By the time we returned from the desert to Millennium with the data we had collected, it was already night.
"My, sensei, Eimi, you've both worked hard," Himari said, then paused. "Hoshino-san went straight back to school, right?"
I nodded and explained, "Her schedule is usually completely flipped anyway. She didn't get much sleep last night, and she's been running around all day, so I told her to hurry back and catch up on rest."
According to Hoshino herself, today's amount of exercise had seriously exceeded the limit, and at her age, her back could not handle it.
Her back had better actually be unable to handle that level of physical labor.
Otherwise, I feel like Arona would have something to say about it sooner or later.
"Oh dear, that won't do. Only by maintaining a proper routine can you ensure good health…"
Frowning, Himari muttered like a worried grandmother, "I didn't realize before. No wonder her body is so frail… sensei, you should talk to Hoshino-san as well. If this keeps up, her body really won't be able to take it!"
I hesitated, feeling that Himari's good intentions might be directed at the wrong person.
Eimi, meanwhile, remarked, "The department head who usually smears Rio-senpai behind her back actually has such a caring side. That's kind of surprising."
"Hehe∼ That just means you don't understand either me or Rio well enough, Eimi. With my noble character and gentle personality, how could I casually slander others behind their backs?"
That's right.
Putting aside whether it was slander or not, even when facing Rio directly, Himari would say the same things anyway.
After composing myself and giving a brief response, I added, "In any case, I didn't expect things to go this smoothly."
Himari covered her mouth and laughed softly. "Hehe∼ Indeed. Binah didn't appear, and thanks to everyone's enthusiasm being higher than expected, we even managed to finish exploring the Kaiser PMC excavation area that was originally scheduled for next time."
"Rather than everyone…" Eimi said, "wouldn't it be more accurate to say that Hoshino-san, who had been complaining about the heat and exhaustion, suddenly turned into a completely different person after hearing that the next destination was a Kaiser PMC excavation site?"
It wasn't just Hoshino. I was the same.
Being able to cause trouble for the Kaiser Group under Millennium's name felt way too satisfying.
Unfortunately, although we thoroughly explored near Kaiser PMC's excavation site, we did not encounter any of their robot soldiers or mercenaries to settle a bit of personal grudges.
I suspect that Hoshino losing interest and heading straight home to sleep after the mission had something to do with not encountering Binah or anyone from Kaiser PMC.
Eimi sighed in admiration again. "That said, Hoshino-san's strength is truly terrifying… and her operational efficiency is unbelievably high. That large robot from the Decagrammaton, she took it down in a single exchange. Her shotgun techniques and her way of minimizing unnecessary movements, if I get the chance, I'd really like to learn from her again."
"As for that robot, I saw its identification code. It's called [Goliath]," Himari said. "While it's not a unique existence like a Prophet, it should still be part of an elite series, unlike mass-produced fodder. Thanks to Hoshino-san's strength and sensei's command, we were able to deal with it so easily."
Hearing that, I recalled just how brilliant and decisive my command had been at the time.
Me: Hoshino, go.
Hoshino: OK∼
Thirty seconds later, Goliath became a dazzling firework under the summer sky.
…Next time we encounter the same model, I should remember to check if there are any handy stones by the roadside.
Once Goliath is lying there smoking, I could throw a rock at its head from a distance. That would count as contributing too.
I then asked, "By the way, the data we've collected should be enough for now, right?"
If not, we could happily go cause more trouble for Kaiser PMC.
Unfortunately, Himari smiled confidently. "Yes. Thank you for your hard work. Although we're still in the sorting stage, with this data, it should be enough to analyze its structure. Hehe∼ The data from the Decagrammaton's subordinates seems to use a special encryption algorithm, one never seen before in Kivotos, so it may take some extra time. But in front of a super genius beautiful girl hacker, there is no problem that can't be solved!"
I feel like removing "beautiful girl" wouldn't change the meaning at all, and would actually make it more convincing.
As she spoke, Himari looked toward the machines running at full capacity.
"You asked at just the right time. Let me check the current progress… hmm?"
"What's wrong?" I quickly asked. "Did something go wrong?"
"No, it's more like… yes and no…"
Himari hesitated. "The decryption speed is far faster than expected. First, I can rule out the possibility that my estimate of the protection strength was incorrect. Which means…"
I repeated, "Which means?"
However, she frowned in thought and shook her head, not answering my question, instead asking me to wait a moment.
Then, the white-haired girl summoned a light-screen projection and began rapidly operating it with both hands.
I didn't know what Himari was doing, but seeing how serious her expression was, my own heart gradually tensed up.
Still, my worry did not last long. After quickly finishing her operations, Himari stared at the screen, and suddenly her face lit up with excitement.
"Wow∼ My luck really is quite good today! sensei, Eimi, do you want to try calculating yours as well?"
…So she was calculating luck?
"No, I'll pass."
Eimi answered immediately, "I don't really understand things that have neither basis nor logic. If anything, it's more surprising that you believe in that kind of stuff, department head…"
Himari sighed. "Eimi, I need to remind you that we are the Department of Supernatural Phenomena Investigation. Joining a club like this yet having little interest in the occult makes you the strange one."
The pink-haired girl looked innocent. "I was recruited by Rio-senpai. She said that as long as I take club activities seriously, I'll definitely be able to graduate smoothly."
Graduate smoothly?
"…Well, I won't ask how you were persuaded by that reason…"
Himari said, "In any case, let's skip the small talk. At this rate, we should be able to successfully decrypt part of it today and obtain some useful information. Let me take another look… hmm?"
For some reason, the white-haired girl's expression changed again.
Just as I was about to ask, in the next instant, alarm sirens blared throughout the machine room.