4-40: In the Shadows of Earth and Garesto (2/5)
A-Are you alright, Teacher Doneju?
When Frire left the interrogation room, it was the vice-president of the student council that t her.
Long, orange hair flowed down her back. She was Riltina Bergman.
Frire was so exhausted that she inadvertently asked that question.
Sorry I got a little too flustered there. Send the bill for the table. Ill pay for it, Frire said.
But when Frire saw Riltina, she feebly shook her head and avoided the question.
Her actions confused Riltina, but she nodded nonetheless, and followed after her.
In the sowhat narrow halls of this facility, she followed after her teacher and looked up at her, but she couldnt find the usual vigor she had in her.
Shed heard what Frire had talked about with the criminal in the interrogation room, so there were so things she wanted to ask, but she chose to suppress her curiosity instead.
Perhaps it would be best to take a break, after all? Since the end of the incident, you havent been able to sleep properly for two days now, right? Riltina said.
Thats true for the student council too Besides, the most troubling part is being pushed onto one person. This much isnt really
Teacher?
Ah, no, its nothing.
When Frire inadvertently muttered out that last part, Riltina eyed her suspiciously, but she imdiately denied it.
With that, Frire knew that the fatigue was really getting to her, and she forcefully changed the topic.
More importantly, I really demanded a lot from you this ti, Frire said.
Although she was trying to worm her way out of what shed let out the bag earlier, it was true that there were several() things she was feeling apologetic for.
Undocunted contact with the volunteer army and disclosure of unpublicized facts, while allowing another mber to eavesdrop on that conversation.
anwhile, everyone else was ordered not to approach this place.
No, it was profitable to Garesto too. Im sure it was necessary to stop her from committing the sa cri again. It would be troubleso if she managed to get away again, after all. And besides, this isnt a conversation that Earthlings should hear
But she didnt seem to mind at all and just shook her head as she acknowledged the necessity of the job.
The facts disclosed by Frire and the truth that turned their motive over its head.
Though these things may not have been top secret, they were not things that could be publicized just yet either.
Of course, the discerning ones from either world would have likely already realized it.
Despite that the circumstances prevented them from publicizing these matters.
So in the end, what was the point of inspecting their weapons?
This part was not ntioned at all during the interrogation, so the vice-president couldnt help but be curious.
Before this eting, Frire had personally investigated their equipnt.
The vice president had preparations of her own to do, so she couldnt watch when Frire did the inspections.
Huh, oh, its nothing There was just sothing that bothered . Sorry to have troubled you, but apparently, it was just my misunderstanding.
For a mont, shed let herself out, but she managed to worm her way out by putting on the face of a teacher.
It was her usual tone, so Riltina did not think much of it either.
Sorry to demand so much, but Ill also need you to keep this a secret. If possible from your superiors too. If not, then at least just tell them that it was just my selfish wish to bid an old friend a last goodbye.
After one lie, ca another. That distressed her, but at the sa ti, when she realized that shed started to adopt the sa phrasing as a certain man, she wryly smiled to herself.
If she hadnt done that, she was sure that she wouldve beco flustered.
Please rest assured. That much is within my authority. Besides, it makes happy to be of help to the Sword Saint.
It was curious if Riltina was being sincere or rely giving lip service, but regardless, a smile blood like a flower on her, and Frire made a sullen look.
When Frire first beca a teacher here, people would often ask her for an autograph after greeting her.
Of course, they would choose an appropriate ti for that, but she still couldnt help but shrink back when she suspected that this vice president might be a fan of hers.
Though she indeed took advantage of the respect and envy from her reputation, it was still sothing that weighed heavily on her.
Unfortunately, she wasnt strong enough to betray the expectations of those around her.
Especially for soone like this girl, who was not only close to her in age, but in a broad sense, also her colleague.
Thank you.
Frire replied with a sour look, as she tried to hide her emotions, but to the people of the academy, that was exactly the kind of face they expected from her, so Riltina did not think that anything was amiss.
Though it was also because of her persona as a demon instructor that her original nature never beca known to those around her, this difference in perspectives was another reason.
Please dont ntion it, I Excuse .
Riltina suddenly stopped what she was about to say, and took out her foster.
When she saw the na on it, she realized it wouldnt be a problem, and so chose to project the screen onto the air.
