The New Hangul’s Special Guard Corp is a subdivision of Second Stratum Special Guard Corp. SGC-2 for short, it’s the army division which TaeHyun-san and Nana-san work under.

The SGC-2 had plenty of responsibilities, and each stratum had its own dedicated SGC. Their main purpose was to maintain plenary safety.

They had duties to monitor uninhabited islands. However, simply establishing outposts to guard the five-hundred-something islands spread across the whole of the Second Stratum didn’t mean we had eyes everywhere.

Besides demonica, they also function to resolve any conflict that arises between two parties. Of course, those were pretty rare. The people of this world I’ve met so far were pretty reasonable, even the bad ones.

The chances of demonica breaking from the First Stratum to the second or possibly the Third Stratum are not low. So the SGC is necessary to ensure the termination of stray demonica before they grow into a Hive.

With defence being humanity’s main current focus, the size of SGC was probably greater than the current United Army.

“Hello.”

“State your name and purpose.”

Wow, how astute.

Eun-chan and I were stopped by one of the guards at the barrack’s main entrance. This military estate was probably as large as Japan’s airports, the whole parameter was surrounded by metal fences.

Having come here once before to enrol TaeHyun-kun and Nana-chan, I know a little about the regulations they have in place here.

“Tatsuki Rize. And this here is Tatsuki EiYun.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“She’s my adopted-sister.”

Well, she’s actually my daughter but I can’t possibly tell him that now can I?

“And for what reason do you seek entry?”

“Do all soldiers speak so eloquently?”

At my poke, his face contorted.

“Answer my question.”

“You’re bored aren’t you?”

I always pity those who have to stand around with nothing to do. He reminds me of Mr. Chen’s pitiful guards. Especially those that have to stay up all night as sentinels.

“Rize-chan, stop that.”

Eun-chan tapped my head.

“Wow!”

She talked back to me! Good girl!

““???””

Both the guard and Eun-chan looked at me confused.

“Um… I’m EiYun, she’s Tatsuki Rize, known by the title Black Siren. We’ve come to pass these new weapon prototypes to Ms. Cadet Nana and Mr. Cadet TaeHyun.”

“The Black Siren…? I-I see. That explains a lot… the rumours but…”

“Hey! Then couldn’t you have at least recognized me!”

“I can’t just let a kid enter without proper inspection.”

“Wow! You hurt my feelings!”

Being short has always been a disadvantage. I wish I’d grown taller already! Like, where the hell is my growth spurt?! I’m already 12!

“Could I please examine your IDs?”

He faked a cough.

“Here. I forgot to bring her’s.”

I didn’t think we’d bump into a guard who doesn’t recognize me. Can’t help it. I passed him mine.

“…”

Eun-chan looked like she was staring at an idiot. Well, my bad for forgetting.

“What do I do now?”

Eun-chan asked.

“Do you allow her to enter? It’s only for a while.”

“I’m sorry. Not permitted.”

“Ugh… then Eun-chan you wait out here while…”

I was just about to consider having Eun-chan leave first when…

“Oi! Black chibi, how dare you show your face here again!”

“Hah! It’s Monkey Face!”

Sergeant Ng HouZi, my ‘nemesis’ called me out.

He had a face like an ogre, and bulging muscles that of a buffalo. You could almost see his abs through his uniform.

He’s my ‘nemesis’ for numerous reasons. The main one came from an incident we had in the past where he tried to one-up me in a CQC duel. He was jealous of the fact that I was First Sergeant Hai’s number one daughter.

I completely wrecked him.

“Sergeant Ng.”

The guard saluted.

“Good work catching this fool. So, what are they here for? Bringing contrabands again?”

“No way! This is Akane-san’s new weapon prototype!”

“Bullshit. Since you’re holding onto illegal items, we’ll have to examine them. Private Kho, let them in. I’ll take it from here.”

“Yes… Sergeant?”

Our path hath been secured. Yes!

“Does that mean I’m allowed to enter too?”

Eun-chan pointed at herself.

“I can bring my family together with me right?”

“Family?”

