In a meeting that took place shortly before the attack by the Kuzu Yummy, a certain topic was being discussed.
Unlike the lively political scene below, the room was filled with a tense atmosphere. Everyone's eyes gleamed like those of a hunting dog.
Important figures sat at a large round table, each with a single bodyguard behind them. However, there were few dignitaries who actually needed a bodyguard.
If you come to this chaotic island, it's dangerous if you don't have enough skill to protect yourself, or even to fight back against an attacker.
As a result, the density of pure power was immense.
Some people were suffering from severe stomachaches because of it.
"(It's just started, but I already want to go home. It's completely different from yesterday...)"
"...!"
Waver, who had a similar expression, and Gray, who was standing behind him, felt the same way.
Even if he bore the name of a Lord, his own abilities were limited. The only saving grace was that he wasn't asked about anything related to magic.
"Well then... the next item on the agenda is..."
The moderator tried to move the discussion forward. Up to this point, they had been boringly announcing the results of the previous year's meeting. It had been a tedious, utterly pointless waste of time.
What the people in this room wanted to know was the truth behind the major incident that had occurred just a few days ago, one that could have made this island an enemy of the world.
"So? Shouldn't we get to the main topic, huh? Everyone's curious, aren't they?"
He was a small child. He was wearing not a suit, but his country's traditional ethnic clothing. When his sharp, eye-gouging gaze scanned the room, some countries created an atmosphere of agreement.
The boy, who had been impolitely resting his feet on the table, lowered them. A tail, an organ that ordinary Homo sapiens do not have, swayed behind his back.
Gido Lucion Deviluke. The king of the Deviluke Kingdom, a special country on a hotspot, just like Landsol.
"That's right. I'd love to hear the details."
"Hah, you talk big, Demon King of the Far East. Don't you already know everything?"
Two women spoke in a casual tone.
One was the representative of Japan, Mio Yotsuba. She was a woman with glossy black hair that was so dark it seemed to absorb all the light around it.
She possessed a beauty that combined an enchanting appeal to the opposite sex with a certain adult cuteness, but no one in this room was weak or reckless enough to be drawn in by it.
The other was the representative of the United Kingdom, the second princess of the royal family, Carissa.
The way she rested her chin on her hand, she gave no impression of being a graceful princess. Her face was well-defined, but she had a provocative smile and, unlike Mio, gave a slightly rough, bold impression.
"..."
And surprisingly, Aria was standing behind her as a guard.
Carissa gave her a sidelong glance, but Mio received it coolly.
At this point, the moderator's role was over. They weren't someone who could be controlled anyway.
All that was left was to let the discussion flow and let them talk until a consensus was reached.
"Then I will explain."
Hayate, who was there for that purpose, volunteered.
"Hayate Yagami... the master of the Book of Darkness. A pretty big shot has shown up."
"Hey, hey, don't bully her too much."
"...I will begin."
Without reacting to Gido and Carissa's banter, she activated the monitor.
Even Hayate couldn't hide her nervousness in front of this group.
The noisy members also listened to Hayate's explanation quietly without asking questions. They were cross-referencing it with the information their own intelligence agencies had gathered.
"...That is all."
After finishing her explanation, Hayate returned to her seat.
This time, she only explained the plan to mass-produce ability users, with the Sisters as the main focus. Along with that, she mentioned the near-catastrophic rampage caused by Final Signal Last Order.
The Level 6 Shift plan had been buried in the dark, and there was no evidence. The people in front of her might have a grasp of something, but this was a formal setting. She couldn't report "conjecture" as a fact.
"Hmm, I see."
"So we were in a lot of danger, right? They were on the verge of a rampage, right?"
"We, or rather, this island, perhaps? There are a lot of people here this time of year."
"...Yes. That's right."
Hayate affirmed their words, biting her lip. Even if it wasn't her fault, and even if they had stopped it, she had to apologize in a setting like this.
That was the difficult part of being in charge.
"Well, well, everyone. Thanks to the hard work of the Bureau, nothing happened."
The one who spoke in a gentle voice was King Astraea of Landsol, in other words, Pecorine's father.
