Ministry Action Records

Kusakabe Ryoko, the captain of the AST team, ordered the team members to point their guns at the new Pokémon.

"Are you Xiaoba's friends?" Van asked friendlyly as he looked at the girls wearing strange armor who suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Open fire!" Upon hearing the order, the AST troops immediately attacked Van.

Those are bullets flying over here, they don't look like toys... Looking at the gunfire, Van dodged with the agility of a gymnast. When the smoke and dust raised by the bullet attack disappeared, Van stood in front of the AST troops unscathed.

"Oh yeah, this isn't a game, is it, kids?" The pits on the ground caused by bullets let Van know that the people coming were not his friends. Although he didn't know why these people were attacking him, he decided to beat them all down before going to find Xiao Ba.

"Can we continue?" Van stood there with his hands hanging down, tilting his head and looking at the AST troops with contempt.

"Attack!" Hearing Van's mocking tone, Kusakabe Ryoko shouted angrily.

After all, they are just a group of children, so you'd better be gentle with them.

While dodging the incoming artillery fire, Van continued to approach the enemy and adjusted his strength. Van was ready to punch the girl in the stomach to make her unconscious, but a barrier blocked Van's fist.

"Huh?" Van increased his strength and the barrier soon broke. Grabbing the girl's arm, Van threw her to the ground over his shoulder. The impact destroyed the girl's equipment and she could not get up again.

The next thing was much simpler. Van broke the barrier, picked up the enemy's body and threw it to the ground. His master-level strength was enough to destroy the enemy's armor while preventing the enemy itself from suffering too much damage. Van had discovered that these people relied on armor to be combat effective and were not strong themselves.

------Dividing line------

When Gokawa Shido was teleported to the scene by the airship 'Fraxinus', the battle was already over.

Only the man wearing a black hood was still standing on the field, with a group of fallen AST members beside him, but they did not seem to have suffered serious injuries.

Ah! He's looking over here! Feeling Van's gaze, Gokawa Shido nervously shook his head and said, "I'm not in the same group with them."

"I can see that you are a man. You don't have their armor on you, and you didn't attack me." Van's smile revealed his calmness.

"Shidou, this elf's initial favorability towards you is a bit high. This is a very good start." Shidou Gokawa was wearing headphones connected to the aerial ship, and the voice of Shidou Gokawa's sister Kotori Gokawa came.

The initial favorability is a bit high?! Regarding the message that Kotori conveyed to him, Gokawa Shido didn't know whether he should be happy or not...

Meanwhile, on the airship, Fraxinus' deputy commander Kannazuki Kyohei, who had watched Van knock out the AST troops, was shaking with excitement. "What a powerful wrestling skill! I must find a chance to have a good exchange with this elf later!"

Seeing Kannazuki suffering from a masochistic attack, Kotori Itsuka kicked him hard and then asked someone to drag him away.

At the same time, the options given by 'Fraxinus' came through the headset.

1. Could you tell me your name?

2. There are things I want to ask you.

3. Can you go on a date with me?

The first two options were fine, but what the hell was the third one? The other person was a man! And it was the first time they met! How unreserved! Itsuka Shido was madly complaining about the options given by 'Fraxinus'.

"Shidao-kun, look at this elf, he looks like he's ready to attack. If you position yourself as a submissive, it will be easy to capture him." The serious words coming from the earphone were from someone who had been summoned.

Although most people on the airship thought that the third option was a very interesting option, everyone still restrained their desire to cause trouble. After all, it was the first time they faced such a...special situation, so it was better to be safe.

"Can you tell me your name?" said Gokawa Shidao.

"My name is Van." Van has always been happy to get along with young people, which makes him feel more energetic.

"Van? This name is quite suitable as a code name. Let's decide on the code name of this elf, Van." On the aerial ship, Kotori Gokawa decided on the nickname of the elf that would descend this time.

"Van-san is also an elf, right?" asked Shido Gokawa.