What appeared next was the tense face of the student council present.
Tina-kun? Where are you? Oh, Teacher Doneju is with you? Thats great. Could you two please co to the student council now?
Hmm? Did sothing happen, Amamiya?
Frire asked, though it was certain that sothing mustve happened, given the tense tone and expression of the student council president.
Amamiya took a mont before responding with an exhausted voice.
Masquerade made a move again.
As sounds of gulping resounded, tension ran through the two wons face.
It has only been two days since the incident, or no, actually, midnight passed just awhile ago, so it should already be the third day since then.
The two won nodded at the information, and imdiately hurried toward the student council room.
The student council was originally an organization within the school made to observe the alumni that have learned otherworld technology and knowledge.
But the mbers of that very student council were presently dominated by agents under various secret orders from their governnts.
As for whether the alumni themselves chose this path or it was because of the anticipations of their governnts, that was a question akin to the bird and the egg.
At first, the agents were ant to get information and technology faster than any other country, but Kutorias insular nature and the presence of people from a myriad of different nations led to the student council being used as a place to exchange information unofficially and to hold secret talks.
With Garesto joining these secret exchanges, the whole matter has essentially been tacitly approved.
Thats why whenever theres an incident or calamity that concerns the whole world, the student council would end up gathering a lot of information.
Thats especially true for information that couldnt be officially disclosed, but still needed to be shared with other countries.
And thats also why they were able to detect Masquerades movents quicker than anyone else.
The student council room was more like an office than a simple room in school.
There, office desks were lined up, and people sat before them and quietly worked.
As for the difference between that and a normal office, that would surely be the lack of paper.
But of course, that was only because the desks they were using were equipped with high-performance state-of-the-art terminals.
In the center of that room was an open space where three people stood.
Please take a look.
The president, Amamiya, fiddled with his foster and projected a globe with a diater of about 5 ters right in front of him.
The three-dinsional planet(Earth) spun on its axis as though it were real.
On that globe could be seen dotted lights of red, yellow, and black.
The red lights show the locations that have been confird. Arica, Russia, France, China, Austria, and Egypt. Terrorists operating independently in these countries were defeated, and the evidence of their cris sent to the local investigating authorities.
Several more detailed images appeared above the red dots of light.
Piles of smoking rubble, defeated ard n, destroyed armored vehicles, soldiers with faces twisted in fear, and a naked man rolled up in bamboo left alone in front of a police station.
The yellow dots are the ones that have yet to be confird, but incidents have occurred in these places. The numbers already reach up to 50 when both are added, but this number is expected to increase, Amamiya said.
You sure work hard So, where is the proof that Masquerade was involved? Frire asked.
There are no third-party witnesses and no videos, but Everyone is saying the sa thing. A masked devil, a darkness approaching, a white mask laughing, Amamiya said.
Ha ha ha So its the sa as last ti then?
Frire laughed, but with such testimonies, there was indeed no doubting it.
If not for the last incident and this recent one, one could presu that theyd simply gone mad and hallucinated, but now, it was all too clear just what they were referring to.
Unlike the first ti, however, the investigation of the victims(criminals) this ti went smoothly.
According to the reports, the victims were convinced that a horrible fate awaited them if they didnt talk.
So hes making good on his word then. I suppose we can take this as proof that he ant his threat? Moreover, he made his move on the second day, so its definitely the sa guy.
Yes, its too quick for a copycat criminal to have appeared. Besides, I really dont want to imagine that theres soone else out there who could do the sa thing.
Amamiya said with an exhausted face, giving rise to an air of mutual understanding between the three.
As scary as it was to think that Masquerade was completely alone, losing even the advantage they believed they possessed, numbers, and the notion of there being multiple criminals responsible for these incidents was even more terrifying.
After all, if there truly were several people with such powers, then the world was already over.
Just one showing himself in the shadows of the world was already enough to cause so much trouble.
If there truly were more than one person with such powers, then regardless whether they were good or evil, the world would be theirs.
When the student council president and vice president thought that, they beca depressed.
Moving on. The remaining black dots. These are much more speculative than the other places, but we believe these are the countries where Masquerade intervened politically.
He did what?
Unlike with the terrorist hunting, this was a matter that took Frire completely out of the blue.
Reviews
All reviews (0)