Editing Mushi Uta:Volume 4 Chapter 2 (section)

==2.01 The Others==

“Touko-san.”

“''Ugh''… Please don’t glare at me with that look, Daisuke-san.”

Seated in the front passenger seat of the Beetle, Daisuke was glaring at Touko who was in the driver’s seat with her face cramping.

The classic car which was made overseas was cramped. Ubuki and Kabuto who were sitting in the rear passenger seats looked like they were constricted. The vibrations of the engine were transmitted directly to the seats above and the car made a dull sound whenever Touko changed gear.

“The last answer was a lie. That Konoha person, somehow or another, managed to comprehend our conversation.”

“Yes, that seems to be the case.”

Touko swiftly agreed with Daisuke’s words, causing him to widen his eyes. The two people sitting at the back were speechless too.

“But, I think that her statement that it was not an order by the Central Headquarters was true. I doubt that the Central Headquarters or any other branches underestimate us East Central Branch so much that they would send out a lone girl. On the other hand, I do not think that that girl would do such a reckless thing by her own will. There must be someone in the shadows tugging at her strings.”

As the traffic light was about to turn red, the Beetle stopped before the pedestrian crossing.

From the direction they were headed to, they were not returning to the hospital but the base of the East Central Branch. As Ubuki was looking better than expected, maybe they were going to take down her testimony. Touko had mentioned that they were going to do that after she recovered.

“Then, who is the one manipulating Konoha-san? Is it Mushibane? Or perhaps Harukiyo?”

The traffic light turned green and the Beetle’s engine started again.

Daisuke frowned his eyebrows.

“Harukiyo is part of the Central Headquarters’ Annihilators, wasn’t he? Didn’t we find that out during Senri’s escort mission.”

“In fact, I met the real thing in person… that person, does he look like someone who would obey another? Even if that whoever was the SEPB’s Central Headquarters.”

“…”

“I think that there is definitely some link between him and the Central Headquarters. But, if you were to ask if Central Headquarters have full reign over him… I don’t think that is the case. From his conversation with Daisuke-san, Harukiyo has some interest in other Rank 1 Mushitsuki. That’s why, he only appears in cases related to the Rank 1s.”

At Touko’s explanation, Ubuki praised her, saying, ‘You have a good head, Touko-san!’. That seemed to raise her mood, making her more loquacious.

“And regarding Konoha-san, there is one other possible pattern.”

“?”

“That is, someone completely unrelated to both Mushibane and Harukiyo is interested in the contents of the disk. If this continues, the contents of the disk—if they continue to probe the link between the Central Headquarters and Mushitsuki, Central Headquarters will set their sights on them someday. Perhaps, this yet to be seen under-the-radar organisation will eventually come to clash with the Central Headquarters, yes.”

“You only realised that now, Touko-san…?”

“…After all, without there being somebody to cause turmoil in the Central Headquarters, there’s nothing that we can do, isn’t it? Just now, I was just thinking that wouldn’t be good for us if only there would be someone who would go and stir things up with the Central Headquarters…”

“So, acting Director Goroumaru, you’re saying that for the sake of letting that somebody go and make a splash, you decided to let Konoha go. …Still, I guess all this talk is just us taking a shot in the dark.”

At Kabuto’s spot-on words, the four of them sighed.