air when she first arrived; it wasn't far from here.
"Um..."
"I'm sorry... I brought up something that upset you. I thought this place was abandoned, so I didn't think of anything else..."
Kanade Kotone smiled uneasily, her eyes unreadable.
"N-It's alright... It's just the truth. As for this place, it is indeed an abandoned site... It's just that for some reason, my mother's grave has never been moved, so..."
As Kanade Kotone and Yukina were talking, she was thinking about Yanase- san and Shiomi Yukina. Suddenly, she asked, "Speaking of which, Shiomi- san... and Yanase- san... why did they come here?"
That's what she really cares about.
During her time there, she learned that this place had become the temporary command center for the Special Disaster Division, which meant that something terrible might happen here in the future.
The television always broadcasts and explains the activities of the Orderkeepers and the Special Disaster Division, but listening to reports of events that happened yesterday or the day before on television from afar is a completely different experience from witnessing the tense and grim atmosphere firsthand.
Moreover, seeing the three agents' appearances before their transformations at such close range made it difficult for Kanade Kotone to remain calm.
But in this place that no ordinary person could possibly go, she met her friend Shiomi Yukina, and her friend's older sister, Yanase, whom she had only met once but who had secretly stirred her heart.
Based on yesterday's events, Kanade Kotone could already guess that Ms. Yanase's identity was definitely not ordinary. Ms. Yanase so wealthy, her looks and figure were beyond question, her speech revealed an extraordinary temperament and confidence, she could freely enter and leave the special ward of the United Hospital, and she had a good relationship with the main person in charge there, Dr. Nishizaki Yuki. If these things were taken individually, Kanade Kotone might not have made any guesses, but if so many things that were impossible to ignore were all concentrated on one person, then this person must be extraordinary.
Upon hearing Kanade Kotone's question, Yukina froze for a moment. She hesitated and looked at Efnir, unsure of how to answer.
She and Efnir were here as agents, as combatants. This involved the Orderkeepers Organization and the Special Disaster Division, as well as the identities of herself and Efnir. She hesitated about how to explain it to her friend.
"We are here on a mission."
Seeing that Yukina was somewhat embarrassed, Efnir let her explain to Kanade Kotone.
"A mission? Huh? You guys are...?" Considering the relationship between Efnir and Nishizaki Yuki, Kanade Kotone had already vaguely guessed what was going on.
"That's right, I'm the agent, codename: Ephnel."
"Ephnel..."
Kanade Kotone paused for a moment, then opened her eyes wide.
"Eh!? E... Ephnel... Could it be that Efnir?!"
Efnir nodded.
"So that's what it was..."
The Kanade Kotone really got to her.
Although she didn't have the same admiration and longing for the magical girl Efnir as Yukina, as the chief agent of Xijing City, she had been exposed to a lot and had some understanding of what Efnir represented.
But...
She looked at Yukina strangely. As far as she knew, wasn't her friend a complete fan of Efnir? So, Yukina was a fan of Yanase- san, and the relationship between the two of them... wasn't that simple. They had already broken through the barrier between sisters and moved into another enviable relationship.
"As for Yukina, she is now a probationary agent, codenamed 'Fifina'."
Efnir seemed to understand Kanade Kotone's thoughts and explained.
"Shiomi- san... is that Fifina???"
Kanade Kotone stared blankly at her friend, completely stunned.
An hour ago, they were still at school, spending their ordinary high school days as ordinary students, gossiping about things they had heard from who-knows-where. But now, the scene before them was completely different from the life they remembered.
"So... Shiomi- san is Fifina... no wonder..."
97. Elincia
Ms. Yanase is Efnir, Shiomi Yukina is Fifina. They are not only sisters but also comrades-in-arms who have gone through thick and thin together. So, it's only natural that Shiomi Yukina would eat Ms. Yanase.
Kanade Kotone sounded somewhat dejected.
Efnir didn't deny Kanade Kotone, "Then please keep this a secret for me."
She had no intention of hiding anything from Kanade Kotone. Kanade Kotone knew that Efnir and Nishizaki Yuki had a good relationship, and she had also seen Efnir appear here with the other three agents and interact with Fushihara Ayaka. Therefore, Efnir's identity was obvious.
In other words, even if Kanade Kotone doesn't realize it now, if she thinks about it later, she will immediately know that Efnir's identity is likely linked to the Orderkeepers or the Special Disaster Division, and that her status is not low.
So, rather than letting the Kanade Kotone and guess, Efnir simply confessed herself.
"I... I will... I won't tell anyone about Yanase- san and Shiomi- san's secret!"
"Alright, let's not dwell on anything else. Now that everyone's here, let's move on to the next step."
At this moment Fushihara Ayaka spoke.
Efnir, Yukina, along with their agents Oguri Aya, Kiri Mahiru, Tachibana Sara, the head of the Special Disaster Division and Commander-in-Chief Fushihara Ayaka, and Nishizaki Yuki —the only people in the temporary command's operations room right now.
This was Yukina's first time attending such an event, and she nervously held onto Efnir's hand. Efnir pulled Yukina to sit down beside her, then looked at Fushihara Ayaka and asked curiously, "Where's your secretary? Didn't she come?"
"I didn't let her come; someone always needs to be there in the rear."
"Actually, you're worried that she'll be in danger here, right?"
Fushihara Ayaka glanced at Efnir, neither denying it nor denying it.
I've met that secretary, Efnir. She's been with Fushihara Ayaka for a long time. She's very capable, and more importantly, she's trustworthy. It's the safest thing to let her be the temporary head of the Special Disaster Division when Fushihara Ayaka isn't there.
"This operation was planned by you and Masaki Hina together, wasn't it?"
"Eh? You know?"
"We agreed yesterday that I would come to see you this afternoon, have you forgotten? Your secretary told me you were at headquarters then."
"I see..."
"Since it was you, not Masaki Hina, who came in the end, it seems you've already discovered the traitors within headquarters?"
"There isn't any particularly strong evidence, but we did find some clues. Masaki Hina is worried about things over there, so I'll reluctantly lend her a hand."
"But is it really necessary for you to be here? This place is very dangerous. Is it really a good idea for a commander like you to come here?"
"I have other missions to attend to... Besides, this enemy may not necessarily be the Erosion Entity. So far, the only reliable intelligence we have is about a few militants. Our Special Disaster Division exists precisely for this purpose, so don't underestimate me."
Efnir nodded and said nothing more.
Everyone else took their seats, except for Nishizaki Yuki, who was in a wheelchair due to her injury and was connected to an earpiece for easier communication.
"It is an honor that you agents of the Orderkeepers have responded to my request and come here. Perhaps you already know that your commander may not be able to take charge of your missions at the moment. So, I will not say any more polite words. From now on, your operations will be temporarily under my command."