Chapter 32

Episode 32: There’s Always a Beautiful Girl Beyond Freedom

Agiri Rinka doesn’t know the faces of her parents.

This is because she was raised in a facility since the day she was born.

One of the many organizations existing in Academy City, “Silver Twilight,” was for her both home and her only place of belonging.

Her parents were researchers, and her lullabies were electronic sounds.

Everything about her life was fabricated, and yet, to her, this was everything.

――But Rinka betrayed all of it.

“Haa… haa…”

Having shaken off her pursuers, Rinka hid herself.

The place she had hastily entered seemed to be some kind of staff facility. In the dimly lit hallway, there were several doors.

She proceeded quietly through the area.

Then, at that moment, Rinka noticed a cardboard box placed in front of a cleaning closet.

Inside it was a mascot costume scheduled for disposal.

“…Perfect timing.”

Without hesitation, Rinka put it on.

Her face had already been exposed.

If wearing this could even slightly reduce the risk of being found, it would be better.

“Alright, here we go.”

Just as Rinka thought it was safe, a question crossed her mind.

(Where should I go now?)

Rinka had betrayed the organization.

It happened because she abandoned the mission assigned to her.

Rinka’s mission was to assassinate Gata Toraku, the contractor of Demons Gear, and to retrieve Lutra.

(At first, everything went smoothly though.)

Approaching him as a friend was easy.

She had already researched his character beforehand.

He was a genuine good person with an upright heart.

That’s why she was drawn to him.

And to the people around him.

“There’s no way I can kill such happy people…”

Rinka had never killed anyone before.

This mission was supposed to be the test that would make her a complete operative.

If so, abandoning it midway meant she was nothing more than a failure.

(Tourak and the others have figured it out too, and the organization has disowned me… Ah well, I guess I have nowhere left to go.)

As soon as she thought that, her legs gave out.

After fleeing from the underground experimental facility and running nonstop, her legs had finally reached their limit.

Though she had been relying on sheer willpower until now, that too had run dry.

She had lost her reason to stand.

(Maybe I’ll start over at some obscure academy… No, they’ll find me quickly.)

Silver Twilight was a powerful organization within Academy City.

It was tacitly approved by the Apis Council, and with its power, disposing of a runaway girl like her would be effortless.

“Haa… What exactly was my life all about?”

Objectively evaluating her life, Rinka concluded that it had always been dictated by purpose.

Everything was for the organization; she was just a tool.

Even when she was with Tourak, she followed the manual of being a bright and cheerful girl.

She didn’t know what freedom was.

“―It’s time for your shift change.”

Suddenly, someone spoke from behind her.

Thinking it might be one of her pursuers, she braced herself—but the person was also wearing a mascot costume.

“…Ah, who are you?”

For a moment, she thought this person might be a part-time worker at the amusement park but quickly dismissed the idea.

Rinka was trained from a young age to recognize people.

Thus, she understood immediately.

(She’s strong. Even if I give it my all here, I wouldn’t stand a chance.)

Despite appearing relaxed, the person exuded a tangible sense of authority.

Therefore, it was almost certain that this individual belonged to her side.

“I don’t think you need to be so surprised. I just came to say hello.”

The girl in front of her said this with a somewhat exasperated tone.

Apparently, she hadn’t come to chase Rinka down.

“…Haa, don’t scare me like that!”

This experimental facility was well-known in the underground world.

Because of this, operatives from other organizations were often sent here.

Initially, Rinka thought this costumed girl was one such operative.

However, the next words from the girl dispelled that notion.

“It’s scary, isn’t it?”

“Huh?”

“I understand how you feel.”

Clearly, the girl had grasped Rinka’s situation.

She wasn’t just any ordinary operative.

“You… Could it be?”

“Yes. I was once in the same position as you.”

That explained everything.

(Silver Twilight doesn’t forgive traitors. Still, it’s true that in the past, a few people managed to escape the organization.)

Whether due to revulsion towards inhumane experiments or the pursuit of a brighter future, the fact remains that some people did leave Silver Twilight.

