Chapter: 87. Daily Life of the Joint Team (40/46)
Several days have passed since Nagi arrived in Tokyo.
As a newly recognized ace-level esper and a double, triple, or even quadruple agent, she expected to be assigned to combat missions or secretly investigate other members of the team after joining the “Joint Team.”
However, the reality was unexpectedly leisurely—at least on the surface.
During the day, she had to maintain her disguise as an “idol and model”—this was not a metaphor, as she was genuinely pulled into shooting various photo books, advertisement shorts, and even spent an entire day posing against a green screen for an MV.
“Come on, please look over here~ Miss Kamishiro, keep that expression! Great, great! Just that vibe of ‘innocence mixed with a bit of mystery’!”
“Uh… is this really innocence or mystery…?”
The photography studio was filled with the sounds of camera shutters, flashing lights, and the shouting of stylists and directors.
And she herself was like some sort of manipulated product, being “dressed up” and “directed” by various staff members in turn.
If it weren’t for Nagi’s ability to use “Starlight State,” she would feel like she couldn’t endure this high-intensity shooting work.
Although she couldn’t help but complain that these “shooting tasks” didn’t seem like serious work at all, when she tried to flip through the task briefings of the Joint Team or directly question Meisa, she only received one answer:
“Promotional work is a part of combat operations.”
With Meisa’s explanation, Nagi finally understood her current position:
Starlight Academy clearly intended to take this opportunity to launch a large-scale promotional offensive through her “new ace.”
On one hand, it was to showcase the “strength and charm” of the academy, and on the other, it was to clearly announce to the outside world—she was from Starlight Academy.
They obviously didn’t want her, a powerful esper, to be poached by Special Ring SEMA or the other two major academies.
“…No wonder a task meant to be low-profile was assigned to me with the roles of a ‘band idol’ and ‘model.'” Nagi couldn’t help but sigh as she looked at her promotional photo on the briefing and flipped through the day’s schedule with mixed emotions.
Although Nagi’s daytime work was incredibly tough, it was no easier at night.
In the underground training ground of the Joint Team’s combat center, both her solitude with Kanade and the training content made her feel double fatigue from both mental and physical aspects. She had to struggle to suppress her desires for Kanade while facing his intense training.
Moreover, the training methods were far from the gentle guidance she originally imagined.
Because it was aimed at ace-level espers, the training content was not simple; it included precise control of magic power release, all-around combat against real opponents, emergency judgment during sudden situations, and simulated team tactics, among other things.
The training pace was quite tight; almost every time it ended, she had to lay in the rest area for half an hour to recover.
What made Nagi feel somewhat distressed was—
During training, Kanade showed no signs of “tenderness.” His attitude was much harsher than what she knew of him in daily life, and could even be described as cold.
Although facing such a Kanade made Nagi feel a strange thrum of excitement…
Especially when he issued commands with a hard tone and an imposing gaze fixed on her, her heart would inexplicably race.
However, the ensuing high-intensity training left Nagi feeling as if there was nothing pleasant about the “masochistic sensation” at all.
“…Haah, that, um… this really is… training, not abuse… right…?”
“The fact that you still have breath to speak means the intensity can be increased.”
“Don’t say that with such a sense of entitlement!?”
Even if Nagi could vaguely sense that Kanade treated her so strictly in order to give her a better chance to survive in battle, this high-intensity training, like being “wrung out” by Kanade’s rigorous training regimen—didn’t make her feel happy.
Because of this, the only moment when Nagi felt “happy” every day was during late-night snacks.
“Everyone—I’m back~!”
Not long after training ended, the combat center would be filled with the energetic greeting of Akane.
She always returned holding two oversized convenience store plastic bags, stuffed with midnight snack spoils scavenged from various convenience stores.
Steaming soy-sauce fried chicken, crunchy French fries, stewed oden soaked in broth, and a pile of cream desserts and carbonated drinks that made one feel their weight would soar just by looking at them.
“Come on, come on! Today’s fried chicken has a promotion—buy one get a free cola!”
“I heard this pudding is a limited flavor! I snagged the last one! Praise me!”
She spoke while distributing food with her little hands like a hamster.
At that moment, Akane seemed to stealthily come to Kanade’s side—
“Here, this is what I specially bought for Tsukimi-kun…” she said, placing a square pink bag in Kanade’s outstretched palm. “I had a tough time getting this; Miss Kamishiro is a good girl, so don’t— Ouch!?”
Kanade mercilessly delivered a heavy chop to the cute loli in front of him.
This stable and peaceful life in the Joint Team lasted only a week.
New developments soon shattered this brief tranquility.
At the latest meeting of the Joint Team.
After several days of tracking and surveillance, the Joint Team finally obtained crucial intelligence.
According to investigations, an unidentified mysterious person had made contact with the “Ace Iron Knight” through online means and arranged a secret meeting for tomorrow night.
Moreover, the communication technology used by the individual was exceedingly advanced, making it impossible for the Joint Team’s technical personnel to trace its specific origin and content. They could only rely on several ace-level espers to monitor on-site for an extended time to barely learn of the existence of this meeting.
The technical level of the other party far exceeded the current network security systems of Special Ring SEMA and the three major academies.
This inevitably led one to recall the “Starshine Incident,” where an unidentified force hacked and forcibly manipulated the orbital weapon “Judgment Light.”
“…In other words, the individual meeting the target may very well be the mastermind behind the Starshine Incident?”
Meisa raised the question that was on everyone’s mind during the meeting.
“Although we cannot definitively determine the truth yet, at the very least—this will provide us with a reasonable excuse to detain and interrogate the target.”
Shirayuki replied calmly, then scanned the several ace-level espers present, her tone turning serious.
“The key to this task is to ensure that when the target meets with the behind-the-scenes contact, we capture them all.”
“Whether it’s the target or the behind-the-scenes contact—they must be taken alive.”
“We have too little information, and we cannot allow any clues that may uncover the truth to slip away.”
Undoubtedly, this might be the critical entry point to breakthrough the entire incident.
Upon hearing this, Nagi knew her opportunity for action had come.
If she wanted to win the trust of Gikou, she absolutely could not stand by and let the “Iron Knight” fall into the hands of the Joint Team, to be interrogated by them.
But—this did not mean he couldn’t speak.
She could definitely extract all the information from him before making a move to “kill him.”
