Approaching the Full Story of the Incident
In the conference room of the Rain Code Management Bureau, Tiny Bell, Adolf Mandel, Kelun Phrase, and Lucia Beloche—now changed back into their proxy uniforms—sat facing each other. As Adolf took his seat beside Tiny Bell last, Lucia glanced around excitedly with flushed cheeks.
"Heeey, it feels just like being office workers in a movie."
Lucia beamed at the panels on the table and the holographic screen humming faintly in front of them. Kelun teased her from the side.
"Lucia's smart and all, but she doesn't quite fit the office worker vibe."
"Whaaat? Why not—"
Lucia pouted, sticking out her lower lip, and Kelun chuckled, propping his chin on his hand.
"That's exactly what I mean."
Adolf just smiled at them and manipulated the table panel to bring up the hologram. He smoothly accessed the information network and quickly pulled up the publicly released report by Kyle Walker. Tiny Bell, arms crossed and watching Adolf quietly, suddenly blurted out as she saw how adeptly he handled it.
"You'd make a good office worker, Lieutenant."
"Agreed, Captain. Lieutenant gives off that vibe—like he'd excel at corporate life."
Kelun nodded. Even Lucia whipped her head toward Adolf, then nodded along with a hum, at a loss for words.
"Haha, if the world doesn't need proxies anymore, maybe I'll become an office worker."
Adolf said it lightly, as if it were purely a joke, but Tiny Bell crossed her arms tighter. If such a world came, what would I be doing? What about everyone here? The dreamy thought flickered faintly through her mind. Lucia spoke up first.
"Captain and I organized the data from our church investigation—!"
She slid her tablet slightly toward Tiny Bell, looking at her expectantly, as if asking for praise. Tiny Bell felt a surge of surprise. Excluding the brief time Adolf and she had talked outside and changed clothes, Lucia had compiled it in that short window. And it was flawless. Suddenly, hazy memories of her own school days surfaced, making Lucia seem even more impressive. Back then, Tiny Bell had been someone who only immersed herself in music, never great at studies. Faintly feeling the ghost of a drumstick in her hand, she said,
"When did you even put all this together?"
"Stuff like this is a breeze now. It all just sorts itself out in my head. Hehe—"
Her puppy-like expression made Tiny Bell reach out and ruffle Lucia's brown wavy hair.
"Impressive, Lucia."
Adolf and Kelun exchanged surprised glances at the sight. Tiny Bell, having naturally petted Lucia's head, sat back down. Lucia grinned proudly. Adolf smiled warmly too and smoothly loaded Lucia's organized data onto the hologram alongside Kyle Walker's report. The report clearly outlined evidence that the Rain Code Intelligence Analysis Department had tried to downplay and cover up the incident, even describing Director Innocent Remar as derelict in his duties. It painted Rain Code as frighteningly negligent in dealing with the militia.
This matched perfectly with what Lucia had compiled.
"The militia's weapons were overkill—almost on par with regular army gear. They look a bit different in design from standard army weapons, more like old mercenary firearms!"
Lucia said, alternating between Kyle's report and her own data. They all nodded. Adolf backed her up.
"They weren't officially procured from within the church. Looks like an external channel. No traces of regular army weapons being exported either."
Adolf brought up multiple screens deftly. Tiny Bell nodded and swiped through them on her panel.
"Raphael, the head priest of the Lildar Church, didn't want the militia armed like this."
Tiny Bell said. She had definitely sensed a hint of anxiety in his demeanor.
"The head priest... I met him before. He's a really good person. I doubt he'd tell them to arm up."
Lucia added cautiously, and Tiny Bell nodded.
"Raphael's attitude seemed far removed from whoever orchestrated this. Unlike our initial guess, it's not the church—probably a third party deliberately stirring things up."
As if something clicked, Adolf manipulated the panel smoothly and replied,
"Kyle Walker's report mentions 'contrary to expectations' here. Probably subconscious, but it suggests Lumen Guard had done some prior investigation into the incident."
"Sharp eye, Lieutenant."
Tiny Bell praised him, and Adolf smiled softly, continuing.
"Just a guess. But it's suspicious. In a pre-investigated situation, Kyle Walker deploying drones independently means Lumen Guard at least seems uninvolved."
"Yeah, I think so too, Lieutenant."
Kelun watched their back-and-forth with a slight smile, glancing at them. Just moments ago, Adolf had worn a complicated expression, but now he was calmly helping organize everything, his gentle face restored. Kelun felt relieved. Adolf had said Tiny Bell wouldn't like him, but to Kelun, it didn't look that way at all. She had snapped him back to normal so quickly when he seemed troubled. Though she brushed things off curtly, she must have said something comforting that Adolf himself hadn't imagined. Like at Isaac's shop back then. She doesn't smile easily, but...
Kelun recalled the innocent smile of Tiny Bell from those days. After Isaac Shtafenberk's death, he'd even seen her pull the trigger on another proxy. To him, she seemed kind and just. That's why Kelun liked Tiny Bell. Noticing his gaze, she turned and asked,
"What is it, Kelun? Got an opinion?"
Kelun just smiled at her look.
"No, nothing."
"You and the Lieutenant worked hard. You found Freigel Shtafenberk. Totally unexpected."
Kelun placed his hand on the table.
"Adolf-senpai's deductions were a big help."
"Yeah, how'd you come up with that? I was a bit surprised hearing it."
"But escorting him might be tricky. As senpai said, Shtafenberk seems to prefer staying hidden and maintaining clear neutrality."
