Spy Classroom Volume 4

shook her head. “Namely, your marriage registration.”

“No.”

“…Hmpf.”

“After the mission regarding [Shikabane], you have grown astronomically.
Paired with Monika, you two should be able to stand your own against a first-
rate spy. Please, lend everyone your knowledge for the upcoming mission as
well.”

“It is an honor to hear these words from you, Boss…” Grete showed a slight
bow.

Klaus just gave a short ‘Don’t call me Boss’ retort. And then, he directed his
gaze at—

“Tia.”

“Y-Yes, what is it?”

“Since you are feeling off, I doubt anything I say will get to you. However,
there’s one thing I want you to know—You have allies you can rely on.”

“………” Tia had trouble responding.

However, his feelings properly reached him. In the midst of this intimate
atmosphere, Monika let out roaring laughter.

“What is this, some graduation ceremony?”

The other girls followed this, laughing of their own. In reality, it really felt
like they were about to graduate, listening to the final words of their teacher.
Emotions resembling relief and excitement filled their expressions.

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” Klaus didn’t deny it. “You were on a
provisional graduation from your educational facilities, right? Although there
were a lot of problems with each of you, you managed to work together as a
team, so that alone is enough of a graduation level. Let us make the next

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mission your graduation exam. If you succeed during that, you all will be
proper spies.”

“Ohhhh!” The girls raised cheers.

That was a topic which had been at the back of their minds for a while. They
had been branded as drop-outs at their respective educational facilities. Let
alone graduating, they were close to being dropped out. They had been
scouted by Klaus, and overcame countless spy missions, but in their minds,
they were still beginners.

Merely the word ‘Graduation’ was awe-inspiring to them.

“Sorry, but I really don’t care too much.” The only one unfazed was Monika,
as expected. “Can you just ‘surrender’, and not beat around the bush?”

“I figured you would say that.”

“I mean, I was already at the level of a graduate, right? Defeating Klaus-san
means much more than some graduate title, right?”

She didn’t even bother hiding her pride. She must be aching for more, since
she had been pushing the muzzle of her gun against Klaus’ back for a while
now.

“Yeah, I guess it’s time to announce the results this time.”

“Yes, with as loud of a voice as possible.”

“Understood.”

Yet again, Klaus raised his hands towards the sky. Everyone knew, this was
the pose where he would admit his defeat.

“Could you use your words maybe, and not your body?” Monika showed her
white teeth.

“Naturally. By the way—” Klaus opened his mouth. “How long do I have to
play along with this child’s play?”

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Sirens could be heard in the distance. Tia’s eyes shot open, as she confirmed
the situation. Without a doubt, these sirens belonged to a police car. Not to
mention that they were approaching them.

“Police?” Monika clicked her tongue.

“What is going on? I warned that driver to ‘Not report it’, so why…” Grete
muttered.

Tia couldn’t believe it either. Klaus was busy with driving the actual cab the
entire time, he should not have been able to report this. At the same time, the
cab driver was threatened and couldn’t report this either. So, how did the
police get alerted?

“You chose to play with the wrong person. Your aim was great, but you
should have restrained that woman some more. She told me about her
usurpation.”

“—!”

“I threatened her myself. ‘If you want me to hide your theft, report this to the
police’, is what I told her.”

There, Tia realized.

He wrote it on that memo…!

Tia remembered that paper memo Klaus handed to the girl. He must have left
this instruction on there. He expected to be cornered at this very location, and
prepared against that. For her, Klaus is practically a life saver, be it with the
usurpation or the cab incident. That may be why she was swayed by him.

“You best be working on your escape right now. How do you think the police
will judge after seeing this? You’re pointing a gun at a poor citizen of this
state.”

“…If it’s about an actual battle, I will fire right away.”

“Then I will resist, until you get caught by the police.”

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Monika was forced to grit her teeth in the face of Klaus’ declaration. No
matter what, they had to make him say ‘I surrender’, because otherwise—this
would be another loss. However, the sirens were approaching them.

“L-Let’s run away! Temporary retreat!” Lily raised her voice, and ran inside
the thicket.

The other girls followed. Tia watched their backs, when Zibia came in, and
pulled her along with a hasty ‘No spacing out! We gotta hurry!’. Naturally,
there was no need for Tia to run away herself, but she joined in either way.
Lily’s poison had worn off, as matter of fact.

“Oh, right. Tia!” Klaus called out to her. “I’m going to take three days of rest,
preparing for the mission. I won’t be returning to the Kagerou Palace, so take
care of the others.

“G-Got it.”

That must mean that their practice was on ice as well. He was getting serious
for the mission as well, it seemed.

Tia and the others were dashing through the thicket. After running for a
moment, she spotted a vehicle the others must have prepared. According to
Zibia, she had stolen this from a gang, gave it a paint job and some
modifications, and made it into something else entirely, for their own use. It
was a V-type 16 cylinder engine, inside a secondhand car that was made
overseas. The large body of the car, coated with ivory, shone in the light. It
could fit a total of six people, that’s how big it was. After confirming that it
was safe, the girls showed a smile.

“Man, that was really close. Just a bit more, and we would have had him.”
Lily gave her impression, and Zibia followed up.

“Think so? I don’t feel like we closed the distance at all.”

“But, he said we’re on graduate level now!”

“Well, duh…But, it needed all eight of us to even reach him.”

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“We did reach him though!”

“It’s crazy how positive you are, but I guess you’re right this time.”

“Yes. If we manage to clear the mission as everyone, then we will be able to
graduate.”

Tia could only watch that conversation, unable to join in.

“……”

Just as Lily stated, this was a result to celebrate. Even Tia felt that they had
taken the victory for a second there. However—Tia didn’t do anything. She
couldn’t join the rows of the other girls, always walking on ahead.

“Hmm, if we had Tia-chan with us, we might have been able to win for real.”
Lily muttered.

“Eh?” Tia asked, baffled.

“I mean, we lost this time because we didn’t consider the other person to
betray us, right? If we had left this to you, maybe you could have negotiated
it with her, to our benefit.”

“…….”

For a second, Tia felt exhilarated, and happy. However, she forcefully cut off
these emotions right away.

You can’t. Don’t get excited, or you’ll fall even deeper. That operation didn’t
even need me to almost succeed.

Surely, the result wouldn’t have changed. Klaus came up with a
countermeasure, and defeated the girls yet again.

“This time, it was for the best that I didn’t know. If not, Sensei would have
surely found out.”

As if to escape Lily’s words, Tia sat down in the backseat of the car. The

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other girls followed suit, and already started reflecting on what went well,
and what did not. Even after the car started moving, Tia gazed outside the
window, spacing out.

Really, why am I so disheartened all of a sudden…

The passing scenery grew blurred, as she could see her own reflection in the
window. Her expression was riddled with sadness. Everyone else around her
was laughing and smiling, and yet she was the only one—

“Hold on! This car can only fit six people, right? Isn’t this too tight in here?”

There, one of the girls realized. The people inside the car were too many,
which makes sense, as they were eight girls, but the car could only fit six.
The other girls were suffering themselves, raising voices of agony.

“Yeah, it’s too cramped. Drive a bit further, and I’ll get off. I can’t take
this…” Monika said.

“H-Huh? Where’s Annette-senpai?”

“The great me is clinging to the roof!”

“…That’s too dangerous, so come down. Lily-san, could you park the car
further down the road?” Grete advised.

“Eh, I’m not driving? I’m the co-driver here.”

“Elna can barely reach the gas pedal, but she’ll try her best to drive!”

“You’re the one person I definitely don’t want to drive this car!”

Everyone had no idea of Tia’s inner thoughts, and just started screaming.

***

Klaus thought of the girl’s backs as dazzling, as they ran away. He leaned his
back against the toppled-over car, and let out a sigh. This time, their attack
was quite fierce. With the gun and rampaging car, he barely had any time to

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breathe. This time, it got pretty close to Klaus suffering a wound himself.

That could have gotten close…Well, I guess this time was special.