Monkey Face frowned. He then looked at Eun-chan.

“Doesn’t matter. Both of you have to be checked for contraband items.”

“So he says. Let’s go Eun-chan!”

“Yes…?”

Leaving the confused guard behind we continued ahead. Eun-chan looked nervous so I held her hand.

And then she tried to shake it off but… I ain’t letting go. Now she just looked plain awkward. Well, at least her expression wasn’t horrid like earlier.

“Black chibi, what prototype are those?”

Monkey Face asked.

“Special PP-grenades that have the capacity to cause permanent damage to the demonica’s central nervous system.”

“Permanent damage you say? Interesting tech the lab came up with. We’ll see if it can handle Whale-classes just as well.”

“Dunno. I’m simply passing a loot box from the lab to the testing facility.”

“This way.”

“…? I thought we were going to the dormitories?”

“Like I said, it’s contraband, didn’t I? The boss has the right to inspect what you brought into the army.”

“What?”

The journey to the major’s office was a long and winding one. I don’t think I remember the path back.

He pushed right into the headquarters without knocking.

Inside were multiple other rooms, he walked towards the one which had the door half open.

From the gap was a girl with ashen hair. He knocked on the door to catch her attention.

“Boss. The guest you’ve been expecting.”

She raised her head.

I felt the hand grabbing mine tighten.

By chance, I looked at Eun-chan’s face.

It was completely drained of colour.

…What?

◃⊰⊱⊹. ⊹⌖Ω ⩏⊹ϑ ⊰⊱▹

“This is the new prototype?”

“Yup. Akane-san said to let Nana-san and TaeHyun-san use them. So could you help me bring this to their dormitory?”

Major Shen GohJi. Or as she would prefer: Major Wang GohJi.

Long ash-white hair, deep purple eyes. There was a scar which ran from her forehead down to her cheeks. Fortunately, the eye itself was uninjured.

She, The Lionfish, was the one in charge of New Hangul’s SGC.

Holding the bombs in one hand, she traced the metallic frame with the other.

I’ve not held it, but from a glance, I reckon it was much denser for its smaller size. The loop of the pin had been made slightly bigger for easier pulling, and a special black colour code had been painted on its body.

“The instructions here say otherwise. Are you sure you don’t want to let me decide how they should be used? If you give the word, I’ll ensure higher accuracy of the data in exchange.”

“Maah. I don’t know about that.”

Major Shen was waving the envelope contained within the containers. Akane-san hadn’t said anything about letting anyone else do the testing.

In fact, this was the first time Major took interest in my visits. Normally she’d simply ignore the fact that I brought weapon prototypes for a single ‘love letter’.

“I was told to pass the container to those two. So I don’t know if it would be wise of me to decide without consent from the original owner.”

“What a pity. Then it seems I can only confiscate this for my own use.”

“Don’t blame me if the lab manager comes knocking on your door.”

“Oh, I’ll hold you completely responsible for this.”

“I’m leaving the testing to you. Just give Cadet Nana and Cadet TaeHyun a heads-up. Do you know where they’re posted currently?”

“Is there any reason for you to know?”

“Obviously. I’m their boss.”

She frowned. Seems she didn’t seem to like the way I phrased the joke.

“Just curious. If not then it’s alright.”

“Ask around later. I’m not the one in charge of the duty rosters.”

She leaned back against her armchair.

“Enough of that. So, how was it?”

How was ‘it’?

What is ‘it’?

“How was what?”

“Killing that accursed girl.”

…Oh.

Slightly suspicious of her intentions, I answer carefully.

“I suppose it wasn’t the most pleasant thing I’ve done. I don’t regret it though.”

“Right. Right. That girl deserved to die, you shouldn’t feel bad about taking a life which shouldn’t have existed.”

With her personality, I doubt she’d even permit First Sergeant Hai to talk to her without a letter of notice. Why now of all times did she invite me personally into her office? It dawned upon me.

“Okay…?”

“How was she at the end of her life?”

“Is there any particular reason you want to know?”

“When both my son and daughter died by her hands, how could I not be glad she is gone?”

