TWLPOD 22

Jin, who had listened to the other things nonchalantly, found the last two points catching his ear. In the end, he organized the spread-out papers and checked them one by one until he found what Kay was trying to say.

“Just a moment. So, right now…”

He checked the document. He scanned the last two pages on the scanner on his desk, displayed them, and overlapped them.

The abilities of the missing espers matched, in a considerable number of cases, the abilities of the otherworldly beings found on the battlefield.

“So right now… you’re claiming that otherworldly beings with the same abilities as the missing espers are appearing?”

Kay nodded.

It was an extremely small number when looking at the Center as a whole, but the fact that 50 percent of the ‘missing persons from Willamere’ were appearing as ‘otherworldly beings’ was certainly difficult to dismiss as a coincidence.

“This is the conclusion I’ve drawn. Espers sold at the full moon auction that takes place in Sector F are reappearing, through some route or another, as android otherworldly beings.”

Next, Kay placed a small notebook on the desk. On the very last page of the small, well-worn notebook, several names were written. They were the names of the missing people from Willamere.

“Simon was trying to find the disappeared espers from Willamere. That’s why he was trying to investigate the full moon auction.”

It was a reasonable suspicion, but not a certain one.

“Is there any evidence that these missing persons are being sold at the full moon auction?”

At that question, Kay answered as if he had been waiting for it.

“No.”

However, he had a clear response for the person staring at him with a dumbfounded expression.

“So I want to make a proposal. Can you try selling something at the full moon auction?”

“What?”

“Me.”

A century is quite an ambiguous amount of time.

It is long enough for someone to die and be gone, but too short to forget that someone, so we still have too many words that have not yet died.

The full moon visible outside the window was the same.

‘The full moon auction.’

Kay, pushing himself up from the windowsill, stood in front of the full-length mirror installed in the room and ran a hand over the suit hanging next to it. The fabric that met his hand was that of a luxurious, tailored suit. As he faced the clothes with a feeling of great reluctance.

“You’re going to burn a hole through it.”

Aran, who had been leaning against the doorway at some point, tossed out a remark.

Because he had swept back his hair, which had been trimmed a few days ago, his already bright face was revealed even more clearly. Seeing him in attire that was neither a uniform nor casual wear, he momentarily felt like a different person, and his gaze was stolen.

“Why. Am I too handsome?”

His form was a perfect display of what a suit was.

The shoulder line was a perfect fit, and the sleeves were neatly tailored, making his overall impression sharper. Was that why? Even the corners of his mouth, upturned as usual, didn’t register well.

However, perhaps thanks to the material being lighter and smoother than that of a uniform, his impression was closer to that of a rich young master than a soldier.

“It suits you.”

Even at the straightforward compliment, his expression was peculiar.

“Are you trying to seduce me?”

“Go to hell.”

Kay frowned and gauged the distance to Aran.

At that act, full of distrust, Aran shrugged and stood by the door.

“I’ll stay here.”

Kay, who had been glaring for a while, began to undress with Aran still standing at the doorway, seemingly with no intention of moving.

He took off his white t-shirt and threw it on the bed, then took out a dress shirt and put his arms through the sleeves. Perhaps because it was new, the long row of buttons was stiff. He took off his elastic-waist pants, put on slacks, and fastened the double buttons, which hung loosely on his waist. All that was left was the jacket and necktie.

‘What is this?’

The black object lying next to the necktie was not a belt. When he picked it up, it stretched out like rubber, and the silver clip attached to the end dangled.

He glanced over at Aran, still leaning against the doorway, but it was an item he couldn’t see on him.

“Curious what it’s for?”

Before he knew it, Aran was holding out his hand.

“Give it here. I’ll show you.”

“Just tell me.”

“It’s hard to explain.”

Aran sighed and put on a deflated expression.

“Are you still sulking?”

“Sulking…”

A surge of emotion welled up inside Kay, but he managed to compose himself.

“Forget it. I don’t want to talk to you.”

At those words, for some reason, Aran’s shoulders shook with laughter.

“You’re cute, but I have no intention of apologizing. You know it too. This is the most logical choice.”

He held out his hand and gestured to Kay once more with his eyes. As Kay reluctantly handed over the rubber thing and approached, Aran took the item and stroked the bracelet on his wrist with his finger. Since the ornate leopard-print bracelet could not be removed, Kay’s plan to sell himself went up in smoke. And that was despite thinking there was no other plan.

