Same day. 1:10 PM. UCIA Japan Branch Investigation Base, Ground Base. Dining Hall.
“Welcome back!”
When Kamikura and I entered the dining hall, Chris and Hayama were already at a table.
“I’m tired of waiting. Chris was throwing a tantrum, insisting that she wanted to eat with you, Himemiya-san. Since she was at it, I decided to hold out and wait for you two as well.”
Hayama said this with a friendly smile. I had been quite cautious on my first day, but their frankness made me feel that unnecessary formalities were completely unneeded. Just interacting with them put my mind at ease.
“Thank you for waiting, Chris-san. I’ll just call you Chris from now on.”
“Uh-huh! Can I call you Asami?”
When I nodded, Chris gave me a bright, beaming smile.
“You can call me Toshi. Can I call you Asami too?”
It was then. A momentary silence fell. I felt someone’s glaring gaze shooting toward someone else.
“…Hmm, well, maybe that was a bit too forward…”
Hayama laughed, trying to play it off.
“Today’s menu is… a yakiniku set meal, huh.”
“Steven-san’s special Kuroge Wagyu yakiniku set meal! I’m so happy I get to eat a delicious lunch every day!”
Kamikura muttered as he looked at today’s menu board. And then there was Chris, in high spirits. A Kuroge Wagyu yakiniku set meal was something you’d rarely see in a normal organization. To be honest, during my FBI days, I was so busy with my duties that I don’t have much memory of eating a proper lunch. Or rather, food barely passed down my throat. I feel like I was constantly going back and forth between my desk and the field, mostly working under extreme tension.
“Ohh. Looks delicious today too! Thanks as always, Steven-san!”
Steven brought over the freshly made yakiniku set meals.
“Top-quality Kuroge Wagyu. Eat up.”
Steven laughed genially. A generous amount of meat was grilled to juicy perfection. It was clearly enough for two servings.
Perhaps everyone was hungry, as we all dug in ravenously. Chris’s appetite, in particular, was far beyond my expectations. She devoured the meat in the blink of an eye.
“Steven-san, seconds!”
I was dumbfounded by her appetite. Kamikura and Hayama, perhaps already used to Chris acting like this, silently continued to carry meat, white rice, and the occasional vegetable to their mouths. Steven hurriedly brought over another plate of freshly grilled meat.
“Make sure you eat your veggies too, everyone.”
Steven brought Chris’s second helping of meat, along with an extra salad bowl. In no time at all, the table was completely covered with meat and vegetables.
For a while, we ate in silence. Once our stomachs were somewhat satisfied, the conversation finally began.
“So, were you able to get anything out of the girls from Al-Jo?”
Al-Jo was probably short for Alsard Girls’ Academy, or its High School Division… I assumed. When Hayama said it, though, why did it sound so frivolous?
“We were able to hear a lot of interesting things from Hojo-san. Even though she’s only a high school senior, she had a sister-like aura and was a wonderful girl. Enough for you to fall in love at first sight, Hayama-san.”
I said with a laugh. That warm, holy, sister-like atmosphere I felt from Hojo-san. Just remembering it felt like it was cleansing my soul.
“But our conversation was forcibly cut short just as we were getting into the details…”
Kamikura seemed quite displeased about that matter. I could tell from his tone of voice.
It was then.
“Ah, Director. Today’s lunch is a yakiniku set meal!”
Director Hardy entered the dining hall. But something was wrong. She walked straight toward Chris, staring at her with an icy gaze.
“Chris, you did it again…”
“Eh…?”
Hardy picked up the TV remote resting on the table, and a US news channel was displayed on the large monitor.
<—We repeat our top story. Major network game developer Firestorm has been hit by a massive hacking attack from an unknown entity, and server data for their active game “Diabolos IV” appears to have been drastically rewritten over the past few days. Furthermore, this massive data tampering has sparked a wave of rejoicing from users, and the active user count, which had been sharply declining year by year, has shown signs of a dramatic recovery over the past few days—>
Chris was polishing off her meat with a thrilled expression.
<In response to this series of data alterations, the “Diabolos IV” development team strongly declared in an interview, “We have always strived to develop with the users in mind, but we received the light of judgment from the White Angel. We thank her, and using this as a foundation, we will continue to make the best game possible.” As a result, Firestorm’s stock price has surged by over 30%. This “White Angel” is—>
“Chris! How many times do you have to hack game companies before you’re satisfied?! Unauthorized access and data tampering are crimes! VARIS is not your toy! How many times do I have to tell you this before you understand?!”
The Director was furious.
