An hour later, estimating that the time was about right, Inori greeted the two of them, changed into casual clothes for going out, and left the room. Following her memory, she walked down the corridor toward the room occupied by Souta Tamadate—the key condition required for this mission.
When she arrived outside his room, she first glanced both ways down the corridor. After confirming that no one was passing by, she gently knocked on the door.
Knock, knock!
"Who is it?"
A boy's muffled voice came from inside the room.
"...Inori Yuzuriha."
She stated her identity directly. There was no need to conceal it at a time like this.
"—! Inori!!"
Tap, tap!
The next moment, the sound of fabric rustling came from inside the room. He was probably hurriedly putting on clothes. Then came a rapid series of approaching footsteps, their quick rhythm highlighting their owner's urgency and excitement.
Her expression remained unchanged as she waited for him to open the door.
Click!
Several seconds later, the door opened, revealing him in a tank top and baggy shorts. The moment he saw her beautiful face, he blushed, then broke into the smile of a lovestruck adolescent.
"Good evening... Souta."
She glanced at his current expression and spoke without any change in her own.
"Uh... yeah! Good evening, Inori... um—"
Souta was ecstatic at first, but then grew somewhat nervous. He scratched his head, suddenly feeling awkward.
"May I come in?"
She interrupted him and gestured toward the room.
"Huh? Ah... y-yes///! Please come in!!"
He froze for a moment, then immediately stepped aside, no longer able to conceal the smile on his face.
This was Inori!
His idol!
The girl of his dreams!
He knew exactly what it meant to let her into his room!!
"Thank you."
Inori gave a slight nod, then quietly walked through the space he had made for her. Looking around at the bedroom, whose layout was identical to theirs, she paused in the center of the room.
Click...
After hearing the door close behind her, she quietly sat down at the low table and beckoned to him.
"Sit down..."
She gestured toward the seat opposite her.
"Uh... okay///~!"
His entire body was so tense that he stood rigidly upright. He marched over with stiff steps, knees awkwardly turned inward, and sat across from her. His face was flushed, and he did not dare look at her, keeping his eyes fixed on the tabletop.
"I heard from Kanon... that you've been listening to EGOIST's songs?"
She asked softly.
"Mm~! That's right... I listen to every single one! I buy them all too!"
He nodded and answered excitedly.
"Thank you for supporting me."
She nodded slightly and thanked him.
"No, no~! It's what I should do! After all, Inori is both my idol and—ah... never mind///."
He instantly stopped himself before titles such as "the girl of my dreams" or "goddess" could slip out.
"You told me before... that you wanted my autograph?"
Without drawing attention to it, she glanced at the clock behind him.
"Yeah! Um... could it be that you're going to—"
He scratched his head again, hinting expectantly...
"Here. A personally signed copy of my new single."
What she took from her pocket was not a USB drive, but a physical disc with collectible value.
"Really?!!"
His eyes instantly lit up.
"Mm. Thank you for all your support."
She rose on her own initiative, carried the record across the low table, smoothed her skirt as she knelt beside the boy, and presented it to him with both hands at close range.
"Thank you so much!!!! Inori~?!"
He immediately accepted it and cradled it in his arms as though it were a priceless treasure. Then he stood up and began bouncing around the room.
"..."
Watching Souta Tamadate with his back turned to her, Inori glanced at the back of her hand. The mark of the Void Genome appeared, releasing several strands of silver light. She rose lightly to her feet, her bare feet silently approaching him from behind without his noticing.
"Souta."
She softly called out to the boy in front of her, who was still immersed in his excitement.
"What is it, Inori—!"
Hum...
The next moment, before he could react, Inori raised her hand and thrust it directly into his chest. The power of the King activated, and dazzling silver motes of light appeared around them.
"Ugaaahhh—!!"
Souta's mouth fell wide open as his eyes rolled back. His body instinctively arched in an oddly sensual curve, trembling nonstop.
"Sorry... I'm borrowing your Void."
After murmuring this to him, Inori pulled his Void directly from his body. The silver threads transformed into an object resembling a camera, though its grip was shaped like that of a handgun. Supporting the unconscious boy with one arm as his eyes remained rolled back, she slowly moved him onto the bedding, covered him with the blanket, and slipped the record she had given him beneath his pillow.
Carrying his Void, she walked to the door—
"Good night... Souta."
Click... The lights went out.
Tap, tap...
She jogged quickly to the Shogun's room, opened the door, and signaled to the woman inside.
"!"
The Shogun smiled and immediately crawled out from beneath the heated kotatsu table. She quickly changed back into the casual clothes she had worn when they arrived, said goodbye to Hare, and left together with Inori.
"Take care... both of you. Haa—!"
Hare spoke softly. Once the door had closed tightly again, she let out a heavy sigh.
...
Funeral Parlor's meeting point was an open space on the rear mountain, some distance from the villa... It was adjacent to their current target, namely the rear entrance of GHQ's secret facility. Because it was a clandestine installation, the surrounding layout was extremely inconspicuous. Aside from several lamps used for illumination and an iron fence, there was nothing else there.
