ch41-ch60 · 047-ch47

Chapter 47: Kido Mizuki 2

I handed Mizuki-san a can of coffee from the vending machine, and gave Lumiel an orange juice.

No reply from my sister yet...

"Thank you."

Mizuki-san accepted the warm can, wrapping both hands around it.

People kept coming and going from the memorial monument, quickly forming a mountain of flowers. I watched for a while, waiting for her to start talking.

"Do you know about unlicensed Awakeners — 'underground' Hunters? There are apparently people who don't get licenses..."

"Ah, yeah, I've heard of them..."

Sorry. That underground Hunter is standing right in front of you.

Lumiel looked up at me with half-closed eyes.

Mizuki-san didn't notice our reaction, just kept staring at a single point as she continued.

"Of course, getting a license isn't mandatory, so it's up to them. But I hear there are Awakeners who deliberately don't get one with the intention of misusing their power."

For an Awakener, it's common sense to get a Hunter License unless you're an exception (someone like me whose rank is barely different from an ordinary person).

It can be used as ID or insurance, comes with rewards for participating in World Clock events, and various other benefits — but the real purpose is for the country to manage Awakeners. The license makes your achievements and criminal record clear, and the public knows about you. Awakeners can live alongside ordinary people in exchange for revealing their identities.

Touching her own shoulder as if stroking it, Mizuki-san continued in a trembling voice.

"I was caught up in a crime involving one of those underground types before. I was almost abducted. They, um, forced me into a car..."

"Abducted!? That's..."

Ever since the World Clock appeared — well, ever since people started Awakening, the number of crimes has increased dramatically too. Awakening happens regardless of a person's character, so there are naturally those with evil intentions.

Still, abduction? That's unbelievable... Did something like that really happen in modern Japan?

"I know the reason," Mizuki-san continued.

"Jealousy and retaliation toward my brother for his achievements at the World Clock."

"But those underground guys had nothing to do with —"

"An investigation later revealed that my brother's fellow Hunters had hired them. Apparently these kinds of crimes are common."

Crimes targeting Awakeners' families... That's despicable.

I hear major guilds often prepare housing for their members' families within their facilities as a countermeasure (which is why many Hunters want to join big guilds).

"Narashima-san saved me."

Her expression brightened, a complete shift from before.

Lumiel quietly drank her orange juice.

"There were quite a few of them, but he just bam-bam-bam — caught them all in an instant. It was like watching an action movie... it was amazing."

The Hunting Dogs guild he belongs to mainly handles "crackdowns on illegal Hunters, combat crime prevention, special operations," etc. It's an organization similar to the police of the Hunter world.

From what I've seen of Narashima Hunter's abilities, he's suited for anti-personnel combat too. It's probably his calling.

"After that, my brother came to look up to Narashima-san."

"That really happened, huh."

The reason Kido Hunter looked up to Narashima Hunter.

So that's where their friendship began.

"Oh, that reminds me."

Mizuki-san continued as if remembering something.

"Your sister coming here is probably to visit 'Tsubaki-chan.'"

Tsubaki-chan? Who's that?

As I hesitated to answer, Mizuki-san continued.

"If I recall, she was a founding member of the Remnant Guild that Maeda-san belongs to. I know because she was my classmate."

My heart skipped a beat.

Kunimori called her his "junior," so I'd always assumed Remnant was founded by my sister, Momose-san, and Shiki-kun — the three of them.

Maybe she noticed my expression, because Mizuki-san covered her mouth and said, "I'm sorry!"

"I just went on and on about your sister without thinking..."

"No, it's my fault for not trying to find out. Please don't worry about it."

Mizuki-san's eyebrows drooped apologetically, but when I made an effort to act cheerful, she let out a small breath of relief.

"My sister sometimes spaces out thinking about things too. Maybe she was thinking about that person."

When I said that and looked past the memorial monument, Mizuki-san nodded quietly.

The people gathered around the flower stand were leaving one by one, heading toward the station.

Mizuki-san rolled the empty can between her hands as if reluctant to let go, then looked up as if she'd made up her mind.

"Thank you for listening to me. I feel a little lighter."

She glanced at the memorial monument, then started walking, with me following. I put my empty can in the trash and slowly walked after her.

◇◆◇◆◇

After walking for a while, we entered a quiet residential area where her home was.

As she was about to say "This is fine," Lumiel gently tugged on her hem.

"...Mizuki."

"Eh? Ah, yes. What is it, Lumiel-chan?"

Mizuki-san crouched down, and Lumiel stared at her with clear eyes, then quietly declared.

"The monsters that killed your brother — I'll defeat all of them. So I won't let you be sad anymore."

A sudden, but pure oath.

For a moment, Mizuki-san looked like a bird caught by a blast, but then tears welled up in her eyes. She smiled as she embraced her little guardian.

"...Thank you. That's reassuring, Lumiel-chan."

By the time we arrived, Kido Hunter was already in a completely different state, but to Lumiel, he was probably also someone she couldn't save.

When we stopped in front of her house, she bowed deeply to us once more.

◇◆◇◆◇

It was around evening when I finally caught up with my sister.

My sister accepted her phone with a slightly troubled smile.

"You didn't have to go out of your way to bring it, you know. Poor Lumiel getting dragged along all day."

"What! I can't last an hour without this thing... A life without it would be..."

Our dependency on our phones turned out to be quite different.

Well, that doesn't matter.

"Sis."

"What?"

My sister could tell from my serious tone that I wanted to talk.

"I heard about the girl named Tsubaki."

"! ...I see."

I could see the blood drain from my sister's face.

The gentle smile from a moment ago vanished, replaced by deep despair mixed with something like fear in her eyes.

"Alright. I'll tell you."

And then my sister began to speak, piece by piece.

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Volume 1 is out now, thanks to all of you! Thank you so much.

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