Light (7)
Whether it was thanks to the mana grass, or because my mind had cleared a little without my noticing, I woke far too early.
Six in the morning. Caught in a sudden lift of spirits, I threw on a coat a size too large for my body and stood once more before the full-length mirror.
Nothing much had changed since the first time I became a woman. Cascading waves of silver hair. Eyes touched with the dark blue of the deep sea. Skin so pale it looked as though sunlight had scoured it bare.
And the pitch-black gothic lolita dress I'd only just finished washing yesterday. A black coat over it, still a little awkward on me.
Maybe I ought to look for some new clothes.
I was idly twirling a strand of hair when the air beside me warped and a violet fissure tore open in empty space.
"Mmngh… Hmm? You've woken."
She had no hands, but if she did, she would have been rubbing at the corners of her eyes.
"My eyes opened early."
"Outdoor clothes, I see. Where are you going?"
"A Gate is forming. I thought I'd take a look."
Even with the labor shortage, there were still at least a handful of Hunters and Awakened around. Some of them came hunting the magic stones you could get from the monsters that spilled out of Gates.
Watching people scramble so hard for their own gain made for decent entertainment. And while I was at it, I could collect some blood. Kill time nearby, then slip in when the moment was right. Magic stones were useful to me, too.
"Is that so…"
Bloody gave what passed for a nod, blinked a few times, and looked outside. We were a fair distance away, so she might not have seen it clearly—but she must have spotted the small fissure taking shape.
"It shall take some time to open. A few hours, perhaps. I wish to sleep a while longer. Take me with you."
"How?"
"That coat pocket looks rather plush. Come now."
"Yes, yes. Whatever you say."
I gently tucked the tiny sphere—eyes shut, little cloak fluttering—into my pocket and turned my head.
I needed a hat. A hoodie would have been nice. Hmm.
After a moment's thought I turned my back, swept a hand through the air, and scattered mana. A textured hat, matching the black coat, formed in just the right place and locked snugly around the collar.
"Well… this should do."
I nodded to myself without meaning to and started walking.
Whether the Gate's tier was high or low, I'd only know once I got there. Small enough that a few Hunters could handle it—or something that would need veterans to enter. That sort of thing.
Of course, pinning down the exact grade would take time; the Gate still had to finish evolving.
"Mmm…! How soft…! Quite so!"
"Glad to hear it."
"Did you buy a new coat?"
"It's one I already had."
"Buy plenty more from now on. …I shall sleep the rest of the way."
The way she poked her head out, then slipped smoothly back in, called to mind some tiny, adorable animal.
I let out a breath and widened my field of view. Rows of buildings. The chatter of birdsong. Sunlight beginning to pour down, slow and steady.
Early morning. Naturally, there weren't many people about. Almost none, really. Still, I didn't want to stir up any unnecessary fuss.
No helping it.
"Mm."
I pulled the hat I'd fused to the coat up over my head and tugged it down deep. Only a fringe of bangs showed. My long silver hair vanished completely beneath the oversized coat.
My arms had gotten shorter, too, so the sleeves hung a little loose—that was a bonus.
I lightened my body and picked up speed, drifting as I moved. Feeling the currents of air, I adjusted my course.
A familiar scent. Familiar noise. Familiar resonance.
I widened my vision and looked up. A brief flare of pain lanced through my neck—and there it was, plain as day.
A fissure.
A fissure, meaning a tear in space itself. Across a sky that looked perfectly clean, utterly untroubled, something sharp and not of this world had been dragged straight through it, ripping it open.
An irregularity of nature, doing its clumsy best to blend in with its surroundings—a small maw cracking open, the air around it warped and shattered like broken glass.
And that was exactly what I was looking at now.
It hadn't even properly evolved yet. Just the bare shape of a maw. But at that size, it would almost certainly grow into a high-tier Gate.
Which meant the branch office might send in veteran personnel.
Maybe it was a habit I'd picked up since becoming a woman—I reached without thinking to twirl a lock of hair at my temple, only for my hand to bump into the hat pulled all the way down over my head.
"…Whoa."
A small girl's voice pulled my gaze over. The figure at the end of it was a girl as well. Black hair, red eyes—
And in one hand… an axe?
"A G-Gate…"
The girl murmuring to herself looked about my age. Her height lined up with mine, too. She stared at the fissure, blinking a few times, as if she found it fascinating.
Ah. Our eyes met.
What. Why is she coming this way. Hold on, you—what—
"Um, h-hello? Is that thing a Gate?"
People usually just… stop talking at this point, don't they?
Her voice was surprisingly bright. An aspiring Hunter, maybe? Did that kind of rank even exist in this world?
"……"
I hastily jammed the hat down harder. I yanked the collar up over my mouth. Even so, I couldn't tear my eyes from her gaze. It was passionate. Forward.
"Ah, um. I'm sorry if I startled you. I-I was just curious…"
I glanced around. Besides me, there really was no one else. Was this just her personality?
More importantly—why wasn't I saying anything? I should answer something.
"…Yes. It'll evolve into a Gate… soon."
"Ah…! So it isn't a Gate yet!"
Something like that. But why did I keep clutching my collar, trying to hide?
It was a strange thing. There was a time I'd enjoyed the stares of so many people.
And now—did I really think doing this would change anything?
Was I trying to look like an ordinary girl to someone else? Barely a dozen hours ago I'd been swinging a blade.
Still, I couldn't bring myself to brush off the stubborn interest this girl was showing me.