They must have been motivated because of the upcoming mission. Really,
Klaus could only appreciate their motivation. To him, it was quite
unexpected.

With such a terrifying mission up ahead, I figured they’d be more scared of
acting…

Naturally, they couldn’t afford to be running away. Just, there should be
some anxiety mixed in with their determination. However, the girls had even
overcome that.

Must be Lily’s influence.

Her abilities as a spy may be average, but her strong mentality continues to
support the girls. This unbreakable motivation is something only Lily
possesses. That was her greatest asset, not her acting or poison.

—This is the true value of Lily, something the educational facility failed to
see.

To think that giving her the title ‘Leader’ would have this much positive effect
on the team.

He didn’t even dare tell the person in question, but the title of the leader was
given to her on a whim. Tia, Monika, and especially Grete would have been
more fit to carry this role. However, thinking back on it, the way things were
now was probably for the best.

“I’m a bit worried about Tia’s mental state, but I guess I can leave it to
them.”

Lily and the others would surely take care of Tia. From the looks of it, Tia
and Klaus himself were a bad match. Their values of virtue were too
differing. Whenever he would try to console the girl, she immediately seeks
out a sexual relationship, which Klaus could not accept. Tia held the key to

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this mission—and it was the role of the girls to show her this key.

By the time he arrived at this conclusion, the police cars arrived, and a police
officer called out to Klaus.

“Ah, are you the victim of the rampaging cab car?”

“Indeed.” Klaus nodded. “As you can see, I am but a mere innocent citizen.”

“Huh…Well, it must have been scary. I heard that a terrorist organization
attacked. There’s a rumour going around town that you managed to avoid any
damage with your insane driving skill. Just what happened, really?”

“………”

Apparently, that training caused a lot of trouble.

I guess we should try and not bother the other townsfolk during our
training…

They had gone too far, clearly. Klaus had to come up with a way of calming
these rumours.

***

At the same time, the girls were still in the middle of chaos. They managed to
get away Elna from the driver’s seat, had Zibia handle the driving now, and
also pulled Annette inside. Lily had her on her lap, and spoke from the co-
driver’s seat.

“But, I’m looking forward to seeing the Federal State. It makes me feel like
we’re on a mission with the fate of the world on the line!”

“You’re just way too calm about this.” Zibia let out an arrogant snort. “Then
again, I’m a bit scared, but I’m sure everything will work out. I heard their
country is much more developed than ours, right.”

“I wonder if we can go sightseeing after the mission?”

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“Maybe…But, it’d be great if we could. I’d love to see this baseball sport.”
There, Monika threw a question at Zibia, from the backseat.
“Zibia, did you even remember their words?”
“N-Naistuu, M-Mituu…”
“So not at all.”
“Shut it! I know which boat to take there! That’s enough, right?”
“Didn’t we learn that in our first year at the educational facility…” Monika
bit back at Zibia, which resulted in a roaring laughter inside the car.
The other girls followed up with their own desires.
“The great me wants to watch a TV broadcast, and buy some manufactured
goods to take home.”
“I’d like to take a trip to the museums they offer. The metro is pretty
interesting as well.” Monika said, indifferent.
“Elna wants to see the statue of the Goddess! She heard lots about it!”
“I’d love to get some jazz records myself.” Sara said timidly.
“…I would die for a date with the Boss at the music hall.”

Each and every girl had her own plans of what to do after the mission. They
talked about eating delicious hamburgers, what kind of Square was famous,
and sharing tourist spots between the others. Clearly, the mission wasn’t the
only reason they were excited to adventure in that foreign country. Finally,
all the members decided on a vacation after the success of the mission.
“Let’s go to the Federal State!” Lily raised a cheerful voice.
““““““Yeaaaah!””””””

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The other girls joined in. Nobody would argue against them. Not even Tia,
who could only listen to them in silence. She let out a heavy sigh.
…Only I’m at a stand-still.
She couldn’t erase the sensation of being left out. Everyone else was
motivated, and yet she was riddled with anxiety.
“………”
Again and again and again and again…again again again again again again
over and over and over and over and over and over—
‘Tia-san, you are too much of a nobody. Naive, and easy to be led around the
nose.’
She couldn’t erase the smile from her head. These words asked her again and
again.
—What kind of spy should I become?
***
Two weeks later, the members of [Tomoshibi] crossed the large sea, and
arrived at the Federal State of Musaia. In this city of Mitalio—filled with
hope and despair, their decisive battle began.

Intermission: Violet Ant (2)

In the end, ‘the girl’ spoke of no details before they had come to this country.
She narrowed her eyes, like she tried to remember something, but it was
probably only the daily life she would not be able to return to. Murasakiari
observed the other person. In short, she looked much younger than what he

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expected. She had shown excellent spy work here at Mitalio, so he knew that
she was quite cunning.

—Even know, he still did not know ‘her’ name.

But, it didn’t matter. Murasakiari still had time, so he ordered a second coke.
The skilled bartender put an ice pick into the glass, added a cut lemon, and
offered it to Murasakiari. After he took a sip of that, a door could be heard
from the door.

“Come in.” Murasakiari said, only for a naked man wearing a pet collar
around his neck to enter inside.

“………”

The ‘girl’ gave the newcomer a suspicious glance. At the same time,
Murasakiari showed a gentle smile.

“Since you have no intention of talking with me, I thought I might as well be
a gentleman, and break the ice. You must be interested in the reason you lost,
correct?” Murasakiari turned towards the man with the collar, ordering him.
“—>Sit<.”

Hearing this the man showed an expression distorted in agony, and sat on the
floor.

“Let me introduce you, this is my beloved dog.”

“……”

“Five years ago, he was a student at the Mitalio University’s medical facility.
He was a proficient student with remarkable grades. He was even at the top
of his classes, and the club captain of the cricket club. Not to mention his
popularity with women. He spent his days in bliss, looking forward to the
future.”

“………”

“It’s weird, is it not? Why would such a man become a wild brute like this?”

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Murasakiari offered his palm to the bartender, who put a stun gun into a wine
glass, and gave it back to him.

It’s a special object beloved by Murasakiari. By putting energy into it, blue
sparks flew from the top part.

“Let me show you,” Murasakiari announced, and stabbed the stun gun into
the shoulder of this beloved dog.

A scream resounded, sounding like it came from the pits of hell. Murasakiari
did not remove the stun gun for a solid two to three seconds. To the man, it
might have felt like an eternity, when Murasakiari finally erased the energy.

“—>Bow<.” He ordered.

The man let out tears, and started groaning with a hurt ‘…Thank you very
much’.

“———!” The ‘girl’ swallowed her breath.

She apparently had trouble following the situation. Murasakiari saw this, and
laughed.

“Surprising, is it not? The trick is to take it to the utmost level before they
would end up unconscious.”

A stun gun holds enough impact to leave almost anybody unconscious after
mere contact. You’d need to be trained to withstand this for more than two
seconds.

“It’s my talent. I’ve always known how to hurt people enough to install fear
into them. Continuing this for a week, nobody would dare speak against me.
If I ordered him to die, then he would do so.”

“………”

“A promising student like him has become my pet. He threw away family,
love, dreams, future, and offered his existence to me, running around the
world at my orders.”

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Murasakiari called this power [Domination]. He saw it as a gift bestowed
upon him by God himself.
“Those who receive intense pain through my own hands have their brains
restructured. There is no logic behind it. Their instincts are yielding to me. A
student, an assassin, a war veteran, a bank accountant, a voice actress, they
all yield to the King.” Murasakiari said. “Those who protect the life of their
King to the level of sacrificing themselves—are [Worker Ants].”
“……”
“During the day, he works at an average company. However, once night
comes around, he becomes an obeying slave. He’s diligent with his studies,
and can kill without hesitation.”
Many of these [Worker Ants] were located in the city of Mitalio, which acted
as Murasakiari’s playground. Trained killers were mixed in with the innocent
people of this metropole.
“To give you a brief conclusion, your allies have been trampled over by my
[Worker Ants].”
There, he started explaining. About the slaughter the King ordered here at
Mitalio.

