Over in some restaurant in Orient City, Alchiba is sitting at a table distanced away from the other customers with an Earthling man sitting opposite of him. Alchiba decides to tell the man the main result of his investigation before getting into the details. The man has suspected his partner of suspicious activity, but Alchiba tells him he's sure that nothing unseemly is happening. Alchiba uses his tablet to project his paperwork and pictures, but the man he's talking still looks depressed despite the news.
The man thanks Alchiba for his work but says he doesn't need to hear any more. He doesn't care if his partner (another guy) is cheating on him, but if they were it'd just make the break up easier to do. He doesn't seem to care about him anymore, so the man decides he may as well forget the whole thing since they can't be together like that. The man quickly apologizes to Alchiba promising he'll still pay him for the job, but Alchiba decides to make sure to tell the man that his partner has been setting up a party for them at the bar they often go to. The man is surprised to hear about this, and Alchiba explains that his partner coming home late was to prepare for it. He was talking to the bar manager, and their discussions were happening after the bar closed for the night. Alchiba points out that they've been together for years and their anniversary is coming up, so before the man decides for sure Alchiba suggests he go talks to him.
The client thanks Alchiba, and Alchiba says he'll send his report later on and says the payment will go to his usual account. Before ending the meeting, Alchiba notes that the man's partner is off today and suggests he goes to see him. The man leaves looking brighter than before, and Alchiba watches him go before sighing quietly to himself. Alchiba comments that counseling like this isn't part of his job specialty, but he lets it go on the idea of all's well that ends well. Pain and suffering can drive a person mad, he says, but he notes that now he has a moment to himself. He feels it's a waste to leave after coming all the way to Earth, so he considers going sightseeing before a news report catches his attention.
The news reporter interrupts the econ report they were doing to announce that the Phantom Thief Villain Vulpecula has sent out a calling card to his target. The details of the card are unknown, but the media has been told that the authorities suspect it's an advance notice of terrorism via large scale cultural destruction. The Galactic Police League have announced their counterterrorism policies in response, and Alchiba starts frowning as he says he never expected to see Vulpecula around here. The newscaster mentions that there's an announcement about how villainy tends to tick up whenever phantom thief shenanigans happen, so the Galactic Police League is planning to tighten their control on things and keep vigilant for crimes.
The mention of police sends Alchiba into a flashback to where he's protesting about the other policemen not presenting a piece of evidence in defense of the case's accused, calling it destruction of evidence. The supervisor says it's fine to leave the case as gray as it is and tells him to leave it alone. It's nice that Alchiba has such a strong sense of justice, but the supervisor tells him that everyone around him calls him the Dark Wings of Disaster because problems always turn up wherever he's posted. Alchiba argues that those problems were there to begin with and that internal reform is needed, but the supervisor tells him to shut up and let go of his arrogance since that's not part of his job. Alchiba is outraged at this but stops arguing, so the supervisor tells him to go back and do his other job as he implies he's wasting the supervisor's time.
The flashback moves up a bit as one of Alchiba's coworkers blame his presence for all the problems they've been having. He actually goes as far as accusing Alchiba of faking issues and solving them himself to get himself promoted. They concede that Alchiba has been able to find evidence that they were unable to during their investigations, but they also say that it feels like Alchiba is finding things only the criminal would know. Alchiba attempts to defend himself saying that he's just pointing out things he feels are mistaken, but the coworker persists in suggesting Alchiba did that himself and is just playing at being a detective. Alchiba is pissed at this as he denies the accusation and argues that the police should be upholding justice and protecting the weak. The supervisor then tells Alchiba to come to the office since he's under suspicion for several crimes, and the flashback ends with Alchiba accusing them all of setting him up.
Title card pops up, and this episode is called Dark Wings of Disaster.
Back to the present, Alchiba leaves the restaurant and takes a moment to look up into the sky. He talks to himself about his nickname, saying he thought he forgot about that time in his life. He vents some of his disgust and frustration at the police when his phone pings him about a call. The call is coming from Procy, and Alchiba comments that it's unusual for Procy to call out of the blue like this. Procy is put off by Alchiba's response, then explains that their agency told him that Alchiba was in town. Independent Heroes has sent out a response request to them regarding the recent Vulpecula case, and Procy asks if he knows about him.
Alchiba says he does know Vulpecula and declares him to be HIS target. Vulpecula has been a criminal that Alchiba has been looking into on his own time. That said, he asks Procy about how Vulpecula currently has the police on his tail over the terrorism thing. Procy says that while Vulpecula has been called a phantom thief, he's a criminal when you get down to it. An official notice has been passed down from 'above' the Police League, so UEHA has been sending co-op requests to every other agency out there. Alchiba says that means it's really a request from the police and says that he hates how they act like they have power but have so much red tape to go through. Also, for a group with a name as fancy as Galactic Police League they are having a lot of problems with just a single phantom thief.
