"Beyond the sea… are enemies?"
For some reason, Su Yuzu suddenly felt a strange, inexplicable sense of déjà vu.
The woman standing before her seemed, for just a moment, like she'd stepped straight out of a badly-drawn comedy sketch.
But — jokes aside, Su Yuzu knew Director Saionji wasn't wrong.
Compared to the land, where Aberrants and Walking Husks made their nests, the deep sea was far, far more dangerous.
Humanity had absolutely no idea what lurked at the bottom of the ocean.
Or rather — no idea how many corpses, how many Aberrants, how many Catastrophe Beasts lay hidden in those depths.
The only thing humanity did know was this: the moment the sun went down, a rolling white fog that normally clung to the open ocean would begin to spread — creeping across the entire sea.
Even harbors close to land — like Tokyo Bay — would be swallowed whole.
And anyone who stepped into that fog was lost. Few ever came back.
If you wanted to cross the ocean, you left after sunrise and arrived before sunset.
Otherwise… you basically weren't coming home.
So in this world, there was no such thing as a deep-sea fleet.
What sailed the open waters weren't ships — they were massive ground-effect vehicles, enormous as fortresses, built by human hands.
Artificial leviathans.
Even so — crossing the open ocean was still a treacherous undertaking.
If you encountered a Catastrophe Beast or an Aberrant in open water, even if you managed to drive them off, any delay — a damaged engine, a stolen hour — could mean you hadn't reached shore by nightfall.
And then the only thing waiting for the crew was death.
So if you wanted to set out from this land and cross the ocean, the far safer route was through the Tsushima Strait, then north along the Asian continental shelf, and across the Bering Strait.
"So… the reason Director Saionji called me in today is…?"
"The Aberrant readings in Tokyo Bay are in disarray — chaotic and deeply abnormal." Saionji Sagara looked at the girl before her.
"We need to determine the situation out there. To understand why the radiance Lord Saint Michael left behind — the light he broke his own wings and Word of Command to create, the light that was meant to restrain the Aberrants — is slowly coming apart."
"This is your practical coursework assignment."
"Just participating earns you four credits."
Su Yuzu looked up.
Four credits was, honestly, a lot. But when she considered the difficulty of the task… four credits also felt like almost nothing.
"You don't need to worry too much about the difficulty."
"Tokyo Bay is still within the range of Lord Saint Michael's radiance, so there shouldn't be any great danger…" Director Saionji's eye twitched slightly, as her mind drifted to the Aberrants that had been invading the Tokyo metropolitan area with alarming frequency over the past month or so.
"Probably."
Even she didn't sound very confident.
"The ocean is forbidden territory for humanity."
"The Catastrophe aura that permeates the seafloor is far more terrifying than anything on land. Under normal circumstances —"
"Mental-type Espers have a far greater resistance to Catastrophe aura than other Espers of the same level."
"But… most mental-type Espers simply don't have the physical capacity for open-sea investigation work."
"So…"
"So Director Saionji chose me, is that it?" Su Yuzu let out a quiet sigh.
Her own physical capabilities — those of someone who barely qualified as a mental-type Esper — had already been put on display in front of the entire world.
Barring her ghost-of-a-father and monstrosities like Soga Ishikawa Irube, she was probably near the top of the rankings among mental-type Espers when it came to raw physical power.
Was that why Director Saionji had given her this mission?
"No —"
"Actually, I didn't choose you." Director Saionji's expression turned distinctly odd.
"An open-sea investigation mission isn't the kind of thing that would normally be handed to a high school like Keigunen Private Academy."
"This mission was brokered by Imperial Capital University — it's a joint academic exchange operation."
"Our role is simply to assist Imperial Capital University's investigation team."
"And the personnel selection was made by the leader of Imperial Capital University's sea investigation team —"
"— Sakura Mai. She chose you herself."
"Sister Mai?" Even Su Yuzu blinked at that.
Sister Mai really never ran out of ways to find her more work, did she.
"You don't need to worry too much, Yuzu."
"Your task is simply to investigate why the Aberrant readings in the bay are so chaotic."
"You'll essentially stay within Tokyo Bay's waters, and the deep dive will probably just be a matter of measuring a few readings before it's over."
"After the last incident, the supervising teacher from Imperial Capital University should be Fourth Sequence or above."
"As for this mission —"
"I'll also have Unohana go with you."
"And with Soga Yura alongside… your combined combat power should be more than enough to overwhelm most Aberrants."
Saionji Sagara had originally intended to refuse.
Su Yuzu was important to her.
She had already lost one rule-type ability user. She had no desire to lose another.
But… she also understood.
Yuzu needed to be tested. Forged.
An opportunity like this was actually well-suited for a girl to grow.
So… Saionji Sagara chose to respect the girl's own decision.
The woman drew a slow breath. "If Yuzu doesn't want to go, that's perfectly fine — I'll turn it down on your behalf."
Su Yuzu smiled softly. "If Sister Mai is the leader of Imperial Capital University's investigation team, then that means she'll definitely be there."
"I'll go. Absolutely."
"Besides… if they run into something out on the water and need me to come rescue them, that'd be even more trouble."
The girl's smile looked easy. Unbothered.
But inside… she felt the faintest, most fleeting unease.
Tokyo Bay.
Su Yuzu had the nagging feeling she was forgetting something.
Something that should have been important.
She decided that once Director Saionji finished briefing her, she'd go to Imperial Capital University and find Sister Soga.
Ask Soga Yura.
That gap in her memory — what exactly had she forgotten?
The woman looked at Su Yuzu with quiet seriousness.
"The personnel for this coastal survey mission are you and Student Saotome Yukina."
"Your supervising teacher will be Unohana Chiyo."
"The mission begins in three days."
"Three days from now, in the morning — Imperial Capital University's convoy will be waiting at the east gate of Keigunen Private Academy. Understood?" Saionji Sagara laid out the assignment.
Su Yuzu gave a small nod.
"I'll have Yamabuki Nanako send all the mission-related materials to your inbox."
"Give them at least a quick look."
Su Yuzu nodded again to show she understood.
She said her goodbyes to Ms. Unohana, gave her a single blink, and as she turned to leave, she tapped the confirmation on the [Operator System].
Walking out of the laboratory, Su Yuzu scrolled through the materials Yamabuki Nanako had sent to her inbox.
Honestly, most of it was parameters she couldn't make heads or tails of.
But… one particular line graph stopped her cold.
It was the detailed version of the graph Yamabuki Nanako had shown her earlier — the one tracking the collapse of the holy radiance.
The degradation hadn't been happening every single day.
Over the past twenty-odd days, there had been a few days where the stair-step collapse simply hadn't appeared.
And the last time that had happened was…
Su Yuzu frowned.
Last weekend.
That was… her birthday. Hers and Soga Yura's.
A ridiculous thought surfaced in Su Yuzu's mind.
Really?
Even the Aberrants were taking the day off to celebrate her birthday — hers and Soga Yura's?
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