Chapter Twenty-Seven: Reunion II
I half-considered the title of this chapter to be 'who's gonna tell him'. Read the chapter and you'll understand.
Tengu City.
Residential Districts.
Finally, everything had settled.
Or so Morgan would've liked to think.
"Why are you—"
He began, only to stop himself halfway.
On second thought, it was probably better not to say anything more.
Morgan thought better of it.
Now, the three of them were seated in the living room, positioned in a rather unique way.
Morgan and Maya were facing each other, seated on two opposing couches.
While Mana had taken the third seat. The one facing the TV squarely.
Just tight between the two adjacent couches, both Morgan and Maya were seated.
Morgan was still wearing the white shirt and trousers of his uniform, and Mana her black military outfit.
Yes, along this line, anyone could tell 'she' was the odd person out here.
She simply wore one of his jackets she found in his wardrobe upstairs and called it a day.
Even now... on that couch, she was all smiles, grinning at him.
"…And? What happened?"
Morgan spoke at last, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, fingers laced together beneath his chin.
While his tone was completely even.
It was more or less a tone that didn't seem to be joking around too.
Dead serious.
"Hm… let's see."
Maya tapped her chin, pretending to think.
"It was about… a few years ago, I suppose, when I was suddenly promoted, you know? After that incident happened."
At that last part, Maya's tone changed.
More like softened.
That incident.
Even Morgan's gaze hardened.
He had more or less suspected from the start that it hadn't been some simple "accident."
…he would never forget.
For a brief moment, the silence hung heavy.
Mana's eyes flicked back and forth between the two.
It would be better if she weren't here, she thought.
Her specialty on her Wizard CV didn't include anything like handling a depressing atmosphere like this.
But, after it stretched for about a minute or so.
Maya, being her usual, blissfully insensitive self, broke the silence with a cheerful tone.
"…And before I knew it, I was suddenly put in charge of a very, very important project, you see!"
She said it with the kind of grin that could blind satellites.
"But since it was such a crucial assignment, I had to travel constantly to make sure everything went smoothly."
At some point, Morgan had taken a glance at Mana, and their line of sight had intersected.
Of course,
Really, he was shocked when he saw Mana, of all people, casually chilling in his apartment.
Also knowing Nightmare was circling around this city didn't help.
It gave him quite a shock.
That alone earned a sigh from him.
"Eee-"
Maya, thinking that she was the cause behind that sigh, flinched.
Her hands shot up as if she were surrendering, her eyes darting nervously between Morgan and Mana.
Morgan's brow twitched.
Naturally, he noticed the unusual behavior of his aunt.
Even if he didn't know what was running through her head, he could tell..
This airheaded woman hadn't changed one bit.
"Fine. I guess that excuse will do for the main time."
...Mana's hands balled slightly in her lap with a slackening expression.
He didn't believe it.
Any of it.
Her gaze crept toward Maya, who sat there fidgeting with the hem of the jacket, looking oddly deflated.
No… it wasn't deflation.
Mana realized it then.
It was nervousness.
The kind that looked an awful lot like… a girl in love.
How utterly weird.
But then, just as she turned back to Morgan, chills ran down her spine.
To put things into perspective,
One could say Mana Takamiya was among the strongest Wizards in the world.
Her affinity with the Realizer and CR-Unit was quite high,
Especially after the 'Human Enhancement Surgery.'
However, she was not quite on the level of Ellen, who could manifest Territory without a Realizer.
Or Artemisia, who could expand the range of her Territory freely.
Still, she was strong.
Yet right now, she felt something that didn't belong in her body.
If she were to compare it, it wasn't fear.
But overwhelming discomfort.
A deep, crawling, instinctive discomfort that made her skin prickle beneath her uniform.
The only person who had induced this type of discomfort was none other than Maya.
Slowly, she turned her head toward her superior.
Sure enough, the woman seemed fine.
"...how's Ashley?"
Morgan's voice was hoarse, kind of rough around the edges, as though he were swallowing something bitter.
There was something in it that Mana couldn't quite name.
Regret, maybe. Or guilt.
Even when she looked at Maya, for the briefest of moments, her expression mirrored something else.
Fear.
'...?'
But in the next moments, it was gone almost immediately, replaced by her usual, airy smile,
"She... she's doing well."
What even is going on now?
"Is that so? I would like to visit her again. What do you say?"
Maya's head bobbed up and down, far too fast as her smile stretched a little too wide.
