Meanwhile, at the Holy Residence.
Tokyo's supreme ruler was always busy.
But today, the Holy Emperor decided to give himself a day off.
Several comic books were neatly placed on the desk.
The volume in the Holy Emperor hands was the last one.
On the cover, there was a man with silver hair holding two guns and a girl with a transformed body wielding a giant sword.
Silver Bullet this was the name of the comic.
No one would have thought that the Holy Emperor would be interested in youth comics.
Even the Holy Emperor himself hadn't expected it.
At first, he had bought her works just to investigate Nia Honjo, hoping to gain some understanding of her.
However, as he read on, the Holy Emperor forgot his original intention and immersed himself in the tension of the pictures and the depth of the plot.
"Your Excellency, the Holy Emperor."
At that moment, the voice of Kikunojou Tendo was heard from outside.
"Come in."
The Holy Emperor put down the comic book in his hand but didn't hide it.
Kikunojou Tendo walked in, and the first thing he saw was the comic book on the table.
He frowned, clearly displeased that the Holy Emperor was wasting his time on such things.
However, at the moment, he had more urgent matters to discuss and couldn't afford to dwell on it.
"Master Holy Emperor, why did you allow that woman named Nia Honjo to build a shelter for cursed children in the outer district?"
"The procedures are complete, the channels are formal, and it's reasonable and legal. Do I have any reason to refuse?"
"We should at least find an excuse to delay her application," Tendo said seriously. "Before the investigation into her is completed, none of us knows what her purpose is in setting up the shelter or whether it will pose a threat to the Tokyo area."
Over the past month, the Holy Emperor investigation into Nia Honjo had been ongoing.
Nia Honjo, female, 45 years old, cartoonist her work was the best-selling Silver Bullet before the Great Disaster...
Everything was traceable information, and there was nothing strange about it.
If there was anything unusual, it was that this information was too normal.
However, the Holy Emperor had witnessed Nia Honjo abilities firsthand. Whether it was the nun's uniform that appeared out of thin air and could change its shape at will or the book that could peek into one's heart, all of it demonstrated her extraordinary qualities.
How could such a person be as ordinary as the intelligence suggested?
Yet, no matter how the Holy Emperor continued to investigate, he couldn't find anything about Nia Honjo beyond the basic information.
"That's why I decided to try to understand Nia Honjo in another way," the Holy Emperor said, holding up the comic book in his hand. "People say that you can see the true nature of a writer through their works. Since the investigation can't continue, I think reading her comics is also a good approach."
"If Your Excellency expects to find the essence of Nia Honjo in this comic, I think it's a futile effort."
"Oh? Why do you say that, Lord Tendo?"
"Because I've already read it."
Simply put, Silver Bullet tells the story of a boy whose parents were killed by demons. When he grew up, he became a demon hunter, surviving among humans, demons, and half-demons.
However, when connected to reality, this fantasy comic seemed to be a metaphor for the real world.
Demons and Gastrea creatures, half-demons and cursed children, demon hunters and vigilantes...
Before the catastrophe, this was a best-selling boys' manga.
After the catastrophe, the situation described in the comics mirrored reality almost exactly.
For example, in the world described in the book, the coexistence of humans, demons, and half-demons was fraught with tension and conflict.
This looked exactly like what the world was facing.
The only difference from reality was that in the comics, even though the protagonist's parents were killed by demons, he didn't harbor the slightest hostility toward the half-demons.
Instead, he stood up for them when other humans bullied them.
"The protagonist of this comic is completely divorced from reality and serves the plot without a single soul," Kikunojou Tendo said coldly. "His parents were killed by demons, but he doesn't hate the half-demons with demon blood and even wants to help them? It's ridiculous. I think this work is just a product drawn for profit and has no value at all."
"I already understand your perspective, Lord Tendo," the Holy Emperor said with a nod. "Although I have a different opinion, I don't think Lord Tendo is here to share his thoughts with me, so let's get straight to the point."
"That's exactly what I want," Kikunojou Tendo replied. "I came here this time in the hope that you can dismantle the shelter."
"As I said earlier, Miss Honjo shelter is a legal building. Even if she is a suspect, this is not a reason for us to break the law."
"..."
Kikunojou Tendo fell silent.
He knew that when discussing matters involving cursed children, the Holy Emperor attitude would always be firm.
What Nia Honjo had done was beneficial to the cursed children. In this case, the Holy Emperor was bound to be on her side.
Today, he had known that the Holy Emperor wouldn't agree to his request, but he had still come to visit. His reason wasn't to ask for the shelter's demolition.
He simply wanted to test the waters.
The shelter had been built so quickly that he had to suspect someone in the government might be helping Nia Honjo.
Considering that she and the Holy Emperor had met a month ago, Kikunojou Tendo began to doubt the master she served.
Looking at the Holy Emperor determined expression, he stroked his long beard and already had his answer.
It was obvious that the Holy Emperor must have had a hand in the shelter's construction.
"Nia Honjo... This woman might have other purposes for contacting the Holy Emperor," Kikunojou Tendo thought. "Although the establishment of a shelter will have less impact on public opinion, who knows what she will do next."
In the matter of enforcing the [Gastrea Protection Act], the Holy Emperor was almost alone against the entire government.
Under Kikunojou Tendo manipulation of public opinion, even public sentiment had gradually become one-sided.
If everything had gone according to his plan using the relics of the Seven Stars to summon the Zodiac Gastrea and arouse fear among Tokyo's citizens the implementation of the [Gastrea Protection Act] would have been stillborn.
However, this woman named Nia Honjo had ruined his plan and retrieved the Legacy of the Seven Stars relics.
She had even cooperated with the Holy Emperor to build shelters in the outer areas.
This was not a good sign for Kikunojou Tendo.
He snorted inwardly and already had a countermeasure.
Although Tendo Kikunosuke, the black glove of the Tendo family, had been overthrown by his own granddaughter, there would always be people available to do the dirty work.
He just happened to have a suitable candidate.
"I thought the mission to summon the Zodiac had failed and that guy was no longer useful," Kikunojou Tendo mused.
An imperceptible sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Let him carry out the final mission."