The next day.
Following the address Kisara had sent him, Mahiro took a taxi to a towering skyscraper.
This was the Tokyo branch of the IISO.
The International Initiator Supervising Organization—abbreviated as IISO—was responsible for managing and pairing Initiators with Promoters, as well as maintaining the IP rankings.
"You're late!"
As soon as he stepped into the IISO branch lobby, Tendo Kisara, who had been waiting for him, let out a sharp cry and quickly approached in her hard-soled round-toe Mary Janes.
Today, Kisara was still dressed in her usual black JK uniform, but with her arms crossed and her slightly upturned eyes sharp and piercing, the usually adorably smiling girl now wore a clearly displeased expression.
Unexpectedly, Satomi Rentaro had also come today.
And he was looking at him apologetically, as if trying to apologize on Kisara's behalf.
"Why are you only coming now?!" Kisara demanded.
"Sorry, sorry. I picked up a child outside yesterday and took care of her at home, so I'm running a bit late today."
"A child? A Cursed Child?"
Rentaro was the first to react.
However, when Mahiro confirmed it, the look Kisara gave him became somewhat peculiar.
"Let me guess, the reason you're late today isn't because you did something weird to that child you just picked up, is it? As your company president, it's my duty and responsibility to inform you that such things are not allowed—I'll call the police!"
Her attitude took him slightly by surprise, though this bizarre accusation was rather headache-inducing.
"President Kisara, you can doubt my character, but don't doubt my tastes. Sure, lolis are nice and all, but I'm not scummy enough to lay a hand on a child."
Especially not one so pitiful.
Not wanting to get tangled up in this topic with Kisara, Mahiro turned to Rentaro instead and asked:
"Speaking of which, Mr. Rentaro, why are you here today? If it's just to accompany me for the Civil Security license exam, there's no need for so many people to come along, right?"
Honestly, even Kisara didn't need to be here—just giving him the address would've been enough.
It's just an exam, not like he's a child.
Yet she'd stubbornly insisted, as if afraid her precious treasure might be snatched away, so he had no choice but to humor her...
"Oh, me? I got a call from IISO yesterday saying they've found a suitable Initiator for me."
"?"
Yotsuba Mahiro slowly typed a question mark in his mind.
Now that he thought about it, he'd always had this question—he remembered that Satomi Rentaro, as the protagonist, was supposed to have a loli named Aihara Enju following him around. But several days had passed since they'd met, and he still hadn't seen her.
So, they hadn't become partners yet...?
Wait, what point in the timeline is this? It seems like the plot hasn't even started yet?!
Noticing his puzzled expression, Kisara mistook it for confusion about the Civil Security partner system and explained:
"Right now, with too many people wanting to become Civil Securities, there aren't enough Initiators to go around. So after getting your license, you usually have to wait a while before IISO can assign you an Initiator."
In truth, the shortage of Initiators wasn't just due to an excess of Civil Securities and an undersupply of Cursed Children.
When the system was first established, those children were easy to capture.
But because some people completely disregarded their partners, casually sacrificing Initiators and then frequently requesting replacements from IISO...
Coupled with the fact that those children gradually grew older and wiser, hiding away—some even fighting back.
This has led to the current situation where there aren't enough Initiators available, and capturing them is extremely difficult.
"But Mahiro, you don't need to worry about this. Judging by your expression, you must want to adopt that girl, right? So after obtaining your Promoter license, you can bring her here to register as your Initiator."
"I don't want to do that. Little Mibu has suffered enough already. Besides, when it comes to fighting, I alone am sufficient."
"So her name is Mibu..." Kisara smiled gently. "You seem to truly cherish her... In that case, you should make her your Initiator all the more. I know your strength is beyond doubt, Mahiro, but did you know? Cursed Children can only live longer if they receive regular inhibitor injections."
Aside from issuing Promoter licenses and assigning Initiators, the most crucial function of IISO is distributing inhibitors that suppress the Gastrea virus to Promoter-Initiator pairs.
Without regular inhibitor use, the Gastrea virus erosion rate in an Initiator's body will gradually increase. Once it exceeds 50%, they lose themselves and become Gastrea.
This is the fundamental reason IISO maintains its international standing.
"It's a good suggestion, but let me think about it."
Mahiro didn't agree immediately.
Truthfully, he'd prefer to take in another child from IISO, thus saving one more life.
But this thought would soon be dismissed.
Because as they were talking, a man in a suit approached Rentaro, informing him he could go claim his Initiator.
Since there was still time before the exam, Mahiro followed to take a look.
"Ah!!! Let me go!!!"
They were led to a room where, shortly after entering, a girl was forcibly brought in by several staff members as if she were a prisoner.
