7-Things That Became Familiar
7-Things That Became Familiar
A month had passed, but...
Nothing had changed dramatically.
Riche still spilled ink, Cael still seemed about to blow up something he made with his own hands, Ori was still asleep, Harlan's hands still trembled, Ser was still picking up screws...
Ah, seriously.
Leard still stood in front of the map without eating...
But strangely, I could see everyone clearly now.
Where Riche got ink on herself, the exact moment Cael's tinkering was about to fail, whether Ori was pretending to sleep or really asleep, how Harlan hid his trembling hands.
The fact that I'd started seeing those things was a sign that a month had passed.
And at some point, we'd started using casual speech with each other. I don't know exactly when... just one day I tossed out, "Hey, look at this," to Riche, and it wasn't awkward.
Hmm... that was all.
=======
That day too, I sat next to Riche, peering at her formulas.
"This is wrong."
"Where."
"Third line."
Riche peered at it... for about 4 seconds.
"...Ah."
"Riche, you..."
"...I have to redo the whole thing."
"I know."
Riche clicked her tongue as she pulled out a new sheet of paper.
She missed when she dipped her pen into the inkwell. A black stain appeared on the table, but Riche pretended not to see it.
"Next time, just give it to me from the beginning."
"I said it was fine."
"That was then."
"It was just now."
"It's different when you're holding a pen and when you're not."
Riche started rewriting the formula.
"Anyway, give it to me next time."
Not admitting it, but finishing with a promise to do better next time. It was a pattern I'd gotten sick of seeing over the month.
Across from us, Cael was staring at his device. The same device for ten days.
"Cael, you're still fine-tuning that?"
"Yeah."
"It's been ten days."
"It's precise work." Cael turned the device this way and that. His expression was serious. "There are steps."
"There's such a thing as a ten-day fine-tuning?"
"There is. It's always like this."
Ori, with her cheek resting on the table, raised her hand. "What step?"
"...I'm counting."
"Still?"
"Counting precisely."
Ori lowered her hand. "That doesn't seem like precise counting."
And closing her eyes, she said, "You just don't know, right?"
"No, I do."
"Okay."
"Really."
"I said okay."
Cael shut his mouth. It was an odd expression, as if he'd lost but also won.
Ser was in the corner, rolling screws on her palm. Today she had a decent number.
"Ser, did you get a lot of screws today?"
"The shelf was empty again."
"Didn't you say you fixed it?"
"It was empty again."
She repeated the same thing twice. When Ser says the same thing twice, it's a sign she's already explained enough, so I didn't ask further.
"Ser." Cael interjected. "If the shelf empties again, tell me. I'll fix it for you."
"You fixed it earlier."
"..."
"Even after fixing, it's empty."
Cael made a thoughtful expression, then said, "Then how about we get rid of the shelf entirely?"
Ser looked at Cael. Expressionlessly.
"Then what do I use."
"Just the floor—"
"The screws roll away."
"...Right."
Harlan closed his book in the corner and said,
"A month has passed."
"Yes."
"Everyone's changed, he says." He smiled slowly.
"At first, everyone had eyes that didn't know what to look at."
"Harlan, you don't seem to have changed much."
"I was fine from the beginning, he says." Harlan hugged the book to his chest.
Very nonchalantly. "There was no need to change."
It was the logic of a seventy-three-year-old. There was no room nor reason to argue.
And our leader, Leard... stood in front of the map. Since morning. Not even eating, just standing there.
"Leard."
"Yeah."
"Food."
"Later."
"You've been standing there since morning; when is 'later'?"
"I'm looking at something important."
"You said that last month too."
Leard took his eyes off the map and looked at me. He paused, as if about to say something and then stopping.
"The problem is I can see everything."
"If you can see everything, isn't that a good thing?"
"Because it's the most frustrating when you can see everything but don't know how to touch it."
The warehouse fell silent for a moment.
Did this guy just say he's frustrated? It was the first human-sounding word I'd heard from Leard in a month.
Leard looked back at the map as if nothing had happened.
Riche murmured softly.
"...Just eat."
Leard didn't answer, but a moment later he walked from the map to the table and sat down without a word.
Ori, with her eyes not fully open, pushed a piece of bread across the table, and Leard picked it up.
Ser stopped rolling the screw and said,
"There's more bread."
Ser pushed another piece of bread that was at the edge of the table.
Leard picked that up too.
=====
The first operation plan came up a few days later.
Leard spread a map on the table. It wasn't a map of the Papal See. It was a map of a small city half a day's distance from this city.