1 Yumegatari, hence her codename.

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Chapter 2: Outbreak of War

Car, person, car, building, advertisement, person, person, person, car,
building, car, train, building, person, person, person, car, building, car, car,
car, car, advertisement, trian, train, car, person, person—

Tia had to take a breath. The scenery from the rented flat was too
overwhelming. Around two weeks had passed since they arrived at the
metropole Mitalio of the Federal State of Musaia. Tia’s current job title was
an average company worker of an import furniture sales company. It was a
company located in the Republic of Deen, and she came here as a contact.

Together with Klaus and Grete, their goal of this trip was to find possible
furniture to import, gathering information here in Mitalio—That is their cover
this time. For this, they rented two rooms in this flat. They were stylish rooms
on the 8th floor, possessing a combined living room, bedroom, dining room
and kitchen. This flat also wasn’t too far away from the center of the city
center.

Right below their rooms was the main street, and the ordinary traffic jam was
in its full glory even this morning. Several hundreds of cars filled the stars,
stuffing it, next to gigantic advertisements along the road. There was also a
giant screen with a TV broadcast on it, the news reporter telling of the current
ongoing traffic jams, and how the government is advising people to take the
metro instead.

When Tia raised her head, she saw tall buildings reaching up to the skies
above. The minarets of the Galgado Empire were a sight to behold, but they
couldn’t even hope to compare against this. All around her were buildings
that possessed between 30 and 50 floors. It felt like the world record for the
tallest building in the world would change every two weeks.

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How do I say this, our own home sure feels rural now…

Tia sighed yet again. Something like a traffic jam was unthinkable back at the
Republic of Deen. With no TV broadcast, the best they had were radio
broadcasts. What exactly is a metro anyway? They just started setting up
trains, but in the more rural areas, horse carriage was the norm. Buildings had
ten floors at most as well. Tia went to the entertainment district of the
Republic before, and enjoyed a stay at the giant hotel, but this doesn’t even
compare.

“Tia-san, breakfast has been prepared…” Grete’s voice could be heard
outside the room.

Tia confirmed her own attire and hairstyle one more time, and headed to the
dining room. The juicy scent of sweet jam and toast immediately reached her
nose. Right away, she spotted Grete, who was busy putting the food onto the
serving trolley.

“Thanks, it looks as great as always. But, why are you carrying it over like
this?”

“Well…the Boss promised to have breakfast with us today…so I wanted to
go all out.” Grete finished preparing everything, and started pushing the
serving trolley.

She must be heading off to Klaus’ room next door. The very scenery of this
was truly heartwarming, but there was one aspect that she couldn’t quite
swallow.

“Shares for four people, huh.”

Indeed, Grete had prepared tableware for four. Every toast was prepared
perfectly, except a single one that was slightly scorched on one end. That
might have been a mere coincidence however, so Tia ignored that. Instead,
the both of them headed over to the neighbouring room, and opened the door.
Klaus showed his face right after.

“Good morning. Sorry to have you take care of this.” He faintly apologized,

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and dropped his gaze onto the serving trolley. “Four people, huh.” He
realized right away.

Grete showed an objecting shake of her head.

“…It wasn’t exactly a joyful work to fulfill, however…”

“There’s no need to force yourself. Starting tomorrow, I can make it myself.”

Tia felt like she was watching a newlywed couple, and already felt full
without having taken a single bite. However, an ominous voice interrupted
this soothing atmosphere, as it came from the bedroom.

“Now this smells great. Is it breakfast? Kakaribi, perfect timing, I just felt
hungry myself.”

Klaus narrowed his eyes, and opened the door of the bedroom.

“I don’t remember ever deciding to actually give you food.”

There, Tia saw the body of a tied-up man—[Shikabane], also known as
Roland. Both his arms were restrained behind his back, his body covered
with belts all over. Heavy-looking locks were riddled over this, as the sheer
sight of this resembled torture. Thanks to that however, this first-rate assassin
showed no signs of moving. Instead, he kept seated on the bed, flashing a
light-hearted smile.

“Hey now, don’t be like that. I’m the one providing you with information,
right?”

“Your information is barely worth anything, don’t act like you’re saving my
life.” Klaus gave a light, nonchalant response.

“Can’t you take off all this stuff? I can’t enjoy this toast without my hands
open.”

“………” Klaus put down the plate with toast right in front of Roland. “Eat it
with your mouth.”

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“…Do you know the word prisoner abuse?”

“Do you think a captured spy has any human rights?” Klaus didn’t even
bother arguing with Roland, and moved away from him.

It’s like he didn’t even want to breathe in the same air as Roland.

“…Hey, Sensei, was that really the right idea to take this guy with us?”

“Only he knows what Murasakiari looks like. His use for this mission is too
great to ignore.” He spoke calmly, but sounded disgusted from the bottom of
his heart.

Nobody could blame him, as not a single person who knew of Roland held a
positive impression. He is the man who killed countless politicians and spies
all across the globe. How many lives had been erased by his hands?

Then, Grete grabbed a knife and fork, approaching Roland. With a frozen
expression, she cut up the toast. It was quite the unexpected action for Grete.
However, she fully ignored Roland’s brief ‘Thanks’, and immediately opened
her mouth.

“…Let me ask you a few things.”

Her voice was stiff, and cold. It must be because of her resistance towards
men.

“Hm?”

“…Do you remember Olivia-san?”

Tia knew that name. It was the spy Grete fought against on her past mission.
She was Roland’s pupil, and worked as a maid at an influential politician’s
mansion, assisting spies of the Empire with information.

“Huh? Of course I remember. Roland nodded. “What about her?”

“…Did you love that person?”

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“Of course I did. Just by telling her ‘I love you’, she became my pawn, ready
to offer her life—”

The toast was slapped right into Roland’s face, together with the plate.
Roland’s face was filled with red strawberry jam, dropping down onto his
body.

“Grete.” Klaus spoke up. “Calm down.”

“Yes…I’m terribly sorry…” Grete walked away from the bedroom, and
locked the door. “Tia-san, can’t you read that man’s heart…?” She spoke to
Tia. “Get the information out of him, and drop him into the ocean.”

“Were you always the type to snap this easily!?”

Apparently, Roland had hit a bad spot with Grete. Tia understood why she
felt that way, and sighed.

“I get where you’re coming from, but that’s impossible. I tried it several
times, but he’s too wary of me.” Tia had a certain skill—by looking each
other in the eyes, she could read the heart of the other person.

However, that won’t work too easily with a first-rate spy. She attempted this,
but it always ended in failure. Before she could read anything, the other
person would avert their eyes. His intuition as a spy was probably telling him
to do so.

“It should be fine to ignore him for a while,” said Klaus. “I’ll search for
Murasakiari through a different method. The fact that he is going to be
present at the Tolfa Economy Conference, so I will go through the
participants starting today. I’ll figure out their identity, and restrain them.”
Klaus looked at the two. “I leave the others to you.”

“Understood.”

“Alright…”

Tia and Grete nodded at the same time. The team’s movement was in their
hands now.

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***

They finished their breakfast, and Tia returned to her room. The time spun
around 8am, which meant that more people would be moving around outside.
The car horn sounds even reached up to their floor, signalizing that it was a
spy’s time to work. These past two weeks they had focused mainly on
settling in with this unfamiliar city. They were working as company officials,
walking around various interior shops. From the outside, they should look
like young career-focussed workers, ready to answer any possible police
questioning.

Hence, their intelligence gathering would begin today. Tia put on some black
tea, and sat down at the dining table.

“S-So, Grete, could you sum up the situation for me?”

“Yes, I understand…”

Grete took out all the notes she wrote the information on.

[Name: Mitalio Manhunt Mission

Goal: Seizure of [Murasakiari], and gathering information on [Hebi].

Presumption: [Hebi] will go in contact with important individuals appearing
at the Tolfa Economy Conference, and try to influence it for the benefit of the
Empire.

