Chapter 117: The Escort

“How is she?”

“She’s sleeping soundly.”

“That won’t harm her body, will it? I mean… could it cause damage to her neural perception or certain areas of her brain? You know, any emergency anesthetic usually comes with some aftereffects.”

“It’s fine. It’s the finest product from back home—a nano-level bio-anesthetic, completely harmless. One gram of this injection is worth ten thousand times its weight in gold… Typically, this kind of stuff is reserved for leaders of small countries in West Asia, North Africa, or South America.”

“Okay, okay, I feel reassured. You know…I never doubted your skill. It’s just that this little one might become the key to our nation’s fate. If we can fully unlock the secrets she holds, I wouldn’t care if she’s sliced up or ground into meat to feed stray cats.”

“...But at least before sending her to the laboratory in Nevada, any damage to her body would drive those Pentagon folks absolutely mad. You know what I mean, right?”

“No worries. She’s sleeping so peacefully—you can even see a smile on her face.”

…

In a daze, Manami seemed to catch fragments of an English conversation.

Though her grasp of English was limited, she vaguely sensed that whatever was being said wasn’t in her favor.

As she awoke from the oppressive darkness, the first thing Manami saw upon opening her eyes was a blinding white light.

Snow-white walls, a snow-white ceiling, snow-white lighting—the entire room was fully exposed. Cameras were mounted in every corner of the ceiling, ensuring no blind spots remained under surveillance.

“…”

Manami quickly threw off the covers and sat up on the pure white bed.

She noticed she had changed into a set of clothes resembling the hospital gowns commonly worn by lab subjects. Alarmed at first, she was somewhat relieved to find no tiny wounds or discomfort on her body.

At that moment, a voice echoed from the room, seemingly coming from a speaker concealed behind the ceiling. The tone was casual, slightly teasing, and the language was impeccable Japanese:

“Miss Manami, do you really think all of us Americans are dark, creepy uncles or perverted maniacs? Although after graduating, I did consider fully devoting myself to religion, I have no plans to become a priest just yet. Rest assured, you are our precious test subject, and we very much need your cooperation in the future. As long as you help us, we will never cause you any physical or mental harm.

“...Please don’t worry, the clothes you’re wearing were put on by one of our female researchers specially for you.”

Manami remained silent, slipping her hand into the pocket of the experimental gown.

The voice continued:

“Miss Manami, what are you looking for? A scout’s ribbon? A hard candy left over from lunch? Or a precious relic given to you by that deity? We have already secured all items you carried that are not part of your body itself…

“...If you need anything, we can bring it to you. We have conducted thorough instrument inspections and have yet to find anything unusual… If you think there’s something worthy of attention, please let us know, and we will carefully check it.”

…

Behind the speaker, several floors above in the room from which the voices originated…

The researcher clad in a white lab coat, who had just been speaking with Manami, turned off the microphone and looked at the surveillance monitors. A colleague who had remained silent until then spoke with suspicion:

“Stefani, did you really remove everything from this girl? Because her expression right now… it’s as intriguing as a child who finds a hundred-dollar bill stuck to the inside wall of a piggy bank on Christmas Eve.”

“Falkes, before placing her in the observation room, we did a thorough inspection. Not even a thread of a sweater managed to get in—and isn’t there a hidden X-ray scanner in the observation room? You can try it out.”

“Okay, okay.”

Falkes gestured toward Stefani and pressed a button beside him.

Seconds later, the black screen next to the surveillance feed displayed the result of the X-ray inspection.

Although brief, it was enough for Falkes to confirm: the skeleton, the outer skin, and the specially provided clothes—there was absolutely no chance for any foreign objects to be concealed on this girl named Manami Mizuhara.

He relaxed and turned off the X-ray machine.

Just then, a large, silent man who had been standing like a ghost behind the two researchers suddenly stepped forward to the microphone.

“Let me speak with her.”

“Okay, Lieutenant Colonel Darcy.”

Falkes stepped back to give way to Lieutenant Colonel Darcy, rolling his eyes at Stefani behind his back.

“Oh, God…”

He muttered quietly to Stefani:

“…This is exactly why I hate having the government assign the USMC to escort us—they’re always so self-righteous.”

Stefani crossed her arms and turned her gaze away coldly, ignoring him completely.

…

Manami Mizuhara tightly clutched the “thing” inside her pocket.

Even without taking it out, she knew exactly what it was.

For that reason, her mind was somewhat distracted.

Manami was well aware that those who were currently ranting behind the speaker and cameras should never ignore this object, nor would they allow it to remain on her person.

Yet…

It was undeniably still there.

“…Is this also the power of that ‘Suenominakami-sama’? Because I have yet to make a choice, He continues to grant me the chance to choose, until I give up on my own…”

Manami’s feelings were mixed and complex.

Just then, the voice behind the speaker sounded again. But this time, it was distinctly different from before—rougher, deeper—but still speaking in Japanese.

“Hello, Miss Manami.”

“…Hello.”

Manami wasn’t sure what to say next but nodded toward the voice on the other end.

“I am Lieutenant Colonel Darcy of the USMC’s rapid response unit stationed in Japan, and I am your escort officer for your transfer to Nevada. If you have any concerns…”

“Wait—”

Manami instantly caught a crucial word in Lieutenant Colonel Darcy’s sentence, widening her eyes.

“—‘escort’… what does that mean?”

“…Oh.”

The man behind the speaker chuckled meaningfully before continuing.

“Miss Manami, allow me to explain—

“We are no longer on the Japanese mainland but aboard the United States Navy’s cruiser ‘Lambrie.’ Our current position is over two hundred nautical miles east of Tokyo in the Pacific Ocean, and we expect to arrive on American soil in seven days.

“At that time, Miss Manami, you will become an honored member of the United States of America. The extraordinary mysteries connected to you will open a new era for America, and you will become a figure as magnificent as the Statue of Liberty.

“…If I say it this way, Miss Manami, do you understand?”

(End of chapter)