“Uuuu... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

“Ms. Hirasawa! Calm down!”

Ms. Hirasawa is on all fours on the floor, moaning.

The big back that protected me at that time now seems so small.

　—Gently, I touched Hirasawa-san's back.

It was terribly cold.

What should I do? What should I say?

I'm shocked by the monitor's image too, and I can't make sense of it in my mind.

Hirasawa-san herself is so confused.

Hmm...

　—That's right. There was a phrase I cherished.

“Mr. Hirasawa. Being able to rely on others is also a sign of strength.”

“Haa... haa... eh?”

Mr. Hirasawa turned to me with a pale face.

His desperate, pitiful, and fragile expression tugged at my heart.

“Please rely on me... no, on us. If there's something you can't handle alone, let us help you carry it.”

“...”

――Being able to rely on others is a sign of strength.

These aren't my words.

Suddenly, memories of my older sister came flooding back.

◆◆◆

“Being able to rely on others is also a sign of strength.”

“Relying on others is strength? Older sister, isn't it the opposite?”

Wiping away my tears, my older sister smiled gently.

“There are limits to what one person can do. By asking others to help with what you can't do yourself, you can achieve many things.”

“I see... I still don't quite understand.”

　At home, I was almost attacked by my mother's boyfriend, and my mother said cruel things to me about my school grades. My classmates teased me.

I was overwhelmed and ran away from home.

My older sister found me and hugged me tightly.

“Maybe so. But Mikoto, you have your older sister. You can rely on her, right?”

“Yes! I love my older sister!”

“Hahaha. I love you too!”

After that, I started confiding in my older sister often.

I sorted out what I could and couldn't do, and relied on my older sister for the things I couldn't do or didn't know.

After listening to my concerns, my older sister taught me what I could do and guided me to be able to do it on my own in the future.

　Those days became an irreplaceable and precious experience for me.

After my older sister left, I tried my best to become like her.

I started consulting with people other than my older sister and, in turn, helped them with things I could do.

By doing so, I was able to build new relationships.

The world expanded beyond just my home, and I began to find ways to escape from the threats of my mother and her boyfriend.

　After becoming an underground idol, I started to be relied on more often and ended up running around solving problems.

Actually, I didn't even know it was called “Mission Impossible”...

◆◆◆

“Haa... haa... I'm sorry. Thank you.”

Hirasawa-san wiped the sweat from her forehead and stood up.

She seemed to have regained her composure.

“Martinez. Let's start the meeting.”

“...Alright. Let me know if it gets too tough.”

“Yeah.”

Mariko-sama showed a motherly, compassionate smile.

She must have supported Hirasawa-san all along.

I think his combat abilities and other spy skills are incredible.

But his human imperfections are evident. Sometimes, he feels childish and unstable, like a younger person.

I don't know anything about his past, but perhaps Mari-san has been supporting him despite his imperfections.

"First, let's organize what we need to do in this country called Bulkenesia. As we discussed in Japan, there is a possibility that the ‘dark jobs’ threatening our lives are being facilitated by influencers. And I recall that there is a high possibility that the influencer is hiding in Bulkenesia, correct?"

Miss Mari turned her gaze toward me.

"Yes. I believe it was the ‘Tall Man Who Speaks the Truth,’ wasn't it? The person wearing a strange knit cap with an eye-shaped logo and black sunglasses. The scenery outside the window was reflected in those sunglasses, and I could see the buildings of Bulkenesia."

“That's right. So, I was conducting an investigation until you two arrived here.”

“From the looks of it, you didn't find any clues, did you?”

It was the usual Hirasawa-san.

I felt a little relieved.

"Yes. As Shinji-chan said. We were able to identify the hotel and room number where the video was filmed, but the influencer had already moved to another location."

“I see. But you did obtain personal information, right?”

“Yes. I hacked into the hotel's system and obtained all the information on the people who had used that room in the past.”

“Miss Mari is amazing!”

Miss Mari displayed a list of customer information on a large monitor.

“First, let's exclude dates after the video was posted. Also, the scenery reflected in the sunglasses was sunny, so let's exclude rainy days. That narrows it down to these ten people.”

“Miss Mari, can't we also exclude women and foreigners?”

“No. From the video, it looks like a man's voice and a man's appearance, but it might actually be a woman.”

　I looked at Ms. Hirasawa, who had spoken, and then shifted my gaze to Miss Mari.

“Ah, I see.”

“Did you understand after looking at me just now?”

“No, not at all.”

I denied it with a start.

“So... even though they speak fluent Japanese at first glance, there's a possibility they could be foreign?”

“Yes, that's right, Mikoto-chan!”

Mariko-sama praised me and stroked my head.

It felt a little ticklish.

“So, we need to identify the influencer among these ten people. We also need to gather information about the woman with the Japanese sword. There are too many things we don't know right now.”

“There was also that mysterious phrase, ‘4KN4S.’ Are they all connected... or are they all separate organizations...?”

Many new mysteries have emerged. Danger has also emerged.

Will we be able to accomplish our mission?

A slight sense of unease crossed my mind.

“Martinez, do you have any ideas for gathering information?”

“Yes, of course!”

　Miss Mari placed her makeup tools and wig on the table with a broad smile.

Then she said something utterly unexpected.

“Shinji-chan. Mikoto-chan. The two of you are going on a date inside Smart City.”

"I understand... Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee