The Sly Wolf's Vigil
A sly wolf.
“...Hey. Answer me. Why the hell isn’t this bastard waking up?”
A loud voice cut through the haze beside me. Ah, right. Bianca had told me not to fall asleep. Damn it.
“I’ve done everything possible. We transfused the blood he lost, and I’ve already put it back in. You need to give him time to recover—”
“It’s been two days. You think it’s normal for someone to be out this long just because he broke his arm?”
I could hear the voices, but my eyes refused to open. They felt crusted over, dry and glued shut. My hands—I tried to move them. Nothing. Were they wrapped in something?
“His bones were shattered to pieces, so of course. Never mind the left arm—the right one looks like someone set off explosives right next to it. The fact that the bones are even knitting together without surgery is thanks to his ridiculous recovery rate.”
Was it that bad? I’d only fired the File Bunker once. Had my right arm really taken that much damage? I’d need to find someone who could make me proper weapons. Relying on makeshift ones was going to get me killed.
“Then why the fuck is he still unconscious, you quack?”
“That varies from person to person, so yelling at me won’t—urk!?”
The sound of a man’s breath being cut off. Furniture toppling over. Wait, was she really choking the doctor because I wouldn’t wake up?
“You only came here because you needed the money. If you’ve taken the cash, you’d better do your job right.”
“Khhk… ack…!”
“What? You going to tell me you can’t wake him up? There are plenty of desperate bastards like you out there. It’s not like anyone forced you to gamble.”
The violent noises continued. I needed to move quickly if I wanted to stop Bianca, but… how? My eyes wouldn’t open, and my fingers wouldn’t even twitch.
“Br… ugh…” At least my voice worked. Thank god.
“Jung… woo?”
The moment Bianca said my name, I heard the man drop. Gasping, wheezing. He was probably crawling on the floor.
“Hey. Open your eyes. Are you with me? Huh?”
“Ugh… ughhh…”
But why was she shaking an injured person? Both my arms were broken and in casts, for crying out loud.
“Ha, seriously. You want to make people worry to death?”
“Heh heh…”
A weak laugh slipped out, then slowly faded. I had told Catena my name, but I was certain I had never told Bianca.
“What kind of weakling stays unconscious for two whole days just because both his arms are broken?”
Had I told her? Maybe I’d mumbled it while unconscious. Or before I passed out. Or maybe… someone who already knew my name had—
“Cough, cough! Cough!”
“Get out. The guys outside will take you.”
Hurried footsteps, a door opening and closing. Then the sound of something like a chair being dragged across the floor.
“So. How do you feel? Are you okay?”
“Mmm…”
Maybe because I hadn’t used my throat in two days, the words wouldn’t come out properly. Only dry air scraped past my cracked lips.
“Want some water?”
I nodded, and something long was soon placed between my lips. I curled my tongue around it experimentally. A straw.
“Slurp… slurp…”
“Heh, drinking like a good boy.”
A heavy hand stroked my head. Little by little, strength returned to my body. My eyes began to open, just enough to make out Bianca’s blurry face and the room around me. But when the image grew clearer, I had to ask.
“Your face… why…”
Hollow cheeks. Dark circles under bloodshot eyes. Had she been hurt somewhere?
“Why? Because I haven’t slept for two days, that’s why.”
“Food?”
“Didn’t eat.”
“Why…?”
“Thanks to a certain fucking weakling?”
The answer was so far from what I expected that it bordered on ridiculous. She had stayed up for two entire days because of me. Worried about me that much… why?
“You couldn’t eat because of me—cough, cough!”
“Shut up and drink more water. Nagging the second you wake up.”
The straw returned to my coughing lips. I drank greedily, soothing my raw throat. All while Bianca smiled brightly.
“Drinking so well. Chug it all down.”
She seemed to enjoy stroking my hair. Or maybe she was pleased about what I had done. Until I finished the bottle, Bianca watched me in silence, breathing softly. It was almost too much.
“All done? That was fast. Want another bottle?”
“No, there’s something I need to ask first.”
“What?”
Bianca leaned in close, meeting my eyes. Her hand stayed on my head, fingers gently moving through my hair, tickling me.
“So? What are you curious about?”
Why was she showing such intense interest in my question? With a face that looked like it needed sleep immediately, she stared at me steadily.
“...Well.”
Asking about Catena felt wrong. The fact that she had waited for me in this state was clearly sincere.
“Stahlleder. You definitely killed him, right?”
So I pulled out a different question first. One that would satisfy her.
“You saw me rip his stomach open. Didn’t you? Anyway, here.”
The phone screen showed several news articles. A thumbnail of what appeared to be Stahlleder’s body wrapped in a white sheet. The headline read exactly that.
“Not bad.”
“They’re saying it looks like a murder stemming from a grudge. Which it is, technically.”
There were many ways to kill someone. Yet she had beaten him first, then sliced his stomach open instead of his throat.
“He was the worst of them. You would’ve hated him too. Guy had a mouth like a sewer.”
“You’re not exactly polite yourself.”
