Chapter 17: The Restless Sea

Yuki still wanted to say something, but seeing Senior Ayu’s expression—one that clearly said, “Say no more, I understand everything”—he closed his mouth. Truth be told, he couldn’t explain the strange things happening to himself, so it was better to let the misunderstanding stand. If the two of them ever acted together in the future, he and Senior Ayu could fight without restraint, without worrying that their inhuman powers would frighten teammates or force them into secrecy.

Moreover, Senior Ayu had once been involved in the underworld. His understanding of the universe was undoubtedly deeper than Yuki’s, and he had far wider connections. If Yuki ever encountered a cosmic or extraterrestrial problem, he could quietly ask Senior Ayu for advice—an extra channel for information, so to speak.

Just then, the sound of many footsteps came running toward them. Leading the group was the ever-energetic Officer Sakura, with Officer Aihara—whom Yuki had met the previous night—half a step behind him.

They gathered around, only to see the ones who had lost their human disguises—clearly aliens—lying on the ground, groaning and utterly bereft of the will to fight.

Seeing that the police had arrived, Yuki and Ayu each lifted their feet from the bodies of the Leichum aliens and stepped aside to let the officers move in and cuff them.

Officer Aihara approached, his sharp eyes beneath the brim of his cap scrutinizing the two young men in matching blue Aegis uniforms.

The atmosphere was somewhat tense; after all, just a few hours earlier, Yuki had been in the Foreign Affairs Unidentified Division’s interrogation room, facing off with this very officer.

Observing the situation, Officer Sakura came over and said to Officer Aihara, “Don’t worry, they’ve both signed confidentiality agreements.”

The force of Officer Aihara’s presence faltered at once.

“Officer Aihara,” Yuki stepped forward and nodded in greeting. Since the man appeared older, it was only proper to be the first to offer respect.

Ayu, watching from the side, guessed that there was some prior interaction between Yuki and this officer. Seeing Yuki greet him first, Ayu also nodded politely.

Officer Aihara hesitated for a moment. With these two young people greeting him, it would look rather petty for him to keep up his tough act—especially with his highly respected senior standing nearby. Reluctantly, he nodded in return.

Besides, these two youngsters were quite impressive—he couldn’t help but admire them…

At that thought, Officer Aihara suddenly choked.

Wait a minute, these two are from an outsourcing company—the very money pits who gobbled up his department’s operating budget!

Damn it, why aren’t they with the police?

His gaze returned to Yuki and Ayu. He considered, if he tried to recruit them now…

At that moment, a notification sound came from the pocket of one of the Leichum aliens. The officer escorting him reached into the pocket and pulled out a hefty little device, which appeared to be a communicator.

For a moment, no one knew how to handle this. They glanced at the Leichum alien, who was still dazed from being struck by Yuki’s stun baton. It was hard to say whether the physical blow or the electric shock had done more damage.

Then the notification sound ceased.

...

Three kilometers away, atop a tall building, a billboard advertising an insurance company loomed overhead. Beneath it stood a man, leaning against the steel frame, quietly watching the commotion at the port.

Just then, the communicator in his hand rang as well.

“Are we still going? Their operation’s fully exposed. If we get involved now, we may not achieve the desired effect, you know?”

“All right, if you insist, I have no objections. You’re the employer, you call the shots.”

Torekia silently ended the call, then turned the communicator over, flicked open a plastic latch, and the device popped open—it was identical in design to the controller Yuki had just found. He pressed a red button, and a display lit up: 42%. The number quickly climbed—43, 44, 45… upward.

“What a bother…” he muttered, tossing the controller into the air. The instant it left his hand, it broke the sound barrier with a crack, the violent force causing the device to disintegrate midair.

...

The police had now taken the three aliens into custody, while Ayu stood by, overseeing Officer Sakura as he signed the piles of work confirmation forms.

Officer Aihara and Yuki—both second-in-command in their respective groups—could only wait nearby. With nothing to do, Officer Aihara tentatively asked Yuki if he’d consider taking the civil service exam and joining the Foreign Affairs Unidentified Division.

Yuki considered it. Indeed, joining an official organization promised stability, but then he recalled why President Sasaki had resigned: the people in Foreign Affairs Unidentified Division simply didn’t do things properly… He wasn’t eager to work with such colleagues. Besides, he genuinely liked the workplace environment at Aegis—whether it was the president, Senior Ayu, or Senior Merika, they were all good people, and he was happy to work alongside them.

Thus, he politely declined, saying he wasn’t considering it for now—perhaps in the future. Of course, he was looking forward to the next opportunity to work with the Foreign Affairs Unidentified Division.

Officer Ryuichi Aihara, who naturally disliked outsourcing companies, scowled. He was about to turn away when, unexpectedly, chaos erupted.

Out at sea, the water suddenly roiled, thick white foam bubbling up—a sign that something enormous was rising from the depths. The waves battered the pilings beneath the port platform with a thunderous roar; it was clear that beneath the restless surface, something was churning the waters into a frenzy.

Yuki rushed to the edge of the port platform just in time to see the surface boil like a cauldron. From the seething spray, a huge, dark green head began to emerge—without hesitation, Yuki connected to Aegis headquarters.

“Senior Merika! Please transmit all the port’s surveillance feeds to me!”

“Huh? All of them?”

“Yes, please tile all the feeds on one screen!”

“All right, just a moment!”

A few dozen seconds later, a hundred and thirty surveillance feeds shrank and tiled together on Yuki’s tablet screen. He quickly scanned through them, searching for the troublemaker in a long, black-and-white shirt—the one who always appeared at the heart of every disturbance.