Chapter 384 385: Takina Inoue

"A transfer?" Takina Inoue's small, cold face had a medicated patch stuck to it. She held a notice in her hand.

DA Commander Kusunoki sat in her office chair, her expression stern, refusing to look Takina in the eye. She stated the already-decided fact in a flat tone: "The consequences of ignoring a superior's orders and causing a lead to go cold are severe. The field commander has also reported your overstep of authority to me."

Commander Kusunoki tilted her head slightly, glancing at Takina from the corner of her eye, a trace of regret entering her voice. "This can't be helped. There's a Lycoris at the field division you're being sent to. She's arrogant, but genuinely skilled. I hope you'll learn something there."

"Understood." Takina accepted the transfer without protest. She'd already braced herself for consequences the moment she decided to open fire — if anything, this punishment was lighter than she'd expected.

As long as I perform well at the new division, I can eventually apply to transfer back to Lycoris headquarters.

With that thought, she hurried back to her dorm, grabbed the suitcase she'd packed in advance, and left Lycoris headquarters without looking back.

The transfer address was written clearly on the notice. She wasn't the type to get lost or wander off track, so after switching trains a few times, she arrived at her destination in a residential district — a café called Café LycoReco.

So this is the new division. The cover is well done. Wonder what it's like inside.

Takina silently rated her future workplace, then pushed open the door and stepped in.

A crisp jingle rang out.

The bell looked like an ordinary decoration, but it doubled as a security measure.

"Welcome to Café LycoReco! Whoa, that's a Lycoris uniform — is this the new hire you mentioned?!" Chisato moved so fast Takina couldn't react in time. She practically pounced on the newcomer like an overgrown puppy, seizing her hand and shaking it up and down enthusiastically. "Hi, hi! Welcome aboard!"

Is this person also a member of the new division?

Takina studied Chisato for a moment and decided she didn't match Commander Kusunoki's description of an arrogant, powerhouse Lycoris ace. After a brief "Hello," she turned her gaze toward Kurumi, who looked remarkably young.

"...?" Kurumi raised an eyebrow at being stared at. "What's up, new girl who got canned by DA?"

"I wasn't fired!" Takina shot back quickly, then said, earnestly, "I was ordered to come to the new division to learn from you — the ace, Nishikigi Chisato."

"Huh?"

Jhin cut in hastily, "That slacking loli isn't Chisato."

"What slacking? I work hard, thank you very much!"

"Ah—" Takina blinked at that, then turned to look at Jhin. Her expressionless little face showed a flicker of shock. "That level of disguise technique — no wonder you're the ace. I'm Takina Inoue. My apologies for failing the disguise-recognition test on our first meeting."

Chisato squeezed herself into view, pointing at her own chest and shouting, "Hey, hey, hey! There's no way Jhin-nii is a girl! I'm Chisato — Nishikigi Chisato!"

"Eh? But Commander Kusunoki said it was someone arrogant..."

"Ah! She's saying that about me? Next time I see her, I'm giving her a piece of my mind!"

Jhin smiled and extended his right hand toward her. "Miss Takina Inoue, hello. I'm the café's manager, Jhin. That slacking loli over there is Kurumi, a former member of the intelligence division."

Takina shook his hand politely. "Former member... then you are..."

"Me? Like I said just now — the Store Manager."

"Not a cover identity..."

"Ah, seems there's a misunderstanding. I've got no connection to DA. Right now I'm just a part-timer at a tech company and the manager of this café. Oh, and also a high schooler."

"An ordinary person? Then why would..."

Seeing Takina's puzzled expression, Kurumi kindly offered a warning: "Don't let this guy fool you. He's nowhere near as ordinary as he makes himself sound."

Jhin immediately complained at her, displeased. "Could you not just casually expose your boss's secrets like that?"

"I just can't stand you playing dumb while secretly being a badass."

"Then how about I play the wolf next time?"

"..." Kurumi went dead silent.

There's only one reason a guy would play the wolf — to prey on the girl. The implication of his words was clear: keep exposing me, and next time I'll come after you.

Ending the grown-ups' conversation there, Jhin cleared his throat and continued, "Anyway, welcome to Café LycoReco. Chisato, she's your partner from now on. You two get along, all right?"

"Okay~" Chisato grabbed Takina's arm, brimming with excitement. "So, no time to waste — Takina, how old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"Ooh, a year younger than me. But don't use formal speech with me, just call me Chisato!"

"Ah... okay."

"By the way, on that mission I helped out with before — that was you, sweeping through with the machine gun looking all cool, right?"

"Yes."

Chisato waved her small hands excitedly. "Wow, that was seriously cool! Is that where you got the mark on your face too?"

At that question, the corners of Takina's mouth dipped almost imperceptibly, and she looked away. "No, this was left by a field commander..."

As it turned out, during that mission a teammate had been taken hostage by terrorists. Takina had weighed the situation and opened fire with a heavy machine gun to eliminate the enemy — an act that, to some degree, disregarded her comrade's safety and enraged the field commander. Even though everyone in the division knew her marksmanship was precise, she still got punched afterward.

Once she'd pieced together the full story, Chisato flew into a rage. She stormed over to the landline in the café and dialed the field commander in question — who also happened to be Takina's former partner, Fuki Harukawa.

While Chisato was busy chewing out her former partner, Jhin brought a cup of coffee over to Takina. "So, what's your impression of this Lycoris ace?"

Her answer was blunt. "She doesn't look like an ace at all."

"True enough. She looks like a cute, lively high school girl."

Kurumi added, "With a side of narcissism and carelessness, free of charge."

"Is she that narcissistic?"

"She calls herself the beautiful girl mascot of the café every single day. Isn't that narcissistic enough for you?"

"I'd say she's just stating a fact."

"You — why do you sound like you're bragging about your own daughter or something?"

Ignoring the two of them derailing into their own bickering, Takina lifted the coffee cup and took a sip, then widened her eyes. "This is delicious..."

"Right~" Chisato, who had apparently finished her phone call at some point, leaned in beside her, beaming. "Jhin-nii's skills are top-notch!"

"Chisato... why do you call the manager 'nii'? Could it be that he's..."

Faced with the prospect of her new partner mistaking them for long-lost siblings, Chisato quickly explained, "It's not what you're thinking. It's just a habit from when I was little, don't worry about it."

"When you were little?"

"I'll tell you about it some other time. For now, go change into your uniform and get ready to work!"

"Got it." The moment work was mentioned, Takina's eyes sharpened immediately. Then she furrowed her brow in confusion and asked Chisato, "Aren't I already wearing my uniform?"

"No, no, no, I mean my staff uniform for the café."

"...?"

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