"Sir, I was only following along to listen to the radio."
How embarrassing.
Yanagi Tsukishiro, Deputy Chief of Hollow Special Operations Section 6, was being treated like a suspicious person by an elderly man. The experience left her feeling thoroughly uncomfortable.
The old man snorted.
"Young people these days. Don't you have a phone?"
"Uh… sorry."
Her face flushed red. She adjusted her glasses and quickly stepped aside.
In her excitement over hearing the news, she had completely forgotten that she could simply check it on her phone.
Being reminded of something so obvious by an old man was mortifying.
She pulled out her phone, and sure enough, there was already a news report about last night's incident.
The gist of it was simple:
Citizens were advised not to travel alone and to remain vigilant for armed suspects.
"Heh. So they're officially classified as criminals now."
Yanagi nearly laughed out loud.
She had to admit, the other participants really knew how to make things interesting.
"Purple hair… female…"
The Zenless Zone Zero group had only joined recently, so Yanagi couldn't immediately determine who the two suspects were. She could only file the information away and remain cautious.
Putting away her phone, she glanced at the sky.
"It's about time to visit the church."
Since she wasn't fully familiar with the game, Yanagi couldn't guarantee victory. She and Hoshimi Miyabi had already agreed to purchase intelligence from Valerius today.
Otherwise, being eliminated while sitting on a large reserve of points would be a terrible waste.
She hailed a taxi.
"Hmm? Someone's already inside?"
As she prepared to get in, she noticed a blonde woman sitting rigidly in the back seat.
The driver rolled down the window.
"Where to?"
"Uh… the church in the eastern district."
How strange.
Were taxis in this world shared rides by default?
Still, time was limited.
Shared ride or not, she had no choice.
The driver nodded.
"Get in. She's headed there too."
The moment Yanagi sat down and glanced at her fellow passenger, the driver casually added:
"Coincidence, huh?"
At once, every hair on Yanagi's body stood on end.
At the same time, the blonde woman looked over as well.
In each other's eyes, they saw the same mixture of surprise and caution.
"A Master!"
In an instant, both identified the other.
Although the cognitive interference effect prevented them from recognizing exactly who the other person was, they were both certain of one thing.
The woman beside them was a Master.
"This is bad. Miyabi isn't here."
"Oh no… I have no idea where Barbara is right now."
The atmosphere inside the taxi instantly became tense.
The driver, completely oblivious, continued driving toward the eastern district.
In the livestream:
Jing Yuan: "Well… they've run into each other."
Lisa: "What are you waiting for? Use a Command Seal and summon Barbara!"
Rosaria: "If Barbara appears, defeating Yanagi won't be a problem."
Keqing: "Yanagi can summon her Servant too. And they're still in the middle of the city."
Jaina Doe: "If one side summons first, they lose the psychological advantage."
Sparkle: "Pfft… I'm dying."
Nahida: "What an extraordinary coincidence."
Yukong: "These two are doomed."
Tingyun: "Indeed, indeed."
Zhu Yuan: "Impossible. They're in a busy urban area. Nothing will happen."
Qingyi: "Then look at where Yanqing and Yunli are."
At Qingyi's reminder, Zhu Yuan checked the map.
Yanqing and Yunli were already positioned on the only pedestrian route leading to the church.
And because that stretch was a walking street, taxis weren't allowed to enter.
Zhu Yuan: "Oh no. What do we do?"
She suddenly felt worried for Yanagi.
If Yanagi were eliminated here, then Hoshimi Miyabi would have only a limited time to find another Master before being forced out as well.
Jaina Doe: "Relax. It's daytime. If a fight breaks out, it'll be difficult to clean up. Yunli probably won't attack."
Jing Yuan: "Perhaps. But Yanqing's magecraft can incapacitate ordinary people on a large scale."
Zhu Yuan: "...…"
Qingyi: "...…"
That was the real problem.
Both women were already on guard against each other.
If Yunli suddenly struck, she might genuinely succeed.
The taxi continued forward in silence.
"This can't go on."
As they drew closer to the church, Yanagi decided to act.
She extended her hand.
"Yanagi Tsukishiro. A pleasure to meet you."
"Jean."
The two shook hands.
The moment their hands met, both bodies trembled slightly.
Then the cognitive interference effect vanished.
"Ah… so it's Miss Jean."
Yanagi finally recognized her.
"I never expected to run into Miss Yanagi."
"Please, just call me Yanagi."
"Very well, Miss Yanagi."
Now that they knew who the other was, the sense of unfamiliarity disappeared.
Though they still remained cautious.
Yanagi adjusted her glasses.
"How about an alliance?"
Jean's eyes lit up immediately.
With all players still in the game, a temporary alliance had enormous potential.
"I agree. But we'll need a contract."
Jean produced a magical contract.
Her intentions were clear.
An alliance was possible—but only if it was bound by enforceable terms.
Otherwise, there was no guarantee against betrayal.
"Agreed."
While the two recognized each other, Yanagi quietly used magecraft to interfere with the driver's perception.
To him, both women still appeared to be sitting silently and stiffly.
They signed a magical contract stating that neither party could attack the other until another team had been eliminated.
"Miss Jean, I assume you're headed to Valerius's church to purchase information?"
"Yes. I take it you are as well."
"Indeed."
Yanagi's eyes gleamed with intelligence behind her glasses.
"Then let's stagger our purchases."
Jean immediately understood.
A brilliant idea.
Who knew how many pieces of intelligence Valerius had for sale?
But if they bought different information and then shared it with each other, they could effectively obtain two sets of intelligence for the price of one.
This was a bargain.
At the same time, on a wilderness plain outside the city:
Barbara raised her sword to block, then swept her banner upward, forcing her attacker back several steps.
"Hehe! Take this!"
It felt amazing.
So this was what it felt like to fight another person.
Barbara could feel her blood boiling with excitement.
Wielding a sword in one hand and her sacred banner in the other, she attacked with astonishing ferocity.
Across from her, Hoshimi Miyabi was growing increasingly frustrated.
Barbara's fighting style was clearly built for direct confrontation.
Miyabi, on the other hand, was an Assassin.
In a head-on battle, she was simply no match for Barbara.
"How about we stop here?"
Continuing the fight offered no benefit.
Miyabi was already considering retreat.
She needed the right opportunity for an assassination. Fighting face-to-face was hopeless.
Barbara snorted.
"Hehe. No way."
You tried to ambush me.
You tried to assassinate me.
Now I'm going to eliminate you right here.
"Then don't blame me."
Seeing that Barbara intended to fight to the end, Miyabi lowered her stance.
Since she couldn't win in conventional combat, she had only one option left.
Her Noble Phantasm.
"It's coming."
The moment Miyabi's magical energy surged, Barbara immediately brought her banner across her chest.
A Noble Phantasm.
She had to be ready.
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