“—Now, now. You’ll get wrinkles if you get so angry. I was helping people. A historic game that took a lot of money and a long time to develop was being driven to the brink of termination thanks to clueless staff. I solved all the frustrations everyone was having, rebalanced it so they could have a thrilling gaming experience, and added some bonus content on top. As a result, the active users dramatically recovered and Firestorm’s stock price surged. Everyone is happy, aren’t they?”
Chris spoke with a beaming smile. She had yakiniku sauce on her mouth, so I wiped it off for her.
It was true, everyone was happy. Above all, the development staff was powerfully expressing their gratitude. On live television, no less.
“…It’s a blessing we haven’t been found out, but don’t ever hack a game company again… It’s depressing dealing with the sarcastic jabs from all sides…”
Director Hardy walked out, holding her head… Looking at her like that, I kind of felt sorry for her. She must be bowing her head and dealing with the military’s probing and sarcasm every single day.
“I’m full! Let’s have fun working this afternoon too!”
Chris left the dining hall in extremely high spirits. The three of us were left with no choice but to simply watch her go…
Same day. 2:20 PM. UCIA Japan Branch Investigation Base, Ground Base. Armory.
After the incident in the dining hall, Kamikura and I were called by Hayama and came to the armory. It was my first time entering this room, and inside, the walls were lined with various firearms and body armor. There was also some equipment I had never seen before…
“Presents for Kamikura-kun and Himemiya-san. From DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency).”
“Finally here…”
Kamikura received what looked like a handgun case. I received a similar case as well.
“Open them up.”
Prompted by Hayama, Kamikura and I opened our cases.
“Kamikura-kun’s is a Desert Eagle .50AE, customized to be equipped with special enhanced rounds and a newly developed circle dot sight. New materials were used to increase the frame’s rigidity. By switching to special warheads and gunpowder, its performance is improved by 20% compared to standard .50AE rounds. As for the included circle dot sight, simply by aiming, the circle will light up red if it’s a target, and the circle will shrink down to a dot to the point where hand shake disappears. I don’t know the exact mechanism it uses to determine targets, though. By switching to night mode, it can also perform thermal detection. If it’s heat emitted by a living body, the circle will light up orange to mark it as a target.”
Kamikura was checking the feel of it while sighting it against the wall. He looked like he wanted to go to the shooting range right this second.
“Himemiya-san’s is a special custom model of the M17. The frame has been changed from polymer plastic to reinforced aluminum. This one is also modified to use special enhanced rounds and the circle dot sight. Compared to a standard M17, its power is increased by about 20% when using the special enhanced rounds, and the recoil upon firing is suppressed even further when using standard rounds. The same goes for Kamikura-kun’s Desert Eagle, but I want you to use them depending on the situation.”
“Thank you, Hayama-san.”
I had the urge to call him Toshi, but I decided to suppress it. The person next to me might accidentally misfire his gun. Then, I asked about something that had been bothering me.
“I have a quick question… Does Chris-san really get off scot-free for hacking private companies? Sure, everyone is happy, but there’s no denying she’s breaking the law…”
I didn’t mean to say Chris was bad, nor did I want her to receive some kind of punishment. I just wanted to know the reason why she wasn’t reprimanded for it in this organization. That’s what I was thinking.
“I see… You were in the FBI’s National Security Branch, Himemiya-san. In that case, you must at least know the name of the current US Navy Admiral, right?”
“US Navy Admiral? If I recall, Admiral Lloyd Harris… wait, Harris?”
As soon as I remembered that name, I understood everything.
“Yes. Christiana Harris. She is the beloved only daughter of the current US Navy Admiral, Lloyd Harris. In that sense, her future was guaranteed, but… That’s the reason she gets off scot-free no matter what she does. Conversely, it’s no exaggeration to say that if we were to displease her, we’d be in danger.”
Hayama answered with a laugh.
“By the way, if I were to slack off on procuring equipment, the Director would mercilessly send a kick or an open-handed slap my way. Yes, only to me. Well, I guess you could call it physical communication from the SEALs.”
Hayama continued speaking with a warm smile. Seeing him talk about it with what looked like actual joy made me think he might be a masochist. Imagining the scene vividly was scary in a completely different way.
“The Director and I both originally belonged to the Navy, and we owe a debt of gratitude to the current Admiral. So, well, no matter what happens, the Director will never raise a hand against Chris, and even when taking sarcastic jabs from all sides, she defends her desperately. Even though there’s already been a lot of trouble concerning Chris…”
Hayama’s words and attitude regarding Chris had been bothering me for a while. Considering the information I had so far, something must have happened during her time in the Space Force.
“Himemiya, it’s time for shooting practice. Let’s go.”
