Birds singing and the light breeze whistling, a harmonious combination of serenity, and also—
"DIE "
The furious shouts of a young man completely immersed in his gaming session.
"Damn, I died to the final boss again! "
In a dark room, a young man stared frustrated at the screen in front of him
"Why did I even decide to play a souls-like…?"
He flopped backward, lying on his back.
(By the way… how many hours have I been playing this?)
"Heeeey, Alain~ it's breakfast time— Wow, you stayed up all night gaming again? "
Opening the bedroom door, a tall figure entered the room, bathed in the hallway light.
"Haa…? Ah, hi Coulobre "
Yawning, Alain rubbed his eyes and responded to his colleague.
"Ah, you didn't even switch off work mode yet "
He grabbed his smartphone to check the time.
"tsk, past 7 already? My bad, Jean "
"It's always like this, you really liked this game, huh? "
The young man got up, stretching his arms while letting out one last deep yawn to fully wake up
"No. I hate it "
"…Then why are you still playing it? "
Jean looked at Alain with a usual hint of disbelief.
"Hmmm… stubbornness? "
He couldn't even think of a reply, just showing a resigned expression.
"Well… each crazy person with their own habits. Anyway, breakfast, let's go "
"Yeeees "
They both went down the stairs, Jean whistling while Alain rubbed his stomach under his shirt.
Arriving in the kitchen, they were met with a huge figure facing away from them.
"Hmmm? Oh, you brought him. Good morning, Alain "
Noticing Alain and Jean, the figure turned to them with a warm smile.
"Good morning, Captain "
"…? He's still in work mode? "
"Yup "
Jean sat at the table after responding to the captain, taking a sip from a coffee cup already on the table.
"Alain… did you sleep after the operation? "
"eh… "
"Hmm? Oh, he looked away from the captain~ "
With a sigh, the man approached Alain and placed a plate in front of him.
"Here, today Shirley cooked "
"Really? Well, thanks for the meal "
Grabbing his utensils, the boy started eating fiercely
"Where is she anyway? "
"She's— "
"Here "
Like a shadow behind Alain, the boy felt a chill run up his spine.
"CANYOU STOP THAT?! "
"Hehe, Alain's easier to scare after his gaming nights "
The boy took a sip of water, letting out a sigh
"I reallyhatethishobbyofyours… "
In response, she made a double peace sign at him
"It's the mark of a good sniper, don't you agree? "
"Not inside the house… "
Letting out a brief laugh at the young man's reaction, she went to sit next to him—
"SAAAAAAAFE!! "
…But a figure ran past her and grabbed the chair she had pulled out.
"Hehe, thanks, Shirley~ you're a darling— "
And at the same moment, the chair leg broke.
"Ah, lucky me. Almost sat on the broken chair. Thanks, Marietta "
The four watched, each with their own reaction, as the pink-haired girl rubbed her butt to ease the pain from the fall.
"That's not fair, you're way too lucky, Shirley~ "
"Crymore "
"Captain~ Shirley's picking on me! "
Jean let out a small laugh, Shirley sat in another chair already munching on a cereal bar, and Alain just ignored the situation, continuing to eat.
"Ah, you guys are all cruel! Only the captain is nice to me, right?! "
"Marietta, you're the second oldest in the group, stop acting like a child "
"Et tu, captain?! "
The girl then pulled out another chair and sat at the table with the rest of the group. It was a chaotic, but warm routine for everyone.
"So, any plans for today?"
Alain didn't even finish chewing before speaking
"Let's see… no operations scheduled. So we should have a day off— Ah, wait, we'll have a meeting later "
"We had one? "
The captain looked at Jean with a tired expression.
"…Jean, you should know, you're the vice-captain. They always notify both of us "
"I ignore emails from bureaucrats in suits, you know~ "
While the guilty one turned his face to the side, scratching his cheek.
"So… any idea what the meeting's about? "
Alain interrupted to bring the focus back to the topic.
"No, they didn't notify us. But it's probably prep for some future operation "
"Got it, and what time will it be? "
The man stared at the ceiling thoughtfully, swallowing his food before answering.
"The email said 5 PM, but today's meeting is handled by— "
"YOURS TRULY! "
In a flash, a holographic screen appeared in the center of the table showing a red-haired man with a satisfied smile.
"…Can we reschedule the meeting? "
"No, Alain. Better to just cancel it "
"DON'T IGNORE ME. HEY, ITTETSU, YOUR BOYS ARE BEING MEAN TO ME! "
After clapping his hand in a silent prayer, Ittetsu began to speak.
"Committee President Dean, you need better TPO[1] awareness for these things "
(TPO…?)
Some were yawning (Jean) and others continued eating (Shirley), while Alain was more concerned about what TPO meant.
"Ittetsu… isn't this a bit harsh? "
"You scheduled a meeting, but did it ahead of time right in the middle of our breakfast "
With a sigh, The man stared directly at Dean.
"See it as my right to be efficient and finish as quickly as possible "
The red-haired man seemed depressed for a second, but soon puffed out his chest happily
"You guys are always a party, you know? That's why I adoreyou "
"Ah, the Committee President is about— "
"HAHAHAHAHA "
In unison, everyone thought the same thing…
(What an unbearableguy)
"Ahem! Committee President Dean? Can we get back to the point?"
"Ah! Right, right! Sorry. Well… Captain Ittetsu, esteemed members of MASK "
The atmosphere turned tense, almost cuttable with a knife.
"I apologize for calling a meeting so early, but due to an emergency, it's necessary "
Alain swallowed hard.
"We have some updates from yesterday's operation at 'Innovations & Gadgets' "
Jean rested his head on his hand, squinting at the holographic screen.
