Chapter 13: The Car, the Cabinet, and a Feeling I Had Never Felt Before

The sound of the car door closing echoed louder than expected.

The engine had not started yet, and a brief silence filled the car. Makima and Eigo sat side by side in the backseat.

The person in the driver’s seat was the young employee who had practically fled the office earlier. The employee’s hands looked strangely awkward as she fastened her seat belt.

While adjusting the rearview mirror, she glanced at the backseat through it for the briefest moment—truly only a moment—then snapped her gaze away like lightning.

Don’t look. Don’t see anything. I’m a driver. I’m a competent secretary... I didn’t see anything today. I didn’t see anything, and I didn’t hear anything.

The engine started. The car slowly began to move.

The suffocating silence still filled the vehicle. Trying somehow to drain that air away, Eigo spoke up.

"Um... driver? Senior? ...What’s your name?"

The employee’s shoulders twitched faintly. Makima said nothing. She was only looking out the window.

"Eek...! Uh, um... E-Enonoka...! H-Higashiyama Enonoka...!"

"Higashiyama. How did you end up joining Public Safety?"

Eigo asked in his usual tone of voice. For a moment, the air inside the car stiffened slightly.

Enonoka, the first to sense that something was off, swallowed a gasp. Makima’s eyes wavered ever so slightly.

Makima cleared her throat once. She tried to speak as normally, as coolly, as possible.

"...Miss Enonoka is the eldest of nine siblings. She joined Public Safety to earn living expenses for her family and tuition for her younger siblings."

"Oh, I see."

Eigo nodded. With a mischievous smile, he poked Makima in the side.

"But why is your voice so sharp, Maki? Are you jealous~?"

Makima’s body went rigid.

"...W-What?!"

Her words cut off. No, rather than cutting herself off, she had stopped because she did not know where to stop.

"Jealous? Don’t be ridiculous...."

Her voice was as composed as usual, but the spot on her side where Eigo had poked her felt strangely hot. Up front, Enonoka felt cold sweat trickling down her spine.

Right now... in the backseat... eek...?!

She absolutely did not look at the rearview mirror. She could not.

The moment she looked, her life would be over. Socially or physically... she had a feeling that it definitely would be.

Almost reflexively, Enonoka shouted.

"N-No, not at all...!! Not even a little!! Makima always! Always!! takes such meticulous care of her subordinates’ welfare and living conditions...!! I’m merely a secretary who has received that kindness, that’s all...!?!"

The car swayed slightly. It was because her hands had tightened around the wheel.

Eigo blankly stared at the front seat for a moment before nodding.

"Wow~ My friend really is an amazing boss."

At those words, Makima’s heart dropped with a thump once more.

A good... boss... He praised me... Hehe....

Enonoka kept her eyes forward and focused on driving. She tried her absolute best not to pay attention to whatever conversation was taking place behind her.

*

The car stopped briefly at a red light.

Beyond the window, a heavy gray building came into view. Its exterior was orderly, flags fluttered outside it, and access was restricted.

Seeing the view outside, Eigo cautiously asked,

"Uh... is that where we’re headed?"

Makima nodded. Enonoka answered.

"Y-Yes...! That is our destination. For now...."

That ended the conversation. Eigo’s gaze remained fixed outside, but he was no longer looking at the building. His eyes had gone slightly out of focus.

The fingers that had been touching his pocket watch paused for a moment. The car began moving again.

Only then did Eigo relax a little, as if nothing had happened, and speak.

"Thanks to Maki, I get to enter the Cabinet Secretariat too. It feels strange."

His tone was the same as always. Light, as though it were an idle observation with no real meaning behind it.

Makima glanced at Eigo upon hearing that. On the surface, he truly did not look any different from usual.

His shoulders were relaxed, and his manner of speaking was light. He looked like he could laugh at any moment if someone tossed out a joke, but...

...He smells different from before. Noradrenaline and adrenaline... and as time passes, the scent of cortisol is growing stronger too. All three are hormones secreted by humans under stress. Proof that he feels tense and uncomfortable. Is he nervous because we’re going to a government agency? He’ll gradually get used to that much if he’s my buddy, but this side of him is cute too. Hehe....

The car entered through the main gate. Metal fences and uniformed guards passed by outside the window.

