Editing Hyouketsu Kyoukai no Eden:Volume 5 Chapter3 (section)

===Part 3===

Kachii, kachiri……

The seconds hand on the clock on the digital screen slowly ticked down the time.

……It’s been three hours since the meeting started.

……It might be a good time to think of it as the first half of the battle for the first day being over.

The waiting room returned to dead silence. Remembering how tired she was from looking at closely packed notebook memos, Yuragi exhaled.

……I was resolved but having the time pass this slowly is painful.

……How many weeks has it been since I properly slept?

My lack of sleep is horrible to point of whiting out the inside of my mind.

Her intelligence activities as a member of the central division ── from early in the morning to late at night, she would be working as an executive secretary so to leak information to {{furigana|Tenketsu Palace|Sophia}}, there was no other way than to diminish her own sleeping hours.

Above all, a Priestess came this time so for several days she was being worked to death with scheduling and business meetings.

“───”

She took out a few caffeine pills hidden in her pocket and carelessly threw them into her mouth before gnashing them.

Because she’d taken such a large quantity over a long period of time, their effects had diminished but this was also a kind of mental stabilizer medicine.

……But it’s unexpected.

……I thought that she would start talking since we’re free right now.

The companion sitting across the table from her. She was sitting there looking down at the ground without moving.

The Elite Guard, Ishtar.

She was the Priestess’ escort and she had been in this character that Yuragi didn’t know the entire time.

In contrast to her mature appearance was her young speech pattern. If it was just that, she could be interpreted as a childish adult but her fighting skills were said to be the same as a Sennenshi so it was troubling to judge.

“Umm, Ishtar-san?”

“…………”

“……Ishtar-san?”

“Fua? Ahh, yes, yes. Sorry, I was doing a little thinking.”

She scratched her face looking embarrassed.

“Is it about the assembly?”

“Ehehe. Well, putting that aside─, this is perfect. Ishtar also had something to ask.”

“Ask away.”

“Umm, I have two things to ask.”

On the hand that she held up, her index and middle fingers were extended.

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“One. Does a fighter with strength rivaling the Sennenshi exist in the Governmental Sector?”

“Two. About the {{furigana|floating archipelago|Lagoon}} case that’s including amongst the meeting’s topics, if someone were to forcefully obtain evidence regarding it, where would they need to infiltrate in the Governmental Sector?” <ref>[T/N: She says 一つ at the beginning of both. It marks them as "single" questions. Which isn't used in English so I replaced it with "two".]</ref>

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“…………”

She unconsciously gulped.

“Say, say, how about iiit?”

“……Before that, I’d like to ask one more thing.”

She stared upfront at the Elite Guard that was using a light tone to the end.

“Putting aside the first one, what do you mean with the second one?”

“It’s as it sounds, you knooow? There’s no deep meaning.”

Ishtar had a smile on just like a child’s.

“So how about it?”

“……Unfortunately, one doesn’t exist. Even if I did know, '''it’s not something I could answer as a member of the Governmental Sector’s agency'''.”

She somewhat lowered her face and shook her head.

──She couldn’t answer as a secretary of the Governmental Sector.

──But as a member of {{furigana|Tenketsu Palace|Sophia}}’s intelligence, there was an answer she could provide.

She didn’t know whether there was some kind of surveillance camera somewhere in this room. As an answer in this location, that was the limit to what she could provide. Now was the moment of whether this hidden meaning had been conveyed or not.

“…………”

Time passed and a few breaths weren’t taken either in this silence. Then.

“……That’s right. Then tell me if you change your mind.”

“I can’t have that either.”

Kusuu. For an instant, the Elite Guard cracked a wide smile and Yuragi also returned a business smile.

With that, they both sat wordlessly on their separated seats.

They didn’t look at each other and just left their bodies to the passage of time.

──The continuation would be after the meeting.

Ishtar who had caught onto Yuragi’s signal made a suggestion and she had assented to it.

“Now then……”

She opened her notebook to confirm the schedule. However, Yuragi’s thoughts started to turn to a completely different direction, the ‘confidential talk’ that Ishtar wanted to have.

──How serious was Ishtar-sama with the question just now?

She felt cold sweat on her cheek.

……Was she seriously thinking about doing it?

A solo invasion into the center of the Governmental Sector, even more, into ‘that place’ where the most important secrets sleep.

Also breaking through the defense system that awaits there.

……It can’t be that what she was thinking just now was that.

……Was she only thinking of that this whole time today?

“Now then, how will this turn out.”

She had certainly heard Ishtar whisper that while sitting in the chair.

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