No. 13's True Face
".. Nom.."
"..."
What was that sound..?
".. Nom nom.."
"..."
Still groggy, I had been about to open my eyes without thinking when the situation before I lost consciousness came rushing back. I lowered my eyelids calmly instead. Then, moving with extreme care, I cracked them open just enough to peer toward the mysterious sound still echoing in the room. My vision slowly cleared.
".. Munch munch.."
Only her back was visible, but the horn sprouting from one side of her head was unmistakable. The gas mask lying beside her confirmed it. Next to that sat the fruit basket the team leader had brought as a get-well gift.
"..."
A thin, bony arm poked out from ragged clothes and picked up another piece of fruit. I quietly turned my head away.
Where were we? The unfinished construction site of some building? I glanced around and noticed the open exterior wall revealed more sky than ground—we were high up. And that smooth blue thing..
"Kyuu?"
"Mini Undine?! Gah."
I blurted the words without thinking. I had hoped against hope that the ability user hadn't heard me, but the way her arm froze halfway to her mouth told me I was already caught.
Scolding myself for the stupid mistake, I squeezed my eyes shut the moment she turned around—
".. Y-you're.. awake.."
The voice that reached me was a woman's, trembling badly.
"...?"
Since I sensed no hostility, I opened my eyes again. And then—
—I saw her bare, youthful face without the gas mask. Faint bruises still lingered here and there, and grime streaked her skin from what looked like weeks without washing. It made me wonder if she could really be an accomplice to the flamboyant Fire Chicken. Still, with no mental voice reaching me, I couldn't afford to jump to conclusions.
"Um.."
"S-sorry..! I'm sorry.. I'm sorry.. I'm sorry.."
The moment I spoke, she stumbled backward, eyes shaking with panic. Even though I'd only said one word, she kept muttering apologies in a clumsy voice, the picture of someone terrified. Why was she reacting to me like this? They were the ones who had kidnapped us.
"Uuun.."
Nero seemed to be waking up too. Since we'd been dumped here without ceremony, her face had ended up buried against my crotch. She lifted her head.
"..."
She opened her eyes for a split second, took in the situation, then quietly shifted her head onto my thigh and pretended to be asleep again. I felt the brief flicker of surprise she tried to hide.
I wanted to let her keep up the act, but this wasn't the time.
"Nero.. whoa."
When I reached out to wake her, I finally noticed the thick handcuffs locked around both of my wrists. Nero was wearing an identical pair.
"Kyuuung..?"
Mini Undine was still wriggling cutely, completely unbothered.
"Sorry.. S-sorry.. Please.. don't move.."
Click.
Despite the timid voice, the heavy metallic sound that followed was the unmistakable noise of a pistol being chambered.
".. Ah, got it. I'll just sit down, okay? Really, just sit."
"..."
She nodded.
"Thanks.."
With her permission, Nero and I finally escaped our awkward positions and sat on the concrete floor. Mini Undine continued wriggling as if she had no idea what was happening. I looked up at the person who had brought us here.
Her goal.. hostage exchange? Was she trying to trade us for Fire Chicken?
".. You're the one who brought us here, right?"
I wasn't asking because I didn't know. I just wanted to open a conversation since she didn't seem hostile despite kidnapping us.
"... Yes. I'm sorry.. But I had no choice.."
The only common ground we had was this. If I kept talking, maybe I could lower her guard bit by bit..
".. What do you mean, 'no choice'?!"
"Hic..!"
Thud!
".. Ah."
Nero ruined everything in spectacular fashion. The girl flinched hard at the loud voice and toppled backward, throwing both arms over her head on reflex. A defensive gesture. Who was she protecting herself from..?
Thanks to that, an opening appeared. The gun barrel was pointed far away from us now. Maybe..
"Please.. stay still.. I'm begging you.."
Just as I was about to stand, I saw the arm holding the pistol—severed. Of course, it hadn't actually been cut off. The rest of the arm..?
"..."
..was currently sticking out of a small window right beside my head, pressing the muzzle against my temple. The cold metal felt chilling.
"Calm down.. Calm down. I won't do anything. I won't.. Just.."
Huh..? Why was the safety.. still on?
I hadn't noticed from a distance, but up close it was obvious—the safety was still engaged. Now that I thought about it, she had thrown the gas canister in the recovery room without even pulling the pin. Was she just mimicking Fire Chicken because she was alone now? That would explain things, but.. was she really this sloppy?
