Upon receiving Captain Magus’ analyses and hearing the story from Roland, the 1st unit released Captain Noel. All was well… except that I was getting crushed by someone who had ridiculous muscle strength.

“MIKAGE! TEMMA! THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME!!” Captain Noel was crushing me and Temma with her arms even though she was just attempting to hug us.

“It’s a vice captain’s duty to help his captain”, Temma said.

“You would’ve done the same for me”, I added.

“And thank you, Amelia! I would be in a real pinch if you didn’t investigate”, Captain Noel hugged Amelia.

“Y-Yeah. Mikage wanted to help you so I had to pinch in. And even if he won’t, Temma and Captain Vein would still hire me”, she responded.

“And Vein! Thanks for believing in me!” Captain Noel raised her hand.

“That’s what friends are for”, Captain Vein gave her a high five.

“How did the 1st unit treat you?” I asked.

“It was horrible! They didn’t question me. They put me through a machine and analyzed my memories. And when they couldn’t find the memory they were looking for, they simply concluded that I erased them and was more suspicious of me!” she answered.

“Figures. Erasing memories is easy so they would assume that. And since you’re the main suspect, they won’t question you since you can just lie your way out”. Amelia said.

“Will they even give her a fair trial if that’s the case?”

“Maybe… Maybe not. The “evidence” they got already proved her guilty and she couldn’t produce evidence that proved that she was innocent. That’s why I was worried. If we didn’t move fast, Captain Noel would be locked up in a high-security prison”, Temma answered.

The door of the captain’s office swung open and Roland entered the room.

“Hello, Noel. I’m glad to see you’re still cheerful”, he smiled.

“Big brother!” she tackled and gave him a hug.

Roland patted her head and it was a refreshing sight to see two siblings getting along.

“Thank you for believing in me”, Captain Noel said.

“A big brother’s job is to be the ally of his little sister even if the entire world is against them”, he replied.

“Thanks for helping us in fighting Captain Reagan”, Temma said.

“No. I should be thanking you, Temma. You completely believed in Noel. And I’m glad you trusted me to help you in fighting against the mastermind. Beating up the person who dares to mess with my little sister is completely satisfying.”

“By the way, Roland. You overpaid by a lot”, Amelia told him.

“Consider it as a tip for your services. You did prove my little sister’s innocence. Pocket change like that is not enough to express my gratitude.”

“Pocket change?” I asked.

When I saw the money Amelia received, my jaw almost dropped. It was almost the same amount as I received when I finished the Moryo Dungeons Quest.

“The 1st unit’s salary is like a captain’s if not greater. I’m sure Roland is rich”, Temma answered.

“Since we’re talking about money and it’s almost lunch time, my wallet is out. I’m treating all of you with lunch”, Roland smiled.

“Then let’s go to the usual place!” Captain Noel raised her arm while Captain Vein grinned.

###

Captain Noel and Captain Vein finished their fourth bowl and they had no signs of stopping. I could understand their enthusiasm to eat since the beef bowls in this restaurant were delicious but I was already full after one serving.

They just finished their fifth bowl and they moved on to their next.

“What kind of monsters are they?” I asked.

“Captain Vein and Captain Noel are friends because they would often have eating contests in this restaurant”, Temma answered.

“Are they seriously on their sixth bowl?” Amelia muttered.

“I’ve seen worse. Besides, being strong means you need lots of fuel”, Anya said as she took small bites of her beef bowl.

But the results of the contest were shocking. Even if Captain Noel ate twelve beef bowls while Captain Vein ate eleven, she didn’t win.

The winner was Roland who ate seventeen bowls. Captain Vein was surprised but was not as surprised as the rest of us. Only Captain Noel was the one who looked proud of her older brother.

“You really are amazing, big brother”, Captain Noel said.

“Your appetite has become bigger, Noel. I’m glad to know you’re still healthy and growing”, Roland replied.

“Someone was actually able to beat Noel”, Captain Vein muttered.

“Is being a monster in their genes?” I asked.

“Physically speaking, Captain Noel is way stronger than Roland. But if magic was involved, then Roland far outclasses her”, Temma said.

“I just can’t wrap my head around magic”, Captain Noel told us.

“That’s true. Magic takes a lot of patience so you can improve your mana control. That’s why I gave up on being a mage and decided to be a doctor”, Amelia said.

“So that means I’m completely lucky to have Anya”, I said.

“Praise me more!” Anya smiled.

“I’m surprised to see the Sword of Records. You are seriously lucky to be her master”, Roland looked at me.

“Oh? You know me?” Anya asked.

“Yes. I’ve read of your legends. My favourite is the tales of Merryweather, the unbeatable general. There’s also Leo Dickinson, Ars Almal, and Ryuuki Tatsuya. All of them were legendary people in history and wielded the Sword of Records. I’m happy to see a living legend.”

“Heh. Even if I was asleep for 4000 years, my legends still lived on!”

We walked out of the restaurant after Roland paid the bill. He even gave a massive tip to the owner and bought lunch for all of the cooking crew.

“I’m going back to my unit. I’m sure my vice captain is going to scold me for acting on my own again”, Captain Vein said.

“Thanks again, Vein. I’ll be sure to pay you back”, Captain Noel told her.

“Heh. Try to stay out of trouble next time.”

We were walking back to the 13th unit when Roland started a conversation.

“What is the Unkindness?” he asked.

“Not much is known about them except that they are an organization that existed since the Dark Times and that their goal is to get the Primordial Dark”, Amelia answered.

“The Primordial Dark… If I’m correct, you’re the Primordial Dark’s vessel, right? Since you can control the darkness of other people”, Roland looked at me.

“Yes. I’m the vessel of the Primordial Dark. Thanks to that, the Unkindness is out to get me.This won’t be their last move”, I said.

“Since you now know their existence, is there a chance that the 1st unit can help in investigating them?” Amelia asked.

“I would want to investigate them since they dared to harm Noel. But the 1st unit won’t make a move unless Westa is in danger”, Roland answered.

“A member of the Unkindness is a captain. That’s pretty alarming and dangerous if you ask me”,Temma said.

“They have connections everywhere. That’s what you can expect from an organization that’s more than 4000 years old”, Amelia replied.

“I want to beat them up. Not only did they attack a school, they also framed me”, Captain Noel cracked her knuckles.

We arrived at the 13th unit’s barracks.

“I’m going back to the 1st unit. Thanks for your help in proving Noel’s innocence, Temma, Mikage, and Amelia. I’ll never forget this debt”, Roland bowed.

“Don’t worry. This is why I became a detective in the first place”, Amelia said.

“It’s my job as the vice captain to believe in my captain”, Temma added.

“Captain Noel is an important person to me. Of course, I’ll help her out”, I told him.

Roland left after patting Captain Noel’s head and our day continued as normal.

###

One night, I found myself in a strange place. The last thing I could remember was going to bed so this must be a dream.

The place I was in was the same place where I would communicate with Anya’s previous masters. However, they weren’t around.

Instead, there was a massive ball of darkness in front of me. It radiated power and one look at it, I knew it was the Primordial Dark.

The Primordial Dark never talked to me again ever since the Idol Fan Tournament even if I tried hard to communicate with it.

However, it decided to break its silence.

“Omegaα is coming.”