Editing Hyouketsu Kyoukai no Eden:Volume 4 Chapter1 (section)

===Part 4===

“Well? Was it there?”

“I’m in the middle of searching. ……Ah, this is it, isn’t it.”

Kagura’s fingers which were typing at high speeds on the computer’s keys halted.

‘ Mission number 16. ‘Governmental Sector Dispatch’

Subject ‘VIP Escort’, Destination ‘Governmental Sector’, Duration ’4 days’, Recruits ‘First Unit’ ‘

—This is undoubtedly what Leon was talking about.

Confirming the information upon the screen countless times, Sheltis slightly tightened his fists.

“The date of posting is yesterday……it’s a freshly updated request.”

Beside him, Monica had her arms crossed with a meek face.

With it being a rare deployment to the Governmental Sector and furthermore, including travelling together with a Priestess, the other units must also be extremely interested. Thinking that and investigating it, there were already seventeen units registered as their rivals.

“The recruiting period is until noon tomorrow. They might multiply the closer it gets to the deadline.”

“……It’ll be difficult, Sheltis.”

Monica, who was staring at the screen, knit her brows.

“I know. In exchange, the merit points are also high.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“H-huh? That was wrong?”

He blinked and looked at the screen and Kagura pointed at the bottom left of the screen.

“Please look at this warning carefully, Sheltis.”

“……Four people?”

“Yes. This mission’s recruited units have ‘four people’. We don’t have enough with just us.”

The unit leader, Monica, and the members, himself and Kagura. They were one person short.

“They even have limits on the number of people……”

“No. They exist as provisions, but in reality, they’re rare. The difficulty and importance influence it, but an exact limit like four is uncommon.”

……Was it the Governmental Sector?

It was possible that a limit had been placed on the number of messengers from {{furigana|Tenketsu Palace|Sophia}}.

“So we need another person if we’re going to participate, huh. After that is”

“Yes, ye—s, Shel-nii! Yuto’s here! Yuto will go too!”

“Then Yuto will; what’s this, it’s perfect. …………Or, wait!?”

There was a sensation of someone clinging to his leg. He timidly peeked down.

“Yuto!?”

The young girl was tightly clinging to his right leg.

Her black eyes were shining with avid curiosity. Her apparent age was five or six. Her shiny black hair was tied into two locks behind her and her azure muffler flowed gently around her neck.

“Shel-nii, I wanted to see you—!”

“U-um……Yuto? I’m happy about being able to see each other too but how did you get in here?”

This was the meeting room, so the door was auto-locking. Those not related to {{furigana|Tenketsu Palace|Sophia}} shouldn’t be able to open the door.

……Ah, no, wait. I have a hint of whose specialty this falls under.

“'''''Tada—, I’ve kept you waiting. The incompetent Ilis makes her return to the front lines!'''''“

“……It’s Ilis, as I expected.”

“'''''How cold! You’re terrible, Sheltis, how can you have that reaction to the return of the one who was your partner just a few days ago!?'''''“

{{furigana|Machine crystal|Ilis}} flickered bright red.

“……Two people and one thing have joined three people. Suddenly the room has become more packed.”

Kagura was looking not at Yuto and not at the {{furigana|machine crystal|Ilis}}, but instead her gaze was directed at girl in overalls who had {{furigana|machine crystal|Ilis}} dangling from her neck as a necklace.

“Hey there. Sorry for just barging in suddenly.”

She had unkempt frizzy hair and oil-stained overalls, and her appearance was lacking in make-up or sex appeal, but that suited this simplistic girl best.

Eyriey Leccento — similar to Yuto who was at his feet, she was an acquaintance of his from the living district. They had also been fellow workers at the outdoor cafe ‘The {{furigana|Two Swans|Albireo}}’ which was located in the second living district.

“What is it. We’re in the middle of a serious meeting here.”

“Now, now. Here, Sheltis, Ilis’ maintenance is done, you know?”

“'''''Wa-wait, Eyriey! When handing me over, you should be more gent—'''''“

“Whoa.”

He received the machine crystal Ilis, who was voicing some complaint, with both his hands.

“Hey, gotten better?”

“'''''Of course. If there was something off about me, it would also be a big problem for you, right?'''''“

—I’m glad, it’s the same Ilis as always.

Her strong self-assertion in various areas despite being a machine hadn’t changed at all. ……No, it might have been better if that self-assertion had been fixed.

“Yeah, it’s the same Ilis as always. Thank you, Eyriey.”

“Yes, yes, I also enjoyed the luxurious lifestyle in {{furigana|Tenketsu Palace|Sophia}}’s VIP room. Well then, we’ll excuse ourselves here. Come on, Yuto.”

“Eh—……Yuto wants to go with Shel-nii.”

The young girl clung to his leg while saying “Dun wanna, dun wanna”. ……What a predicament. It would feel pitiful if they were to forcefully separate here.

“Umm, shall I look after her for just a little?”

