"Eh? Sister, you're an agent for Celestial Being!?"
The battle was over, and A-Laws had been disbanded. Naturally, Saji Crossroad no longer needed to stay on the Rainbow Ship to evade investigation. As someone who loathed fighting, he left the Rainbow Ship and returned to the ordinary world.
Upon returning home and seeing the sister he hadn't met in years, the tension and anxiety that had gripped him during his life-or-death struggles finally exploded. Once he regained his composure, the two siblings talked about their respective experiences over the past year. After Yang Hui lifted the confidentiality regulations for Celestial Being, Kinue told him about her identity and her experiences over the last few years to keep her brother from worrying.
As expected, Saji was left dumbfounded, his mouth hanging open.
"Yes. At first, I only found a few traces of Celestial Being. Just as I was about to investigate further, Celestial Being found me first. Then I became an agent, gathering intelligence for them ever since."
"No wonder your work suddenly got so busy back then, and your overseas assignments kept increasing. You'd be gone for two or three months at a time," Saji realized. Although Kinue's job as a reporter involved a lot of traveling, she wasn't a field correspondent, so she used to return home frequently. Even if she went on a business trip, it was only for two or three days at most, and not that often.
But after becoming an agent for Celestial Being, it was no longer as simple as a long trip. She spent most of her time away, and her time at home was scarce.
"Yes, but I can finally relax for a bit now."
After retaking the Celestial Being and VEDA and eliminating the Innovator Army, Celestial Being wouldn't have any major missions for a while. They only needed to keep an eye on who might remain restless after the new government was established. Missions of that level didn't require Kinue's personal involvement, so she was taking a long-overdue vacation.
It wasn't just Kinue; the entire Celestial Being organization and everyone in the Promis Legion were given a week's leave by Yang Hui. Although it wasn't much time, two years was enough to complete the arrangements Yang Hui had envisioned, so a one-week holiday was no problem.
"Does that mean you'll still be gathering intelligence for Celestial Being in the future, Sister?" Saji asked worriedly.
"Yes, but your sister has been promoted. I won't need to personally handle any but the most important missions."
"But... isn't the war over? Is there still a point for Celestial Being to exist?" Saji asked with concern. On one hand, if Celestial Being continued its activities, wouldn't that mean more wars would occur? On the other hand, he was worried about Kinue's safety. After all, intelligence work was extremely dangerous; if caught, death was the most likely outcome.
"You must have learned many things you didn't know before while on the Rainbow Ship, right, Saji?"
"Ye... yes." Saji lowered his head. He had not only learned many cruel facts he had never been exposed to before, but he had also personally participated in combat.
"Then you should understand that war... only ends temporarily. It never disappears completely."
"...I understand. I can't talk you out of it anyway, but Sister, please stay safe."
"Mm, I know."
Ding-dong~
At that moment, the doorbell rang. The siblings glanced at each other. Kinue pulled a handgun from her bag, hiding it behind her back as she tiptoed toward the door. Saji also grew tense.
"Who is it?"
"Sister Kinue, it's me, Louise. Is Saji home?" Louise's voice from outside the door surprised Kinue.
Hearing the familiar voice, Kinue breathed a sigh of relief. She knew Louise was an Overseer for Celestial Being and one of her comrades. Thus... she looked at the surprised yet nervous Saji with a mischievous glint in her eye and opened the door.
"Louise, long time no see. Saji is home."
Seeing the schadenfreude smile on Kinue's face, Louise was stunned for a moment. Her mind raced, and she quickly understood Kinue's meaning, breaking into a similar smile.
Inviting Louise inside, Kinue closed the door. Not long after...
"What!? Louise, you too!? Am I the only one who isn't!?"
...
Back on that deserted island, Yang Hui lay on a beach chair, enjoying the refreshing sea breeze and warm sunlight. Occasionally, he pushed up his sunglasses to look at the beautiful figures playing beach volleyball in front of him.
"Mm, this is the kind of life that suits me."
"Enjoy it while you can. We'll be busy again soon." Sumeragi sat down directly in Yang Hui's lap with a drink in her hand and leaned back.
"I was fine until you mentioned that. Now my head hurts just thinking about it!" Yang Hui felt like crying. "Professor Eifman and Old Wang really aren't human. I'm just trying to steal a little leisure time to spend with you all during this hard-earned holiday, and they want to drag me into the lab. Aren't they afraid of dropping dead from overwork in there?"
"Hehe, with so many new technologies, it would be strange if they weren't anxious to see them." Sumeragi giggled, covering her mouth.
Professor Eifman and Old Wang knew about the Third Phase Plan. They certainly wanted to be part of it. Even if they couldn't take to the battlefield, they wanted to leave a lasting mark on that epic campaign with the weapons and equipment they developed.
However, they didn't join as Earth Federation scientists, but as scientists for Celestial Being. Since they were Celestial Being scientists, Yang Hui naturally wouldn't hide anything from them. So...
