Chapter 357: Please become the head of security

Yomikawa Aiho, a woman, is a physical education teacher at a certain high school and also one of the security officers in Academy City. 

As a security officer, she rarely had the opportunity to interact with board members. The only time she did was when she attended a speech by Board Member Oyafune Monaka. Oyafune Monaka's daughter works as a teacher at the same high school. 

She never imagined that one day she would be invited by a board member to this place, nor did she expect to run into one of her students and a former colleague here. 

Tsuchimikado Motoharu is a student of Tsukuyomi Komoe and a member of the "Idiot Trio" in her class. Aiho Yomikawa has a good relationship with Tsukuyomi Komoe, so she naturally knows about the "Idiot Trio"—for example, how Kamijou Touma often skips class and disappears to who-knows-where. 

"Stephanie, let's put your matter aside for now. Tsuchimikado, why are you here?" 

"I'm working as a lackey for the board member now, Yomikawa-sensei. I didn't expect him to end up calling you here. Also, please don't tell Komoe-sensei about this." 

Yomikawa Aiho: "Alright. Let's find some time to talk later." 

"Understood, Yomikawa-sensei." 

Tsuchimikado Motoharu left smoothly, muttering under his breath as he walked away, "So he sent me to the prison just for this?" 

This board member has a bit of a twisted sense of humor. 

Yomikawa Aiho thought to herself. She then turned to Stephanie: "Why did you come back to Academy City?" 

"I came back for a mission, got caught, and then was brought here." 

It was a sentence packed with information. It took Yomikawa Aiho a moment to process everything. She then turned her attention to the building in front of her. 

This was District 2. The building was originally supposed to be an office building. Now, it had become the board member's headquarters. 

"Let's not keep the board member waiting." 

"Alright, Yomikawa." 

In an instant, Stephanie positioned herself as a subordinate. She had a keen sense that this meeting might not be about her. In fact, she suspected that being pulled out of prison wasn't because of her skills as a mercenary, but rather because of her past connection to Yomikawa Aiho as a colleague. 

His real target was Yomikawa Aiho . 

As they walked further, they saw a woman in a white shrine maiden outfit standing there. She wore a mask, so her face was hidden. 

What is this? 

Yomikawa Aiho was puzzled, but under the shrine maiden's guidance, they took the elevator to the top floor and entered a room. 

The shrine maiden didn't say a word the entire time, only using gestures to guide the two forward. At one point, Yomikawa Aiho tried to strike up a conversation with the shrine maiden, but the latter remained silent. 

She didn't seem angry. 

In fact, she didn't seem human at all. 

Could she be a robot? 

Yomikawa Aiho's mind raced with bold speculation. In this city, the existence of intelligent robots wasn't surprising. 

But what happened next proved her guess wrong. 

The shrine maiden entered the reception room, bowed to the figure standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, and then disappeared right before their eyes. 

Vanished into thin air. 

"Is she a spatial ability user?" Yomikawa Aiho asked aloud. 

There were many abilities that could explain disappearing into thin air. The most common was optical invisibility, which could be detected with infrared cameras. A rarer possibility was a spatial ability user, someone who could manipulate space to achieve teleportation. 

"No, she's just a shikigami." 

"A shikigami? Aren't those just things from stories?" 

Shikigami made her think of onmyoji, or yin-yang masters. Yomikawa Aiho didn't believe in the existence of onmyoji. How could something so unscientific exist? 

"If shikigami don't exist, then who are Academy City's enemies? Another system of ability users? The two may seem similar, but their core principles and fundamental laws are completely different. Miss Yomikawa , Academy City is currently at war. Do you really think Russia alone could be a match for Academy City?" 

It was only then that Yomikawa Aiho got a clear look at the board member's appearance. 

He was very young, almost like a high school student. He couldn't be more than twenty years old. Even Tsuchimikado Motoharu, whom she had met earlier, looked more like an adult compared to him. The board member wasn't wearing a suit either, but rather casual attire. If he were walking down the street, no one would believe he was one of the city's top leaders. 

Now she regretted wearing this suit. 

When she found out she was being invited by a board member, Yomikawa Aiho had specifically put on a suit. But after seeing the board member in person, she suddenly felt overdressed. 

"Please, have a seat, both of you. Miss Stephanie, I assume you've been to the hospital. How was it?" 

"Chimatsu is fine. So, what's the mission? I'm willing to do it," Stephanie said. 

After confirming that Sunazara Chimatsu was unharmed, Stephanie relaxed. This board member was different from the one she had killed. 

The board member said, "No need to rush. Let's discuss this after I finish talking with Miss Yomikawa . Miss Yomikawa , I believe Accelerator's address is near your place, right?" 

"Yes, but I have no information about Accelerator's disappearance." 

Yomikawa Aiho grew wary. She knew Accelerator had disappeared from Academy City with Last Order, and the #1 Level 5 was always under scrutiny. It was natural for someone to trace him back to her. 

The man shook his head: "No need to be nervous. No one knows Accelerator's current location better than I do. By the way, what would you like to drink?" 

"Just water is fine." 

"I'll take a cola." 

"Is mineral water okay?" 

The board member pulled the requested drinks out of thin air, sat down, and began: "Accelerator, if nothing goes wrong, should currently be in the vast lands of Russia." 

"Huh?" 

Russia had already declared war on Academy City. From what Yomikawa Aiho knew, the two sides had already engaged in aerial combat. 

At the same time, the scale of the war was expanding. After Russia declared war on Academy City, many other countries joined the fray, with another major battlefield being the long-standing feud between Britain and France. 

Accelerator was now in enemy territory? 

"Board Member, could you repeat that?" 

"I said, Accelerator is in the frozen lands of Russia. Miss Yomikawa, don't be so nervous. With Accelerator's abilities, nothing will happen to him." 

Whether in the magic side or the science side, Accelerator was a monster. Li Mo didn't believe anyone in Russia could kill Accelerator. 

The board member continued calmly: "In a few days, Accelerator will likely return to Academy City. So, Miss Yomikawa , let's talk business. Consider this important information a gesture of goodwill." 

Under normal circumstances, ability users were not allowed to leave Academy City. This was to prevent others from obtaining classified information about abilities. Violators would be eliminated. 

The fact that Accelerator's whereabouts were known was a dangerous situation. This was indeed important information. 

"But how do I know you haven't told anyone else?" 

"Exclusive information. Aside from the Board Chairman, no one else knows. However, if others find Accelerator through their own means, that's beyond my control." 

As long as someone exists in the world, they leave traces. In the face of big data, individual actions are almost transparent. 

Yomikawa Aiho took a deep breath. She chose to trust Accelerator and then asked, "So, what is it that you need from me, Board Member?" 

"I'd like to appoint you as the Chief of Academy City's Security Officers." 

On October 25th, the new Board Member, Li Mo, made this proposal to Yomikawa Aiho .