Chapter 233
Chapter 233
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 233
Chapter Title: Mayoral Election and the Round House - Interlude (2)
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The news that I was, in fact, a psychic left Alice and David looking utterly shocked.
Even though they were of a generation that hadn't truly experienced the war, they knew all too well what psychics were.
Alice, who had temporarily lost her ability to speak in her astonishment, soon grabbed my shoulders, her eyes wide, and shook me back and forth as she shouted.
“S-Since when?!”
“Since when? Since the beginning. You met a girl you called a ghost a few months ago, right? That was her.”
“The, the ghost… was Yuria?!”
“Agh, aghhh…”
I-I’m getting dizzy…
As I was being tormented to the point my neck grew stiff, I tapped Alice’s arm, signaling for her to save me.
It was far too difficult for my current, fragile body to withstand her strength.
But had she truly never imagined that the ghost was me?
Alice let go, setting me down, and stared at me intently as I struggled to regain my bearings.
Then, as if she had finally realized something, she pulled me into a fierce hug and said.
“Th-Thank goodness…! I was so worried, but you were safe beside me all along…!”
“U-Uh-huh…”
It seemed Alice still remembered the ghost who had vanished in the winter a few months ago.
Perhaps she still carried the guilt of not being able to protect the child the ghost had appeared to be back then.
I was a little worried she might look at me strangely… but she’s such a kind person.
Feeling a bit shy, I fidgeted with the hem of my clothes.
Perhaps her heart was still in turmoil from a mix of complex emotions.
After holding me in her embrace for a while, she abruptly turned to Raven and spoke.
“Wait a minute, you said since the beginning… Don’t tell me you knew, Jin?!”
“Well… I’ve known almost from the start. Though she only admitted it to me herself not too long ago.”
“That’s so mean! You knew I was running around looking for the ghost! How could you keep it a secret!”
She huffed, making it clear she was genuinely upset.
It was a relief to know that the ghost was me and that I had been safe and sound all this time.
But she was likely quite hurt that Raven had known and kept his mouth shut.
However, there were reasons for it.
Jellin, who had been listening quietly from the side, chimed in, answering in Raven’s stead.
“My apologies. Miss Yuria’s case is protected under top-level security within the Association. Therefore, it was not information that could be carelessly disclosed without permission…”
“St-Still…”
“Hey, it’s not like we wanted to keep it a secret. Besides, if you had known this kid was the ghost from the start… you think you could have treated her as comfortably as you do now? You’d have been dying to do more for her, getting all worked up. It’s so obvious.”
“Ugh…”
Alice wore an expression that said he had hit the nail right on the head.
It seemed she couldn't deny that her attitude would have been different if she had known I was the ghost from the beginning.
She was an affectionate person in many ways, one who instinctively helped those in need.
I could vaguely imagine how she would have treated me had she known sooner.
Once the fact that I was the ghost had been more or less accepted and the atmosphere began to settle, David, who had been quiet for a moment, turned to Jellin as if sensing something amiss.
“I have one question. If the fact that Miss Yuria is a psychic is not supposed to be leaked to the public… what is the intention behind this current situation?”
“…Hmm, that’s right. You said Yuria’s secret was top-level security. Is it not anymore?”
At his words, Alice tilted her head in agreement, voicing her own curiosity.
She understood that Yuria was a psychic, but was there a reason to reveal it now?
Perhaps Jellin had anticipated such a question.
With an unperturbed expression, she calmly replied.
“That is not quite the case. Information related to Miss Yuria remains one of our most critical security matters.”
“In that case…”
“Yes. It is because there is a reason we must convey this fact to you now, out of necessity.”
As she spoke, she moved slightly and turned off the bright lights.
Then, she activated a device on the wall, projecting a large hologram in the center of the room.
“First, before we get to the main point, I will brief you on the current situation. In three weeks, the Metahuman Liberation Army… plans to carry out terrorist activities across the globe.”
“In three weeks…”
“Terrorist attacks?!”
The moment Jellin finished speaking, red pillars shot up from various points on the globe-shaped hologram.
Those translucent pillars were none other than the locations where the Metahuman Liberation Army’s attacks were expected to occur.
Perhaps because the pillars were all located in heavily populated major cities, Alice and David seemed to immediately grasp the severity of the situation.
Still, if they had this information in advance, they must have a proper plan in place.
The two perked up their ears, focusing on Jellin’s next words.
“The Liberation Army’s upcoming attack will likely be on a scale different from anything we’ve seen before. We anticipate they will deploy their maximum total strength, pouring in most of their resources.”
“Th-Then shouldn’t we quickly inform the public… to minimize the damage?”
“No, Miss Alice. If the enemy realizes we know their plan, there is a high probability they will change the locations. It is better to pretend we are unaware and counter them at the expected sites. That is how the Association has judged it best to respond.”
