"Three weeks?!"
When she saw the contents of the report, Seitenshi's hand froze in midair while holding her teacup.
It was only after her secretary reminded her that she realized she had lost her composure.
But this was no longer a matter of whether she had lost her composure or not.
In three more weeks, the Tokyo Area would suffer a devastating invasion from the "hive."
"Is this conclusion reliable?"
Seitenshi looked toward her secretary, hoping to hear a denial from her mouth.
"This information was personally sent by Miss Miori Shiba, the acting president of Shiba Heavy Industries."
The secretary spoke in a heavy voice.
"In terms of credibility, it should be closer to the truth than any conclusion currently known."
"Miori Shiba… sigh."
Hearing that na, Seitenshi closed her eyes sowhat painfully.
Although having a disobedient military-industrial group in the city she governed was certainly a headache, at a ti like this, the other party had no reason to deceive her.
"In addition, the other party has also requested a eting."
"Who? Miss Miori Shiba?"
"And one other person…"
The secretary glanced at the email.
"It is Mr. Drake, whom Your Highness failed to et yesterday."
"Drake…"
Seitenshi's expression finally improved slightly. Hearing this na again after a day made her feel sowhat dazed.
"Miori Shiba is deliberately bringing the Civil Security officer who returned from deep inside the forbidden zone to et . What exactly is she trying to do?"
"However… at the mont, there is no other way."
"Kiyomi, inform Miss Miori that the eting will be arranged for this afternoon."
"Yes, Your Highness."
...
A few hours later, Drake stepped out of a black luxury sedan and casually closed the door.
"I really want to go kill the Queen Bee inside that hive right now. Then there wouldn't be so many troubleso matters."
"My, my, isn't that exactly the point?"
Miori Shiba left the driver's seat and very naturally wrapped her arm around Drake's.
Her pretty face carried a lively smile, bright and beautiful like a flower nourished by rain and dew.
"If you did that, your wish to save the Cursed Children would be impossible to accomplish."
"There are so things that must be completed at the negotiation table."
"Hmm… so this is why you brought to et Seitenshi?"
Drake glanced around.
As the ruler's residence, the Sacred Residence had an environnt that was extrely refined and elegant.
Its quietness carried a solemn atmosphere.
"Let's go, my dear."
Miori Shiba was completely unaffected by the dignity of the Sacred Residence, as if this place were no different from a public square.
"Do not make the Seitenshi you have been longing for wait too long."
"She is probably already overwheld by the report I submitted."
And that was exactly the case.
After learning that the Tokyo Area only had three weeks of safety left, Seitenshi imdiately began contacting the military and research institutions to simulate every possible outco.
However, after several hours passed, she could only sit weakly in her room, repeatedly pressing her fingers against the space between her brows to relieve the anxiety in her heart.
"Your Highness."
The secretary softly reminded her beside her ear.
"It is almost ti for your eting with Miss Miori."
"…I understand."
Seitenshi wiped her face with a wet handkerchief, barely recovering so of her energy, then stood up and walked toward the reception room.
This was Drake's first ti seeing the real Seitenshi "offline."
Compared to the projection he had seen on the screen that day, the Seitenshi walking into the eting room now was even more breathtaking.
"Good afternoon, both of you."
After taking her seat, Seitenshi's gaze swept over the two of them before landing on Miori Shiba.
"Miss Miori, first of all, thank you for the report you submitted earlier."
"Although it brought us terrible news, at the very least, we now know what kind of crisis the Tokyo Area is facing."
"Hehe…"
Facing Seitenshi's thanks, Miori Shiba rely smiled.
"The person you should be thanking is Drake. If he had not wanted to et you, you would not even have been able to receive that report."
"…?"
A trace of confusion appeared in Seitenshi's eyes.
She had originally thought that, between these two people, the one in the leading position was the young lady of Shiba Heavy Industries.
Now, however…
It seed Miss Miori had handed all authority to speak over to the young man beside her.
"Miss Miori, what do you an by that?"
"My dear, I will leave the rest to you."
Miori Shiba picked up her teacup, clearly entering spectator mode.
"Let explain."
Drake looked at the confused Seitenshi and spoke calmly.
"I can solve the constantly expanding hive inside the forbidden zone."
"Mr. Drake, is that true?!"
This was probably the best news Seitenshi had heard in recent weeks.
But she was not overwheld by joy. Instead, she used reason to control the emotions appearing on her face.
"My ti is precious. I have no reason to co all this way just to play a prank on you."
Seitenshi nodded slightly. At that mont, the secretary beside her handed over a docunt.
"Mr. Drake, please allow to apologize first."
After glancing over the information, Seitenshi stared at the young man before her with ocean-like gray-blue eyes.
"I had soone investigate your identity, and there are several things that puzzle ."
"You only registered as a Civil Security officer a little over a week ago."
"The company you registered under is Tendo Civil Security Corporation, which is also a small company on the verge of bankruptcy."
"Other than that, there is no identity information about you that can be found."
"The impression you give … is as if you appeared in the Tokyo Area out of thin air."
"I wonder whether you would be willing to speak frankly. It would help our following conversation."
