Chapter 223: Megumi Kato Joins the Special Division (Patreon)

"Excuse me..."

"Are you Descender-sensei?"

Natsuka raised an eyebrow.

He didn't remember ever making that identity public.

Yumi Miyamoto flushed a little under his gaze and hurried to explain.

"I'm sorry. I took a quick look at your file."

"Oh."

"It's fine."

Natsuka took the snack from her, bit into it, and looked perfectly at ease.

Meanwhile, Nao Tomori didn't seem to regard him as an ability user at all. The moment they reached the station, she took Megumi Kato straight to a more secure room to talk in private.

Yumi Miyamoto hesitated, her ears turning slightly red.

"Um..."

"Could I get your autograph?"

"I really love your work."

Natsuka took the notebook and pen she held out, and couldn't resist teasing her.

"You're not trying to trick me into signing a blank page, are you?"

"You know, sign first, then print the contract on top of it?"

"Of course not!"

Yumi Miyamoto shook her head frantically, her cheeks puffing out.

Natsuka chuckled. He knew the timing was right, so while she was relaxed he pressed on with his questions.

"Then could you tell me something while you're at it?"

"What kind of department is the Special Division, exactly?"

"I've lived this long, and this is the first I've heard that the Metropolitan Police Department has a unit like that."

With the autograph in hand, Yumi Miyamoto was in much better spirits and stopped holding back.

"Honestly, it's not some secret you'd die before telling."

"The Special Division is an agency sent over from Liyue."

"It mainly handles special police cases."

"Only Abnormal cases the police truly can't deal with get transferred over there."

Natsuka put on a worried look, like a man concerned for his girlfriend's safety.

"Wouldn't their work be dangerous, then?"

Yumi Miyamoto shook her head.

"That I really don't know."

"Even the Criminal Investigation Division can't get a foot in the door on the cases they handle."

"Let alone me. I'm just a little traffic cop."

She puffed out her cheeks and grumbled quietly.

"There've been so many cases lately, and we're short-staffed."

"Otherwise it would never have fallen to me to receive you."

So it was Liyue behind this.

Natsuka felt a good deal more at ease.

Ever since learning that Liyue had the Nation-Guarding Barrier, he'd suspected that The Sovereign, the one who liked walking his birds and listening to opera, might still be hiding in some corner without showing himself.

So he had a natural trust in Liyue.

If this had been some messy outfit like the DA, Natsuka would never have let his little crew of friends get involved.

But since it was Liyue's power, The Sovereign was unlikely to let his own people down.

...

Natsuka ate his snacks and chatted idly with the little traffic officer.

Before long, Miwako Sato came in carrying a document.

"Hello, sir."

"This is the confidentiality agreement concerning Miss Kato. Please look it over."

Natsuka took the document and skimmed it. It was mostly standard clauses: don't casually expose superpowers to ordinary civilians, and do your best to maintain social order.

He signed without fuss, then asked offhandedly,

"Where's Kato?"

"Did she agree to join the Special Division?"

Miwako Sato nodded.

"She probably has."

"I don't know the specifics."

"But from the look of it, few people can turn down the benefits the Special Division offers."

...

In another sealed room, Nao Tomori sat on the sofa, explaining the current state of the world to Megumi Kato as simply and clearly as she could.

"Since you're already an ability user,"

"you've surely run into things that ordinary people just couldn't explain."

"The Special Division has a priority protection system for employees and their families."

"Your parents, for example."

"We can help transfer them to a safer working environment."

"We'll also assign officers to watch over them in secret, twenty-four hours a day."

She paused, her tone turning more serious.

"If a special incident breaks out,"

"we'll put our own people first."

"Take those men in black you ran into earlier."

"They might target your family in revenge."

"With us around, you won't have to live in fear over a lot of things."

Megumi Kato thought about it quietly.

Those people probably couldn't even remember her face anymore.

Nao Tomori scratched her cheek.

"As for benefits, there are plenty more."

"But you seem pretty well off, so I won't dwell on the money side."

"You'll get a basic salary and housing, of course."

"Everything you're owed, you'll get."

Megumi Kato asked calmly,

"So what would I need to do?"

Nao Tomori thought for a moment, then put it in more detail.

"When an Abnormal incident needs special handling, we step in."

"Your ability looks a bit like mine."

"So your range of work will probably be about the same."

She started counting on her fingers.

"For types like us, who aren't great at frontal combat,"

"it's mostly gathering intelligence, investigating and collecting evidence, tailing suspects, retrieving dangerous items, and tracking down or recruiting new ability users."

"Once the intelligence is pulled together, the ones who actually handle the case are the dedicated combat members."

Megumi Kato nodded lightly.

"That sounds pretty easy."

Nao Tomori's eyes lit up.

"So you agree?"

Megumi Kato smiled faintly.

"Contributing to the country, right?"

"It's just that school..."

"Don't worry about that."

"We have no desk requirements."

"Assignments are sent out over the network."

"You just need to hit a certain quota each week."

"And if it's truly necessary, we can call in police support directly."

Nao Tomori thought for a moment, then slipped in a bit of recruiting pitch.

"Also, we're still in the early stages, and a lot of our systems aren't fully built yet."

"Later on, we'll probably set up a dedicated school for gathering ability users."

"So, Miss Kato,"

"if you know any ability user friends, feel free to introduce them."

"There's a reward."

Megumi Kato thought quietly to herself.

She could ask around in the group chat later, and see if anyone wanted a job.

Rikka, for instance.

Her grades were mediocre to begin with, and after high school she might well head down the full-time housewife route.