“What’re you doing?”
Sumiko spoke to Omuro sitting next to her with an indifferent look on her face.
Omuro was extending his arm out with his chopsticks pointing towards a beef tongue on the pan and his eyes closed.
He seemed to be straining himself with his chopsticks quivering.
“Try not to bother me, please… I’m trying to use my mind to flip over the beef tongue…”
“Huh?”
“It’s all about controlling your spirit… I read it in a manga once. As long as I can do that, then…”
“You idiot, the meat’s going to burn.”
Sumiko went ahead and flipped over the beef tongue.
The G3 Unit was at a barbeque place as usual.
Sumiko loved eating meat from the internal organs, like cow intestine or rumen. She didn’t really eat galbi or sirloin much.
She liked stuff that was firm and chewy. She needed her meat to be tough.
Sumiko shoved a beef tongue that was only slightly roasted on one side into her mouth and washed it down with some beer after chewing on it for a bit. She then ate some kimchi, drank some more beer, and let out a “pwah.”
“I have to say though, that Mana Kazaya girl really surprised me.”
Omuro spoke.
“More beer, please!”
Said Sumiko.
“I analyzed the footage. She controlled those metal beams and slammed them into the Unknown… I couldn’t find any tricks she could have possibly done.”
“More beer, please!”
Said Sumiko.
“She’s a bonafide esper, there’s no doubt about it.”
“Yes, I agree. Mana was an esper all along.”
“More beer, please!”
Hikawa saw Sumiko order her 4th beer.
“That means your theory that Unknowns are going after espers is starting to get more credibility.”
Hikawa set down his glass after drinking the rest of his oolong tea.
“But why are the Unknowns going after espers?”
Upon realizing that the mug she was lifting to her face was empty, she set it back down onto the table.
“If espers represent the unseen potential in humans, maybe the Unknowns are afraid of that. More beer, please!”
The next day, after finishing their meeting, they passed by Houjou on their way back from the main office.
Upon passing by, Houjou stopped and sprayed Sumiko with a bottle he took out of his pocket.
“H-Hey, what do you think you’re doing?!”
“It’s cologne. This way I can get rid of that barbeque stench on you. Really though, how many cows do you have to eat before you’re satisfied? Don’t say I didn’t warn you when you start growing horns out of your head.”
“If I do get horns, you can be sure the first thing I’ll do is charge into you with them!”
“I read your report.”
Houjou changed the subject and looked at Sumiko with an upturned nose.
“It looks like that mysterious being known as Agito saved you from another sticky situation. I don’t think the G3 operator himself can be blamed for this anymore.”
“What are you trying to say?”
Sumiko’s eyes scrunched up.
“As much of a failure the G3 System was, I suppose you can’t help but feel fondness towards it as its creator.”
“What are you saying?! Are you sure you aren’t the failure?!”
“Now now, let’s not get worked up, here. The G3 System still has its uses. Like traffic control, for example. Right, Hikawa?”
Houjou made a slight smile as he slapped Hikawa’s shoulder.
“Hey, you!”
“Yes?”
Houjou turned his face around to find Sumiko breathing right on him.
He grabbed onto the handrails behind him for support as he staggered back.
“A-Alcohol?! O-Ozawa, you’ve been drinking! W-What a horrible stench! I can’t believe you! H-How could you drink while on duty?!”
“Beer doesn’t count as alcohol.”
“Y-You really are something else…”
The three of them looked towards Houjou in silence for a bit as he tottered away.
“Did he get drunk off of that…?”
“He did.”
“…Wow.”
Hikawa was concerned about something.
It was the “mysterious being known as Agito” that Houjou mentioned.
He wondered about what kind of decision headquarters would come to in regards to Agito.
Sumiko predicted that they’d categorize Agito as one of the Unknowns.
Even Sumiko doubted that Agito actually saved Hikawa.
It wasn’t all that uncommon for two members of the same species to fight each other. An Unknown defeated another Unknown, it could be that that was all there was to it.
Like how dogs fight each other.
But Hikawa uncharacteristically strongly voiced his opinion against Sumiko’s.
“Agito… is human!”
Hikawa himself was surprised at the words that came out of his mouth.
“Do you know something about Agito?”
Of course, Sumiko would ask that.
“No, that’s… just the feeling I got.”
He had no choice but to answer with that.
Ever since he first saw Agito, he couldn’t help but get the impression of a human from him. It was difficult for him to describe that “impression.”
To put it simply, unlike the Unknowns that instinctively hunted after people, Agito had a calm sense of reason to him.
He didn’t have any of that bloodlust the Unknowns had.
But it’s not like any mysteries got solved even if Agito was human.
Why did a human turn into Agito?
What exactly is Agito?
Who exactly is Agito?
The mystery only grew deeper.
Kamen Rider Novel Translations 