3 bar menu

The Quest for Mana Crystals – Part 02

“It’s Hikari.”

Hino had been collecting information in Y Prefecture’s town of Fujinota, where otherworlders, apart from the Four Eastern Stars, had appeared.

The girl who introduced herself as Hikari spoke fluent Japanese, but Hino had a hunch that she was the mage. The mage had silver hair, while Hikari had black. Given Serika’s circumstances, Hino reasoned that Hikari might also be a Japanese person who had ventured into the other world and returned, and wore a silver wig whenever she used magic.

Hino had gone after Hikari back in Fujinota, but lost track of her. Meanwhile, two rifts appeared in Tokyo, prompting him to return quickly.

“Hikari made it to Tokyo, and she was with Hazuki, the high schooler who’s somehow the bridge between Japan and another world.”

Hazuki became a talking point, but Hikari went unmentioned. Even his internet searches yielded nothing. Hino seemed to be the sole person aware of Hikari’s presence alongside Hazuki.

“I wonder if there’s a way to contact them. The government’s too strict.”

There were reporting restrictions on Hazuki, and all interviews were prohibited. Minister Okazaki, who was also Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, wielded considerable influence over the media. To make matters worse, Tokigawa, an alumnus at Nitto Shimbun, was involved in a corruption scandal, prompting the head of the company to tell its employees not to draw attention.

Tokigawa, the Minister of Finance’s secretary, had used classified information to purchase land in Fujinota. The town had been earmarked for a major government development project. He was basically insider trading.

Following the exposure of his wrongdoings, Tokigawa was dismissed by the Finance Minister and subsequently disappeared. Although suspicion also fell on the Finance Minister, public attention had shifted to the new otherworlders and the two rifts.

“It’s ironic that the scoop originated from Sasakura.”

Arms crossed, Hino leaned back in his chair. Once known for his physique from his rugby days in college, he had since become somewhat out of shape due to irregular lifestyle and lack of exercise.

Ayano Sasakura.

Initially elegant and gentle, she was inexplicably assigned to the society department at Nitto Shimbun, covering murder cases, fires, and traffic accidents. She was often lost and yelled at by the editor, but one day she was hospitalized—for what reason, Hino didn’t know—and stopped coming to work. Despite joining the company at the same time, Hino didn’t pay any attention to Sasakura at all, so it wasn’t until a month later that he realized her absence.

Ayano getting the scoop on Tokigawa was astonishing. The information had initially been brought to their editor, only for it to be suppressed, prompting Ayano to leak it to foreign media. Recognizing its newsworthiness, foreign outlets reported on the corruption scandal despite its domestic nature.

That’s what Hino believed. He was unaware of the people operating behind Ayano, Hikaru and Lavia.

“I wonder what Sasakura’s up to now? If it were me, I’d quit and work for some other company.”

He hadn’t heard of her quitting, but she did take material to another company. It didn’t matter that the information she brought was suppressed. She must’ve crossed Nitto Shimbun with the intention of moving somewhere else.

“Come to think of it, Hikari asked about Sasakura.”

Hino recalled his conversation with Hikari. She had asked about the Tokigawa situation and where Ayano was.

“Why did Hikari ask about Sasakura?”

Both Hikari and Tokigawa had been involved in the incidence of violence by foreigners in Fujinota.

“Why did Hikari get involved in Tokigawa’s case?”

On his computer, Hino opened a photo taken at the café where he had spoken to Hikari. It only showed black clothing, which belonged to her. Next to that photo, he played a video of the rift opening and paused it.

“Sasakura. She wants to know about Sasakura, huh?”

Hino turned off his computer and stood up.

“Thinking isn’t really my style.”

With that, he left the office.

---

Before they could take action, Hazuki and Lavia needed to escape from the high-rise apartment first. The media already surrounded them, and Minister Okazaki had stationed police officers in the corridor twenty-four seven to ensure their safety. In reality, they were probably there to monitor Hazuki and the rift’s appearance.

