Chapter 103: Interlude

Kageyama POV

“This is a nightmare. I can’t believe Zenith hired a magical girl to spy on us. Moreover, a new D-rank teenage Guardian,” General Armstrong said on a phone call. The quest had been completed, so the geas that had been put on me no longer worked, and I could finally consult with him. When I felt the geas in my heart disappear, I tried to contact Armstrong, but he was the one who called me first.

He handed me an encrypted video of Lily’s report. It wasn’t easy to do corporate espionage. I didn’t think she would gather much. I thought the best she could gather was Freya disobeying orders and us helping her—which I had confirmed to have implicit permission from Zenith.

The request came from Freya, and through her familiar, Zenith seemed okay with it. So, we could feign ignorance if Zenith questioned us later. We could simply say Zenith allowed it, or that it was all Freya’s fault. But when I saw the report, it blew my mind.

The video clearly displayed Lexus, the head of Newstar, scheming against Guardian Command and me. Although not directly, the video also implicated Enra’s current leader, LingShi. He had been caught making calls with Lexus, suggesting that he knew about the scheme. Then there was a confession from the exile—the previous head of Enra, or Freya’s father.

This kind of evidence was enough to send auditors from the UNH and get these two CEOs fired. But we are the ones against the law. We are the ones trying to save the exiles. I am sure these two companies would use that fact if we tried to bring this evidence into court.

If only this evidence had been commissioned by Guardian Command, we could simply pretend nothing had happened and distance ourselves from them silently, passing projects and favors elsewhere. The major point of these videos was not their scheme, but the fact that they were not trustworthy. Nothing harms us more than the loss of trust.

But this report was forwarded to Zenith. How would they see us now, when the first and the second biggest conglomerates were scheming for their own gain? They have been so supportive of us. It is no exaggeration to say that humanity could only survive thanks to them.

“Will they pull their support after seeing this report?” I asked General Armstrong over the phone.

“They shouldn’t. They helped us not entirely out of goodwill. If we fall, their world will be next. We could always negotiate. If we cede some of our freedom, we might persuade them. We have the new technology, we have leverage now,” General Armstrong said. His words were not directed towards me, but at himself.

“What can we offer them? It sounds easier to ignore us entirely and post their own army here,” I answered. Just because our world is the bulwark doesn’t mean they specifically need us.

“...The atmosphere and the laws of physics on this world are a bit different from their own. So, their troops won’t be as effective as ours…” General Armstrong paused. I knew he didn’t fully believe his own words just now. It was the official statement from Zenith, but it could change anytime—just like the budget.

“The achievement at the gate and the discovery of anathema essence are our only weapons. If Zenith pulls their support, anathema essence will be crucial. Our army has developed APFSDS rounds enchanted with anathema essence. With these, even ordinary soldiers can take down a D-rank gloam in a single hit. They can even bring down B-ranked anathema if we hit their vital parts.

“The simulation also shows that we could even bring down a behemoth if we strike multiple times in the same spot. Zenith took a liking to our research. They even purchased several rounds for themselves, intending to use them in Umbra. This is the first time they have ever wanted to buy something from us. I thought everything was going well, but this shit happened. Damnit, Lily…” General Armstrong sighed at the very magical girl who had blown the whistle. He couldn’t openly curse her, since she was the one who had brought the technology. She was both a blessing and a curse.

“I see. Can we survive without Zenith’s support with this technology…?”

“No. We have no way of mass-producing it. We just can’t get enough anathema essence.” General Armstrong’s answer was short and concise. This was a leap for mankind, sure, but it didn’t yet have the power to turn the tide in our favor. We still needed Zenith’s support.

“Yeah, right.” I nodded.

We could kill Anathema, but to harvest them, we needed a magical girl to walk next to their corpse within ten or twenty seconds. Our strategy just didn’t mesh. With guns, our war usually began and ended within one kilometer of range—more if we deployed artillery. The need to harvest their corpses nullified that advantage.

“What about Lily?”

“She is sleeping in her room.”

“Zenith will convene with us starting tomorrow regarding this report. If they ever ask for outside opinions, Lily might get picked. I hope she says some good words for our cause.”

“What about S-rank Magical Girls?”

“They will also be invited. They are reviewing the documents right now.”

“General Armstrong. What will happen to Lily? There wasn’t any mention of names… but if one investigated enough from these recordings, it wouldn’t be hard to assume Lily was involved.”

“Only you and I know Lily was the one who investigated this. Others might assume this was the work of multiple magical girls. So she should not be in danger. She only happened to be in several shots.” General Armstrong said, “Besides, she only submitted videos. There is no reason for us to hate her. You have my word and at least three high-level guardians.”