Rinka knew that these individuals later formed a new organization opposed to Silver Twilight.

(If this girl belongs to the newly established anti-Silver Twilight organization, it makes sense she’d be here. This is an important experimental facility for Silver Twilight.)

The bearing of a strong individual and knowledge of Silver Twilight confirmed it.

She was undoubtedly an Explorer who had escaped from Silver Twilight in the past.

If that was the case, it also proved that one needed exceptional strength to escape the organization, something Rinka lacked.

“…Then, you must understand, right? It’s hopeless now. Honestly, I just want to throw everything away and run away.”

Where would she even go?

Thinking about it, Rinka let out a self-deprecating laugh.

However, the girl in front of her didn’t smile.

“Will you be saved by doing that?”

A question that pierced straight into Rinka’s heart.

It felt as if someone had peered into her innermost thoughts, making her extremely irritated.

“Saved? After deceiving everyone!? There’s no way someone like me can be saved!”

She exploited Tourak’s kindness.

She trampled on Mihaya’s compassion.

She treated Lutra as nothing more than a tool.

She had betrayed those who had given her warmth.

She had turned what was supposed to be her real place into a fabrication.

“Why are you here if you’re the same as me?! In the end, you probably couldn’t do anything else but come here, right?!”

It was off the mark, and logically, she knew that.

The girl had likely come to destroy or steal information from Silver Twilight’s experimental facility.

Still, the darker parts of Rinka’s heart wanted to believe that the girl had come to surrender to Silver Twilight, just like her.

She wanted someone else who had failed against the organization, just like her.

She wanted to believe she wasn’t the only miserable one.

The girl standing in front of her seemed to understand Rinka’s feelings and gently admonished her.

“…I’m here because it’s my duty.”

The calm girl held up her hand to stop Rinka’s ranting.

Even this simple exchange made Rinka acutely aware of the vast gap between them, which annoyed her.

“Have you calmed down a little?”

“…Sorry. Yelling at you won’t solve anything anyway.”

“That’s right. I can’t solve it either.”

The girl affirmed Rinka’s words.

And then she continued.

“What you should do is decide for yourself.”

That was the autonomy of Rinka as a human being. The very foundation of it.

To the Rinka who had followed orders like a machine, it was suddenly presented as freedom.

“My decision…?”

“That’s right.”

The girl nodded and spoke, as if guiding Rinka.

“Instead of focusing on what you ‘should’ do, follow what you ‘want’ to do. Why not act according to your beliefs?”

“…Is it really that simple?”

In Rinka’s past, there was always logic.

Every action had an absolute reason tied to the organization’s benefit.

But now, things were different.

“It’s fine. Look, all you need to do now is follow your heart.”

Saying that, the girl took Rinka’s hand.

With the mascot costume on, her expression was hidden.

But from her tone of voice, it sounded like she was smiling.

“Don’t worry. The world is much kinder and more beautiful than you imagine.”

How many sacrifices and hardships had led to those words?

Rinka, still bound by the organization, couldn’t comprehend it fully.

But, somehow, she glimpsed a tiny bit of the answer.

“…Thank you. Maybe I’ve started to understand what I truly want to do.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Standing in front of the door, Rinka turned back.

“Can I ask your name?”

The person who had pushed her forward when she couldn’t take another step, who had gone out of their way to help her despite the risks—just meeting her by chance.

However, the girl in the mascot costume remained silent.

She stood there motionless, as if saying her role was now finished.

“…Sorry. You’re right. Yeah, I’ll try my best!”

“Yes. Please do your best.”

Rinka bowed slightly.

That was all she could do right now.

And so, Rinka stepped outside.

(The organization’s people are searching among the crowd. But they haven’t noticed me yet. This should work—)

Rinka began retracing the path she had fled.

Her destination was the deepest room of the underground experimental facility.

This time, not as Rinka of Silver Twilight.

Neither surrendering nor submitting.

But as Rinka of Mikage Academy, going to fight.