TWLPOD 33

It was a very philanthropic, gentlemanly, and reasonable opinion.

[“This is why Central gets called naive.It was a very philanthropic, gentlemanly, and reasonable opinion.

[“This is why Central gets called naive. They’re so good at saying only the things that make them sound like nice people.”]

[“Do you still not grasp the situation?”]

As complaints popping up from all over mingled and the words grew increasingly harsh, Lyla intervened.

“Your point is valid, but the gravity of this matter is clear, so we cannot aim for live capture. I recommend that you consider it an android.”

Jin, who was recording the meeting, suddenly recalled what Kay had said.

That there is a hierarchy to life. There was no need to feel wronged by the accusatory tone. It was a self-evident fact, and Kay himself had likely been angry because he knew it too.

But when did it start?

The point when, among those who had gone to the battlefield to win for the survival of humanity, the well-being of individual humans could no longer be found.

“We will conclude the meeting here. Thank you for your hard work.”

As each person disconnected or rose from their seats at Lyla’s closing words, one person remained unhurried.

“Are you not leaving?”

In the reception hall that everyone else had vacated, Aran, who was still sitting in his seat despite the summons for 18:00, lifted his head. He was someone who still evoked a strange tension, even though it had taken years just to get used to his appearance.

“Hoping for a new job?”

“Pardon?”

“The Center Chief’s aide is even concerned with my schedule.”

“I just hope you won’t be late for the meeting. You are, after all, the key to this fortress assault.”

“Yep. I know.”

Jin gave a slight bow to the man who offered a habitual smile and a soulless reply, and then left the reception hall.

Aran, who had been watching the door close a little irritably, put up a curtain made of light and answered the video call from someone who had been ringing for a while.

“Did the item I sent arrive safely? Father.”

The other side of the video was black, but Kay knew that the person in the black screen was looking at him.

[“Since you even asked me to cover up a murder, I thought you’d at least show the courtesy of bringing it yourself.”]

“They weren’t exactly precious lives.”

[“The dead ones, maybe, but the guys who were having fun will likely have some complaints.”]

“Once the replaceable lives are replaced, the auction will open again.”

At an auction house, the highest value is, by far, trust.

The fact that a black market of that scale could be maintained so stably meant there was some kind of collusive relationship, and if there was a collusive relationship, the auction would not disappear over the loss of a few replaceable lives.

And Aran believed that the core of that collusive relationship was either within this Center or among the high-ranking officials with access to the Center’s information.

‘Otherwise, there’s no explaining how only specific individuals were targeted.’

When a war drags on, deserters are bound to appear.

The desire to live and the movements of interest groups diversify. The problem is that such betrayals only happen between humans.

‘This kind of flaw, would you call it human too?’

Aran, who was suddenly recalling Kay’s words, continued his call with Sahan.

[“Aran, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but leave that kid alone.”]

“Why is that?”

[“Because it will become irreversible. Some things in the world are better left unknown forever.”]

“…If that person is already dead, he knows.”

Just as moments that are impressive, for better or for worse, are engraved in memory and don’t fade for a long time, the look on Kay’s face when he heard of El’s death also seemed like it would not be forgotten for a long time. Even now, along with the thrill he’d felt when he saw that expression, just recalling it makes a corner of his chest tingle and fills him with emotion.

[“What on earth do you wan—”]

Letting his father’s words go in one ear and out the other, he checked the bracelet that had vibrated faintly. On it was the first message he had ever received from Kay, written succinctly.

[Why aren’t you here.]

For a moment, the letters seemed somewhat insistent, and he felt quite pleased.

[Help me.]

His eyes widened at the sudden words. He hastily ended the call with his father and hurried out of the reception hall.

Kay, sitting in a corner of the strategy conference room, couldn’t figure out what part of the winking emoticon resembled Aran and was scrutinizing it when he felt a presence behind him.

“Ah, I knew it.”

A sense of delight could be felt in the bright voice.

“Kay! It’s you, right?”

The reason he couldn’t shake off the hand that abruptly grabbed his was that the person looked vaguely familiar.

“I’m Jude Feng. Don’t you remember? Then again, the situation was pretty chaotic.”

His wish for an explanation of what that situation, which only Jude himself seemed to know, was about was resolved instead by a woman who grabbed him by the collar and moved him to the seat behind.

“I wonder if you remember me. We met at the induction ceremony.”

A tall stature and refreshing, striking features came to mind along with the image of water.

