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∴ Bodyguard Akira’s Perspective.

「No, wait. There’s something weird with that image.」
「What part of it?」

In the image is the Kinkakuji building. However, Kotone herself isn’t in the picture. Rather, not a single person is. It certainly feels weird, but I think the clear sky was taken beautifully. Wait, clear sky?

「It’s strange that there’s not a single cloud in the sky. Also, it looks awfully familiar.」

Now that he mentioned it, it looks familiar. Then I remembered. This is a promotional picture posted on the internet. Moreover, there’s a lot of clouds today, it’s not a clear sky. Additionally, the maple leaves are red, so it’s not even the right season.

「You’ll go this far!?」
「I’m starting to see Kotone’s seriousness.」

Even circulating misinformation, that’s not normal. This is the first time I’ve been had like this. In most cases, the target would just focus on running and their destination is also roughly guessable. That’s why locating a regular wealthy daughter isn’t that hard. Most of all, the clothes they wear stand out.

「We received a message from the chief.」
「Seriously? Just how big will this get.」

Getting contacted by a higher up doesn’t normally happen. In fact, it has never happened before. Maybe this has reached the Kisaragi family and they filed a complaint. If that’s the case, then we’re done. It’ll definitely be a personnel change.

『How is the situation?』
「Kotone is on the run. We’re currently on the lookout at Kiyomizudera. Also, we’ve received misdirection mails from Kotone.」
『It looks like she’s serious. Do you have any information about the people acting with her?』

Why is he asking about them? Maybe those people are related to Kotone’s actions this time. Perhaps she’s being threatened or charmed or something. I can’t deny the possibility, but we’ve already confirmed that they’re not problematic from their background.

「Author Arai Ruru and her editor Arakaki Nako.」
『That’s the worst combination. No, if it’s as bodyguards, those two are the best, huh.』

Does the chief know about these two? Besides, what does he mean by worst and best? From their occupation, I’m doubtful about them being best as bodyguards. Dealing mainly with desk work, I don’t think they’d be suited for rough work.

『And Kotone’s objective?』
「Sightseeing, she said. But I doubt it’s true. She challenged us, so I suspect that it’s to sightsee Kyoto while evading us.」
『That sounds plausible. With her personality, she’d do it. However, think of other possibilities. Sightseeing is likely low in her priority list. Evading you is probably the more important part. Besides that, it’s certain that she’s acting with a goal in mind. I don’t believe she’d do something thoughtlessly.』

I know that Kotone and the chief have met. It’s a mystery how he knows so much about Kotone after just one meeting, though. Still, if he has any sort of information, please tell us. We’re dangerously lacking in information.

「Chief, could you please tell us what you know about the two?」
『Arai Ruru. She excels in stealth to the point even you lot would have difficulty finding her. She’s also short, making it near impossible to find her in crowds. Most importantly, she’s good at erasing her presence. On that ability, she’s better than me.』

What kind of monster is she? I’ve heard that when the chief was still on field duty, he once protected his client with his presence erased without the client ever noticing. Being better than a pro, she’s not normal. Additionally, we’ve already confirmed her shortness. She’s likely not even 140 cm. After all, we completely lost her the instant she entered a crowd.

『Arakaki Nako. Never engage with her one on one. If you don’t challenge her with at least three people, you’ll lose.』

I don’t want to think anymore. She’s a monster too. Why do we need three professionals? Even I alone can easily hold down the common lady. It’s strange how an author and her editor have such abilities in the first place.

『Kisaragi Kotone. Her physical abilities are also great, but whenever she does anything to stir chaos, be on maximum caution. Having our plans read is expected, but at worst she’d read beyond that. Don’t even try to anticipate her moves. Anticipating her actions need instincts tempered for several years.』
「Is half a year of being with her enough?」
『You’d likely get duped.』

Rather, why do you have so much information about Kotone when even we are unaware of such information? Still, even if the three of them join forces, us professionals shouldn’t lose to a group of amateurs. Are they really such menaces to warrant the chief’s caution?

『To be blunt, even if you locate them with the advantage of numbers, capturing her is impossible. As such, I wish you good luck.』

He ended the call. Rather, it sounded like he just threw in the towel but what do you want us to do? We weren’t even given a concrete strategy. More importantly, being told it’s impossible for us hurts my pride. I’m a pro. Like I’d lose to some amateurs.

「Kyousuke. I’m going all out this time. I’m pissed that the chief told us it’s impossible.」
「I heard it over the speaker and I feel the same way. I’ll definitely show him.」

The deployed personnel should arrive soon. As long as we have people on the lookout at each tourist spot, the chances of catching Kotone should increase. If we can manage to trace her footsteps, then there’s no reason for us to lose. And so, while giving orders to each team, we were about to start our operation when…

「Kotone sent something again.」
「Don’t think that we’ll fall for the same trick again. It’s likely misinformation anyway.」

Agreeing with him, I checked what she sent us this time. If it’s the same as earlier, then I don’t plan on taking it seriously. However, the moment I saw it, my head crashed into the car dashboard. I didn’t expect this at all.

「What happened?」
「She sent a selfie with the message “Sweets, Yum!”」
「She’s not even going to a tourist spot!?」

We have no choice but to trust it this time. Kotone herself is in the picture, so it serves to identify her current location. However, the plan we just made is all ruined. It’s our blunder that we assumed that she’d absolutely go to a tourist spot, though.

「Like we can make any plans with this!」
「Crap, I’m completely uneasy now.」

Our search range instantly increased. At this moment, I finally understood the meaning of what the chief said. Trying to read her movements is already a mistake. If we’re to find her, then we can only go directly on-site with human wave tactics. That’s just plain hard.