"So that's how it is — this matter has even pulled in Public Security too, huh... nom~"
"Indeed. If we can get Public Security's help, tracking down leads should be a whole lot easier, nom nom~"
"Hey, you lot — don't talk with your mouths full when you're eating!"
Geno and the others kept chattering away while still chewing their food, and as the one person at the table with the most actual dining etiquette, Wise instantly had several black lines drop down across his forehead.
Couldn't these people show even a sliver of refinement?
"As a soldier, mealtimes are about efficiency, ngh~"
That was Number 11.
"My apologies. I'll be mindful of it."
That was Trigger.
"#Bro%... you#...! So much @¥ (Bro! You're nagging way too much!)"
That was Belle.
"ε=('0`*)))"
That was Wise, utterly resigned.
As for Geno and Anby, those two never let their mouths stop moving for a second.
(Geno: I'm the one paying, so I've got to eat plenty.)
(Anby: Free meal — gotta milk it for all it's worth, gotta eat plenty.)
After a while longer, this gathering — which could only be described as a passing storm — finally drew to a close.
Only then did everyone properly begin discussing what to do next.
"I think we should wait until that Miss Jane from Public Security that Geno mentioned gets in touch with us first."
Wise was thinking through the current situation with complete rationality.
At this point, the incident they were investigating was no longer just an issue concerning the Defense Force; it had pulled in Public Security as well, and quite possibly other forces had become involved in the mix too.
Even though Scott Outpost had already indicated that they could lend a hand, you could never have too much help — and since Public Security was willing to cooperate as well, there was nothing wrong with waiting a bit.
On top of that, there was still one of their companions they hadn't heard from yet.
"Geno, any word from Twiggy's end?"
"She said she's already on her way back, and she's even bringing a helper along."
Glancing at his phone, the latest message had come in ten minutes ago — by his rough calculation, she should be just about here.
Clack~ jingle-jingle~
Speak of the devil and the devil appears — no sooner had Geno's words left his mouth than the front door of Random Play was once again pushed open, and Twiggy came strolling leisurely in from outside, with a tall figure trailing along behind her.
"Everyone — I'm not late, am I? Let me introduce you. This is the reinforcement I called in."
As Twiggy spoke, she stepped aside, putting the pink-haired career woman who had arrived with her into full view of everyone present.
"Deputy Section Chief of Anti-Hollow Section 6, Yanagi Tsukishiro. A pleasure to meet you all."
"Anti-Hollow Section 6? As in the Anti-Hollow Section 6 of H.A.N.D.?"
As someone who was generally well-informed about all sorts of news (mostly tabloid gossip and fashion magazines), Belle was no stranger to this particular name.
The Hollow Affairs Neutralization Department, abbreviated H.A.N.D., was New Eridu's specialized agency for handling Hollow-related matters, and its headquarters tower was located in New Eridu's Thorn District.
It was a sister agency to the Defense Force and Public Security.
As for the Special Operations Section Six for Hollow Affairs — it was the special anti-Hollow unit established within H.A.N.D. by [Hoshimi Miyabi], the young heiress of the Hoshimi family who held the current title of Void Hunter.
At this, everyone wore an expression of utter shock.
But in the face of everyone's astonishment, Yanagi Tsukishiro merely pushed up her glasses, no extra expression playing across her face.
After all, she had long since grown accustomed to drawing this much attention wherever she went.
However, among those present, there was always going to be one or two who simply couldn't read the room.
"You actually managed to drag in a helper of that caliber? Twiggy, your connections don't already stretch across all of New Eridu, do they?"
Geno's mouth was hanging wide open — he was finding it harder and harder to understand his own wife.
Originally, he'd been feeling a touch of pride over having pulled in Timefield's investment (read: selling himself for it), but looking at things now, it seemed that even without him, Twiggy on her own could carry herself who-knows-how-many leagues better than he could.
This left Geno feeling slightly demoralized.
But he bounced back from it quickly enough — operating on the principle that Twiggy's connections were his connections, Twiggy being amazing meant he was amazing, and rounded up to the nearest decimal, he was pretty amazing too. With that mindset firmly in place, Geno promptly returned to his usual unflappable composure.
What's that? You're saying he's living off his wife?
Bullshit! Husband and wife are one and the same — there's no such thing as "living off" your spouse.
And what's more, Geno would have you know — even if you wanted to live off a wife, you wouldn't have what it takes!!
Thanks to Geno's interruption like that, the slightly stilted atmosphere among everyone present was thereby eased.
Yanagi Tsukishiro looked at Geno with a touch of surprise — she hadn't expected this man to dissolve what had been a somewhat stiff atmosphere into such harmony so effortlessly.
But this was a mere interlude. Yanagi Tsukishiro adjusted her glasses once more and was the first to speak.
"Regarding this matter — allow me to be the one to explain."
"In point of fact, where this incident is concerned, H.A.N.D. has its own corresponding reasons for involvement."
Had it merely been a matter of military equipment being stolen, or the arms-trafficking business involving illegal Hollow Raiders, Yanagi Tsukishiro would not have shown up here.
After all, what H.A.N.D. handled was emergencies arising within the Hollows.
However, in this particular incident, that aspect was indeed implicated.
"According to the latest investigation findings from H.A.N.D. Headquarters, someone has been covertly tampering with survey data reports on the Hollows — and at present, Crete Hollow has already begun undergoing small-scale expansion."
This was something Geno was no stranger to. Back when he had been exploring the Hollow with the personnel from Belobog Heavy Industries, he had already noticed this.
He had told Twiggy about it afterward, and Twiggy had said she'd take care of it — so presumably, this was the result of that.
"If Crete Hollow is left to keep expanding, it may come to threaten the safety of the residents on the fringes of the Old District; however, the cause behind this and the parties responsible have yet to be identified — which is why it has been entrusted to us at H.A.N.D. to handle."
To put it plainly: in a situation where the full picture hadn't yet been clarified and one could only fumble around like a blind man feeling out an elephant, broadcasting that kind of news to the general public would do nothing besides stir up commotion.
"At present, our colleagues over in the Intelligence Division are still actively investigating, while the Operations Division is doing everything possible to halt the expansion rate of the Hollow."
At this point in her explanation, Yanagi Tsukishiro's tone abruptly paused, as though she were holding something back.
"And as for us — Section 6 — due to certain particular reasons, we are currently in a standby state."
A standby state.
The moment they heard that word, Number 11 and Trigger both involuntarily glanced at each other.
Wasn't their current situation also exactly that?
Spin it nicely and you'd call it "on leave"; put it bluntly, didn't it just mean "no need for the likes of you to get involved"?
And yet for the whole of New Eridu, Section 6 was home to a figurehead and signboard absolutely impossible to overlook or work around.
The Section Chief of Anti-Hollow Section 6, candidate to head the Hoshimi family, and at the same time New Eridu's youngest Void Hunter — Hoshimi Miyabi.
In a crisis situation like this one, to leave that kind of ultimate weapon sitting unused, idling on the sidelines — no matter how you looked at it, it didn't add up.
____
👻🔥+40 ch: Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Homelander: Founding the Hero Association
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