[Party Member Status: Ayase (Culinary Combat)] [Party Member Status: Shion (Information Warfare)]
While Isabella was terrifying the nightlife, Ayase was facing her own trial at "Sakura Blue," a premium sushi restaurant in Sector 3.
Ayase stood behind the pristine wooden counter, wearing a white chef's uniform and a headband. Before her lay a massive, incredibly expensive Bluefin tuna.
"Hey, new girl!" a loud, obnoxious businessman yelled from the corner table. "I've been waiting ten minutes for my sashimi! If it's not perfect, I'm leaving a zero-star review on the network!"
The head chef, a veteran named Master Sato, grimaced. "Ignore him, Ayase-san. Just focus on the cut. Tuna is delicate. It requires patience."
"Patience is the foundation of the blade, Sato-dono," Ayase bowed respectfully. She picked up the standard Yanagiba knife the restaurant provided. It wasn't her wireframe katana. It was cheap steel, mass-produced and lacking any magical edge.
But, Ayase thought, recalling Yuto's morning briefing, the Alpha demanded maximum yield. 'Do not waste a single gram of protein, Ayase. Every sliver of fish left on the bone is a tragic loss of return-on-investment.'
Ayase closed her eyes. She tuned out the obnoxious customer, the chatter of the restaurant, and the hum of the refrigerator. She treated the Bluefin tuna not as a fish, but as a heavily armored boss monster with microscopic weak points.
[Skill Activated: Iaijutsu - Flash Step.]
Sato blinked. He didn't see Ayase move. He just heard a sound like a soft breeze, followed by the gentle click of the knife returning to the cutting board.
Suddenly, the massive tuna completely disassembled itself. Perfectly uniform, mathematically flawless slices of sashimi cascaded onto the bamboo serving platters in a beautiful, blossoming pattern. Not a single microscopic ounce of meat was left on the skeleton. It was a 100% yield efficiency.
The entire restaurant went dead silent. The obnoxious businessman dropped his sake cup.
"By the gods," Master Sato wept, falling to his knees. "Fifty years I have trained... and I have just witnessed a miracle."
"The yield is optimal. The Alpha will be pleased," Ayase muttered, sliding the platter toward the waitstaff.
Suddenly, her earpiece crackled to life.
"Ayase! Are you there?!" Shion's voice wailed over the comms.
"I am here, Shion. Report your status. Are you sustaining casualties in the tech-support trenches?"
"It's a nightmare!" Shion sobbed. She was currently sitting in a gray cubicle at an IT call center, surrounded by empty energy drink cans. "These mortals have no concept of digital hygiene! A woman just asked me where the 'Any' key is! Another man downloaded thirty toolbars and asked why his computer is slow! I tried to eat the malware, but the flavor is entirely artificial!"
"Hold the line, Shion," Ayase advised calmly, wiping down her cutting board. "Remember the Alpha's teachings. Do not engage emotionally. Provide the minimum viable service to prevent a refund."
"I'm bypassing the protocol!" Shion declared, her eyes glowing with raw, pink binary code. "I'm just directly altering their hardware through the phone lines using my succubus charm! 'Yes, sir, your Wi-Fi is fixed because I psychically intimidated your router into submission. Have a nice day!'"
Ayase smiled faintly. The physical world was strange, chaotic, and lacking in honor. But as she watched Sato slip an extra ¥10,000 bill into her tip jar, she realized something profound.
The Vanguard was terrifyingly good at capitalism.