Chapter 49

It is often said that an incompetent ally commander is scarier than the enemy.

…If so, how cautious should one be when dealing with a competent enemy commander?

“……”

After pulling me into the office set up in one corner of the command structure, I quietly gaze at Anne Grisha, who is sitting across from me.

I have uncovered the truth behind the disappearance case, yet I do not understand her true intentions.

She suspects that I have extracted vital secrets, but there is no tangible evidence.

However, it is a situation where I cannot assert that I am in a favorable position.

In a world where laws exist, but only judgment prevails without trial, asserting the principle of presumed innocence is pointless, for just a few words from the real authority, Anne, could immediately add a criminal record to my ID… or worse.

But it is not only because there is a way to survive when it comes down to it; anyone who has seen or heard her confession.

No one would believe that Anne has been holding back and was planning something against Helena or me.

Before calling me a fool, it would be fair to say that we have already turned our backs on each other, yet I could not take my eyes off her, still wearing a gentle expression.

At last, Anne began to speak.

“Ahsa… this is a stage I have been organizing for a long time. While I can allow you to participate as an audience, you must not take away the enjoyment as you please.”

“What… do you mean…!”

As her hand reached toward my face, gently unwrapping the packaging of the long-awaited gift box, I instinctively flinched and shrank my neck.

If it were the usual benevolent Anne, I would not have thought much of it, but facing her pupils that began to fill with mischievous flames, the urge to reject surged within me.

“There is no need to lie even here. Even I, who have only known Lena for five years, find it hard to suppress my impulses when I look at her… How much has Ahsa, who has watched her for a lifetime, stored away…?”

“What do you mean I’ve stored away…?!”

Thwack!

Standing abruptly, Anne gripped my cheek, forcing me to meet her gaze.

“……Without basic convenience implants, we cannot even put a single iron nail in our bodies, and no matter how hard we try, we can only be shadows of society. Crawling at the bottom… getting trampled by countless feet… when we finally receive light after hardship, we vanish without a trace like shadows.”

“……”

Twisted jealousy, inferiority, and above all, love-hate that has grown in the wrong direction and bore fruit.

I realized far too late the nature of the dark fuel constantly poured into my runaway heart.

“Modern people may all be sick and insane… yet they are busy pretending to be fine and perfect on the outside. Lena, who is always beautiful and noble, being capable of living by ideals and achieving them… isn’t that unfair…?”

I did not know how to respond to the confession that the foundation of the beloved Helena Valentine was, for some, a light that was unbearable to endure.

“……You said you loved Helena, right? Was that a lie?”

With a look that seemed to question what kind of foolishness I was uttering, Anne’s face drew nearer, radiating an uncontrollable heat.

I was not trying to mimic reopening a wound.

As a mere audience member, I was simply trying to relieve some of the burden that pressed down on Anne’s reason, even if only with feeble gestures…

“…I love her. To the point of dying. So much that I wouldn’t mind dying for her.”

“Such….”

This was not a topic that had slipped out impulsively.

A sudden ominous thought arose. If Helena’s foundation was idealism and the belief to achieve it, what was the foundation that constituted Anne?

“I want to see the clean and noble Lena in despair.”

“I want to drink the tears of Lena, who is hurt and broken.”

“I want to see if Lena also bleeds bright red.”

“Ugh?!”

I felt dizzy from the torrent of distorted selfishness that poured forth.

Each sentiment seemed twisted and filled with desperation. While broken things can be repaired, I had no idea how to deal with a person who had been completed by their brokenness.

“Blood… isn’t that difficult to face?”

“…? Yes. Since old times, I have found it hard to suppress the urge when I see blood.”

…She was not completely hiding herself with lies but rather hoped I would peer inside the veil, letting a little of her true feelings slip through.

It was all the more surprising that every moment was genuine, which made my realization come too late. I lacked the resolve to be pricked when sharing pieces of faith with someone.

Or, if not that… I could curse my foolishness for assuming that Helena’s best friend would, vaguely, not be the case.

“I’m sorry for talking so much about myself… Now, it’s Ahsa’s turn?”

…What?

I stared at her, who had a sparkling gaze and was showing readiness to listen.

“……Ha.”

Only now did I accurately grasp the reason and misunderstanding behind Anne Grisha’s previous kindness toward me.

The fact that she approached a defenseless me in a private room like this and brought up such topics, as well as her candid demeanor.

Because our situations were similar, and we had many things in common, I made the reckless assumption that I, too, had twisted feelings for Helena.