"Oh? You were pretty quick. Did you get it?"
Gai teased them when he saw the two arrive.
"..."
Inori merely raised the arm holding the "camera" to show him.
"Punctual as always, Inori."
Ayase praised her, then looked toward the Shogun.
"Mio is coming too?"
"I was getting bored just sitting around... so I thought I might as well come for a walk."
She replied.
"...A w-walk? This isn't a vacation."
Ayase smiled wryly.
"Well... it's close enough. As long as the plan goes smoothly, this really will be easy."
Gai shrugged.
The way you said that makes me feel like there is absolutely no chance this plan will go smoothly.
The Shogun complained inwardly.
"Is everyone here?"
Gai briefly swept his gaze over the group, then spoke again. Although he had not asked the Shogun to come this time, it did not matter that she had. After all, she was one of them, and her presence offered additional security.
"Tsugumi has already disabled the security surveillance. The problem lies inside the facility,"
Gai "pointed" with his gaze toward the heavy iron door before them, then turned to look at Inori behind him,
"Inori, aim the camera at that iron door."
"Mm..."
Inori stepped forward and held the gun-shaped camera in both hands as though aiming a firearm. With the sights aligned, she pulled the trigger!
Click!
After a flash of white light, the previously closed iron door was suddenly standing wide open. There had been no transition whatsoever, only an instantaneous change, as though reality itself had been rewritten.
"Haa... interesting."
The Shogun folded her arms, watching the scene with interest.
"That is the function of Souta Tamadate's Void. It is a Void used to unlock things, though naturally, that includes all kinds of 'locks.'"
Gai also revealed a confident smile as he explained it to her.
"I see... understood."
She nodded in comprehension.
"Let's go... Ayase, you and Oogumo stay outside and keep watch. Notify me if anything happens."
"Understood!" ×2
...
A few minutes before Funeral Parlor assembled, Shuichiro Keido appeared at the entrance of the secret facility dressed in civilian clothes and a gray trench coat. Because he was not in uniform, the soldier guarding the entrance failed to recognize him and treated him as a suspicious person.
"Stop! This is a restricted area. Outsiders are forbidden from entering!"
The soldier raised his gun and aimed it at Keido, sternly ordering him to leave.
"..."
Keido did not respond immediately. Instead, he glanced at the Bible in his hand.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!"
The soldier was clearly growing impatient and shouted at him again.
Only then did Keido raise his head and lift the brim of his hat slightly, exposing his face.
"—!"
The moment the soldier recognized him, his face turned pale and he took a step back. Then he straightened his body and saluted.
"My apologies! Forgive my disrespect! Director Keido—"
"Don't worry about it."
However, Keido interrupted him. While the soldier was still stunned, he raised the arm holding his silenced pistol and aimed directly at the man's eye.
Pew!
One shot rang out.
Thud!
The bullet instantly pierced the soldier's forehead, and he collapsed to the ground.
Tap, tap...
Keido took out his personal key card and swiped open the electronic door in front of him. Stepping over the soldier's corpse, he curled his lips into a smile.
"I'm merely a passing soul."
Beep—!
The door automatically slid open. He glanced at the surveillance feed on his terminal, which showed Funeral Parlor already gathered at the rear entrance.
"Rats... believing they can control everything."
He mocked them mercilessly, then followed the technologically advanced corridor to his destination—the place where the "stone" was stored.
After unlocking the complex maze-like security mechanism within the chamber, he stared at the frozen, dark crystal covered in black patterns. The cold light in his eyes seemed intent on piercing straight through it.
He accessed the storage device, lifted the crystal sealed inside an insulated container, and pressed a red button on the controller in his hand before leaving.
"But... the only ones who control everything are us."
Beep—!
Woom—woom—!
The moment he pressed the button, alarms blared throughout the entire facility. Keido lowered the brim of his hat with an icy smile and left through a passage known only to him.
Meanwhile...
The three people who had already entered the facility immediately noticed the sudden alarm.
"What?!"
Gai froze, revealing a rare look of surprise.
"Have we been discovered?"
The Shogun remained unfazed and asked casually.
The nearby corridors, which had originally glowed blue, were now drenched in red, their lights flashing intermittently.
"No, it wasn't us... but why?"
Gai was certain they could not have been exposed so easily, but... the alarm really had gone off.
"Could someone have triggered it deliberately?"
Inori asked.
"Yeah... that's very possible. Don't waste any more time. Move!"
Since the alarm had already sounded, there was no longer any need for caution. The three of them immediately broke into a run, heading toward their objective—the place where the "stone" was stored.
Because the alarm had activated the facility's automatic defense mode, the security doors throughout the corridors began descending one after another, as though trying to trap them inside.
"...Inori!"
Seeing the immovable security door blocking the path ahead, Gai looked toward Inori.
"...!"
