— — — — — —
They had stepped onto Blue Elysium.
Ryo looked around with mild curiosity before letting out a small laugh.
"An entire island turned into an amusement park? And a zoo where people can observe magical beasts up close? That's actually kind of interesting."
"It was Asagi who approved the paperwork," Natsuki said flatly. "Some rich sucker wanted to build a money pit. She figured we might as well make a profit off it."
It wasn't that an amusement park on Itogami Island was guaranteed to lose money. The issue was the investment scale. The Island Management Authority simply didn't have that kind of budget.
The Dawn Empire was still in its development phase. Pouring huge sums into entertainment facilities wasn't exactly wise.
But since Kusuki-Elysée had volunteered to play the fool, and had even gone through the Aiba family to get Asagi's approval, there was no reason to refuse.
After all, it wasn't their money.
Still… with Leviathan suddenly entering the picture, it was obvious this company hadn't been building a theme park out of pure goodwill.
Ryo understood that perfectly. He joked, "Should we just let them finish construction and then confiscate it?"
Let them expose their conspiracy, lose a massive amount of money, and conveniently leave behind a fully built theme park.
Not a bad deal.
"Forget it," Natsuki replied calmly beneath her parasol. "If we pull something like that, future investors will think twice about coming here. Not worth it."
Ryo glanced at her in surprise, then quickly connected the dots. Before coming, she'd clearly had Asagi investigate Kusuki-Elysée's finances.
He smiled. "You had Asagi check their funds, didn't you? Figured out we can squeeze them dry and still have them finish the project?"
"Too perceptive," Natsuki huffed, not bothering to deny it.
Ryo chuckled and turned his attention to the two girls standing before them.
He gave Sayaka a nod before shifting his gaze to Kiriha.
"A Six-Blade Priestess from the Bureau of Astrology?" he asked lightly.
"Yes, sir."
Kiriha immediately straightened, lowering her head and keeping her eyes respectfully downcast.
It wasn't just because he was now technically her future superior. Her spiritual senses were screaming at her not to offend him in the slightest.
And as a spirit medium, she trusted those instincts completely.
Ryo looked her over.
Cool beauty, long black hair, pink eyes, sharp aura. Definitely his type.
"You're quite impressive," he said casually.
Kiriha froze for half a second, then her eyes lit up with joy as she bowed deeply.
"Thank you for your praise."
Good. Praise from the Fourth Primogenitor himself. That meant her future in the Dawn Empire would be smooth sailing.
After all, who would dare trip up someone personally acknowledged by the ruler?
'As for why he praised her…' Kiriha wasn't entirely sure.
Was it because her report had prevented Leviathan from attacking Itogami Island?
Or because she was the first member of the Bureau of Astrology to defect?
Her thoughts spun rapidly, completely unaware that Ryo had only said it because he'd looked at her for a few seconds and felt it would be awkward not to comment.
Letting her overanalyze in peace, Ryo moved on.
"Where is Lilith's vessel?"
The moment he brought up the main topic, Kiriha snapped back to business. She glanced at the high-rise beside them.
"On the fifteenth floor of this building."
She hesitated for a beat, then added quickly, eager to secure some merit, "If you wish to see her, I'd be honored to bring her to you personally."
"That would be helpful," Ryo said easily.
If someone was willing to deliver the target straight to him, he wasn't going to refuse.
Truth be told, he was genuinely curious about this world's version of Lilith.
In Little Garden, Lilith was the origin of demons and one of Algol's names.
Here, in this world, she was just a Succubus, one of the many demonic races.
"Please wait a moment. I'll bring her down immediately." Kiriha exhaled softly in relief, gave another respectful bow, and walked confidently into the building.
As the Bureau's assigned agent, she had easily earned Kusuki-Elysée's trust and become both bodyguard and observer for Yume Eguchi, Lilith's vessel.
With that identity, she could extract Yume without raising too much suspicion.
Of course, the company would eventually notice something was wrong. But with Ryo standing right outside, Kiriha wasn't worried.
Kusuki-Elysée? Please.
They'd been secretly raising Yume without daring to show their faces. To keep her existence hidden, they'd even poured massive funds into the amusement park project to curry favor with Itogami's authorities.
If their executives found out the Fourth Primogenitor himself was waiting at their doorstep, they wouldn't dare poke their heads out.
They'd be too busy running for their lives.
...
Watching Kiriha disappear into the building, Natsuki's lips curled slightly.
"Sharp kid."
"Want to put her under you?" Ryo asked casually. Natsuki was short-handed as it was. Having someone like Kiriha would ease her workload.
Natsuki gave him a meaningful look before nodding.
"That works. Between the two agencies, I prefer the Bureau of Astrology."
She cast a deliberately playful glance at Sayaka, her eyes anything but innocent.
Sayaka's mouth twitched.
Back in Japan, the Lion King Agency, which specialized in magical criminals, had clashed heavily with Natsuki, who served as a national attack mage.
There had been serious professional overlap.
And as a special intelligence agency, the Lion King Agency wasn't exactly gentle in its methods. They'd frequently annoyed her.
More than once, bounty targets Natsuki had captured were often snatched away by the Lion King Agency.
Now that the Lion King Agency had secretly aligned with the Dawn Empire, they'd likely end up working under Natsuki's jurisdiction in the future.
The boss was about to make things difficult for her.
Sayaka's expression darkened.
Ryo glanced at her and smiled faintly but said nothing. He simply waited for Kiriha to return.
A few minutes later, two figures appeared at the building's entrance.
"So she's here," Ryo murmured.
His gaze narrowed slightly.
Behind Kiriha stood a small girl.
Lilith's vessel. The last Succubus of this world.
Yume Eguchi.
.
.
.