Chapter 84: A Lady, Not a Fool
The star ceremony held on Nanase Island was suspended after the mastermind’s shadow of demise was resolved by Mana.
As a special agent of the Special Circumstances agency, Arisa finally had the opportunity to contact her department.
Since this incident involved the purple-black star, symbolizing “the end,” Arisa’s department immediately reported it to the headquarters after receiving the report.
The response from the Special Circumstances headquarters was swift and cautious, even upon learning that the crisis on Nanase Island had been averted.
They promptly dispatched two ACEs and elite members of the logistics team to handle the incident.
With the intervention of the Special Circumstances agency, the people on the island who were unconscious were quickly taken care of.
Based on the severity of their injuries, the logistics team sent them to hospitals or used their abilities for treatment.
As for this large-scale collective fainting incident, the agency adeptly concealed the truth, fabricating various excuses—
Such as mass alcohol poisoning, food poisoning, or even biological disasters caused by the invasion of foreign species.
Of course, there were also issues related to communication failures and collective hallucinations caused by Earth’s special magnetic field.
The matter was handled very quickly and efficiently.
Nagi, one of the parties involved, once again felt the professionalism of the Special Circumstances agency in this regard.
On her way back to Nanase Island with Garuda, Nagi and the beast exchanged information.
However, Nagi concealed the part about her “transaction” with “Nagi Shadow.”
She only mentioned the corrosion from the end, which caused her to briefly lose herself in Kawano City, and that Garuda had been forcibly recalled at that time.
The information Nagi learned from Garuda was mixed with joy and concern.
Mana’s “awakening,” Kanade summoning Garuda through the “Sea God Festival,” and Arisa discovering the power of “Storm”… these pieces of information detonated like bombs in Nagi’s mind.
The good news was that they successfully managed to avert the disaster on Nanase Island without any casualties.
The bad news was that Nagi’s current plans were on the verge of collapse.
As for the matter of the power of the Storm, it could still be brushed off using the Sea God Festival or the end as an excuse.
But Mana, with her identity as the “supreme masterpiece,” would be hard to conceal any longer.
This naturally led to the possibility that she and Kanade, as Mana’s closest “childhood friends,” might not escape the thorough investigation from the Special Circumstances agency.
Nagi wasn’t worried about her identity being exposed.
Whether in the “written test” or the “interview,” she was very confident—after all, she was the one who set the questions for the “written test” and defined the process.
As for the “interview,” Nagi had lived as a 100% “ordinary person” her whole life; as long as she didn’t use her contracted beast’s power, no instrument would detect her magical response.
Even Alice couldn’t do that.
Regarding Garuda, since he was summoned by Kanade through the “Sea God Festival,” he had no direct relation to her.
So, Nagi was more concerned about Kanade.
Because the team handling this incident was sent from the Special Circumstances headquarters.
In the face of an extraordinary disaster suspected to be related to the “end,” it must be led by “core personnel.”
If Kanade was even slightly investigated by the core personnel of the Special Circumstances agency, his unique identity would surely be discovered.
That was why Nagi was always reluctant to let Kanade come into contact with the Special Circumstances agency or organizations related to supernatural abilities.
But now, such developments were inevitable.
—”Tsukimi Kanade” must have had early contact with the core personnel of the Special Circumstances agency…
—In that case, Kanade would…
“Even though I just found out now, when I wasn’t around… Master, you played so big?” Garuda’s voice interrupted Nagi’s thoughts.
In the largest public hospital on Nanase Island, the students from Hoshikage Middle School were collectively sent to the hospital under the excuse of “food poisoning” by the Special Circumstances agency.
With too many students, the medical staff had just awoken from their fainting state, creating a chaotic scene perfect for some personnel from the Special Circumstances agency to disguise themselves as healthcare workers.
Seizing this moment of confusion, Nagi took the opportunity to quietly blend in with the group of unconscious students.
However, before that—
Nagi secretly went to a little-used storage room.
She quickly removed the already tattered coat.
The shocking rips on the coat would definitely raise unnecessary suspicions if seen by Special Circumstances personnel.
As for the daring double-layer bikini she was wearing, Nagi thought for less than a second before deciding to change that too.
Otherwise, being seen by the staff of the Special Circumstances agency, as well as the entire class, no, even the entire staff and students of the school, in that outfit—
She would undoubtedly be branded as a shameless fool with a severe exhibitionist attribute!
This must not happen!
As Nagi clumsily reached to untie the thin strings of her bikini, it slipped off her milk-white, smooth skin, falling down her straight long legs to the ground.
