Stepping into the Sakura Nation's Bureau of Anomalous Investigations, Sparkle immediately felt the oppressive atmosphere. Everyone wore a grim expression and hurried about their business. Despite the bureau's vast size, she hadn't heard a single word spoken in the minute she'd been there, only the rustling of documents being shuffled.
This was understandable, given that the Sakura Nation was at war. While not a military organization, the Bureau, as the official Evolver organization, was undoubtedly involved in the conflict.
Sparkle strolled through the bustling office, pausing occasionally as if sightseeing. Thanks to her psychological invisibility, she only needed to avoid physical contact with anyone.
The scene was surreal. It was as if she and the Bureau's staff existed in separate realities. On one side, a hive of activity; on the other, a cheerful, seemingly harmless young girl skipping through the crowd.
Eventually, Sparkle reached the elevators. After a short wait, the doors slid open, and a woman in a business suit emerged, clutching a stack of files.
As they brushed past each other, Sparkle activated her Disguise ability, instantly transforming into the woman with the files.
If the woman had glanced back, she would have seen someone with an identical face smiling faintly inside the slowly closing elevator. But of course, she didn't. She was too preoccupied to spare a moment for casual glances.
Sparkle pressed the button for the top floor and waited patiently.
The real reason she had disguised herself as the woman was simply to avoid taking the stairs. While maintaining her psychological invisibility, she couldn't be detected even by electronic devices, since human eyes were ultimately viewing the screens. In fact, influencing only vision, rather than all five senses, made the process even simpler.
However, an empty elevator operating on its own would have been highly suspicious. So, she either had to climb the stairs or disguise herself as someone else. Naturally, she chose the latter.
Fortunately, the elevator didn't stop midway but went straight to the fifteenth floor.
As the doors opened, a man stood waiting. He visibly startled when he saw Sparkle. "Nobuko," he said, "weren't you delivering documents? Why are you back so soon?"
As soon as the man finished speaking, he continued to mutter to himself, "Sigh, how could you be so careless?"
"Hurry up. We need to finish this part of the job quickly."
He walked past Sparkle and entered the elevator.
Since Sparkle had only casually disguised herself as a passerby, she knew nothing about this so-called "Nobuko"—she had only just learned the name.
Deceiving him would be difficult, so the instant she saw him, she activated her illusion ability, constructing an exact replica of the current scene. The man was now speaking to the "fake" Nobuko.
It's worth noting that creating an Illusionary Realm was an incredibly complex and painstaking process. This ability was arguably the most difficult of Sparkle's three abilities to use.
As the master of the Illusionary Realm, Sparkle could conjure anything she desired. However, overly fantastical creations would instantly reveal the illusion. Her approach here was to simply copy and paste the real environment into the realm, then... simply let it run on its own.
Within the Illusionary Realm she had created, Sparkle naturally held absolute control. She could dictate Nobuko's every action, word, and deed, manipulate the elevator's course, causing its display to flicker with gibberish before plummeting to nonexistent basement floors like -10 or -20.
She could even transform the surrounding corridors and floors into gaping, bloodthirsty monsters in the blink of an eye.
Hmm, the more I describe it, the more it sounds like a horror movie.
Ultimately, Sparkle chose not to interfere. Instead, she allowed the Illusionary Realm to develop freely, guided by the subconscious of the man who had entered the elevator, steering it toward the most plausible course.
For instance, he had already concocted his own explanation for Nobuko's presence in the elevator and convinced himself of its validity.
Sparkle continued forward, her form now shifting from Nobuko to the male staff member who had boarded the elevator.
After traversing the corridor ahead, turning left, and passing two more rooms, she arrived at the Director-General's office. She had learned its precise location from a "helpful" receptionist on the first floor.
Even before entering, Sparkle could hear the heated argument raging inside.
Knock, knock she tapped politely before pushing the door open.
The first thing she saw was a man with a classic Walrus mustache pacing furiously. "Two aircraft carriers sunk in the first engagement! A complete naval defeat! Bad news, bad news! Why is it all bad news? Isn't there a single piece of good news?!"
Since the Sakura Nation's Director was dead, this man could only be the Deputy Director. His booming voice shook the room as he berated a young, bespectacled clerk who stood hunched over, clearly a desk worker. The clerk stammered, "U-um... there might be some good news. It seems an Outsider has appeared in our country."
The Deputy Director froze. "An Outsider?! Where?!"
A clerk rapidly typed on a computer. "On Nawajima Island, after the massive Otherworld Dimensional Rift vanished, a smaller, short-lived rift appeared, causing no immediate disasters. Then, last night, someone reported that his friend had sexually assaulted him."
"Huh?" The Deputy Director looked visibly confused. In the Sakura Nation, male and female pronouns are distinct, making it clear that both parties involved were male.
The clerk continued, "Initially, the police dismissed the case. But during their interviews, the men's accounts were incoherent, as if they were mentally unstable. One claimed to have lost all memory of yesterday, while the other frantically shouted things like, 'Why didn't you turn into a beautiful girl? Why did you lie to me?'"
"Given the precise timing, the local police realized this might be connected to the sudden disappearance of the Dimensional Rift. They reported it to the Bureau of Anomalous Investigations for further investigation."
As the clerk recounted the story with vivid detail, Sparkle nearly burst out laughing. She never imagined her stalker's friend could be so bold—how could anyone bring themselves to do that?
