Chapter 417 Aren’t all true villains five-star good citizens?
Perhaps because the young girl hadn’t reached a level where she could be received by an executive, after meeting Andre, Kazumi was taken to a small room nearby. Before she could even get a good look at the room, which resembled a conference room, the door from the outside was pushed open.
“Hello, Miss [Shell], my name is Aya Igarashi, and I am a subordinate of Master Andre.”
A sweet and gentle voice came from the front. Walking in to meet Kazumi was a young girl wearing work clothes, with short hair and glasses, exuding an intellectual beauty. Although her attire was mature, her face was surprisingly young, giving her an awkward yet interesting aura.
“Hello.”
Shaking the other party’s hand as a gesture of courtesy, Kazumi stood still, quietly waiting for the other party to explain the true reason for arranging her here.
“Yes, it’s like this. The reception duty was supposed to be handled by Little Insect, but considering you’re a girl, I’ll explain the specific process of the mission to you.”
Aya Igarashi instantly understood Kazumi’s intention. She put down the documents in her hand, leaned forward apologetically, and began to explain.
“Okay, could you be concise? Your companion’s teleportation method… you should know.”
Shrugging her shoulders uncomfortably, Kazumi spoke calmly to the girl in front of her. Perhaps due to her female body, even after using cleansing tools to wash off some of the mucus, Kazumi still felt a mental discomfort as time passed. If possible, it would be best to go back and clean herself.
“Oh, sorry, sorry, we’ll start right away.”
Understanding Kazumi’s meaning, Aya Igarashi quickly nodded. Her fair hand rested on the desktop, then transformed into a mass of pale blue liquid. The energy-infused liquid intertwined in the air like threads, finally forming a lifelike map of the sea surface. The sea chart then zoomed in abruptly, focusing on a specific point in the center of the ocean.
“Miss [Shell], do you know about the Midou Underwater Volcanic Belt?”
“Yes, the largest active underwater volcano in Japan’s neighboring waters? You mean we’re going there?”
Kazumi’s theoretical knowledge was quite solid. The moment Aya Igarashi asked, she cross-referenced it with the database in her mind. Looking at the somewhat familiar location, she couldn’t help but ask.
“Yes, this mission is to rescue a target codenamed [Absolute Zero], located underwater at the point currently marked. Afterward, you will need to escort the mission objective to the headquarters base.”
Aya Igarashi’s sweet words, however, caused Kazumi’s eyebrows to furrow. After carefully considering her own abilities, she looked at the girl, who was not much older than her, and said.
“Miss Igarashi, if we have to go underwater, my abilities might not be effective.”
Kazumi had already considered this when she saw the meeting point was on a ship. However, she did have the recently converted Crocodile Lord, so fighting on water might not be impossible.
But now, the target seemed to be a bit beyond her capabilities. Not only was it underwater, but it was also near an active underwater volcano. At such depths, even with [Black Coffin] and [Ghost Gate], escape would be impossible.
Moreover, would anyone really need rescuing in such a place?
“There’s no need to worry about that. The actual rescue mission is being carried out by Master Andre and the others. Miss [Shell], you only need to deal with the psychics who appear, as their abilities can cause significant damage to us at sea. That is also why we sought help from Master [Shell].”
As if she had anticipated Kazumi’s question, Aya Igarashi took out a document from her files and handed it over, as if she had prepared it beforehand.
“Shrine of the Sea…”
Kazumi carefully studied the contents of the document in her hand, and her expression softened slightly. If the information on the document was accurate, she would only need to deal with psychics like Mai Shinomiyai. Even in the opponent’s home territory, Kazumi felt she had a chance of winning by relying on the mutual restraint of energy.
After all, Mai Shinomiyai, known as the “strongest of the younger generation,” was almost killed by her. In the young girl’s eyes, psychics were far inferior to ability users in terms of actual combat power.
[It’s just that some abilities might not be easy to use at sea.]
“I understand, Miss Igarashi. I can do this.”
Nodding, Kazumi responded to Aya Igarashi. This was also the main purpose of the girl coming here. As for other matters, Kazumi didn’t want to be distracted by them. She was just a low-level member of the organization, and it was enough for her to survive through various missions.
“Okay, then I’ll be counting on you, Miss [Shell].”
Aya Igarashi replied with a smile, waving her hand to disperse the map in the air. Her left hand returned to its original form, but a hint of hesitation appeared on her face. Looking at Kazumi, who had just finished receiving her mission and was about to leave, she hesitated and continued.
“Miss [Shell].”
“Hmm?”
“It’s just… there might be one more thing I need to ask of you.”
“What is it?”
Kazumi, who was about to turn and leave, stopped. She looked up at the girl in front of her, who seemed a bit embarrassed, and asked.
“If possible, could you… go a little easy during the fight?”
Aya Igarashi’s expression was somewhat awkward at this moment. Even she knew how excessive her request was at this time, but this was also a requirement from her superior, so she could only ask Kazumi with difficulty.
“Are you serious?”
Such a request truly baffled Kazumi. With her experiences, she had personally witnessed what a genuine villain organization should be like. At the very least, those labeled as “villains” in novels and anime, but written as “saints,” did not exist.
Yet, the person in front of her now seemed to prove that such people did exist.
“Yes, I know this request might be difficult, but this is Master Andre’s request, and we have always abided by it. This is also why we rarely cooperate with others. This time, it’s a mission directly assigned by the BOSS, and to be safe, we had to seek help from Master [Shell].”
Aya Igarashi also knew that the members of their group were willing to follow Andre’s will unconditionally and do such things. However, for Kazumi, such a request was undoubtedly unfair. Having experienced battles, she knew how foolish it was to choose to hold back on a life-and-death battlefield.
“Of course, if it endangers your life, there’s no need to abide by such an agreement…”
But before Aya Igarashi could finish her explanation, the sound of the door opening came from in front of her. She looked over in surprise, only to find that Kazumi had already lowered her head and left, leaving only a cold and serious sentence lingering in the room.
“Yes, I understand.”