“Ah—, it’s fine if you don’t ignore it. We’re looking for somebody.”

“Is there a lost child? In that case, why don’t you try announcing a lost child on the first floor of the tower?”

“That’s not it. That’s right, I’ll also introduce her to you this time, Sheltis. It’s a girl I came to know while working on Ilis’ maintenance. She’s a really cute girl named Sasa!”

Eyriey winked after lifting Yuto into her arms.

“Sasa?……That’s a strange name.”

The way the name resounded was strange and it was spelled in a way that wasn’t often seen on the floating continent. He had never heard of it in {{furigana|Tenketsu Palace|Sophia}}, not to mention at the living district.

“Is she from the living district?”

“Nope. She seems to be a live-in worker in the tower. Being a General Affairs staff member at only fourteen and even being able to use Shinryoku.”

“She can use Shinryoku?”

The one who knit their brows at that was Monica. It was unmistakably a word that stirred up the interest of Monica who had been an apprentice Priestess.

“That’s right. So after completing Ilis’ maintenance, I thought we could go have fun with her. But when I did a search in the name register for {{furigana|Tenketsu Palace|Sophia}}, nothing popped up.”

“……Was the name wrong?”

“Mm~, truthfully, it didn’t feel like that. That’s why I decided to go around searching on foot. Well then, let’s get going, Yuto.”

“Oka—y. See you, Shel-nii.”

The two boisterous girls dashed down the path.

“Those two are full of energy.”

“'''''It was the same during my maintenance. Those two are like a lump of energy. Good grief, that {{furigana|supervisor|Master}}……was really shrewd in getting friendly with Eyriey.'''''“

“Hmm?”

{{furigana|supervisor|Master}}. He felt like he had heard a fairly strange and uncommon word just now.

“Ah, it’s nothing, just me talking to myself.”

“……Well, that’s fine. So what should we do, Monica?”

Eyriey’s group having set off on searching the tower and they had a mountain of problems. They didn’t have enough people for the Governmental Sector mission.

“First, I’d like to have a solid plan.”

Monica operated the terminal in place of Kagura. With experienced movements, she brought up the screen to display the list of defense missions.

There were currently fourteen missions recruiting. Eight of those allowed for a team of three members.

“There are other missions three people can go on. We should decide if we’ll narrow down the missions we can go on with our current team or if we’ll supplement a fourth member.”

They could aim to be Regular Guards even with just the current members. They had to decide if they would continue with the current minimum members or search for more comrades.

“Sheltis, you want to take on that mission, right?”

“That’s right. The merit points are high and there’s no loss in getting experience with VIP escorting.”

Going to the Governmental Sector with Ymy — even without those personal circumstances, it was still a mission worth applying for. The opportunities to escort would increase when they became Regular Guards. He would like for them to gain experience ahead of time as a Cadet Guard.

“VIP escorting and patrolling the nature district, it would be best if we were to experience both of those at least once.”

“……I see, what do you think, Kagura?”

“Sooner or later we’re going to need a fourth member so I have no qualms in aiming for this mission.”

Kagura rested her elbows on the table while holding her head up with her hands.

“That’s unexpected. What’s your reason for thinking that?”

“There is a big difference in the tactics for a three-person team and a four-person team. ……For example, let’s say we’re currently split into the ‘Control Tower’, ‘Vanguard’ and ‘Rear Guard’.”

Kagura’s eyeshield slowly turned towards him.

“Here’s a problem for you, Sheltis. How many different ways can we split three people into these three roles for our tactics? The time limit is ten seconds. Ten……nine……one. Okay, stop.”

“Didn’t you count only three seconds just now!?”

“'''''3 x 2 x 1 = 6 patterns. The first person to choose gets three choices. The next person can’t choose the same as the first one, so he or she gets two choices. The last person has the final role, so he or she doesn’t get to choose.'''''” <ref>[T/N: I'm sure many of you know this is just factorials. For those who don't know what she's using, look up permutations and combinations.]</ref>

Even Ilis’ voice sounded like one of somebody who had just seen something pitiful.

“……Are you possibly making a fool out of me?”

“Well, keep listening. Like was said just now, we can only form 6 patterns with three people. However, with four people, that become 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 24 patterns. Just by adding one person, it increases by four times. That’s a big difference.”

The limit of a three person unit with the three roles of ‘Control Tower’, ‘Vanguard’ and ‘Rear Guard’.

However, adding a fourth person would allow, for example, Monica to not be the control tower and instead act using her Shinryoku techniques that she learned as an apprentice Priestess.

“The battle strength of one more person is necessary, huh……that’s right, but the problem is who to invite.”

Monica sighed with her arms folded.

“Unfortunately, I have no clue. How about you, Sheltis?”

“Same here.”

“'''''For the time being.'''''“

{{furigana|Machine crystal|Ilis}} said that with a sigh and murmured.

“'''''In times like this, why not consult with that instructor?'''''“