Chapter 7: The Rumored Order

Rose found herself in bed naked together with Kenji.

They're both naked under the sheets.

She felt guilty for having overnight sex with another guy without letting Tashiro know.

But it also admittedly felt good letting Kenji explore her body and even thrust his manhood inside of her overnight.

"Ahh. Ohh. Kenji. Please. Don't stop."

Rose managed to say in between moans.

Then Kenji pulled his fingers out, kissed Rose on the lips, and said to her gently.

"You're good in bed, my dear. I'd not like to stop, fulfilling your request, but it will be a disaster if your boyfriend finds out, yes? It also happens that I have duty tomorrow. It was a pleasure getting to meet with you and have sex with you.

We'll see each other again sometime. "

Then he got up, went to the bathroom, and took a bath. He put on his clothes and went outside.

After he left, Rose still wanted more, so, she inserted a finger inside her vagina and fingered herself some more.

She couldn't suppress her moans, and her eyes rolled back due to intense pleasure.

After she finished, she got tired so she rested, then she took a bath to refresh herself and focus on what she needed to focus on.

Meeting up with Kenji, and the events that unfolded afterward made her feel confused about my feelings for both Tashiro and Kenji.

Who should be my priority? How will Tashiro react if he finds out?

So many questions flooded her mind, with no definite answers.

She pushed away those thoughts for now.

After she cleared away her thoughts, she picked up the tablet that she left to charge earlier.

Its battery is now full, so she unplugged it.

Then Rose checked to see if there are any important messages, calls, and emails that she missed.

Then she saw an email from her uncle.

It must be about the badge she sent to her uncle's laboratory for inspection and verification.

He requested her to come to see him in Bunker X later.

Bunker X is a highly fortified secret underground basement somewhere in Eloria.

The place where it's built is rumored to be hard to access and has existed since ancient times but is now forgotten.

Its location is rumored to be known only to members of the secretive Order of Athena.

Who its members and the leader is, and its main goal is yet to be known.

They're said to work behind the shadows.

Given the high level of secrecy when he sent the email, and not everyone working in the government knows it, Rose presumed that rumor is true.

She managed to take a screenshot of the message right in time before it self-destructed.

She'll check it out later.

Then she proceeded to tackle the schoolwork she has yet to submit.

Tashiro is bored, so he hopped onto his hologram smart car and zoomed along the highway in search of something fruitful to do.

He went on a road trip to the middle of nowhere with loud rock music blaring from his car and already passed by a lot of Districts while driving.

He appreciated the calm and serene scenery and the fresh air as he passed by the Province Districts for a change.

He's been so busy lately that he rarely had time to slow down and unwind.

He felt hungry, so he stopped by a scenic restaurant he spotted along the way.

He ordered some ramen, yakitori, sashimi, and tofu.

He also ordered a drink of mugicha to go along with his meal. He ate his meal heartily.

He checked his phone for any important messages and emails he missed.

Then he went back to his smart car and drove straight to the main HQ of the Elorian Secret Service.

He needs to see if there's a mission for him to do.

After he arrived at the main HQ, he chatted and mingled with his fellow agents for a few minutes.

Then he excused himself from the conversation and went straight to the office to receive a new task.

He opened the dossier, and read the first few pages.

"Operation Athena, Classified Info. Only those with the highest level security clearance are authorized."

Then he read the next few lines. .

"Go to Bunker X along with the rest of the Secret Unit members."

After he finished reading the dossier, he put it in his bag, then went to the garage to start up his car.

As he was is about to drive off, he saw Sukebe Meiko, the young yet attractive female trainee in Elorian Secret Unit, approached him.

He couldn't take his eyes off her, as she is cute, good-looking, beautiful, and sexy.

She's also short.

"Hi, Tashiro. Can I have your phone for a moment?"

She said in a seductive voice

And they exchanged numbers and added each other on social media just like that.

She winked at him before she left.

What the hell does that girl want?

He wondered as he drove back to his condo to prepare.

Takeshi could feel the intense, hawk-like gaze of his aunt and uncle staring at him while they ate at his uncle's 50th birthday.

Tension threatened to erupt to a boiling point in an otherwise festive mood that hung in the air.

He knew the reason for their gaze.

He made his threat and warning to law enforcement officials happen.

The law enforcement officials thought he was just another nuisance to their work and ignored the message on his email.

Then they continued to mismanage and turn a blind eye to the obvious evidence stacked right on one of the shelves of their superiors.

It turned out that they put the evidence on the farthest shelves, added layers upon layers of bureaucracy to make the files hard to access, and continued to mismanage the case on smugglers.

Word soon reached Takeshi's ears, and it angered him so badly that he made his threat and warning become a reality.

He messaged and sent emails and letters to his contacts in the legislative branch and all hell went loose.

Law enforcement officials were held in check and had to answer the televised summons of Parliament. It also went live on social media.

At first, a few of them denied having a hand in mismanagement and tried to save face.