Eigo lowered his head slightly from the window. He bent at the waist toward some meaningless spot, as if he were trying to look at the floor.

He looked as though he were hiding from something.

"...But, you know."

Eigo continued. His tone was still light.

"Places like this feel kind of stiff, don’t they? Like even breathing has to be done properly...."

He laughed as though it were a joke, but the laugh did not last long. Instead of replying, Makima lightly pressed the back of his hand.

"It’s all right. I’m here, so don’t be nervous. I’ll be the one meeting the important people. You can wait outside if you want, Eigo."

Eigo answered with an awkward smile.

"Haha.... Was it that obvious I was nervous? Still, thanks. As expected, a friend is all I’ve got."

*

The conference room was unnecessarily spacious.

A long table, neatly arranged documents, maps and flags covering the walls. Everyone was already seated.

When I entered, their gazes naturally converged on me.

"Makima."

Nuka Hiroshi, one of the deputy chiefs of the Cabinet Secretariat, said as he closed a file folder.

"It’s urgent. Take a seat. The Chief Cabinet Secretary is currently absent, so I’ll have to issue this assignment myself."

I bowed in greeting and took my seat. Hiroshi pointed to a location on the wall map with a pointer.

It was a small island nation in the South Pacific. Its name was, clearly...

"Kiribashi. An unfamiliar name, isn’t it? It’s an island nation spread across Micronesia and Polynesia. My son traveled there once too. Hahaha."

Not one person in the conference room reacted to his remark. Looking embarrassed, Hiroshi scratched the back of his head and turned the page.

"Anyway, ah... we received word through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that an incident caused by a powerful Devil has occurred in Kiribashi, and they have requested Japan’s assistance."

I frowned. It seemed they had dumped another bothersome job on me....

"What type is it?"

"Unknown. However, according to reports of damage caused by the Devil... no injuries whatsoever were found on the corpses apart from signs of resistance."

I said nothing. I merely took in the information in silence.

"The local area has neither the population nor the landmass to field a force capable of responding. That is why they requested Japan’s assistance."

"Excuse me, Deputy Chief. Why did they request assistance from Japan specifically? Wouldn’t it be more natural to ask neighboring countries like Indonesia or Australia?"

Faced with the prospect of a sudden business trip, I raised a perfectly reasonable question. But the answer I received was utterly cold.

"...Makima. Do you like dogs? I do."

What was this man suddenly talking about now? Why dogs out of nowhere?

"Dogs obey their master’s words unconditionally. Whatever they are told, without thinking... even if they are told to die."

Ah, I see. It was that old speech again.

"Since when did dogs start thinking for themselves?"

At those words, the atmosphere in the conference room instantly turned icy. Only Hiroshi’s firm voice echoed through the room.

"The mission is simple. Encounter the Devil, identify its ability and name, then eliminate it. I won’t ask how you do it."

I nodded.

"When do I leave?"

"Tonight."

A brief silence. Ordinarily, it would have been a schedule without any issue.

I had received countless sudden orders like this and moved immediately every time. But...

Tonight....

I remembered the hand fidgeting with a pocket watch in the car. The voice that had said, I’ll wait here, so hurry and finish up.

That’s sudden.

The fact that the thought had occurred to me at all left me flustered.

"Is there a problem?"

Hiroshi asked. Like Pavlov’s dog hearing a bell, I reflexively shook my head.

"No."

My voice did not waver.

"I’ll prepare."

That concluded the meeting. One by one, the people who had filled the conference room rose from their seats.

I gathered my documents and remained seated for a while. Until the conference room was completely empty.

Tonight....

Those words remained in my head for a long time.

...A sudden overseas dispatch right away. Without even time to prepare....

Something like guilt without any reason brushed past me. It was an emotion I had no logical need to feel.

As I rose from my seat, I murmured very quietly.

"Maybe I should have told Eigo beforehand...? I knew perfectly well that something like this could happen if the Cabinet Secretariat called for me...."

I was speaking to myself. And as I headed for the door, I naturally thought,

When I open the door, Eigo will be there. Smiling as always... welcoming me home. But... how am I supposed to explain this to him...?

Confused by this inexplicable emotion I had never felt even once in my life, I opened the door of the empty conference room and stepped outside, carrying my unorganized thoughts with me.

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