"The intruders are a group of mercenaries for hire, apparently contracted anonymously. But we found some interesting leads "
Shirley ate another cereal bar, but her posture in the chair was straight and attentive.
"We traced a complex chain of emails; they used a mass email composition through multiple accounts relaying until it reached the mercenaries "
Marietta put her hand on her chin, thinking deeply.
"Tracing that chain of emails, we found the IP where it all started "
Ittetsu closed his eyes, lowering his head.
"Nereus-0, the Artificial Island Country; specifically, from the network of the prestigious Little Garden academy "
The figure on the holographic screen rested their face on their hand.
"And there are more connections; recently, the heirs of 'Innovations & Gadgets' were enrolled there "
"Huh? But wait… "
Marietta was the first to interrupt Dean.
"Little Garden… only accepts espers or people connected to espers, right? "
"Hmmm! Sharp as always, Ms. Walker! "
Dean smiled at her, snapping his fingers with the other hand.
"Please, take a look at this "
Another holographic screen appeared on the table.
"Recently, the heirs awakened esper abilities. According to preliminary evaluation, Isaak, the older twin, awakened Cryokinesis gradeA1 "
Jean whistled impressed
"Pretty high, huh? "
"According to the tests, he can force the freezing of ambient moisture. "
"Andtheother? "
Ittetsu continued, opening one eye while keeping his head down.
"The younger twin, Theodore, also awakened esper abilities. Camouflage gradeB2 "
Shirley's expression tightened a bit upon hearing that.
"Camouflage… natural enemy of a sniper… "
"We run Down a genealogical mapping of their family; no awakened esper factors in the last three generations. "
Alain lowered his head thinking that.
"…Youthinkthey…? "
Alain hesitated before finishing the sentence.
"No, they probably doesn't have any relation to the events at their family's company "
But understanding the question, Dean answered quickly.
"All we know for sure is that Little Garden, maybe even all of Nereus-0, has some connection to this "
"And how do we proceed with this information? "
Ittetsu raised his head with a firm look at Dean.
"Straight to the point, as always. Right, the plan is infiltration at Little Garden "
"Alright, and how do we— "
"That's what I'd like to say… but it's more complex than that "
Before Alain could speak, Dean continued his monologue.
"The UN has had an eye on Nereus-0 for a while due to the high density of espers and important figures. "
With another snap of the fingers, another holographic screen appeared.
"Taking advantage of the opportunity, they decided on a full investigation of the place. A long-term three-stage operation "
"Operation? "
"Long-term? "
"In three stages? "
Shirley, Marietta, and Jean all looked confused at the phrase, but Dean soon continued the explanation.
"We will investigate the details related to the last operation, but there's also a VIP protection and Target Monitoring missions on it "
The redhead grabbed a tablet from his desk and displayed it on the holographic screen.
"To start, two of the VIPs are the twin heirs of 'Innovations & Gadgets'; although still under suspicion, they could very well be targets. "
With a swipe, he showed the twins' profiles, then moved on to a third target.
"Also, the daughter of an important UN member was recently enrolled at Little Garden, an esper awakened 2 years and 3 months ago. "
"Hmmm? Wait a minute, isn't that— "
Jean squinted, trying to see the person better on the screen.
"Charlotte, Jean. That's the daughter of the current Queen of England, Princess Charlotte "
But Shirley quickly responded to his uncertainty.
"Knowing about the operation on the island, she asked for protection for her daughter, right? "
Ittetsu said, without raising his voice much, already used to these situations.
"Exactly. These are the three VIPs to keep safe. As for the monitoring targets…"
Dean turned the tablet toward himself, quickly fiddled with it before focusing it again.
"Professors: Gustaf Winston and Mikhail Asimov Jr. Two important researchers in human evolution "
"Gustaf…? That guy isn't— "
"Huh? You know him, Jean? "
Jean lowered his head with a tired expression, and Marietta looked at her colleague worriedly.
"We were college classmates. He's a huge nerd about espers… and Star Wars "
"Besides them… we have Ophelio Lutero, President and Founder of Nereus-0. He's always been a very secretive individual "
(Ophelio… )
Ittetsu seemed interested upon hearing the name, but didn't emphasize it much.
"And the last is the principal of Little Garden, Noah Fujikawa. He's the main suspect on the list of those involved in the events at 'Innovations & Gadgets' "
Finishing the listing of VIPs and monitoring targets, Dean gave one last snap of his fingers, closing the multiple holographic screens.
"In summary: we will conduct a full investigation, keep the VIPs safe, and monitor these targets. But how will we carry out this operation? "
Ittetsu placed his hand on his chin, pondering how to approach the operation.
"Simple! Alain Romani, you're 17, right? "
"…I can see where this is going— "
"Congratulations, you start your classes next week. We've already forged documentation and Monsier Jean will be your support, sending him as the undercover teacher "
"EVEN ME?! "
"Oh, great scream Jean! 10 points! "
As quickly as he had assumed seriousness at the start of the meeting, Dean quickly returned to his unbearable mode.
"Well, that's it for the meeting. Have a good rest of your morning, kisses from your favorite Committee President "
Blowing a kiss to the group, finally, Dean's screen closed, leaving the MASK unit in a sullen silence at the breakfast table.
"That was certainly a whirlwind "
"He's ALWAYS a whirlwind, Ittetsu! "
"Even Jean completely loses his cool with the Committee President "
Shirley went back to eating her cereal bars while Marietta laughed awkwardly.
"Ok, I'll confirm the details of the operation today. Before that… Alain? "
"Y-yes? "
"How do you feel? "
Ittetsu and the rest of the group looked at Alain worriedly as he kept his head down, seeming thoughtful.
"…I"
[1] T= Time / P= Place / O= Occasion