Inori did not ask any questions. She immediately raised the camera in her hands and took a picture of the security door.
Click!
Sure enough, the door reopened the next moment.
"Move!"
Seeing this, they resumed running. This time, however, the security doors descended with astonishing speed, sealing off the entire corridor ahead in a single sequence and dividing it into several sections.
"Damn it!"
Gai cursed.
Without saying a word, the Shogun transformed into a streak of lightning and violently sliced through every security door in their path. With her assistance, the route became completely unobstructed.
"You were right to come, Mio."
After finally reaching their destination, Gai caught his breath and spoke emotionally to the woman beside him as she sheathed her blade.
Without her, there was no telling how much time they would have wasted. If GHQ's main force had arrived before they finished, they would have been in serious trouble. Fortunately, she was here. She was practically a treasure to Funeral Parlor, though he was admittedly very curious about her origins.
"Mm... it was all thanks to Mio."
Inori praised her as well.
"You're flattering me. Go see the objective you came to find."
The Shogun shook her head indifferently and gestured toward the sealed storage chamber ahead. It was surrounded on all sides by maze-like obstructions fitted together without the slightest gap.
"...Even a mechanism like this can be undone by the camera. Inori, take a picture."
Gai exhaled, looked toward Inori, and spoke confidently.
"..."
Inori raised the camera and took another picture.
Clatter!
The next moment, the maze-like server locks before them automatically folded into one another, transforming like a Rubik's Cube. Eventually, they all retracted into the walls, revealing an extremely spacious cubic chamber and the now-empty container inside.
"!"
Gai's pupils contracted. He strode toward the container and circled it, staring at the empty interior in disbelief.
"How could this...!"
He clenched his teeth and glared furiously at the display screen opposite him. It showed a red alarm interface, along with the words [Rat Trap] and several other phrases mocking him.
"Tch!"
Bang!
Seeing this, he immediately fired a shot into the screen and shattered it.
"Gai..."
Inori looked at him, waiting for his orders.
"..."
The Shogun remained unmoved, watching the scene with her arms folded. She had no intention of interfering with Gai's objective, though she was somewhat curious about what the container had originally held.
"Haa... we've been played. Retreat."
Gai issued the order to the others over the communicator and to the two people present, then walked out first, silently gritting his teeth as he went.
So it really was you, Keido!
...
"Huh? S-so... you're saying the mission failed?"
Hare, who had already burrowed beneath the covers, poked her head out and looked at the Shogun lying beside her.
The lights in the room had already been turned off. Only a warm bedside lamp remained, illuminating the area around the bedding and coating the exquisite faces of the three girls in a lingering veil of gold.
"Mm... by the time we arrived, it had already been taken."
The Shogun lay beside Hare, staring at the ceiling as she spoke softly.
"..."
Hearing this, Hare lowered her eyes and shifted her delicate body beneath the blanket, turning onto her side to face her.
"Are you worried, Mio?"
She asked.
"Not particularly. I only joined them by chance today, and I don't know the full story. Inori should know, shouldn't she?"
She looked toward the girl lying beneath the covers on her right. Inori was resting on her stomach with her chin against the pillow, her red eyes gleaming faintly with thought.
"That object is very important—to Funeral Parlor, to Gai himself, and to the people of this country. That's what Gai said before."
Inori spoke.
"...Was this the first time one of his missions failed?"
The Shogun turned her head to look at Inori and asked.
"...I suppose so. I don't know what things were like before I joined, but... since then, he has never failed. His exceptional leadership has always shown Funeral Parlor the way forward. That's why Ayase admires him so much."
"What about you?"
She asked.
"...?"
Inori glanced at her, then allowed a barely perceptible smile to appear on her usually expressionless face.
"Back then, he took me in when I had nothing—not even a name. I've always thought of him as a father, though he doesn't seem to see it that way."
"Is that why you said Funeral Parlor was your home?"
"Mm..."
Inori nodded.
"Mm... haa..."
The Shogun felt the girl on her left occasionally rubbing against her arm. She deliberately glanced over and discovered that Hare had already fallen asleep. Perhaps she had exhausted herself playing during the day, which was why she had drifted off so quickly. Pressed against the Shogun's body, Hare rested her forehead on her shoulder, her eyes peacefully closed as she breathed evenly.
"GHQ must be preparing something. I have a bad feeling, Mio."
Inori frowned as she looked at her.
"Do not be afraid."
The Shogun comforted the girl beside her.
"Haa... Mio, can you pat my head?"
Inori took the initiative to hug her arm and leaned closer as though acting spoiled, whispering softly.
"Will patting your head make everything better?"
She asked with a smile.
"Hurry~"
Ignoring her teasing, Inori urged her again.
"There, there~ Don't be afraid."
She smiled and gently smoothed the girl's hair with her palm.
"Mm..."
Inori closed her eyes in relief. As time passed, the bedside lamp gradually dimmed and went out, leaving only the sweet, quiet breathing of the three girls.