Unspeakable bubbles

Seeing that Nishino Yoshi was about to speak, Ninomiya Sui said coldly, "I will send an investigation team to Haruki City after the meeting. If it is confirmed that Jane was absent from the meeting due to force majeure, I will reduce her punishment accordingly."

"Of course it's force majeure. With me as a witness, how could it be false?" Nishino Yoshi's eyes widened.

"Does the CEO suspect that I colluded with Jane to deliberately embarrass you at an important meeting?"

Ignoring Nishino Yoshimi, Ninomiya Ho continued, "The person in charge of Okazaki City—Kitajima Tsukasa."

"Wait a minute, Beidao's situation is also due to force majeure!" Another person attending the meeting slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

Kazuto Maekawa watched this scene with a headache. Although this happened every year, he just couldn't get used to it.

“Ninomiya, why don’t we discuss the disciplinary action after the meeting?” a strong man directly opposite Maekawa Kazuto said.

"Your Excellency Augustus, I think it is appropriate to punish some people who lack a sense of collective consciousness at the beginning of the meeting."

After being retorted by Ninomiya Sui, the man shrugged and said nothing more.

Almost every time Ninomiya mentions a name, one or two people will jump out and protest his innocence.

The reasons given were varied and bizarre, all citing "force majeure".

With a cold face, Ninomiya Sui resolutely read out the names of all those who were punished before getting to the point.

At this point, half an hour had passed since the meeting began.

He was getting drowsy listening to the conversation when he inadvertently caught a glimpse of his partner's piercing gaze and forced himself to straighten up.

"Let's give a round of applause to welcome the new liaison between the Federation and the Seventh Ring Tower—Mr. Jack."

Sparse applause broke out, and a young man in a sharp suit walked in.

"Hey, Jack? That sounds like a fake name."

Ignoring the murmurs, Jack shook hands warmly with Ninomiya Sui.

"Your Excellency Ninomiya, for the sake of the Federation's stability, we will need your help in the days to come."

"If you encounter any difficulties, just let me know, and the Federation will provide you and the Seventh Ring Tower with the greatest convenience."

Ninomiya Sui smiled for the first time since the meeting began. "Not at all. It is only right for a citizen of the Federation to dedicate themselves to their country."

"I am new here, and I hope Your Excellency will cooperate with me in the days to come."

"sure."

Many people watched the interaction between the two with indifference, seemingly unmoved by the fact that Ninomiya had received federal support.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Ninomiya Sui gestured for Jack to find an empty seat.

"Next, we will discuss the sacrificial ceremony at Shengxiang Elementary School."

"This incident has been taken over by Lord Maekawa, and preliminary investigations have revealed that it was perpetrated by the Apocalyptic Secret Sect..."

Jack sat at the back of the table, observing this special meeting. To his surprise, ever since he entered, the elites of the Seven Rings Tower had been cooperating with Ninomiya Sui quite a bit.

Unlike before, when every word she uttered was met with opposition, everyone cautiously offered constructive suggestions regarding whether to wage a full-scale war against Tantric Buddhism.

'Is it because I, an outsider, am present, or is this just the way the Seventh Ring Tower operates? Is the initial absurdity because the important issues haven't even begun?'

Various thoughts raced through Jack's mind: being the liaison between the Federation and the Seventh Ring Tower—this job wasn't going to be easy.

Section 117, Chapter 116: Not a coincidence

"Then, in accordance with this resolution, we shall launch a wide-ranging crackdown on the Apocalyptic Esoteric Sect."

"The person in charge is Kazuto Maekawa, and support from headquarters can be requested when necessary."

After one topic was concluded, Ninomiya turned on the projector, and a black ocean appeared on the screen.

"The next topic is the 'Dead Sea development plan' that has been shelved for the past few years."

At this point, Ninomiya Sui paused, observing the expressions of everyone present. Sure enough, everyone looked rather uninterested.

"Then, let's vote."

"Whether to begin preliminary development by the end of this year or to continue to postpone the plan."

With almost no setbacks, everyone agreed that developing the Dead Sea at this stage would be too much of a burden and not worthwhile, so it would be better to wait.

"The Dead Sea development plan remains on hold; let's move on to the next topic."