Ashely Sinclair.
It began when that incident happened.
usually,
Parents who frequently went on "business trips" were either involved in something secretive..
..or it was simply the nature of their work.
Morgan had known this much, even as a child, due to his memories from another world.
Especially in a world like this when he first heard the term:
Spacequakes.
He suspected this.
Still, he had no proof.
And back then, he'd been far too young to do anything. All he could do was wait.
Still, every time, they came back.
…It was during those stretches that Maya Kunimitsu entered their lives.
His mother's subordinate at the time, who was stationed there.
During travels like that, she would come stay with the eleven and eight year old Morgan and Ashely.
Until that incident.
Both parents were suddenly reported dead.
The siblings weren't the only devastated ones. Maya, who loved his mother like a sister, was also devastated.
"Haah…"
Morgan's quiet sigh cut through the air as he stood.
"If that's all for now, I'll go change. Oh, and I'll order something to eat."
Without another word, he slung his bag over his shoulder and headed upstairs.
His footsteps echoed as they slowly vanished, leaving both Mana and Maya in the living room.
Mana had let out a perceptible sigh when…
"No... Clair is not going to forgive me."
Maya's voice came out in a whisper, having that one tone in it.
Trembling.
Like a child, she curled up on the couch, tucking her face between her knees.
"Commander?"
Mana whispered out, but it was drowned by the constant ramblings of Maya's otherwise words.
"I betrayed Clair…"
Over and over again, she kept repeating those words in silent whispers.
Mana could only watch as the woman's eyes went glassy, swirling with guilt and confusion.
At this point, she knew it was best to simply listen when—
"If he ever finds out I made Ash-chan into a Wizard… he won't forgive me."
Mana froze.
Her hands, which had been holding Maya's shoulders, slowly loosened.
Tap.
Tap.
Mana took a few steps back in horror.
No… way.
Those words rang in her head, over and over again.
Ironically, it mirrored her own life too.
Her memory was hazy, but she remembered having an older brother.
And she remembered why she became a Wizard in the first place.
Even knowing that she no longer had much time to live, she still went on with it.
To help her brother.
So hearing this, hearing Maya say she'd turned someone's sister into a Wizard…
It cut deeper than she expected.
Then again, Mana couldn't deny that this woman was.. crazy.
Not that Mana had much right to meddle in another family's business.
All she could do, for now, was watch from the sidelines.
Watch from the sidelines, for now.
"You really screwed up, Commander. A lot."
Her voice was low, almost a whisper, before she turned away.
While that was happening,
–Upstairs.
Morgan was halfway through unbuttoning his shirt when his phone, resting by the pillow, began to vibrate.
Vrrr~
"Hm?"
He reached for it, sitting down on the bed, the soft mattress creaking beneath his weight.
A notification blinked on it.
There was a mini avatar holding the notification bar upfront.
«You have an unread message. Hurry up and pick it uppppp!»
That was Beta.
Designed with a female in mind: a girl wearing a black full-body suit with teal hair and purple eyes.
All hail Tonoma–ahem.
[Contact from: Unidentified Number]
[Fetching details…]
[Tracing IP lines]
— Unread Message —
[Unidentified Number]:
• Hello, Mister… you probably would be expecting a message like this.
[Unidentified Number]:
• I simply wanted to inform you that your specialized CR Unit has almost been completed.
[Unidentified Number]:
• I would also like to praise your ingenious designs.
[Unidentified Number]:
• While it was a little hard to implement, some unavoidable minor adjustments were made.
[Unidentified Number]:
• We shall discuss the details and delivery date soon.
— Message End —
Morgan's eyes widened slightly.
That was fast…
He leaned back, staring at the glowing screen.
Abnormally fast.
Wasn't it just yesterday that he'd sent the design specs and materials over?
Quite so.
Which could only mean one thing.
The former remnants of DEM were still operating here, in Tengu City.
'Yes!'
Like an excited kid, Morgan clenched his fist victoriously, with a grin tugging at the corner of his lips.
'Mhm. This week is really shaping up well.'
...Right.
He'd still need to pick up some basic necessities for those two.
No telling how long they'd be staying here otherwise.
And on Saturday was the meetup with his classmates; hopefully, nothing much happened.
Morgan paused, then frowned.
'Wait... did I just raise a flag?'
Regardless, he wasn't one to think much into things like this.
With that in mind, he quickly changed his clothes before going back downstairs, acting like nothing had changed.