Yomikawa Aiho was the first to leap out of the vehicle.
Immediately after, more Anti-Skill officers poured out of the patrol cars behind her—many of them fully armed, members of heavy riot-control units clad in reinforced armor.
Seventy people in total formed up into a neat formation, weapons at the ready, clearly prepared for combat at a moment's notice.
And then
They awkwardly realized there didn't seem to be any target worthy of such an overwhelming show of force.
Aside from a few kids running toward their convoy, the area in front of the research building was empty—quiet, almost eerily so.
"We're fine, Yomikawa-sensei," Torahachi Toumi said cheerfully, waving as she glanced over the arrayed Anti-Skill formation. "Wow, you brought this many people?"
"Y-Yeah…" Yomikawa Aiho replied, just as embarrassed. Even she hadn't expected things to escalate to this scale when she called for backup.
Truth be told, her original intent had simply been concern. She'd been worried that Kobayashi Nana and Toumi might get hurt, caught in danger here.
But from Anti-Skill Headquarters' perspective, the reason they'd authorized the rapid deployment of a heavy riot unit was quite different.
They were worried about Kobayashi Nana going berserk.
The Talent Workshop was enormous. The presence of shady, off-the-books experiments wasn't surprising in the slightest. Anti-Skill had already gathered partial intelligence on it long ago—but lacking solid evidence, and given the Workshop's powerful backing, they'd never been able to launch a full investigation.
After all, Anti-Skill needed proof to act.
But Kobayashi Nana and Torahachi Toumiwere still just kids—didn't have to care about that sort of thing.
So there was a very real fear that Kobayashi might have uncovered something again… and that history would repeat itself, just like with Black Moon Technology, ending in another violent rampage.
To be perfectly honest, the shields and armor issued to this heavy unit had been developed specifically to counter psychic abilities.
Of course, that was the sort of truth better left unspoken.
"Given the risk of large-scale conflict, we mobilized extra personnel," the officer in charge of the operation said as he stepped forward. "After all, the Talent Workshop is a major research facility with nearly a hundred professional security staff on site."
"There's no need to worry," Kobayashi said calmly. He'd more or less guessed Anti-Skill's real motives, but out of an unspoken adult understanding, he didn't call it out, and he wasn't offended by it either. "I was only here to rescue someone. And as you can see, no conflict actually occurred."
As he spoke, doctors were already surrounding the gurney. While checking Dolly's condition, they lifted both her and the stretcher into an ambulance.
Mitori Keisaku followed anxiously at their side, wanting to ask about her friend's condition, yet afraid of interfering with the doctors' work.
In the end, she could only watch as Dolly was taken into the ambulance.
"That girl Dolly is in critical condition," Kobayashi said firmly. "I want her treated by that doctor. Heaven Canceller."
Or rather,r only Heaven Canceller could save her.
Dolly was an artificially created clone. Her lifespan had never been on par with a normal human to begin with, and now she'd reached the absolute limit. This wasn't something ordinary medicine could handle.
"The boy is right," the doctor who'd examined her earlier said hurriedly as he returned. "Multiple organ failure, extensive surgical modifications… the fact she's lived this long is already a miracle. Aside from that doctor, no one else could save her."
"Then please—go get him! Save Dolly!" Keisaku cried out.
"Leave it to us," Yomikawa Aiho said firmly.
Moments later, half the convoy peeled off, escorting the ambulance toward the hospital at full speed.
Watching them go, Kobayashi finally relaxed.
—No one would be foolish enough to attack that convoy halfway, right?
"Don't worry," Yomikawa said, reading his concern. "No matter how many secrets that girl is tied up in, once she leaves that gate alive, killing her loses all meaning."
The remaining Anti-Skill officers began their routine on-site investigation.
Even if the expected battle never happened, such a large-scale mobilization had already caused a stir across the area. They couldn't just pack up and go home without doing something.
At the very least, a standard inspection of the Talent Workshop was unavoidable.
Unfortunately, the girl named Dolly could no longer serve as a witness to accuse them of illegal experimentation…
This was a matter of enormous importance. In fact, the Board of Directors had directly contacted Anti-Skill Headquarters, issuing an order to prohibit any in-depth investigation into Dolly or the experiments surrounding her.
That order had been delivered less than two minutes after Kobayashi received Keisaku's desperate call and set off for the Talent Workshop.
And it was precisely because of that order that Anti-Skill Headquarters approved the emergency deployment of a heavy riot-control unit—to stabilize the situation.
Yomikawa Aiho had learned of these top-level secrets while en route. That was why she could confidently assure Kobayashi Dolly's life would no longer be threatened.
Because this was Anti-Skill's final line.
In Academy City, Anti-Skill was an organization wielding immense authority and combat power. But in the end, it was still a tool used by the Board of Directors to govern and maintain the city.
Those two roles defined its dilemma.
Upholding "justice" mattered—but above all else, Anti-Skill's foremost duty was maintaining "order."
And in Academy City, the Board of Directors will be in order.
For Anti-Skill's teachers, if true justice couldn't be carried out, then at the very least, they would protect the bottom-line Protecting children.
This was the compromise reached between Anti-Skill and the Board of Directors: in exchange for abandoning any further investigation into the secrets behind Dolly, the girl's life would be guaranteed.
Naturally, none of this could be made public. Even most Anti-Skill officers were unaware of it.
So, from their perspective, today's emergency deployment felt inexplicably anticlimactic. For reasons of confidentiality, even within Anti-Skill, not everyone knew about Kobayashi Nana's past exploits.
"What a letdown," one officer muttered. "They rolled out the heavy units. I thought there'd be a fight."
"That's not true," Keisaku whispered in protest, unable to help herself. "There was a fight. I worked really hard!"
It had been the first time in her life she'd used Liquid Shadow against another person to keep the institute's security from taking Dolly away.
But lacking trust in adults, Keisaku stayed far from the Anti-Skill officers, deliberately hiding behind Kobayashi and Toumi.
Only Kobayashi caught her words.
He turned back to look at the girl.
(End of Chapter)
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