"Haha, sorry I'm late!"

The conference room door was flung open with a bang, and a woman with messy hair and dark circles under her eyes walked in.

Hmm? She also had a little burden with her.

"Nakazawa-senpai, please be on time next time."

"Also, unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter."

"Ah, she's my apprentice. Come on, Xiaoyu, say hello to everyone."

The girl hiding behind Chisa peeked out and said, "Hello, everyone."

Ninomiya Sui seemed very tolerant of the intruder; she didn't say anything more, but simply nodded.

Chisa Nakazawa was positioned directly opposite Ho Ninomiya; one was at the very back of the conference room, and the other was right next to the door.

"Oh?"

After Chisa sat down, she noticed an unfamiliar man staring at her. She turned her head and gave him a strange look.

Jack quickly smiled at her; even he couldn't help but lose his composure upon first meeting this renowned figure.

"Alright, let's get back to the main topic."

Ninomiya Sui continued, "Regarding the matter of deepening cooperation between the Seven Rings Tower and the Third Agency of Sien..."

Chisa Nakazawa looked around aimlessly. She had absolutely no interest in meetings or decision-making, and had no desire to attend them.

However, if she slacks off this time, the benefits she receives from the Seventh Ring Tower next year will be reduced.

After weighing the pros and cons, Nakazawa Chisato reluctantly came, and also to broaden Tama's horizons.

'It's still as boring as last year.'

She yawned, saying that all the topics and issues were the same old ones.

The Apocalyptic Esoteric Buddhism, the Dead Sea, the Third Organization—are there any other significant events?

"Please look up, everyone."

"Next, we will talk about the disappearance of 'Xintian Town'."

As the slides were switched, everyone present was drawn in.

"The incident is estimated to have occurred a week ago, and the witnesses were several government employees."

"They were visiting the town's school for some reason, but all they saw was an empty town."

Ninomiya Sui stopped speaking, giving everyone some time to process what she had said.

"The buildings are still intact, but everyone in town is gone? Aren't there any bodies?" someone asked.

"There were no bodies, and there were no signs of weapons of mass destruction at the scene."

"A chaotic creature?"

"Another large-scale ritual by a cult?"

"No way, the Apocalypse Secret Cult wants to start a full-scale war against our Seven Ring Tower?"

"Perhaps it's some other secret cult."

"Is it possible that this is a large-scale defection?"

"That's... a vortex?"

As the final slide was shown, everyone's eyes widened.

In the center of the town, a strange vortex-shaped remnant appeared.

"what is that?"

"The terrain effect caused by some kind of mysterious ritual?"

Has anyone seen anything like this?

“A new lord has opened the gate to the Chaos Sea.”

Chisa Nakazawa rubbed her chin, and unlike her previous listlessness, she was now completely energetic.

"..."

The conference room fell silent for a moment, before Ninomiya Sui broke the silence: "Nakazawa-senpai, you just said 'lord'?"

"Yes."

The faces of everyone present turned grim. The threat posed by a Chaos Lord was incomparable to that of those A-rank lords. There had been very few mysterious events involving Lords in the history of the Federation.

"Nakazawa-senpai, please share your thoughts on this incident."

Ninomiya Sui frowned; she hadn't expected things to be so serious.

But since it was Nakazawa Chisuna who said there was a Chaos Lord, no one present had the right to doubt her words.

"Well, I guess some talented guy had a sudden change of heart and switched sides."

Ignoring the frozen atmosphere, Nakazawa Chisa casually remarked.

"It's easy to explain why everyone in the town disappeared. I guess the new lord was born in Xintian Town."

"If it goes to that awful place called Chaos Sea, who knows when it will be able to come back? So it took its fellow villagers with it to conquer the world."

"So, that lord won't be returning anytime soon?" Ninomiya Sui asked immediately.

"Generally speaking, we don't need to worry about that lord while we're alive."

There was a hint of regret in Nakazawa Chisato's tone; it was clear she was very interested in the new lord.

"That's good."

Ninomiya Sui's expression relaxed. She glanced at Chisara and added, "There's something I haven't mentioned yet. Not all the residents of Nitta Town have disappeared. There's a little girl who's still here."