Luminous Star (5)
Curiosity had a way of arriving without warning.
"What are those people? And where exactly are we?"
"A café."
Without so much as turning his head, Seran indicated the crowd that had already begun thrashing the place into chaos with a flick of his eyes.
"They're loud."
"Tell me about it."
"Why are they acting like that?"
"Because you're here, Seran?"
Seran reached for his milk tea, then scratched his head instead.
The Americano beside it caught the light.
Am I the only one who likes it bitter?
"Is it my fault?"
"More or less. Every time I come here I wear a hat and cover my face. I skipped it today because your outfit was already drawing every eye in the room."
"You wear one every time you come?"
"Pretty much."
Seran turned toward me, and our eyes met. Whether out of consideration or something else, the glow in those golden irises dimmed as they held mine.
"Why?"
So many questions.
Well, it had been a year since the Spirit Realm purge order. It had been a long time.
The fact that he wasn't making a scene and throwing his arms around me was already more than enough. It was comfortable — the two of us saying almost nothing at all.
"Why? Because I hate the noise. And looks like those… I know it's not really my place to say this, but I can't stand them anymore."
I said looks, but the eyes fixed on me belonged entirely to the people far across the room. From those scrambling out the entrance in a rush of screams, all that reached us was a draft of cold air and the raw scarlet of their feelings.
Seran started to say something more, then closed his mouth again.
Milk tea slipped past his lips — if you could call that dark, hollow passage a mouth. Beneath the drab robe, nothing showed but those two eyes.
"It's a little… how should I put this. Isn't it troublesome for you?"
"I finally turned into a woman and still have to cover myself up. It's stifling. I can barely breathe."
"Hah."
I took the straw between my lips and drew in a mouthful of Americano. Still bitter.
Good thing the barista didn't run. I should be grateful they managed to make the drinks at all.
Most of the people packing the café had fled, and quiet settled in. Perfect.
I saw the robe tremble. Spirit or not, his emotions always came through sharper than most.
Anger? Grief? Pity?
"Even so, for Lady Orly to be treated like this…"
Before Seran could finish, the door beside us burst open and a man came charging in. Unusual armor. Unusual mana. A high-tier Awakened, maybe?
Probably not Association. They were busy with their not-quite-negotiation with me right now.
Word would have reached the upper ranks by now.
So this man was almost certainly… yeah. One of those.
"I'll kill her! I'm going to kill that bitch right now!"
Eyes bloodshot, the man swung a hammer — and screamed. A massive hand clamped down on his arm and wrenched it.
The robe shuddered and produced a strange, warped tone.
An incantation? The Spirit King using black magic. That's almost funny.
"Gyaaah! Agh! Aaagh…! Haaah!"
Seran lifted a spear tipped with a spike.
"Don't kill him, Seran."
Those flashing eyes swung toward me and wavered. I took another quiet sip of Americano, and Seran let out a hollow laugh before hurling the man to the floor.
"…Do you run into this sort of thing often?"
I did, more or less. Whether they couldn't adapt to the changed world, or whether a little internal mana had inflated their egos past all reason, there were quite a few who took up some half-baked sense of justice.
I understood the feeling. From their perspective, killing me would have won them something — honor, wealth, or that cartoon righteousness of I defeated the villain!
Reality, unfortunately, was never that generous.
Not to the man clutching his gut and bolting for the door. And not to me.
If I'd just sat still every time, would I be dead by now — and would they have gotten their happy ending?
The thought surfaced without warning.
I smiled faintly and dropped a sugar cube into the Americano. With a soft plop, the white fragment sank into the dark lake and never came back up.
Bitterness stung my mouth, then sweetness swept across my tongue. Better.
"This really is no place to live. Even after Lady Orly saved it once, the human world is still the human world."
I don't know about that. Can you even call it saving? I started killing a couple of spirit grunts that came through the Subspace because I thought I could use them as blood constructs, and somehow it turned into a spirit massacre across the human world.
What that has to do with saving humanity is beyond me.
And even if I did save them, people hating me is an inevitable result — and an ongoing one.
"…Judging by your silence, I can see what you're thinking. Very well."
That rough voice scraped against my ear as Seran rose from his seat.
"Don't worry. Once I've settled the aftereffects of claiming the new Crown, I'll begin a fresh project at once — for the human world, and for you, Lady Orly."
With that, he vanished as abruptly as he had come.
"Take care."
He didn't even wait for my goodbye.
Outside, walking, I felt the cool wind. Streetlamps lining the road scattered light as they flickered on one by one. Past evening and into night, the sky had been swallowed by total dark.
In the distance, the Association building held its ground.
Treatment's going to run late today.
Seran's sudden intrusion threw off the schedule.
Not my fault.
Is she going to be angry that I neglected her?