I nodded, let go of the hat, and lowered my hand. My gaze eased a little.
"…It's a fissure. It'll take a few hours before it becomes a Gate."
"Ah… I s-see…"
The girl nodded as if she'd just absorbed a new piece of knowledge, then hesitated, fidgeting.
"Something that size is dangerous. It's fine for now, but people will start gathering soon, and a subjugation team will set up here."
Not that the numbers would be large. It would stay at a reasonable level.
"I'd stay clear if I were you."
That was the least consideration I could offer.
If anyone caught you standing here with me—
What do you think would happen to you?
I dipped my head slightly and turned away from her. I didn't know why, but my legs felt heavy.
"So kids like that exist, too."
"Heh heh. How adorable."
I suppose.
"You're awake?"
"The pocket is comfortable enough… though the jostling is rather disagreeable."
"There's only so much I can do about that."
"Do try to be gentler."
More to the point—if this Gate was high-tier, how high would it climb?
Would they send just a single Ranker?
Turning over idle thoughts, I kicked off the ground and leapt, landing on the rooftop of a low building. The coat flared.
"Gyaaaah…! Did I not tell you to be gentler?!"
Quiet down.
I pulled a piece of bread from my coat pocket, tore it into small bits, and stuffed a crumb into Bloody's flapping mouth before taking a large bite myself.
From inside my clothes I drew out a glass vial, gathered an assortment of cubes and beads, and scattered them. They spread naturally through the air, locked in place, and spun connecting lines between one another.
An elliptical magic circle took form. Crimson currents swirled. From within it I drew a single knife and set it floating at the circle's center.
Viscous red matter was drawn into the blade, layering power over it, coating it thick. Mana bloomed, and the knife began to glow.
That should be enough.
Now to kill some time.
It wasn't a simple phrase.
It was a foothold. One step forward.
Ding-a-ling.
"Welcome."
A café.
In the year I'd spent in hiding, and even lately, now that I'd started showing myself and moving again—I hadn't set foot near a place like this.
Naturally. If I appeared, the shop would turn into a war zone. And more than that… well. There hadn't really been anywhere I wanted to go.
But after becoming a woman, after my daily life started to shift, after I'd decided I would change who I was—I'd resolved to be a little bolder.
Early morning really was the best. Barely anyone around, right?
I tugged the hat down even deeper and walked slowly to the counter.
"What can I get for you?"
At the clerk's gentle voice, I lifted my head just enough to look at the menu board on the wall.
…Why were there so many?
Cappuccino, café mocha, latte, strawberry yogurt smoothie… frappé…
So many names, each with its own taste and aroma. Far too many kinds.
It definitely hadn't been like this a long time ago. When was that—a few years back?
Or maybe there had been just as many even then. I'd always stuck to one drink, so I might simply never have bothered remembering the rest.
"…An iced americano, please."
In the end, what I chose was the drink I liked best and had ordered the most.
I'd meant to get only one, but Bloody's pleading look wore me down, and I ordered two.
The sharp, faintly astringent taste of the americano hit my tongue.
"Blech! What is this?! It tastes dreadful!"
"That's the taste of being a grown-up. It doesn't suit a child's palate."
"What? A-are you insulting me just now?"
Not exactly.
My tongue just seemed unused to the cold after so long. It definitely wasn't because it tasted bad.
…I should have ordered a fruit smoothie or something. I used to like those.
"Looking at your face, you can hardly stomach it either! I knew it!"
I ignored her, more or less, and stirred a little of the sugar I'd brought into the coffee. One small sugar cube, and the bitterness and sweetness settled into a delicate balance.
Not bad.
…If I was going to do this, I should have just ordered something sweet from the start.
"Me too—give me some as well!"
I dropped one into hers the same way and watched Bloody suck noisily through a tiny straw before taking a sip myself.
Ice clinked and knocked together.
"That's rather better now."
"Such a child's palate."
"Must you keep teasing me?! You found it rather dreadful yourself, did you not?!"
I smiled faintly and turned my head.
In the warm sunlight, tiny motes glittered. Light caught on the ice and spun a little rainbow. A good scent. A good atmosphere. I closed my eyes for a moment.
I liked this kind of ordinary day. I liked this peace that, for this moment at least, would not be crushed. Someday it might shatter, and I might gather the broken pieces with bloodied hands—but for now, I wanted to savor this time a little longer.
I was sinking into that dreamy haze when a stir of noise pulled my eyes open.
"Huh? Wh-what?"
"Is that a Gate?"
"It's opening already?"
My head turned toward the window on its own. The café sat right by the fissure, so I could see it clearly. The glass wall beside the table where I was sitting didn't hurt, either.
Barely an hour had passed. And yet the fissure had skipped several stages of evolution and already become a high-tier Gate.
A transparent barrier split apart as murky violet lines rooted themselves through the air, and around them a vast space yawned open—a maw gaping, pulsing, repulsive.
This Gate was quite the irregular. Its progress was fast.
I swept my gaze across and caught the Hunters already staking out positions around the Gate.
And her—the blonde girl who hated me with a vicious, bone-deep loathing—stood out at once. Her mouth was opening and closing; she must have been saying something to her companions.
I blinked without meaning to and started to rise. The hat I'd jammed down to hide the upper half of my face caught a reverse current of air and slipped off. The collar I'd held over my mouth loosened, and the coat fell slightly open.
The eyes of the people looking out the window drifted, naturally, to me in the window seat.
Our gazes met.
And the commotion began.