Sky Striker Ace, but Symphogear

Ever since that operation ended, aside from the work she had already agreed to do, she spent most of her free time trying to investigate Raye's past through various channels.

This was no easy task. She had to extract and organize information from countless redundant, false, useless, and repeated sources, then make guesses and deductions based on what she had extracted.

And among all those difficulties, the greatest was the interference caused by certain particularly distinctive pieces of useless information gathered during the search.

Those particularly distinctive pieces of useless information used all kinds of shamelessly eye-catching words and images to launch fierce assaults on Chris's physical indicators and mental state, severely affecting the progress of her investigation.

Although Chris had used tremendous willpower to lock that useless information away in a hidden partition on her computer to prevent interference, her strength alone was ultimately a drop in the ocean. Throughout her continued investigation, newly appearing useless information kept distracting her again and again, constantly delaying her work.

As a result, a whole week passed before she had more or less gathered all the publicly accessible information, though she had become increasingly experienced at appreciating useless information.

"Ahem. Now that I've investigated it, what I know is that most of those creations are baseless, terrible fantasies. The real Raye's figure isn't like that at all... Ah, no. Ugh."

Looking at the image open on her screen, Chris shook her flushed face, trying to fling the inexplicable garbage information that had surfaced in her mind off somewhere far away and get her thoughts back on track.

"Chris, are you awake? ...Hm, what are you doing, Chris? Training your neck muscles, or soothing your nerves?"

Just as Chris was recovering herself, Raye happened to push open the door. Looking at the white-haired girl with her face bright red, she asked in a puzzled tone.

"N-Nothing. Nothing happened. It has absolutely nothing to do with you, Raye. And isn't it still before breakfast? Why did you come in without knocking?"

The moment she heard Raye's voice, Chris immediately stopped all unnecessary movements and sprang to her feet in a panic, blocking the doorway's line of sight to her computer screen.

"...I need something from you. I have some work that I need you to do, Chris."

Looking at Chris's rather unnatural expression, Raye fell silent for a moment. Then, before Chris could hold out any longer, she explained why she had come.

"Work? New work? Now?"

Chris asked, nervously shifting her body to make sure no one could peek at her private matters.

"Yes, work that needs to be done quickly. So today, Chris, you don't need to do any other work. Finish what I give you in a moment first."

Not paying attention to Chris's strange behavior, Raye spoke calmly as she looked at the flickering screen.

"Ah, I understand. Just give me the assignment, and I'll do it. So, um... if you don't have anything else, Raye, you can leave first."

Chris immediately accepted and promised this. Refusing any work Raye assigned would be useless anyway. Rather than asking more questions and increasing the risk, she might as well agree directly and get the other girl to leave as soon as possible.

"Is that so? All right, then. I've recorded the details of the job on this USB drive. The suitcase contains the tools you'll need. The instructions are on the drive too. Chris, you should be able to use them after taking a look."

At Chris's slightly flustered request, Raye directly took out a USB drive and a large suitcase and handed them over.

"Okay, okay. I understand, I understand."

Snatching the USB drive and suitcase from Raye's hands with incredible speed, Chris Yukine said breathlessly.

"..."

Seeing Chris in such a panicked state, Raye fell silent for a moment.

"What is it, Raye? Do you have something else to say?"

Chris put on a show of calmness.

"Chris, you know that the defenses of this base are all handled by me, right?"

In response, Raye merely held her forehead with one hand and spoke to Chris in a helpless tone.

"Yeah. What about it?"

Chris did not understand why Raye was bringing this up now.

"Then why did you think online security wasn't part of the defenses I handle? You do know that information security is important, don't you?"

Looking at Chris, who still seemed not to understand, Raye stressed the point.

"..."

For a moment, the atmosphere between them froze. At Raye's reminder, Chris suddenly realized a fact she had never considered before—one that could be very bad for her.

"Wait, it's not what you think! I was just gathering information, not doing what you think. I would never do something that awful."

Either erupt in silence or perish in silence. Although her reputation with Raye might already have gone completely off the rails, Chris still wanted to do everything she could to keep it from getting any worse.

