Never again could they go back.
Whatever the reason might have been, it was a scar in the heart—one that could never be touched.
"…Sorry."
Sirin didn't dare look at Kiana's face, afraid to see the sadness there. Instead, she lowered her head and glanced at her phone.
A new message had arrived a minute ago.
"Didn't you want to know the cause of the car accident before?"
Reading the text, Sirin's eyes brightened. The message came at the perfect time.
A chance to change the subject!
"So soon?"
"Of course."
Sirin read through the message carefully, speaking as she did. "Just as I thought. That guy in Sapphire City was rich—and had plenty of enemies."
Sirin frowned slightly, clicked her tongue, flipped the phone face down on the table, and sighed in irritation.
"Definitely a revenge killing."
"So certain?"
"After reading this, I almost want to kill him myself."
Sirin spoke with a scowl, her words sharp and terrifying: "That beast actually dared lay his hands on underage orphans. Dying a hundred times wouldn't be enough for him."
There were many victims, but thanks to his status and influence, much of the scandal had been suppressed.
But power only worked on those who followed the rules. If he could break them, he couldn't blame others for doing the same.
Such dark affairs were not something Sirin wanted to get involved with. Keeping a sound mind helped her resist corruption.
"Children?"
Kiana's face paled; even her appetite vanished. She hadn't expected such vile things to come up during a simple meal.
"Yeah," Sirin said, reading from her phone. "The message says three days ago he set his sights on an orphanage, cutting off their funding."
"…Disgusting!"
Kiana slammed the table in anger. If that scum weren't already dead, she would've gladly fed him a few bullets herself.
Good riddance.
Her earlier curiosity was gone—only the satisfaction of seeing evil punished remained.
"You're right."
Sirin picked her phone back up, typing rapidly. She couldn't stay idle after learning such things; doing something, even small, eased her heart.
Especially since the victims were orphans. If Sirin hadn't been found compatible with the Edict Edge, she too would've grown up in such a place.
Evil could never be fully eradicated, but she could at least destroy what stood before her—and she had the power to do so.
Her appetite was gone.
"Should we visit the orphanage?"
The incident had nothing to do with them—they were just bystanders nearly caught in the crossfire. Yet knowing the truth made them deeply uneasy. They couldn't help wanting to act.
"It's too late."
By the time they'd get there, it would be past ten. The orphanage would already be closed. Going now would accomplish nothing.
"Then tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow? We have to deal with the The Whale of Transfiguration first. If it's still hiding under the sea, we'll need to use torpedoes to provoke it to the surface."
"Then the day after!"
Kiana pressed on. "Let's finish the Whale first. After that, we'll stay in Sapphire City for a few days. How about it?"
"No problem."
Sirin nodded. "My only task right now is to slay the Whale. Everything else isn't my jurisdiction. Once that's done, I'm taking a break."
Can you really take a break?
Kiana couldn't help but doubt it, but knowing Sirin's attitude toward work and rest, she said nothing—just focused on finishing her food faster, eager to return.
After that nasty accident—and now this—she had no desire to keep wandering.
Sirin likely felt the same.
They ended the outing quickly, grabbing a simple meal before taking another route back to the hotel.
Later, lying alone in bed, Kiana tossed and turned. It took her a long while before she finally drifted to sleep.
The next morning.
A ringing phone startled her awake.
Still half-asleep, Kiana buried her head under the blanket, but the ringtone persisted relentlessly.
Annoyed, she finally opened her eyes, realizing she couldn't escape it.
Rolling to the edge of the bed, she found the phone that had been ringing endlessly.
The caller ID showed—
—Sirin.
"Hello?"
"Come downstairs for breakfast. After we eat, we're heading out to sea—Raiden Mei's already waiting for us on the ship."
"Huh? Mei's waiting for us? Give me a second, I'll be right down!"
Any thoughts of sleeping in vanished instantly. Kiana leapt out of bed, threw on her clothes, and hurried downstairs to the dining floor.
At the entrance, she saw Sirin and Yae Sakura.
"Why so early? We're heading out to sea at dawn?"
Having washed up, Kiana was now fully awake—it was only seven in the morning.
"Just trying to avoid any unnecessary trouble," Sirin said, handing her a packed breakfast. "Eat on the way. We'll head to the ship first."
"Got it."
It was only a short walk from the hotel to the beach. The boat was docked nearby, ready to take them straight toward the The Whale of Transfiguration's waters.
"Didn't sleep well last night?"
As they walked, Yae Sakura noticed Kiana's lack of energy and asked gently.
"There was a car accident last night. It's… the first time I've seen something like that up close."
The crash, the anger over the dead man, and all the other emotions swirling around—her thoughts had been a mess before sleep.
Too much on her mind meant a restless night.
"You two ran into a car accident?" Yae Sakura looked surprised, but seeing they were almost at the dock, she said softly, "If you ever want to talk about it, I'll listen anytime."
"Sure. We'll go check things out later together."
The group boarded the ship and found seats. The small vessel sped swiftly toward their destination across the open sea.
"Mei, did you stay up all night?"
Kiana sat down beside Mei, who had been waiting for them.
"I rested," Mei replied, shaking her head. But after a brief look at Kiana, she added, "You don't look like you did."
Before Kiana could respond, Sirin leaned over, studying her closely with curiosity. "How can you tell she didn't rest well?"
"You're getting way too close!"
Sirin's face suddenly appeared right in front of hers, startling Kiana. She instinctively leaned back, but the seat behind her left nowhere to retreat.
"So what if I'm close? Aren't we friends?"
Sirin puffed her cheeks slightly, clearly displeased. "Raiden Mei can lean on you, but I can't—is that it?"
Mei's never leaned on me before!
And even if she had—this wasn't the same!
Feeling awkward, Kiana quickly looked away, pretending to focus on the waves splashing along the speeding boat. "This little thing isn't going to flip over once we start fighting, right?"
"The speedboat's just for transport," Yae Sakura explained. "Our battlefield isn't this vessel."
"Miss Sirin, please return to your seat," Mei said, her smile fading slightly. "The wind's strong."