"The mission failed?"
At night, inside the office of the DEM Japan Branch, Westcott sat at his desk, listening to Ellen and Artemisia's reports.
"Yes. I am very sorry, it is my responsibility, Ike."
"Ah, it's fine, it's fine~ I was the one who gave the retreat order anyway, so there's no need for you to bla yourself."
Artemisia felt a bit surprised. Compared to Ellen, who took heavy responsibility for the mission's failure, Westcott reacted by waving his hand with a smile, brushing the matter off entirely.
(He is still incredibly forgiving, to an almost unbelievable degree.)
Artemisia thought to herself. Ever since she had been transferred to work at DEM, the work environnt here was quite different from what she had imagined.
Although Ellen appeared cold and strict, her personality was surprisingly simple and straightforward, and privately, one could occasionally see a rather cute side to her. Westcott was rumored by the outside world to be a cold-blooded, ruthless, and cruel human being, and his first impression did give off a chilling vibe. But in reality, he didn't put on airs and was a conscientious boss who cared for his subordinates.
She had previously heard that Westcott used extrely bloody thods to purge the opposition that attacked him and establish a dictatorship. But in reality, those board directors were neither demoted nor received any severe punishnt; they were living with all their limbs intact. Although the power they originally held was indeed stripped away by Westcott, giving them the cold shoulder like this was already incredibly gentle treatnt for rebels.
(Should I call him forgiving, or just holding plenty in reserve? Or perhaps this kind of loss ans absolutely nothing to Westcott-san?)
"More importantly, what are your thoughts on the outco of this operation? Artemisia."
Westcott's question pulled Artemisia back from her thoughts. Feeling the gazes in the room gather on her, Artemisia straightened her back and answered.
"Yes. I feel that the ti it took for the enemy to spot us and engage was unreasonably short. It was as if they already knew the details of our plan beforehand."
Hearing Artemisia's answer, Westcott nodded in agreent.
"Indeed. Setting aside the fact that the ambush locations I chose were all blind spots in Ratatoskr's surveillance, even if they were accidentally discovered, they should have only noticed either you or Ellen. But in reality, not only did they stop both your and Ellen's teams, but even the three sniper drones set up by Mulian were discovered. Every part of our plan was thwarted. Aside from them knowing our plan in advance, there really is no other explanation."
"In other words, soone inside our company leaked the intel?" Ellen asked with so doubt.
Hearing this, Artemisia felt a bit uneasy. Very few people knew about this plan. If it was true as Ellen said, the most suspicious ones would undoubtedly be herself and Ai Mulian, who had only recently joined the company.
"No, no, jumping to that conclusion is a bit too early. My dear Ellen." Westcott waved his finger to deny it.
"Beelzebub."
The pitch-black parchnt book engraved with an inverted cross opened in Westcott's hands. Identical black-haired girls erged from the blank pages, floating around Westcott like fairies.
These were the pseudo-Spirits Westcott created using the Demon King's pages—the Nibelcole.
"Father! You have to listen to ."
"It was all because that Spirit called Nightmare interfered, otherwise I would have definitely killed Itsuka Shido."
"Now, now, calm down." Patting the Nibelcoles's heads like a loving father, Westcott stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"I see... Nightmare, huh? Indeed, her clones are an effective counterasure against Nibelcole. But for the 'Worst Spirit' to actually protect a human... what a fascinating turn of events."
Then, with a curious expression, Westcott stroked the pages of the Demon King in his hands.
The Demon King capable of uncovering the truth of all things in the world—Beelzebub. As long as Westcott possessed this Demon King, he could look up anything he wanted. Even though its search capabilities had dropped significantly due to Honjou Nia's interference, as long as it was used properly, he could still obtain enough intel.
Artemisia only saw Westcott show a hint of surprise at first, but then, as if discovering an amusing toy, the curve of his mouth rose uncontrollably into an expression of pure delight.
"Hehe... No way... This is truly... But... her ability really could pull this off... Seriously... Hehe... This is just too much fun..."
"—!?"
In an instant, a bone-chilling cold swept from the soles of her feet throughout her entire body. Artemisia instinctively understood that the emotion hidden beneath that smile was sothing her values could absolutely never comprehend.
"So? Ike, do you know who leaked the information?" Seemingly accustod to this long ago, Ellen asked without changing her expression.
"Ah, I know now." Westcott nodded readily.
"I know it now. But, it doesn't an there's a traitor among my subordinates. Rather, I have never been so happy—to have acquired such excellent subordinates. You all did incredibly well!"
"Hah... Thank you for the praise, Westcott-san." Regarding Westcott's sudden complint, although Artemisia was a bit confused, she still responded politely.
"Speaking of which, why isn't Mulian here?" Noticing the missing person, Westcott asked in confusion.
"If you an Ai-san, she is currently practicing mock battles in the training room. According to her, the report and reflection regarding this plan have already been sent to your computer as a written docunt," Ellen explained.