Kamikura spoke as if to cut off the conversation with Hayama, and quietly left the armory.
“Ah, right. There was one more thing I needed to give you, Himemiya-san.”
Saying so, Hayama handed me what looked like a car key.
“It’s the latest key for the SUBARE Empress. It has biometric authentication and special commands built in. It will only operate if you’re the one holding it. I’ll keep your current key here, so please use this one from now on.”
“Thank you. By the way, what do you mean by special commands?”
“Ah, that actually has various things built into it. Like NOS (Nitrous Oxide System) that enables instantaneous explosive acceleration, a Shooting Drive Mode exclusively for gunfights, and an ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) Jammer that interferes with the autopilot and drive assist of other vehicles to forcefully stop them. Some of it is still at the experimental implementation stage, though. We’re planning to integrate an electronic investigation system linked with VARIS soon, too.”
It sounded like a smorgasbord of dangerous systems… But I decided not to think too deeply about it. Then, I chased after Kamikura and headed to the shooting range.
Same day. 3:15 PM. UCIA Japan Branch Investigation Base, Ground Base. Shooting Range.
Deafening gunshots echoed through the air. It was the sound of Kamikura firing his Desert Eagle equipped with special enhanced rounds. I honestly couldn’t understand the reason for taking the Desert Eagle .50AE, which already possessed extraordinary power, and powering it up even further. However, the fact that this organization called UCIA was preparing armaments and training environments to this extent proved that the opponents we would eventually face were terrifying entities beyond human comprehension.
I equipped my earmuffs and inserted a magazine loaded with special enhanced rounds. As I slowly took aim, the circle dot sight lit up, gradually converging from a circle into a dot. Then, the moment the dot blinked red, I pulled the trigger.
It was a brilliant critical hit on the target. This sighting system was amazing. If you aligned the barrel perfectly without wavering from the aim, the circle would converge into a dot in the blink of an eye, telling you the exact timing to shoot with zero waver. If there was even the slightest tremor, it wouldn’t converge into a dot. After that, it was just a matter of solidly mastering the timing and trick to suppressing the recoil.
I pulled the trigger again and again, as fast as possible. I let my body absorb the sensation of consecutive critical hits. Perhaps because they were special enhanced rounds, the recoil was slightly large in some respects, but at this level, I should be able to control it sufficiently once I get the hang of it.
“Himemiya, give me your gun.”
Kamikura was standing behind me before I knew it. Perhaps I had been too focused to notice.
“What’s wrong?”
I temporarily took off my earmuffs. When I handed Kamikura the gun, he used tools with practiced hands to remove the attached circle dot sight.
“Don’t rely on optical sights. Practice with this.”
He handed back the M17 with the circle dot sight removed.
“Wait a second. We went through the trouble of getting this equipment… and you’re telling me not to attach it?”
“I’m just saying don’t attach it during shooting practice. Make sure you practice how to quickly detach and attach the circle dot sight, too. So you can take it off immediately if the optical sight becomes unusable.”
“I get it. I just have to practice with this, right?”
Though slightly offended by Kamikura’s unsociable tone, I took aim at the target. At that moment, Kamikura pressed his body against mine like he used to, and placed his left hand over my hand holding the gun.
“I appreciate it, but I know my hand’s holding power isn’t enough. I can do it fine by myself.”
“Himemiya. I’ll make a special exception and tell you what happened in Chris’s past.”
(!?)
Kamikura whispered that in my ear. It was so sudden. I instinctively held my breath.
“Chris was in the US Space Force’s Sixth Delta, an electronic warfare unit in charge of cyber warfare. Ostensibly, it’s a unit that exists for counter-terrorism, intelligence activities regarding matters of national importance, and protecting the nation from military cyber attacks.”
“Yeah, I know that.”
I pulled the trigger, and the bullet hit the target. There was no telling where security cameras might be. Kamikura was likely being cautious of our surroundings in his own way. In other words, the content of this conversation was on a level that couldn’t be made public. I continued shooting at regular intervals while concentrating on Kamikura’s voice whispering in my ear.
“Here’s the main point. Since her student days, Chris had been secretly taking on government jobs as a white-hat hacker. The Space Force wanted her highly advanced skills so badly they could taste it. And the Space Force made Chris operate the highly advanced autonomous independent network AI system ‘VARIS’, which is said to have been developed in top secret by DARPA, to launch extrajudicial cyber attacks against various countries and establish absolute superiority in all forms of information warfare. It would have been one thing if it was just stealing classified data, but I hear their orders frequently completely ignored morals. Like broadcasting fake GPS signals from satellites to crash a private jet carrying a terrorist organization’s executives and their families, wiping them all out, or seizing control of a facility to lock up terrorist members and threaten them by starving them to death.”