Since they couldn’t unlawfully enter Ayano Sasakura’s room when they were under police surveillance, their first step was to leave the building unnoticed.

“Okay, Lavia. I’ll go first. Just follow the plan.”

“G-Got it.”

Hazuki exited her room with the apartment key card.

The hallway, almost like a hotel interior, had carpeting that muffled footsteps. It was quiet. Many residents were away visiting family or traveling for the New Year, making it deserted.

Hazuki wore a denim hat and a small down jacket. Paired with skinny jeans and sneakers, she looked like a celebrity in disguise, but also someone just running a quick errand. In fact, she had nothing with her.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Hazuki greeted the uniformed police officer sitting alone in a corner of the hallway. He was a young man, probably a constable to be assigned a task like this. As Hazuki walked by, he stood up with a serious expression, though Hazuki noticed he had just stifled a yawn.

“Are you heading out?”

He looked understandably puzzled. They knew Hazuki’s schedule. As a matter of fact, the minister had instructed her to submit one, so she told them she would be at home the whole time, studying. They hadn’t heard about any plans for her to go out.

“I was thinking of going to the convenience store.”

“I see. Then let me accompany you.”

“Okay.”

There was a convenience store on the first floor of the apartment building accessible from inside, so Hazuki often shopped there. Otherwise, she used supermarket or restaurant delivery services.

Accompanied by the officer, they took the elevator down to the first floor and bought some random items at the convenience store. Then they returned to the floor where she lived. All in all, it took about ten minutes.

“Well, I’ll be at home,” Hazuki said and returned to her room.

“…”

Lavia wasn’t inside. In these ten minutes, she had already left. Lavia’s Stealth skill, Imperceptibility, was at level 3, quite high, but it wasn’t reinforced with a soul card Blessing. Just to be safe, Hazuki had briefly distracted the police officer.

The rest is up to you, Lavia.

Hazuki listened carefully at the entrance for about five minutes.

“Who’s there?” asked the police officer.

It was starting.

The corridors of the high-rise apartment formed a square shape, and the officer was monitoring Hazuki’s place from one corner. Lavia was probably popping out from the opposite corner of Hazuki’s unit right now, wearing a hood and a mask.

“Are you a resident here?” the officer asked again, but there was no reply. “Ah.”

Lavia should have disappeared around the corner.

After a while, Hazuki’s doorbell rang.

“Coming.” Hazuki checked and saw the officer on the monitor.

“I spotted a suspicious person, so I’m going to check it out,” the officer said. “Please don’t leave your unit until I return.”

“I understand.”

Hazuki left the monitor on, brought a tall shelf to the front of the intercom, placed a tablet PC there, and connected it to her smartphone.

“I hope this works.”

She quickly put on her shoes and rushed out of her apartment. There were no officers in sight.

According to their plan, Lavia should be heading downstairs through the emergency stairs. Taking advantage of that, Hazuki hurried to the elevator.

Faster, faster, faster!

She pressed the button, but the elevator moved slowly. She didn’t want any residents to see her, and if a police officer spotted her, the plan would be ruined.

The one minute it took for the elevator to arrive felt like thirty to Hazuki. She stepped inside and pressed the button for the first basement level, and it began its descent.

When she reached the first basement level, she found herself in a parking lot of cold concrete.

Ping.

The sound from her smartphone startled her. It came from the connected tablet PC.

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

It was the voice of the uniformed officer.

Hazuki looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then brought the phone to her mouth. The officer’s voice sounded scratchy due to the unexpectedly poor signal.

“Yes?”

“Oh, you’re there. Your voice sounds strange.”

“R-Really? Maybe it’s the speaker. My mom mentioned it was acting up.”

“I see. About the suspicious person earlier, it was a false alarm. No problem.”

“Okay.”

“Sorry for the trouble.”

“Sure.”

With that, the officer left.

Lavia, while escaping, used her Stealth midway down the stairs. The police officer would think he just imagined seeing someone.

“Phew.”

Hazuki disconnected the phone from the tablet.