Even though she had been looking at the sunlight pouring in through the window the whole time, Senano narrowed her eyes.
A sense of release, as though she had just come out of a cave, filled her.
“Good work.”
The first thing said to Senano as she stepped out of the apartment entrance was cold and inorganic, devoid of emotion.
Fed up, Senano adjusted the guitar case on her back and looked at the man in front of her.
That man, wearing a special ritual formal uniform styled after a suit, was the same person who had spoken to her that morning.
“Why are you here?”
“We received a report that the Enri Bearer, Mikama, had entered the labyrinth alone without joining up with the local Enri Bearer, and judged there to be a high possibility that you had been subjected to mental interference. Therefore, I took it upon myself to respond on my own authority. So then, what do you think? In the end, even for an S Rank, would it not have been dangerous without our help?”
“…S Rank, huh.”
“First, congratulations. You successfully dealt with the target Aberrant Entity. In recognition of that achievement, the Enri Agency hereby certifies Mikama Senano as an S-rank Enri Bearer as of today.”
“I see.”
At Senano’s flat response, the man tilted his head.
But before he could ask anything, Senano’s sharp glare pinned him in place.
“So then, how exactly did you help me? What was the specific method?”
“Judging by how you look, have you already figured it out?”
“You…!”
Without hesitation, Senano grabbed him by the collar and glared at him.
The only reason she did not go any further was because her reason had stopped her at the last possible moment.
The man probably understood that.
With the same calmness he had shown from the start, he spoke to Senano.
“Oh dear, oh dear. And yet you were saved by it in reality, so why are you angry? Besides, that was something she chose to do of her own will, was it not?”
“You pushed her into acting that way…!”
“We also did not wish to lose someone talented enough to become S Rank. I hope you will understand.”
“…………Let me make this clear, just because I became S Rank doesn’t mean I intend to become the Enri Agency’s dog. Make sure you tell the people above that much.”
“Yes, understood… ah, and there is the one you were waiting for. I’ll take my leave now.”
“Tch.”
(TL Note: Yeah, I hate this agency.)
Senano roughly shoved the man away.
At the same time, a voice called out to her.
Unlike the heartless person she had been speaking to until now, it was a gentle, emotional, sun-warm voice.
“Senano-saaaan!”
Senano reflexively looked up to the sky.
At the very least, she had to calm this furious expression before Ei reached her.
She could not place any unnecessary emotional burden on Ei.
For her sake, and for humanity’s sake.
Senano gave the man one last glance, then spat out words in a voice only he could hear.
“…If you keep doing things like this, someday it’s going to lead to something irreversible. Do the people above think they’re just playing with toys?”
The man did not answer.
He only bowed once, stepped back, then cleanly turned on his heel and started walking away.
As though she had lost interest in him as well, Senano turned her gaze to Ei, who was now running toward her.
“Are you okay!? Senano-saaaan!”
“Don’t panic. As you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”
Putting on a smile, Senano answered that way.
And then, at that moment, Ei stumbled on a small step.
“Wah.”
“――There, be careful.”
Senano gently caught Ei as she nearly fell.
Perhaps because it had all happened too suddenly, Ei’s mind did not catch up at first, and she stared blankly for a while. But before long, she snapped back to herself and spread both arms wide.
“I’m just glad you’re safe!”
“H-hey, don’t hug me in public.”
At Ei’s innocent hug, Senano let out a troubled voice.
The adults around them watched over the scene warmly, or else looked away out of guilt.
“I’m sorry, Senano-san.”
Still holding her, Ei suddenly let that apology slip out.
“I broke my promise to stay behind. When I heard that you were in danger, Senano-san.”
It was the kind of voice a small child would use when confessing to a prank, watching the other person’s reaction.
“It was my first time making a friend… And then I started thinking, what if Senano-san disappeared…?”
While listening to Ei’s voice grow more and more emotional, Senano looked up at the blue sky.
(That’s right. Ei is just a normal girl with feelings like this too.)
And yet there were people who used that as a weapon.
And she herself was standing here as someone who had been saved by it.
That hopeless fact weighed heavily upon Senano together with the feeling that she was alive.
She understood that Ei probably was not hoping for an apology.
They had only known each other for a day, but she had already come to know that purity of hers more than enough.
That was why Senano gently placed a hand on her head and stroked it.
It was Senano’s own form of atonement, and also her way of saying thanks.
“It’s fine, really. It’s nothing worth worrying about. Thanks for helping me.”
“…Yes!”
“That’s right, you just need to smile.”
To call it a happy ending still left a slight sense of unfinished business.
But for Ei’s sake as well, Senano decided to smile for now.
(I need to report about Shion once we get back.)
Thinking about what came after this, Senano kept up her smile.
And yet, beneath this blue sky, she felt as though those pent-up feelings were being seen straight through.
■
Making content out of a decent kid like this is seriously messed up, for real!
What the hell is going on with ethics!?
『Ahh～＾＾』
Hey, don’t get blissed out over yuri when you look like the final boss of some modern-day monster story.
And one of them is variable, no less.
『This is good. It was indeed the correct decision to keep this human alive. This is wonderful content. I nearly ended up Ten’i-ing the entire surrounding area without thinking.』
『Seriously, cut me a break. Also, can’t you take this collar off already? At this rate I can’t focus on the acting. I want to get rid of anything unnecessary so I can focus on this content!』
『You think you can manipulate me by using content as your excuse? What a cute delusion. ＾＾』
I’m the one desperately dealing with this here.
