Up in his spaceship the Broker is looking out the window and at the sea of stars that fills the space before him. Out there is a bunch of Monsters like fish crowded in a fish tank looking back at him in turn. The Broker slowly raises his right hand and makes a horizontal cutting motion with it, and this causes all the Monsters to pop off and burst into pieces, leaving behind a blue shining haze that the Broker gathers into his hands. The haze phases through the walls of his ship to do so, and he opens and closes his hands repeatedly as if checking to see if the thing is still there.
The Broker comments that the Resources in this cosmos are starting to run out. If the seeds of resistance don't grow in it, then the stars start perishing right away and do nothing but wither, just as he figured they would. But having some sort of resistance cultivated presents the problem that the cosmos will bite back at him as well. The Broker then looks up above him, and light pours down to create two 3D projections, one of Exio and one of you.
The Broker grinds his teeth and refrains from clicking his tongue. He comments that he made a mistake with the 'nurturing,' saying that if he doesn't do some pruning the earth itself will start to rot. A voice starts speaking to him and comments on how unusual it is for the Broker to be bothered, then says that if the Broker messes up he could erase a universe tomorrow. The Broker knits his brows in surprise as he turns around, and there he finds a single man.
Crowne Alter casually greets the Broker and says he was bored. The Broker isn't thrilled to have him here and he says the ship isn't meant to entertain him. He also says the mistake he made isn't as big as Crowne Alter thinks it is, he's just having far more parts to his plans going out of order. Right now he's just thinking of how to best fix them up. Crowne Alter asks if he's talking about that guy he's looking at and agrees he does seem to be a stubborn one. But then, Crowne Alter says the Broker already has a plan in mind just like he did the same way for Crowne Alter, then points at you saying he could ask you to handle it.
The Broker doesn't respond to this, so Crowne Alter figures he's right on the money. That said, Crowne Alter also thinks it's not a plan that's going to work. Sure, you're a wild card in the Broker's eyes, but if you're like the one he knows then you won't be able to kill Exio without some discipline. That's how you were in the world he 'came from.' Crowne Alter cackles as he walks over to the Broker, then puts his hand on the Broker's chin and rubs at the fur there.
Crowne Alter suggests that he take care of it. He's bored as it is, and he's already killed everyone that could make things exciting. If the Broker picks out a hero for him, then he can go murder the guts out of them for him in the most painful way possible for an Observer. The Broker is put off by this as he says Crowne Alter has horrible hobbies, and in a manner of speaking, he made a mistake when raising him too. There's barely any Observer that has enough power to send him to the ship, and Broker asks what Crowne Alter's goal is anyway as he reminds him that he can tell if he's lying.
Crowne Alter just says there's no big goal or anything. He just wants to be what the Broker needs of him. The Broker is silent at this before eventually sighing, commenting that it takes a ton of work to send a person from another universe over even for a single person. But since Crowne Alter is offering to do so so much, he may as well accept. Crowne Alter says after a moment he figured the Broker would agree, then assures him he'll get things done before the world balance goes crazy. The Broker says he can give him about 75 hours according to local time, but anything beyond that makes adjusting things difficult. He also insists that the one thing Crowne Alter not do is hurt you since you are the Key for this universe.
Crowne Alter says he knows and excuses himself, holding up his hand to the ceiling and warping out as a beam of light. Once he leaves, the Broker sighs as he says things have gotten crazy in the time he wasn't looking. But this is fine. Either way the Earth on this time axis is going to run into a seriously unusual phenomenon soon, which makes it the perfect time for Crowne Alter to slip in. The Broker then looks up at the Earth, and he says this may be the first of your trials, then hopes you won't die.
Scene shifts over to your end on Earth, Japan, Orient City where today another livestream of a battle between heroes and villains is happening again. Akashi has just eaten an attack so Sui calls out to him in concern. Akashi insists he's fine and tells her to not worry about him. Sui still does however, and she ends up taking an attack too. Mokdai calls after her before turning to the villains and demanding that they return the jewels they stole. The mafia mob says no one would just agree to that and shoots at Mokdai, blasting him back.
Huckle calls after Mokdai, then notes that the villains seem to have the upper hand. It turns out the villains is a group of three mafia thugs, and they laugh at how easily Parallel Flight is going down. They've heard rumors about how crazy you guys are, but here you guys are not living up to the hype. They didn't expect to see you guys so weak, but maybe they're just too strong they say as they laugh. You either get pissed at the taunting or freak out and wonder what to do, and Huckle tells you to calm down, though he adds that he does understand how you feel. He then sighs and wonders if he's ready yet because he's only taking like forever here.
