A voice shouted behind me.
"Rune Sage—! What are you doing!"
I ignored it.
I reached into the trash and pulled Henry out, metal and broken flesh heavy in my arms. I laid him down on the ground and pressed two fingers to his neck.
'He has a pulse.'
I let out a sigh full of relief inwardly.
'As long as he has a pulse, I can save him.'
The level of technology I would have to show to do that was far beyond anything this world was supposed to see.
It would draw attention, and put me in danger.
But—
'Charlotta, this time, I will make sure your siblings are safe.'
'Think of it as payment for everything you did for me in our last life.'
Behind me, the recruiters had gathered, their earlier excitement replaced with curiosity and thinly veiled interest.
One of them squinted.
"Wait. Isn't that the Saint Candidate P Corp brought in a few days ago?"
"So they trashed him so no one else could salvage anything. Typical."