"Of course. We'd be in trouble if you didn't do it, right? A military that's useless when the chips are down is just a waste of money."
"That's why I'm saying that they fulfilled their duty properly."
"...Hah."
Carissa sneered.
"I think so too."
The atmosphere was becoming tense, but Mio Yotsuba unexpectedly stepped in and sided with King Astraea.
"They fulfilled their duty and kept the human casualties to a minimum. When you look at the results, isn't that all that matters?"
"Oh? That's surprising, Demon King of the Far East. You're siding with them?"
"I just can't find anything to blame the Bureau for this time."
"But still, leaving such an important explanation to a subordinate is not a good look."
Aleister, who was in charge of the Bureau on this island, was not present, not even on a screen. Hayate Yagami was the representative of the Bureau in this room.
He didn't attend a meeting where representatives from various countries gathered. In previous years, it might have been brushed off as "Oh, that's just how he is," but this time, it was different.
It was such a major incident.
"Well, I know there's no point in complaining here. I'll just say we're still expecting a lot from Special Section Six. Let's move on to the next topic."
With Gido's agreement, Carissa stopped saying anything further.
"(Phew! Somehow, I managed to get through it!)"
In reality, the incident was contained to this extent thanks to Accelerator, but there was no need to say anything extra. The facts were what mattered.
"(Or maybe... these people probably already know that Yozuki-kun defeated Accelerator... especially that princess from the UK.)"
They might even know what happened to Accelerator afterward. They might also know about Sho, who was fighting in a different location at the same time, and about Another Build.
"(It might be better to think that some people are overlooking it.)"
This meant that they wanted to spend their time on something other than condemning the Bureau. However, that didn't mean they would share the information they held.
It was about the content of Hayate's explanation.
"There's a bigger problem than that."
Lucas Lihavain, the king of Aldegia and La Folia's father, changed the atmosphere with his deep voice.
"The problem is that such research was being done on this island! What is the 'Academy' doing?!"
DON!! The sound of a hand hitting the table echoed.
The "Academy" was the highest council of this academy city. It oversaw the development of science and technology, including supernatural abilities.
From developing supernatural abilities in students to monitoring dangerous research, if the Bureau was the external watchdog, the "Academy" was like the government of the country.
This island was created for two reasons.
The first was, of course, world peace.
If each country secretly conducted technological research, it could become a new weapon and a source of conflict.
By gathering everything in one place and constantly making it public to the world, the goal was to prevent conflict. This, of course, included the development of supernatural abilities.
The second reason was to counter Shinonono Tabane.
The world's wisdom was brought together to counter the "natural disaster" that could single-handedly destroy the world.
"The reward for that could be a world war, which is no laughing matter."
"Well, can't be helped, can it? Researchers are a bunch of perverts. And they were given a toy like the Tree Diagram. It was only a matter of time before it went out of control."
Gido grinned as if he had known all along.
The Deviluke Kingdom also possessed an extremely high level of scientific power. It had provided technology when the island was being built.
"But we can't dismantle this island now, can we?"
No one bit back at King Astraea's statement this time.
There was no problem with simple scientists. They would surely devote their efforts to the development of their home countries.
The problem was the abnormal scientists. They were the ones who caused problems. They were gathered here now, but if the island were to be dismantled, they would be scattered all over the world, and sponsors would rush to protect them.
They would be allowed to research whatever they wanted and, in some cases, use that power violently.
The fact that technology is something anyone can use makes it even more troublesome.
"So what do we do? Maintain the status quo? We can't be optimistic and think that this time was the worst it could get."
"Well, that's true, isn't it? There's also the talk that there might be a problem within the Bureau itself."
"I wanted an explanation from Aleister about that... Did that guy run away?"
"(No way, I want to believe that's not the case...)"
Hayate thought about her emotionless superior.
At that moment, the door to the conference room was flung open.
"I apologize! There is something I must report to all of you immediately!"
"You're being noisy. What's all the fuss about?"
The man in the suit who tumbled in spoke of the attack by the Kuzu Yummy.