Means (1): Dispatch the various members of [Tomoshibi] to the influential
politicians, and search for the spies.

Means (2): Question the captured spies, and gain [Murasakiari]’s location
through this.

Supplement: Klaus is acting separately. He is investigating other people on
his list.]

“Thanks. That’s about it, I think.”

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Tia read through all the papers to save the information inside her head, and
burned the papers. She understood what she had to do, and the current
situation as well.

“Well, honestly speaking, there’s barely any information about the other
person. Even the identity is shrouded in mystery.”

“Yes. However, there is one location where we all will gather: The Tolfa
Economy Conference. As long as we go there, we will eventually run into
spies.”

“What do you think the spies of the other countries are doing?”

“I advise we ignore them. The Boss is currently talking with the allied
nations. The Federal State of Musaia, and the other countries, they all are
wary of the Empire…”

Tia nodded. With the Lairat Kingdom, the Fend Federation, the Federal State
of Musaia, the Byumar Kingdom—there would be too many things to worry
about, so they should focus on the Empire only.

“So, the first thing we should check is…” Her words froze up.

Tia had put this situation through a simulation in her head countless times,
but no idea came up. What kind of others should she give her allies, which
had been scattered across this plateau?

Can I really act as the commander?

There are close to a hundred people participating in the conference. Taking
into everybody involved, it’s at least a thousand people. Tia’s duty was to
give order to her allies, finding the gold mines in the midst of these, and
search for information. On top of that, her allies were already stationed at
various places, and some of them aren’t cut out for certain ones. That had to
be taken into consideration as well.

—There’s too much to think about!

Tia held her head. She did not believe she would be able to manage to do

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this.

“…For starters, how about we confirm the situation with everyone?” Grete
offered a helping hand.

“Y-Yes, that sounds good.”

“Should we see if they safely made it to their location before giving
orders…?”

That was perfect logic. Tia felt embarrassed for not coming up with that
himself.

“T-That’s Grete for you. I was just about to—”

“Yes…Then, this will be the schedule for today.”

She had prepared this beforehand from how things seemed, and handed Tia a
memo paper. She had considered bus and metro times, possible traffic jams
on the way, and created a path that would take them to their allies. She really
knew how to be careful, and observe her surroundings.

“Hey, Grete. You were taking command during your previous mission,
right…?”

“Yes, once…”

Together with Lily, Zibia, and Sara, she was on a mission to capture a female
spy. Thanks to her correct judgment and proper guidance, they managed to
succeed even without Klaus’ help.

Honestly, I want her to take over for me…!

Grete was clearly more used to this than Tia herself. She didn’t help in the
slightest with Roland’s capture, always saved by Monika, and even was
laughed at by an enemy spy she saved.

“It will be fine…You will be able to pull it off, Tia-san.”

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She was happy to receive these cheers from Grete, but Tia had no confidence
whatsoever.

For now, I’ll follow Grete’s orders…

She felt pathetic as a commander, but she had no other idea at her disposal.

Both Tia and Grete lied about their age being 23, albeit being only eighteen,
since being known to be underage would prove problematic. They put on
more makeup than usual, wearing a luxurious suit, and walked through the
city of Mitalio. Not only the economy conference was held in this metropole.
Be it business transactions and discussions, political parties, or even secret
meetings relating to military problems, this city had it all. This is why the
meeting hasn’t happened just yet.

And it’s not merely related to politics and economy. In this metropole of
Mitalio, with highly-developed culture and infrastructure, you can even visit
the world’s most advanced fashion show, or a movie festival.

To sum it up, there’s way too many people in this city. You basically bump
into people just walking along the streets normally. Looked down upon by
the multi-floor buildings, they moved alongside the rows of cars. There, they
saw a crowd of people gathering in front of a building. Tedious ruckus, Tia
imagined. It seemed to be a foreign prime minister here for foreign affairs,
swarmed by a group of paparazzi the second he moved into the underground
parking lot. The lights of the cameras were dazzling even from a distance.

“Prime minister, how are your feelings towards the discussions with the
Lairat Kingdom?”

“I’d like to hear about placation measures with the Galgado Empire.”

The news reporters and interviewers completely blocked the path, holding
mics and voice recorders. The older person sitting in the backseat of the car
showed a bothered expression, and ignored all these questions.

Seems like these people are as obnoxious in every country…

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Since Tia formerly belonged to a newspaper company family, she felt oddly
nostalgic at this scene—

“Hey, old man. I’m asking you something, so answer me!”

There was one news reporter that had quite the tone. Tia was baffled, and
looked over there. It turned out to be Zibia. She wore a suit, albeit not in the
most proper way, and hammered her hand against the glass window. Even the
prime minister couldn’t ignore this, pulled down the window, and gave a
flustered ‘S-Say, what country are you from?’, his eyebrows twitching.

“I’m from the Republic of Deen’s Random Times, what about it? Rather than
that, could you give me a few words regarding the discussion records at the
branch conference that opened up yesterday. Aren’t your words contradicting
themselves?”

“W-Wha! Don’t blurt out nonsense, lady!”

“I mean, go and correct me th—hey, don’t just close the window! That hurt,
you bastard!”

She forcefully stuffed the microphone into the window, desperate to get some
words out of the prime minister. Grete watched this, and gave an explanation
with a faint voice.

“…Zibia-san is a newspaper reporter. She acts as a reporter in training, trying
to gain information on politicians and bureaucrats from various countries.”

“Yeah, I hope she doesn’t get arrested at least.” Tia grew a bit worried.

The car left the journalists and reporters behind, and drove inside the
underground parking lot. The reporters sighed in sadness, and dispersed.
Zibia herself gave an annoyed ‘So he escaped, that bastard’, and walked
towards Tia and Grete. Without anybody realizing, she put something into
Tia’s pocket, and whispered these words into her ear.

“I stole the prime minister’s business card holder. Use it.”

She must have done that in the second she pushed her arm inside the car.

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Nobody even grew suspicious of that. She passed Tia with a nonchalant
‘Now, which guy should I check out next~?’, and disappeared into the crowd.

Newspaper reporter Zibia—currently showing sufficient results.

The next location Grete guided Tia to was a restaurant right next to the train
station. Calm music played inside the building, actually played live, as there
was a stage in the back of the restaurant, a jazz band playing music. People
clearly enjoyed eating lunch while listening to some calm music. Mitalio was
known for its jazz music, so of course it’d be playing here as well. For Tia,
this was the first time she came into contact with jazz.

Starting with the calm piano, the trumpet and saxophone sounds overlapped,
creating a harmony. Although it was her first experience, it held a nostalgic
tone. Tia and Grete were guided to the seats next to the stage. Standing in
front of them was the jazz group of six people. With white tailcoats, and
stylish hats, the trumpet and saxophone players were looking great. The
people around them agreed, as many of them focussed their attention on the
young female who was part of the band. Standing to the right of the band—
was Monika.

“………”

She blended in perfectly. She wore male clothes, playing the tenor sax.

“…According to what I have heard, she was scouted during a street live of
hers.” Grete explained yet again.

Tia wasn’t really surprised at that. The best she could think was ‘as
expected’.

“This jazz band was called to a politician’s party and a social gathering.
Apparently, the wife of the politician took a great liking to them.”

She was acting as a musician, and undercover all the same. Around the time
as the song ended, Monika went off stage, and called out to the two.

“What’s up? You fans of mine?”

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“Not at all, so hurry on back.”

“It pains me to say it, but I’m busy tonight. I got a gig at a big party.” Monika
showed a wink, and went back up on stage again.

It was an awfully clichéd gesture, but the girls in the audience took great
liking to it. She had left a small matchbox on the table after she walked away,
which most likely held some crucial information.

The sax player Monika—would surely end up reliable.

The two finished a simple appetizer at the restaurant, and left fairly quickly
after. Apparently, their location for dinner was set somewhere else. Tia could
quickly gather where they were heading off to, as the person in question was
requesting this location. The shop was located inside the Westport Building,
where the Tolfa Economy Conference would happen. On the first floor, there
was a large hamburger chain.

