Chapter 397: Aran Agency (Patreon)

"In other words, that genius already left DA — and might even be letting her talent go to waste?"

"Yes."

"Hmm... that really is troubling. Talent is a gift from the gods. If she doesn't make use of such a blessing, how can she ever walk the path to a happy life?" Shinji Yoshimatsu narrowed his eyes, fingers tapping ceaselessly against his expensive rosewood desk. After a long moment of thought, he complained to his secretary, "I still don't know who cured her heart condition back then. If not for that, it would've been a perfect opening for me to get involved."

"Shall I arrange a meeting with the target?"

"There's not much point meeting her now. Look into what she's doing these days, and who she's associating with. She really shouldn't have run off overseas back then."

"Understood. I'll see to it right away." The secretary bowed and withdrew, switching off the office lights as she left.

The only sound left in the room was the rhythmic tapping of Shinji Yoshimatsu's fingers. Moonlight slipped through the gap in the curtains and spilled across the floor. With his back to the light, the fervor burning in his eyes shone unnaturally bright in the darkness. A murmur escaped his lips: "I'll make your talent... bring true blessing to this world."

Nymph: "Master, there have been over thirty search queries targeting your personal information just now."

Jhin: "Who's behind it?"

Nymph: "A hacker going by the name Robota. Shall I counter-hack and eliminate them directly?"

Jhin: "See who's been in contact with this hacker recently."

Nymph: "An organization called the Alan Institute. They're gathering intelligence on Chisato Nishikigi and the people around her."

Jhin: "Aside from Chisato, Takina, Kurumi, and some of my own disguised information, lock down everyone else's data completely. If you find they're setting their sights on any other girl, send a drone and pull the source out by the root for me — leave no one alive."

Nymph: "Understood. Please be careful, Master."

Jhin: "Mm."

A cold snort tinged with irritation escaped his nose as Jhin closed his personal terminal. He'd heard of the Alan Institute before — a charity organization that went around under the banner of "discovering talent," sponsoring people who excelled in some particular field.

No small number of singers, athletes, and scientists had been discovered by them.

It wasn't that Jhin had some bias against charities. It was that the Alan Institute's creed — "talent is a gift bestowed by the gods" — carried an oddly cult-like feel to it. Combined with their utterly no-strings-attached approach, something was clearly off.

He just hadn't expected them to set their sights on Chisato. Did she have some talent he hadn't noticed himself?

The two of them hadn't spent all that much time together, and it wasn't like Jhin could watch over Chisato every waking moment. If he actually tried, the result would just be her misreading it as a signal of "he says it's fine, go ahead," and then ambushing him at night.

"Might as well do a quick survey of everyone's interests," he thought to himself. He got up, walked over to the counter, and absentmindedly made himself a cup of coffee. By the time he snapped back to attention, he'd already drunk half of it. He let out a small sigh. "Guess the café atmosphere really does get to me."

The next day, Chisato, Takina Inoue, and Kurumi each received an employee interest survey from the Store Manager.

"Jhin-nii, are you planning to give us presents for our birthdays or something?"

"You're not wrong to think that. Plus the shop's going to do some team-building activities, so it's important to know your preferences ahead of time."

"A café doing team-building? Your benefits package is way too good." Kurumi flapped the survey in the air. "I'm not really in the mood to write, though. Can you just send me a digital version later?"

"Either's fine."

"Store Manager, mine's done."

"That was fast! Takina, you're sneaky — I haven't even started yet."

"As expected of Takina, always efficient." Jhin praised her, then took the survey and looked it over. "Mm, mm, likes karinto sweets, disassembling handguns... oh, you know Russian too? Impressive."

"Store Manager, is it really necessary to read those out loud?" Seeing Chisato's ears prick up, Takina Inoue sighed helplessly and reminded him, "Please respect my privacy."

"Sorry, I did it on purpose." Jhin had two great pleasures at the shop: one was playing games with Kurumi, and the other was teasing the ever-serious, straight-laced Takina Inoue.

Hearing that, she immediately set her small face into a stern expression. "I'm going to get mad."

"It's exactly because you react like that that Jhin-nii never gets tired of teasing you," Chisato said with a laugh, patting her shoulder as a reminder. At the same time, she handed her own survey to Jhin, blinking cutely. "It's fine if you read mine out loud too, you know."

He glanced at it, then set it down without a word, at a loss. "I feel like if I actually read this out loud, it'd end up making me the embarrassed one."

Curious, Kurumi leaned over to peek at what Chisato had filled in, and her eyelid immediately started twitching.

Things like liking supercars, sweets, helping others, and watching movies were all perfectly normal interests. But after every single one of them, in parentheses, Chisato had added: "(likes Jhin-nii)."

No wonder he didn't want to read it out — saying it aloud would sound like something a total narcissist would say. Kurumi wouldn't want to say it either, honestly.

"Hehe~" Chisato stood happily beside Jhin, tugging at his sleeve. "So even Jhin-nii can get embarrassed? Let me see, let me see~"

"Not a chance." Jhin gave her cheek a light pinch, then his expression turned serious. "There's a group called the Alan Institute looking into your affairs. Be extra careful when you're out on missions. If you ever run into trouble you can't handle, don't hesitate — contact me right away."

Takina Inoue asked, puzzled, "Isn't that a charity organization? Why would they be investigating Chisato?"

"Who knows. Better safe than sorry. I'll have a little gift ready for you two in a couple of days — it'll make it a lot easier to reach me."

"Aw, can't you give it to us now? Keeping us hanging like this is torture," Chisato said, swinging Jhin's hand playfully.

"It's still being made. I can't exactly hand you a half-finished product."

"I see. Then, as a thank-you... Jhin-nii, how about I give you a kiss?" Without giving him any chance to refuse, she puckered her red lips and leaned straight in toward his face.

But he moved faster — pinching her cheek with one hand and squeezing it into a comical shape. "A sneak attack like that won't work on me."

"Wh-why not..."

Jhin pointed at his own eyes. "I told you before, eyes can deceive you too — though most people can't manage that trick. I should set aside some time to give you two a bit of training."

"Training? What kind, exactly?"

"Combat, obviously. You two are still way too naive when it comes to fighting."

Takina Inoue was not pleased. Her cheeks puffed out slightly, and displeasure flashed in her violet eyes. "Store Manager, whatever else you say, I'm still an A-Rank Lycoris."