“Ah. I remember now.”

Right down to the name written in the four-way split screen he saw every time he went in and out of the dorms, and the photos that filled the walls.

“Iris Bernstein.”

“Nice to meet you.”

While the two shook hands and sat in the seats behind Kay, Jude did not stop talking.

“Wow, wow, wow. Me too! I’m happy to meet you too!”

Is there a reason he has to say the same thing multiple times when I can understand him if he says it just once? Leaning his head all the way forward, Jude couldn’t hide his curiosity for Kay and asked, his eyes shining brightly.

“I had something I really wanted to ask you if I ever met you.”

Jude, who leaned his body so far forward that he would have tumbled into the next seat if Iris hadn’t been holding the back of his neck, was like a walking paradise of curiosity.

“Is Willamere really all desert? They say it stretches on endlessly, is that true?”

“Mostly.”

“That must be so cool!”

It was a pure and innocent exclamation. Not that it wasn’t unpleasant, though.

“A landscape with no end in sight… Since land is so limited in Lympus, everything is built upwards, so there’s nothing you could really call a landscape. They say in the old days, there was the pleasure of looking at natural things, calling it feng shui and whatnot, but not anymore.”

Pout—he puffed out his cheeks for a moment, then asked again.

“But they say the climate is brutal instead. How bad is it?”

“There’s no sun, so it’s fundamentally below zero. When it gets really cold, it can drop to negative 40 degrees.”

I’m answering him, but I don’t know when my patience will snap. Kay looked for the person who hadn’t arrived even though it was almost time and sent a message.

[Why aren’t you here.]

“Then what do you eat? Does anything even grow in that kind of environment? Or do you grow things in separate greenhouses?”

“No.”

If that were possible, so many people wouldn’t have starved to death.

“They say some people eat dog meat. Is that true or a rumor?”

“We eat dogs, bugs, and camels too.”

“Wow. Really? Yuck, I don’t think I could eat that. Ever. I’d rather starve to death.”

He tapped the on-screen keyboard and sent the message one more time.

[Help me.]

It was just this morning that I had resolved to kill my temper and be a little more patient.

El had emphasized that patience was important to maintain one’s composure and be oneself, but no matter how I think about it, that’s just too angelic a statement. The impulse to tell Jude to try starving for about a week and then think it over again was prodding at me, about to pop out of my mouth.

“I’ve never been friends with anyone from Willamere before. So I have a lot of questions. How do you live in an environment like that?”

“Why don’t you go and live there yourself?”

The moment I heard it, I knew who it was, and my body reacted first. It was a voice that soothed my frayed nerves.

“Oh, Aran!”

“Get it off.”

When he flicked back the hand that was flailing in greeting, Jude, who fell over easily, chirped about how mean he was and how could he do this to a friend, but Aran ignored him and took the seat next to Kay. Is it just me, or does he seem a little out of breath?

“What the. Why are you wet? Did you take a shower?”

Aran, who sat down facing the side instead of the front, propped his chin on the desk and stared intently at Kay.

“…Yeah.”

“At the training facility?”

“Where else would I shower?”

“You have a dorm room.”

“Why would I go through that hassle?”

When there’s a perfectly good shower room and locker room attached to the training facility, why would I?

“…It’s visible.”

“Speak in proper sentences. Don’t piss me off.”

Even when I tried to peel off the leather-gloved hand that was toying with the back of my hand, it kept sticking back, and I was starting to get annoyed.

“The kiss marks I left, they’re all visible.”

As he spoke, enunciating every word, a horrified Kay tried to shake off his hand, but Aran was faster at evading.

“You told me to say it.”

Even worse than Aran, who was smiling mischievously, was Jude, who was carefully observing the back of Kay’s neck.

“Wow, that’s hot. Looks like you had a good time last night.”

“It was amazing.”

“You, shut up.”

Kay covered the kiss marks he couldn’t see with his hand and glared at Aran.

“It’s not a lie, is it?”

His expression seemed to say, ‘I did nothing wrong.’

“I consider twisting words to distort the truth to be a form of lying.”

“Hey now—that’s in the realm of flexibility.”

A difference of opinion. A finger poked his cheek.

“Still, it’s a relief you’re a good match!! Aran’s guiding is famous for being painful.”

Painful?

It was a completely unexpected word.

He didn’t know what kind of concept the people of Lympus had for the act that accompanies guiding or how they felt it, but to Kay, it was sex.