“………”
That Chris… I honestly couldn’t believe it, but it made me want to punch the person who proposed such operations. Chris was just a girl who had barely transitioned from a student to a working adult… No matter if it was to eradicate terrorist organizations, to give such inhumane orders… Anger boiled up from the depths of my heart.
“And then, one day, an incident occurred. Unable to endure the orders any longer, Chris occupied the VARIS control room and barricaded herself inside. Screaming, ‘Don’t use VARIS as a tool for murder’.”
I pulled the trigger over and over. When the magazine ran empty, I swiftly reloaded it. Thinking of Chris’s bitter pain made the finger pulling the trigger move faster.
“This incident is a top secret matter within the Space Force and the entire military. The cyber warfare unit Chris was in was temporarily disbanded. They completely replaced the personnel and reorganized a new unit. In the end, about 72 hours later, a rescue team breached the control room and found Chris unconscious, managing to save her life.”
“To think something like that…”
Having fired all the magazines of special enhanced rounds, I gently lowered the gun. Knowing that the cheerful Chris had such a painful and heartbreaking past made my own eyes well up with tears.
“Himemiya. Chris is second to none in cyber warfare, but her heart is still pure and unsoiled. Fortunately, Chris adores you. Those scars on her heart… must still be deep. I want you to properly support her. That’s why I told you this story.”
It was only for a moment, but a gentle voice like the Kamikura of the past… I felt like I heard that.
“…You’re kind, aren’t you. Don’t worry, I’ll protect Chris. And of course—you too, Kamikura.”
“If you have the leeway to worry about me, devote yourself to your training.”
Kamikura said that in his usual manner, then returned to his own shooting lane and let gunshots ring out.
I felt relieved. And happy. To be able to feel the Kamikura of the past again, who had kindness even if he was unsociable. At the same time, I thought intuitively.
There might be something more to this story that hasn’t been told yet—.
Besides, it also bothered me slightly that Kamikura told me a top secret military matter… What if his goal was to intentionally give me this information to put me at ease, so I wouldn’t realize an important truth that lies ahead…?
Same day. 4:25 PM. UCIA Japan Branch Investigation Base, Ground Base. Operation Room.
Kamikura and I reported the findings of our morning investigation. That Ayuka Hojo, a third-year student at St. Alsard Girls’ High School and president of the chess club the victim belonged to, knew somewhat detailed information about the Dreaming Witch, commonly known as Yumemisama. That there was a possibility of victims within the Alsard Church as well, although it hadn’t been made public. And that there was a high probability the Church had been monitoring our conversation. Not to mention our inquiries being unnaturally cut short.
“I see. From the Alsard Church’s perspective, they probably didn’t want Hojo talking any further. That’s why they forced a summons to cut the conversation short.”
Director Hardy looked over our investigation report displayed on the screen while sipping her coffee.
“But this Ayuka Hojo… what exactly is she going to the Church for? She’s still just a high schooler, right?”
Hayama asked.
“Regarding that, some pretty dark-looking intel has come up!”
Chris operated her terminal, and several security camera images from what appeared to be around the Alsard Girls’ Academy popped up. There were some unfamiliar locations, too. A white sedan could be seen consistently across multiple photos.
“I enlarged the data to see who was in the backseat. And in all of them, Ayuka Hojo is the passenger. The times vary, but it seems she heads to the St. Alsard Church mostly from evening to night. We’ve also confirmed that the white sedan picks her up directly from her home. It averages about twice a week. Then she gets dropped off at home or school at dawn.”
“In other words… she’s going to the Church at night. I’d rather not think about it, but couldn’t there be a possibility of sexual exploitation?”
Hayama asked Chris.
“There are many rumors that the Alsard Church uses devout believers as tools for sexual favors as a way to increase followers and expand its influence. Alsard Churches in various countries generally have a large female following, and many of their sisters and clerics are beautiful women. I can’t say it’s entirely impossible, but… according to VARIS’s analysis data on the Alsard Church, the probability of sexual favors is less than 10%. I think the possibility is low.”
Sexual favors… I did know there were such rumors about the Alsard Church, but seeing Hojo-san’s demeanor, it was hard to imagine she was being sexually exploited. Rather, she seemed to possess a certain dignity fitting for someone belonging to the Alsard Church. That pure, saint-like aura—or rather, an atmosphere that healed everything—wasn’t something even members of the Church could exude easily.
“So, I looked into a few other things on my own. And it turns out there were several other female students being escorted to the Church at night.”