"Right, like a deterrent. Himself. Any chance he'd attack people?"
Tiny Bell asked sharply, and Kelun shook his head.
"Doesn't seem the type."
Tiny Bell nodded and probed further.
"Anything else noteworthy?"
"He seemed deeply distrustful of the Grand Marshal and the Management Bureau."
As Kelun spoke, he glanced subtly at Adolf, who was silently staring at the hologram. Kelun continued cautiously.
"His retirement as a proxy... feels like it was tied to the Management Bureau itself."
Adolf paused at that, then responded.
"I knew the escort mission felt like surveillance, but maybe not because we thought he'd attack civilians."
Tiny Bell squinted one eye, and Kelun silently watched Adolf. Recalling Kyle's words and the chain of command to the Combat Response Unit, Adolf continued.
"This order might as well have come from the Grand Marshal himself."
"Did the Grand Marshal see him as a threat?"
Adolf gazed steadily at Tiny Bell.
"Who knows. If he knows Shtafenberk personally, he could predict based on his character."
"Yeah, you can't read people's hearts."
Tiny Bell thought of Adolf, who approached her without reservation despite being living proof, and her lips curved slightly. Seeing his vulnerability today made her realize he might have more worries than she thought—unexpectedly diverse ones. It felt a bit funny, since she'd only seen his kind, smiling side. What was so amusing?
"Oh, Captain. And from what Lieutenant and I saw, Shtafenberk seemed to be staying to protect someone."
"Yes, exactly."
Adolf nodded in agreement. Tiny Bell blinked and replied.
"Protecting someone?"
"Yes. His neutrality was thorough, and staying out of the public eye all this time fits that reason."
"He probably thought revealing himself would tip the balance toward one side."
"Heeey—maybe there's some romantic story behind it~!"
Lucia chimed in with sparkling eyes, and Kelun lightly bopped her head.
"Ow—"
"Focus."
Kelun warned, and Lucia huffed, crossing her arms. Tiny Bell narrowed her eyes at them. They've always seemed close, but this feels awkwardly sweet.
Tiny Bell cleared her throat unnecessarily.
"Rain Code probably already knows we found Shtafenberk. If so, we should figure out who he's protecting first."
She glanced at Adolf and continued.
"So, Lieutenant. Like we talked about outside, you know where he is."
"Yes, Kelun and I know the location."
"Senpai, Captain. This is info only we know, so contacting him before Kyle Walker would be a huge advantage. From his actions, he's more likely to escalate than resolve."
Tiny Bell listened silently, then nodded heavily.
"Yeah. More like stirring up trouble. Like the Intelligence Analysis Department has its own agenda."
Adolf looked at Tiny Bell.
"...Definitely seems tied to Luminot."
A brief silence fell. Kelun glanced at Adolf, who nodded knowingly. Tiny Bell, having heard the gist outside, shot them a subtle warning look to watch their words. Lucia listened earnestly with her innocent, serious expression. At least, none of them wanted to mention her father, Pedric Beloche. They already cared for her.
Tiny Bell spoke first.
"Luminot. Kyle Walker mentioned it too."
Her face hardened. As if to ease her, Adolf turned toward her with a soft smile.
"Still, we've learned a lot in one day. We can resolve this without major issues."
Why'd he have to sit right next to me? Tiny Bell averted her gaze from the unusually close Adolf and replied.
"Yeah. We're set to talk with Raphael tomorrow, and we can contact Shtafenberk. It'll work out."
"Raphael, head priest of the Lildar Church?"
"Yeah, he wants a quick chat."
"Impressive, Captain."
Adolf beamed praise, and Tiny Bell let out a "Ugh—" before snapping,
"It's nothing. Don't react to every little thing."
Kelun and Lucia watched them with the same look Tiny Bell had given them earlier. Lucia, grinning like a happy puppy, suddenly clapped her hands with an "Ah!"
"Bell-senpai! That blue drug in the mural earlier—it looked like Luminot!"
"Mural?"
Tiny Bell echoed, then recalled the blue vials before the Lildar goddess with the clock hands and the children. But the memory quickly darkened her expression.
"Then what the hell was that guy? The one who drew it."
Feeling toyed with, a chill settled in. She even remembered the woman she'd sensed as a proxy talking to him.
"This is way more tangled than it seems."
Kelun grimaced, and Tiny Bell nodded sharply, standing abruptly.
"Let's move. Before tomorrow's mass, we need to find that Lieutenant Kseszbet from the Intelligence Analysis Department that Lucia sensed."
"All together?"
Adolf asked. Tiny Bell glanced at Lucia. Her clear eyes shone with resolve, enjoying the situation. She didn't know the full details, but the Management Bureau seemed distant from sparking this. Then Lin Kseszbet? Tiny Bell pondered. Doing this alone would be tough. Someone must have helped. Kseszbet talking to the mural painter had to be key. And if Lucia learned the truth...
Tiny Bell felt uneasy.
"No, just me and the Lieutenant. Lucia's great at organizing—check the regular army deployments in Rain Code with Kelun."
"Army deployments?"
"Yeah. With mass tomorrow, if Rain Code knew in advance, they might have deployed forces. Just in case. And if troops move, it means they have spies in the militia."
Kelun and Lucia nodded. Lucia looked at Tiny Bell with sparkling eyes.
"If Rain Code stirred this up, they must have ears everywhere!"
Lucia grinned, and Tiny Bell smiled faintly.
"Exactly. Obvious if we look. Alright, let's go."
With that, they left the conference room and split into two groups swiftly.