After roughly ten minutes of waiting, a waitress with a well-endowed chest
brought the food to them.

“Thanks for waiting! Here are your two cheeseburger sets!” It was Lily.

She wore the uniform of this hamburger restaurant, carrying the food through
the store with a bright smile. On the plate, she had a hamburger with round,
juicy meat, a mountain of fries, and a large coke. Matched with junk food like
this, Lily was always happy. The red and white striped uniform looked great
on her. Grete called out to her.

“Excuse me, Waitress-san.”

“Hm? Are you talking to me? I’m a transfer student at the music facility of
the Mitalio University, and have been living here for a year. Do you have
some business with the part-time working 18-year old Lilirin Hepburn?”

“…Thank you for explaining everything yourself.” Grete was already
exhausted.

However, even Tia herself had known of Lily’s hiding place. Before the

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mission, she would always say ‘I want a place where you can eat as many
hamburgers as you want!’.

“Hey, Lilirin, can you carry this to the 13th conference room here on the 14th
floor?” There, a voice came from deeper inside the store.

“Oh, that’s Mitalio’s speciality for you. The orders sure are coming in.” Lily
gave a nonchalant response, and walked away from Tia and Grete.

From the sounds of it, this store was handling delivery as well, even reaching
up to the various conference rooms of the Westport Building.

“Well, it seems like she managed to safely infiltrate the place, so I can rest
assured.”

“That’s right…There is but one small thing I feel concerned about.”

“Now that you mention it, you just stopped her, right? What was that about?”

Grete glanced at the food Lily had brought to their table.

“This isn’t a cheeseburger, but a fish burger…”

“………”

“I am fairly worried that she might be fired soon…”

When Tia glanced over, she saw Lily carrying a big backpack, heading out
for the delivery with a ‘I’m leaving~’. Just as the person of the store said, she
should be bringing this to the 13th conference room on the 4th floor. Yet, she
took the elevator down to the underground parking lot.

Returning to the flat that night, Tia let out a sigh.

“I guess things are going fairly smoothly.”

There were many things she wanted to complain about, but this is about what
she expected. From here on out, Tia and Grete had to give out orders, and
figure out the hideout of Murasakiari.

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They finished a simple dinner, and warmed up some conserve minestrone
soup. In the process of this, Tia focussed her ears on the room next-door, but
heard no sounds. Klaus seemed to be out still.

“Gotta think of what orders to give during this evening. I would have loved to
ask Sensei for advice, but I doubt he’s coming back for tonight.”

“…Yes. I hope that he isn’t overworking himself.” Grete cut up some
baguette with a knife, and put it into the oven.

Her voice was filled with anxiety. That’s why Tia showed her a smile.

“If that comes, then you just have to alleviate his fatigue. I’ll teach you how
to give a man a relieving massage. With that, Sensei will surely fall for you.”

“Tia-san…No, Teacher, thank you very much.”

When Tia gave her a bit of advice in love, Grete’s expression softened up.

“The keyword is…groin.”

“That reminds me, Monika-san previously told me to ‘Ignore Tia’s advice’.”

“Disregard that.”

“You’re so cool, Teacher…!”

Exchanging their usual conversation, a more calm atmosphere started to build
up. You shouldn’t focus on your mission alone, or your consciousness will
eventually break down after all. There, something hit the window of the flat.
Oddly enough, Grete approached the window with a more delighted
expression.

“Grete?”

“It seems like the Boss has returned with valuable information…”

A stone with newspaper paper wrapped around it was flung against the
window frame. It looked entirely like an average newspaper you could buy

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everywhere, but actually had hidden words written on it with a special type of
ink. How did Klaus even manage to get it up to the 8th floor? Did he throw
it?

Grete read the paper, and held her breath.

“…It seems as if we might run into the enemy sooner than we had expected.”

“What’s written on it?”

“Several spies of other countries have continued to disappear one after the
other. There seems to have been a few killed spies as well.”

Tia ran her gaze along the paper herself. It stated that here on this plateau,
there have been recent murders, sudden passings, or even people missing all-
together. The greater majority of the victims belonged to some sort of
intelligence agency, all participants or people involved with the Tolfa
Economy Conference.

—There were various causes of death. Stabbed to death, ran over, suicide,
gone missing, traffic accidents, and many more. It was still unclear if this
could be the work of [Murasakiari]. However, since incidents like these
continued to happen, there was no mistaking it that an evil existence rested
here in this location. Tia started to worry about the safety of her allies.

“W-What should we do?”

“We should most likely prepare for coordination.” Grete spoke with a calm
voice. “With my disguises, and your negotiations, we can easily support our
allies. We cannot count on the Boss’ support this time.”

“I-I got it. Let us prepare right away.”

“However, we are limited on what we can do…It all depends on the
situation.”

“Right…”

As if she was led by Grete, Tia’s gaze drifted outside the window. Night

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arrived at this city of Mitalio, as neon lights started to flash up here and there.
The advertisements around and next to the main street lit up as well, never
letting this city rest. Even tonight, the members of Tomoshibi must be
working on their own.

And, with two weeks into this mission—Tia’s anxiety started to rise.

***

The beginning happened at a hotel facing the Westport Building.

It was a large hotel used by participants of the various conferences
happening, and on the second floor, you could even visit a bar that offered
drinks and light snacks. Every single personal room was equipped with
soundproof walls, offering the perfect location for important, or even shady
discussions that shouldn’t be heard by the public. Most people using this
were politicians, government officials, or even people standing at the top of
the greatest enterprises this city had to offer.

Every room had a leather sofa and glass-table at its disposal, with a calm light
shining down from above. Zibia sat in one of these, munching on some spare
ribs. She enjoyed the juicy and tender meat, leaving only the bones on the
tableware.

“Are you really sure about this? This is quite the treat.” Zibia wiped her
hands, showing a smile.

Sitting across the table, facing her was a well-built middle-aged man.

“I don’t mind. You are my benefactor after all, so eat as much as you want.
Choose whatever you want from this menu.”

“Really? Awesome. Then, I’ll take everything to the right of this menu.”

“That’s it, that’s how youngsters are supposed to be. Wonderful!” The man
showed a joyful smile, taking a sip of his wine.

He was the vice president of a tea maker, located in the Byumar Kingdom.
Together with the diplomate of the Byumar kingdom, he came here to hold

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negotiations concerning the exports of the Continent of Tolfa, and their tariff
rates of luxury grocery items. Apparently, negotiations regarding his plan to
build more factories for manufactured food products within other countries
was going along smoothly. He was no dull man, but he had been careless
enough to leave all important documents in but a single bag.

“You really saved me. To think someone would steal my bag when I was at
the cafe. I would have been lost if you hadn’t taken it back.”

“Well, the criminal still managed to escape in the end.”

“I don’t mind at all, you saved me plenty already.”

“So I can even interview all on my own?”

“Of course, of course.”

“That’s the next company president for you, how comfortable to talk to.”

“Don’t say that, I’m still the vice president.”

Zibia was interviewing people under the pretense of writing a stand-alone
feature at her newspaper. Thankfully, this vice president was an easy-talker.
He would even talk about things completely unrelated to the question. He
went along with Zibia’s harsh tone even, drinking alcohol at a rapid speed.
Hence, Zibia decided to take a sip herself.

“Yeah, I’m really happy that you’re interviewing me~ You better mention me
in your article, okay~”

After around 30 minutes had passed, the man was ready. Zibia showed a wry
smile, and spoke up.

“Of course I will? That’s my job after all.”

“Really? I’ve been interviewed like this before, but never was anything
mentioned in the actual article.”

“…Oh, could you give me some details?”

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“I don’t know myself. Maybe I’m just unlucky. Every reporter who
approached me never contacted me back. So cruel.”

“……………” Zibia slightly pushed her nails into her eyebrows, waking
herself up through the pain. “By the way, I’d like to change the topic for a
second—” She looked straight ahead. “—Who is this person behind you, Mr.
Vice President?”

