Chapter 59 - Resolve 2

A day had passed since Ash returned from Underland.

"Mmm..."

Waking from sleep, Akina lifted her stiff body and stretched her arms and legs. As she did, she turned toward the little window and saw that the sun was already high in the sky.

"Huh? What?"

She had gone to bed late after repairing Ash's body, and apparently slept in without realizing it.

"Uh... Did I sleep too much?"

Feeling inexplicably sheepish, she rolled her neck a couple of times in a familiar motion to loosen her stiff muscles. Then she noticed something missing. Ash, who had been sitting cross-legged at the charging port when she went to sleep, was nowhere to be seen. Apparently, he had already started his day.

"... You could've woken me up too, Mister. Honestly."

Touching her cheeks, warm with needless embarrassment, Akina got out of bed and gathered an old towel and her toiletries.

A little later, Akina returned to her room freshly washed and changed into her work jumpsuit. After adjusting her collar and roughly smoothing down her stray hairs, she left to find Ash, who still hadn't come back.

Her first stop was the rooftop. Whenever he had nothing in particular to do, Ash always went up there and spent hours gazing out over Sanctum.

"Huh? He's not here?"

But today the rooftop was empty. Only a cool breeze swept across it now and then.

Her trip wasted, she went straight down to the first floor, only to stop at the sound of voices from the operating room behind the counter. Inside were the ninjas and Rudolph, who seemed to have just regained consciousness.

"... I see. I'm glad everything worked out."

"It's all thanks to Big Brother. More importantly, how are you feeling?"

"Fine, of course. Santa may be a gruff old fellow, but there's no beating his handiwork."

"That's a great relief."

"Anyway, I hear you're a Pathfinder now?"

"I don't have a license yet, but yes. I've decided to follow Mr. Ash."

"... Ash, eh? What sort of man is he?"

"Mr. Ash is... Well, he's not someone I could sum up in a single word. But one thing is certain: he is a man fully worthy of our trust and loyalty."

"Well, now..."

The atmosphere was awkward, yet earnest. Besides, Akina wasn't close to either party, so she tried to slip away quietly. That attempt failed spectacularly. Zero had already sensed her presence and turned to find her.

"Ah, young lady. Are you awake?"

Ever since they had agreed to join the same team, Zero and his siblings had been calling Akina "young lady." The uncomfortably deferential title made her shudder involuntarily. No matter how often she heard it, she couldn't get used to it.

"Ugh, stop calling me that! Seriously, it gives me goosebumps every time!"

"Then how should we address you?"

"Hey. You. Squirt. Kid. Take your pick."

"... How could we possibly address you in such a manner, young lady?"

Akina let out a short sigh at his polite yet oddly stubborn reply. They had had a similar conversation yesterday, and the result was plain to see. Giving up on arguing about what they should call her, she got to the point.

"Do you know where Mr. Ash is? He wasn't there when I woke up."

"Ah, I saw Mr. Ash in the backyard earlier."

"Really? Thanks!"

With that brief farewell, Akina turned and headed straight for the backyard.

Faint traces of the boisterous party they'd held not long ago still lingered there, such as the table that hadn't yet been brought back inside. And seated across from each other at that table were two women she hadn't expected to see together: Ifrit, slouching so loosely she looked ready to melt, and Siren, sitting perfectly straight.

"I watched your stream. Pretty impressive."

"What was?"

"The way you sliced up those REST-men. Very satisfying."

"..."

"As you know, I hate REST-men. I want every last one of those cockroach bastards dead. You gave me quite a show."

Ifrit chuckled as she filled Siren's glass to the brim.

"Looking at it this way, maybe a turncoat cockroach isn't so bad."

"... Are you talking about me, senior?"

"Why ask when you already know, bitch?"

Grinning, Ifrit suddenly shifted her heart-shaped glowing eyes this way and that.

"There was one thing I wasn't happy about, though. That... Jenny, was it?"

Her eyes turned from empty space to Siren. She was no longer smiling.

"You should've killed that bitch."

Siren flinched at the chilling words. Paying no heed, Ifrit tipped back her glass and drained it, then set it down sharply on the table.

"I'm not taking a jab at you. This is advice from your senior."

She leaned forward. Her slouch was gone, her eyes flashing with the sharpness of a veteran Pathfinder who had survived countless brushes with death.

"That's the kind of place this is. Misguided pity will get you killed. Your comrades, too."

"..."

"I'm saying this because I know you're softer than you look. So if you ever run into that bitch again, don't hesitate. Kill her. Not for your own sake, but for the people who'll be at your side."

Siren seemed to consider something for a moment, then drained her full glass in one go, just as Ifrit had. Then she said,

"Thank you for the advice, senior."

"Enough of that. So, what did you want to talk about?"