"Oh? Ah—there is indeed." Checking his computer, Westcott let out a sound of confirmation.
"However, going straight into training right after the operation ended. Mulian sure is motivated," Westcott couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
To this, the Nibelcoles giggled and answered, "Fufu, according to her, it seems she confessed to the person she likes and got rejected."
"Well, this must be the so called blowing off steam. Poor thing."
"When we asked her if she had any good costics, she patiently gave us recomndations. She's clearly such a friendly person."
"Exactly. The person who dumped her really has no eye for people."
"Hoh... Never mind. As long as it doesn't affect her enthusiasm for the missions. I won't pry too much into my subordinates's private matters." Seeming to understand sothing, Westcott smiled slightly and tactfully didn't press further.
"Anyway, good work on this operation. You will be notified of the next missions at irregular intervals. Although it might affect your daily routines, considering this is a special period, please do your best."
"Yes, understood." Artemisia replied imdiately.
"Wait, Ike. You still haven't told how Nightmare knew the intel about our plan?" Ellen stared at Westcott and demanded.
"Well~ It's not convenient to say right now."
"Why?"
"Because it's fun."
"...Fine." Looking at Westcott pointlessly keeping her in suspense, veins popped on Ellen's forehead, but she still took a deep breath, suppressing her anger as she answered.
...
"I was scared to death back there. I thought you were going to attack Westcott-san directly, Ellen."
After leaving Westcott's office, Artemisia said with a look of lingering fear.
"Although I had that thought for a mont... I decided against it after thinking about it. That guy's skin is thicker than you'd imagine."
"Haha..." Hearing Ellen blatantly badmouth their boss, Artemisia let out a wry smile.
"What are you going to do next, Ellen?"
"The training room. To do mock battle training against Spirits."
"Both you and Mulian, you really are..." Hearing Ellen's words, Artemisia sighed and kindly reminded her. "After all, this is a period where we might have to execute missions at any ti. I won't stop you, but please be careful not to get hurt during training."
"Don't worry, I know my limits. Artemisia, what is your schedule next? Do you want to go train together?" Ellen asked in return.
"Sorry, I'll pass..." Helplessly declining Ellen's invitation, Artemisia said with a smile, "I've been in Japan for a while now, and I'd like to write a letter to my friends in England."
"...Hmph, alright. I have no intention of interfering with my subordinates's private ti. Do as you please."
After a mont of silence, Ellen let out a soft hmph as if losing interest, turned around, and left.
Breathing a slight sigh of relief in her heart, Artemisia adjusted her mood and returned to her own room.
It was a standard 1LDK apartnt, neither too big nor too small. Although with Artemisia's position, she could have stayed in a much more luxurious room, she felt that living alone in a room that was too big would feel lonely, and cleaning it would be very troubleso, so she politely declined.
Moreover, though small, it was fully equipped. Artemisia's room was just like the impression she gave off—simple yet elegant. Western-style cherry wood furniture was placed perfectly in the room. Upon walking in, one could sll a refreshing, faint fragrance that made people involuntarily relax.
"Phew..."
After a quick shower in the bathroom, Artemisia changed into her favorite silk nightgown and sat down at her desk.
"Is everyone doing well?" Looking at the photo fra on the desk containing a group picture of her and her close friends from the SSS squad, Artemisia couldn't help but show a gentle smile.
—Why did you leave SSS to join DEM? You shouldn't have any reason to devote your life to them. Were you threatened?
"—Ugh?"
An inexplicable headache made Artemisia grab her forehead. For so reason, she suddenly rembered the words spoken by that Spirit nad Tobiichi Origami the last ti they were in space.
"Why did I leave SSS..."
Honestly, Artemisia couldn't understand the aning behind Tobiichi Origami's words. The reason she ca to Japan from England was just a very normal personnel transfer. For so unknown reason, the spatialquakes that originally occurred globally had frequently concentrated in the Japan region this year. Considering that the Japanese Wizard unit, AST, couldn't handle so many Spirits alone, she, the strongest in the SSS squad, was sent as backup. Arriving in Japan together with d$%#$...
"...Together with?" Artemisia muttered to herself with a confused face.
"Why did I say 'together with'? I should have co to Japan alone..."
Artemisia began to recall her mories of entering Japan. She did receive the transfer order, then said goodbye to her friends, flew to Japan alone, was picked up at the airport by Ellen and Westcott and brought back to DEM, and after working for a while, t her new colleague, Ai Mulian.
"Mhm... There are no problems."
There was nothing strange in her mory, so Artemisia dismissed the jarring feeling she just had as an illusion.
"Well, there's no need to take a Spirit's words too seriously."
Telling herself this, Artemisia tossed aside the distracting thoughts, picked up a pen and paper, and began writing a letter to her friends far away.
"Dear Ashley, Leonora, and Cecil. How are you all? It's been a while since I ca to Japan..."
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