Zibia and the man weren’t alone inside the room. Another man stood behind
the vice president, in absolute silence. He seemed like a serious, even stern
man, and you could see his muscles even through his overwear. Especially
the muscles around his arms and shoulders were a sight to behold.

“Hm? Ah, he’s Baron, my personal driver.”

“…Oui. Don’t mind me.” The man called Baron gave a faint nod.

In response, Zibia gave a slight wave of hand.

“Your voice is quite deep, but fluent. A lokal?”

“Right, right. Originally, a driver from my motherland was supposed to
accompany me, but he collapsed from food poisoning, so we had to make
quick adjustments. He might have a scary face, but he’s easy to get along
with.”

“…Oui.” The vice company president put a cigarette in his mouth, to which
Baron offered a cigarette.

Apparently he was more like a butler than a driver.

“…………”

“Ah, did he scare you because of his body? I heard he had been a
middleweight boxer a few years back. Didn’t you have some good results on
your shoulder?”

“…Oui. I fractured my ligament however, and had to retire.”

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“What a shame. Ah, will you put this in the article as well? I feel it’s a bit off-
topic.”

Ignoring the flustered vice company president, Zibia and Baron exchanged
glances. There, another wine bottle was brought to the room.

“…Oui, I will pour it out for you,” said Baron, and accepted the bottle.

In the end, the interview had to be stopped because Zibia was not feeling too
well.

“Ugh, this is awful…”

“Sorry, I made you drink too much, huh.”

Zibia held her mouth with one hand, to which the vice president showed a
few considerate words.

“Baron, drive that reporter home, if you would.”

In a panic, Zibia waved her hand.

“No no, I’m fine, really.”

“I don’t mind, I’m going to enjoy myself some more. Just let me know when
you’re going to publish that article~” He walked away with the documents,
clearly in a good mood.

He must be heading off to a locality with lots of women. Only Baron and
Zibia were left behind in front of the bar.

“…Oui, please come with me.”

“Sorry about this.”

The car apparently had been parked in the underground parking lot.
Following Baron’s guidance, Zibia walked down the dark stairs on unsteady
feet. Mid-way, her feet slipped, and she bumped into Baron. He didn’t seem
too happy, but still supported Zibia’s body. By the time they made it to the

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underground floor, Zibia reached her limit.

“Ugh, gonna puke…” She let out everything inside her stomach.

Baron stood next to Zibia, with a strained expression on his face.

“…Oui, I will bring some water.”

He returned to the stairs yet again, and started searching through his pocket.
However, he couldn’t find what he was looking for, judging from his groan.

“Looking for this?” Zibia called out to him.

Between her fingers, she held several pills.

“Sleeping pills. Didn’t expect to find that.”

“……!”

“Good thing I let out everything before. So, whose orders? Not the vice
president’s, right?”

Zibia had expected something like this. When the vice president spoke of the
reporters that happened to vanish, Baron’s expression showed miniscule
change. It was clear that he knew something. On top of that, the way he
poured the wine was suspicious as well. He must have put in the sleeping
pills while pretending to pour it. It was clear as day that the man was no
ordinary driver.

“Now, if you don’t want to get reported to the police, tell me who ordered
you to—” Zibia’s words were cut off mid-sentence.

Baron had turned his back to her, running up the stairs. Of course, Zibia
wasn’t about to let him escape this easily. She clicked her tongue, chasing
after Baron’s back. Naturally, her being drunk and feeling unwell was merely
acting, something she had practiced through rigorous training.

That being said, Baron was able to keep up his speed. When she made it up to
the first floor, he ran out of the hotel’s back entrance, pushing away the

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employees on the way.

So the fact of him having suffered an injury was a lie! What’s wrong with this
guy!

Zibia’s doubts about the man’s identity started to grow, as she jumped out of
the back entrance herself. Several multi-tenant buildings were standing at the
back of the hotel, and Baron was currently running up the outer stairs of an
old eight-floor building.

Zibia had her handgun ready, chasing after him. It would be ideal for her to
catch up with him, and get as much information out of him as possible. Baron
apparently ran inside the sixth floor.

“I’m not letting you go away!” Zibia roared, jumping inside the building
herself.

Nobody was seen, as Zibia was surrounded by several empty conference
rooms. Only the lights were on, shining fluorescent light down onto the
hallway. No shadow could be seen down the long hallway.

…The sound of his footsteps disappeared? No other sounds either…Is he
lurking around here somewhere?

She figured that he was aiming for a surprise attack, walking down the
hallway with the gun ready. The next moment, the sound of something
breaking at the outer stairs could be heard, and the lights turned off.

“Ah?” The second Zibia let out a dumbfounded voice, a large body moved
behind her back.

Reflexively, she evaded to the side, as something passed right by her head.

“…Oui.” Baron’s calm voice could be heard.

Zibia twisted her body, and tried to move away. However, after a few steps,
she stumbled, and fell over. Her hindered eyesight was to blame.
Spontaneously, she escaped into an empty room.

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Are you kidding me…is this…!?

It was already too late when she realized she had been lured in. This was his
hunting ground.

—Absolute darkness.

The windows inside the window were closed off, allowing no light to enter.
Zibia couldn’t see anything, not figure out where she even was. All she felt
was a silent sound, and killing intent approaching.

“…I have been trained to fight even in pitch black darkness.” After these
faint words were muttered, a long silence passed, when a fist flew at Zibia
from her back.

She could only pick up on this a second before it was too late, and evaded the
direct impact, but was blown off from force coming after it.

“Drown in this prison of darkness.” Baron’s voice resounded, and Zibia felt
another fist approaching. It was an invisible attack you couldn’t even pick up
on.

Damn it, I can’t see anything—

Surrounded by darkness, Zibia felt death approaching.

***

—Around the same time, at the embassy belonging to the Lairat Kingdom, a
part was being held. The Lairat Kingdom celebrated its National Foundation
Day, and several other participants of the various conferences here at the
Federal State of Musaia, in order to deepen their relationships and create
better opportunities for future negotiations. Monika’s jazz band had been
invited there. The kind government official asked them to participate, as he
really took a liking to them. Of course, the jazz band could only respond to
these honest feelings.

Even after the members of the band stopped playing, they remained in the
hall, receiving the courtesy of the participants. There were many families

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present as well, so they played music with the children, and basically earned
themselves another invitation for a later party.

Monika herself mixed into the crowd, and presented her skill as a tenor sax
player. Not to mention that she showed a charming, invigorating smile like
she never would.

“If you liked my performance, please invite me another time.” She told the
other bureaucrats present.

When she was busy forming new connections, a voice called out to her.

“Hey, you’re pretty amazing. Your skills moved me.” It was a young woman.

She should be around one year older than Monika, wearing a dress that
revealed her shoulders, and emphasized her long, golden hair.

“Thanks.” Monika gave a charming response. “Um, you are…”

“Miranda. I was taken here by my uncle, your average university student.”
She requested a handshake with no hesitation whatsoever.

Monika answered this handshake, when Miranda whispered into her ear.

“Are you trying to get connections with the rich? Trying to marry an
influential woman?”

“No way.” Monika shrugged her shoulders. “Me and my band are still
unknown. Gotta widen our horizons.”

“Eh, I heard you were pretty famous already.”

“Really? I actually only joined the band, see.” Monika spoke with a light
tone, smiling.

Miranda let out a laugh.

“Don’t you think we’re a good match?”

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“Indeed, let’s get along from now on.”

“Should I show you around a bit?” Miranda whispered into Monika’s ears.
“It’s a place where all the rich people gather.”

“Sounds interesting,” said Monika, as she licked her lips.

The two slipped out of the party. Miranda took Monika away from the
prosperity district, to a further distanced location. Walking down a path
between bars and sex-entertainment shops, they arrived at a coffee shop.
Miranda showed some sort of coin, and had the master of the coffee shop
guard them to the back. After going down the stairs leading underground,
they ended up in front of a large door.

