episode_0091

Clatter

Pouring…

The rich aroma of coffee reached Spade’s nose.

The captain’s office wasn’t particularly large. Beyond the dividing curtain, Captain Rahe’s humming could be heard.

The captain’s office had a rather modest and calm interior, but Spade, sitting in the very center, couldn’t calm down at all and remained tense, her back ramrod straight.

Captain Rahe was a hero among heroes in the domestic hero industry, known to absolutely everyone. To Spade, she was no less than an idol.

Of course, there had been occasional opportunities to meet and converse with Captain Rahe, whether during meetings or dinners, but being summoned privately like this still made it impossible not to feel nervous.

“You’ve been waiting long, haven’t you, Spade?”

“Ah, no, not at all!”

“Haha, don’t be so nervous. I brewed some coffee… but it’s still a bit lacking compared to Apple’s. Apple’s coffee is truly unmatched, you know.”

“Th-this coffee is perfectly… it smells good too….”

Spade received the coffee cup from Rahe.

She lightly sniffed the aroma and tasted it. Spade didn’t know much about coffee, but she still thought this coffee was quite excellent.

Perhaps to ease Spade’s tension, Rahe began some light conversation with a friendly expression.

How was she doing in the unit, how were Check’s teachings, and did she have a secret for her visibly improved condition recently?

As she answered each of these questions, Spade’s tension gradually eased.

Once Rahe noticed her relaxed state, she decided it was time to move on to the main topic.

“Spade, before we get to the main point, I want to ask for your understanding. The conversation we’re about to have might be somewhat distressing for you. …However, please understand that it’s unavoidable and necessary.”

“I-it’s alright! Please… speak freely.”

“Very well. Then….”

Rahe clasped her hands together, adjusted her posture, and blinked her eyes open.

With just that, the atmosphere instantly changed. The gentle aura that had made one feel at ease moments before was replaced by a sharp, tingling sensation that seemed to prickle the skin.

Spade felt goosebumps rise and her body tensed once more. She felt cold sweat trickling down her back.

“Spade. The reason I called you here today is, first of all… I have some questions regarding the previous ‘Lesser Rat’ incident.”

The villain organization, Lesser Rat.

It was a villain organization that Spade and the entire 7th Unit had been tasked with annihilating and sweeping away recently. At the time, Spade had confronted the leader-figure, but due to interference from an unidentified sniper, she had ultimately lost sight of them right before her eyes.

Spade had keenly felt her own inadequacy back then. So, when Rahe brought up the topic, she thought, “Here it comes.”

“If it’s disciplinary action… I will gladly accept it.”

“No. I have no intention of taking disciplinary action. It’s not like that. We had insufficient information to begin with, and if there truly was a sniper as you reported… you’re fortunate to have returned alive, rather.”

Rahe immediately refuted Spade’s words.

So, she wasn’t called in for disciplinary action regarding that failure? Spade felt a small sense of relief at that.

But that was a naive judgment. She shouldn’t have felt relieved yet.

“Spade. I have thoroughly reviewed the report you submitted. However, doubts still remain.”

“…Doubts…?”

“Yes, Spade. The headquarters staff finds it difficult to accept that we weren’t aware of the existence of a sniper of the caliber you reported.”

The number of villains is limited, and among them, truly exceptional, high-ranking ability users are even scarcer. If such a sniper could contend with an A-class hero like Spade, albeit a somewhat inexperienced one, or even possess superior skills, it would be even more surprising. Furthermore, a villain with a specialized ability like sniping… if they were a hero in such a specialized field, the headquarters’ intelligence department would surely have known about them.

As a result, headquarters began to entertain another possibility.

“Spade. Headquarters seems to be considering whether you might have abandoned the mission midway for some reason.”

“…!? That can’t be…!”

“I used the polite term ‘abandoned,’ but to be more blunt… they’re wondering if you intentionally let them go. For example, perhaps you were offered some kind of deal.”

Spade almost instinctively shot up from her seat.

But Rahe stopped Spade with just a glance. Like a frog before a snake, Spade’s body froze under the oppressive gaze shot from Rahe’s eyes.