At Ifrit's question, Siren hesitated briefly before laying one arm on the table. It was Undine's arm, its wave-patterned tattoo clearly visible.

"I'd like to give you this arm."

"... Huh?"

"I'm going to learn swordsmanship directly from Mr. Ash now. Before that... I think it's only right to return it. This power isn't mine. From now on, I'll stand entirely on my own strength."

Ifrit stared blankly at Siren and muttered despite herself,

"Fuck. Is this what Ash meant back then?"

["You would do well to start thinking about it now."]

Had that strange humanoid foreseen all of this? Somehow, the thought gave her chills. Ifrit had already found Ash a little frightening. Now he scared her even more.

"Did Mr. Ash say something to you?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, Ifrit refilled her empty glass.

"Forget it. I wasn't talking to you. And the arm... This really is a surprise. I never imagined I'd get it back like thi—"

"What's this? Are you two finally making up?"

"Eek!"

"What the fuck!"

The sudden voice startled both women. They turned their heads in unison to find Akina standing right beside them.

"Y-you! How long have you been there?"

"Hmm... Since you started talking about the arm?"

Ifrit shook her head as Akina casually swung her own arm around. To think she hadn't even noticed the kid approaching. Apparently, Siren's offer to return the arm had shocked her that much.

"Anyway! What brings you here?"

Ifrit forced a change of subject. Akina answered with a question.

"Have you seen my Mister? I heard he was in the backyard."

"Oh, Ash? He asked me a bunch of questions about shooting, then headed for the parking lot. Said something about repairing the Revenant."

Akina turned her head. The Revenant was right beside the table.

"Huh? But the Revenant's right here."

"Maybe he went to get tools. ROA's armored vehicle is in the parking lot."

"Aha!"

With another brief farewell, Akina headed to the parking lot in front of the rest stop.

ROA's new armored vehicle stood there in all its imposing glory, accompanied by Jack O' Lantern's cries of amazement.

"Holy shit! How is that even possible?"

Jack and Dullahan had abandoned the tools they were taking out and climbed into the armored vehicle, where they were staring intently at an interior monitor. Puzzled, Akina approached them.

"What is it? What are you watching that's so interesting?"

Jack whipped his head around at her voice and waved.

"Oh, Akina! Come take a look at this!"

The two men were watching footage from the Revenant's black box. Apparently, they had taken it out during repairs to see just what had happened. Her curiosity piqued, Akina climbed into the armored vehicle too and craned her neck.

The chase through Underland was playing out on the screen in full. The highlight was the sequence where the vehicle raced acrobatically along a pipeline before launching into the air and charging toward the tunnel.

A short message appeared on Dullahan's visor, conveying his disbelief.

[WTF is this?]

"Uh-huh. Uh-huh-huh-huh."

Jack O' Lantern burst into dazed laughter.

"Wow, how is that possible? With the whole vehicle tilted that far, wasn't he scared?"

[Exactly]

"I seriously can't figure him out anymore. What even is Big Brother Ash? That data card we gave him only had basic instructions and reference material on it."

Akina laughed quietly at the two men, who were concentrating so hard they looked ready to climb into the monitor.

'What's this? Everyone's talking about Mr. Ash!'

Rudolph and the ninjas in the operating room. Ifrit and Siren in the backyard. And now Jack and Dullahan, right in front of her. They were all having their own conversations in different places. Yet strangely, if she listened closely, every one of those conversations was about Ash.

Some called him an adult worthy of their trust and loyalty. Some staked their future on a single remark from him. Others marveled at his outrageous feats. Everyone was talking about Ash, while she slept, in places she knew nothing about.

That realization gave Akina a curious little flutter inside. Somehow, she felt pleased and proud.

'Hehe! See? My Mister's the best, isn't he?'

As that silly thought crossed her mind, the smile that had formed on her lips without her noticing grew wider.

"By the way, what brings you here?"

At Jack's sudden question, the smiling Akina explained why she'd come.

"I'm looking for Mr. Ash. Have you seen him?"

Only then did Jack turn away from the screen to answer her.

"Huh? He just went inside with Grandpa Santa. Didn't you see him?"

"Grandpa Santa?"

"They said they had something to talk about."

Jack stepped out of the vehicle and looked around briefly, then raised his head a little and pointed.

"Oh, there he is. Big Brother!"

Akina followed his pointing finger with her eyes. On the rooftop of the rest stop, Ash stood beside Santa. He had been talking while gazing out over Sanctum, but turned at Jack's shout. Spotting Akina, he raised a hand.

"Did you sleep well?"

At his amplified electronic voice, Akina beamed and waved both arms.

"I'm heading off, guys!"

She hopped lightly down from the armored vehicle. Then, without hesitation, she went into the rest stop and bounded up the old stairs—to see Ash, the man everyone was talking about.