Miyabi's Gone (April Fool's Day Is Still a Holiday. Here's a Bonus Chapter)

"Section Chief, have some melon—!"

"Section Chief, someone's looking to spar with you—!"

"Miyabi's gone! Where are you, my section chief?!"

On a street somewhere in New Eridu, Tsukishiro Yanagi threw back her head and called out, a hint of despair in her voice.

The reason she was acting like this was that an important meeting was about to begin.

Yet Hoshimi Miyabi, the chief of Hollow Special Operations Section 6, had vanished again.

As the deputy chief, Tsukishiro Yanagi could only search the streets for her. Wait, why had she said "again"?

A breeze brushed past, lifting her long pink hair. Her uniform outlined her alluring, sexy curves, while the flowers lining the street seemed to bloom especially brightly to complement her gentle coloring.

But Tsukishiro Yanagi had no mood to admire the scenery. She kept sighing, "Sigh—my section chief, where on earth did you go?!"

She could practically be called the nanny of Hollow Special Operations Section 6.

Section Chief Hoshimi Miyabi occasionally engaged in bizarre training such as "refusing to attend morning meetings."

Member Harumasa devoted himself to asking for leave and slacking off every day.

Member Soukaku was a young Oni Clan girl, and Yanagi was her temporary guardian—a parent in every sense of the word.

Tsukishiro Yanagi adjusted the glasses that were about to slide off her nose. Her anxiety had already muddled her thoughts.

She even began wondering whether her target might be inside a trash can.

The trash can she spotted belonged to Cunning Hares. But Tsukishiro Yanagi failed to notice that. As if possessed, she lifted the lid.

"Meow—!!!"

A black shadow suddenly sprang out of the trash can.

It was Nekomata. She had been sleeping inside when someone abruptly lifted the roof off her home, and the Cat Thiren's startled reflex sent her shooting out.

"Ah—!"

Tsukishiro Yanagi recoiled in fright. As she stumbled backward, her glasses slipped from the bridge of her nose—

Crack.

She stepped on them and crushed them to pieces.

"No—!! My glasses—!!"

Tsukishiro Yanagi crouched to pick up the fragments, but there was no saving them. She froze in place, her pupils unfocused, as though her soul had been sucked away.

She was severely nearsighted. Without her glasses, she couldn't distinguish men from women within five meters, or people from animals within three.

Combined with her already chaotic state of mind, she was completely at a loss, confused and helpless.

In her panic, she pushed open the door to Cunning Hares. Tsukishiro Yanagi squinted and observed for quite a while.

There seemed to be someone inside whom she was looking for!

Green clothing, an expressionless face, a sword as a weapon, and a little robotic at first glance... weren't those Hoshimi Miyabi's exact traits?

"Section Chief!" Tsukishiro Yanagi grabbed the target's hand and said excitedly, "Why are you here?! The meeting is about to start! Come back with me!"

"Hey, Robot Fox, isn't that your coworker?"

Inside Cunning Hares, Nicole played with a sword as she asked.

On the sofa, a plate of sliced melon sat on the coffee table in front of Hoshimi Miyabi.

Expressionlessly, she picked up a slice, took a bite, then picked up another.

"Yanagi probably mistook someone else for me," Hoshimi Miyabi said calmly, as though none of this had anything to do with her.

Nicole rolled her eyes and lowered her head to examine the sword in her hand. "By the way, how much did you spend to redeem this Demon Blade last time?"

Outside the window, Tsukishiro Yanagi dragged Anby farther and farther away.

Anby did not struggle and quietly allowed herself to be pulled along. Since Nicole had not stopped her, there was probably a reason for this woman to act that way.

Forget it. She would eat a burger first. It was not like anything urgent was happening anyway.

At Hollow Operations Section headquarters, the glasses-less Tsukishiro Yanagi had just dragged Anby into the office.

Harumasa, who had been waiting for a long time, hobbled in on crutches while holding an expired medical report.

