Your Smiling Face and the Chase
Raphael couldn't be sure if they stood on a different side from Lin Kseszbet. But if they were truly opposed to her and unrelated to what Lumen Guard had anticipated, he knew he could sever the connection to Cheisi right here and now.
"Yes, I know."
Bell and Adolf turned to each other at the same time.
Raphael continued. "We received Luminot through Lin Kseszbet. I thought that if we found children suitable to become proxies, it would be for the good of this world."
Bell knew instantly that it was a lie. Raphael, who had lived such a devout life, was simply terrible at deception.
She didn't realize it was to protect Cheisi, but Bell and Adolf had at least confirmed Lin Kseszbet's involvement.
The orphanage. Lucia, who had been there.
Bell finally pieced it together and frowned slightly.
"So Lucia's a proxy born from that experiment."
As Bell spoke, Raphael fell silent for a moment before bowing his head. "Yes. An innocent child. Still, I'm simply grateful that proxies like you are by her side."
Raphael recalled Lucia's smiling face. The way she had hugged little Bell so tightly. It was something her cheerful personality could never have faked.
Even if all his karma came crashing down on him, Raphael was thankful to the god who had spared him that much.
"Thank you for saying so."
Bell bowed slightly and tugged at Adolf's sleeve.
Adolf—of course—and even Raphael spoke up in a flustered voice as Bell moved to leave. "You're not going to arrest me?"
Bell whipped her head around. Arrest? For a moment, her own identity felt profoundly ironic. Even as a proxy, playing cop was the last thing she wanted.
"Well, proxies do have summary judgment authority, but Lin Kseszbet seems like the bigger problem than you, Priest Raphael."
Bell gave a curt reply, hesitated, then added, "You can't run inside the barrier anyway."
As the words left her mouth, an odd feeling washed over her. Sometime ago... I said something like that to someone. And she could suddenly feel how bitter those words were.
Like birds trapped in a cage, weren't they?
Bell shook off the needless sentiment, gave Raphael a quick bow, and turned away.
As they stepped out of the chapel, Bell glanced back. The church interior remained silent. Raphael simply stood there quietly, one hand on the podium, his face etched with loneliness.
Adolf followed her lead as always, and Bell appreciated it a little.
"Should we have arrested him?"
Bell asked Adolf sidelong. He shrugged once.
"Yes. According to the Rain Code Management Bureau's guidelines for summary judgment authority holders, arrest must be exercised immediately upon discovering anyone harmful to the barrier."
Bell shot him a look of disbelief at his smooth recitation.
"How do you even know that? I didn't expect such a detailed answer."
"Watching the information network is kinda fun."
"You're the only one who thinks that."
Adolf blinked at her response. It felt familiar, like he'd heard it before. Then it hit him—it was something Roland had said at the bar.
Thinking of his friend after so long brought back their conversation. Bell's smiling face. Roland teasing him to tickle her or something. And just recently, before heading into the dorm, that glimpse of her smile during their handshake.
For some reason, he felt an overwhelming urge to see it now.
Earlier talk of the bureau had stirred the anxiety buried deep in his heart about his own identity—the unease he'd tried so hard not to show in front of her. An impulse rose to satisfy it with something else.
Adolf paused and called out to her. "Captain."
"What? Saying we should arrest him now? No way. He's not a threat at all. Nothing's more pathetic than us playing police."
"No, could you look at me for a sec?"
"What is it, really."
Bell turned back with mild irritation, and Adolf seemed to hesitate before approaching with a serious expression.
"W-what."
Bell stepped back a little, and Adolf stopped, letting out a soft "hmm" as he wavered.
"What's with you."
"Mind if I tickle you?"
His earnest face made all of Bell's lingering tension evaporate.
"What kinda crazy talk is that?"
She scowled, narrowing her eyes and stepping back further. Adolf flinched and dropped his gaze.
"No, sorry. I just... don't know how to make someone laugh."
"...Why try to make me laugh all of a sudden? Doesn't make sense."
"I wanna see you smile."
"Oh god, shouldn't have asked. Why do I keep making these dumb mistakes?"
Bell clutched her head. She shot Adolf a sideways glance. Tall as a beanpole, he looked deflated now, like a puppy with its tail tucked.
Ridiculous, but she hated seeing him like that. "Fine, fine. I'll smile. Happy?"
Adolf's face lit up instantly, beaming so blatantly happily that Bell rolled her eyes in exasperation.
What the hell are we even doing...?
"There."
She couldn't fathom why she was indulging this, but she smiled at him anyway.