"Chris, you don't need to say more. I only wanted to remind you to take care of your body and exercise restraint. I don't want you to lose a fight because of physical problems when you're needed in battle. Other than that, you don't need to promise me anything."

Raye merely shook her head without any visible emotional change and said this.

"Mm, that's all?"

Seeing that Raye truly did not seem to care, Chris gradually calmed down.

"That's all. Ultimately, Chris, you don't need to be responsible to me for anything. I'm only reminding you because of work-related concerns."

"So, Chris, hurry up and get to work. And after you're done, don't do anything that damages your body again."

Raye said this, then turned around, preparing to leave.

"I already said I wasn't doing that!"

Chris shouted back at Raye's emphasis, her face completely red.

"Mm, I understand. And hurry up and get started."

Raye replied, then left Chris's room and casually shut the door behind her.

P.S. Good night.

Preparations on Both Sides

"Why exactly did she become like this? I still can't figure it out."

Looking at the now-closed door, Chris could not help thinking.

Although she had investigated, she could only look into surface-level phenomena in the end. She always felt that she had missed some crucial information, making it impossible to infer the truth.

"Whew. Still, thanks to her, I was a little sleepy before, but now I'm completely awake."

Chris rubbed her eyes, completely dispelling the last traces of drowsiness and waking herself up.

"Then let me first see what work Raye arranged for me. Since she said it needed to be finished early, I need to get moving."

Once awake, Chris shifted her attention to the job.

Partly because Raye had stressed the need to hurry, and partly because she wanted to stop thinking about that embarrassing incident just now.

"Let's see what kind of work requires me to step in and handle it..."

Casually sitting down in her chair, Chris crossed her legs, plugged the USB drive Raye had given her into her computer, and opened the files inside.

Though her sitting posture was far from proper, Chris was not worried about discomfort. The restraint suit Raye had made for her not only kept her warm in winter and cool in summer, but also came equipped with massage and body-support functions.

Whenever Chris felt sore somewhere, a faint vibration would ease her fatigue, while the suit would also support her body perfectly according to her posture.

That was why, despite having slept in her chair all night, Chris could still wake up full of energy without feeling sleepy.

"Mm, mm-hm, mm. Oh, is that it? So she wants me to do this kind of thing."

After spending several minutes roughly reviewing the files' basic contents, Chris found that the actual operation was not difficult. She only needed to place things wrapped in red crystals at certain marked locations.

"It doesn't look difficult. But does something like this really require me? I can clearly do much more impressive work."

Chris thought in dissatisfaction, feeling as though Raye had underestimated her.

According to the files, the overall process was at most somewhat tedious. There was no difficulty whatsoever. Even an idiot could do this job.

"Whatever. Let me see where I need to set things up. Once I finish such a simple job, maybe I can do something else too."

Chris thought. As for what that something else was, naturally, it was the satisfactory date she had made Raye agree to before.

With that thought in mind, Chris opened another file Raye had given her.

"...?"

Then Chris understood that Raye had not treated her like an idiot who could do nothing. But at that moment, Chris would rather Raye really had treated her like an idiot.

After all, being treated like an idiot was still better than being treated like a laborer.

"Th-There are this many places?!"

As countless dizzying 3D model diagrams filled her vision, Chris's formerly confident expression was instantly replaced by utter shock.

Chris finally understood today that if one wanted to turn a simple task into something terrifying, all one needed to do was repeat that simple task an absolutely horrifying number of times.

"D-Don't underestimate me. Such a simple job won't possibly stump me. And Raye... she probably wouldn't give me a task I can't complete."

Looking at the nearly impossible targets displayed on the screen, Chris's hand holding the mouse was already trembling slightly, but she stubbornly refused to shed a tear.

"Let's go. I'll definitely make that girl see me in a new light."

After muttering this to herself, Chris transferred the files to her phone, picked up the somewhat heavy suitcase, left her room, and set foot on a hellish path called work.

[So why did Fine have to be busy and unable to come back at a time like this? Damn it, I really want someone to share this workload.]

However, contrary to what she had said aloud, that did not seem to be what Chris was thinking inside.

"Achoo!"

