Chapter 151 – What Are You Saying?! Leave You Behind? I Would Never–

The next morning, in a room at the Sector 16 hotel. In the meeting room, filled with morning light, the infiltration team had gathered.

"Now then, let me share today's plan of action."

Lieutenant Priscilla Halevy of the homeland military's special-forces unit spoke briskly, manipulating the map on the holographic display.

"Adelina, Ranses, and I will continue coordinating with the administrative district and the homeland embassy today, and working through the various procedures. Until the handover of information from our predecessors is complete, we cannot afford to move openly, so we will be acting separately again today."

"Understood. The paperwork sounds like a lot of work."

Grain nodded. Priscilla smiled softly and turned her eyes to the three from the Vigilante Corps.

"Mr. Grain, I would like you and the others to continue exploring Coroshe's interior and getting a feel for its atmosphere. ...However, please refrain from overly reckless information gathering."

"Understood. There's only so much we can do, after all."

Beside that conversation, Letaria alone was turning over something entirely different in her mind. The "slender Makina" she had meant to check yesterday had vanished from her head without a trace. Far more than that...

I wonder if Rofi managed to eat that food properly after that. ...I wonder if she is sitting all alone in a cold place like that again today.

What filled her head was nothing but the ash-gray-haired girl she had met yesterday -- Rofi.

"All right, then let's start today the same as yesterday and make the rounds from the commercial district. Letaria, don't get separated today."

Grain spoke to her as they stepped out of the hotel. But Letaria stopped, shook her head, and wore a crisp expression.

"No. I'll act on my own."

"What? Come on, Letaria. You just got lost yesterday."

At Grain's exasperated face, Letaria gave a smug little huff.

"It's fine. I already know the way back to the hotel perfectly, and how to ride the linear car, too. I have-- no, I mean, I've learned something, you know? There's a place I want to see, so let's meet back at the hotel later!"

"Ah, hold on, wait!"

With Merry's calling voice behind her, Letaria broke into a light-footed run toward the station. She hopped quickly onto a linear car that had just slid in, and as the doors were closing, waved broadly to the two on the platform.

"Hey, Letaria--!"

Grain's outstretched hand was in vain; the linear car accelerated smoothly and left the platform, leaving the two of them behind.

◆◆◆

Changing between linear cars, Letaria arrived once more in the industrial district, with its air of looming menace.

A noisy cityscape where work Makina sounded deafening low rumbles and large trucks hauling materials came and went. Relying on her memory and the map on her terminal, Letaria wandered around the no-entry fence where she had met Rofi the day before.

I wonder where she is today. Surely not in that tucked-away gap again...

On her way toward yesterday's materials yard, she noticed a small figure sitting alone on a cold concrete step, in the shadow of a half-broken container, a little way from yesterday's spot.

Ash-gray straight hair; thin clothing, somehow ill-fitting. It was Rofi. Today, too, she hugged her knees and stared at the ground with unfocused eyes.

"Rofi!"

Letaria called out before she could stop herself and ran up to her.

Rofi's slender shoulders twitched, and her face slowly lifted. The instant her pale blue eyes reflected Letaria, a light seemed to dwell in them, just barely.

"...Ria?"

"Yes, it's Ria! I'm so glad, I get to see you again today."

Letaria's face lit up, delighted that Rofi had murmured her name. But up close, Rofi's skin was still somewhat pale, and the clothes she wore looked far too thin and cold. Seeing her simply sitting still on the street of such a grim industrial district made Letaria's chest ache as if squeezed.

I cannot bear to let her stay in a place like this...!

"Hey, Rofi. Let's go out and play together!"

"...?"

Rofi tilted her head slightly. Letaria held out her hand to take that slender one.

Then, though she showed signs of hesitation, Rofi softly laid her own small hand over it -- and then gripped Letaria's fingers firmly in return.

Letaria felt the fragile yet warm body heat conveyed through it.

It brought to her mind the day she had walked hand in hand with her sister, long ago.

Letaria smiled softly. "Shall we go, then?"

Hand in hand, the two left the industrial district.

◆◆◆

They arrived at a small but lively local shopping mall near the border between the industrial and commercial districts. Colorful holographic ads danced, and the smell of savory food drifted through the air.

"First of all... food! I heard your stomach yesterday, you know."

Entering a cafe-restaurant in the mall, Letaria seated Rofi at a window seat with a nice view. Then she ordered the table full of brightly colored sandwiches, hot soup, and sweet juice.

"Now, dig in."

Rofi observed the dishes lined up in front of her with curiosity, just as she had yesterday. She was unsteady even with how to use a fork, but when Letaria showed her, she copied it and took a mouthful of soup.

"...It's warm."

"See? Delicious food warms not just your stomach, but your heart, too."

As Letaria smiled gently, Rofi began nodding over and over and, single-mindedly, bringing soup and sandwiches to her mouth. Her cheeks flushed a faint pink, and little by little her expression softened.

After the meal, the two stopped in at a clothing store in the mall.

"Let me buy you something a little warmer, and cute. I'm sure bright colors would look absolutely perfect on you, Rofi."

Letaria suggested this, picking up colorful clothes from the racks one after another. But Rofi gripped the plain clothes she was wearing tight and quietly shook her head.

"...Clothes... are fine."

"Huh? But that would be cold, wouldn't it?"

"No. ...If you buy me new ones... I can't take them back to my room."

Letaria was at a loss for words at what slipped from Rofi's mouth. Did that mean that if she took them back to her "room," someone would reprimand her? Letaria didn't press any further, and gently stroked Rofi's head.

"I see... okay. Then let's leave the clothes for another time."

After that, the two kept walking around the mall. They chased holographic fish at a small game corner, and listened to the music playing in the fountain plaza.

As their time together grew, she could tell Rofi's stubborn heart was loosening bit by bit. She said little, but whenever Letaria spoke to her she nodded happily, and the strength with which she held her hand grew stronger.

I want to take her to so many more places...

Just as Letaria thought so, it happened.

Suddenly, Rofi's body stiffened. Force surged into the hand she was holding, and Rofi, as if jolted, looked up at the second-floor atrium walkway of the mall.

"...Rofi? What's wrong?"

In the direction of Rofi's gaze -- a woman with a light-brown ponytail, crossing the atrium in the distance. It was Carol, whom she had seen yesterday. She was sweeping the mall with sharp eyes, as if searching for something.

"...Ria, I'm going."

Rofi whispered in a small voice, but with clear intent.

"...I don't want anyone to be mean... to Ria."

"What are you saying?! Leave you behind? I would never--"

Before Letaria could finish, Rofi broke into a run. All she could do was watch her go in silence.

...Before much time had passed, Letaria set off walking with a single resolve in her heart.

Hiding in the shadow of a pillar so as not to be seen, she held her breath and advanced. Far ahead of her, Rofi and Carol could be seen walking away, their backs turned.