"Beren City."
Ori raised her head. "There's a public execution next week. Three craftsmen condemned as heretics."
"I know, that's why I'm bringing it up."
"I see." Ori put her cheek back down. "Are we stopping it?"
"We're scattering it. We'll empty the execution reading spot.
If we lay down a sound disruption spell in the square, the reading won't reach the crowd. If they don't hear the pronouncement, the execution order won't be given."
Cael peered at the map.
"Won't the Holy Knights move on their own judgment?"
"Moving without orders violates church procedure. You know how obsessed the church is with procedures."
Harlan set down his book and said,
"Sound disruption, I can do that. How big is the square?"
Ori gave the numbers. Harlan nodded.
"A radius of 30 meters should be enough. It consumes mana, but the duration can be set long."
"Harlan." I hesitated. "Your hand."
"What about my hand." Harlan looked at me slowly. With resolute eyes.
"Magic is not cast with the hands, he says. It's cast with intent. This much is enough." He added after a moment.
"And if you keep worrying about my hand, I'll get upset. This is the second time."
"...Understood."
"If you say it a third time, I'll get mean."
...A subtly mean grandpa, seriously.
Riche interjected. "I'll assist with the sound disruption spell circle design. If I work with Harlan, it'll be fast."
"After you finish the formula first?"
"Of course." Riche pointed at the paper she had been editing earlier. "I'll finish this today, and we'll look at it together in the evening."
"We'll do that." Harlan nodded. Then he glanced at Riche. "Riche."
"Yeah."
"Thank you, he says."
Riche scratched the tip of her nose. "It's just efficient."
"I'm saying it because I'm grateful, not efficient."
"...I know." Riche picked up her pen. "It's fine."
Cael pointed at the map. "What about me?"
"Wait outside the square. If unexpected variables arise, block them."
"Without explosives?"
"Without."
Cael was silent for a moment. He had the expression of someone who'd lost something. "...Really?"
"Yeah."
"What can I do without explosives."
"There's plenty you can do."
"..."
"Cael."
"Yeah."
"Explosives aren't everything."
Cael paused a beat, then crossed his arms. "Got it." Then he muttered softly, "But it's true that I could do better with them."
"Cael has a very important additional mission, so don't worry."
"Really?"
Cael's face brightened.
"Yeah, with something you can blow up a lot."
And Ser couldn't wait and interjected.
"I'll extract the three of them."
"Then wait in the east alley."
"Alone?"
"Yeah."
Ser nodded. That was it.
Well, Leard and Ser communicate without long words.
Finally
Leard looked at me.
"Victor."
"Yeah."
"On the day, you'll pick the timing. Do you know the execution procedures of Beren City?"
"I know."
Cael raised his head. "How do you know?"
"I just know."
Cael looked at me, then at Leard, then lowered his gaze back to his device.
"...So we've entered an era where 'I just know' is simply accepted."
"Because it's an era where Cael is still counting steps ten days in."
Ori said with her eyes closed.
"That's a different issue."
"How is it different."
Cael shut his mouth.
Leard said, "At which point would the disruption be most effective?"
I looked at the map. It was the execution ground square.
"When the prayer time begins."
"Basis."
"In Beren City, there's a 10-minute group prayer before the execution. At that time, the crowd has their eyes closed. The speed at which they perceive sound abnormalities slows, and the time for confusion to spread lengthens."
Riche picked up her pen. "With 10 minutes of prayer, there'd be mana to spare."
"There would be," Harlan nodded.
"How long does it take for the restart order to come down?" Leard looked at Ori.
Ori, without opening her eyes, said,
"Fifteen to twenty minutes. The executioner reports to a higher priest, and the command is reissued."
"Ser."
"Yeah."
"How many minutes do you need to extract the three?"
"Five minutes."
"That falls within the confusion period." Leard pressed the table once. "We'll go with that."
Leard looked at me.
"Right."
Those two syllables hung oddly for a moment. It was a word that included calculation, and also trust. It wasn't just a casual remark.
Leard lowered his gaze to the map.
=====
After the meeting, the map remained on the table, and everyone returned to their spots.
Riche spread out a paper next to Harlan,
and soon the two put their heads together.
Not figuratively,
but literally sitting opposite each other, heads pressed together, scribbling something on the paper below.
It was a method where if Riche wrote something, Harlan corrected it, and if Harlan said something, Riche translated it into formulas. So there was little talk.
Still, something was constantly passing between them.
Cael brought out his device again, but this time he just stared at it quietly.
