Chapter: 148. Actions of All Parties
“Yokushita Manai, I understand very well the nature of your power, and I can help you gain even stronger abilities.”
“My… power’s nature?”
“Indeed, but to be honest, I’m not sure if it’s right to involve you. However, if we are to face the fantasy monsters of the new era… your fictional royalty is indispensable.”
“Ultimately, who are you really? And what is this so-called fantasy monster of the new era?”
“I am a resurrected spirit, here to save this world. Yokushita Manai, if one day you yearn for greater power, come find me at Starlight Academy. I’ll be waiting for you.”
After the man finished speaking, he turned his back to Manai, and his figure gradually vanished in the glow of the setting sun.
At that moment.
The sky suddenly lit up with a beam of light, causing Manai to involuntarily look up in the direction of the source—
It was a sparkling star.
The star, hovering in the sky, radiated a brilliance far more dazzling than the setting sun in the distance.
That glow reflected in Manai’s crimson eyes.
It was as if a flower had suddenly unfolded at the center of the sun—a purple-black flower.
Manai abruptly sat up in bed.
“Again, is it this dream?” Manai gasped for breath, pushing the hair that clung to her skin aside.
Even Manai couldn’t withstand the heat brought by summer, and coincidentally the air conditioning wasn’t working properly. She woke up drenched in sweat, her platinum-like fairy hair and sky-blue pajamas stuck to her fair skin, outlining a figure that was more slender and curvaceous than her peers.
Summer, summer vacation.
Kawano City.
After the incident of the fantasy monsters invading Infinite Academy, Manai was forced to stay there for a week to cooperate with the investigation and treatment. Just as the summer vacation arrived, she took this opportunity to return to Kawano City after a long absence.
The contents of the dream she just had were the conversations that occurred between her and the black-haired man on the day when the fantasy monsters invaded Infinite Academy.
The reason Manai remembered that day so vividly was that, for her, it was also the day she lost contact with her childhood friend.
Although later she learned about the whole situation through Amane Amano and understood Kanade’s choices, as well as Nagi’s departure.
However, she still couldn’t shake the feelings of unease regarding this matter.
If possible, Manai wished she could stand alongside Kanade to protect Nagi.
—But if it’s Tsukimi-kun, he would definitely take good care of Nagi-chan, right?
Manai gently slapped her cheeks with her hands, trying to wake her still groggy mind from the heat and the nightmare.
Then she slowly got out of bed and walked toward the bathroom in her house.
Manai’s mother, “Yokushita Aiko,” also worked during the summer vacation. She had to help guide people learning acting at the city’s acting experience center.
However, Aiko did not neglect Manai because of work. They had planned to go out for dinner together tonight, so Manai had to complete what she needed to do in Kawano City before evening came.
In a few days, it would be Nagi’s birthday. Every year around this time, Manai would prepare a birthday gift for Nagi, even when she was at Ark Academy and couldn’t return to Kawano City. She would still send the gift by mail to Nagi.
However, this time the situation was a bit special.
Since Kanade and Nagi were currently on the run from Special Circumstances SEMA and the three major academies, Manai obviously had no way of knowing their whereabouts. Therefore, she decided to deliver the gift she had prepared early to Nagi’s home, helping to cover for their elopement and to prevent Nagi’s family from worrying.
As for Kanade and Nagi’s act of running away, neither Special Circumstances SEMA nor Ark Academy had made it public or informed their parents.
For their parents, their children were simply spending time during summer vacation participating in the “Environmental Summer Camp” organized by Ark Academy. With the official excuse from Special Circumstances SEMA and the secret protection from the Amano family, the Tsukimi and Hoshimi families were still in a peaceful atmosphere until now.
…
…
The continuous heavy rain for several days impeded the tracking efforts of Special Circumstances SEMA.
Even the most advanced drones could not operate against the howling winds and torrential rain.
And because the ability users were worried about the domains of “End” and “Garuda,” they could not track using their abilities, resulting in the loss of the two targets’ whereabouts by the evening of the third day.
“Report, we have lost track of the targets, and it’s likely that the targets have discovered us.” The on-site commander at the operations center truthfully reported the latest situation to the headquarters of Special Circumstances SEMA.
His words carried a hint of frustration and helplessness, as well as a touch of relief.
The last known location of the targets was in Tokyo, a bustling metropolis with a complex network of routes.
In theory, the surveillance cameras in this city were under the control of Special Circumstances SEMA since their headquarters was located here. However, it was strange that neither the optical surveillance cameras nor the magical detection devices had captured the movements of the targets.
This phenomenon further confirmed the on-site commander’s suspicion—“Special Circumstances SEMA’s actions have already been discovered by the targets.”
If the legendary “fantasy monster-Garuda” was indeed lending its powers and authority, no surveillance cameras in this world could capture their traces.
“I understand, compile all reports from this observation and tracking operation and submit them as soon as possible.” On the other end of the phone, Adam’s voice was as steady and authoritative as ever.
North Pole.
Adam was still at the front line deciphering the “Book of Futures.”
However, he was also fully responsible for commanding the actions against Tsukimi Kanade and Hoshimi Nagi.
After putting down the communicator, he glanced at the results calculated from models over the past few days and took out another communicator to contact Kurokawa.
Because Adam was very aware of the capabilities of each of his subordinates, although the temporarily formed Special Circumstances SEMA Task Force had declared failure, ACE Midrash could still continue tracking the targets in his own way.
“…Moving south?” Adam looked at the movement route of Kanade and Nagi on the map over the past few days and discerned a pattern.
Although they had traveled to remote areas or routes far from the major cities, their overall movement direction was southward. Even when they chose to settle in a major city like Tokyo on the last day, it seemed to be a ploy to disguise their direction of travel—
At that moment, a memory surfaced in Adam’s mind about the personal information he had just reviewed regarding Hoshimi Nagi.
His instincts gave him an answer.
“Kawano City?”