She wore only a white dress, her slender exposed arms and body covered in scars.
Her waist-length orange hair stood almost completely on end like bristling fur.
She struggled desperately and wildly.
With the strength of a Cursed Child, several grown men shouldn't have been able to restrain her, yet this girl was easily held down by just two staff members.
They were warned, "This Cursed Child is emotionally unstable and violent. Though we've administered a small dose of muscle relaxant, you still need to be careful when handling her."
The girl glared at them furiously, her ominous crimson eyes showing three parts ferocity and seven parts fear.
Around her neck hung a collar with a numbered tag, making her look like merchandise on display.
"Number 328... Aihara Enju." Mahiro inadvertently murmured the girl's name.
In that instant, the air grew still.
Rentaro and Kisara both turned to stare at him.
Even the restrained girl stopped struggling, the anger and ferocity in her eyes diminishing, replaced instead by confusion.
"How do you know her name? Do you know her? Or... did your eyes tell you?"
Kisara had completely accepted the premise of his Copy Eyes.
After all, in a world where creatures like Gastrea existed, his unusual eyes weren't that hard to believe in.
"Uh... yeah." Mahiro replied with an awkward smile.
After receiving his affirmative answer, Kisara didn't seem particularly surprised.
How convenient, those Copy Eyes.
However, it was thanks to Mahiro's words that the girl finally calmed down completely.
The two staff members released her and left after confirming that Subject 328 wouldn't harm anyone.
"My name is Satomi Rentaro. Starting today, I'll be your Promoter, and you'll be my Initiator," Rentaro stepped forward and told the girl, his somewhat gloomy face showing neither joy nor sorrow.
But Subject 328 ignored Rentaro.
Instead, her gaze was fixed intently on Mahiro standing beside Kisara.
"...Who is he?"
This was the first time the girl had spoken. Though her voice was slightly hoarse, it couldn't hide its underlying clarity.
Rentaro answered plainly, "His name is Yotsuba Mahiro. He's my colleague, and from now on, he'll be your colleague too."
"Yotsuba... Mahiro..."
Subject 328 repeated the name slowly, as if trying to etch it firmly into her heart.
After a while, Rentaro collected a week's supply of inhibitors from the other staff members and left with Subject 328.
Meanwhile, Mahiro's Civil Officer examination had already begun.
The assessment process was utterly tedious.
Apart from physical examinations to collect basic data, the remaining tests included marksmanship, strength, speed, and endurance evaluations.
He easily surpassed the perfect score threshold in all these tests without even trying.
After all, the technological achievements from the Fourth Research Institute were far from being some cheap knockoffs—they represented the pinnacle of artificial weaponry.
By the way, there were no written exams in the Civil Officer assessment.
That was true.
Most people who became private security officers were those who couldn't make it in society, aside from criminals seeking immunity for their crimes. Professional combatants were extremely rare.
Out of hundreds of thousands worldwide, there were only a few thousand.
However, there was one thing that surprised him—after the assessment ended, the private security license was issued immediately.
Was the efficiency always this fast?
When he returned to the lobby with his license, he spotted Kisara waiting for him like she was guarding against a thief.
Following her gaze, Mahiro noticed many eyes in the room focused on him—or rather, on their freshly minted batch of private security officers.
The moment Kisara spotted him, her eyes lit up, and she hurried over.
"Hey, hey, Mahiro-kun, where's your IP ranking? It must be high, right? Definitely within the top 100,000… No, I think with your skills, you should easily be around 20,000!"
She looked like a lottery fanatic waiting for the winning numbers, even more excited than he was.
"Well, I didn't really check when I got the license, so I'm not sure…"
As he spoke, he pulled the license out of his pocket again.
Before he could even glance at it, Kisara shoved her head in, her long black hair completely blocking his view. A faint scent of shampoo lingered at the tip of his nose.
Then, he heard Kisara's shocked gasp.
"8… 8,360th?!?!"
Kisara was stunned.
And it wasn't just her—even the recruiters and representatives from other companies nearby were shocked.
An IP ranking in the 8,000s right after the assessment?!
That meant this boy's strength already surpassed the vast majority of private security pairs!
After all, most officers who climbed into the thousands were pairs of Initiators and Promoters, with the bulk of the credit going to the Initiator's abilities.
Most private security officers ranked beyond 100,000 after their assessment—even Rentaro was outside the top 120,000.
Those with better results barely hovered around 90,000, at best scraping into the 80,000s.
But this boy, who looked like some rich young master, had instantly secured a ranking in the 8,000s?!
This wasn't just a joke—it was absurd!
