Chapter 48: Aegis's Little Cabbages

The space station was struck, researchers narrowly escaped death, and the head of the research institute was arrested. With so many explosive headlines today, another piece of news seemed far less eye-catching in comparison—

“Mysterious Giants Appear Near Space Station!”

The headline was only marginally more restrained than those from the infamous shock-news outlets. The article roughly described the dangers faced by the space station that night, then recounted how two mysterious giants appeared and helped the station avert disaster.

Attached below was a photograph showing the backs of the two giants, one behind the other, as they held onto a rocket. Their faces weren’t captured; judging by the angle, the picture was probably taken by a researcher aboard the station.

Seeing this story published online took Yuki by surprise.

Though it wasn’t the front-page headline, the mere fact that this story could be openly posted online was astonishing in itself.

What was the Public Affairs Division of the Unknown Affairs Department doing? Weren’t they always committed to concealing any mention of monsters and giants? Shouldn’t this sort of news have been deleted immediately, with the relevant individuals promptly brainwashed or silenced?

Yuki refreshed the webpage repeatedly, but the news remained, not suddenly vanishing into a 404 error.

Was this... a deliberate decision not to hide the truth anymore?

Start with “giants that help humanity,” then gradually expand to “giant monsters that threaten Earth’s safety,” thus slowly desensitizing and acclimating the public.

Just what was going on?

A tingling sensation crept across Yuki’s scalp. He had already suspected, had he somehow caused this mess? Had he unwittingly triggered the hard mode of the Taiga scenario?

The Land of Light was now officially intervening, sending not an intern to Earth, but a major figure of consequence; the Unknown Affairs Department was no longer dragging its feet, and matters concerning giants and monsters were no longer being hidden from the public. The next step would likely be organizing civilian drills for monster invasions—there was simply no way to keep things secret anymore. Organizations akin to the Defense Force had already completed preparations and begun recruiting. Everything was proceeding with a sense of urgency, as though they were about to launch an all-out war against some dark power.

When had this change begun?

Yuki started to carefully review his recent “successes” in changing the future... and then, a possibility occurred to him.

In these past days, if he had truly succeeded in changing anything...

It was that he had managed to persuade Tregear to leave.

Tregear had previously said he would be away from Earth for a while, and Yuki hadn’t seen him since.

Could it be...

The thought made Yuki uneasy.

In the original story, Tregear was a lone wolf, causing mischief on Earth with no backing or hidden agenda—he simply acted according to his whims, stirring up trouble as he pleased.

Perhaps, in doing so, he actually disrupted the plans of the real masterminds, making Earth seem too chaotic to intervene in, so they temporarily withdrew.

But now...

Given how things had unfolded, did he have to track Tregear down and bring him back?

Where would he even begin looking for such a notorious figure!

……

……

That day, Yuki arrived early at the Aegis headquarters, sitting at the small round table and staring into space.

He held an envelope in his hand, neatly labeled “Letter of Resignation.”

He had received a stack of special task force recruitment forms from Mr. Sakumizu the other day. Scanning the QR code on each form opened a website, where entering the code revealed a registration form.

The form only collected basic personal information—personal details, employment history, and professional skills. After submitting it, he received exam details: the date, an admission ticket number, and a link to download reference materials.

Yuki downloaded the materials and was soon overwhelmed by the 22 gigabytes of “reference materials”—which were, in truth, study guides.

A glance at the table of contents made clear what would be tested. About ten percent was within Yuki’s knowledge base; the rest was entirely beyond his scope. There was no doubt that if he took the exam unprepared, he would fail miserably...

Though Mr. Sakumizu hadn’t said he must pass, Yuki understood the unspoken expectation. If he simply went through the motions and showed up unprepared, Mr. Sakumizu would be deeply, deeply disappointed in him.

With that thought, Yuki resolved not only to take the exam, but to strive for an excellent result.

He wanted to honor that expectation, to take responsibility for the mess he’d created. Though his abilities were limited, this was, after all, the world of Ultraman; if he approached the task with enough determination... the power of will could work miracles.

In other words, if he adopted the right attitude and devoted himself to studying, effort and reward would likely go hand in hand.

So, what did it mean to give everything to exam preparation?

Yuki’s answer to this world of willpower was the “letter of resignation” in his hand—leaving Aegis to focus entirely on his studies.

But as he looked at the letter, he hesitated.

In the original series, Yuki had also submitted such a letter, hoping to resign from Aegis. His motive then, as now, was the same.

Leaving was to protect everyone at Aegis.

He liked Aegis, liked everyone there, liked the director, liked Senior Ayumu, liked Senior Merika—he liked everything about Aegis.

Yet, the crisis looming over Earth now might be beyond the capacity of any civilian organization to weather. If he stayed, he might not be able to protect even Aegis in the end.

…………

………………

An hour later, the entire Aegis team had gathered. The four of them, including the director herself, sat in silence, staring at the resignation letters on the table—three in total: one from Yuki, one from Ayumu Soya, and one from Merika.

There were only three because the director, of course, did not need to submit a resignation letter to herself.

It was only now that Yuki discovered everyone in Aegis had also received special task force recruitment forms from the Unknown Affairs Department.

As a former police chief of the Unknown Affairs Department, the director received a recruitment form directly, with two recommendation slots—just as Yuki had.

Aegis had long been able to serve as a long-term contractor with the Unknown Affairs Department largely because Director Sasaki, herself a former police chief, was, in a manner of speaking, one of their own.

As a frontline unit experienced in dealing with alien-related incidents, the staff at Aegis understood that if the government was ready to publicly acknowledge aliens and monsters, it could only mean... the threat was likely to grow, and crisis was imminent.

Director Sasaki understood that with great power comes great responsibility.

As a resident of Earth, she felt obligated to answer this call.

Reading the task force overview, she felt a stirring in her heart. Though she had been put off by the department’s unsavory dealings in the past, this new team, despite retaining the “Unknown Affairs Department” prefix, was an entirely different entity.

Perhaps it would bring about some real change.

She couldn’t help but recall her younger self, the one with chuunibyou dreams of protecting the world.

So, without much hesitation, she scanned the code and filled in her information.

Next... it wouldn’t be right to just leave without looking after the three young people she had brought into Aegis. She needed to find them new paths.

With two recommendation slots in hand, Director Sasaki immediately thought to recommend Yuki and Ayumu Soya from the Operations Team, but... both applications were rejected.

Yuki had already scanned the code and registered, receiving his admission ticket, so he couldn’t be recommended again. Ayumu Soya’s combat skills had earned dual endorsements from Officers Sakura and Aihara, and his application came as Aihara’s recommendation.

No one could accept more than one recruitment offer, so the system flagged an error.

Director Sasaki, feeling a mix of emotions, was just about to ask Merika whether she wanted to apply to the task force—since the information division was also recruiting—when she saw Merika approach, holding the recruitment form sent by Officer Sakura, to ask for permission to join...

Only then did the director realize her own house had been thoroughly raided by her old colleagues...

Those people certainly worked fast!

Though she felt a bit indignant at having her prized recruits snatched up, seeing her talented youngsters recognized by her peers made her happy.

And so, Aegis was disbanded on the spot, closing its doors to clients. The reception room was promptly turned into a classroom and study hall.