-1400- [ S128 Special Task Force ]

"Thank you for your hard work, Rozen."

The person who greeted Rozen with a gentle tone was the girl who had found him in the sky and brought him back — Chloe Sevegny.

With her beautiful appearance, elegant manners, gentle personality, and friendly nature, Chloe was admired by countless boys and even girls in Mistgun.

Due to her sense of responsibility, Chloe was always the first to help find Rozen whenever he disappeared and could always locate him quickly. Thus, in Mistgun, Chloe was often seen as Rozen's limiter, frequently entrusted with matters related to him, including delivering love letters from girls. Chloe was one of the closest people to Rozen in the entire Mistgun.

It seemed that this girl had returned to school ahead of Rozen and was now appearing before him with the other two.

As for the person who had greeted Rozen with a lighthearted and teasing tone earlier, it was a young man.

A tall, slender young man with messy hair, wearing the same uniform as Rozen.

"Being a hero isn't easy, huh? Almost late every day, yet you still manage not to be late."

The young man scratched his messy hair and spoke to Rozen in a familiar, relaxed, and natural tone.

This young man, like Chloe, had known Rozen since childhood. They had grown up together and enrolled in Mistgun together — Kanata Age.

Unlike the responsible Chloe, Kanata was quite self-centered and difficult to control, often doing things others couldn't understand, causing headaches. He was even more willful and free-spirited than Rozen.

Thus, Rozen really wanted to tell this guy:

"Anyone can say that but you."

Rozen rolled his eyes.

"..."

Seeing Rozen like this, the third person among the group, a girl, remained silent, hugging her books.

She had flowing dark blue hair, wore a long-skirted uniform similar to Chloe's, was petite, and exuded an air of nobility and elegance, though her twin tails added a touch of youthfulness.

This girl was the only one present younger than Rozen, currently a first-year undergraduate student — Yuri Flostre.

Two boys and two girls, the group met up.

After all, they were not strangers.

In Mistgun, there were nine major divisions.

There was the Sky Wizard Division, which trained and guided Sky Wizards, responsible for directing and commanding Sky Wizards in battle.

There was the Alchemist Division, which researched magical technology, creating magical weapons, tools, and new magic.

There was the Machinas Division, engaged in scientific inventions, developing technological facilities and machinery.

There was also the Manufacturing and Production Division, striving to produce more nutritious and efficient food and other consumables.

Additionally, there were the Support Division, responsible for miscellaneous tasks, the Economic Management Division, managing the floating city's operations, the Medical Division, analyzing and treating humans and Armored Beetles, the Information Technology Division, handling all relevant information and technical planning, and the Relics Excavation Division.

Students in Mistgun enrolled in these nine divisions based on their specialties and interests.

Among these nine divisions, the Sky Wizard Division was undoubtedly the most crucial.

This was because Sky Wizards were directly involved in combat with Armored Beetles. In a world where humans could only defend the floating cities while the land was occupied by Armored Beetles, they were of utmost importance.

Therefore, among the 6,000 people in Mistgun, over 3,000 were students in the Sky Wizard Division.

In other words, the Sky Wizard Division comprised half of all the students.

The other divisions existed to support the Sky Wizard Division's combat efforts and contribute to the floating city's operations.

Thus, the Sky Wizard Division was the most important, with a ranking competition mode to enhance the Sky Wizards' combat skills.

Sky Wizard Division students formed small teams of 3 to 5 members, and each semester there was a ranking competition.

Teams with good records were given higher rankings, enjoying better treatment in the school, including scholarships, budget, equipment, accommodation, and tuition fee waivers.

To this end, the school divided all teams into five ranks: A, B, C, D, and E. Higher-ranked teams received better treatment.

The ranking competition determined the team's rank, granting them corresponding benefits.

Rozen, Chloe, Kanata, and Yuri were all members of one such team.

However, their team was not among the A, B, C, D, or E ranks, but a team above even the A rank — an S-rank team.

This team directly received instructions from the school's higher-ups, responsible for the safety and order of the entire floating city.

In Mistgun, an S-rank team was truly the strongest team, the first line of defense in emergencies, and the ultimate force protecting the floating city.

This was Rozen's team — the "S128 Special Task Force."

Furthermore, this team was formed and led by Rozen, with Chloe as the vice-captain.

However...

"Senpai is still the same. Despite being the captain of our special task force, you're still doing things like this."

Unlike Chloe's gentleness and Kanata's free-spirited nature, Yuri, who appeared noble but surprisingly sharp, spoke up.

The atmosphere suddenly grew tense.

"Oh?"

Rozen looked at Yuri with a curious expression.

"What do you mean by 'doing things like this'? Have I left any tasks incomplete? Or have I neglected the team's affairs?"

Rozen had indeed completed his duties as a student and a captain.

Unfortunately, this only made Yuri's attitude sharper.

"Are you pretending not to understand or are you playing with me?"

Yuri seemed to be getting angry.

"If you really understood your responsibilities, then why, as a Sky Wizard Division student, do you not attend our team's missions, leave all team affairs to Chloe, and instead go help in the Alchemist Division?"

This was the crux of the problem and Rozen's current situation.

In one sentence, it was...

"I've actually wanted to transfer to the Alchemist Division for a long time, but the higher-ups wouldn't allow it, so this is my only option."

Rozen's nonchalant remark made the atmosphere even more tense.