That might actually be nice in its own way.
[ I doubt that's the case. ]
"A girl can dream."
Well, it wasn't really a problem.
Finish the suturing today, confirm the join tomorrow, and that would be it.
Ah — which meant I wouldn't even have a legitimate excuse to touch Erika's arm anymore.
Not that touching her arm was necessary for the treatment in the first place.
The magic circle did all the work. I just supplied the power.
Turning over these pointless thoughts, I entered the Association building and stepped into the elevator.
Without thinking, I pressed the button for the top floor and waited — then suddenly realized I had no idea where Erika's department even was.
"…Now what?"
I arrived at the uppermost floor, blinked, and stepped out. Following wherever my body pulled me, I walked into what must have been the director's office —
and our eyes met with a sharp little click.
"…Hi."
"…"
Erika, on her way out of the office, frowned. She was holding her arm.
"Does it hurt a little?"
"…Yes."
So even a short delay is enough to set it off.
"Sorry. Let me take a look."
Maybe because I was always the one who spoke first, she said nothing more and headed for the break room next door.
In the calm of that quiet space, the treatment began.
Rings formed, and the process unfolded in a sequence denser and more stable than last time.
"It'll join by tomorrow. After that I just need to inscribe the formula. Today's the last real treatment session. There won't be any aftereffects."
Erika nodded with a composed expression.
I was a little curious, honestly. What was she thinking? I'd been the one to cut it off, and now I was the one healing it — showing up at the Association in person for days leading up to the formula inscription.
But what came out of Erika's mouth had nothing to do with any of that.
"…We've pinpointed the organization's locations. Most of the minor sites have been assigned to lower-ranked hunters. We… will be heading to the ones classified as high-risk."
Erika pulled several reports from her hand and laid them on the table. Photographs of the group, locations, and written descriptions filled the pages.
"So they decided to deploy me after all!"
"…You should count yourself lucky."
"Oh, I do. I'm thrilled I get to back up your team."
Her eyes narrowed to a glare.
I suddenly wanted to give the arm I was treating a little jolt, just to mess with her.
I held back.
"The operation is tomorrow. The team is you and me. Two people."
"Just you and me. My heart's racing."
"We haven't confirmed exact numbers of permanent personnel yet, but estimates put it at three 3rd Tier Awakened, plus a significant number of other high-tier Awakened."
The treatment was already finished. Erika didn't seem to notice. She kept pointing at the reports with her finger, reciting the lines as if they were critically important information, her arm still extended toward me.
Those pure white eyes, cut as cleanly as gemstones, moved between me and the papers. Golden hair slipped down along her cheek.
"…Are you listening?"
I'd been staring without realizing it. I nodded in a hurry.
Was it strange that Erika could keep explaining so calmly right in front of me — or was I the awful one for zoning out while she went into detail?
Maybe it was only natural. When all was said and done, Erika was Association. This was part of the job. She was probably just doing what she always did.
"After a preliminary site inspection, we'll move to elimination. Just… quietly follow my lead."
I nodded quietly. There was a small measure of relief in it, too.
I was still a wanted Awakened, after all. I'd half expected them to restrict my movements or saddle me with any number of other risks.
I let out a soft breath — and the next words out of Erika's mouth felt like they were laughing at everything I'd just been thinking.
"Ah. And on the day of the operation, don't even think about trying anything strange."
"…Huh?"
Without a shred of hesitation at my blank reaction, Erika pointed past the break room, toward a garment visible through the office window.
…Is that a restraint suit?
"Handmade by the Arcane Engineering Division. A restraint suit used to transport wanted rankers from high-tier Awakened on up. Mana suppression, reduced physical strength, and so on. I assume you're familiar."
She wasn't even smiling. With the calm face of someone stating the obvious — the face of someone who believed this was exactly the treatment I deserved — she organized the reports without so much as glancing my way.
"You'll wear that and sit quietly in a corner of the site that day. I can handle the cleanup alone."
After several seconds of silence, our eyes met. Hers looked a shade more drained of color than before.
Did the director take my comment about needing blood during last week's not-quite-negotiation to heart?
This could also mean that if I refuse even this, the whole collaboration is off.
That would explain why things have been going so smoothly. With that restraint suit, I'd be trustworthy enough. It cuts off the source of mana at the root, after all.
There's also the chance they'll use the suit as an opportunity to do something to me.
Erika's unilateral decision? Or orders from above?
Well, it wasn't really a problem. If anything, it was a better opportunity for my plans. The moment you start relying on something, the situation has a way of flipping on you.
"Are you going to put it on me?"
"…"
"Then I'll wear it without a fuss."
Looking forward to whatever expression she would make tomorrow — and to how she would satisfy me —
I offered a gentle smile to the woman glaring at me.