A Higher Being in the sky, a bomb around my neck, what am I?
That’s right, me.
『Please rest assured. Something like that will not kill Ei. ＾＾ Did you really think Ei would die from something on the level of a bomb?』
『Huh…?』
『How fragile, to tremble at nothing more than a collar… ahh, you really are adorable. Ei, I actually wanted to see you even more frightened, but I am kind, so I told you. Where is my gratitude?』
『Gratitude…? Why should I be grateful…?』
『I see. Then, from wire, mirror, bride, and window, choose whichever you like- 』
『-I’m grateful! Seriously, thanks a ton!』
『… yes. ＾＾ I like obedient children. Just as Yoi said, being thanked really does feel good!』
Sora looked satisfied.
In that case, I had nothing more to say from my side.
To everyone around us, it probably looked like I was the one who saved Senano-chan, but the one who did everything was the little Higher Being girl next to me.
That lady over there seriously staring down the measuring devices, this one can mess with machines, so it’s probably pointless.
And that Enri Bearer guy in the back who was standing by in case something happened, if she felt like it, Japan would end before anyone could resist, so instead of preparing weapons, you should’ve been preparing a death poem.
Keeping all that inside, I kept hugging Senano-chan.
Because the director told me to.
『Good, very good. As a first volume, this is the ideal way to end it. From here, let us deepen your relationship. …I want to see a quarrel event in real life, so shall we have you quarrel at the end of volume two?』
『From here on out, is even my fighting going to be managed?』
『? Ei’s life…?』
『Yeah, let’s stop going any further with this topic. I get the feeling only despair and heartlessness are waiting there. Let’s talk about the next content instead.』
『Yes! Things are going to get busy from here on, Ei. Because project EN-THEOS is about to begin. ＾＾』
『Huh, what’s that』
『An ultra-classified plan of the Enri Agency. ＾＾』
『How do you know about that』
『Did you really think humans could hide things from me?』
『…………I see!』
『Yes!』
『『Wahahahahahaha!』』
Sora and I laughed loudly together within our telepathy.
Today’s sky, too, was stupidly clear as hell.
■
【Official Enri Agency Report】
Document Number: EN-RPT-2025-0919-KAGEMORI
Submitting Department: Enri Agency Seventh Observation Bureau / Kaien City Stationed Special Appointed Enri Bearer Unit
Submitted by: Mikama Senano (A Rank ⇒ Promoted: S Rank certified)
Report Subject: Kagemori Shion (Third-Year Enri Academy Student)
Date Created: Reiwa ██, August ■■
Subject: Final report regarding Enri Bearer Kagemori Shion of Enri Academy, who had been treated as missing during mission operations
■ 1. Overview of Investigation Mission
On Reiwa ██, August ■■, I was engaged in an investigation mission within the singular labyrinth-type zone located in ██ District, Iwate Prefecture, commonly known as the “Snake Window” domain, while tracking multiple missing persons and Aberrant Entity reactions.
During that mission, I encountered Enri Bearer Kagemori Shion, who had been considered missing beforehand. I confirmed that she was alive, and while acting together with her, worked to clarify the full extent of the situation.
■ 2. Actions and Achievements of Enri Bearer Kagemori Shion
Even under the extreme circumstances of having lost every member of her unit, Kagemori continued to display calm judgment and the ability to grasp the local situation, and had already perceived the structural weak point of the Aberrant Entity in question, namely the abnormality of the top-floor window bearing a sealing syntax, passing that information on to the Enri Bearers who followed after.
Furthermore, during combat with the Aberrant Entity, Kagemori voluntarily entered the enemy’s primary “window-type cognitive disaster domain.”
Without regard for the danger of ego collapse and syntax contamination, she carried out a decoy action that drew the primary combat pressure onto herself, making an immense contribution to the subsequent course of action.
As a result, this mission was fully carried out, and the elimination and sealing of the target Aberrant Entity, commonly known as Snake Window, were successfully accomplished.
■ 3. Final Confirmation and Killed-in-Action Determination
During the enemy entity’s final rampage, Kagemori forcibly made contact on both the physical and mental levels, and after colliding with the 《Mirror-Space Transfer Body》, completely disappeared from the scene.
At the time she was last visually confirmed, she still retained a clear sense of self and pride as an Enri Bearer, and even within an environment filled with hostility, consistently prioritized warning and protecting her comrades.
Her actions are definitively judged to have been “based on the dignity and pride of an Enri Bearer,” and based on the testimony of the accompanying party and the combat records, she is formally recorded and certified as “killed in action during mission operations.”
■ 4. Notes
The abnormal syntax, cognitive expansion phenomena, and collision incident involving the unknown mirror-type Aberrant Entity confirmed within the same labyrinth will be reported separately.
Furthermore, the body and personal effects of the Enri Bearer Kagemori completely disappeared on site. It has been judged that reproduction and recovery are impossible.
Even after losing her comrades, Enri Bearer Kagemori Shion never abandoned justice or hope, fulfilled her mission as an Enri Bearer to the very end, and fell after leaving behind accomplishments that would carry into the future.
Hereby, we mourn her death and record it in this report with the utmost respect.
Submitted Signature: Mikama Senano (S Rank certified)
Review Seal: □ Completed (Under upper management review)
Submitted to: Enri Agency Records Bureau, Individual Heroic Spirit Commendation Division (copy: calamity-lord-class Observation Section)