In that case..
Grab!
"Eh..?"
Whoosh!
"Kyaaah!"
The moment I understood the situation, I seized her wrist with my cuffed hands and yanked. The window she had been using widened, and her absurdly light body tumbled straight into my arms. She didn't even try to resist, just stared blankly as I subdued her while she still held the gun.
Maybe I had a talent for fieldwork after all—except she'd cuffed our hands in front instead of behind.
"Uuun.."
Her resistance was pathetically weak. Surrounded by nothing but women stronger than me, I felt a forgotten sense of masculinity stir.
"W-what? Why are you suddenly tackling her, Master?"
"First.. mm, Nero, try taking the gun."
Even if she didn't know the safety was on, the fact that she never once tried to pull the trigger while I disarmed her was surprising.
"Uut.. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.."
Now that I had her pinned, her small body trembled violently. Honestly, I was starting to feel guilty.
Looking at her squeezed-shut eyes and complete loss of will to resist, I couldn't help asking.
"The student you took. Where is she now?"
"H-huh? Student..?"
"The girl who was with you. Tell me where she is and we'll be fine."
She hadn't understood the word "student," but once I said "girl," she reacted.
So she had been keeping her.
"Th-that.. she's.. in the.. bathroom.."
"Bathroom..?"
"I mean.. yesterday.. she said she was going to the bathroom.. but.."
"Yesterday?"
What was this now? She went to the bathroom yesterday and still hadn't come back?
"Did she.. run away?"
"...!"
Wait, seriously..? She had actually believed the girl would come back?
..No way.
"That.. can't be.. How could she.."
Kidnapping someone as a hostage was already pretty cruel. A report must have been filed by now. The response team was probably overloaded, so processing and relay had been delayed. I'd have to check later, but for now I could relax a little. She was this careless.
"So.. I'm going to be taken away too.. right?"
"Huh..?"
"Like Scarlet.. Ah.. I'm sorry.. I'm sorry.. I'm sorry.. I'm sorry.. But with this.. I won't have to hurt anymore.."
Her eyes were dull and haggard as she suddenly began to smile weakly. Before I could react to the unexpected response—
"Ugh.. Uwaaah..!"
Her body, which I'd been pinning down, started thrashing with a violence completely unlike before.
"Aagh..! Uwaaaah..! I'm sorry..! I'm sorry..!!"
She clutched her stomach and writhed in agony, apologizing desperately to someone I couldn't see. I could only watch, helpless.
I knew instinctively.
".. Stigma."
The restraint collar around her neck and the broken chain had already told me everything. She was a prisoner under Stigma's control too. They had said resisting the absolute command would feel like burning pain. I didn't know exactly what that pain was like, but having literally felt my insides burn before, I couldn't just sit and watch her suffer.
I tried to reach for Mini Undine, thinking she could help, but Nero blocked me.
"Wait, Master. You're going to help the person who kidnapped us?"
"No, this is.."
"I know what Stigma is. The only way to escape that punishment is if she takes us hostage again. If she's not planning to obediently let herself be captured, we should just leave her and run..!"
"..."
Nero's words and actions were perfectly reasonable. I knew that, but..
"Still.."
This girl didn't look like a villain no matter how I looked at her. And I already knew what fate awaited prisoners marked with Stigma. If that was the case, her punishment would be..
"I can't."
"Master?"
Ignoring Nero's protests, I picked up Mini Undine and approached the girl who was still choking and writhing. Sensing something tasty, Mini Undine squirmed in my arms, trying to leap toward her.
".. Please, Mini Undine."
The moment the pain-eating Undine jumped into her arms, the girl let out another pained groan and grimaced, but she stopped thrashing. Sweat poured down her body, her face twisted. I couldn't believe this was the work of an archangel. Just a minor difference in perspective toward ability users and anomalies..
Without realizing it, I had knelt beside her and was reaching out to hold her hand when—
"Trying to save her again this time?"
"Huh..?"
The voice from behind wasn't Nero's. I whipped my head around to see someone rising smoothly from my shadow.
"Your big-brother act is going to get you in trouble one of these days."
"Founder..?"
I'd seen her emerge from shadows before, but did it really work from anywhere?
"More importantly.."
"..?"
"I asked you a question. Are you trying to save her this time too?"