The top floor of Arianrhod.

Halfway down the dim corridor leading to the innermost room, The Chairman came to a stop.

Seeing him pause, Solfi tilted her head.

“What is the matter?”

“…Ah, it seems she’s back after finishing her assignment.”

Saying that, The Chairman looked down at his own shadow.

Amidst the faintly lit corridor, a particularly dense shadow stood out.

It rippled once, like the surface of water, and transformed into the figure of a girl.

“My surprise entrance failed~”

“Haha, I may not look like it, but I was quite startled. Good work, Tatari-chan.”

Wearing a white ceremonial-style uniform, the girl with long black hair was Tatari—one of the holders of the S-Rank title, the highest rank in the academic city.

“I’m starving~ Can I eat Solfi-chan?”

“Haha, that would be a problem. I’ll have food prepared right away, so please be patient a bit longer.”

Smiling gently, The Chairman instructed Solfi to bring as much food as possible.

Then, beckoning Tatari, he began walking again.

“Shall we? Let’s talk about your next job over an early breakfast.”

“Ugh, work again~? I wanted to go to the dessert buffet with Ryuuko-chan…”

“I’ll treat you to plenty later, under my name. Just hang in there a little more.”

“Well, I guess it can’t be helped~”

Tatari smiled gracefully.

She looked like the picture of a refined Yamato Nadeshiko. (translator note: wiki page explaining what that means)

However, the shadow stretching from her feet was another story.

A monstrous, giant, and grotesque form—unlike anything a girl would cast.

It slithered and crept freely like a massive serpent.

“You girls eat so heartily it’s a pleasure to treat you.”

Watching them, The Chairman smiled warmly.

Food was brought in in vast quantities into a room resembling a planetarium.

Tatari beamed at the sight, while the serpent behind her flicked its tongue out hungrily.

“My report is in that data. Feel free to ask questions~”

With that, she popped the finest sushi from the front tray into her mouth.

Behind her, the shadow devoured entire serving trays whole.

“Hmm. As I thought, this job was best passed to you. I didn’t expect Silver Twilight to have already killed the First Angel.”

“I couldn’t retrieve the corpse~ The Professor and I don’t get along. I’m bad with those strong-willed types~”

She tossed the empty sushi tray into the shadow, grabbed a pizza slice, and continued.

Her manners exuded elegance—but the volume and speed at which she ate were far from normal.

“No matter. I only asked you to investigate Silver Twilight’s movements. Learning that Trim has awakened is more than enough.”

The Chairman furrowed his brow slightly.

A rare expression from someone who always wore a pleasant smile—Tatari noticed with curiosity.

“She just looked like a tasty kid to me. Is Trim really something you need to worry about?”

“Yes. She’s the final model of the successful Demonsgear series. In theory, she could fight six Angels alone and even resist a Calamity. She’s a completed weapon, in a different way from the Starreader’s Staff.”

“I see… Sorry, still not interested~”

Tatari said as she accepted a bowl of ramen from Solfi.

“Oh, and just like the Intelligence Division said, there were traces of Rei-chan at Silver Twilight’s base. She made quite the mess~”

“She was the one who froze Trim. Of course they’d go after her. I warned her to be careful…”

It wasn’t hard to guess—Rei likely walked in on her own.

That was the kind of girl she was.

“Facing someone even Rei-chan couldn’t beat was terrifying~ Especially when I ran out of the lunch I brought—my hands wouldn’t stop shaking~”

Tatari laughed.

Then popped an ohagi into her mouth.

“Even after all that, you still want to give me more work~?”

“I’m sorry, but you’re the only one who can move right now.”

The Chairman picked up his coffee.

After a sip, he exhaled deeply.

“Why not ask Rokuhara as usual? He’ll do anything for money, right?”

“He’s busy training other Demonsgear users.”

“I see. Must be hard, having all those titles~”

Tatari licked the last bit of pizza off her fingers.

“Which brings me to this. I want you to kill the Third Angel.”

“…Third? Don’t you mean the Second~?”

The Chairman silently shook his head.

“We recorded the magical depth when the Second Angel appeared. But somehow, it doesn’t match this one. Honestly, Angels hiding like this is troublesome. Before we could even kill the Second, the Third appeared.”

Despite his usual calm tone, he sounded a little worn out.

“And what are the details on this ‘Third Angel’~?”

“Apparently, the next Angel uses rather crafty tactics.”

The Chairman opened a virtual window and slid it toward Tatari.

Displayed on it was a monster shaped like a turtle.

A pure white shell with fins shaped like human hands.

It was a sea turtle-like Angel—almost artistic in its design.

Tatari saw it and muttered, face stiffening.

“…Turtle hot pot.”

“This photo was a lucky find by our agent. Apparently, this Angel moves from person to person, spreading disease. The infected go mad and start attacking others. Like a B-grade zombie movie.”