Jin was one of the operational planners within the Center. If he could persuade him, who was the Center Director’s adjutant and also effectively served as the operations staff officer, Kay had been certain he could find out about Simon’s disappearance.

“You want to find out the truth of this incident… by selling yourself, an esper from Willamere.”

Jin, who had put down the notebook he was holding, looked straight into Kay’s eyes. They were eyes so clear it was as if death or danger were not on his mind at all. It was strange how he showed not a hint of resistance to the idea of selling himself.

“I think it’s a good plan, but I cannot approve it.”

“Why not?”

“There are three difficulties.”

Jin held up his fingers.

“First, if your hypothesis is true, the scenario of an ‘S-class esper appearing as an otherworldly being’ must be avoided at all costs. Second, if the bracelet’s signal was lost with Sector F as its last location, it means we could also lose track of you. That is similarly dangerous.”

“I have an alternative for that.”

“Hear me out. Lastly, the third point, and this is the most crucial.”

Jin cut Kay off.

“To sell you, that bracelet needs to be changed to a ‘general distribution’ type, but we do not have the authority to do that.”

“General distribution type?”

“You didn’t know? The bracelet you are wearing signifies that you are a person belonging to Repard.”

It was only then that Kay grasped the context of the strange whispers that followed him around the Center and the questions like, ‘What is your relationship with Aran Repard?’

Including the fact that it was no coincidence that Aran knew what books he had borrowed and what he had bought to eat during his time here.

Kay turned his body, following Jin’s gaze. Aran, who was drinking tea on the guest sofa, was wincing as if he had burned his tongue.

Kay walked straight over to him and stood before him, then opened his mouth.

“That’s what he said.”

“Yep. That’s how it is.”

He just affirmed it nonchalantly, sticking out his reddened tongue.

“Take it off. You said you trusted me.”

“I trusted the fact that you would save me, not that I trusted you.”

“I won’t run away. I’ve already thought of another way to track my location.”

“It seems there’s a misunderstanding. In this deal, whether I trust you or not is irrelevant. What’s important is that you’ve already sold yourself.”

Aran put down his teacup and stood up.

“To me.”

When he looked up, Aran smiled and caressed Kay’s cheek.

“By that logic, I sold my power, not myself.”

“Either way, as long as they are inseparable, I can’t permit you to be sold at an auction. I don’t know how it is in Willamere, but double selling is illegal here. So, that plan is rejected.”

“But you, before we came, you clearly!”

Until they were about to meet Jin for this discussion, Aran had agreed, saying it was a good idea.

The plan was for him to observe the state of the audience and the auction as a guest using the invitation, while Kay would become an auction item himself to gather information on the internal operations or other espers who might have been captured.

In other words, a pincer movement from the outside and inside.

“You said it was a good idea?”

“That’s right. It is a good idea. Except for the selling you part.”

Aran passed by Kay and headed to Jin’s desk, saying.

“But if we change the target, it’s perfectly usable.”

“I agree.”

“Will you draft it?”

“I’ll try. It’s something that needs to be checked.”

He understood without difficulty what they meant by changing the ‘target.’ And so, Kay ended up participating in the full moon auction feeling like ‘he had done all the work for someone else’s benefit.’

And so, back to the present.

He, who was trying on a three-piece suit for the first time in his life…

“Hey, what are you doing.”

He grabbed the shoulder of Aran, who had suddenly started to undo his pants. He tried to step back, but with his pants slipping down, it was difficult to even keep his balance.

“Stay still.”

“Ugh. Don’t…!”

Whack! He hit Aran on the back with a loud sound, but Aran paid no mind and moved his hand from Kay’s thigh to his waist. For a moment, their eyes met and he smiled as usual, and the anger of ‘being tricked again’ was brief. From his fingertips came the sound of something fastening. Click.

“Here.”

When Aran pressed down firmly, he could feel the hard… sensation of a clip under the fabric his palm was touching. It was only then that Kay looked at the area around his thigh and groin where Aran’s hand had been.

“It’s meant to be clipped to the end of your shirt like this and fastened to your thigh.”

After finishing his explanation, Aran took his hands away refreshingly, as if there had been not the slightest, not even a hint of a lewd intention, and maintained his distance. Kay tilted his head, looking down at the shirt that was pulled taut toward one leg.

“Why does it have to be like this?”

“The shirt comes out when you move. It’s to hold it in place.”

“…So why?”