The situation looked even worse than Tendo Kisara had imagined.
Saitake Sogen, the ruler of the Osaka Area, was scheduled to visit the Tokyo Area that afternoon.
In fact, he was almost there already.
According to what Kain had told her, this part of Black Bullet also involved an attempt on Seitenshi's life.
Kisara might dislike Seitenshi on a personal level, but setting her feelings aside, she still respected her.
With Seitenshi in charge, life in the Tokyo Area was considerably better than in many of the other areas.
Now that there was a problem with one of Tokyo's Monoliths, Saitake would never let such a perfect opportunity slip away. Killing Seitenshi would only push the area further toward destruction.
If Kisara wanted to keep her safe, their only choice was to protect her.
Before she could volunteer, however, Tendo Kikunojo contacted her himself with a request for protection.
Under normal circumstances, he would never have come to her.
Apparently, the situation had become dangerous enough that he had no choice but to commission her company.
After all, they knew each other very well. When it came to Seitenshi's safety, their interests aligned. Neither would sabotage the other over this.
"Kayo, stay here and help Tendo protect this place."
Kain, who would be taking the bodyguard assignment, stopped the young girl before she could follow him.
People from the Tokyo Area weren't the only ones watching this place anymore. Other areas had their eyes on it, too.
Even foreign satellites were watching from overhead.
Any of them might make a move at any time.
Still, there was no need to summon A2 and the others yet. It wasn't time for a major operation.
Shiba Miori was still gathering the information he had requested about the Cursed Children in every area of this world.
She would probably need another few days, which should line up nicely with the Monolith's collapse.
That collapse would provide an excellent opportunity to act. He could discuss the details with Kisara when the time came.
Before long, he was less than a kilometer from Seitenshi's residence.
None of the pedestrians passing him noticed anything unusual. He looked like just another ordinary person going about his day.
Even Kisara might not recognize him if she walked right past him.
He had changed his appearance using Asseylum's optical camouflage device from the world of ALDNOAH.ZERO, a small pendant.
This disguise would let him approach unnoticed and investigate the situation around Seitenshi's residence.
By now, his face had surely made its way to every major faction in the world. Any assassin would be watching out for him.
Hm?
Just as he was about to head inside, he spotted a small figure who looked rather dazed.
She seemed sleepy and unfocused, but the subtle movements of her body told a different story. She was on full alert.
The girl was riding a bicycle in circles around the fountain in front of the Holy Residence. It looked like a child playing, but she was actually studying the residence's layout.
He walked over.
"Huh?"
Tina wobbled on her bicycle and slowly raised her head. After staring blankly for a moment, she seemed to realize she had bumped into someone.
"Sorry."
She apologized at once, still looking half-asleep. In reality, her nerves were stretched taut.
The man before her looked perfectly ordinary, yet she sensed something terribly dangerous about him. A voice in her head seemed to be screaming at her to run.
A second later, she nearly lashed out.
He had simply picked her up, tucked her under his arm, and started carrying her away.
"Mr. Kidnapper? If you don't put me down, I'm going to call for help. They'll arrest you for being a creep!"
Her threat came out in a soft, sleepy voice, but Tina was growing more anxious by the second.
Now that she was tucked against his side, she could clearly see something wrong.
Where parts of her body touched his clothes, they seemed to overlap slightly, like objects clipping through each other in a video game.
In other words, this wasn't his real appearance. He was wearing some kind of disguise.
A high-tech disguise.
Optical camouflage!
Tina had encountered the technology before, but she had never imagined it could be this advanced.
That meant the disguised man was very likely the mysterious individual she had been warned to watch out for. Given the advanced technology at his disposal, he could certainly have something like this.
Did that mean her cover was blown?
Tina stopped making threats and silently let him carry her toward the Holy Residence.
When they reached the main gate, he deactivated his disguise right in front of the guards, startling them.
Tina's heart lurched, too.
It really was him, the dangerous man she had been told to exercise extreme caution around. Her palms grew damp with sweat.
Had he really figured out who she was?
And why was he taking her into the Holy Residence?
Still, perhaps things weren't quite as bad as they seemed. This man had killed people on Seitenshi's side, after all. Surely he hadn't come here to protect her.
Perhaps she could even use the opportunity to reach her target sooner.
Escorted by a guard, they finally entered the building.
Once they stepped into an elegantly furnished reception room, Tina saw her target: Seitenshi.
"Mr. Kain, um... who is this child?"
Seitenshi sounded puzzled.
She knew just how frighteningly powerful he was. Even so, if something happened, she worried that innocent people might get caught up in it.
She already knew where he had found the child he was carrying before he entered the room.
He had picked the girl up beside the fountain outside the Holy Residence.
The security footage made it look as though the girl had accidentally ridden into him, but someone with his abilities could easily have avoided her. He had clearly approached her deliberately and let her bump into him, then carried her off without a word.
Seitenshi was concerned that this child might be dragged into something dangerous through no fault of her own.
"Tina. An Initiator with owl traits. Her IP Rank should be ninety-eight. I suspect she's been sent to assassinate you."
The answer caught Seitenshi completely off guard. She stared at the child in disbelief.
Until then, the girl had looked sleepy and utterly harmless. The moment Kain finished speaking, however, her expression changed.
The drowsiness vanished, leaving her face utterly blank.
"What gave me away, Mr. Kidnapper?"
Tina genuinely wanted to know.
At the same time, she was discreetly preparing to...
A freezing chill swallowed her whole, locking her body in place.
All he had done was glance at her.
Yet it felt as though he had seen straight through her thoughts and was warning her to stop.
She had the distinct feeling that the slightest suspicious move would end her life.
"Please 'update' her records. She'll be joining the Tendo Civil Security Agency as its newest Initiator."
"Huh? Oh, of course."
Recovering from her surprise, Seitenshi agreed with a wry smile.
This was much the same as what had happened with Senju Kayo.
(End of Chapter)
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