Uplift 1/2
On the selection day of Intelligence for 'Airburst Assistant'
Ravyn arrives in front of the only elevator with the logo "AB" in the mall. She placed the application form onto the scanning position of the elevator platform as described in the flyer instruction. When the scan was completed, the screen on the pedestal popped up a text like a date she came over to register. But this time, the elevator door opened with a welcome message.
[Identity matched: Registrant #018
Your trial will begin in 10 minutes.
Good luck with The Assistant Selection, Ms. Ravyn Nipa]
The purple-haired girl who had seen this platform for the second time was still thrilled with the technology that was considered cutting-edge in this era, like a child seeing a new toy.
…This thing isn't just for show then…
After she entered the elevator and the door was completely closed, the elevator lit up and a digital letter appeared above her eye level indicating the destination.
[Mr.C interview room]
Below it, there is something similar to a mirror but with a digital screen that detects signs of life in the elevator, making the scanning platform that fascinates her look completely dull. The girl sees her reflection in a color temperature scale, as if looking through an infrared camera with heart rate data, air & gas ratios, humidity levels, and much more on the side. She looked around perplexed but attempted to calm herself.
…As long as this elevator continues to descend normally like this, everything should be fine…
After a moment, the elevator slowed down and stopped.
*sigh*
Ravyn sighs with relief. But suddenly its direction changed to moving sideways and accelerating rapidly. She quickly grabbed the handrail and held it tightly.
"Woah! Wasn't that supposed to be arrival already?"
The girl exclaimed in amazement. She was moved further horizontally before the elevator moved upward again. The front of the mirror shows the pounding heart rate of the one person it can detect.
… One Pim, Two Pims, Three Pims! Four Pims!...
Ravyn prayed in her mind, hoping she would reach the destination safely.
Finally, the elevator stopped and the door opened. In front of the girl was a discreet middle-aged man sipping coffee in a western-style office room.
"Hello, please take a seat."
"Hello, and pardon my interruption."
Ravyn stroked the disheveled hair from the elevator ride and sat in front of the man who interviewed her.
######
On the roof of a skyscraper
"What?! She applied for an AB Assistant, you say? " asked a young man in a leather jacket.
"Exactly, Mr. Jae, we thought that you dedicatedly scouted a suitable person for us to the point that you were sent to jail. Head Charles even came down especially to test her himself."
The woman's reply rang into the communicator in his ear.
"I might have disappointed him. As for being arrested, it was just an accident…"
Jae tries to make amends before getting back to the topic.
"…By the way, when the results are announced, leave a message for her about that as well."
"Okay."
"Thank you."
The man in the jacket hung up, losing a little of his self-esteem.
…How come my splendid invitation lose to that small Assistant column in the application flyer? So, this is the path you chose... But for the Assistant Department of Intelligence, great profiles or good-naturedness won't be enough to get you in...
######
In the interview room now, there was a middle-aged man who burst out laughing, completely contrary to what Jae imagined.
"Exactly, Exactly! Haha, you are so well-informed. Don Helter and the Prism crew really gave us a hard time. So what next? Keep it coming, Miss Ravyn!"
"Even though Themeise is a port city full of big shots, almost all of them were under you guys' thumb. The group that appears to make Airburst's hand full is only the Donkey. I know where to find them."
The purple-haired girl looked straight at her listener with determined eyes. At the same time, Charles halts his coffee-sipping briefly when he hears the name of the gang that is this city's deadly shadow.
"I'm all ears."
He began stroking his golden goatee.
"Ly Company. They produce environmentally friendly products and packaging, do many social service activities regularly, and never have any dirty files. It seems breathtakingly clean, but take a look at this."
Ravyn took out the documents and news columns she had gathered, arranged them on the table, and took out a marker.
"Allow me…"
As Charles nodded, she began to schematically link them.
"On the surface, Donkey's movement is likely to be a formless and random pattern. But if you compare the occurrence of accidents with the trace of a strange power that Donkey used…"
She draws a line.
"…with the time of the attack during Ly's public statements, you'll clearly see the relationship, which was ingeniously plotted, using the people who participated in the company's events as bait. So I'm sure they are secretly working together. We can start tracing them from this point."