While we’re waiting, we try our best to come up with a strategy after we got inside. Since we have Assaf-sensei the former insider, I called her phone so that she could join in the meeting.

   In the original anime, it was revealed that the HQ is in Okinawa. I guess it’s much easier to do illegal things if your workplace is very far away from the watchful eyes of the government.

   ‘When was the last time you were there, sensei?’ I ask Assaf-sensei.

   ‘If my memories serve me right, it was just 3 days right before all of you attacked me.’

   ‘So, whatever info you provide us is still new?’

   ‘Definitely. However, keep in mind that it’s been months since I was last there. For all we know, they could have changed the security protocol drastically.’

   ‘Understood. For now, please tell us what to expect when we got there.’ Sakuya says to her.

   ‘Alright. First of all, you can just ignore the buildings. Those are the places where they make genuine medicines and conduct legal experiments. All those underground stuff that you want can be found at, well, underground. Once you’re inside, there will be an huge electronic gate that’s anti-magic, so you’ll need brute force to bust through.’

   ‘Or some hacking.’ Madoka suggests.

   ‘I guess that works too.’ Assaf-sensei says.

   ‘What about the security, sensei?’ I ask her.

   ‘It’s the usual. You know, illegally-enhanced human guards equipped with stat-of-the-arts weaponry, summoned Destroyers here and there, some cultists that won't hesitate on committing double-suicide with their enemies.’

   ‘There are nothing usual about any of those guards.’ I point out.

   ‘Trust me, if you have been to enough buildings occupied by Lost Children, you’ll know that the guards you find inside the underground lab are pretty normal.’

   ‘It’s true.’ Madoka says.

   ‘Right. We’re getting off topic here. Were there any other executives other than you inside the lab, sensei?’

   ‘Yes. Joseph Brennan was there.’

   ‘Ah. The toxicomania.’ Sakuya says.

   ‘Indeed. Again, it’s already a few months, so someone else might be there.’

   ‘Well, we’ll have to risk it.’

   Our next topic is regarding the actions we’ll be taking after we got the evidence. It was already too late in the original anime, which is why I have to bring it up now. Before that, I need to act ignorant.

   ‘How many branches do the lab has in total?’

   ‘35.’ Madoka answers.

   ‘And the HQ is the only place that conducts inhumane experiments?’

   ‘...Oh.’

   That’s right. The mistake they made in the original anime is that while they’ve managed to shut down the HQ, they’ve forgotten about the possibility that it was not the only place with biologically-enhanced test subjects. As a result, all the test subjects were released and cause a major havoc around the world.

   ‘This suddenly turned into a huge deal.’ Yui says.

   ‘No kidding.’

   While we’re still discussing, PM Shindou is back from the meeting with most of the world leaders.

   ‘It is done.’ he tells us. ‘Even if you ended up burning that hellhole down, myself and majority of my counterparts will do everything we can to make sure that all of you will not suffer from any sorts of repercussions.’

   I bow at him. ‘Thank you, sir. We really appreciate it.’

   ‘No, no. I’m the one who’s supposed to thank all of you. Here you are, risking your life for the civilians, and yet, I as the Prime Minister, can do nothing but support you from the sideline. Worse still, I allowed the police to be as corrupted as they are now.’ he says with a guilty look on his face.

   Oh, so he does know that every police under Takikawa is rotten to the core.

   ‘Please don’t blame yourself, sir. I’m sure that you tried your best. Besides, you’re helping us plenty enough. It’s thanks to you and the other world leaders that we can go all out.’

   PM Shindou looks more cheerful after hearing to what I said.

   ‘So then, are you heading for Okinawa right now?’ he asks us.

   ‘We were planning to, but we forgot the fact that the lab’s HQ might not be the only one that we need to thrash.’

   He nods understandingly. ‘The lab has quite a lot of branches, after all.’

   ‘Yes, which is why we will ask the help from other Academy branches to take down those dangerous ones.’

   ‘Well, should you require my assistance again, you can always ask me through Agito.’

   ‘Yes, thank you very much.’

   He bows at us and takes his leave. We bow back at him.

   After he leaves, we continue with our strategy meeting.

   ‘Like I told the PM, we need help from other branches if we want to do this. Can you handle this part, Sakuya-senpai?’