Hearing this string of statents, Miori Shiba, who was leisurely drinking tea, slightly raised her eyes. An amused look appeared on her pretty face.
This move might work on others, but against Drake…
"There is no need to probe into my background. It will not benefit you, Your Highness Seitenshi."
After a pause, Drake glanced at the secretary behind Seitenshi.
"…Kiyomi, withdraw for now."
"But, Your Highness…"
"The following conversation does not need to be recorded. Stand by in the lounge."
Under Seitenshi's order, the secretary nad Kiyomi had no choice but to leave the room.
Only the guards keeping watch at the door and the three people currently negotiating remained in the reception room.
"Can you explain your origin now, Mr. Drake?"
Seitenshi looked at Drake with an inquiring gaze.
The Civil Security industry, with its complicated mixture of people, actually had many unregistered individuals of unknown identity.
This was common knowledge within the industry.
The young man before her might have co from another area, such as Sendai, Osaka, Hokkaido, or even another country.
Although transportation between nations had beco extrely difficult due to the ravages of the Gastrea, it was not completely impossible.
For example, the current president of Shiba Heavy Industries, Miori's father, was presently in another country expanding his business territory.
However, Drake gave an answer that was completely beyond Seitenshi's expectations.
"The reason you cannot find information about is simple."
Drake watched Seitenshi's reaction with great interest.
"Because I co from another world."
"…"
"There is no need to look at like that. I said just now that I have no reason to deceive you."
As he spoke, Drake's body suddenly vanished into thin air in front of the two of them.
A few seconds later, he suddenly reappeared in his original position.
Miori Shiba had already grown used to this, but Seitenshi was genuinely startled.
"Mr. Drake, you…"
"I very much agree with your view. Speaking frankly will indeed help the following conversation."
Drake interrupted Seitenshi and said bluntly,
"In truth, you should have noticed it too. After the hive appeared, the forbidden zone beca completely different from before."
"…That is indeed the case."
Seitenshi sighed, digesting the shocking information she had just received.
"I originally thought the Gastrea Virus had undergone so kind of mutation again."
"But I never expected that it was actually affected by another world."
"Mr. Drake, were you perhaps summoned here as a hero to save this world?"
"Of course not."
Under her expectant gaze, Drake gave a negative answer.
"In fact, my goal in this world has already been completed. I can leave at any ti."
"Whether the Tokyo Area is destroyed, or how these countless residents face slaughter by the Gastrea, has nothing to do with ."
The cold reality gradually cald Seitenshi's mind.
"But you said earlier that you have a way to solve the hive…"
"Your Highness Seitenshi."
Drake spoke to the ruler before him very seriously.
"Having the power to save the world and believing that this world is worth saving are two different things."
Seitenshi understood the implication behind his words.
"This world" was not currently worth saving.
This young man was not a hero who had co to save the world.
He was a passerby who happened to possess the power to save it.
"…State your conditions, Mr from another world."
Seitenshi remained silent for a long ti.
Then, as if she had set down so kind of burden, she appeared to relax.
"Since you were still willing to co et , that ans you still wish to save the residents of the Tokyo Area."
"In truth, most of them are just incidental."
Drake shrugged and spoke noncommittally.
"I only want to save those pitiful Cursed Children."
"Save the Cursed Children…?"
Hearing this, Seitenshi could not help saying,
"I have tried before. The first Seitenshi also tried… but the results were minimal."
"Even now, people still hate the children who carry the Gastrea Virus genes. That is a prejudice that cannot be removed no matter what we do."
"That is because you are too weak."
Drake criticized her without holding back.
"I also have an Initiator in this world. Her na is Enju Aihara."
"After she was abandoned by her biological parents because of her identity as a Cursed Child, she was adopted by a married couple."
"But that couple did not truly want to give her a warm family."
"They only adopted Enju for the large war orphan subsidies."
"After that, Enju suffered extrely severe dostic violence and eventually ran away from ho."
"The root cause of all of this was your weak kindness."
After the first Seitenshi passed away, although she was overwhelmingly praised as a wise ruler, she also left behind an extrely serious mistaken policy.
Excessively high war orphan subsidies.
Even if this policy had been created out of one hundred percent goodwill at the ti, the result of having only "rewards" and no "punishnts" was that countless Cursed Children suffered experiences similar to Enju's.
The current third-generation Seitenshi, the girl standing before Drake, was also trying her hardest to advance the New Gastrea Law and improve the social status of the Cursed Children.
But in Drake's view, such actions were still far too weak.
Weak kindness would only be trampled by stronger malice.
"I never thought… that my actions looked like this to others."
After listening to Drake's words, Seitenshi fell silent and reflected on what she had done in the past.
"I cannot refute your accusation."
"But I have already done my utmost."
"To , the Cursed Children are citizens who need protection, but so are the others."
"It is impossible for to completely abandon the entire city for their sake."
"In that case, hand them over to ."
Suddenly, Drake spoke.
"If this world refuses to accept these Cursed Children, then let them go to my world."
"This is one of my two conditions for taking action to save this city."
Two conditions?
Seitenshi blinked and instinctively asked,
"Then… what is the other condition?"
"Co here. Sign this contract."
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