After the door opened up, they were met with a large hall. Beneath the brim
fluorescent light, Monika could see roughly 50 people, all of them with heads
as red as tomatoes, screaming. They were standing around card tables,
roulette tables, dice tables, or even slot machines. Everytime one would bet
more money, a sexy woman would move the chips accordingly.

“An underground casino, huh.” Monika’s face relaxed. “How nice, it’s
brimming with human weakness.”

At the poker table sat the vice minister of the Fend Federation’s foreign
affairs, and the president of one of Musaia’s pharmaceutical companies.
Monika could see other various participants of the economy conference here
and there. Miranda showed a proud smile.

“If you want, I can introduce you. I’ll help you so that you can start playing
here, I know the owner after all.”

“Really? You’re pretty amazing, that would be great.”

“Then, here.” Miranda handed something to Monika.

They were small arrows, fitting barely into her hands. Three of them, to be
exact.

“Hm? Darts?”

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“Yeah. If you’ve never played here, it’d be hard to introduce you. Do you
have any experience?”

“Hm, I’m not sure.” Monika gave a vague answer, and followed after
Miranda. In the corner of the hall, two dart boards hung, with a bookmaker
standing close to them, half of his face covered by a mask.

“It’s a very simple game. You just have to throw the darts at the board.”
Miranda stood in front of the board, turning sideways. “Like this, to be
exact.” She gently threw three of the darts.

Monika knew of the rules. All of Miranda’s dearts ended up in the triple 20
zone. It’s the greatest possible score you can get in one throw. Not to mention
that they were right next to each other, not even 2cm distance between them.
Next to the dart board, there was a blackboard, showing the number ‘180’.

Monika lined next to Miranda, copying her posture. She saw the bookmaker
show a grin, but ignored that, and fired off the darts, using only the force of
her elbow.

“Like this?”

Monika shot all three darts into the triple 20, back to back to back. As a
result, Miranda’s face tightened up.

“H-Huh, not bad.”

The darts on the board were recovered by the masked man, and the points on
the blackboard said the same ‘180’. Even after that, both Miranda and
Monika continued their flawless battle. Neither of them missed the triple 20,
adding more and more ‘180’s on the blackboard. Soon enough, a large crowd
gathered around them.

“What is with these two…”

“Impossible…”

“How can they hit every single dart so accurately…”

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“Monsters, both of them.”

People started cheering for Monika and Miranda.

“Hey, how can we even decide on who’s the winner with this?” After the
seventh round ended, Monika was the one to ask.

She shot the 21st triple. Miranda achieved the same, and prepared her darts.

“We’ll end it in the eighth round. The one with a higher sum total wins.”

“What if it’s the same?”

“Then it’ll be an extended battle.”

“What kind of shitty game is this. We’re gonna sit here for the rest of our
lives.” Monika fired off her darts with a bothered voice.

The short contest quickly turned into an extended battle. The numbers on the
blackboard were deleted, and re-added again, starting with the usual ‘180’.
After reaching the same result happened at the end of round eight and nine,
Miranda clicked her tongue.

“…! Just a fair warning, the more points you get, the worse it’ll end for you.”

Monika narrowed her eyes. “Oh, why?”

“These are betting darts after all. If you lose, you have to pay 100 Donnies
times the final score of the winner.”

Monika confirmed the points on the scoreboard. The tenth round ended, and
the total sum was 1800 points. Multiplying like this with the 100 Donnies
here in Musaia, you’d have four times the amount of an average man’s yearly
income.

—So that’s what’s going on.

Monika’s lips moved. However, she instead showed a betrayed expression on
her face.

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“How cruel, Miranda, I haven’t heard anything about a bet.”

“I won’t accept an excuse like that after you set foot inside here.” Miranda
continued throwing darts.

Yet again she scored a perfect ‘180’.

“If you can’t pay with money, why not use your body? They have strip shows
here.”

“That’s news to me.”

“It’s great, you know? Dismembering a body is easy enough. If you use a
guillotine, that is.”

There, Monika realized that the number of men wearing masks around her
had increased. They most belong to a local gang, as they were used to this. At
the same time, the people in the audience started grinning, as if they were
praying for Monika’s loss. A dismemberment show, with no guarantee to
survive, surely.

“I will never understand the preferences of the rich.” Monika shrugged her
shoulders, reading the darts.

Miranda watched the reaction with an arrogant grin.

“It’s rare to find a genius like you.”

“……”

“But, it really is weird. No matter how much of a genius you are to
consistently hit every single shot, once your life’s on the line, even a
professional would make mistakes. Of course, that doesn’t go for me, since
I’m trained in this.”

“……”

“Now, will you keep that calm head of yours after knowing the tru—”

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“Say.” Monika cut right between Miranda’s words, throwing a dart, which
landed perfectly in the triple twenty. “If I win, you will end up as the prize on
the stripshow, right? Sounds just fine to me.”

“…!”

“Perfect timing. I was just curious why you were aiming for me anyway.”

Monika fired off the second and third dart.

“You chose the wrong enemy. I’ll make you lose, and spit out all the
information you have.”

“D-Don’t act so arrogant, will you?”

What happened was a battle between two monsters. No matter how long the
rounds went on, neither of them missed a perfect ‘180’. The people in the
audience were brimming with excitement at the beginning of round 15.
However, once they made it to round 20, these voices started to grow silent.
They must have realized that the event in front of them was a battle for the
death. Every single person present in the hall gathered, and watched this
competition.The battle changed drastically at the 27th round. Monika’s third
dart throw was distorted downwards.

“Huh…?” She let out a dumbfounded voice, seeing that her arrow landed on
the single twenty.

It was off…?

Monika did the same thing, the same motion as all the other rounds before,
she should not have missed. It must have met some sort of obstacle mid-air.

“Hm? Seems like the fight is already over.” Miranda let out a ridiculing
laugh, and readied her third dart herself.

Naturally, her first two did not miss. If she were to hit another triple twenty,
Monika would lose.

“Just watch this moment—that will mark the end of your life.”

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She threw the third dart, as if to answer the audience’s expectations.

***

—Around an hour before Zibia’s and Monika’s contact with the enemy, on
the third floor of the Westport Building, Lily was dealing with an enemy of
her own.

She continued her hamburger delivery, as well as her work as a spy.

“Ah, I’m sorry, I walked into the wrong room again.”

“You sure make a lot of mistakes…”

Being scolded by the higher-ups as always, she could move freely through
the building. She acted like she accidentally entered the wrong room, only to
gather information and set up the devices.

Alright, the wiretaps are all set.

By opening the door for a split second, she could place a wiretap beneath the
desk. Her acting like a clumsy waitress was merely a disguise to pull that off.
She would never mistaken the room otherwise, not in a million years. She
apologized, and wanted to leave the room, when someone called out to her.

“Hey, you.”

“Yesh? What is it?” Lily gave a flustered response, when the other person,
the man, showed a wry smile.

He was a bureaucrat belonging to the Musaia’s Ministry of Economy, Trade,
and Industry.

“Yes, but you don’t have to act so scared. I just wanted to hear something
about a certain rumour.”

“A rumour?”

“Indeed, haven’t you heard? They say that a Hero will appear in Mitalio.

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Whenever you’re in desperate need, that Hero will show up, and save you.
Right? The young people often talk about it.”

Since Lily hadn’t heard about this, she could merely give a vague ‘Who
knows, I only came to this country a while ago, see’. Just to make sure, Lily
asked for the details of the rumour, but it was something like an urban
legend.

—Hero.

—An existence that spots people at the depths of despair, and grants them
hope and freedom.

This information was currently going around inside the city. Lily tilted her
head.

“A hero who gives freedom…Like that goddess statue at the port?”

The man responded. “Right. Maybe that goddess actually exists?” He
laughed.

It was a wonderful rumour, but entirely unrelated to the mission, so she left
after hearing the details. She spaced out as she imagined the appearance of
the Hero, and stepped inside the elevator—

“Hm?”

A chill ran down her spine. It’s not like she felt some sort of attack incoming,
it was more like the air around her changed. Lily licked her lips, thinking.

