Tengu city, airport…
"Guys, please gather according to your class."
Tamae-sensei raised her arms up along with other teachers. They wanted the students to gather according to their classes before boarding the plane destined for Arubi Island.
Shiori looked around while Tohka examined everything around her with extreme curiosity. Wu Yan also carried three people's worth of luggage with him. He was walking behind the two ladies. He roamed his gaze over the entire airport. Next, he tapped the earpiece on his ear.
"Are you sure about this? Letting Fraxinus tail us to Arubi Island?"
"Yes!"
Reine answered, she still sounded like a dead tired woman.
"The sponsor behind this school trip is a cause of concern…"
"Hmm?"
Wu Yan paused.
"You guys also noticed, huh?"
Wu Yan grinned.
Reine froze up.
.box-4-multi-134{border:none !important;display:block !important;float:none;line-height:0px;margin-bottom:15px !important;margin-left:0px !important;margin-right:0px !important;margin-top:15px !important;max-width:100% !important;min-height:250px;min-width:250px;padding:0;text-align:center !important;}"Wait, you already know?…"
"Well, I can guess who…"
Wu Yan pursed his lip while following Tohka and Shiori.
"It's DEM, right?"
"DEM?"
Reine was astonished and confused.
"Are the entities behind this related to DEM?"
"I am not sure about that."
Wu Yan shrugged.
"When Tamae said there is a change of venue, she said some travel agency offered free trips and location under the guise of public relation and corporate marketing, the travel agency known as Cross Travels sounded dubious."
"Free?"
Yatsuki murmured.
"That's rather magnanimous of them to a offer free trip to an entire class just for a few photos. Raizen High was smart to capitalize on the offer."
"But…"
Mana can't understand the link.
"What has the company got to do with DEM?"
"Oh, you didn't know?"
Wu Yan told her.
"That Cross Travel agency is a subsidiary under DEM."
"A subsidiary?!"
Mana and Yatsuki were petrified in shock.
"Providing the venue and footing the bill is already suspicious enough. If it's a subsidiary under DEM then I highly doubt they just want to do PR photoshoots. Even if that's true, choosing a more popular spot would have made more business sense, right?"
"I don't think Raizen High is popular enough to justify this treatment. What are they trying to do, pitch their offerings to a bunch of high school students?"
Wu Yan added.
"Granted, the agency might have chosen the school as part of a randomized study. However, as a subsidiary of DEM, I think we should raise our guards around it."
"True…"
Mana and Yatsuki nodded at the same time.
DEM is attempting to curb the spirit threat by eliminating them. For Ratatoskr, DEM is a nemesis organization. With Tohka in the school, Wu Yan's profile as a suspected spirit probably attracted DEM here. It's reasonable to take a defensive stance.
"I mean, isn't it a bit much to have Fraxinus tail us to Arubi island?"
Wu Yan helplessly said.
"Aren't we pulling out the big guns for a small matter?"
"It's just in case an emergency occurs, we will be just right around the corner to support you guys."
Reine explained. She also mumbled in dissatisfaction.
"I wanted to come along as a disguised official, the commander's sister saw me during a hot spring trip. If I tagged along as a teacher then she's going to get suspicious. It wouldn't be easy to explain this to the commander…"
"Fine, let's not make mountains out of molehills. If it's something I can't handle then I doubt you guys can handle the threat."
Wu Yan shook his head.
"In any case, monitor the environment. If you spot anything out of the order then decide how to handle the situation yourselves. I will focus on anything that happens on the ground."
"Understood…"
Reine replied.
"Try not to unseal Tohka if you can help it. Emitting Reiryoku signals here will not benefit us."
"Oh, I don't think we will need to do that."
Wu Yan scratched his cheek.
"I will handle whatever comes up. Mana and Yatsuki will await orders in Fraxinus."
"Okay."
Mana and Yatsuki replied promptly. Wu Yan nodded with satisfaction. Then, he recalled something.
"Didn't Kotori say Ratatoskr will be putting Kannazuki in charge while she's at the Round Table? Why didn't I hear anything from him?"
"He's clinging to the Commander's seat."
Reine emotionlessly said.
"He said something about his warmth to protect the commander's precious smell and temperature."
"Pretend I never asked…"
10 minutes later, Raizen High's students lined up properly with their small bags at the ready. They are all prepped up for the flight to Arubi Island, the destination of this school trip.
"Alright, everybody, may I have your ears!"
Tamae-sensei clapped her hands, she attracted the attention of the students here. She gave way to introduce someone.
"I want to introduce somebody here…"
A well-endowed woman stood behind Tamae-sensei.
She had a few locks of hair fluttering with the wind. The rest of her platinum blonde hair was tied up in a braided bun.
She was dressed like a reporter. There's a camera hung near her neck.
She's very pale and she looked like a foreigner. She emitted an aura that made getting close to her near impossible.
Tohka and Origami immediately knew this lady is not what she seems.
Wu Yan's eyes glistened with intrigue when he spotted the lady.
"This is the photographer from the travel agency…"
Tamae introduced her.
"This trip was sponsored by Cross Travel, we will be cooperating with this photographer as thanks for the help they have given us. If you guys are in her shooting session then please cooperate. Also, don't mess around during this trip."
"You guys can call me Ellen."
Ellen smiled lightly at the students, she also gave them a slight bow.
"I will be under your care during this trip."
"Same here!"
The students replied.
"Good…"
Tamae-sensei nodded happily.
"It's about time we board the plane, don't forget to grab your stuff, I don't want to see any laggards."
"Kay~"
The students made their way up the plane with their belongings. Ellen touched her camera while scanning the students.
She zoomed in on Shiori and Tohka. She also noticed Wu Yan who is smiling at her.
She shifted her gaze away after a brief pause. The alarm inside her started blaring.
The Red Devil. Is he aware of her real identity?
No, she never met the guy before this point.
Ellen looked at Wu Yan again. He's not grinning at her anymore.
He's laughing in frustration while chatting up a storm with Shiori and Tohka.
Ellen doubted her own memory.
Was that just a hallucination?
Is this guy really the Red Devil?
