Shadow Guest is in jail.
However, this was just an ordinary criminal operation. As long as Naitemel pays a certain price, they could get him out through legal procedures.
Of course, if he had the ability to escape from prison, that would work too.
Clara was still holding that opaque glass jar the size of a rice cooker. She didn’t know what was inside, but it was heavy and substantial, requiring both hands to carry comfortably.
But the annoying “crows” had already gathered around. A journalist whose face couldn’t even be seen asked:
“Miss Clara, how did you learn about this attack?”
Facing these media, although Clara disliked them, she still maintained a smile mechanically forced out by her facial muscles.
“I… I heard it from Miss Kamui…”
The drone turned to Kamui, but the latter had no intention of giving an interview.
She turned and went back behind the holographic projection barrier. Drones were forbidden from entering there, so she completely avoided the noisy crows.
“Ah, wait for me.”
Clara hurriedly followed her in.
Although she didn’t like Kamui originally, the way she stayed true to herself and never gave the media a good face was kind of cool. Clara didn’t have the guts to do that herself…
Even though Kamui and Clara’s timely arrival prevented losses in this small laboratory, the lab’s director still didn’t look happy. With a dark face, he questioned the two:
“Where did you two get this commission?”
This was a man with a somewhat shifty-eyed appearance.
There was not a trace of gratitude. Kamui had prevented the theft of the research project, yet his tone contained no thanks whatsoever.
Clara found this man a bit annoying but wouldn’t say it directly. He wasn’t a mutant, but he didn’t seem like a good person either. At the very least, he should have offered a word of thanks.
But Magical Girl Divine Might always acted true to her nature. She wasn’t going to indulge this director. She frowned and glanced at her phone, then replied leisurely:
“The Association’s Hero Network seemed to know about this attack in advance? By the time we arrived, the enemy had already groped their way to the target. Your security is practically nonexistent…”
This was equivalent to accusing him of dereliction of duty. The director’s expression turned even uglier.
He squinted and spoke in a commanding tone:
“Give me the thing.”
“How arrogant. Are you researching something unsavory?”
“Don’t ask too many questions. It’s not good for you.”
The director frowned. Clearly, having his weaknesses exposed made him angry and embarrassed, while the smile on Kamui’s face grew even brighter.
“Ha, even if I don’t ask, someone else will… Let me be clear, this mission of mine was also outsourced. I’m not the one who accepted the commission from the Hero Network. So do you think the Association that posted this mission knows nothing?”
Huh? Outsourced?
Can commissions on the Hero Network be subcontracted to third parties?
Clara was enlightened.
‘This is a business opportunity.’
Nyx began exploiting loopholes in the system.
‘Start a company called “Hero Crowdsourcing” to act as a third party in accepting commissions from the Hero Network.’
‘That way, you can transfer the risk of exposing your real identity and also receive commissions from the Association more easily.’
“No, there’s no way that would be allowed by the Association, right?”
Clara muttered quietly.
‘Sky.’ Nyx suddenly warned.
Clara looked up. A striking white figure streaked across the night sky, then dove down. It was a girl with wings on her back.
But it wasn’t Pure White Storm.
All the lines were much softer. The wings were like glowing films, and the principle of flight was indiscernible. Unlike Pure White Storm’s wings full of nozzles, the girl in front looked more like…
After landing, the pair of wings contracted into her back and shoulders in a way that completely defied physics and mechanical structure. She wore only a silver-white tight combat suit with circuit board patterns on the surface.
It was Alice…
The top-tier Hero, Mechanical Angel.
Facing the person that Fran Livka identified as her father’s murderer, Clara was nervous. But her mission was to get close to Alice to infiltrate the Hero Association, so she had to do something at this moment…
However, Alice chose to first negotiate with the lab director—
“I am Alice, a top-tier Hero affiliated with the Association. I am here on behalf of the Association to take over the scene. Based on the clues we have, your research project violates multiple laws. Therefore, we will confiscate the research subject and destroy the related research materials.”
No, this was not a negotiation.
It was more like a notification, giving the other party no room for rebuttal.
“Ah?”
The director’s face visibly showed despair.
“Y-Your Association is overstepping its bounds, isn’t it?”
Obviously, facing a top-tier Hero who was also a high-level member of the Association, he couldn’t put on the arrogant face he had earlier.
“Please don’t worry. Other relevant departments will follow up with the investigation later. Our procedures are completely legal and compliant… Is this the relic?”
She said expressionlessly, then looked at the glass jar in Kamui and Clara’s hands.
“Young Magical Girls, I’m glad to see you so active in the Association’s commissioned missions. But I hope you will personally register on the Hero Network.”
“…I was dragged here by her.”
Clara, holding the glass jar, pointed at Kamui with her small tentacle.
“The reward for completing the commission will only be given to the frontline heroes who made contributions. You will also get a share. Don’t worry… Now, can you hand that over to me?”
Clara hesitated for a moment, but didn’t directly hand it over. Instead, she asked:
“Excuse me, what exactly is inside this?”
She expected the other party to refuse to answer, but Alice thought for a moment. In her expressionless eyes, a waterfall of information flashed rapidly, as if obtaining some kind of authorization or investigating some data…
“That is a ‘god’s relic.'”
Alice explained:
“It comes from a history that is now lost. It is a ‘trace’ left by the ‘gods’ who opened up this world. Perhaps it was just a trivial thing to the gods, but the technology or knowledge that can be extracted from it far exceeds what this era can handle.”
“For safety reasons, the Administration Bureau enacted laws to contain those unknown ancient relics and prohibited any organization or individual from conducting research.”
When Clara thought of something that matched this description, the first thing that came to mind was the existence within her that surpassed generations—Nyx.
The NIX-01 Driver, despite being the size of portable hardware, could easily breach the Reconstruction Department’s firewall and burn the system.
The technology to construct a Combat Body was also unheard of. Nyx, who called herself an AI, also displayed a considerable degree of humanity.
She was only coincidentally obtained by the World Tree… Nyx herself had said that the World Tree Technology didn’t create her.
And all of this was unthinkable for this era.
‘I see.’
‘So that’s why Nyx felt… familiar with what was in that jar.’
Even if Nyx said that, Clara couldn’t take this thing.
At least not now.
‘Nyx understands.’
Clara carefully offered the “god’s relic” with both hands.
“Thank you very much for your cooperation, Clara.”
Alice accepted the relic and thanked her.
Then she spread her wings and flew away.
Huh?