She wasn’t directly involved in killing EunHa, but she was someone who advocated for her death. She was a victim of the ‘curse’ EunHa had been endowed with.

“Did that girl regret it?”

A maddening flame consumed her once indifferent gaze.

“She regretted it completely.”

I’m not lying. It’s simply an issue of context.

“Excellent. I thank you for ending her life. Though I must ask if it’s true that… you’ve left your post?”

“I have.”

“I don’t know the details, but I hear you would be spending your time in New Hangul for a relative duration. What caused a change of heart? And here I thought you’d be your papa’s daughter for life.”

“I’m still his daughter even after leaving the nest!”

She chuckled dourly at my complaint.

“Well. I came here to help out with Ms. Lili’s family.”

“In that case, do you have any interest in joining the SGC? I’m sure I could assign you a good position.”

“No thank you.”

“Aren’t you quite the stubborn one?”

“Do you think we’d even work well together?”

“How would you know without trying?”

“Still, no thank you. It’s not my intention to get another job.”

She didn’t respond, only silently turning towards the half-open door.

“That girl earlier. Is she another one of your investments?”

“…Don’t just call her an investment.”

I glared at her.

“Well, I hope you take care of her well. Don’t let innocent people die… like how my family did.”

“If it’s not too much to ask… what exactly happened to them?”

“The dead don’t speak.”

She turned the back of her chair against me, prompting her desire not to continue the conversation.

The dead don’t speak huh?

“Fine. Anything else you would like to add before I hop on out?”

“I’ll assume you didn’t bring anything else unnecessary. Take your belongings and leave.”

Folding the letter of permission and tucking it into the desk, she prompted me to take the three containers out.

◤◢

Fortunately, Eun-chan went far far away before I began the conversation with Major Shen. That authoritarian seems to hold a deep grudge against her.

I found Monkey Face and Eun-chan talking in the nearby field. The contents of the conversation were unknown, but from the looks of their expression, it must be something sentimental.

“Oh, Rize-chan, you’re done?”

“Major Shen said these have completed the clearance. The bombs are ready to enter the dormitory.”

I said, shaking the containers. EunHa quickly helped me carry two of the three.

“Did the boss really say such a thing?”

Monkey Face was suspicious.

“Yup. Otherwise, why would I be holding them right now?”

“Damn black chibi.”

“Sergeant Ng, what exactly happened between you two to… end up like this?”

“Oh, that’s because he…”

“Shut your trap black hair. Say one more word and I’ll pull your tongue out of your jaw.”

“That’s if you can.”

I stuck out my tongue. His eyebrows twitched visible.

“Take care of your damn half-sister’s attitude. Next time I see her here, I want her better behaved.”

“…”

Eun-chan looked alternately between him and me with an awkward look. The Monkey dare give a command to my daughter?!

◤◢

It seems Nana-chan and TaeHyun-kun were both busy as they weren’t in the dormitory. Monkey Face said that they were in charge of guarding the parameters of the northern forestside this week.

He wasn’t their direct superior, so he couldn’t tell me how they were doing exactly. But, he did say that there hadn’t been any major issues with their performance so far.

The two were working hard.

I’ll be sure to compliment them a bunch when I see them next time. By the time Eun-chan and I left the barracks, it was already sundown.

“That was Major Wang, wasn’t it?”

We walked a certain distance, our shadows overlapping, when Eun-chan asked.

“Do you know her?”

I asked back.

Her current expression was neither bad nor good.

I couldn’t really tell if she was alright, or in need of help. An eerie smirk crawled up her lips.

“Rize-chan… they won’t just die all of a sudden, right?”

Her voice trembled as she spoke.

“SuBin… ChaDong… they won’t suddenly just die tomorrow just because I flew a little bit, right…?”

I didn’t know what had happened in the past that caused this line of thought. However,

“They won’t.”

As far as I’ve seen, while her ability does attract the notice of demonica, it isn’t the root of the ‘curse’.

“If you’re concerned, how about we visit them again right now?”

“…Could we?”

