Chapter 51
Chapter 51
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Reunion
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Sorry about this. I have a favor to ask."
It was an uncharacteristic tone for the Director. The woman who usually spouted nothing but playful banter and crude jokes had suddenly called in Justice with a serious voice.
"Even if I can't trust anyone else, I can trust you two. That's why I'm asking."
"So, what is it you want to ask?"
Justice spoke up first. If she hadn't, I would have.
"..."
The Director paused for a good long while. She started to speak once but stopped herself, then let out a deep sigh as she looked at us before turning her gaze away again.
"She's young. Around middle school age."
"You've got to be kidding. You finally did it, didn't you?"
"It's not like that, so hear me out."
Once she finally opened up, the Director started spilling out some unexpected words.
"I hate asking for personal favors like this, but this time I have no choice. I'd appreciate it if you could look after a little girl for me."
"Why us?"
This time, I was the one who asked.
"Because you're the best Heroes I know."
"We've never done childcare before."
"No, you won't need to babysit her. She can already handle her own share."
There weren't many people the Director praised like that. For a girl who was just a middle schooler to get that kind of evaluation was highly unusual.
"Take her around and show her the world."
"What on earth does that mean?"
Justice asked again, standing ramrod straight with her hands clasped behind her back. She looked a bit annoyed.
The Director's response to that was:
"Make her a Hero. If she turns back to being a Villain, she'll be the most dangerous one out there."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Lily,
my Lily was standing there.
What should I have said? I couldn't bring myself to speak, so I just hugged her.
In that warm, nostalgic embrace that didn't feel real, I felt an overwhelming sadness I couldn't hold back.
My body, which had steadied thanks to the cigarette, started trembling again. Even with Lily in my arms, I couldn't stop shaking helplessly.
The inmates' eyes turned toward us. It was a rare chance to witness such a fresh reunion scene.
But since it was the reunion of two famously renowned Heroes from the Association, some openly snorted in derision or shot us sharp glares of hostility...
"Lily, it's okay..."
None of that mattered. Lily was more important to me.
Her attempt to put on a bright face tore at my heart. Lily wasn't the kind of girl who should be forcing a smile like that. I should have protected her. I should have.
"It's okay. Oppa is sorry. You have nothing to be sorry for. It's okay."
"Oppa, your face looks so worn out..."
Lily whispered as she sobbed. Even in that short time, her heartache came through clear as day.
"It's my fault. I should have saved you, Oppa. I only ever got help from you, a useless, stupid girl..."
What came after was hostility and rage.
Clear murderous intent and disgust directed at herself.
"Lily, Lily! Calm down..."
Crow covered Lily's mouth and pulled her into another embrace. He couldn't bear to watch her suffering as if she might collapse any second.
"Let's calm down first and talk in the room. Got it?"
Lily hesitated, her eyes brimming with tears, but after a few more seconds, she finally nodded.
Her small, pretty face looked especially pale and rigid, paired with her docile, obedient demeanor. I needed to hear what she'd been through to end up in this prison. I needed to somehow soothe the wounds she'd suffered.
"S-Scardi..."
That's why I said it.
Clutching my precious treasure tightly to my chest,
I pleaded desperately.
"Can you let her into the room?"
Pride be damned—for now, I had to protect Lily. The moment she heard those uncharacteristic words from me, Lily startled and looked up, but even so, I swallowed hard and waited for Scardi's response.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A few minutes earlier,
"..."
Watching their reunion, Scardi felt a strong sense of discomfort.
This wasn't due to her experience or personal talent. She did have sharper senses than most, but in this moment, something was squirming inside her.
It was a woman's instinct.
A clear wariness toward a rival, slowly raising its head.
"Oppa, your face looks so worn out..."
Lily whispered to Crow and sobbed like some tragic heroine. In that short time, the two clearly savored a sticky, deep reunion emotion.
Up until then, Scardi had barely managed to stay calm, but
"It's my fault. I should have saved you, Oppa. I only ever got help from you, a useless, stupid girl..."
"Lily, Lily! Calm down..."
When the loathsome girl started self-flagellating with crocodile tears, Scardi couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
She was jealous. No, envious might be the better word.
Lily freely wielded some unknown realm that Scardi herself lacked, and it made her feel especially repulsive and hateful.
Crow pulled Lily into another embrace. Scardi had vaguely known they were that close, but seeing their reunion right in front of her eyes made her heart churn uneasily.
"Let's calm down first and talk in the room. Got it?"
Lily paused as if baiting Crow's reaction before nodding. Her small, pretty appearance paired with that outwardly obedient attitude was especially striking.
"S-Scardi..."
Even so, the reason Scardi could maintain her composure was thanks to Crow's own desperation.
Like he was cradling a precious treasure,
he fidgeted anxiously and made his request to Scardi.
"Can you let her into the room?"
He looked so pitiful and heartbreaking. Like a black cat shielding her kittens in a downpour. How could she refuse such a plea?
"..."
But Scardi's gaze lingered a bit longer on Lily, not Crow. Her reddish eyes burned with ill intent.
In that brief instant, Scardi's mind ran a rough simulation of what might unfold.
What did that girl want? What action should she take to maximize her gains? What would that action lead to? What situations would follow? What was the most likely outcome?
Exactly four times,
in the span of four blinks, Scardi roughly calculated it all and spoke.
"No. You don't need to do that."
She couldn't drag it out any longer. She needed a bit more time to think, but Crow was waiting for her answer.
"I'll make an empty room for you. Use that one."
So she granted him another favor. The perfect kind—one he couldn't refuse or decline.
"You two are like family, right? I can manage that much consideration."
"Thank you! Really..."
Crow's face lit up in an instant. He couldn't hide his joy, repeating his thanks over and over.
It was a perfectly predictable reaction. To him, already pushed to the brink with his health deteriorating, every bit of mercy and favor from Scardi felt heavy and immense.
"..."
But Lily,
Lily in Crow's arms,
locked eyes with Scardi for the first time in ages and merely blinked.
Not a single other muscle on her face moved; she just quietly blinked her eyes a couple of times.
"Go console him. He looks exhausted."
Facing that blink—which held brimming tears but no emotional fluctuation—Scardi merely tacked on a few perfunctory words.
The two stared at each other. Lily, nestled in Crow's arms, glanced at Scardi with one eye, while Scardi looked down at her from a head taller vantage.
Only Crow, caught between them, failed to perceive reality amid the drug haze and awkward situation. His mind was filled solely with worry for Lily's well-being and their future.
The ones staring were just the two women.
Not Lily and Scardi,
but two women.
"You there. Clear out Room 103 and move to 106 from now on."
"Huh? Me?"
In the midst of it, Scardi ordered the easiest target among the women to switch rooms. Duk-sooni, who had been nervously munching snacks while eyeing everyone, suddenly found herself in hot water.
It hadn't even been long since her three-day solitary punishment.
Back in C Wing after so long, and already getting screwed over...!
"M-Me?"
"Yeah. Don't use it alone—share it. From now on, these two will share your room."
"Eeeh..."
Of all things, she was being forced back into a room with Creep's gang, who had tormented her before, but no one paid any mind to the plight of such an insignificant figure. Right now, the new inmate, Crow, and Scardi were creating a strange atmosphere inside C Wing.
Especially Lily.
Her intentions were hard to read.
Blinking her red, pretty eyes slowly,
Lily was imprinting Scardi's face fully into her mind.
"..."
She quietly buried her lips between Crow's shoulder and chest, saying nothing, just blinking her eyes.