Yet, none of the other examinees who had taken the test with Mahiro seemed surprised. In fact, recalling what had happened during the exam, they still felt a lingering sense of dread.
Because they knew all too well—this guy was a straight-up monster.
Not only had he smashed the strength-testing machine with a single punch, but even after it was replaced, he still managed to force an error reading.
During the shooting test, he didn't miss a single shot—every bullet hit the bullseye.
And the endurance and speed test? Utterly ridiculous. He completely outran every single one of them.
A true all-rounder, through and through!!!
"Ara, if it isn't Kisara?"
Just then, a woman's voice drifted over, carrying a thick Kansai accent.
From the direction of the lobby, a beautiful young woman with an elegant and noble demeanor walked gracefully toward them.
Even the formal furisode kimono couldn't conceal her graceful figure.
Though she had a doll-like face, the beauty mark near the corner of her left eye added a touch of allure.
"Tch, snake woman."
Upon seeing the newcomer, Kisara curled her lips in disdain but still put on a fake smile as she stepped forward.
"If it isn't the young lady of the Shiba family? What brings you here..."
However, the young lady of the Shiba family ignored Kisara entirely, walking past her to stand before Mahiro, scrutinizing him carefully.
"Pardon my asking, but what exactly is your relationship with this she-ape?"
The moment they brushed past each other, Kisara froze on the spot.
"..."
Mahiro didn't respond.
While she was sizing him up, he was doing the same to her.
If his memory served him right, this woman should be—the heiress of Shiba Heavy Industries, Shiba Miori.
However, perhaps due to her merchant background, her smile seemed insincere.
At least to him, it felt fake—utterly devoid of sincerity.
Moreover, it appeared she was deliberately approaching him to provoke Kisara.
And in that regard, she had succeeded.
Kisara was now grinding her teeth, a vein visibly throbbing on her forehead as she teetered on the edge of fury.
Still, adhering to basic courtesy, he offered a greeting.
"Hello, Miss Shiba. I'm Yotsuba Mahiro, a new employee at Tendo Civil Security Corporation."
"Is that so? I'm Shiba Miori of Shiba Heavy Industries. A pleasure to meet you." As she spoke, Miori extended her fair, delicate hand toward him.
"Pleased to meet you, Miss Shiba."
He reached out and lightly shook her hand, withdrawing almost immediately.
Yet even so, Miori feigned a look of "surprise."
"It seems Mr. Yotsuba is not only well-mannered but also quite impressive. By the way, what's your IP ranking?"
Miori had asked this deliberately.
From their brief handshake, she had already gleaned quite a bit of information.
His hands bore no calluses, and his physique appeared slender—almost frail—save for his strikingly handsome face, which could rival that of a celebrity.
Recruiting someone like this into her agency... had Tendo Kisara lost her mind?
Unless, like Rentaro, he was a survivor of the "New Human Creation Plan"—but how likely was that?
The number of modified soldiers had always been small, and most had perished in the Great War. The remaining few were practically rare specimens—hardly the type to be stumbled upon so casually.
Not that it concerned her. In fact, she'd love nothing more than to see Kisara's company collapse, leaving her destitute on the streets.
That would make mocking her all the easier.
"Apologies, but I'd rather not disclose my ranking," Mahiro declined politely.
Though he wasn't sure what this girl was scheming, his instincts told him her intentions were far from benign.
Especially that sly, fox-like grin—it reminded him all too much of Erika's teasing smirk.
"If you have no further business, Miss Shiba, I'll take my leave. I have matters to attend to."
He had no time to waste bantering with this woman—little Mibu was waiting for him at home.
"Ara, don't be in such a hurry~ What's the harm in sharing just a little with me~?"
The moment he turned to leave, Miori pounced, clinging to his arm as if throwing a tantrum.
This woman was doing it on purpose!
"Let go, you vixen!"
Her actions completely enraged Kisara, who immediately stepped forward to pull Miori away.
But with a light dodge, she evaded.
Then hugged him again.
"No way~"
Miori said in a coquettish tone, "I was just curious about Mr. Yotsuba's ranking. Could it be that because of you, this runaway gorilla, Mr. Yotsuba suffered unfair treatment like Rentaro and got placed outside the top 100,000?"
"Impossible?! Let go of him right now!"
While tugging at Miori, Kisara retorted angrily, "Rentaro-kun's case was his own fault—he refused to show his true strength! And Mahiro-kun is really strong! He's already secured a ranking in the 8,000s!"
By the end, Kisara proudly puffed out her chest as if showing off her prized possession.
But Mahiro himself couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Ms. Kisara, should I call you naive or impulsive?
Clearly, she was baiting you, and yet you fell right into the trap and sold me out, didn't you?
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