She really was concerned.

“Yes.”

I can’t leave her in such an anxious state.

She squeezed a tear as a whimper leaked from her bitten lips.

“Thank you…”

Just what had happened in her past…? I was curious.

But, until she felt safe enough to tell me, I’ll hold back on questioning.

I believe that the wait wouldn’t be too long.

◃⊰⊱. ϕ⊹ ⋈⊶⌖⊹⊰⊱▹

Akane-san was enjoying the evening scenery in the herb garden. When she saw us, she stood up from the bench.

“How was it?”

She had been waiting for us all this time huh?

“It’s all well and fine. Right Eun-chan?”

“R-Right…”

Sounding slightly embarrassed, Eun-chan simply nodded.

We dropped by Mr. Hyeon’s place again before returning. Nothing disastrous happened to SuBin or ChaDong. Both of them happened to be playing with each other while Mr. Hyeon lazed on the couch.

Our second visit was sudden, so when I told him why, Mr. Hyeon laughed.

“That took longer than expected. I became a little worried there.”

“I managed to pass the samples to Nana-chan and TaeHyun-kun, but along the way, Major Shen, the superior of New Hangul’s SGC took me aside to have a chat.”

“That’s surprising. What did she say?”

“Asked if I would join the SGC-2. I declined of course.”

Akane-san nodded satisfactorily.

“By the way, is DaHong-san still in the kitchen?”

“He still is. I haven’t eaten dinner yet, and I’m guessing the same goes for the two of you?”

“Yup. I’m going to have him make kimbap or something.”

“I’m not having that. I hate gochujang.”

“Then just order something. What about you Eun-chan? What do you think you’d want to eat?”

“Mn…”

She pondered with a finger placed to her lips. It made for quite a cute sight.

“I want grilled teriyaki unagi.”

◤◢

“Eun-chan, here, here.”

Ms. YiChen reserved a seat for my daughter.

I showed a nod, she moved over to the seat.

It was closing time, and we’d typically have what we call a closing meal. Looks like the only ones staying back for dinner were Ms. YiChen and Chow-san. Which… was a little bit unusual, was it because the others were intimidated by me?

“They don’t normally leave early right?”

I asked DaHong-san as I donned the apron and tied up my hair.

“They all have their own things they need to mind back home. It happens every so often.”

“Not because you’re a scary boss right?”

“Don’t jinx it.”

“I’m joking.”

◃⊰⊱ϑ⊹ ⨞⋅⫝⫘⌖ ⊹⊹⊰⊱▹

Akane stared at EiYun as she slowly sipped on her cold black tea.

Long, curly brunette hair, round cheeks, gentle blue eyes and a pair of glasses Akane couldn’t tell were fake or real.

She was talking with YiChen about the day’s events. And YiChen was being surprisingly considerate of this girl whom she met only a week ago. Her kind personality was a nice pairing with her always shining smile.

Unlike her.

No matter how hard she tried to dismiss EunHa as just ‘someone special’, she couldn’t get her mind over the sight of the demonised koi reaching out to bite the girl’s finger.

Spending the whole day testing out tens of hundreds of possible hypotheses, she couldn’t replicate that same behaviour using regular, or even modified prana crystals. The koi would either react in too much of an extreme manner or not bother with the sample she held up before them.

Rize was a God’s Emissary, so it explained the weird magical phenomena she could execute. Which, itself could be a potential study into the field of thaumaturgy, but, it wasn’t something Akane had much interest in as it implied heavily on scientific philosophy.

EiYun however was different.

A God’s Emissary with a unique power to affect prana.

And not only that but also… the demonica.

If she wasn’t a special existence, there would not have been any reason for Rize to keep EiYun under such close supervision.

Akane could tell that EiYun was trying to act normal when in truth, she was struggling to adapt.

“EiYun-san, do you mind if I ask?”

“Yes?”

“Where did you and Rize-chan first meet?”

“…”

Again she asked.

But unlike last time, she was in front of an audience. There was no way for her to evade the question.

Akane had unwittingly caught the tail of the world’s biggest ploy.