I don't want to be an elf!

Although Tendogi was the owner of the least well-known police company in Tokyo, and before Honjo Nia joined, he only had one employee, Satomi Rentaro, he was still the owner of a police company.

Therefore, even she is qualified to be invited.

“We might meet some important figures from the Tokyo area at the meeting. Since you said your goal is to change Tokyo, I think you should attend this meeting with me,” Tendo Kisara said.

"Ah... thank you for your kind offer, but I think I'll pass."

"Why? This is a great opportunity."

"I'm not used to going to such formal occasions," Nia Honjou said dismissively. "I prefer to stay in my sanctuary. You and the boy should go together; if anything happens, he can protect you."

"It's just attending a meeting, what could I possibly encounter?"

"Haha, I can't really say for sure, but remember to let me know after the meeting."

"alright."

After saying that, they both hung up the phone.

While processing the information brought by Tendo Kisara, Honjou Nia stroked her chin, deep in thought.

According to the information possessed by Nia Honjo, the transmigrator, if she is not mistaken, this request should be related to the original story's request to find the lost "Seven Stars' Relics".

The Seven Stars' relic possesses the ability to summon the world's most powerful Gastrea, twelve Stage 5 beings.

If it is lost and used by malicious people, the consequences would be unimaginable.

This is also why the Ministry of Defense invited all police companies in Tokyo to attend this commissioning meeting.

This is also a very good opportunity to get to know the Holy Emperor.

Because the Emperor, the nominal head of the Tokyo government, will also personally attend this meeting.

"But... there will be even more troublesome people in this meeting, so I'd better not go and get involved."

Having finally gained a general understanding of her own capabilities, Honjou Nia stretched her body and exhaled.

"I'd better stay in the safe rear as much as possible; let the boys handle attracting the aggro."

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Initial Destruction of Tiantong

"In conclusion, that's all for today's meeting."

The next day, noon.

Inside the Tendo Police and Security Company, Honjo Nia and Tendo Kisara sat facing each other.

After summarizing everything that had happened at the Ministry of Defense, Tendo Kisara took a sip of cheap tea he had bought from a 100-yen shop to moisten his throat.

Looking at Honjou Nia, who seemed to be daydreaming and distracted from the start, she twitched her lips and said, "Hey, what I just said was very important. Were you really listening?"

Nia Honjou, who was brainstorming manga plots, snapped out of her reverie and quickly nodded, saying, "I'm listening, I'm listening, I'm listening to every word."

"Then tell me what I just summarized."

"The Seven Stars' relics, the Holy Emperor's commission, the generous reward, and the matter of Hiruko Kagetane."

"..."

Kisara Tendo stared directly into Nia Honjo's eyes and remained silent for a moment.

Then, she slowly said, "I didn't mention Hiruko Kagetane just now."

"Oh, didn't you say so?" Nia Honjou laughed awkwardly. "I thought you would definitely tell me something so important."

"Fine, I won't ask you how you knew Hiruko Kagetane was at the meeting. Being able to collect dirt on the Tendo family means you must have your own intelligence channels." Tendo Kisara sighed slightly. "But since you already knew, you could have just told me. Why did you make me waste my breath?"

Kisara Tendo did not trust his new employee as much as he trusted Rentaro Satomi.

Although she appeared harmless and easygoing, she knew that this woman named Honjou Nia was definitely not as simple as she seemed.

After all, the exact crimes and evidence against Tian Tong Xuan Zhuo were given to her by this woman.

For so many years, she has been searching for evidence of crimes committed by the five enemies in Tiantong's family who directly killed her parents, but progress has been very slow.

She knew better than anyone just how difficult it was to gain leverage over the largest political family in the Tokyo area.

Regardless of how Honjo Nia obtained the evidence of Tendou Genchu's crimes, it shows that this woman's hidden methods far exceeded her imagination.

Now, she is even more certain of her guess.

She had just returned from a meeting at the Ministry of Defense.

The meetings held within the Ministry of Defense were absolutely top-notch in terms of confidentiality. Apart from the people within the Ministry of Defense and the invited representatives from the police and companies, it was impossible for any outsider to spy on what was happening within the Ministry of Defense, not to mention that the Emperor took this meeting with absolute seriousness.

However, less than an hour after the meeting ended, Nia Honjo already knew the content of the meeting.

Did she plant spies in other police companies, or is she actually from the Ministry of Defense?

Tendo Kiga instinctively let his thoughts wander, considering many possibilities.

However, without concrete evidence and without any possibility of confirmation, she had no choice but to temporarily abandon her investigation into Honjou Nia's identity.

Even though she knew that Honjou Nia was definitely problematic, she did not show any hostility or vigilance.

Because on the very first day he met her, Kisara Tendo already knew there was something wrong with her.

Knowing she had problems, they still chose to cooperate with her, not because they trusted her, but simply because of their mutual interests.