Seeing this, Garuda tilted his head, seemingly surprised that such a swimsuit could be undone so easily: “Can someone wear this in public?”
“Isn’t this already indecent?” Garuda added, “Master, is this your hidden nature that you finally unleashed when I wasn’t around…”
“That’s, that’s not it—!” Nagi embarrassedly wrapped her slender arms around her ample chest, blushing as she turned her head to counter Garuda.
“It’s alright, I understand. Everyone has their own interests; it’s normal for Master to develop these interests after becoming a girl…”
“Don’t make it sound like I’m some sort of perverted fool!”
“But Master, you… seem to get excited from the passionate gazes of others…”
“…That, that’s the influence of the starlight, right! The real me is a conservative person!”
“Master, appearing like this during the school trip in front of the whole class and faculty is hard to believe.”
“It’s not the whole class! I’ve only shown this to Kanade!”
“…So Master really has made a move on such a pure boy like Kanade?” Garuda humanized himself by holding his beak with his wings; letting only a teenage boy see her like this seems like it’s an attack on him, right?
“Ah no, I—I…” Nagi’s cute cheeks flushed as if they had been cooked, her moist eyes shimmering with a layer of haze.
“…There’s no denial.” Garuda looked at Nagi with suspicion.
Nagi wanted to explain that all of this was the doing of the end within her.
But thinking that it might make Garuda worry, she had to swallow those words.
In the end, she could only mutter a deflated “No way!”
Nagi, feeling a bit frustrated, turned her head and untied the strings of her bikini bottom.
As the last piece of clothing fell away, Nagi reverted to the form she had just entered into this world.
At the same time, she sensed a different psychological sensation for the first time.
Was it because she finally accepted her current identity?
It felt like the discomfort from the past had faded, and what she could feel now was—
“Is it the pleasure brought about by exposure?” Garuda’s voice fittingly intruded into Nagi’s thoughts.
“Hmm… Huh? It’s, it’s not—!” Following Garuda’s words, Nagi took a while to react, flusteringly explaining:
“I don’t have that kind of kink! I am… in any case, a lady with common sense and shame!”
Nagi pouted her lips, her fair and soft cheeks puffing up adorably like a hamster.
“A lady…?” Garuda’s crimson eyes surveyed Nagi’s curvy and seductive figure from head to toe.
Considering her current age, she still had room for growth.
“No matter how you look at it, she’s a shameless blue— Uwa! Don’t throw your tasteless bikini at me!” Garuda flapped his wings and dodged the warm bikini Nagi threw, protesting.
“No way, no way, no way!”
Nagi punished Garuda for his jibes.
She then retrieved the intimate clothing and uniform she had just taken from the hotel.
Putting on the Hoshikage Middle School uniform, Nagi once more felt the sensation of fabric covering her body, as if she had suddenly transformed from a primitive person back to a modern one.
In front of a small mirror in the storage room, Nagi adjusted her bangs and tidied her clothes, ensuring she had returned to the appearance of a pure and adorable black long-haired beauty, with just a hint of the disheveled look as if she had just awakened from a faint.
After finally managing to restore her appearance to one suitable for going out, her long-simmering sense of shame finally subsided.
Nagi then turned to ask: “Garuda, where’s Kanade?”
“Is Master that eager to see your beloved?” Garuda teased.
“Not at all! I’m just a bit worried about whether Kanade is alright!” Nagi pouted unhappily, crossing her arms over her chest, adding: “I want to make sure I meet him before the Special Circumstances agency does…”
Now the Special Circumstances agency had taken over the island.
And Kanade currently possessed that star bracelet, which Nagi had thought that once her lifelong regret project succeeded, Kanade would surely keep it with him as a memento of her remains.
So she infused it with a considerable amount of bestowed power to give him a certain level of protection.
The magic that summoned Garuda was one of those powers.
If that bracelet fell into the hands of the Special Circumstances agency and got investigated, it could lead to big trouble…
“…Doesn’t that indicate that you care about Kanade, though?” Garuda thought to himself while looking suspiciously at a Nagi who seemed oblivious after speaking.
“Is it time for sass now… what the manga says is all true.” Garuda nodded as if he understood something:
“Since Master has reached the tsundere stage, it won’t be long before…”
“Garuda~” Nagi narrowed her eyes and revealed a dazzling smile.
Garuda was momentarily stunned by the overpowering smile in front of him.
“Whe—re~”
“Alright, Kanade is located at….”