Alchiba sighs as he looks annoyed, then tells Procy that he's cancelling out on the request and asks him to pass the news back to HQ. Procy sighs about how much Alchiba hates the police and says he won't get work that way. He also says Alchiba owes him for this, but Alchiba says he can find his own work and says he had been chasing after Vulpecula since before. He swears to catch him without needing the police's help and to show them up. He shakes his head once, smirking as his eyes shine with determination.
Procy points out that if Alchiba is rejecting the agency's co-op request, then he won't be able to get an Operator to help and therefore can't transform into his hero mode. Alchiba laughs and says that's what Procy is there for as he asks if he knows any Operators can be sent to him. While he's at it, he'd also like to ask for another hero to back him up. Alchiba winks at Procy over the video call, and Procy reacts by sighing and shaking his head for a moment before telling him he's going to owe him big this time.
Over at Parallel Flight, Akashi walks in greeting you and Huckle, then notices that Sui is around. Sui says she just got there herself and came over since she finished up with her work at the design agency. Plus, Huckle called her over too. Huckle apologizes to Sui and Akashi for suddenly calling them over, then asks if you and Ryekie can make some time since a guest will be coming. Ryekie agrees since he's just finished with his office work, and you either agree, talk to Akashi and note that he's doing well today, or greet Sui and say it's been a while. B has an extra line where Akashi says that he's got time for the job now that he's gotten his class credits. C has a different extra line where Sui says she's been coming over more often so she doesn't think it's been that long since she saw you.
Akashi comments on the whole office being together, only to realize he doesn't see Mokdai around and asks about him. Mokdai turns out to be around and says he's been coming to work properly, then asks Sui to make and hand out tea to everyone. Sui agrees, then says she's making houjicha since she likes that kind of tea. Ryekie comments that having everyone at the table feels kind of cramped, so he asks Huckle about buying a new one. Huckle agrees with the idea and says he'll think about it. Huckle then gets back to the original topic and tells you guys that a client introduced by Procy will be coming by later.
You ask about the client and what sort of business they're coming for, so Huckle says they want a hero and Operator, though he's curious about things. You are slightly worried about that as you ask Huckle what he means. Huckle says his explanation will go about it backwards, then asks if you guys have heard about the phantom thief villain in the news. Akashi says he's heard about it that morning and says the police are after the guy. Mokdai excitedly says that Vulpecula sends poetic videos as his calling card and compares him to someone from a manga or novel. He explains that Vulpecula also steals more than just objects as he has done things like steal sceneries, which he does by doing terrorism to destroy cultural heritage sites. It's still a crime and that's terrible, but it's still so cool to talk about!
Akashi points out that Mokdai is still talking about a villain and comments on how well informed he is about heroes and villains. Mokdai says he just looks up things he likes, though after all that talking he's feeling thirsty, so he has some of the tea. Sui points out that Vulpecula is broadcasting his calling cards, which means his position should be traceable. Mokdai says the police has looked into that, but it turns out that Vulpecula has been posting to illegal livestreaming sites for the views. Once the livestream starts, it doesn't get archived, and there's also been anti-hacking measures put into place. The whole production has a cult following with a lot of crazy passionate fans.
Ryekie suggests that they could just catch Vulpecula at the crime scene instead, but Mokdai says that the calling cards are presented as a riddle. In the time it takes them to figure out what the hell they mean Vulpecula's already gone and done his heists. Sui nods and understands that's why he's a phantom thief, then pours Mokdai more tea. Huckle says he's glad that everyone is keeping up with the current news, then tells you guys that UEHA has asked the agency for help for capturing the phantom thief. Parallel Flight has accepted the request, and tomorrow you guys will be heading for the moon on business. Akashi says he's good to go since he's got enough credits and he doesn't have a big game coming up any time soon. Sui says she's okay to join too since she's done with her fashion work and was thinking of getting more hero work experience. You say you can go, get excited about catching the thief together with everyone, and/or say it's more exciting than desk work.
Huckle laughs and thanks you guys, though he says that Procy's client cuts into things here. They're calling about the same case, but they're doing it on a private basis as opposed to working with UEHA. So back to what Huckle was saying earlier about what he was curious about, he says it's about the client. Specifically, they're supposed to be the most knowledgeable person when it comes to Vulpecula. At that point the door rings, so Huckle says they're here now and goes to answer since he wants to talk to the client about the job directly first.
