4:00 AM.
The Hidden Management Department's garrison building stood brightly lit under the barrier's cover.
Due to the sudden ice disaster, members of the Hidden Management Department were plunged into a flurry of activity.
Since the ice disaster affected Taito Ward, Chiyoda Ward, and Bunkyo Ward, vast numbers of civilians were forced to evacuate these three central districts late at night, moving to the nearest relief zones.
Within Chiyoda Ward, Akihabara Town remained relatively unaffected by the ice disaster thanks to its large barrier and the presence of the Hidden Management Department's garrison.
Yet despite this, widespread power outages, sudden snowfall and the influx of displaced civilians had still thrown Akihabara into chaos.
Fortunately, the six Joint Task Forces stationed in Akihabara remained organised units. Their emergency deployment, combined with personnel from various organisations in the area, had ultimately succeeded in controlling the situation.
Naturally, the Hidden Management Department in Akihabara had also dispatched many personnel to manage the crisis. Their secretly installed, technique-powered generators ran at full capacity, supplying electricity to nearby shelters.
Even the surface-level barrier had been minimised to prioritise power generation.
Beyond this, team members like Takina and Chisato had long been deployed, and even the secretary, Megumi Kato, had taken on a substantial workload. The Hidden Management Zone had secretly mobilised key SDS members to help calm the populace.
It could be said that, aside from a few idle individuals, the entire Hidden Management Department was fully engaged in disaster relief.
Amidst this bustle, among the rare few who remained unoccupied...
Ravel Phenex stepped out of the elevator onto the sixth-floor corridor with a grave expression.
Pausing after exiting, she turned towards the window, gazing out at the cityscape beyond.
"Has it settled down already?" Ravel murmured to herself.
Through the sixth-floor window, she could see scattered light sources across the urban district, each representing temporary shelters powered by emergency generators that provided minimal heating.
Unlike the barrier-protected buildings of the Hidden Management Department, these light sources were surrounded by dense crowds both inside and out.
The sheer numbers meant even the concealed garrison could hear the clamour of voices. Though still chaotic, the noise had stabilised considerably compared to earlier.
Yet this apparent stability brought Ravel no comfort - only heightened anxiety.
Not that she wished harm upon the shelter occupants, but as the shelters stabilised, the distant magical fluctuations had gradually faded, along with the earlier snowfall.
Ravel understood precisely what the disappearance of those fluctuations signified - and that understanding filled her with tension.
"Mammon, how long has it been since we last heard from Her Majesty Leviathan?"
"Over two hours now."
Her attendant Mammon stood solemnly behind Ravel:
"We've contacted personnel across Tokyo, but there have been no sightings of Her Majesty yet, nor any scheduled communications."
"How could this..."
Ravel bit her lower lip, her expression troubled: "The communication blackout has already far exceeded the time limit set by Her Majesty... Could it be that Her Majesty has truly..."
Hearing this, Mammon immediately reassured Ravel:
"Please rest assured, Miss. As one of the four Satans of the Underworld, Lady Serafall is a veteran of countless wars. The probability of an accident is extremely low."
"There's no response now, perhaps Her Majesty is simply temporarily occupied."
"Mammon, stop talking." Ravel's expression darkened.
"We all know that the frozen wasteland outside is saturated with the ice magic unique to Her Majesty."
"Now that the magic is weakening and the ice is beginning to melt away, the significance behind this is something we both should understand."
"Her Majesty might truly be..."
Ravel's expression was extremely complicated.
Although Serafall's purpose wasn't solely for her sake, as the only female among the Four Satans who had come to receive her as family, her downfall in this world made Ravel feel she couldn't escape responsibility.
Hearing Ravel's words, Mammon took a deep breath and said:
"Miss Ravel, please calm down. Nothing is conclusive yet, isn't that right?"
At this, Ravel bit her lower lip and looked down the corridor towards the doors marking the rest areas of the Hidden Management Department's core members:
"So, I must seek an answer, even if it comes at a cost..."
