"You're going to school?"
After breakfast, Yutsuki looked at Shido, who had changed into his uniform and was ready to go out, and asked in confusion.
"Yeah. Since Yamabuki (Ai) got dragged into this for no reason because of , I want to go check on the situation."
Shido nodded. Even though there was the Natsumi situation going on, and a whole bunch of little girls to take care of at ho, he just couldn't feel at ease without confirming her safety.
"I'll just check and then co right back. I'll leave early and be back by noon. I'll leave Tohka and the others to you for now."
"Mhm, got it."
"Ah—wait, Shido."
Just as Shido was about to leave, Yutsuki suddenly called out to him.
"What is it?"
"Mhm. Calculating the ti, I think it's about ti Natsumi makes a move. If soone you're looking at in school suddenly loses their clothes, or if an unknown woman suddenly walks towards you with the police on the way... Rember, don't hesitate, run away imdiately before a commotion starts."
"...I'll keep that in mind."
Imagining the scenarios Yutsuki described, Shido broke into a slight cold sweat and nodded solemnly.
"I'm heading out then!"
"Have a safe trip."
After seeing Shido off, Yutsuki returned to the living room and saw Tohka and the Yamai sisters. Completely ignoring everyone else's attempts to stop them, they had changed into the children's outdoor clothes Reine had prepared and looked ready to head out. After a mont of silence, Yutsuki said calmly:
"...Just asking, but you aren't planning on going to school with Shido, are you?"
"Kuku—As expected of my comrade. You saw through my plan so easily."
"Surprise. Does Yutsuki have mind reading powers?"
"Umu, umu—I want to study with Shido too."
"I tell you..."
Yutsuki looked at the three of them helplessly. Putting aside the fact that three kids looking exactly like three students who just took a leave of absence showing up at school on the sa day would definitely cause a huge commotion, Shido's reputation at school was already pretty bad. Add to that Natsumi, a Spirit ready to cause trouble at any mont, watching Shido from the shadows... what exactly would happen at school... well, Yutsuki felt she could practically see the future.
(As I thought, the Natsumi problem can't be delayed any longer. It needs to be solved ASAP.)
While racking her brains trying to explain the situation to Tohka, Kaguya, and Yuzuru to keep them at ho, Yutsuki thought to herself.
At that mont, a private jet from Heathrow Airport in the UK landed at Narita Airport in Japan.
A middle-aged man with sharp grey hair slowly walked out of the plane's cabin. Behind him followed a beautiful secretary with long, light-blonde hair.
"By the way, traveling back and forth so often in a short period really does get tiring, doesn't it? Hey Ellen, how about we just live in Japan long term?"
Watching Westcott shrug and say sothing like that, the corner of Ellen's eye twitched slightly, and she glared at him with dissatisfaction.
"Ike. Don't you think you owe a proper explanation? We just had that incident, and you leisurely ran off to the developnt departnt doing who knows what, dumping all the troubleso aftermath on . And when you finally co out, you suddenly tell we're going to Japan."
Facing Ellen's resentful gaze, Westcott shook his head helplessly, spread his hands, and said:
"Well, this is a huge misunderstanding. I can swear that this is the first ti in thirty years I've started working seriously."
Saying that, Westcott cried foul in an exaggerated tone. Honestly, hearing soone like Westcott, who usually acted like he was constantly chasing entertainnt, talk about working seriously... Ellen felt that if the other DEM board mbers heard this, their jaws would probably drop straight to the floor in shock.
Ellen sighed helplessly and asked.
"So the result? Do we have a solution for the Hacker's counter against Wizards?"
"Well, I don't know either. Since there's no one to test it on right now. Whether it's truly effective is still unknown."
Despite saying that, there wasn't a trace of worry or unease about the possibility of failure on Westcott's face.
"Honestly, it's been a long ti since I felt this excited. It's like trying to crack an almost unsolvable math problem. My blood as a researcher is boiling with excitent."
If you asked what the biggest obstacle in front of Westcott was right now, it wasn't Ratatoskr, which had been fighting his company for years, nor was it the DEM board mbers who could backstab him at any mont. It was the being called humanity's most dangerous Spirit—Ryougi Yutsuki.
"Ellen, what do you think the Hacker's biggest threat to us is?"
Hearing Westcott's question, Ellen frowned slightly and answered.
"Is it her hacking skills that completely counter Wizards?"
"That's part of it, but not all."
The corners of Westcott's mouth curled up into a aningful smile.
"Hacker—no, Ryougi Yutsuki's most terrifying trait is her observation skills regarding the entire situation, which far exceed a normal person's. Along with her highly decisive action-taking and, without losing her emotional side, her extrely cold and rational judgnt. She can often notice the discordant signs before a crisis happens. Through prior preparation and accurate judgnt on the spot, she minimizes the danger to herself, or even completely resolves the situation. Honestly, if she were human, she'd definitely be an outstanding Wizard."
"Indeed..."
Although a bit reluctant, Ellen nodded. Putting aside other things, during the Diva incident a month ago, the mont Yutsuki encountered Ellen and Westcott, her first reaction was to instantly aim to kill Westcott. This forced Ellen to abandon her defense against the hack to protect him, pulling the situation into her favor in an instant. Even though Ellen, as the world's strongest, easily resolved that issue, she had to admit Yutsuki was different from other Spirits.
"I'm afraid the mont she saw us invert Princess, she already understood our plan to use Itsuka Shido as a 'key'."
The deeper the bond between Itsuka Shido and the Spirits, the more the Spirits relied on him, and the greater the despair would be if they lost him. Ultimately driving them to reach for that power that surpasses limits.
Right now, Westcott was just waiting for the perfect mont when this key could maximize its effect.
Westcott didn't think a Spirit who would co up with hacking Realizers to fight back against pursuing Wizards would, after learning his goal, foolishly enjoy an easygoing daily life and give him an opening to strike.
"Then what should we do?"
"Well, no matter how sturdy a lock is, it'll loosen eventually. I've waited thirty years, I have this much patience."
Westcott shrugged without any pressure. After passing through airport security, he looked at the various Halloween decorations popular around the airport, and as if suddenly rembering sothing, he said.
"Speaking of which, the report from the AST said Witch appeared near Tengu City and hasn't been confird to have vanished into the neighboring world yet. Whether it's to test this experint or see the newbie's performance. This witch hunt is a pretty good choice."
Walking to the airport exit, Westcott looked at the girl standing by the door with short, pale white hair and a cold, machine-like expression, and a smile appeared on his lips.
"Then I, Isaac Ray Pelham Westcott—as the Executive Director of DEM, welco you to DEM, Tobiichi Origami."
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