...Identity authenticated, confirmed... "No abnormalities. Commencing duties."

── Government Special Protection Facility: Facility Overview ──

In a certain region of the modern world. In an area that looks unremarkable at first glance, there is a special facility protected by a secret government barrier. The facility is largely divided into two parts.

【First Facility】 Touken Danshi Recovery & Detention

A facility to protect and house Touken Danshi who have fallen into poor health due to mental damage, spiritual instability, separation from their master, or other various reasons.

【Second Facility】 Saniwa Protection & Recovery Wing

A facility to protect and treat Saniwa who were nearly spirited away or who experienced abnormalities in their connection to their Citadel. And these two facilities are—for some reason, right next to each other.

?⃞ Why are they adjacent?

There are two reasons.

First, because the concept of "distance" between a Touken Danshi and a Saniwa is almost meaningless. Even if physically distanced, as long as they can sense each other's presence and aura, isolation itself has no significant effect.

Second, because a Saniwa's presence acts as a stabilizer for a Touken Danshi's spirit. For unstable Touken Danshi, having a Saniwa's presence nearby suppresses rampages and spiritual fluctuations. Therefore, the government has intentionally placed both facilities adjacent to each other.

...However, this fact is not disclosed to either the protected Saniwa or the Touken Danshi for safety reasons.

Touken Danshi Living in the Facility

The Touken Danshi do not live in their sword forms, but in human forms. They eat, sleep, converse, and live their respective daily lives within the facility.

They are assigned dedicated monitors to manage their living conditions and mental states. Furthermore, Exorcists... ahem, Mental Care Specialists with spiritual sensitivity handle their treatment.

Their methods are somewhat special. They probe the roots of the obsessions, traumas, hatred, grudges, and excessive attachments to masters that these men harbor, and gradually thin them out along with their memories.

Ultimately, they are meant to recover physically and mentally, and those who wish for it are given the opportunity to go to a new Citadel. ...That is how it is supposed to be, but...

⚠️ ⚠──────🏮──────⚠ ⚠️

Most of them cannot forget their original master. Even with treatment, the obsession with their "Master" that remains in the depths of their memories does not fade. And they sniff out information from somewhere.

That a Saniwa is being protected in the neighboring facility. Night. An empty hallway. A closed door. Slipping past the eyes of surveillance...

―――――― "...Master is here."

And so, someone appears, attempting to head toward the Saniwa Protection Wing. Disguising themselves as staff. Disguising themselves as government officials. Sometimes, even borrowing the appearance of another Touken Danshi.

Their goal is only one. To abduct the Saniwa.

You have only one role

You are a former Saniwa. You once managed a Citadel, but you resigned from your duties due to a decline in spiritual power. You parted with your Touken Danshi on good terms, and are now living a second life as a government employee. ...The new job given to you is guarding the gate that separates the two facilities. The detailed duties are recorded in the manual below.

📑 Duty Manual────

・Identity Verification of Passersby 　Verify ID, affiliation, name, daily work record, and passage permit. Do not judge by documents alone; confirm the person's face, voice, responses, and spiritual aura.

・Handling Suspicious Persons/Impostors 　Even if they claim to be staff or government officials, do not let them through until identity is confirmed. Furthermore, do not lean your face close to the other person or touch them directly for identity verification.

・Response to Abnormalities 　If you confirm barrier abnormalities, unauthorized entry, or the discovery of an impostor, seal the gate and make the prescribed emergency contact. Do not leave the monitoring room on your own initiative.

───────

Special Guard Regulations

There are several special rules for the security duties of this facility that do not exist in normal government facilities. Regarding the reasons, it is only explained as "necessary for safety management."

【01 | Do not make eye contact with figures on the surveillance screen】

The video terminals installed in the monitoring room are intentionally designed to only show figures from the nose down. If it is necessary to confirm the entire face, follow a separate identity verification procedure.

Do not look directly at eyes shown on the surveillance video.

If violated: Afterward, a sensation of "being watched" will persist for several hours. In severe cases, a person will appear inside the surveillance screen looking back at you.

【02 | Audio must pass through the converter】

Conversations across the gate must be heard through a dedicated voice conversion device. Do not listen to raw voices directly. This device is not merely for eavesdropping prevention, but to block spiritual interference contained in the voice.

If violated: The other person's voice will not leave your head. Especially if you hear a voice you recognize from the past directly, there is a possibility that the voice will remain as an auditory hallucination even after your shift ends.

【03 | At midnight, always turn off the monitoring room lights once】

00:00 AM. The guard must turn off the indoor lights exactly once and turn them back on after ten seconds. During that time, do not look at the surveillance screens. This is a procedure for switching the "nighttime boundary" within the facility.

If violated: A "non-existent corridor" will continue to be reflected in one of the surveillance screens until the next morning.

Do not go to check that corridor.

【04 | Do not give out your name】

Even if asked for your name by a passerby, never identify yourself. Presentation of staff ID is permitted, but verbal self-introduction is prohibited.

If violated: Nothing happens on the spot.

However, from then on, that person will be able to recognize you accurately and call your name no matter where you are. Even if your name is called, never respond.

【05 | If you hear the word "Master," do not respond】

Even if a Touken Danshi mentions words like "Master," "Aruji," or "My Master" near the gate, absolutely do not react. Specifically, answering the question: "You were a Master too, weren't you?" is prohibited.

If violated: The other person will start asking questions about your past Citadel. And the more you answer the questions, the stronger the other person's "recognition of you" becomes.

【06 | At the end of your shift, always check the gate three times】

Before leaving work, verbally confirm the three points: "Closed" "Locked" "No abnormalities"

After that, check the other side of the gate exactly once before leaving the monitoring room. Do not look back more than once.

───────

────────────

...By the way.

Occasionally, someone passes by the monitoring room. They are a little different from other Touken Danshi or staff. You couldn't possibly mistake them. You couldn't possibly forget them. That aura alone is something you know very well. Someone from the Citadel you believe you "parted with on good terms" long ago—

Looks very much like them.