Mammon immediately frowned and calmly reminded her:
"With all due respect, although Miss La Folia informed us of Mr Luo Shu's resting place, disturbing that gentleman at this hour would be most unwise."
"Even if you wish to inquire about Her Majesty's condition from him, please wait until tomorrow, after he has rested."
Ravel raised her hand to stop Mammon's words, her expression solemn and resolute:
"That's enough, Mammon. No more."
"If Her Majesty has fallen, I will ensure the honour of the Phenex family."
"As for now... please indulge my wilfulness... As for you, wait here."
Ravel glanced at the corridor ahead, took a deep breath, then strode forward.
Watching Ravel depart, Mammon's expression was complex.
'Ensuring the honour of the Phenex family... Miss Ravel, have you even considered ritual suicide as an option?'
Understanding this, Mammon naturally dared not - nor could - stop her, and could only let Ravel leave.
...
Meanwhile.
Ravel turned the corner and, checking the door numbers, slowly found room 601 as indicated by La Folia.
Standing at the door, she took a deep breath before raising her hand to knock.
Just as she was about to knock, a familiar voice came from beside her:
"The door's unlocked. You can go straight in."
"Thank you."
Turning to thank the silver-haired girl beside her, Ravel immediately opened the door and entered, changing into slippers in the entryway.
After she entered, La Folia leaned against the wall by the doorway and began counting with an amused smile:
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6..."
At precisely 6, a bright red-faced Ravel came rushing out like a bat fleeing a cave, nearly crashing into the wall.
Fortunately, La Folia reacted quickly and caught Ravel, or she might have been embedded in the wall.
"Careful now~ Ravel, was there really any need to run so fast?"
Hearing this, Ravel turned to look at La Folia holding her waist, then pointed into the room with a flustered expression, stammering: "She... she... Her Majesty actually..."
La Folia, who seemed to know something already, asked with great curiosity:
"I know Serafall is inside, so what's happening in there? What position are they using?"
Hearing this, Ravel instinctively grabbed her golden twin tails, her expression extremely flustered.
Seeing Ravel's reaction, La Folia immediately understood and smirked mischievously:
"Oh, so it's the riding position then? Hmm, using the twin tails as reins? That's rather interesting~"
"And Miss Serafall does seem particularly fond of twin tails... quite foresighted in that regard."
As she spoke, La Folia glanced at Ravel and asked curiously:
"Speaking of which, don't you also like wearing twin tails, Ravel?"
Ravel was so startled by this that she immediately released her twin tails, clutching her skirt instead, perfectly embodying the phrase 'standing uneasily'.
After fidgeting for a moment, she suddenly realised something and turned to look at the silver-haired girl holding her waist to prevent her from falling:
"Miss La Folia, why are you here too?"
"I've been here all along!" La Folia pointed to room 602 next door: "I live right beside you. I heard your footsteps and came out to look."
"But why..." Ravel paused, then turned to stare blankly at the open door of room 601 before repeating: "Why..."
"Why did I call you over? Why are Serafall and Luo Shu inside?"
La Folia nodded understandingly, then replied matter-of-factly:
"I called you because I didn't want to interrupt Luo Shu and Miss Serafall's fun."
"But I was curious about what they were up to, so when you asked me where Miss Serafall was, I thought I'd bring you along~"
"As for why they're in there, does there need to be a reason? They wanted to, they liked it, so they did it~"
Hearing La Folia's explanation, Ravel looked between the room and La Folia, reflecting on her own actions and La Folia's claim that she didn't want to ruin their fun.
The next second, Ravel's eyes widened, her head tilted to the right, and she promptly fainted.
La Folia blinked in surprise, then scratched her cheek with a somewhat troubled expression:
"Eh? She fainted? Surely it wasn't that bad..."
"Is this level of prank really so terrifying to demons?"
La Folia fell into deep contemplation.