At that moment, the clerk pulled up surveillance footage from a digital store. The video showed a dazed-looking man entering the shop and placing a wad of cash on the counter.
But as the clerk rewound the footage, a girl with black twin-tails and an undeniably cute appearance entered the store, grabbed a smartphone, and left. It was undoubtedly Sparkle.
The clerk paused the video precisely on Sparkle's profile. Pointing at the screen, he declared, "This girl is highly likely an Outsider, and based on her clothing and appearance, her national affiliation is almost certainly our Sakura Nation."
It seemed the Sakura Nation's official channels hadn't completely collapsed. Sparkle hadn't anticipated being discovered this way, but it wasn't a major problem. Now that they knew her identity, she wouldn't need to introduce herself later.
Upon hearing this, the Deputy Director frowned. In the current crisis, the appearance of an Outsider affiliated with the Sakura Nation was certainly welcome news. However, the strength of Outsiders varied wildly, and whether this one could truly be of assistance remained to be seen.
Besides, a whole day had passed. Finding this Outsider now would be next to impossible.
"Sigh..." The Deputy Director sighed, finally noticing Sparkle, who had been standing at the door for some time. "Hmm? Why are you back? Did you finish the task I assigned you?"
"Not exactly, but I suddenly obtained a crucial piece of intelligence that I need to report to you immediately!" Sparkle said solemnly.
"What is it?" The Deputy Director's expression mirrored his seriousness, becoming grave.
"Just as I was about to leave the Bureau on my assignment, I saw your wife walking past the entrance, arm in arm with a strange man! I clearly saw her leaning her head on his shoulder, wearing an expression of pure happiness!"
"Ah?" The Deputy Director looked incredulous. "How could this be? How could she be having an affair behind my back while I'm away?"
A tense silence fell over the office for several seconds.
The clerical staff: "Huh?"
Sparkle: "???"
Wait a minute... That's a lot to process. I need to sort this out properly.
Sparkle had initially intended to trick the Deputy Director into believing he'd been inexplicably cuckolded. But judging by his words, he seemed to know about his wife's affair—or perhaps he'd even orchestrated it himself.
What kind of cuckold fetish is this?!
Those Sakura Nation people sure know how to play.
The Deputy Director continued, "She only reluctantly agreed when I forced her. She'd never cheat on me in secret. You're lying!"
The office worker gasped, "Huh?"
Sparkle fell silent, her brain short-circuiting. The Deputy Director's outrageous statement had left her speechless. She had no idea how to respond.
In the next instant, the Deputy Director drew his pistol and aimed it at Sparkle. "Besides, Kawabata Kyoichiro would never joke like this. You're not him. Who are you?"
Faced with this, Sparkle shrugged helplessly. "Who am I? Weren't you the ones looking for me? Now that I've come willingly, you don't welcome me? You even point a gun at me... How heartbreaking."
At that moment, before the eyes of the Deputy Director and the office worker, the serious, impeccably dressed "Kawabata Kyoichiro" had inexplicably transformed into a girl with dark twintails in the blink of an eye.
As Sparkle spoke, she strolled over to a nearby desk. With a graceful leap, she perched herself on it, nonchalantly crossing her legs and folding her arms across her chest. She gazed at the two men before her with amusement. "This is truly a fascinating world," she remarked. "And those Dimensional Rifts... they're quite intriguing too."
It was no exaggeration to say that the Deputy Director was sweating profusely. He had been discussing this Outsider just moments ago, and now she was standing right in front of him.
This was the Sakura Nation's Bureau of Anomalous Investigations, the country's most concentrated hub for elite Evolvers. Despite the wartime deployments, it remained the nation's densest concentration of high-caliber Evolvers. Yet somehow, this girl had slipped past their watchful eyes and materialized right in front of him.
The Deputy Director's mind raced with questions:
How had she managed to bypass the surveillance?
What were her intentions?
Was she an enemy, or an ally?
He knew he had to proceed with caution. This encounter could have profound implications for the Bureau's future.
The Deputy Director dismissed his earlier suspicion that the Outsiders possessed uneven abilities. This Outsider's infiltration skills alone proved she was no pushover.
Lowering his pistol, the Deputy Director's demeanor underwent a complete reversal the moment he saw the girl. Gone was his previous gravity, replaced by obsequious politeness. "Ah... ha ha, Miss, I sincerely apologize that no one was there to greet you upon your arrival in this world. I hope you can understand—we've been overwhelmed by recent disasters and an unexpected declaration of war from another nation. It's been utter chaos."
He swiftly explained the basic concept of the Dimensional Rift. "In essence, you've crossed over from your world to ours through a completely random event. I apologize for this inconvenience, but it means you'll need to live here for the foreseeable future."
"But don't worry! The Sakura Nation is remarkably similar to your homeland. Just think of this as your new home—your second home! I assure you, you'll find the same warmth and comfort here as you did in your original world!"
Sparkle remained silent throughout, listening to the Deputy Director's incessant chatter. She felt like she was being pitched a product by a door-to-door salesman.
"By the way, Miss, I still don't know your name..."
"Hmph, just call me Sparkle," she said with a pout. "Forget the formalities. Can you tell me more about the Dimensional Rift? That's what I'm really interested in."
"Of course! Of course!" the Deputy Director replied proudly. "You know, even on a global scale, our research on Dimensional Rifts is at the cutting edge. Our laboratory in Itajō houses incredibly detailed data. If you're willing to make this place your home, I'd be happy to give you a comprehensive tour!"