Lucia shook her head, dispelling negative thoughts, as she stood quietly amidst the packed single train carriage. In just a short time, less than ten minutes, the high-speed train from the neighboring city arrived at the capital's station. Continuous alerts sounded before the train doors opened.
Lucia tried to move towards the door to exit as quickly as possible, but her body bumped into someone nearby and she was swept back to her original spot by the surge of the crowd. She sighed slightly. She waited patiently, letting others exit first. With her slender and weak body, even if she wanted to push her way out, it would likely be unsuccessful. She might even get injured.
People quickly disembarked from the train, and Lucia eventually managed to get out. As she stopped in front of the station, the cool, fresh air made her breathe a lot easier. Although warm sunlight was constantly shining on her skin now, it was still better than being in a narrow, crowded space like the train.
She pulled out her phone to check the location of the cafe her friend had sent earlier. It turned out to be a cafe not far from the station.
Lucia: "I've reached the capital! I'm on my way. Emoji: 100-meter runner"
After sending the message, Lucia hurried to meet her friend. The capital was quite large, with many people walking on the sidewalks and cars filling the roads. Even though it was nearly 1 PM, the traffic hadn't lessened at all.
Lucia carefully waited for a gap to cross the pedestrian crossing before heading straight to the cafe where her friend was. The cafe's location was quite good, situated in front of a three-way intersection with many company buildings surrounding it. During lunch breaks, office workers could come here to relax.
"Lucia, over here!" After opening the cafe door, Lucia saw a girl with black twin ponytails waving at her. This was none other than Kotone—one of her few friends. Lucia had only recently moved to the city, and with her provincial mindset and humble background, many at the university tended to avoid her.
Lucia walked to the table where Kotone was sitting. She also saw another girl next to her friend. This girl had a face similar to Kotone's, but exuded a more mature aura. Overall, she looked like Kotone's version three or four years in the future.
"Lucia, this is my older sister, Misora. As I told you yesterday, she's here to help us with the survey this time..." Seeing Lucia's curious expression, Kotone smiled faintly and then introduced her sister to her friend.
"...Sister, this is Lucia. My friend I often told you about. She can be a bit spacey sometimes, but she's a good person and can work efficiently."
"Wait! Why am I suddenly 'spacey'? I'm not spacey at all, even if I sometimes don't quite understand things..." Lucia felt a little embarrassed after being brutally exposed by her friend. She tried to argue to save face, but ultimately failed. She secretly agreed with her friend.
Misora smiled gently, gesturing for Lucia to sit down first. Lucia obeyed without any hint of refusal. After sitting down, she carefully observed her friend's older sister. Misora gave off a different vibe from Kotone, but there was something beyond their similar looks. Both women possessed a personality that could easily make anyone open up to them.
"Want anything to eat? You must be tired from traveling. Order something first." Misora handed a menu tablet to Lucia. Lucia accepted it, not daring to refuse. She wanted to order a few items. Even though she said the outside air was better than inside the train, in reality, it wasn't much better. The sunlight was starting to sting a little and made her feel parched.
As she looked at each item on the tablet menu, Lucia's eyes could barely hide her despair. Her head spun. She felt she could faint at any moment. The prices were many times higher than Lucia's expectations. It was too expensive. Just ordering one item was more than her daily expenses.
"It's okay, Lucia. My sister's treating. Order whatever you want. You don't need to pay."
Kotone was amused by her friend's reaction. She had expected Lucia to react this way. Kotone hadn't intended to stop it from the beginning. On the contrary, she had been looking forward to Lucia's reaction after seeing the prices at this cafe.
"Re-really?" Lucia's voice trembled as she asked uncertainly.
Finally, Kotone couldn't hold back anymore. She burst out laughing. This action made Lucia frown.
"I have no reason to lie to you. And didn't I tell you that my sister is a C-rank Vessel in the Federation's agency? So don't be shy with her, my sister has tons of money." Kotone began to boast proudly.
"C-rank Vessel?" Lucia murmured softly.
Vassals are individuals whose bodies have the ability to contain or process interdimensional energy. Anyone who can become a Vessel will have their lives improve many times over.
Because the Federation needs a large number of Vassals and never has enough, Vassals are given a higher social status than normal. Additionally, in the current era, there are many jobs available, from the least risky to the most dangerous, such as the Dimensional Rift Defense Force.
While thinking, Lucia looked at Misora with unconscious admiration. Even as a C-rank Vessel, a Vessel is still a Vessel. Not to mention that Kotone's sister also works with the Federation. The Federation has very strict screening processes. It can be said that working with the Federation is even more difficult than getting promoted to a B-rank Vessel.
"Hmm... it's just C-rank. There are many other Vassals with higher ranks than me, but I'm satisfied with this rank." Misora nodded slightly, not boasting like her younger sister. She had worked in the world of Vassals for a while. She knew many things that ordinary people didn't, including her own level of ability.
From the perspective of ordinary people, a C-rank Vessel is considered very respectable. But in the world of Vassals, C-rank is almost at the bottom. A-rank or S-rank Vassals are many times more useful than C-rank Vassals. It's just that they rarely appear in public due to their own missions.
There are only a few high-ranking Vassals who are publicly known. Most of them are individuals not associated with the Federation. Those people might be idols or from some organization that isn't strict about information disclosure, unlike the Federation.
The Federation doesn't want its information to leak to the outside world unnecessarily, because the more it's exposed, the higher the Federation's risks will be.
The Federation has always had to deal with all threats. Unlike external organizations, they don't have to constantly worry about interdimensional threats or strange cultists as much as the Federation. They can pursue their own goals comfortably, as long as they don't violate the Federation's rules. The Federation will always be the outer shield protecting them.