Her mind blanked out as she did. Am I really just smiling because he asked? A whirlwind of thoughts flashed through her.
But Adolf, oblivious to her inner turmoil, watched as the smile she'd forced faded away all too obviously—like erased with an eraser—and he slumped again.
Bell flinched. It had been so long since she'd smiled at anyone; maybe it looked weird. Her face heated up.
"No, why the long face? So why ask that anyway?! I showed you!! Geez!"
Embarrassed for even bothering, she snapped irritably, half-ready to ditch him. Adolf hurriedly grabbed at her with his words.
"Ah, it's just... your real smile is so nice, Captain. Yesterday, during the handshake. It wasn't that expression, that's all."
"Oh, that time. You saw, huh. Really... you have so many hidden wants... that weird smile."
"It wasn't weird."
Worried she'd take offense, he added with utmost sincerity. "I just wanted to see it again. Makes me feel good too."
Bell's cheeks burned at the pure, embarrassingly earnest words. Shame flooded her anew at the thought of forcing that smile for him.
What insane thing did I just do? And why do I even care about his mood?
"Enough already. Let's go. I smiled, we're done. Next time, Lieutenant."
Bell strode off, but then the mural caught her eye at the edge of her vision. The bizarre mural she'd seen here with Lucia before.
Perfect timing to kill the weird vibe. She inwardly cheered and spoke up immediately. "Hey, Lieutenant. Check that out. The mural I saw with Lucia last time."
Adolf stepped up and gazed at it. Sunlight slanted across the wall, making the colors vivid.
Faces brimming with hope. All praying to the goddess Lildar. Their purity felt almost alien.
Bell walked slowly toward it.
"Guess it's confirmed now. Lucia's hunch that this stuff is Luminot."
In the corner, children gathered. Their faces beamed with innocent smiles, but the blurry blue vials before them seized Bell's attention again.
A subtle blue glow, coolly spreading in the light.
"Luminot."
That painter...
A chill prickled Bell's nape. The initial unease she'd felt. Now it was clear. This mural wasn't praise—it was mockery.
"The painter who did this knew. About the whole incident."
"Must be connected to Lin Kseszbet."
"Yeah. Uncovering her and her cronies is way more important than Raphael."
"Can we head back to Lumen Guard?"
Bell grimaced. "At least make sure it's not a threat to Lucia. Our original mission was escorting Freigel Shtafenberk. We'll keep investigating till the bureau pulls the order. And the bureau seems caught in some misunderstanding."
Adolf smiled faintly at her words. He felt oddly at ease. Her assumption that the bureau wasn't involved made sense. She'd said it partly for his sake, too.
Grumbling yet kind as always—she was always a sight to behold.
Relaxed, he slowly turned back to the mural and reached out, touching it.
The paint was dry, but the delicate human brushstrokes tingled through his fingertips.
"Amazing."
Adolf murmured without thinking. "Paintings... realizing a person made this, it's kinda awe-inspiring."
"Office worker, priest, and now painter too?"
Bell quirked one corner of her mouth, looking at him. Just because he amused her, an unconscious smile formed.
She smiled.
Adolf smiled back.
Bell didn't even register it, but Adolf wore a faint smile. Not a full one, but satisfying enough.
"Yeah. If you like it, Captain."
Bell stared at him blankly for a beat, then hurriedly looked away.
"...Let's go."
A short, dry reply. Awkward air hung between them, but Adolf didn't press.
They passed through the church entrance and descended the stairs quietly. Wordless, with strangely cautious steps.
Then Bell felt it—a sharp, prickling discomfort.
An invisible gaze boring into them.
Her body reacted first. Someone watching intently.
Before reaching the bottom, she whipped her head toward the source.
Her eyes flushed red in an instant, x-ray vision piercing everything rapidly.
And locked on.
A bit away in the alley, under a pillar's shadow. A man with his hat pulled low.
Distant, his face faint, but his build and features were unmistakable.
The mural's painter. The mysterious man realized they'd made eye contact—his body shook.
The tremor turned into reflexive motion. He spun and bolted.
"Lieutenant!"
Bell shouted back at Adolf. His eyes went wide.
"Head back first!"
"Captain, what—"
No time to finish. The moment she spotted him, Bell moved without explanation.
In a blink. Towering stairs still ahead, but she kicked off one step and soared to the bottom.
The instant her walker hit the ground—boom!
Thick tiles shattered with an explosive crack. Cracks spiderwebbed out.
Dust billowed, and from its center, her black uniform flared as she shot forward like a bullet.
She vanished from Adolf's sight, plunging straight into the alley.