   ‘I would love to, but this kind of things are beyond my authority as the student council president, so I would have to ask the principal.’

   ‘Okay. Please do.’

   ‘What about our members on raiding the HQ? Will the usual be sufficient?’ Ichika asks.

   ‘It’s not that I’m not confident on your capabilities, but it’s better if you have more people this time.’ Assaf-sensei suggests. ‘After all, your opponents consist of at least 1 executive.’

   ‘I guess you’re right, sensei. The problem is, who should we ask to come along? If we ask the help of some random people, it might affect our teamwork.’ I point out.

   ‘How about we ask Shimazaki-kun and the rest?’ Yui suggests.

   ‘...Oh yeah, I’ve totally forgotten about them.’

    Yui flashes me a rare mischievous smile. ‘I’m sure they’ll be delighted to hear that.’

   ‘Please don’t.’

   ‘Oh dear~, what should I do?’

   ‘I’ll buy you another plush toy, even a bonsai.’

   Sakuya is busy talking with her father on her phone. Even so, she somehow manage to overhear our conversation. She’s currently raising her fist up in the air while mouthing ‘Do it, do it, do it.’

   Yui’s smile turns into a friendly one. ‘Just kidding. I’m not a tell-tale, after all.’

   I wipe some imaginary sweat off my forehead. Meanwhile, Sakuya has a disappointed look on her face. Yui proceeds to message the gang to ask them for help.

   ‘I’m sorry for hiding all these from all of you.’ Assaf-sensei apologizes all of a sudden.

   ‘What’s got into you, sensei? Why the apology?’ I ask her.

   ‘I mean, if I told you about where I got my body earlier, you could have put 2 and 2 together, and maybe this incident wouldn’t become this out of hand.’

   ‘It’s fine, sensei.’ I assure her. ‘You were just keeping your part of the bargain. There’s nothing wrong with that.’

   ‘He is right, Assaf-sensei.’ Ichika adds. ‘There are very few things more important than keeping a promise. In doing so, you have proved that you are a honorable person.’

   I hear Assaf-sensei sobbing at the other end. ‘All of you are such good kids. Now I feel worse about all those things I did in the past...’

   ‘I’ve told you, didn’t I? If you’re sorry for what you did, you can atone for it.’

   ‘Yes…’

   After a while, Sakuya is done reporting to the principal. As for Yui, she has contacted the cool kids clique. All of them are fine with helping us out.

   ‘Should we tell Shimazaki-kun about his family’s involvement in all this?’ Yui asks.

   ‘I guess we should. It would be bad if he finds out about it the hard way. Who knows what he’ll do?’

   While waiting for the clique members to arrive, someone knocks on the door.

   All the girls look at me. I look at Sakuya.

   ‘Go on, Akira-kun.’ she tells me.

   ‘Um, come in.’ I say to whoever that’s outside.

   A woman who’s probably in her twenties comes inside. Sakuya gasps the moment she sees her.

   ‘Miu-senpai!’ she exclaims.

   This Miu person smiles at her. ‘Hello, Sakuya. It’s been a while.’

   She’s wearing a simple black business suit with a white buttoned shirt inside while wearing a pair of black long pants. I would mistake her for one of the office lady who works here were it not for the fact that there’s a sheathed sword hanging from her left hip.

   The 2 of them embrace each other. I have no idea who she is, since I never saw her in the original anime. The others, on the other hand, seem to know her.

   ‘I hate to be the country bumpkin here, but who is she?’ I whisper to Ichika who was sitting right next to me.

   ‘She is Amesaki Miu, a former student of the Academy. She was the student council president before President Morifuji took over her position. After she graduated, she ended up working for the government.’

   Ah. A graduate from the Academy. No wonder I don’t know her. Then again, I don’t even know majority of the students who’re still studying at the school.

   Needless to say, there are people like Amesaki-senpai who graduated from the Academy and continue to work as someone who defeats Destroyers and evildoers for a living. Some end up as bounty hunters, while some became civil servants to serve the people.

   For plot reasons, they have never showed up whenever there were major incidents happening in the original anime. I mean, if you have veterans butting in, there’s no way our main character could shine. Now that the time line’s all messed up, they could finally get some screen time. Honestly, I’m surprised that it took so long.