A voice loudly laughs and apologizes for keeping them waiting as he announces his presence. The mafia mobs react in shock as they recognize the voice, and up on a tower illuminated by neon and moonlight with his cape fluttering in the breeze is Ryekie. You either exclaim Ryekie's name or his code name, and either way Mokdai is glad to see him. Mafia Red is in disbelief since he thought Ryekie was still out of commission, but Mafia Green says he heard Justice has recently gotten back into the hero business again. Mafia Blue then freaks out since he heard that Justice was seriously injured and has no faith they can win against him.
Justice jumps down from his dramatic perch and lands in front of the villain trio. He starts taunting them about how they don't seem as powerful as they did before when they were fighting the rest of the team, then declares their vile deeds stop here as everyone will give them their last heads up. The mobs start backing away, and Justice takes the moment to turn around and ask if Akashi, Sui, and Mighty Knuckle are alright. He apologizes for making them wait and asks them to fight with him. Akashi says he can keep going, as does Sui as she says she can't stand doing badly the whole time. Mokdai excitedly says he'll help and dramatically declares that they'll bring about justice here, then happily geeks out in private that Justice used his code name.
Sui asks if Mokdai ever had the name Mighty Knuckle, and Akashi has to think about it as he's not sure if that was a thing. Mokdai yells that he can hear them and complains as he tells them to remember it. Justice agrees with the point as he says a hero's name is important and using it is part of the hero's work etiquette. You either pity Mokdai or prompt everyone to focus on the battle. A gets an extra line where Huckle reminds everyone this isn't the time for side talk.
Either way Mokdai remembers to pay attention to what's happening, but at that point the villains try to make a break for it. Justice however blasts their escape path with lightning to keep them from running, reminding them that he said that this would be their last warning and telling them to kneel before justice. All three mobs attempt to bluff about how not nervous they're feeling and say they'll take down him and the three trash mob heroes behind him.
Akashi is highly offended at this insult to himself, and Justice makes a speech about how the agency will come together to show their true strength between four heroes and two Operators. Mokdai is so moved by the speech that he starts crying, which Sui only picks up on when she tells him to focus and notices his voice getting strangely high. Huckle sighs at how dramatic Justice always is, then turns to you and tells you to get ready for the battle to continue. He goes to check on the camera drone and is glad that it's still fully functional, commenting that the learning abilities on the latest models are amazing. You either quickly agree with him, suggest Huckle is playing it a bit too loosely, or comment on how excited Mokdai is. In any case Justice leads everyone into the episode battle as the newbie heroes follow him, and more story happens afterwards.
Things tune in after the battle as Barrel has come to arrest the villains, saying if they need help he'll lend them a hand. Mafia Red blusters that he doesn't as he curses getting beaten so badly. Mafia Green cries and says he's going to wash his feet, and Mafia Blue reminds Green they're going to prison. Barrel then turns to you guys and thanks you all for you help with making the arrest as he asks that the usual paperwork be sent over. Huckle says he will and comments how late it is for Barrel to be working. Barrel answers that this is his job and says he's mad he couldn't make it in time for the battle. He was helping some old lady get around and wishes he got done 4-5 minutes earlier with that. You either comment on how that's a very policeman kinda job, ask what's to get mad about, or tell Barrel was a hero to that old lady.
In A, Akashi points out that since Barrel's day job is a policeman he should be prioritizing that, then suggests that what he did could be framed as an act of justice too. Barrel gets excited at the idea and thanks Akashi by pulling into a hug, which Akashi protests against. In B, since you're the one to say so Barrel hugs you instead, leading Akashi to protest that Barrel has a job to do and that he should let go of you already.
Huckle takes a moment to slow down, then tells Ryekie to stop posing since the cameras are off now. It takes a moment for this to get through Ryekie's head as he has to ask to confirm that, and Mokdai tells him they've been off since the police arrived. Ryekie goes oh at that and quits out of his hero suit, then promptly falls over.
You call out to him in concern, as does Akashi before he realizes today is another one of those days and asks if he can stand on his own. Ryekie apologizes and says he can't seem to get back into the rhythm, but Mokdai says that's understandable since it's only been two days since Ryekie came back to work. This particular outing has been the third dispatch in that time frame, and Mokdai soon notices that Ryekie's bandages are coming undone.
Ryekie is surprised when he notices too and is dismayed about it since he had someone in the office tie it up for him before you all left. Sui says it's not surprising, and actually he did rather well to look brave and keep everyone else going. Huckle says Ryekie is a veteran with years of experience, so doing things like this is like second nature now. He does his best to not slow down other heroes and lead new ones, and even if he's not doing better than before he still tends to brace himself.
