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Under the sunshine and sea breeze, the speedboat carrying the two of them raced across the ocean, its sharp bow cutting through the white-capped waves.
Sayaka Kirasaka was at the helm.
After all, she'd chartered the boat and formulated the entire rescue plan. Bokue Keikain hadn't interfered in the slightest.
So far, all Bokue knew was that their rescue target was the First Princess of the Aldegyr Kingdom. Sayaka hadn't mentioned anything else—not even where specifically they were searching.
But Bokue didn't plan to ask. A certain War Dancer girl obviously knew where they were going, so he'd just let her lead the way.
Saved him the effort anyway.
"Hmm~"
Bokue was currently lying on the stern deck, studying the photo in his hand. Without the cockpit roof's protection, the blazing midday sun beat down directly.
Though at his current power level, heatstroke or sunburn were impossible, out of habit Bokue still used matter reconstruction to create a makeshift awning.
Even with the direct sunlight blocked, the noon sun's intensity combined with reflections off the surrounding seawater made every detail on the photo crystal clear even under the shade.
It was a group photo of Princess La Folia, apparently taken at the Aldegyr Kingdom before departure.
The background showed a harbor dock. The silver-haired girl stood elegantly in the center, posture perfect with hands clasped in front, a gentle smile gracing her beautiful face. Behind her stood the honor guard who'd come to see her off.
"But the resemblance is uncanny..."
Looking at the royal girl in the photo, Bokue rolled over lazily.
Actually, the moment he'd seen the photo, he'd remembered what Nagisa had told him.
[Kanon Kanase and Princess La Folia look super alike!]
But this went beyond "super alike"...
They were practically the same person!
Same hair color, same eye color, even nearly identical features.
If he had to point out differences, the Princess La Folia in the photo appeared a few years older than Kanon, more physically developed overall, with an aura leaning toward elegant dignity.
Otherwise, she was basically an enlarged Kanon Kanase.
But speaking of which...
Thinking of Kanon reminded Bokue of last night's events.
After Kanon had been forcibly awakened and escaped, unable to track her immediately, he'd dumped everything on Natsuki Minamiya to handle.
The main reason being that once they'd identified the "masked angel" as Kanon Kanase, tracking became simple.
Especially since Kanon was a Saikai Academy student.
Natsuki only needed to use her Special Security Force authority to check Kanon's family information, then bring a Security Force action team for a "home visit."
It might not solve everything directly, but they'd definitely uncover some information.
Wonder how that was going...
With that thought, Bokue dismissed the awning, flipped up from the deck, and walked into the cockpit. Under a certain War Dancer girl's reflexive wary gaze, he approached the storage compartment.
Bokue's original intent was just to find somewhere to put the photo. After all, Sayaka had said not to return it, and Bokue didn't plan to keep carrying around a girl's photo.
With such distinctive silver hair and blue eyes, even a glance was enough to remember.
However—
Creak—
As the somewhat rusty storage compartment door opened, its completely empty interior caught the youth off guard.
Bokue: "..."
Well, that was unexpected.
He'd been prepared to find a cramped gap in an overstuffed compartment to shove the photo into. But upon opening the door, he discovered there was absolutely no need for such precision.
Because most of the storage compartment was completely empty!
Inside was just a medical kit and a small box of emergency rations—nothing else.
Where were the supplies? The equipment??
This major discovery stunned Bokue for a full three seconds. When he finally looked up, a certain War Dancer girl at the helm had already turned back to focus intently on steering, as if seeing nothing wrong with this.
Bokue could only clear his throat as a reminder: "Though I doubt it, out of caution I should ask—where are our supplies?"
"We don't have any."
Sayaka glanced at him through the boat's rearview mirror and said flatly.
"This is a short-term rescue mission. Based on the Aldegyr royal yacht's distress position, I've precisely calculated the only island Princess La Folia could have escaped to. Finding one person on one island doesn't take much time. There's no need for extensive supplies."
She checked the satellite map in the lower right corner, slightly adjusting their heading before continuing.
"Besides, we War Dancers are assassination specialists. You don't think assassination missions involve lugging around tons of supplies, do you? By the way, whether War Dancer or Sword Shaman, we all receive extensive wilderness survival training from childhood. We can make a feast from just a single coconut."
Huh? Just one coconut?
A massive question mark appeared above Bokue's head.
Like tomatoes stir-fried with... tomatoes?
Well... whatever, he didn't care anyway.
For Bokue, forget living supplies—with Matter Reconstruction, he could casually produce an Emperor-Class battleship if needed.
He just hoped a certain War Dancer girl wouldn't start crying when progress didn't meet expectations and supplies ran short.
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Meanwhile, somewhere in the vast Pacific Ocean, aboard a hovercraft disguised as a troop transport—
In the dim cabin, an unconscious silver-haired girl lay quietly on an operating table, surrounded by the flickering lights of various research instruments.
Beside the operating table stood a middle-aged man in a white lab coat, constantly adjusting data on his computer screen.
"How pathetic, Kensei Kanase. You beat your chest swearing the Special Security Force would never find us, yet here we are—identity exposed, forced to flee to the open sea with your daughter as an experimental subject..."
A woman's voice came from the shadows in the corner behind him.
"Oh right, we still have one unit at the Special Security Force. Why not recall it too? If I remember correctly, you've only produced a handful of units. These are all weapons to be sold at high prices in the future. Losing even one is a huge loss for us, don't forget!"
"Unnecessary."
The man in the lab coat responded coldly without turning.
"The other units' angelification is far inferior to Kanon's. Just because Kanon can briefly enter angel form to escape through space doesn't mean the others can. If the Special Security Force tracks us to our location, it's all over. Don't let greed cost us everything. Besides, isn't finding La Folia Rihavein the priority now?"
"Hmm, if you insist."
The woman in the shadows licked her lips lightly.
"I hear the Aldegyr royalty are all powerful spirit mediums without exception—perfect material for masked angels. Once we capture that little girl, we can infinitely clone masked angels far superior to your daughter. We'll definitely make so, so much money, hehehe~"
"Exactly."
Listening to the woman's greedy laughter behind him, Kensei Kanase spoke without a trace of emotion.
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