“Then we need hand washing, gargling, and masks~”

“If only it were that simple.”

The Chairman shook his head.

“This Angel hides in electronics. It jumps between Dive Gears and mobile devices. Like a bug with intent, spreading a virus through the information consumed by its host. It’s unprecedented.”

He retrieved a tablet from the expanded space and handed it to Tatari.

She tilted her head, prompting his explanation.

“That device found the Angel a few days ago. It’s already been processed… But you can still track it by scent, can’t you?”

“…I see. Then I guess I’m the right one for this~ I feel like a puppy.”

Tatari brought the tablet close to her shadow.

A growl of hunger echoed from both her and the shadow.

“Oh dear~”

“Looks like it likes the scent.”

The Chairman smiled.

Tatari fed the tablet to her shadow.

“That was a delicious aroma~ That Angel smells tasty. I missed out on the Professor’s one, so this is lucky~”

“You’ll take the job, then?”

“Of course~ But wouldn’t Ryuuko-chan or Yukihira be better? Ryuuko could use her lost-item legend, and Yukihira might just stumble into the Angel’s location.”

Tatari was skilled at finding things.

But not the best.

Two other S-Ranks were even better at it.

“Yukihira is in charge of dismantling Kisou Academy. I can’t burden her now.”

“Then what about Ryuuko-chan? Can I go with her~?”

“That’s not possible. She’s living with a clone of Rei now. She’s far too busy to chase an Angel.”

“A clone of Rei…? Right, she did say something weird and came asking for help…”

Tatari let that memory fade as she spotted meat buns and focused on eating.

“Besides, Kirika-kun is in remedial classes, Rei-kun still hasn’t recovered, and Rokuhara is as I said. You’re the only one.”

“Isn’t one of those self-inflicted~? Not that I’d want that kid around. they’d just turn everything to ashes~”

Tatari accepted that but then suddenly remembered.

“Oh, wasn’t there a new S-Rank added~? What about her~?”

“You mean Mizuhi-kun? She…”

Just as he was about to continue, The Chairman pointed at the air.

Tatari turned to look—at a teleportation circle where a girl had just appeared.

Red hair and well-defined features.

“Beautiful” was a more fitting word than “cute.”

The Chairman greeted her.

“Welcome back, Mizuhi-kun. Did it go well?”

“Yeah, no problems. This teleportation circle is amazing. I wish it weren’t disposable.”

“Haha, teleportation is tricky. I’ll issue you a new one soon. Tatari-kun, let me introduce you. This is the new S-Rank, Terukami Mizuhi. She was cleaning up the aftermath of the S-Rank Clone Project.”

Saying this, he looked toward Tatari.

But seeing no reaction, he tilted his head.

“Tatari-kun? Something wrong?”

“Ss…”

“‘Ss’?”

Both The Chairman and Mizuhi tilted their heads.

Tatari opened her eyes wide and declared:

“So tasty-looking…!”

At that instant, Tatari sprang into action.

Her shadow, now a colossal serpent, lunged forward.

Sensing danger, Solfi tried to stop her—but it was too late.

The shadow was already in front of Mizuhi.

“Bon appétit~”

With a gleeful smile, Tatari moved her shadow to devour Mizuhi.

But what entered her mouth next was—

A massive surge of blazing heat.

“…So this is what they call an S-Rank greeting.”

“—!? H-hot! What the heck was that!?”

Clutching her mouth, Tatari stumbled back.

Her shadow writhed behind her, smoke pouring from its mouth.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Not okay at all~!”

Tears welled in Tatari’s eyes as she held her mouth.

Mizuhi looked to The Chairman, flustered.

He simply sipped his coffee with a chuckle.

“Tatari-kun shares senses with her shadow—especially taste. She probably burned her mouth.”

Tatari nodded furiously.

The shadow took ice cream from Solfi and ate it, container and all.

“I-I see… My apologies. If you’re that hungry—”

Mizuhi pulled a bento box from her expanded space.

A cute, floral lunch box, totally at odds with her appearance.

“I have the breakfast bento I was given. Would you like it?”

“Thank you so much~”

Tatari bowed deeply, took the box, and returned to her seat.

She began devouring it at incredible speed.

“Sorry if that startled you.”

“No worries. It was nice to test myself against another S-Rank, even for a moment.”

“I see. Then, could you join Tatari-chan on this assignment? We’ll pay you. We’re short on hands.”

“I have no reason to refuse. Please, let me assist.”

Mizuhi looked at Tatari.

She’d already finished the bento and was now working on a mountain of beef bowl.

An empty bento box sat neatly beside her.

Even Tatari didn’t eat the box itself.

“Hmm…”

“Thinking something?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

As she watched Tatari, Mizuhi quietly thought:

(She’s right up there with Toa…)

Something that would’ve made Tatari blush furiously—had she heard it.