Those who issued denials to the media immediately got axed from their job when reports and stories leaked online that they had a hand in protecting the smugglers, and they did other misdemeanors while in uniform.

They still denied it to the end, claiming it was a set-up by someone else.

The whole law enforcement higher-ups and officials found themselves slapped with a dilemma and had to answer the summons.

The situation became tense and uneasy.

He knew that those who got fired had business dealings with his aunt and uncle one way or another.

He couldn't stand their proud and pretentious glares and disliked going to family events even more.

He didn't approve of his aunt and uncle's dealings with those who were involved in illegal activities.

It was soon his turn to speak.

"Hmph. You both turn a blind eye to what's exactly happening on the ground. You lot are rich, spoiled, and can't relate to common people. You shield and enable criminals to do their stuff unpunished. Have you gone blind, deaf, and indifferent?"

He said in a cold and icy tone, while holding the microphone and standing right next to the table of his aunt and uncle, then locked gazes with both his aunt and uncle.

He spilled the glass of martini that he was holding straight on the head of his uncle.

Then he dropped the glass and let it break.

A stunned and shocked silence filled the air.

He walked to the exit of the function hall as if nothing happened.

He drove straight to his house to unwind before his next mission.

Kokoro met up with Sakura. She got introduced to the rest of the agents who spied on those affiliated with the Renegades at Akita University.

They met at Sakura's hideout for a brief but straight to the point get to know each other, and exchange exchanged info.

Kokoro couldn't help but marvel at how Sakura skilfully managed to disguise her hideout to avoid detection.

The location and design of the apartment helped too.

It looked plain but girly both on the outside and inside.

Being located in a busy place also helped to further make her avoid suspicion.

"Are you done being awe-struck at how I disguised my hideout, Kokoro? Let's go to the secret room. It will be brief but straight to the point."

Then she followed Sakura to the secret room where the rest of the spies are.

She noted that although there are too many to mention, most of them are top students in their respective Departments and are even student leaders.

After the pleasantries were done, they went straight to exchanging vital information.

After the conversation died down, Sakura played recorded footage of hooded figures in all black entering a dark alley, going through a seedy-looking building, and meeting with other hooded figures.

They entered a darkened room and stood in a circle.

There are thirteen of them all in all.

They chanted in Latin while a pentagram drawn on the floor glowed bright red.

In the middle of the pentagram is a drawing of Baphomet.

Then the footage was cut short.

"Do you guys know the implication and meaning of this? For those who don't know yet," Sakura paused and hinted at Kokoro,

"Those guys are said to be the real assistants of the Grand Leader of the Renegades. We don't know if they are body doubles or worse, homunculus, so let's not jump to hasty conclusions."

"They're also watching the rest of you for any signs of suspicious movement. Always cover up your tracks. You lot don't want to be an assassination target, do you?"

Then Sakura looked at her co-spies.

Silence filled the room.

Kokoro is shocked at the clue and revelation.

"What? But I thought they perished during the Masquerade. I'm sure I noticed 13 young-looking assistants wearing masks and hiding well in the meeting room. I looked at the footage Rose sent to me from the security room."

"Wrong. Those are most probably body doubles. Do you think the assistants of the Grand Leader will easily reveal their own true identities to just anyone? No, they move behind the shadows and are hard to detect."

"You and the rest of the Secret Unit better watch your backs, Kokoro. They want you and your team members dead. Their plans got fucked up big time because of the lot of you."

Sakura walked up to Kokoro while warning her, and stared at her straight in the eyes.

It sent shivers down Kokoro's spine, but she tried to fight it and maintain a calm composure.

She knew the Renegades will definitely exact payback one way or another.

She just didn't know when it would happen.

"That will be all. Thank you all for coming."

Kokoro waited until she arrived back at her place, then opened the email the Premier sent her.

Riku practiced hard on his sword skills.

He also brushed up on summoning and spellcasting in his spare time.

He knew that he needed to get stronger, and put a lot of effort into it.

He felt tired after an hour or so of practice, so he took a short break.

After taking a short break, he received an email from the Premier.

It read:

"Members of the Secret Unit are to go to Bunker X, get initiated into the Order of Athena, and gain access into the innermost circles in the order. You are to cooperate with the leader of the Order."

Denver is at an emergency meeting held at the Premier's residence.

He knew the reason for the meeting.

It's because of the badge Rose sent to one of the laboratories under his control for identification.

Luckily, he intercepted the shipment while it is en route to the laboratory, and paid the driver a generous amount for the parcel.

One of the Message Couriers planted by the Order in the Renegades died and by random accident, Rose managed to obtain the badge.

Not just any Message Courier, but one of their top and elite Message Couriers who belong to the Phantomhive family.

Kenji reported for work today.

He can still remember the events that unfolded so quickly before he even had time to reflect.

He even found himself in bed and naked together with Rose.

She's good in bed, and quite the moaner too.

He'd have liked to stay until the morning and have sex with her some more, but he's careful enough not to get caught by her boyfriend.

He pushed those thoughts away and focused on his work.