   ‘What are you doing here, senpai?’ Sakuya asks Amesaki-senpai.

   ‘Well, I just came back from Ireland for a mission. Not long after I’m back, the PM told me the situation and ordered me to give you guys some back up.’

   Sakuya smiles at her. ‘It’s very reassuring to have you here with us.’

   Sakuya then introduces Amesaki-senpai to us. She raises her eyebrow when it’s my turn.

   ‘So you’re Kagenashi Akira. I’ve been hearing a lot of things about you.’

   ‘Um, what kind of things, exactly?’ I ask nervously while shaking her hand.

   ‘Let’s see, the vampire incident, the Sara Albanese incident, the Maria Assaf incident, and the new Dethroning the Pope incident.’

   I secretly let out a sigh of relief. ‘Oh, you mean those kind of things.’

   ‘It’s probably too early to tell us this, but I’ll say it anyway. There are lots of agencies out there that want to hire you, the PM included.’

   ‘That honestly flatter me. Unfortunately, I’ve already made plans to form my own group of mercenary once I graduate.’

   ‘Is that so? A shame, that. Well, you could always come here if you ever change your mind.’

   ‘Yes. Thank you.’

   Soon, everyone from the cool kids clique has arrived by riding on a chopper that we’ll be using to go to America. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Yui and I proceed to tell Shimazaki that his and Ishibashi’s family are involved in the experiment.

   I was watching his expression closely the entire time just to see whether he knew about it. When we’re done, he looked very shocked. So are the rest of them.

   ‘I’m sorry to say this, Shimazaki, but we might have to have your family arrested after we’re done with this.’ I tell him.

   He shakes his head slowly. ‘There’s nothing to apologize. My family did something unforgivable. It’s understandable that they should answer to it.’

   ‘Do you think Ishibashi-san knows of this?’ Yui asks him.

   ‘Honestly, I don’t know. If she does, she hid it very well. I just hope she’s not involved in it directly.’

   ‘Either way, the lab comes first.’ I say.

   ‘Right.’

   Suddenly, Sakuya’s phone rings. She immediately answers it. After the call’s over, she tells us that the students from all branches of the Academy are mobilizing to have each and every branches of the lab surrounded, minus the HQ.

   On our way to the helipad on top of the office, Shimazaki suddenly takes out his phone and attempts to hand it over to me. Instead of taking it, I just stare at him.

   ‘What are you doing?’ I ask him.

   ‘You don’t want me to leak the information to my family, do you?’

   ‘Oh, put that away. There’s no way we would ask for your help if we don’t trust you.’

   Everyone nod in agreement.

   He does as I say and puts his phone back in his pocket. ‘Thanks.’

   ‘I’m kind of curious, though. Didn’t your family ever tell you what they were doing?’

   He shakes his head. ‘My mother had a miscarriage when she gave birth to me and almost died. Ever since then, I’m kind of the black sheep of the family. When they found out that I could use magic, they immediately had me applied to come to the Academy so that they could get rid of me. Ironically, the moment they needed someone to marry Saki, they remembered my existence, even though I’m not the only son they have.’

   Wow. And here I thought Amaya-san’s family is messed up. Shimazaki’s family practically abandoned him and used him as a mean to gain favor from the Ishibashi.

   After we get inside the chopper, we immediately depart to Okinawa. According to Madoka, the flight would take around 3 hours.

   After knowing the fact that his family is involved in something crazy, Shimazaki looks kind of depressed. To distract him, the rest of his gang tried to include him in small talks. By Oomori’s request, Mashiro is sitting next to her and getting head pats and hugs from the lump of energy.

   Meanwhile, Sakuya is reminiscing her old times with Amesaki-senpai with Ichika sitting beside them.

   Madoka and I are the only ones who’re not part of any group. I didn’t feel like joining in because I’m nervous. As for Madoka…well, I guess this is the usual for her.

   I proceed to close my eyes and shut down the voice around me. I know the number of the party members has increased and there’s even a veteran with us, but my pessimistic part is still trying to freak me out. I guess this will keep happening whenever I venture into uncharted territory, even though I know the outcome of the original anime like the back of my hand.

