Midnight in a residential area,
“This place, is the target’s home?”
“The case is that the nameplate matches. The case then is that this place shouldn’t be wrong.¹”
“Let’s hurry and kill —him—. Then hurry— back.”

Hidden within the darkness, a mixed sex group of 3 have a disturbing conversation.

“Melt, the case is that killing is only if the situation makes it unavoidable. The case is that we should seize our target.”
“Ye—s.”
“Toy, Melt, cut the chitchat. Let’s go.”

At that declaration, 1 man steps forward to enter the premises of the house, but is prevented by an invisible wall.

“What’s going on!?”
“A case where it’s a special ability, barrier creation?”
“Stand aside—, I’ll melt it—.”

The girl called Melt separates from the men and touches the invisible wall.
“…Ahre?”
However, nothing happens.

“Fumu, seems like having House Head setup a barrier was the correct decision. The technique learned from Tatsumi looks to be working quite reliably.”
“““!!?”””

The 3 people stare in shock at a block on top of the fence. Resting there is a black cat.

“Well then, that you were obstructed by this barrier means you were trying to enter this house with malicious intentions. Or, am I mistaken?”

The 3 are bewildered by the appearance of a black cat speaking to them like normal. Nevertheless, they quickly regain their composure and analyze the situation.

“An ability, for controlling animals?”
“It could be the case where its an ability for transforming into a cat.”
“If it’s as Toy says, then that’s pretty interesting—. I wonder what would happen if I melted this person as a cat—?”

The black cat is puzzled by the words of the 3.

“Hey— hey—, I’m going to kill this —cat—.”
“The case is that you can’t do that. The case is one where this cat could be our target.”
“I’ll take over from here. There should be a reaction once the capture is complete.”

At those words, a man reaches out for the black cat.

“Fumu, while I do not understand what you are saying, it does not appear like you are going to answer my question…”

Muttering that, the black cat releases a light sigh.

—The Diamond of Greed vanquishes all, enemies and former comrades alike—

Within a certain building that was constructed in a hurry in a certain place in Sapporo is a room with a monitor in it.  On the monitor are two old men and an aged woman. Speaking to them through the screen is another woman.

[Chie, with this branch having been constructed in a hurry, how are things?]
“Flare-sama, the personnel and equipment are more than sufficient. There are no problems.”

The woman called [Chie] gives the question asked by old woman called [Flare] an indifferent response.

[By the way, has the one who defeated Dius² been identified?]
One of the aged men continues the conversation with Chie.

“Yes, Fon-sama³. I dispatched [Melt] and [Toy] towards the target who defeated Dius not long ago.”
[Aren’t those 2 close to [rank A]!? Aren’t you over doing it!?]

The elder called Fon cries out in shock. Nevertheless, the reaction is reasonable.

The girl called Melt can liquefy anything she touches using her special ability [dissolve]. She merely needs to make contact. Not only can any living creature be killed, she also can defend against attacks by dissolving incoming blades. Depending on the situation, she can even ward off gun fire. Her ability is highly versatile, capable of both offense and defense.

As for the man called Toy, he has a different ability, [toy]. It is a special ability that, by utilizing the materials in his surroundings, lets him create up to 12 puppets that will faithfully carry out his commands. While the size and performance of the puppets depend on materials used and manufacturing time, a sole puppet capable of outclassing a squad of soldiers can be created. In other words, he on his own can create more war potential than a company of soldiers.

“I didn’t send just those 2. If possible, I’d like to capture the target. As such, I also sent Sefiku.”
[You also sent in the rank A Sefiku!?]

The aged man called Fon once more cries out in shock.

[Fon, calm yourself. I respect Chie’s judgement. Even though it was by a surprise attack, the rank A Dius was defeated. If capturing is being considered, then only sending 2 rank B is too unreliable.]
[That said, Menace-sama, if used properly, isn’t this a force that can even throw the nation into chaos? That, is being used for a normal person….]
[No matter how many coincidences pile on top of one another, a normal person should not be able to defeat Dius. To believe this person also has an ability is natural. I, too, respect Chie’s judgement.]

The aged man called Fon grows silent at those words.

[For now, let’s wait for the 3 of them to return. After they either capture or eliminate the target, they can be entrusted with the mission Dius couldn’t complete, to capture [Cold and Heat], [Bestowal], and [Union⁴]. No objections?]
[I have nothing to add.]
[…I am the same. I have no objections.]
[Well then, rank A, Chie, I request without delay(?) that you attain god.]
“I respectfully obey.”

At the same time Chie answers, the monitor shuts off. Then, in order to confirm the progress of the mission, she invokes her own special ability.

“Sefiku, Toy, Melt… Ehh?”

Chie, upon confirming the status of the 3 sent out to capture the target, is shocked.

—The Diamond of Greed makes his way back to the only other survivor, Pride—

“Requesting your assistance in transportation, it’s my failing.”
“Ka—.”

The crow cries out as if to say, [I don’t mind.]

“Ka, ka—.”
“Everything is fine, I am uninjured. More importantly, I’m worried we might have bothered our neighbors.”
“Ka—, ka.”

The crow cries out as if to say, [No one was awake when I checked.]

“Really? Then that is a relief. However, this city is more dangerous than I expected. It makes me worry for House Head. Providing him with an escort may be necessary.”
“Ka— ka—.”
“Mu? Thou shall do it? Certainly, thou being able to fly across the sky makes you most suitable.⁵”
“Ka—.”
“In that case, may I make this request?”
“Ka—!”

The crow cries out as if to say, [Leave it to me!]

“Well then, shall we return and get back to sleep?”
“Ka—.”

With their business concluded, a cat and a bird pass through a cat door at the entrance and return to their respective beds.

---

T/N: With this arc, we are catching up to the manga.  I wonder if its translators read my translations too??  If so, thanks for picking up that series. I would have never discovered this story otherwise~

<Character Introduction and a Short Story
20. Urgent Family Mee—ting!>

1. The sentences of this person end with “nodearu.” Saying, “the case is” is the closest I can come to as a translation.
2. It’s actually written as Dies, but the pronunciation is closer to D.S.  As such, he is being called Dius until further clarification is made in the story.
3. This name can also be read as phone. I will come back to change this later if necessary.
4. 結合 This is probably a different union from Koba. Depending on how the story progresses, I may come back to change the name to something else like ‘joining’.
5. The crow was referred to very formally here.