You comment on Ryekie's professionalism and/or ask him not to push himself, and Ryekie laughs as he says he'll do his best not to cause you guys any worry. It is a problem his stamina has gone down though, so he thinks about revising his workout routine. A bit of shaking catches Sui's attention as she asks if anyone else felt that. More intense catches Mokdai by surprise and by extension the whole city, strong enough to knock people down to their knees and set off building alarms.
Huckle asks if everyone is okay, and Ryekie says he's okay, though he comments on how strong the quake was. You also comment on how strong the quake was since you couldn't stay on your feet through it. When it stops, Sui asks if it's over. Mokdai says he thinks it is, then asks if she's okay since she's shaking. Sui answers that she is, though since there aren't quakes on the moon she's not used to them. Akashi tells her not to sweat it since a natural born Earthling like him was thrown off by it too.
A news report starts to talk about the quake as it interrupts the regular broadcast schedule, saying it happened within Orient City, but there's no worries about it triggering a tsunami. The Japanese earthquake shindo reading at its highest for this quake is an upper five (ie strong enough to knock heavy furniture and vending machines over as well as impede steering of cars), and for areas a bit further away including the Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures are at a shindo rating of four (ie enough to wake people who are asleep and detectable while walking). However, the quake's depth and epicenter are both unknown.
Mokdai comments on there being another earthquake with an unknown epicenter, saying there's been a lot of them lately. Akashi says earthquakes aren't that unusual for this area, but he still finds the frequent big earthquakes to be weird. Sui comments that the way the quake felt in itself was weird and struggles to describe it. Ryekie compares it to having a giant Monster burrowing underground, and while Huckle agrees with that he says any Monster capable of setting off quakes like that should have been spotted already. And since nobody's done so, he reasons something else must be causing the quakes. Ryekie isn't comforted by that and says he's got a bad feeling. The whole city is concerned about what's happening, but the public relaxes a little after seeing everyone else seems okay. Huckle comments that there's no major damage visible around, so it's nice that earthquake country is prepared for that.
You decide to look around too, at which point you a strange flickering dome shimmer in and out of view at Mt. Fuji. Whatever is over there looks like it's big enough to overshadow the whole city, and it pulses up and down like the breaths of something sleeping. You react in confused shock when you catch sight of it, which catches Akashi's attention. He can't see anything though, and he asks you if something is wrong. You point over at Mt. Fuji in alarm, but by the time Huckle turns to look the dome thing has disappeared. You are confused by whatever over there being gone, and Mokdai asks if you're feeling tired. Sui says you guys have been running around for a while, so she's tired too.
Ryekie excitedly declares that he'll carry you home on his back, causing Akashi to protest in shock as he points out that Ryekie fell over a minute ago. Sui asks Akashi why he's so frantic all of a sudden and complains about him being loud. Akashi blushes and denies being frantic as he calls her a stupid jerk, offending Sui into saying she doesn't want to be insulted by someone like him. Akashi is offended by that remark in turn and is about ready to throw hands, leading Mokdai to try to calm them down and stop the fight.
Huckle laughs saying he probably won't need to worry about the new heroes if they still have the energy to argue. Oh, to be young again. Anyways, Huckle says it's time to leave for now and that the reports will be collected tomorrow. He also says everyone should do a quick patrol. If anything happens, people should call him up so he can deal with it. Ryekie says he'll do it and thanks everyone for their work. He starts talking about working hard tomorrow too, only to pass out halfway through due to blood loss. Akashi is taking aback by this, and Mokdai sighs as he takes up one side to support Ryekie and asks Akashi to take the other. Sui sighs too and says you guys will have to go back to the office for now. You stare at Mt. Fuji for a moment longer, but nothing unusual happens. Huckle asks if something is wrong and reminds you it's time to go, so you quickly and reluctantly follow along, still dwelling on what you saw.
Scene then shifts to the rooftop of a building that has an overhead view of where you guys just were. Melide and Monomasa are up there, watching you guys as the wind makes their clothes flutter. Melide doesn't say anything, but Monomasa notes that you must have seen it based on your reaction. Melide agrees, saying it's close to awakening but is still asleep for now. And since you could see it, you really are someone more special than her. Monomasa asks her if that means Exio's judgment was correct, so she confirms and says she wants to talk to you too. Monomasa says he'll come with as he comments on how turbulent the night is. The episode then ends with her thanking him and asking him to come along.
Thanks for the translation 👍
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