   While I’m trying to calm myself, I feel someone sitting down on my right. I open my right eye and turn my head to see who is it. Surprisingly, it’s Oomori.

   ‘Hey there, Kagenashi-kun! What are you doing here all by yourself?’ she asks me.

   I’m about to point out that Madoka is here with me, until I notice her sitting at Oomori’s seat. I open my other eye.

   ‘I’m meditating.’ I answer.

   She starts to chortle, but not so loud as to disturb the others. She’s laughing so hard tears are coming out of her eyes. She’s also hugging her stomach.

   ‘Oh, my stomach…’ she wheezes.

   ‘I’m pretty sure what I said wasn’t funny at all.’ I say to her.

   ‘Trust me, it is…’

   It took her quite a while to recover.

   ‘You have a weird sense of humor.’ I comment while she’s wiping away her tears.

   ‘I get that a lot. It’s just that you looked like you were resting, and you suddenly told me that you were actually meditating…’ she starts to giggle.

   ‘...Yeah, I still don’t know what’s so funny.’

   ‘You know what they say. Humor is very subjective.’

   ‘I guess. So, you need to talk to me about something?’

   ‘Well, it’s just that this is our first time on having a mission together.’

   ‘Now that you mention it, I guess you’re right.’

   ‘I look forward to working together with you!’

   ‘Likewise.’

   Strange. Did she come here just to tell me that? Well, it’s not really strange, but rather, this kind of thing is way too formal for someone as outgoing as her. Plus, was it necessary for Madoka to leave her seat?

   ‘So, you ever been to Okinawa?’ she asks me.

   ‘Nope. This is my first time.’

   At least, I certainly haven’t been there back in the real world. Not sure about Akira.

   ‘The thing is, my hometown is in Okinawa.’ she tells me.

   I look at her in surprise. ‘Seriously?’

   ‘Is that so surprising?’

   ‘Well, you speak fluent, non-Okinawan Japanese.’

   ‘Ah, that. Well, I practised like crazy before I went to Tokyo. I’m so glad that my practise paid off.’

   ‘So, you still remember any Okinawan?’

   ‘Of course I do! Kanasan~.’

   I have no idea what she just said, so I take out my phone and try to translate it.

   ‘Whoa! What are you doing, Kagenashi-kun?’ she suddenly demands from me.

   Her reaction surprised me.

   ‘I’m just trying to know what you just said.’

   ‘T-T-There’s no need for that!’

   ‘Then, are you going to tell me?’

   ‘No!’

   ‘What? Why not?’

   ‘Just, just because!’

   Now that I look at her carefully, her face is kind of flushed. She looks pretty nervous too.

   ‘You didn’t use a foul word, did you?’

   ‘No, no. It’s nothing like a foul word.’

   ‘Well, all right. If you say so.’

   Oomori lets out a sigh of relief as I put my phone away.

   ‘S-So, which part of Japan are you from, Kagenashi-kun?’ she asks in an attempt to distract me.

   ‘Chiba.’ I answer.

   ‘Wow, that’s quite far away from Tokyo.’

   ‘Not as far as Okinawa.’

   ‘Oh yeah, now that you mention it. Ahahaha!’

   ‘Is there anything good to buy as souvenir there?’

   ‘Hmm? Well let’s see. There’s Sata Andagi, wooden Shisa statues, and our glassware’s pretty famous too.’

   ‘That’s it?’

   ‘...Look, Kagenashi-kun. I know you want to bait me on saying the name of a certain food, but I’m not that stupid, okay?’

   In case you’re wondering, the name of the food is Chinsuko. Yes, I know I’m acting like a grade-schooler.

   ‘Either way, we’re not there to have fun, so I guess there isn’t any point in asking.’

   ‘Face it. You just want me to say that word.’

   ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’

   ‘Geez, are you always like this around Yui?’

   ‘What? Of course not. There’s no way I would bully our angel.’

   Yui overheard what we said, and her face got a bit red. Meanwhile, Sakuya, who also heard us, is looking at me with an expression that clearly says ‘Why are you being so unfair?’

   It’s fun talking with Oomori, but in the end this is a mission, not a field trip. I look at the time. There’s still 2 more hours until we reach Okinawa. I decide to have a strategy meeting to tell everyone who missed the one just now on what to do.