Elf? Van suddenly remembered the man in Higurashi who was known as the 'Forest Fairy'. Elf should be a name of some kind. Now it seems to refer to people from other worlds, similar to the term 'outsider' in Higurashi.

"Hmm." After some thought, Van answered.

"That's great, I'm here to help the elves." Shido Gokawa expressed his thoughts.

Are there people here who specialize in helping outsiders now? It feels a bit similar to the role of my mentor, Van thought.

"Van, is there anything I can help you with?" Shido Gokawa felt that he could start trying to close the distance between the two of them.

"I did come here for something."

Seeing that Van didn't say what he was going to do, Gokawa Shido had to find another topic, "Van-san must be hungry, why don't you go get something to eat first, and then we can talk about what you are going to do when we have a chance."

"Well, it's a good idea indeed." Hearing Van's agreement, Gokawa Shido shouted in his heart that the plan was successful, but on the surface he still looked very calm.

"Well, I know a good place. Let's go together now." Van followed Gokawa Shidao.

"Van-san... I want to ask... um, do you have other clothes..." Itsuka Shido was horrified to notice the strange clothes on Van. Was he really going to take him to the restaurant like this? His shame would explode!

"Oh, this suit is not suitable for you guys. I didn't think of it at the moment." Van found a place and changed into a suit.

So, the two of them went to a family restaurant in a shopping mall as normal.

--------Dividing line--------

At the same time, Hikigaya and Yukinoshita were shopping in a mall. Why did they meet?

Hikigaya Hachiman was originally going to see the cat and dog show with his sister Hikigaya Komachi. On the way, they met Yukinoshita who was also there but lost her way. It was embarrassing for a sword spirit of at least level 45 to get lost. Hikigaya's merciless ridicule earned him a hard kick from Yukinoshita. As a result, two of the three people who were traveling together had a dull pain in one of their feet. As they walked, Komachi, who was alone and immersed in the cute little animals, lost them, so Hikigaya and Yukinoshita were left alone.

Level 45 was what Yukinoshita mentioned to Hikigaya. Yukinoshita said that her master told her that she had the strength of level 45 in Arad. Although Hikigaya didn't know where Arad was, and wasn't quite sure what level 45 meant, he felt it should be okay.

"Would you like to find a place to sit down and eat? By the way, let's call Komachi and ask her to come find us." Hikigaya said to Yukinoshita.

"I feel like every time I see you, we go eat..."

"It's fate that I meet you every time at dinner time."

Hikigaya saw a restaurant that was doing good business, and the two of them walked towards that direction.

When they were about to reach the restaurant, Hikigaya suddenly turned around and pressed himself against the wall, gasping for air as if he had seen something unbelievable.

"What are you doing? Hikigaya." Yukinoshita looked at Hikigaya's strange behavior with a strange expression.

"You know what I saw?"

"I don't know." Yukinoshita replied coldly.

“I saw my mentor and one of my friends eating at a family restaurant!”

"Is this weird? Just go in and say hello." Yukinoshita was very confused.

"My mentor, the one from Higurashi, I thought I failed to summon him today. I've heard a saying that the summoned person sometimes appears where he wants to go."

"You mean, this has something to do with that agreement?"

"Come to think of it, I only know that my mentor's name is Van, which doesn't sound like a real name at all. And my friend, Gokawa Shido, only has him and his sister at home. I don't think I've ever heard him mention his parents."

"What you want to say is..." Yukinoshita kind of understood what Hikigaya meant.

"Well, my mentor told me in a very story-telling tone that he had an agreement with someone. I thought they were good friends or something, but now it seems that it's not that simple."

"I think Shidou may not know, but the teacher and he are very likely..."

"Father and son?!" Yukinoshita and Hikigaya said in unison.

18. Shidou and VAN's daily life as father and son

Father and son, this is the conclusion Hikigaya came to about their relationship based on his bold imagination and careful deduction.