"I wish I could be a Vessel too. Even just E or D rank would be enough..." Lucia's words surprised Kotone and Misora. Not because Lucia wanted to be a Vessel, but because Lucia seemed to set her expectations too low. Everyone expects to be a high-ranking Vessel.
Seeing the expressions of the two girls across from her, Lucia shook her head and forced a smile. "I just want a good-paying job. Someone like me probably can't climb to unreachable heights."
"Hey! Don't belittle yourself like that. You're not useless at all. How about this, Lucia? You're already 18. Why don't we go get our interdimensional energy capacity tested next week?" Naturally, Kotone wouldn't accept Lucia's self-deprecating remarks. She quickly brushed those negative thoughts aside and changed the subject to something that could boost Lucia's confidence.
Kotone had always believed that her friend was no worse than anyone else in the Federation. She might have strange behaviors that ordinary people didn't sometimes, but Lucia's dedication and ability to do things were real. Kotone could vouch for that.
"Okay."
The Federation allows the general public to be tested for their interdimensional energy capacity once they turn 18. For individuals younger than that, even with parental consent, the Federation does not allow them to participate.
However, there are some exceptions. For example, individuals born with interdimensional energy effects. Those types of individuals need to be monitored from childhood to adulthood. Another example is the descendants of powerful figures in the Federation or heirs of large organizations. All of them are special cases.
"Lucia, hurry up and order. We can start the survey after you finish eating." Kotone urged.
Lucia no longer held back. She ordered a few items, mostly desserts: chocolate ice cream, sugar bread drizzled with condensed milk, and strawberry cake to balance the chocolate flavor. For drinks, she just ordered plain water.
After ordering through the tablet, the queue number and estimated preparation time popped up in the corner of the screen. While waiting for her order, Lucia chatted with Kotone about their survey work, occasionally venturing into other topics with Misora.
After a while, the ordered items arrived. Lucia invited the two beautiful sisters to eat with her, but they quickly declined, saying they had already eaten their fill while waiting for Lucia. Kotone even added a punchline:
"Girls shouldn't eat too many sweets, or they'll get fat. As for you... Lucia, go ahead and eat. You're already so thin."
Lucia chose to ignore Kotone's words as she continued eating. The atmosphere in the cafe was relaxed. The background music played by the cafe helped ease their minds, releasing tension. The aroma of various drinks, as well as the sweet food, filled the entire establishment.
The music combined with the gentle clinking of plates and glasses created a pleasant rhythm. After eating her fill, drowsiness began to overwhelm Lucia. She covered her mouth and yawned. Her eyelids drooped, almost closing completely. Even so, Lucia tried her best to resist this sleepiness.
"You just woke up, but you want to sleep again? Wake up, wake up. We still have a lot of work to do." Kotone's lips curved into a wide smile. She playfully teased her. She wouldn't let Lucia off the hook for this.
Lucia rolled her eyes at Kotone. She opened her mouth, trying to say something, but then a loud explosion rocked the area, startling everyone inside and outside the cafe. Lucia was no different from the others, but as she glanced at Misora, a sense of safety gradually returned.
"What happened?" Unlike the others, Kotone got up from her chair, reaching out to look outside the cafe through the large glass window. What she saw made her face turn pale quickly. Her previous brave and playful demeanor vanished.
"Is there something outside?" Lucia asked her friend anxiously. However, Kotone didn't reply, which only made Lucia more curious. Finally, her curiosity swallowed all her fear and anxiety.
Lucia leaned forward to look as well. The next second, her eyes widened. She quickly turned away and sat back down. The image remained etched in Lucia's mind. She thought she would never forget it, even if three days or a week passed.
Outside, chaos reigned. A group of people were carrying out a one-sided massacre. Body parts flew everywhere, and blood splattered on the ground. People screamed as they tried to escape, but they couldn't evade the terrorists. In the end, those humans were brutally killed. Not a single corpse remained intact after death.
"Get under the table now!" Misora's expression was serious. After quickly assessing the situation, she immediately recognized the danger. The perpetrators were strange cultists, and they belonged to the same cult the Federation had tasked her with investigating.
The two girls quickly complied. Others in the cafe who heard them also regained their composure and quickly followed suit. Misora pulled out her gun and sent a distress signal to her agency and the local security forces. Unfortunately, it seemed the signal wouldn't reach them anytime soon.
The other party had meticulously planned before acting. All signals were cut off. This place instantly became a closed-off area for mass murder. They could only pray that someone outside the area would notice the abnormality and come to their aid.
CRASH! The large glass window shattered. A black dog engulfed in flames immediately lunged and tore apart the nearest human, not giving him a single second to defend himself.
This sudden event terrified everyone in the cafe. They all felt a shiver down their spines and worried about who would be the next meal for the flame dog.
"..." Cold sweat appeared on Misora's forehead. The flame dog was a B-rank interdimensional monster. As a C-rank Vessel, she still had a chance to deal with it. But if she also had to protect others, Misora wasn't capable of that.
Misora chose not to move immediately. She quietly watched the flame dog, prioritizing her sister and Lucia. She decided to ignore the others and focus on the important people. Misora didn't work in security, and even if she did, she would still choose to prioritize her important people.
If her only sister and family were gone, Misora wouldn't have the strength or morale to continue living. After losing her parents many years ago, Misora had prioritized Kotone above all else. Whatever Kotone wanted, Misora would always try to get it for her.
Misora had also secretly requested the Federation to assign someone to protect Kotone. But today, because she herself came to meet her sister, the bodyguard wasn't there to watch over Kotone. If she had known the situation would turn out like this, Misora would have asked the bodyguard to continue protecting Kotone.