I couldn’t easily come up with a response to such a wild leap of thought.

As I repeatedly opened and closed my mouth, a sudden communication call snapped my dazed mind back to reality.

– …Ahsa, I’m sorry, but could you head home first… or stay at a motel? My sister has found one of the missing persons… it seems like things are getting serious… To the extent that… um… I might need to ask Grandfather for a new identity…? –

…Damn it. Even though I hadn’t willingly shared dangerous information, Helena was moving toward the center of the storm on her own.

I had barely grasped the causes that would completely turn her life upside down… but I had missed every chance to convey that in a mitigated manner.

In any case, the option of retreating quietly had vanished due to that call.

It was obvious that continuing on this path would only lead to a desperate catastrophe, so while I might not be able to change Anne, I needed to confront these feelings directly.

“Um…?”

For the time being, I pushed her shoulder to gently urge her to sit down again, trying to be as cautious as possible and avoid provoking her.

I wasn’t sure if my words would reach Anne, who was indulged in a selfish self, but if the madness she had unveiled was truly her, then I was prepared to face her head-on.

I sorted my words and sentences while gazing at her eyes, stained with a madness that made me want to turn away.

“…I felt a bit of jealousy. Even with her superhuman talent and integrity. Honestly, I believe anyone could feel envy when faced with a hero that is loved by a fate like Helena Valentine.”

“Indeed, Ahsa…!!”

“But Anne…!! I do not wish for Helena’s downfall or transformation like you do. If you wish to become like her and chase an impossible ideal, that might be a different story.”

I poured cold water on her burgeoning flames decisively.

I felt sorry for Anne, who brightened even at minimal empathy, but I could not condone her perspectives.

When the truth about the project and the person who had hidden it came to light, it would be Helena who suffered the most, yet upon hearing my denial, Anne looked as if she had been betrayed by a trusted lover.

“Why…? Why…? I thought Ahsa would surely be similar to me…??”

“……”

In an instant, her eyes emptied, trembling unsteadily, and her voice quivered just as much.

Even if she asked why… it was just natural for me, so I couldn’t help it.

Even if the world turned upside down overnight and the heavens and earth were altered, I had resolved to protect my values, which I believed were right, and strive for the ideal to arrive at a happy ending.

If I were to give that up, I would cease to be myself. I absolutely could not compromise.

“….”

She flinched.

Her shoulders, which had drooped toward the ground, trembled.

Waves of malice could be distinctly sensed, and she muttered in a voice that did not conceal her disappointment.

“I’m glad that even a person unlike me, Ahsa, has a role that suits you.”

“…What is that?”

Even as I calmly repeated the question, my hand quietly moved toward my thigh.

Her face tilted back toward me, and her glasses glimmered at the new angle.

“…I thought it would be fitting for my precious younger sister to be placed on the operating table.”

Clack…!

I immediately drew my gun and aimed at the unguarded, smiling Anne.

…If she thought I would willingly participate in this vile act to this extent, she was mistaken.

Fitting roles, my foot…!

Rather than be treated as a convenient hostage, I would rather end this nightmare with my own hands right now….

“…Why are you so calm?”

Even with death equally facing everyone, she continued to smile.

Her attitude, as if she wouldn’t mind being shot at all, made me uneasy, wondering if I had overlooked something.

“Although my stage may be ruined… it would be hard for Lena to bear if her one and only younger sister were to kill her friend.”

“Is that…?!!?!?”

Rattle—!!

…Ah, this fool. How could I make such a mistake?

As a surging realization caused my gun to lower for an instant, a taser gun flashed before my eyes and was deftly pressed against the back of my neck.

How much practice had she undergone to shoot with such precision without even enhancement implants… I found myself pondering absurdly as darkness fell over me.

A dimwit who only engaged in jealousy without putting in effort could never hope to master such skill.

…How pitiable. Surely, a better, more optimistic future must have existed somewhere.

How could someone like Anne, who made it into Mega Cop solely on her own power and effort without the aid of machines, not see it?

In my fading vision, I caught a glimpse of her brown hair swaying faintly.

The reasons were hard to explain, but… for some reason, the tale of Alice in Wonderland suddenly came to mind.

If I had realized that the thing I was chasing was a brown rabbit with a painful heart, would I have recklessly stepped into the rabbit hole?

…No, perhaps on that night when I absentmindedly looked at Anne’s ponytail swaying like that. I might have already been captivated by that madness.