When Kita Ikuyo returned home, her father's attitude had completely changed from his previous opposition. He didn't mention a single word about making her quit the band. Her mother, on the other hand, hugged her daughter—who had stayed out all night for the first time—and wept tears of joy while apologizing profusely.
She didn't know what method Kazami Kazuki had used to change her parents' attitudes, but as a good child, she honestly apologized to her parents for worrying them by running away from home.
Just as Kita Ikuyo was reconciling with her family, Jhin received a text message from Tamaki Mari. They had exchanged contact information on the day they met in Kabukicho to report on the mission's completion.
Tamaki Mari: "Mr. Jhin! We did it! [Image]"
In the attached photo, three girls with brilliant smiles were surrounding a petite girl who looked slightly shy and possessed an outstanding aura. That was the final member of their team—Shiraishi Yuzuki.
Jhin: "I saw it. Congratulations on joining the Antarctic Scientific Expedition Team. I have already notified Ms. Toudou."
Tamaki Mari: "Thank you very much for your support!"
"How was it, Mari? Did Mr. Jhin reply?" Shirase Kobuchizawa asked, her nostrils flaring as she panted heavily, staring at Tamaki Mari with a rather unladylike expression.
Tamaki Mari smiled and made a "Peace" sign at her. "Of course! He even said congratulations on joining!"
"That's great!" Shirase Kobuchizawa seemed to lose all strength in her body, collapsing limply onto the hotel sofa. Only Miyake Hinata and Tamaki Mari could understand her exaggerated reaction; they both knew how much effort and how many methods Shirase Kobuchizawa had exhausted to go to Antarctica after losing her mother.
Now that the dream had come true, Shirase Kobuchizawa still felt a sense of unreality, as if she were having a beautiful dream.
"Ah, Captain Toudou sent me a message."
Miyake Hinata looked at Tamaki Mari in surprise. "Mari, when did you get Captain Toudou's contact info?"
"?" Tamaki Mari paused slightly, then scratched her head and smiled embarrassedly. "Back then, didn't Mr. Jhin say we had to make Yuzuki change her mind to join the Antarctic expedition? I thought, 'What if we succeed but can't contact Captain Toudou?' So I asked for her contact information."
"So Mari has moments where she's smart too..."
"What do you mean! I got Captain Toudou's contact info in advance; I'm clearly very smart, okay?"
"Yes, yes, yes, you are very smart." Miyake Hinata turned her head to ask the conflicted-looking Shiraishi Yuzuki, "Yuzuki, what's wrong?"
"No... it's nothing." Shiraishi Yuzuki shook her head. She had only met Tamaki Mari and the others once or twice, yet they had already started affectionately calling her 'Yuzuki'. This was something even those "friends" at school had never done.
Although she was somewhat unsure if their relationship was good enough to address each other like that, she decided to ignore these issues for now because she truly yearned to have real friends.
Outside the window, the azure sky was cloudless; the pure blue light alone was enough to purify one's soul just by looking at it.
Jhin withdrew his gaze from the distance. Currently, all the girls had decided to participate in this Antarctic trip. Gin Toudou had also sent him the address for the upcoming safety education training camp. Next, he just needed to quietly wait for the completion of the training camp and the safety assessment.
"Nymph, are the test devices we agreed upon earlier ready?"
"Yes, Master. There are fifteen items in total. The most important ones are the portable constant temperature device, the large-scale storage space equipment, and the small perpetual energy device..."
"Wait a minute, did I just hear something very scary?"
"Hmm?" Nymph rechecked the technical list in confusion. She didn't find any technology that carried a 'scary' meaning in human definitions. "Master, the weapon category does not exist in our research list."
Jhin slapped his forehead helplessly. Unlike him, a backward native who hadn't seen much of the world, a perpetual energy device was probably as common as a streetlamp to Nymph. Have you ever seen anyone define a streetlamp as a scary object?
"I'm referring to the small perpetual energy device. You and Kazuki actually managed to produce something like that?"
"Yes. Although it is not yet perfect, it possesses preliminary value for use."
"Let me ask just in case—you guys don't plan to sell this thing externally, right?"
"Miss Kazuki only intends to use it for the company's internal technology research and development. There is no plan for external sales."
Jhin breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want to inexplicably trigger a world war. As long as this thing appeared in the world, it would absolutely change the global landscape. However, once the technology tree climbed a bit higher, he could send one back to his old country. After all, the Celestial Empire specializes in hiding and tucking things away; as long as the energy sector doesn't break through to an equivalent level, it can remain hidden forever.
"Master, there is one more thing I need to report to you."
Jhin pulled the little angel giving the report into his arms.
Hmm, today it's 'original-flavor ice cream'. Let me test the hand-feel first.
"Shuka High School originally intended to heavily publicize that students were participating in the Antarctic Scientific Expedition. However, after a high-energy individual entered the principal's office, they immediately changed their strategy to only publicizing it within the school."
"Since Shuka High School serves as the main trial school for angels and demons in this area, it's not strange for the school's higher-ups to have connections with Heaven and the Demon Realm. They probably considered that Gabriel and the others are participating this time, so it's inconvenient to conduct excessive publicity."
"It's that high-energy individual, though..."
At present, it was unclear whether the visitor was from Heaven or the Demon Realm. If it was Heaven, the possibility of it being Gabriel's older sister, Zelel, was high. But Gabriel was still safely gaming next door and hadn't been dragged back to Heaven by her sister for personality correction. Could it really be a demon from the Demon Realm?
While Jhin was deep in thought, the movements of his hands slowed down. He only snapped back to reality when Nymph used her toes to pinch his finger as a reminder. He kissed her tender, soft cheek.
Forget it, thinking about it won't help. What is the attitude of Nijika and her friends' school?
"As a prep school, they seem to intend to use this opportunity to expand their influence and are negotiating with the surrounding areas for publicity."
"Hmm... I'm slightly worried about whether their lives will be affected later. Help me keep an eye on things; if there are any bad signs, just snuff them out directly."
"Understood."
After finishing rubbing Nymph's small feet, Jhin stood up to go find Gabriel. Last time, he had let her get off work early. As a qualified Master, he couldn't let her earn her wages so easily.
Jhin pushed open Gabriel's door with a loud clang and shouted at her, "Hey, Gabriel! Your days of slacking off playing games while collecting wages are over! Hand over the Yamato... no, go put on the maid outfit quickly!"
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