To Spade, who was rigid and unable to move, Rahe continued her interrogation.

“Honestly, I don’t want to think that way. Firstly, suspecting a colleague, one of my subordinates, is unpleasant… and I trust in Spade’s integrity.”

“However, when I recall this incident with Club… and the villain who abducted Club, I can’t help but feel suspicious.”

“‘Abyss’ and Villain No. 13 knew our 7th Unit’s internal information far too well. During the series of incidents… when Club was abducted, and also when they promised to return Club this time, they always chose specific days and times when I wasn’t present.”

He, Villain No. 13, knew the 7th Unit’s internal affairs far too well. He even sent emails, threatening that the 7th Unit was under surveillance and they shouldn’t act rashly.

The 7th Unit’s base had already been thoroughly searched. They had completed inspections to see if they were being monitored by devices like wiretaps or cameras. No anomalies were found.

They considered if magic was being used for surveillance, but this possibility was also ruled out. Rahe’s intuition told her otherwise.

In that case, only one possibility remained.

A method neither mechanical nor magical. In other words, surveillance using a person.

That there might be an informant within the organization.

Spade’s back instantly grew damp with sweat. Her body stiffened from tension, and even as she tried to utter an excuse, her mouth and tongue felt paralyzed, unable to form proper words.

Meanwhile, Rahe’s hand placed another stack of papers on the table in front of her.

Those papers were a report Spade had submitted in the past. It was about the day Apple was abducted by Villain No. 13, and Spade was deployed at No. 13’s specific request, successfully rescuing her.

“This report was co-authored by you and Apple, correct? I was surprised. Because, well, I don’t recall ever receiving this report.”

“…? What do you mean by that…?”

“Literally. This report was written, but it never passed my review. More precisely, it was tucked into a pile of insignificant reports that didn’t require my confirmation. Whether it was a mistake or intentional, I can’t say… but thanks to that, my review of this report was delayed. If I hadn’t double-checked, I probably would never have seen it in my life.”

It’s as if an important report was submitted along with other reports, but due to a classification error, it ended up appearing less important… that’s the implication.

This is entirely plausible. Anyone can make a mistake.

But if you add a pinch of suspicion to it, things change slightly.

What if it was deliberate?

If you couldn’t avoid submitting the report entirely, but still didn’t want its contents to be seen?

What if someone disguised it as a mistake to hide the report this way?

Isn’t that a perfectly rational suspicion?

While very similar, in reality, it was Apple who took that action, and Spade was unaware of it.

However, for some reason, Spade’s memory of that time was a bit hazy, making her unable to answer Rahe’s statement directly.

Did she interpret Spade’s silence as an affirmation? Rahe’s interrogation continued unabated.

“Because of all this, the suspicion just keeps building, Spade.”

“Even when Club was abducted, you were the one who carried out the mission with her. You, Club, and Villain No. 13 were the only ones present in that isolated space.”

“The internal affairs of the 7th Unit are being leaked by someone, and then there’s your mission failure with the Lesser Rat this time… these things only fuel the suspicion further. They make it impossible not to be suspicious… they truly do, Spade.”

Rahe unclasped her hands that had been folded in front of her and neatly placed them on her lap.

Then, looking straight at Spade, she continued her solemn questioning.

“Spade, I will ask you directly.”

“Could it be that you… are an informant colluding with villains?”

Those sharp, fair, and upright eyes, which had faced numerous heinous criminals until now, were fixed on Spade.

Under Rahe’s gaze, Spade couldn’t even find words to refute, merely tensed up and nervously darted her eyes around.

Spade deliberated.

How, how should she explain herself? She clearly wasn’t the one. It couldn’t be.

But Rahe’s words were so logical, and her suspicion so reasonable, that even though Spade knew she wasn’t the culprit, she felt as if she might convince herself that she was.

How, what should she do? What should she say?

After deliberating for a long time, Spade finally opened her mouth.

“I, I’m…! No, Captain Rahe…!”

The words that came out after a long struggle were nothing more than a pathetic denial in a cracked voice.