---------
After the attack, the meeting could not continue. For safety reasons, the session was adjourned for the day.
"Phew."
Carissa sat in a chair in her hotel room, looked up at the ceiling, and exhaled deeply.
"Princess, today...?"
"Huh, oh..."
She sat up at the voice of her guard, Aria.
"Well, at least there's no work today. But I can't go out either. Tsk! This is why I should have just left it to my sister."
"First Princess... Princess LieMea?"
"Yeah, that's the one. That eccentric person 'doesn't trust anyone who knows her status.' She's fine during a meeting, but at night, you never know where she's going to wander off to. She doesn't even trust the knights guarding her door. Fundamentally, she's not suited for 'overseas diplomacy.'"
"I see..."
"But my other sister is out of the question, too. She'd faint in five seconds in a place like that."
"I've heard that Third Princess Vilean is a person of great virtue."
"Do you think virtue can get you through that group? Well, that means I was the only one left by process of elimination. Honestly, I wish my mother had attended as she does every year. What's this about 'experience'? It's infuriating!"
Carissa, who clicked her tongue again, roughly took off her suit jacket. She also took off the necklace that adorned her neck. She was like a drunken salaryman.
"So, today's work is over. I'll have them contact you about tomorrow. You can go home now."
"...Princess Carissa. Before I go, may I ask you one question?"
"Do whatever you want."
Carissa turned to Aria as if to kill time.
"Why me as your guard? Compared to the knights... the Knight Leader in the next room, I am..."
"I didn't choose you as my guard for your ability as a soldier. I personally wanted to have a connection with the eldest daughter of the Holmes family."
"...My family, you mean."
Aria made a disgusted face.
This time, too, she was assigned as a guard through her family. If it weren't for that, she would have been on vacation by now.
"Don't make such a disgusted face. I've heard the rumors about how you're treated by the main family, but no matter how hard you try, you can't escape your name."
"I know that, but... in terms of 'being a good Holmes,' my sister is better..."
"Your sister is more suited for my sister LieMea, isn't she? Sneaking around behind the scenes isn't my hobby, and I can't handle it. If you were to become an 'R' rank Butei, it would be the best revenge against the main family... and it might be a clue to saving your mother?"
R rank. The highest rank for a Butei is "S," but a higher rank - for example, a Butei directly under the royal family - is given the initial "R" for "Royal."
She was receiving that offer so casually right now.
However, Carissa was also dangling an even better condition.
"! Are you aware of anything about my mother's wrongful conviction?!"
She couldn't stay calm, and her tone became rough.
"I can't answer that in this room... My mother and my sister. I don't know the details myself. Well, think about it."
"...Understood. I'll be leaving now."
Aria opened the door.
"If you change your mind, contact me anytime. I don't reject talented people."
In the end, Aria could not tell anyone in her family about this conversation.
---------
A man with a toy camera hanging from his neck, Tsukasa Kadoya, wove through the crowd and left the venue.
Smoke was rising from the building where the meeting was held due to the 20-minute attack. Spectators were drawn to it, and the Butei who were directing traffic were having a hard time.
"That guy transformed into Ex-Aid."
Tsukasa's appearance in front of Sho was, of course, no accident. As Sho also thought, there was no such thing as a coincidence.
He had already pinpointed him. Tsukasa had sensed the wavelength of a Rider.
His premonition was spot on.
Tsukasa had witnessed the entire fight. He was being pushed back, but not defeated. Just as he was about to step in and help a little, Sho, who had transformed into Ex-Aid, appeared.
The sight of him fighting alongside the surrounding soldiers and defeating the怪人 (kaijin) was a true Kamen Rider.
However, Tsukasa's journey was not so simple as to make a quick connection to the world of that Rider.
"He transformed into Ex-Aid, but he's not the Ex-Aid."
That was something he could say with certainty.
There was a strange sense of wrongness.
"I thought this was a world without Riders, but there's a Rider, and he's not the right one... This world is a bit difficult to figure out. I'll have to observe it a little longer."
With that, Tsukasa disappeared.
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