“That is correct. We are already secretly gathering capable Fixers, mainly single-digit Fixers, around these points. We are also informing officials in each country about the attacks and establishing prior evacuation procedures.”
It would be difficult to eliminate all casualties… but the Association has determined this is the best course of action.
Jellin concluded her explanation, her poker face still perfectly calm.
This was something even I didn't know in detail…
Come to think of it, was seeing Victor and Lexi at the Association building at lunchtime today related to this?
Hmm… I don’t know the exact details, but they’re working hard on preparations.
As I nodded to myself in understanding, Raven glanced at Jellin and asked.
“Alright, I think everyone has a rough grasp of the situation. Let’s get to the point. I haven’t heard anything about what’s happening around here yet… Is there something this kid and the rest of us have to do together?”
“Yes. From this moment, all of you here… that is, the Crowley Fixers, including Miss Yuria, will not be part of Nighthaven’s defense team. Instead, you will be part of the assault team that will attack the Liberation Army’s base of operations on the day of the attack.”
“A-Attack? The Liberation Army’s base?”
“Hmm… I see. So the plan is to strike their base when they are most vulnerable.”
“Yes, that is the intention. Based on our calculations, if this plan succeeds, it should reduce the burden on Nighthaven by over thirty percent.”
Reducing the offensive by thirty percent…
I suppose if you’re far from home fighting and your main base comes under attack, you’d have no choice but to consider pulling back your forces.
I gaped in awe, my mouth slightly open.
Raven, who had posed the question, stroked his chin, looking pleased.
“Attacking their base to weaken their offensive… The idea makes sense. But how did you manage to find the Liberation Army’s base? It couldn’t have been easy to track them down.”
“This is all thanks to Miss Yuria. She single-handedly annihilated Black Anchor, which had a small connection to the Liberation Army, and allowed us to secure the information there. Furthermore, she captured a certain executive who appeared to be a member of the Liberation Army, which enabled us to cross-verify the intelligence. The reliability of the information should be trustworthy.”
“Black Anchor… Ah, so that was it. Then this is all thanks to you. Good job, kid.”
“Muek.”
Realizing that the information I had worked so hard to obtain had been a great help, Raven strode over and ruffled my hair relentlessly.
But his patting was as chaotic as petting a large dog.
My hair instantly became a tangled mess, and I jabbed my fists into Raven’s side.
However, with my current arm strength, it probably just tickled him.
He paid my punches no mind. Should I just transform and hit him with all my might?
As I inwardly contemplated dozens of ways to get revenge on Raven, Alice and David looked down at me with slightly dazed expressions and offered their praise.
“I-I’m not sure what’s going on, but Yuria did it? Good job, good job.”
“Miss Yuria, it turns out you’re quite the powerhouse.”
“Huh? Ehehe…”
Aw, I was just lucky.
My aggression toward Raven subsided, and I smiled sheepishly, accepting their compliments.
I thought I heard Raven mutter, “So simple,” in the background… but it must have been my imagination.
Anyway, to summarize the story so far:
The D-day for the Metahuman Liberation Army’s worldwide attack was in three weeks.
And just before their plan was executed, we were going to counterattack their base.
Ideally, we would attack the base and find a clue leading to Calderak, the main headquarters of the Metahuman Liberation Army.
Even if we couldn't, just breaking the Liberation Army’s momentum against Nighthaven would be enough.
Hmm, the plan didn't sound bad to me, so I nodded along.
Jellin, looking as if she had more to say, glanced between Alice and David and spoke.
“However… Miss Alice, and Mr. David. This may be a bit blunt, but your current capabilities are, frankly, insufficient. Both of you struggled considerably today against an enemy at the level of a triple-digit Fixer, did you not?”
“Ugh, that’s…”
“…Ahem, it is true that both Miss Alice and I have many shortcomings when it comes to combat strength.”
Jellin’s words were brutally honest, but in a way, they were also true.
Compared to me or Raven, Alice and David were far lacking in skill.
Alice, who had been training hard lately, was at the lower end of the double-digit Fixers.
And David was at the mid-to-upper level of the triple-digit Fixers.
While that was quite strong in the grand scheme of things, it was far from enough in a place teeming with powerhouses.
The Seven Extremes' Royal Guard alone was comparable to Alice, and the Seven Extremes themselves were monsters on the verge of being single-digit Fixers.
Thus, as Alice and David faltered, unable to refute her point, Jellin proposed to them with a face more serious than ever before.
“Therefore, I have a proposal. We would like you… to undergo special training provided by the Association until the operation begins in three weeks.”
“Sp-Special training?!”
“…!”
Special training. This was news even to me, as I hadn't been told about it beforehand.
But I immediately had a rough idea of what would happen next.
This is… a power-up event!
Are Alice and David going to become as strong as they were in the latter half of the original story?
As I pictured their awesome future selves in my mind, I felt my heart begin to pound with excitement.