Thinking of the moment those two elderly men, who were practically one foot in the grave, saw the top-tier technologies of five different worlds—they had practically regained their youth in an instant. Their eyes had looked like the kings of beasts staring at prey. Terrified of being eaten alive, Yang Hui had bolted, throwing Billy Katagiri out like a distraction mid-run just to make his escape.
...
Inside the laboratory of the Celestial Being, Billy Katagiri leaned against a corner as if his very soul had been drained. "Ugh... Yang Hui, I won't let you get away with this!"
"Katagiri! What are you doing? It's not time for a break yet! Get up!"
"Noooooo!!"
...
"Where are the others? Where did they go to live their little lives?" Yang Hui asked gossipingly. When it came to gossip, there was no distinction between men and women.
"Setsuna went to the Kingdom of Azadistan. I heard he's having a pretty good time with that Princess."
"Heh. Following her around with a zombie face like a piece of gum stuck to her heel counts as 'having a good time'?" Yang Hui gave Sumeragi a flat look. Setsuna was already an odd youth who wasn't good at expressing emotions, and after awakening as an Innovator, he became even weirder. Who knew what he was thinking all day? What else could he do besides silently following Marina Ismail?
"It's progress, isn't it?"
"Heh, progress of 0.1 millimeters. He's still a light-year away from the finish line."
"Hehe. Everyone else is traveling. Neil and Feldt are in Australia looking at kangaroos and koalas. Lyle took Anew to the City of Romance. Allelujah and Peries are backpacking on the Pamir Plateau."
"See! See! Lyle has the best taste, knowing to go to the City of Romance."
"Are you sure?"
"Hm? Is that not the case?" Yang Hui blinked.
"Of course not. Tieria took Mileina to visit every amusement park in the world!"
"..."
Yang Hui's eyes turned into dead fish eyes. Without a word, he patted Sumeragi's thigh.
This caught Sumeragi off guard, and she reflexively stood up. Seeing Yang Hui walking toward the house with a grim expression, she asked, "Where are you going?"
"To kill that beast Tieria! Mileina is still so young, and he actually laid a hand on her! That damn bastard, how dare he touch my niece! I'm going to destroy him!"
"Hey! Wait a minute!"
...
"Hiss~!" Tieria, who was waiting in line to buy ice cream, suddenly felt a mysterious shiver run down his spine. He quickly turned his head to scan the surroundings, only breathing a sigh of relief when he found no danger.
"Brother Tieria, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" The small and cute Mileina pulled on Tieria's clothes, looking worried.
"It's nothing. I just suddenly felt like someone was trying to kill me," Tieria thought carefully.
"I didn't feel anything. Could it be an illusion?"
"Yeah, let's just call it an illusion."
...
The members of the Promis Legion were scattered all over the world, enjoying themselves. Except for the Iron-Blooded Orphans World, this world wasn't much different from their own, but it was a different world nonetheless, and worth exploring.
...
"Brother, walk faster!"
"Sayla, do we really need to buy more?" Char, carrying piles of bags large and small, asked Sayla with a miserable expression.
"Of course! Emily and the others insisted we bring back plenty of local specialties from this world."
"...Since when were designer bags considered 'local specialties'?"
"Tch. Men, you understand nothing."
"...Then can you explain what's going on with these four?" Char pointed at the grinning Ford Romfellow, Russ Kessel, Kowloon, and Liddell Wolf standing beside them.
"Them? I don't know either."
"Hmm?" Char looked over with a murderous gaze.
"Greetings, Big Brother-in-law!" X4
"Get lost! Who's your big brother-in-law!? You lot want to marry my sister? Maybe in your next life!"
...
"Asemu, enemy appearing at 1 o'clock!"
"Understood... Clear... Enemy aircraft appearing behind us, count is four!"
"Leave them to me!"
"Dole, Fat, intercept the enemies on the right!"
"Understood!" X2
"I say..."
"Be quiet, Fram! We're in the middle of an operation, don't distract us!"
"Lord Jehart... this is just a game! Can you not be so serious? It's embarrassing!" Fram Nara complained, covering her face as she looked at the group playing. She didn't understand why they were so serious and focused, to the point that they had attracted the attention of everyone in the arcade, being stared at like monkeys in a zoo without even realizing it.
"Nonsense! Mr. Yang Hui said that training is actual combat! We must handle it with seriousness!"
"Exactly!" XN
"Ah! Lord Jehart, the enemy at 7 o'clock is coming, I can't hold them off much longer!"
"Hold on, I'm coming to support you!"
"Understood!"
"Sigh..."
...
This was likely their last vacation, so everyone was playing and enjoying themselves to the fullest.
One week later, they would return to the Promis Legion and begin a rigorous period of preparation, seizing every second to improve themselves and increase their chances of survival, however slightly, for the next great battle.
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