When Huckle comes back, Alchiba comes in with him. Alchiba greets you all and introduces himself as a private detective. Huckle greets him with a Mr. and says Procy told him about him. Huckle introduces himself as the agency's representative, then invites Alchiba to come further in. Alchiba says he's fine without the honorific, then apologizes for the sudden visit. You either express surprise about Alchiba being a detective, be excited about his soft feathers, or gasp about him being cool. In A, Alchiba asks if this is your first time seeing a detective, then says he can help if you're ever in trouble and promises to get things done. In B, Alchiba is amused by your interest in his feathers. He's proud of them and asks if you want to touch them. In C, Alchiba flirts as he calls you cute and says he's falling behind if you're complimenting him first. he then says you're so charming that he went speechless for a bit.
Alchiba takes another look at you and feels he's seen you somewhere before, so he asks you for your name as he steps closer to you. You introduce yourself to Alchiba, then wonder if you two have met before but feel this may be your first time meeting. Alchiba laughs as he continues flirting, saying there must be some sort of fate at work between you two before inviting you to join him for tea after work. Mokdai is surprised at how smooth Alchiba flirts, then loudly asks if Alchiba is asking you to a date. Akashi attempts to interrupt by coughing, but Sui is surprised and thinks Akashi is sick. Akashi insists that everything is fine.
Alchiba notices Akashi getting defensive against him, so he smirks at him and tells you the tea invitation will have to wait. You are taken aback at this, and Huckle attempts to keep things on track between all of you and asks Alchiba to keep his teasing down to a minimum. Huckle changes the subject back to Alchiba wanting a hero and Operator to help him, then jumps to asking him directly about why he's not working with UEHA for this case. Since he's going after the same target, going it alone would make things more difficult and would spread out the available forces.
Alchiba stands up a bit straighter as he moves to answer, saying that unifying everyone under one beauracracy would make investigating freely harder, and collecting information is important to a detective. Going this way means not needing to care about what the police are doing. He's been chasing after Vulpecula since before the summons from the assembly, so he wants to catch him himself. To do that, he wants to borrow the help of another hero and Operator. He's doing this as a personal thing as opposed to a hero from Independent Heroes, and he doesn't want the police to get to him before he does.
Huckle says he understands but tells Alchiba that UEHA sent a help request to them too. It's also combined with a meeting with the higher ups in UEHA, so he and Ryekie have to attend. Ryekie is excited to have several hero agencies gathering together, and he suggests it's a good opportunity to have Sui and Akashi meet some other heroes. Mokdai thinks it's a good idea and says he's already gone to see them before he had become a hero himself. Sui notes that she only knows her master and you guys in terms of heroes. Akashi says the same goes for him, though he sees Kyoichi and Toshu a lot too. Akashi then gets alarmed that this would mean he'd be working away from you and is worried about you getting hit on. Since he mutters to himself about that, Sui is weirded out by that and says it's strange how he's always with you.
Huckle says he was planning on having you and Mokdai stay at the office on standby, but he asks if you two think you can go help Alchiba. You either say you can go, say you'll be fine if you're with Mokdai, or excitedly say you want to work with Alchiba. B gets an extra line with Mokdai being flattered you're relying on him and thanks you for saying so. C gets a different extra line where Alchiba is happy about that and says he'd like to know more about you starting tomorrow.
Anyways, Alchiba says he's glad to be working with someone as charming as you. Mokdai tries to remind Alchiba that he's helping too, so Alchiba smoothly swerves over to him and says he's happy to have him around too, asking for his name as he runs a finger across his cheek and lifts his chin up. Mokdai blushes at this and stutters as he gives his name, leading Akashi to be concerned about Mokdai being able to work tomorrow.
Alchiba thanks Huckle for his help and asks if that's everything to the negotiations. Huckle says he'll send the paperwork later, which he'll send directly instead of through Alchiba's agency. Alchiba says that helps and tells you and Mokdai he'll be counting on you two. He also asks you two to come to the space port lobby tomorrow morning, saying he'll escort you guys from there before swanning out of the office. Mokdai calls Alchiba a weirdo and says it's the first time anyone's lifted his chin before, still blushing. You either point out that his face is still red or complain that you wanted him to do that to you too. In A, Mokdai is taken aback at that and says he'll go wash his face to cool down. In B, Akashi is scandalized as he warns you to not say that to anyone, especially Alchiba.
Ryekie loudly prompts everyone to get ready for tomorrow since things are going to be busy. Akashi gets anxious and tells Mokdai he's the only one he can count on, and Mokdai is baffled as he asks what he's talking about. Everyone starts getting their things together when Huckle asks you for a moment. He says that since Procy went through the trouble of sending you guys Alchiba, Alchiba is serious about catching the phantom thief. If anything gets dangerous at all, he asks that you call him up right away. It should be fine since Mokdai is with you, but he's getting a bad feeling and cautions you against being reckless. On that note the episode ends.
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