On the television, Ayn Rand's tragic passing came with the sorry words of the news anchor.
It wasn't hard to imagine why they felt sadness over his death.
Ignoring his personality, Ayn Rand is one of the four sages, the geniuses who came up with the idea and implementation of mechanized humans. He is obviously a very smart scientist and equally great medical practitioner.
Losing someone as brilliant as him was on par with losing a national treasure, his death would stall the technological progress of the world.
He also died in an untimely accident.
The country that lost Ayn Rand vowed to get to the bottom of this.
Ayn Rand was en route from Osaka area after a meeting with the admin there. Saitake expressed his remorse and frustration for not delaying Ayn Rand's stay. He said if he delayed Ayn Rand's departure, he might not have been lost to an aerial Gastrea.
The saddest part of this story? Nobody will ever know that it was Saitake himself who orchestrated Ayn Rand's death.
No, he was only an instrument.
Saitake got coerced into this by Noah. He implanted a relic that summoned aerial gastrea. In other words, he tampered with the plane leading to Ayn Rand's death.
It didn't matter if the reporters felt saddened by the untimely death of this researcher. It also didn't matter if the authorities vowed to investigate this matter. For now, Noah, Kayo, and Tina had different looks.
"Professor..."
Tina had a very complicated look on her face.
She wasn't sure what she should feel for the one who forcefully modified her on the surgical table. He's also the one who pushed her into the dark life of an assassin.
Tina isn't someone who is predisposed to hatred.
Although Ayn Rand almost caused her death on multiple occasions, Tina never hated Ayn Rand.
Of course, she didn't have good feelings for Ayn Rand.
She's unsure how she should respond to the news of Ayn Rand's death.
Should she be happy about this? She doesn't hate the guy, what's there to celebrate?
Should she be sad about his death? Ayn Rand treated her like a white mice. After successfully modifying her, he used her as an instrument of war. She would be a saintess a rank above Seitenshi if she felt sadness for the perpetrator who forced her into this life.
The only feeling Tina can understand is the feeling of relief.
Tina is a cursed child hybrid mechanized warrior made by Ayn Rand. To put it bluntly, she's a white mice. To use the politically correct term, she's a national asset, the crystallization of cutting edge technology.
She's a product painstakingly made by Ayn Rand, a leading researcher in human mechanization. She had technologies other countries wanted.
Tina's betrayal must not have sat well with Ayn Rand. He probably couldn't tolerate his prized work staying in Fairy Tail, utilized by another man.
It's easy to imagine Ayn Rand would dispatch mercenaries to either terminate the asset known as Tina or recover her.
With Ayn Rand's death, Tina is spared from the fate of a fugitive.
Tina felt relief.
Noah saw her expression and he smiled subconsciously. He continued rubbing Tina's head.
"Looks like you're a free girl now."
Tina clenched her fists. Her expression mellowed out when she saw Noah's friendly smile. She nodded with the most heartwarming smile Noah has ever seen.
"Nn!"
Kayo also smiled with an imperceptible arc of her lips. She is happy to see Noah and Tina's wholesome interaction.
After that news, Noah, Kayo, and Tina stopped paying attention to the television.
They should have stayed tune because Seitenshi fired her own bodyguard team led by Yasuwaki Takuto for gross incompetence and negligence. The bodyguards were either fired or demoted with immediate effect.
Tokyo Area 1, the Holy residence...
"Seitenshi-sama! Seitenshi-sama!"
Seitenshi heard a very impatient voice booming from outside the meeting room where she's busy discussing administrative matters with Tendo Kikunojou.
Both of them frowned at the same time.
Yasuwaki barged into the room despite the security trying to block them. He hysterically yelled like a mewling quim. Seitenshi and Kikunojou's furrowed brows were knitted higher.
Kikunojou spoke with a cold voice.
"Let them in!"
The security blocking Yasuwaki & co allowed them entry. Yasuwaki shrieked at Seitenshi and Kikunojou.
"Seitenshi-sama, did you really disband the bodyguard squad?! Why did you fire us?!"
"You fired your bodyguards?"
Kikunojou flinched as he turned towards Seitenshi.
Evidently, this is the first time he heard about this.
Seitenshi slowly relaxed her face, she calmly swept her eyes over her former bodyguards.
"Since you guys received the memo, the reason must have been stated there, right?"
"What the hell kind of excuse is that?!"
Yasuwaki completely lost his cool as he threw the dismissal letter on the ground, leaving no respect for Seitenshi.
"Incompetence? What do you mean by that?!"
"Yasuwaki Takuto."
Kikunojou interrupted him.
"Watch your tongue."
"But, Kikunojou-dono, I really don't understand the reason!"
Yasuwaki couldn't hide the frustration and anxiety in his voice.
"Why did we get the boot out of nowhere?"
"Former bodyguard leader Yasuwaki, do you not remember what happened during the sniping incident last time?"
Seitenshi said with a composed look.
"As bodyguards, your inexperience placed my life in peril, you guys failed to safeguard my life. Own up to it and stop making a fuss."
"The sniping incident from last time?"
Yasuwaki recalled what happened last time and he widened his eyes, like a monkey, he flailed around as he roared.
"Oh! I get it now! It's Noah Dreyar! It's Noah Dreyar, isn't it?!"
"Noah Dreyar?"
Kikunojou looked at Yasuwaki intently.
"Explain yourself."
"Seitenshi-sama, Noah Dreyar must have told you to fire us, right?"
Yasuwaki ignored Kikunojou as he inched towards Seitenshi-sama like a maniac.
"You can't believe a word he said! He's the operator of the accursed institution sheltering the cursed children!"
Seitenshi frowned when she saw Yasuwaki creeping towards her, she raised an arm and the security guards grabbed Yasuwaki.
"What are you doing?!"
Yasuwaki struggled.
"Let go of me!"
Seitenshi wanted this conversation to end. She waved her hand and the security guards dragged Yasuwaki & co out of the room, returning silence to the room.
Seitenshi resumed her talk with Kikunojou.
"Kikunojou-san, let us continue the discussion."
Kikunojou nodded. He confirmed that Seitenshi isn't planning on explaining herself. He looked at the door from which Yasuwaki got dragged out with a sharp glint in his eyes.
She didn't talk about this with him. This is the first time Seitenshi-sama did something this big without consulting him.