Chris brought up security camera footage from various locations. It seemed there were about five others being driven to the Church at night. Among them was a face I remembered seeing somewhere.
“Himemiya, isn’t this the girl who was playing the flute on campus?”
When Kamikura pointed it out, I remembered too. It was the female student with the flute we met on our way back from asking around at the Alsard Girls’ Academy.
“You’re right… I’m guessing she’s an Academy student, but looking at them like this, they’re all very physically attractive girls. I guess we can’t completely rule out the possibility of sexual exploitation…”
Including Hojo-san, the number was about six. Considering the possibility of sexual exploitation, something about this felt off. In those types of cases, there should be a much larger number of victims. Just these six felt strange given the scale of the Church. Rather than sexual exploitation, perhaps they were indeed bearing some kind of special duty…?
At my opinion, the Director spoke up.
“Well, even if such a thing were true, it’s not something for us to investigate. What we want to know is how much the Alsard Church knows about AW. Hojo likely knows something, and we can assume she holds a special position within the Church. If there are victims within the Church as well, there’s a good chance the Church is also tracking AW.”
“The Alsard Church… Honestly, I don’t trust them. It’s true that in both the US and Japan, they’re helping the weak more than the gradually collapsing governments… but when I think about what they’re plotting behind those smiling hands they reach out with…”
“I agree with Kamikura-kun on that. Even setting aside whatever connections they might have, the Alsard Church has abundant financial power. More so than this UCIA. ‘We must change. We must forgive. We must save. Blessings of the Goddess of Light, Alsard. May all life shine.’ They sound like the words of a saint, but what on earth lies behind them…?”
The Alsard Church. Nowadays, they deployed various businesses utilizing their devout followers, and their affiliated companies supposedly existed in countless numbers worldwide. Even the NSB (National Security Branch) constantly kept tabs on companies and organizations believed to be connected to the Alsard Church, but not a single speck of dust ever came out from them. In fact, they were all model organizations for society.
“I propose… an information offensive against the Alsard Church.”
Kamikura said quietly.
“The Church is definitely a bad idea. If we mess up, it won’t just be my head; we’ll all lose our jobs.”
The Director’s face was grim. The opponent was an organization acting as a true model for society. They had roots in various places. If we were to do something like break the law on our end, and it was discovered, I couldn’t imagine what consequences awaited us.
“The Alsard Church. Yes, the Church itself might be bad, but wouldn’t the Alsard Girls’ Academy be okay?”
Chris said with a serious look. Unlike her usual demeanor, during meetings, she was an exceedingly serious operator.
“…Well, with Chris’s skills I doubt there’d be an issue, but not right now. I’ll check on the information offensive on my end. Public Security might know something. It depends on that.”
Saying so, the Director cast an expectant look at me. Though her gaze felt a bit cold.
“Yes. I will extract information from Totoki.”
“I’m counting on you. I have high expectations for your work.”
With that, I felt like the Director smiled just a little.
“Himemiya, I have a dress prepared for your dinner tonight. It’s about time you switched gears and played the girl.”
Looking at the clock, it was already past 5:30 PM. The appointment was at 8:00 PM. If I were to head back to the hotel now, I wasn’t even sure if I’d have time to take a shower.
“Asami. I’ll let you use my shower room. Let’s take a shower together!”
“Eh?”
Instantly, Chris beamed and started acting excited.
“Chris. You haven’t finished the video analysis yet. No.”
The Director said.
“Come on, why not?! I’ve been cooped up ever since I was assigned here! I want to refresh myself when I want to refresh myself!”
Chris started throwing a tantrum.
“Now, now, calm down Chris. It’s true that you rarely go back to the hotel and are cooped up in the system room every day. You’re working morning, noon, and night, even in the middle of the night. But the system room, which only you can enter, has a shower room and a bed where you can take naps, and you’re always refreshing yourself at the arcade in the dining hall, aren’t you?”
Despite Hayama’s words, Chris didn’t stop. In fact, it seemed he had dropped a forbidden fuel on the fire.
“Hayama, shut up! Even though you’re always looking at me with those dirty eyes! I can send image and video data capable of building a sexual harassment case to the Pentagon anytime I want, you know! You’re looking at Asami with dirty eyes too, so keep quiet, Hayama! Pervert Hayama! Pervert Hayama!”
“…The meeting is over. I’m heading back.”
“No, Chris, you’ve got it wrong. I don’t look at you with dirty eyes or anything—”
The battle between Chris and Hayama seemed likely to continue for a while. Someone left the room halfway through. Unable to watch any longer, the Director guided me to a shower room. Yes, the Director’s office also secretly had its own dedicated shower room…