Faced with such an answer from Tatsuya Shiba, the communications officer could only turn pale with frustration.
The administrator overseeing their communications team was standing right beside him – how could he possibly report that the Cabinet Direct Unit's ace could only delay the enemy for thirty seconds?
Yet not reporting was equally impossible. What if delaying caused the enemy to break through the blockade and reach the Prime Minister?
In this situation, the communications officer closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and reported to the anxious administrator beside him:
"Administrator Kuroi, Colonel Shiba says he can only delay the enemy for one minute at most."
This one-minute figure was what the communications officer had forced out through clenched teeth – after all, one minute was what Tatsuya Shiba had initially stated before revising it to thirty seconds.
So this couldn't really be considered lying, could it?
However, upon hearing his report, Administrator Kuroi let out an 80-decibel shriek:
"What? Only one minute?"
"How am I supposed to explain this to the ministers? How do I account for this to the Prime Minister?"
"But... Administrator..." The logistics officer stared nervously at Administrator Kuroi, his forehead beaded with cold sweat.
At this moment, Administrator Kuroi looked grimly at the monitoring screen showing lightning and thunder everywhere, then at the panicked face of the logistics officer, before saying through clenched teeth:
"Five minutes! Understood?"
"Colonel Shiba's reported time is five minutes!!"
"I..." The logistics officer was utterly dumbfounded upon hearing this.
'I only doubled the time, but you, Administrator, went and multiplied it by five – that makes it ten times the original duration. This... this...'
Seeing the logistics officer's stunned expression, Administrator Kuroi immediately darkened his face and asked:
"Do you have any objections?"
"No, sir. Colonel Shiba's reported time is indeed five minutes."
Watching the logistics officer salute with closed eyes, Administrator Kuroi nodded satisfactorily and said:
"I'll go report to the Defence Minister now."
After these words, the logistics officer watched Administrator Kuroi leave the room and fell into deep silence.
Should he take responsibility and resign?
...
Meanwhile, in the underground evacuation tunnel beneath the Prime Minister's residence.
The Prime Minister, walking briskly, couldn't help but ask: "What's the current situation outside?"
Hearing this, the Defence Minister hurriedly wiped his sweat with a handkerchief and nervously replied: "The Cabinet Direct Unit, along with the Self-Defence Forces and Onmyoji responsible for the Prime Minister's residence security, have already engaged the enemy."
Upon hearing this, the Prime Minister - who had some understanding of these units' capabilities - frowned and said: "Among these forces, how many personnel hold Hero Rank evaluations?"
Before the Defence Minister could answer, the Prime Minister coldly added: "I don't want internal evaluations - only ratings from the Onmyou Agency or SDS systems."
"Tell me, how many truly qualify for Hero Rank under these organisations' grading systems?"
The Defence Minister frantically wiped his sweat, bowing his head nervously: "Such guards... we estimate three people."
"Colonel Mizuno, Colonel Nagata, and Major General Sai should all meet Hero Rank standards."
The Prime Minister fell silent for a moment before saying, "Before evacuation, I witnessed Sai-kun die beneath enemy lightning strikes."
"Ah?"
The Defence Minister felt as if struck by lightning himself upon hearing this news, hurriedly attempting to reassure: "Please rest assured, although Sai-kun has fallen, we still have Mizuno-kun and Nagata-kun."
The Minister of Economy - who happened to be attending meetings at the Prime Minister's residence today - added from beside them: "Before entering the evacuation tunnel, I saw Mizuno-kun apparently rushing out of the Prime Minister's residence. By my estimation, he should have nearly reached Akihabara by now?"
Hearing this, the Defence Minister went completely numb.
Especially when seeing the Prime Minister's murderous gaze, he grew increasingly tense and desperately tried to recover: "Prime Minister, please be assured, Nagata-kun..."
Here, worried about Nagata's potential demise, he hastily corrected: "No, Colonel Shiba should be arriving shortly."
"Shiba? That tool from Yotsuba?" The Prime Minister felt somewhat reassured upon hearing Tatsuya Shiba's name. He knew something about this ace combatant of the Cabinet Direct Unit.
Though perhaps not comparable to those superhuman monsters from the Hidden Management Department, among ordinary humans, Tatsuya Shiba should rank among the very elite.
"Have Colonel Shiba hold off the enemy as much as possible - preferably delaying them for five minutes to buy time for reinforcements."
Hearing this, the Defence Minister immediately responded: "Please rest assured, Prime Minister. With Colonel Shiba's capabilities, even if the enemy attempts to break through, it would take them at least half an hour."
Though the Prime Minister found this timeframe somewhat exaggerated, considering he could reach the Imperial Palace underground via the Prime Minister's residence secret passage within three minutes - then safely escape through further tunnels - he felt relieved: "In that case, we can only place our trust in Shiba-kun."
Having said this, the Prime Minister suddenly noticed the Defence Minister's expression seemed odd. While maintaining his brisk pace, he asked curiously: "What's wrong with you? Too tense?"
Hearing this, the Defence Minister - who had just learned through his earpiece that Tatsuya Shiba could only hold on for 'five minutes' - could only manage a smile that looked 'on the verge of tears':
"My apologies, Prime Minister. I'm afraid I'm not very good at physical exercise."
After speaking, the Defence Minister realised the tunnel exit was only about three to four minutes away at a running pace, which somewhat eased his mind, and he offered a strained explanation:
"However, please rest assured. I've just received word that Colonel Shiba says he will stake his life to hold off the enemy for fifteen minutes."
Hearing this, although the Prime Minister noticed the discrepancy in timing compared to what the Defence Minister had said earlier, he still responded with deep emotion:
"Is that so? It seems the enemy is truly formidable! This must be very difficult for Shiba-kun."
After a pause, the Prime Minister couldn't help but add:
"If he should fall in battle, I will personally arrange a state funeral for him."
Upon hearing this, the Economic Minister, Defence Minister and various security personnel who were fleeing alongside them immediately nodded in agreement:
"The Prime Minister shows great honour!!"
After paying this flattery, the Defence Minister quickly added:
"Prime Minister, to ensure Colonel Shiba's sacrifice isn't in vain, we must make haste!!"
Hearing this loyal declaration, the Prime Minister immediately responded:
"Of course."
No sooner had he spoken than the Prime Minister - who regularly exercised anyway - immediately quickened his pace, causing the less athletic officials behind him to turn pale.
In less than three minutes, the group of fleeing ministers finally reached the secret tunnel's exit - a small door beside a pavilion within the Imperial Palace grounds.
Seeing this, the Defence Minister hurried forward and pulled open the exit door for the Prime Minister.
With a creak.
The door swung open.
The palace's internal street lamps, which had just lit according to schedule, immediately bathed the relieved faces of the high-ranking officials in light.
It was at this moment that the officials, including the Prime Minister, saw the golden-haired figure standing atop a street lamp, looking down upon them from her elevated position.
"You're rather late."
Evangeline narrowed her jade-green eyes, and beneath her cloak, her arm was slightly raised. Intricate, dense puppet threads began extending from her fingers toward the sky.
Under the terrified gazes of the bureaucrats, a fearsome, spider-queen-like phantom seemed to materialise behind Evangeline.
Before they could even scream, numerous figures were hoisted into the air by invisible threads, suspended in mid-air.
Deathly silence descended upon the grounds.