"Denji, what are you looking at?"
"N-nothing. Bye, Himeno." Denji hurriedly averted his gaze and spoke in a fluster.
"Make sure you listen to your master when you get there. Don't hold him back."
"Don't worry. There's no way I'd hold him back," Denji protested.
"All right, it's not like we're never coming back. Miss Makima, Himeno, we're off."
Sword stood inside the vehicle and waved to everyone.
Then he told Peter to drive.
And so, under the Fourth Division's watchful eyes, the minibus drove farther and farther away.
"Sigh... Aki, now that Denji and Meng Fan are gone, it's just the two of us."
Himeno patted Aki Hayakawa on the shoulder helplessly.
Everyone headed back into the Public Safety Bureau to visit Power.
Inside the minibus.
Meng Fan gazed out the window, enjoying the passing scenery.
Meanwhile, Denji kept committing Makima's most prominent features to memory.
"When we get to Nara Prefecture, you'd better behave. You're rookies, after all, so you need to follow our arrangements."
Sword, a hulking man whose arms were thicker than Meng Fan's thighs, stood beside them as he spoke.
He looked ready to put the two of them through some serious training.
"We're only here to help. We're not your subordinates. If you don't give us good food and drinks, I'm going straight home."
Without a hint of fear in his voice, Meng Fan immediately took the wind out of Sword's sails.
Seeing that Meng Fan wasn't easy to handle, Sword said nothing more and returned to his seat.
Just then, Tenten turned around from the seat ahead, cupped a hand beside her mouth, and whispered, "Sorry. That's just how Sword is. He's not the captain, but he's always acting like one."
"He doesn't mean any harm. He just doesn't want you getting hurt