New Regime

The atmosphere in Division 3’s office was never the same again. The familiar aroma of freshly brewed coffee that once filled the office now felt like a distant memory…

The gray light filtering through the sky, the icy glow of the holograms… everything seemed to have been dyed with the coldness of death.

Everyone buried in their tasks, no one dared to glance toward Shinpei’s old desk, where a cart was being used to carry away his giant coffee machine.

No one spoke. No one felt there was any reason to.

From my spot, I could see Katy standing next to Felix, waiting for the printer to finish spitting out documents of our upcoming cases. Meanwhile, I sorted through the folders.

Nishimura, putrefaction. Nakano, putrefaction. Hara, putrefaction. Fujimoto, putrefaction…

I read through the list of pending cases for our division, utterly focused.

There has to be something that stands out…

My hand nervously played an invisible piano in silence. Time was slipping away, and I couldn’t fail Yamaguchi-sensei…

Someone with symptoms matching the fifth evolution.

“UAAAA!”

I snapped out of my trance when Katy stumbled on the small step near the printer while retrieving the documents. I immediately turned to her, worried.

“Are you okay, young lady?” Felix smiled as the papers fluttered around them like autumn leaves.

“Sorry, I’m fine…” She took the hand of the muscle man, who helped her gather the scattered documents. Her expression, however, betrayed an unusual frustration.

“Thank goodness,” I sighed from my desk. “Now, where was I?”

Under Irina Kaft’s new regime, Division 3 had become much more efficient and organized. Her pragmatic, emotionally detached approach brought with it an impressive speed, proving that even if personal connections with clients were sacrificed, the bottom line wouldn’t suffer.

This was all part of the elegant Irina’s effort to quickly assume all of Shinpei’s former responsibilities. Even so, her methods weren’t appreciated by everyone…

Ito, putrefaction. Kobayashi, putrefaction. Davis, putrefaction…

“Coffee?”

Moments later, my partner’s golden eyes caught mine through the holograms.

“Um, not yet. I’m just finishing up this review of pending cases…”

“I see,” she replied quietly, fully aware of why I was in such a rush and why my eyes were red.

“Got many left?” she asked.

“Quite a few… If you want, you can go ahead, and I’ll join you later.” I glanced at the machine. “Looks like Hiro’s taking a break too.”

“Need help with anything?” she asked, hiding one hand behind her back.

“It’s okay. We can sit down and analyze the next cases together before eleven. I’ll let you know.” I smiled wearily.

“Okay…” She walked away from the central table.

Let’s get back to it. Tatsumi needs my help to save Yamaguchi-sensei…

As the morning dragged on, I combed through not just the cases assigned to Division 3 but also, thanks to Rin, an old list of symptoms from the engineering department.

Unfortunately, apart from Kenzo Miura’s case, I found nothing.

“What do you mean by that?!”

I turned at the sound of the raised voice. It was the first time I’d heard Ryunosuke shout.

“Do you realize how serious your decisions are?” he demanded, addressing Irina at the head desk.

“There are situations where we must precisely assess the scope of our impact,” she replied, her elegance undeterred.

“I understand you want to prove yourself to central management, but there’s a difference between profitability and denying a family one of our discounts!”

What’s going on over there?

“The aid and discounts are designed for much worse scenarios. You yourself, Ryunosuke, noted in your report their annual income and assets of the family.”

“That doesn’t mean—”

“If they can bear the cost with personal sacrifices, why should we jeopardize Cellos’s returns?” Irina added.

“Damn it…” he muttered, returning to his desk, fists clenched with frustration.

Despite his persistence, Ryunosuke wasn’t one to fight lost battles.

“My mission is to look after you all; that’s the reason why I was appointed your manager…” Irina muttered softly to herself.

Carlos’s dissatisfied expression from his seat spoke volumes.

He knew full well that Shinpei Yamamoto would never have denied financial aid to a family affected by the S-Flu. Even if it meant reprimands from central administration, his sense of duty was different…

Despite that, everyone continued with their respective work.

…

“You’re still not done?” Katy returned to her seat.

“Almost, well… I got a bit distracted, to be honest.”

What happened?

I studied her white shirt carefully.

“Oh, right.” She laughed sheepishly. “I had a little accident with my coffee.”

She pointed to the stains on her shirt. Five droplets just below her collar.

She quickly hid her trembling hand. A flicker of unease passed through her eyes before she forced a smile. Something didn’t add up…

“In my defense, it was Hiro’s fault…”

A little tired, it took me longer than it should have to process what I’d just seen.

“I suppose that makes sense.” I smiled.

Returning to my task, I fought hard to control the nervous impulses from my implant.

Those tremors… They’re just from stress, right?

I sped up my review of the symptoms as my breathing quickened. I wanted to dismiss it, but that image of her trembling hand wouldn’t disappear of my mind.

They’ll subside soon, won’t they?

At least, that’s what I told myself.