With all this experience I gathered, even I managed to acquire a spy’s
‘Intuition’.

Thinking about it, Klaus would always talk about how he ‘happened to’ sense
that something was off. It seemed as if Lily herself reached a similar skill.

The enemy…is coming!

She took a deep breath, and readied herself. By the time the elevator reached

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its destination, no enemy was in sight. But, Lily confirmed that her intuition
wasn’t off as the door opened.

“Ah, Lilirin, a customer is calling for you, saying that they wanted to ask you
something.” A Senpai from Lily’s part-time work told her so.

However, Lily didn’t remember anybody having any reason to meet her like
this.

“You can leave work early, so could you go to the back of the building right
now?”

“Yes, I understand.” Lily nodded, and headed to the personnel lockers.

To think they would come at me in broad daylight…

She took out the handgun she hid in the hidden second layer of her bag,
storing it inside her leg holster, which was hidden by her waitress uniform’s
skirt. She slapped both her cheeks, and mentally prepared herself.

It’s fine. I’ll use the techniques Sensei taught me…!

She could not afford to lose. The other girls must be going through hardships
themselves, so as the leader, she had to break through this herself. She was
more than motivated. Heading to the backside of the building, she met a man
and woman wearing coats above their suits.

Naturally, Lily did not know them. Judging from their sharp glares, they
didn’t seem to be your average citizen either. It was written all over their face
that they belonged to the world of violence. The shivers Lily experienced told
her enough—they were quite strong. Lily sighed, and touched the gun at her
thigh.

“Is it you two? I admire your guts for attacking me head-on—”

“Nice to meet you, we belong to the Mitalio Police Department.”

“…Hm?” Met with this sudden vocabulary, Lily tilted her head.

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Police? They were holding typical police pocket diaries.

“………”

A moment of silence passed where Lily tried to understand the situation. She
arrived at the conclusion right away.

“I see, so you’re faking being a prosecutor, huh.” Lily let out an arrogant
snort. “However, did you really believe you could deceive me with such
lousy disguise?”

“Huh?”

“Eh?”

Lily felt like they were talking past each other. The other person seemed
honestly confused, making Lily believe that this was not acting in the
slightest.

“A-Are you actually police officers?”

“What are you talking about…?” The male prosecutor looked at Lily in
distrust.

“Well, you are under suspicion of murder, so I was hoping you could work
with us quietly.”

“Suspicion of murder!?”

“We received reports of two people being shot to death with a handgun the
day before yesterday. There’s already a warrant out on the case.” The female
prosecutor took out documents from her breast pocket, showing them to Lily.

They were the real deal. On the warrant, it had the official seal of the
Musaia’s courthouse, with the name ‘Lilirin’ on it, and the right to restrain
her. Naturally, Lily didn’t remember killing anybody. But, it didn’t take her
too long to realize she was set up by the enemy.

“T-These are false charges! It must be the work of a Galgado Empire’s spy!”

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Lily tried to explain herself, but the prosecutors just exchanged confused
glances.
“…Is this girl okay?”
“It seems like she is under the influence of drugs.”
“It’s the truth, I’m telling you!”
“Hey…if you’re going to lie, at least come up with a better one. What reason
would an enemy spy have to target an average transfer student busy with their
part-time work?”
“T-That’s…”
Naturally, she couldn’t reveal the fact that she was a spy herself.
“Um…Ehehe.” Lily let out a clumsy snicker. “Why do you think it is me
anyway?”
“Alright, arresting time.”
“Arresting time it is.”
“Aren’t you jumping the gun a bit too much here?! D-Don’t come any clo—”
In a panic, Lily waved her hand, which happened to touch her thigh. As a
result of this, the handgun fell out of the holster, onto the ground.
“““………”””
The three stared at the gun on the ground, not uttering a single word. The
male prosecutor cleared his throat, and looked at his wrist clock.
“Um…Lilirin Hepburn.”
“…Yes.”
“8.47pm, arrested for alleged murder.”

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Handcuffs were put around Lily’s wrists, who didn’t even try to resist. Thus,
Lily was arrested.

Zibia, Monika, and Lily—they all had their battle to fight.

***

“…”

Tia stood at the window of the flat, observing the night scenery Mitalio
offered. For some reason, her heart felt uneasy, racing with anxiety. She
didn’t receive the planned and regular reports of the other members. Once
every day, they were to contact Tia and share information. She and Grete
would compile this information, and adjust their orders. However, the time
for the reports had already passed, and nothing came in. Some problem
happened, surely.

“Will they be okay…? What do you think I should do now?” She asked
Grete, who was gazing at the map put down in the middle of the dining table.

Grete herself looked conflicted.

“Yes…We have a shared weakness, so that is quite worrisome.”

“Shared weakness?”

Did they? Tia was doubtful, but Grete nodded.

“Indeed, we have never practiced—to protect someone.”

“Ah…”

That was something Tia had to agree on. All they ever focussed on was trying
to defeat Klaus. They would gather information about him, and attempt
surprise attacks. They possessed no abilities nor skills to protect another
individual.

“Hence, by the time they have ended up cornered, there is nothing more for
us to do.”

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Tia was reminded of the incident regarding Annette. They didn’t manage to
see through her mother’s real identity, and had continued to be deceived.
They could barely manage to escape the army’s lockdown, but failed to see
through the enemy. Just as Grete stated, they might be bad at protecting their
allies from enemy attacks. Imagining this, Tia bit her lip.

“…Do not worry. They will surely capture the enemy, and bring home
valuable information.” Grete showed a smile. “For this, I have prepared
something tremendous…the strength of certain small spies.”

Tia remembered Grete’s countermeasures she had mentioned as they walked
around town. Grete nodded.

“And, more than anything, the moment where we show our true abilities—”

***

Just as Grete had planned, a great change happened at the three different
battlegrounds.

First, at the backside of the Westport Building—where Lily was being
pushed into the cop car.

“Waaaaah, I’m telling you, it’s the work of the Empire’s spy! I’m being
framed!”

“Are you still trying to lie your way through with that?”

Lily started crying for real, but the female prosecutor just shook her head.

“Hey, what is that plush toy behind you?”

“Eh?” Lily tilted her head.

She turned around, only to find a cat plush toy hanging on her back. Who had
put this on her? However, she wasn’t even allowed to wonder, as smoke
started gushing out from the plush toy.

“Lily-aneki, we’re running!” A playful voice could be heard from inside the

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smoke.

At the same time, the crackling sounds of a stun gun filled Lily’s
surroundings, as the prosecutors collapsed. Lily felt her hand grabbed, and
just started running away with Annette.

At the underground casino—Monika and Miranda were in the middle of their
battle.

“!”

Miranda threw her third dart during the 27th round of darts, which missed its
target. Just as Monika’s, it landed in the single twenty area. With this, their
scores lined up again, and the battle would continue. However, Miranda
didn’t seem satisfied, as she screamed with a beet red face.

“A-A rat! Something just jumped at my ankle!”

“What a horrible excuse.” Monika said, as if she had planned for this to
happen.

Inside of her heart, she sent words of respect towards her ally, who should be
hiding in the midst of this crowd.

Nice assist, Sara. You sure got guts following me all the way here.

Monika raised a thumb, to which Sara showed a smile, as she picked up the
rat.

In the dark space inside office building—Zibia and Baron were fighting still.

This time, the fist approaching Zibia was unavoidable. With the training she
went through, Zibia would have no trouble working in darkness, but not if it
was pitch-black like right now. With nothing to see, she could not intercept
anything. The fist, which gave off a sound at the very least, seemed like a
definite kill.

—If someone didn’t pull on her back at least.

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Zibia fell down, barely avoiding that attack. She could see the large fist pass
right by her eyes. After evading, she ran along with the hand that pulled her.
However, the savior herself couldn’t see anything in the darkness, and
bumped into a wall, which created a loud bang.
“What misfortune…” said Elna, as she groaned.
“This ain’t misfortune at all, this is the best timeline.” Zibia rubbed the head
of the girl, and pushed her back against the wall.

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