"Deputy Chief, while coming to work today, I accidentally got hit by a Bangboo while saving an old lady. This is my diagnosis report. I sprained my right foot, and the doctor said I need to rest for a few days."

"Here," Tsukishiro Yanagi said, opening a drawer and handing Harumasa a sheet of paper.

"Hehe, thank you, Deputy... Huh? This isn't a leave request form?"

Harumasa stared blankly at the words "Wantong Muscle Patch."

"Just put it on." Tsukishiro Yanagi waved him off, signaling for him to stop acting.

"Big Sis Yanagi... I'm so hungry."

With Harumasa's attempt to take leave having failed, the next slacker, Soukaku, made her entrance.

She first approached Tsukishiro Yanagi and coquettishly said, "I want steamed lamb, roast gosling, braised pork, braised duck, soy sauce chicken, cured meat, century eggs, sausage..."

"Here..." Tsukishiro Yanagi took out her phone and handed it to Soukaku. "Search for them online yourself. Looking at the pictures should satisfy your cravings."

"...By the way, Big Sis Yanagi, who's this sister behind you?" Having failed to get food through acting cute, Soukaku changed the subject and looked toward the unfamiliar woman.

"That's not Section Chief Miyabi..." Tsukishiro Yanagi put on her spare glasses. When she turned around and saw Anby, she jumped. "Who are you? How did you sneak in here?"

"Didn't the deputy chief bring her in by hand?" Harumasa spoke up from the side, explaining for Anby.

"It's over, it's over! The meeting is about to start! What are we supposed to do now?!"

Watching the time draw closer and closer, Tsukishiro Yanagi paced anxiously in circles. After a long while, she glanced at Anby, gritted her teeth... and came up with a terrible idea.

"Soukaku, bring me the section chief's spare samurai uniform."

"Harumasa, bring me a pair of fox ears and a black wig..."

Harumasa: What about my leave?

Soukaku: What about the food I wanted?

Anby: My burger.

"After the meeting, I'll fulfill every single one of your requests!!!"

Tsukishiro Yanagi made the promise boldly. After all, criticism without punishment was just acting cute, and praise without rewards was just bullshit.

She would deal with getting these people through this first.

Thus, Anby, Harumasa, and Soukaku were drawn into a frantic operation... At ten in the morning, the meeting began on time.

Tsukishiro Yanagi led an "Hoshimi Miyabi" version of Anby into the meeting room.

Anby wore Hoshimi Miyabi's samurai uniform, with a black wig and fox ears perched on her head. Expressionlessly, she sat in the section chief's seat.

"Huh?" someone muttered quietly. "Don't you think Section Chief Miyabi... looks even more vacant today?"

The colleague beside them pushed up their glasses and studied her seriously for two seconds.

"Hasn't Lady Miyabi always been like this?"

"True."

Though whispers spread through the room, no one grew suspicious. After all, Miyabi's nickname, Robot Fox, had deeply taken root in everyone's minds.

Tsukishiro Yanagi delivered the entire report on her behalf. Of course, she had always reported in place of Hoshimi Miyabi, and this time the topic was naturally the disturbances caused by the Dead End Hollow incident.

Thus, as one of those involved, Anby silently witnessed the entire meeting.

At eleven in the morning, after the meeting finally ended, Tsukishiro Yanagi dragged her exhausted body back to the office.

The first thing she saw was Hoshimi Miyabi sitting in her seat, eating a slice of melon in one hand, with a cup of milk tea beside her.

Tsukishiro Yanagi's brain crashed for three seconds.

"...Wait. Section Chief, why are you here?"

"I've always been here?"

Hoshimi Miyabi answered, then picked up another slice of melon and pointed at Anby. "Seeing you have her attend the meeting in my place, I think it's pretty good."

"I think we can do this from now on..."

"Miyabi's gone!!! Section Chief, don't say that! That is absolutely not allowed!!!" Tsukishiro Yanagi refused firmly.