At the same time, deep within the Second Division headquarters, Ryouko Sakurai, who was organizing Hibiki Tachibana's physical data, let out a small sneeze.

"What is it, Ryouko? Did you catch a cold?"

Beside Ryouko Sakurai, Genjuro Kazanari asked with concern. He was waiting for her report on Hibiki Tachibana's physical condition so he could train Hibiki Tachibana more scientifically.

"It's nothing. Maybe I've just been having a little trouble adjusting to the living environment these past few days. By the way, Genjuro, can we still not go home?"

Ryouko Sakurai replied and asked this question.

Ever since their battle with Raye, the entire Second Division had entered lockdown mode. Entry and exit inspections had become extremely strict, and to reduce the risks of infiltration and intelligence leaks, everyone had accepted that all their food, clothing, housing, and transportation would be handled within headquarters. In other words, they could enter but not leave.

Naturally, Ryouko Sakurai's movements had also been restricted, and she had not returned to her own home for more than a week.

"Sorry, but until we achieve results that satisfy those above us, we must show a sufficiently serious attitude. Only then can we silence the government's objections."

Genjuro Kazanari said helplessly.

"Moreover, including the previous operation, every action Raye has taken against us has shown an abnormal degree of familiarity with our information. Though I don't want to suspect anyone, I can't rule out the possibility that there is a mole among us."

Genjuro Kazanari continued.

"So this strict lockdown is also meant to verify exactly how Raye obtains our intelligence? If the other side fails to obtain information, it proves there is a mole among us. If they still obtain information, it proves they have other means of spying on us."

Listening to Genjuro Kazanari's explanation, Ryouko Sakurai pinched the bridge of her nose and added this with a weary expression.

"That is roughly it. So, sorry, Ryouko. Please endure for a few more days."

Genjuro Kazanari nodded, confirming Ryouko Sakurai's assessment.

"I don't really mind, though the living conditions here are absurdly bad. Still, I can endure it. Here, this is Little Hibiki's physical report for today. Take your time reading it. I need to go get some proper sleep. Yawn—"

As Ryouko Sakurai spoke, she handed the report in her hand to Genjuro Kazanari, then left the room while yawning.

"Thanks for the effort, Ryouko. Now then, Tachibana's physical report... Mm, basically normal, steadily improving? Then let's formulate her training regimen based on that."

After taking Ryouko Sakurai's report, Genjuro Kazanari spoke to her departing back, then began drawing up a training plan to make Hibiki Tachibana stronger based on the physical report Ryouko Sakurai had prepared.

P.S. Good night.

A Short Rest After Work

Work was always both long and brief. Before long, another entire day had passed.

"Whew... I'm exhausted. It feels like my mouth is full of mud."

Late at night, when all was quiet, Chris, wearing the full set of cheap blue work clothes Raye had given her before she left, collapsed onto the sofa with a face covered in dust and exhaustion, complaining in an ungraceful pose.

"That is only your illusion. The equipment I gave you includes an oxygen tank. If operated correctly, dirt would not enter your mouth."

On the other side, Raye, wearing the same outfit as Chris and currently letting down the hair she had tied up for work before smoothing it out, gave this reply.

"It's just an expression, an expression. Anyway, Raye, does doing this really have any meaning?"

Lazily rolling over on the sofa, Chris half-squinted at Raye and asked.

"I don't know. It certainly has meaning, but whether that meaning can actually be realized depends on the situation at the time. I merely selected a plan with a relatively high chance of success."

Raye replied, then began removing the cheap work clothes she had purchased beforehand, revealing the underlayer beneath.

"Ah, is that so... Forget it. You probably know what you're doing, Raye, so I won't worry about it."

Faced with Raye's lengthy explanation, Chris selectively ignored it. Raye always found a way to solve problems anyway, so voicing her own opinion on such matters would only waste time.

"More importantly, Raye, can I take a day off tomorrow? After working all day today, I feel like my legs are about to give out."

Chris pushed herself up, sat upright, planted her legs on the floor, and gripped them as she asked Raye.

"Of course. Today's abnormal workload was only a helpless measure in an emergency. Forcing someone to continue their usual work after severe overtime is unreasonable in itself."