My friend, Gokawa Shido, lives alone with his sister at home. He has never mentioned his parents, and it seems that he has some past that he doesn't want to talk about.

My mentor, Van, had been waiting for a stranger from somewhere, and finally waited for me, and let me summon him to my hometown, just to fulfill a promise with someone.

And now, the two of them were sitting together in a family restaurant, talking and laughing while discussing what to eat.

"Hikigaya, even if it's what you think, it's okay for us to just go in and say hello..." Yukinoshita realized that what they were discussing furtively didn't seem to be something that needed to be hidden...

"Yukinoshita, there is a reason why the instructor didn't appear in front of me directly. He may not want me to know about this." Hikigaya said to Yukinoshita with a look of disappointment.

"Then let's...eat somewhere else?"

The meaning in Hikigaya's eyes deepened again. I never thought that you were such a useless Yukinoshita.

"Yukinoshita, if one day you suddenly see your father outside dragging a little girl who looks very much like you when you were a child, and your father uses his eyes to signal you to leave, will you leave?" Hikigaya expressed a hypothesis that is very similar to the current situation.

"I..." Yukinoshita wanted to say something.

"Yes, you will pretend to agree to your father, but curiosity will drive you to find out the truth of the incident!" Hikigaya's words are so powerful!

Having imagined such a scenario happening in her mind, Yukinoshita did not refute. She thought that she would do the same. Gossip... no... curiosity is human nature!

"What are you going to do?" asked Yukinoshita.

"I think the way I dress is very different from what I was wearing in Higurashi. The instructor may not be able to find me. Let's go in directly and find a seat not too far away from them. What do you think?"

Yukinoshita took a look at Hikigaya's current appearance and made a suggestion, "Your dead fish eyes are too typical. It's better to disguise it."

"Go over there and buy some glasses to wear." Yukinoshita pointed to the eyewear store nearby.

Yukinoshita picked a pair of glasses for Hikigaya, "You look like a different person..." How should I put it... Yukinoshita felt that Hikigaya looked better now than before...

"The camouflage effect is so good?!" Hikigaya was also a little surprised.

"I'll give you these glasses as a return gift for the two costumes (Sith armor and huntress costume) I gave you earlier."

"Well...thank you then." This was probably the first time Hikigaya received a gift from a woman other than his mother and sister?

"Let's go." After paying the bill, Yukinoshita and Hikigaya quickly headed to the restaurant.

"welcome."

"Two of us, let's find a seat by ourselves." Ignoring the receptionist at the front desk, Hikigaya locked on his target, the seat diagonally behind Van. There was something in between, so it was not easy to find. However, this distance was enough for Hikigaya and Yukinoshita to eavesdrop on the conversation between Van and Gokawa Shido.

"Are these two people so hungry..." The receptionist looked at the two guests, a man and a woman, who had just come in with a confused look on her face.

"Van-san, please order some of your favorite food." Itsuka Shido asked Van while holding the menu. When he made appointments with other elves to eat together before, he would also ask them what they liked to eat first. This is more considerate and will also help improve their favorability.

"Haha, Shidao, you are such a good boy. But as an adult, it doesn't matter what you eat. Just order what you want. It doesn't matter if you order a little more. If you can't finish it, just leave the rest to me." Van replied to Shidao with a smile.

What do you want to eat?...Van-san is really...But if an adult goes out to eat with me who looks like a child, it's normal to let the child order the dishes he likes. It feels like...a real family dinner...

"Then let's take these." Itsuka Shido checked a few dishes he was interested in on the menu, then handed the menu to Van, "I'll order these, Van-san, please see if there's anything else you'd like to order."

Van took a quick look at the dishes Shidao ordered and thought they were enough for two people, "That's it." Van held up the menu and called the waiter over to place the order.

"I'll take care of the leftovers. It reminds me that when I was a kid, I would give the leftover food to my father." Eavesdropping on the conversation between Gokawa Shido and Van, Hikigaya recalled past memories.