He didn't take anything apart, which actually seemed strange.
...And Ori was lying face down as always.
"Ori."
"Yeah."
"Sleeping?"
"Thinking."
"With your eyes closed?"
"It works better."
"Then that's basically sleeping—"
"I said I'm thinking." Ori raised and lowered a hand. "Important thoughts."
I didn't ask further. A month ago I'd have thought it made no sense, but now I just go along with it if she says so... I just...
Ser was putting the screws into a small box in the corner.
"Ser, what are you using that for?"
"Giving it to Cael."
Cael looked up. "To me?"
"You'll need them again next time."
Cael was silent for a moment. "...Thanks, Ser."
Ser nodded, and that was it.
Ser was always like that.
The way she did something but then disappeared as if she hadn't.
And our silent, taciturn, stony-faced leader Leard.
Leard was standing in front of the map again. This time it was the map of the Papal See.
"Leard."
"Yeah."
"It's our first operation. Are you scared?"
The warehouse fell silent.
Leard took his eyes off the map and looked at me.
There was a brief pause.
"No."
"Really?"
"It's not failure that scares me, it's stopping."
Those words lingered on the table.
Riche picked up her pen again. "Then don't stop."
"I know."
"If you know, that's enough."
Harlan smiled quietly. "All young people are like that, he says. They run because they're scared of stopping. I've already stopped many times, so."
"So?"
"So now I'm not scared." Harlan opened his book.
"Even if you stop, you end up moving again eventually, he says." He added after a moment.
"But this is something you only know when you're seventy. For now, just run."
Ori raised her hand.
"I'm scared."
Everyone looked at Ori.
"Of what."
"What if I can't sleep the night before Beren City."
Cael looked flabbergasted. "That's what you're most scared of right now?"
"It's the most important thing. If I can't sleep, I can't process information."
"Well... that's true, but."
Ser said, "I'm scared too."
Everyone looked at Ser.
"Of what."
"The shelf."
"...The shelf?"
"If we go to Beren City, we'll use a lot of screws. Then the shelf will be empty again."
Cael let out a "Hey" and then stopped.
Riche held back a laugh.
...I think it's the first time I'd seen Riche try not to laugh.
Leard didn't laugh and looked back at the map, but it seemed like a tiny bit of tension had left his shoulders.
======
It was that evening that I realized we didn't have a name.
Ori, while reporting on the route, said,
"They said they don't know what to call us."
"We don't have a name."
"We don't? I thought we might have had one."
Riche stopped her pen. "We really don't."
Cael crossed his arms. "Can't we just go without one?"
"What do we call ourselves when passing information?"
"If we say Leard's side—"
"That's too blatant."
"What if we say anonymous organization?"
"And if they ask what organization?"
Cael shut his mouth.
Harlan said, "Having a name changes how things gather. Nameless is like smoke. You can't grasp it even if it's there."
Everyone seemed to think for a moment. No one spoke.
"Unprey."
I murmured it. It came out louder than I thought.
Everyone turned their heads.
"Those who do not pray."
Ori opened her eyes fully and said, "It rolls off the tongue nicely."
Riche twirled her pen. "It sounds like a declaration of war."
"It is a declaration of war. We're going to break the church anyway."
"That's not wrong." Cael uncrossed his arms.
Harlan pronounced the name aloud. Once. Twice. Slowly.
"Unprey."
There was a brief pause.
"With a name, you remain even after death, he says. The smoke doesn't end as smoke, it becomes a flame."
Ser paused her screw-holding hand. Nodded once. And quietly said,
"It's a good name."
Everyone looked at Ser.
Ser rolled the screw again. "Just saying."
Cael looked at Ser, then at me, then lowered his gaze back to his device. He seemed about to say something, then let it go. This person, too, felt something, but his way of expressing it was roundabout.
Leard looked at me.
"We'll go with that."
That was the decision.
Unprey.
In my previous life, this name was given by people after Leard's execution.
Because it was a name given to the dead... how regrettable a name it was, I remembered a strange tingling in my chest when I first heard it.
But this time, that name emerged while alive.
We hadn't yet gone to Beren City, nor fought dozens of battles,
and the first day of the two years hadn't yet come. But the name came first.
Last time, the name was left at the end. This time, it's attached to the beginning,
The fact that something changed
means we can change the outcome too.
The flickering magic orb lit up once more.
This time, without going out, it stayed
"That something is changing..."
"It might not be such a bad feeling."
Just, I murmured that to myself so no one could hear.