“But…” Kageyama frowned. Lily was talented. She had climbed the ranks fast. But she was just a teenage girl, and she couldn’t support the entirety of Shirayuki if other Guardians or companies shunned us for harboring her. We might be forced to cut her contract and let her go with guardian command, but that would make her be discriminated even more.

“The parties disadvantaged by this—Enra and Newstar—will be powerless after the meeting is over. I expect all of their investors and CEOs to be blacklisted unofficially by everyone at the end of the month. Let alone staying in the conglomerate rankings, they would struggle to keep their companies afloat with this kind of scandal so soon after the previous ones. You have nothing to fear.”

“Understood. That means Lily will not be getting harsh glares from fellow Magical Guardians from Enra, Newstar, and Guardian Command, right?”

“We will not blacklist her. As for other Guardians, they would do no more than harass her verbally. That often happens to blacks. There is nothing to worry about. I shall advise her familiar to tell us if she experiences such things. Familiars should not allow bullying of other Guardians under any circumstances.”

“Thank you.” While not feeling completely assured, I understood that this was the best General Armstrong could do. There was no way around it. Dark Magical Girls were often envied because of their unique powers among Guardians. Moreover, since they were rare, it felt like they were special—even though being Guardians was already special in its own way.

“I shall await you tomorrow.”

“Yes. I will be there.” I sighed as I turned in for the night. But I couldn’t sleep, so I spent the rest of the night crafting possible replies to any questions they might ask.

The very next day, I woke up early, only to find Yuri preparing to go to school like normal. She was smarter than most kids her age, and with that cat advising her, she might even surpass me one day. She had also gotten good at hiding her emotions; I couldn’t quite get a read on whether or not she understood the gravity of the situation. Nevertheless, I should not coerce her or even talk about that matter. I simply nodded as I sent her to school.

The meeting went as terrifying as I thought. A teddy bear, despite its cute appearance, looked like a death god handing down judgment to us all.
The room was silent as LingShi and Lexus went white as sheets of paper when they were handed the report. General Armstrong was silent as he stared hard at the document. Along with him, six other Sanctuary City leaders were also present, with Pink Heart as the representative of the S-rank Guardians. He was silent because this meeting was led by Zenith. They were the ones who initiated it.

“Greetings, it has come to our attention that there was some discord among humans. UNH, is this true?”

“Yes. According to the video forwarded to us, the source of the discord was Magical Girl Freya trying to save her father, who was among the exiles, while NewStar and Enra tried to uphold the verdict by UNH and agreed upon by Zenith,” General Armstrong said.

“Has this discord spread to the masses?” The Zenith asked.

“The masses didn’t know about it. And since the exiles had perished near Oil Rig 17, where Freya planned to shelter them, there was no further discord, Zenith.”

“Shirayuki, did you know Freya was trying to shelter the exiles on your oil rig?” Zenith asked. Kageyama wanted to flip the table at this farce.

Little did he know, Familiars were not the same as Zenith. Familiars were Zenith’s creations, similar to computers, or AI. The Zenith had input their logic into it, and their decisions were often synonymous. But they were different.

“Yes, I knew. According to my understanding, exiles meant they would not be welcomed inside sanctuary cities. It does not mean they were banned from interacting with other humans. Guardian Command agreed that instead of feeding them to our nemesis, the Anathema, we should put the exiles to work on an oil rig instead.” Kageyama said. He chose to come clean. If someone tried to blame him, he would put all the blame on Freya and her familiar.

“Understood. Enra and NewStar, were you against the plan, or did you support the plan?”

“We were against the plan, Zenith. We investigated, and these exiles were scheming to get themselves back into the sanctuary cities.”

“So, all these schemes were just to find evidence that Guardian Command was colluding against us?” the Zenith asked.

“Yes… We think it would be unwise for Guardian Command to go against Zenith’s verdict.”

“Our orders or verdict came second. Please note that the Anathema is our mutual enemy. They wish to conquer your world and turn it into a wasteland. Your survival hinges on whether you can expel the Anathema from your world or not. Please direct your efforts to exterminating the Anathema.

“We are most pleased to see the destruction of their gate. Moreover, with the new technology, we believe you can stand on your own against the Anathema. You need to put all of your effort into combating the Anathema.”

“…Understood.” Kageyama and General Armstrong nodded. Zenith neither support nor blamed any of them, which made the atmosphere turn weird.

“That’s all we want to inform you. Please do your best to expel the Anathema from your world. We shall do our best to support you.”

“Yes.”

Relief flashed over everyone at the meeting. However, I, General Armstrong, Lexus, and Lingshi were pale. The meeting was over for the Zenith, but the battle was not.

Guardians, conglomerates, and UNH representatives would definitely cook us over fire for this. I needed to brace myself for their queries.