After all, we were able to obtain evidence of Tendo Genchu's crimes thanks to Honjo Nia. In the future, we will have to start with her to find evidence of the crimes of the other four Tendos.

Therefore, even if Nia Honjo's identity is questionable, she won't investigate.

As long as Nia Honjo's interests align with hers, their cooperation can continue until her revenge is over.

"So, what are your thoughts on this meeting?" To distract Tendoki from the mistake he had just made, Honjou Nia changed the subject.

"The bounty is high, and the difficulty is low. Whoever finds the Gastrea that devoured the Seven Stars' relic will win the prize."

Do you really think it's easy?

"Of course, according to the intelligence, it's at most a Stage 3 Gastrea, which Rentaro can handle by himself."

"But have you forgotten Hiruko Kagetane?"

"He..."

Remembering the commotion caused by the man named Hiruko Kagetane at the meeting, Tendo Kisara couldn't help but feel apprehensive.

Like Rentaro Satomi, Hiruko Kageyu is one of the mechanical soldiers in the New Human Creation Project.

However, this man's transformation was far more thorough than that of Rentaro Satomi, and the abilities he gained from the transformation were also extremely powerful.

He is also a notorious international fugitive.

Such a person appeared at a meeting that should have been known only to the invitees, and even made outrageous statements, claiming that he would find the Seven Stars' relics first and use them to summon Gastrea of ​​the Zodiac Twelve level, making Tokyo the next ruin ravaged by Gastrea.

This cast a shadow over the hearts of many present.

“However, our mission is not to defeat Hiruko Kagetane, but to find the Seven Stars’ relics,” Tendo Kisara said thankfully.

"Is that so? If I were you, I wouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly," Nia Honjou said calmly.

"What do you mean?"

"This secret meeting was only open to those who were invited. Why do you think Hiruko Kagetane would be there?"

"It was probably leaked from another company; not all police companies are tight-lipped."

"That's a reasonable assumption, but have you considered another possibility?"

Nia Honjo paused, then said meaningfully, "He was also an invitee, wasn't he?"

Tendou Kisei frowned.

She had considered this possibility, but because it was untenable, she didn't delve into it further.

Hiruko Kagetane is a madman who wants to destroy Tokyo. If he gets his hands on the Seven Stars' relics, the tragedy of ten years ago will repeat itself.

This is something that even other governments hostile to Tokyo would not want to see, let alone the Tokyo government.

Therefore, Tendo Kisara doesn't think it's very likely that Hiruko Kagetane has connections with high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Defense.

But now that Nia Honjo has brought up this possibility, that's a different story.

"Ultimately, it sounds strange that the Seven Stars' relics, which should have been properly preserved by the government, were swallowed by Gastrea, which appeared out of nowhere," Nia Honjou said, spreading her hands. "Don't you smell a conspiracy?"

Now that you mention it, it does seem a bit...

Kisara Tendo pondered, following Nia Honjo's line of reasoning: "The government's higher-ups deliberately created a Gastrea disaster at the place where the Seven Stars' relics were sealed, allowing the Gastrea to take away the Seven Stars' relics... But if the mastermind's goal was to destroy the Tokyo area, wouldn't it have been simpler to just open the Seven Stars' relics? Why go through all this trouble?"

"Is it possible that the mastermind behind this didn't want to destroy Tokyo?"

"And what was the purpose of that?"

"In order to make this society, which has been at peace for too long, feel the fear of Gastrea again," Nia Honjou said calmly, "In order to transform people's fear of Gastrea into anger towards the cursed children."

The world's malice towards the cursed child is everywhere.

Especially in the years before, when the cursed children first appeared in human society, their chances of survival were almost zero.

People who are suffering from the loss of loved ones, grieving from the loss of their homes, and despairing from the loss of everything, vent their pent-up anger on these innocent children, treating them as monsters no different from Gastrea.

However, as time went by, people's fear of Gastrul gradually diminished.

Since the appearance of the monolith, most people have not experienced the disasters brought by the Gastrea. They have gained a false peace and are immersed in it.

Even those Pure Generations born after the Cataclysm may not have witnessed Gastrea firsthand.

Then, those in the crowd who had never harbored malice toward the cursed children, and even those who had sympathized with them, stepped forward.

Led by the Holy Emperor, these people drafted the Gastrea Protection Law, attempting to grant the cursed children human rights and improve their social status.

Naturally, they were hindered.

Even though peace has lasted for several years and most people's fear of Gastrea has largely disappeared, there will never be a shortage of extremists.

Those plundered generations who hated Gastrea to the extreme and treated the Cursed Children the same way stood against the Holy Emperor and obstructed the promulgation of the decree.

Such extremists are not uncommon, not only among ordinary citizens but also within the Tokyo government.

As a result, a stalemate has formed between the supporters and the opposition.

This is not a bad thing.

As peace continues, the number of supporters will increase.