“If even I hated him, imagine how bad he was. And knowing he couldn’t beat me with strength, he kept harassing me in pathetic ways. When he sprinkled sand in my food, I decided I’d really kill him.”
Come to think of it, when I hit him with my front paw, he hadn’t even flinched. He charged right back as if he hadn’t taken any damage at all.
“Where he hit me…”
“Hm?”
“My head. Stahlleder hit me there—ugh!?”
I unconsciously tried to sit up, but the wave of pain forced me back down. The hand that followed, pressing on my chest… was heavy.
“Kgh. What? Did you actually think you could get up right now?”
“I was worried. It would be bad if you were hurt too.”
“...Pfft, hah, haha. How cute. A weakling with both arms broken is worrying about me.”
Bianca tapped my cheek twice through the mask. This time her eyes were smiling too. The face that had always looked fierce, wolf-like, had completely softened.
“It’s fine, so just focus on getting better. You still have to be my strategist.”
She rested her chin on the edge of the bed, grinning. Both hands propped under her chin, pushing up her chest… Ahem. Even though I was deliberately trying to be aware of it, still.
“What about Catena?”
I deliberately moved to the next question. Thankfully the mask hid my flushed face. Otherwise…
“Ah, her? She’s…”
She tapped on one of the news articles and turned the screen toward me. Something about witness questioning.
“She was at the scene, so that part’s true. But it looks like she wasn’t subjected to anything worse. Probably.”
“So rest. Worry about that woman later.”
Would it really be that simple? Thinking back on the way Catena had poured her heart out to me over the phone, the police here didn’t seem like an organization that could be trusted. Especially with her connection to Angel… Ha.
Just because someone had white wings didn’t mean they deserved to be called an angel, especially not a mentally broken one. And the fact that the church supported such a person was absurd. Many of the believers held high social positions too, so things were bound to get complicated. The “questioning” might not even be a real investigation. The key was to move as quickly as possible.
But right now, I had a more immediate problem. So I finally spoke the last question.
“Then… Bianca.”
“What?”
“My name. Where did you learn it?”
Silence fell for a moment. Even Bianca’s face hardened.
“Your name?”
“The name you said when I woke up. I’m sure I never told you.”
Min Jung-woo. And then Jung-woo. She had looked at me and said it. With a face that brightened as she spoke.
“Ah, that. Yeah. Your name. I should’ve told you sooner.”
Had she tailed me? Eavesdropped on a call? Of course, the worst-case scenario of her asking about Catena’s well-being had been erased from my mind, but still. How had she found out my name? And would she even tell me the truth?
“Don’t you trust me?”
“...You still haven’t answered—”
“Why would I have to hear your real name from that hero bitch? She met you after I did.”
From Catena? How?
“As soon as we entered the drug den, she screamed ‘Jung-woo-ssi!’ That woman. So loud it hurt my ears. Tch.”
“But how could you be sure that was my—”
“You just confirmed it. And would that woman have desperately screamed a villain’s name like that?”
That… was true. Once she put it that way, I had nothing left to say. I felt strangely embarrassed.
“Why make such a big deal over a single name? Between us.”
I felt a pang of guilt. Not only for suspecting her, but toward Bianca, who had stayed by my side, worried for me as a comrade.
“Still, I’ll let it go since I saw how hard you tried to catch Stahlleder, even dragging that hero woman into it.”
A poke to my chest. It hadn’t exactly been for that reason, but—let’s just stay quiet. I smiled faintly and quietly lifted my mask for her. Just enough to show my mouth.
“Thank you.”
Then I lowered it again. As a show of sincerity.
“What the hell? If you’re going to take it off, take it all off.”
“It was a thank-you. I thought showing my mouth while saying it was polite.”
“Then take it all off and talk, you idiot. Covering your whole face and talking about manners.”
She snatched the phone and headed for the door. Her steps slowed, then—
“Yu Ina.”
“...Your name?”
“Yeah. Yu Ina. Now that I think about it, I never told you mine either.”
She blushed as she said it. Was a name really something to be this embarrassed about? Still.
“It’s pretty. Your name.”
“W-what?”
“Yu Ina. It’s a pretty name.”
I spoke the soft name that was completely at odds with her personality and smiled. She had the face for it, but her actions said otherwise.
“Bullshit. Who calls a name pretty—ah, forget it! Just call me Bianca! I’ll call you Maska too.”
“Why? It’s such a pretty name, why—”
Bang.
What the hell. If she was going to be embarrassed, she shouldn’t have brought up her real name in the first place. But… the thing she took. Wasn’t that my phone?
“Hey, Bianca!”
She had already left. Tsk. Nothing I could do about it.
“The doctor?”
“Packed up in a bag, sir. We’ll move him to the factory later.”
“Good. And… under Kerberos there was a computer guy. What was it again, IT? There was one technician.”
“Yes. Shall I bring him?”
“Bring him without Kerberos knowing. Tell him I ordered it, and have him bring all the tools he’ll need for the job.”
“Understood.”