Chapter 30 : The Night Before the Storm

Not finding Ruby in our room, I searched for her.
Scouring* the hideout, I finally reached the supply warehouse.

This place, used mostly to store materials for weapons or implants, was practically Franklin’s personal warehouse.

I’d only known of its existence until now—this was my first time inside.

There was Ruby.
Her back to me, she sat at a workbench, engrossed in something.

Cautiously* approaching, I called her name.

“…Ruby?”

When she turned, her state was hard to call fine, even politely.
Oversized goggles covered half her face, and paint splotched her entire body.

“Oh, Sis!”

“What are you doing here?”

Was she messing with the materials in here?
If so, Franklin might get mad.
He’s laid-back about most things, but engineering?
That’s where he’s dead serious.

“Look at this!
Ruby made it herself!”

“Huh?
Made it?”

Only then did I notice something on the table behind her.
Ruby picked it up, showing it to me proudly.

“This is…”

A bird.
A mechanical bird.
Slightly crude, but for an 11-year-old, its craftsmanship was unbelievable.

Ruby, pleased with my reaction, beamed, explaining further.

“It’s not just a bird!
Wind up the spring on its back!”

Following her instructions, I wound the spring to its limit, and the mechanical bird began flapping its wings.
Ruby held it with her small hands to keep it from flying, revealing its purpose.

“It flies to the enemy and explodes on contact.”

“…What?”

“A bomb.
Cool, right?”

“…”

I’d thought it was a simple toy.
So, I’d felt proud and impressed, despite being surprised.

But a bomb?
This mechanical bluebird wasn’t the pure expression of childlike innocence I’d imagined.

I suddenly recalled the original story’s Ember, the Witch of *Cinders, a genius in engineering.
Was that talent already blooming in Ruby?
In the worst possible way?

Frowning, I stared blankly at the mechanical bird in my hand.
Ruby, eager to show off her bomb, released it with a bright smile.

Flap, flap!
Clank!

It vigorously flapped, briefly lifting into the air, then crashed pathetically.

Ruby, scratching her fingers awkwardly, made an excuse.

“It’s still incomplete…
But I can fix it soon!”

“…”

What should I say?
Praise her for doing well?
Or scold her sternly, saying this is wrong?

I didn’t know.
I had no clue how to process this situation.

That’s when it happened.

“Pretty impressive, huh?
…Hic.”

Franklin appeared, holding a bottle, as usual, drunk.
But his eyes sparkled with unusual clarity.

“Your sister’s a genius at engineering.
Look at that invention she made in just one day.
She might surpass even me as an engineer…
Damn, I’m jealous.
Heh.”

As expected, he’d instantly recognized Ruby’s genius.
Ruby being here was no mere coincidence.
Franklin must’ve spotted her talent and deliberately guided her.

That thought soured my mood.
It felt like he was corrupting my pure sister.
Suppressing my anger, I asked in a calm tone.

“Did you tell her to make a bomb, Franklin?”

“What’s that matter?
You’re clueless about this field, so you wouldn’t get it, but do you know how incredible it is to create something this quality without anyone teaching her?”

“It didn’t have to be a bomb!
If it was just a toy, I’d have been thrilled!”

Franklin, hearing my response, chuckled dryly, shaking his head.

“You’re seeing your sister as just a kid.”

“Isn’t that obvious?
Ruby’s just a normal kid…”

“At her age, I shot and killed someone.
A robber who murdered my parents.
You think I was wrong?”

“That’s not what I meant!
Right or wrong aside, wouldn’t it be better to avoid such experiences?
Like other normal kids…”

He cut me off, speaking firmly.

“In this neighborhood, I’m the normal one.
Your blind coddling?
That’s abnormal.
Your sister needs to learn how to survive.
You think you can protect her forever?
You, a merc who might die tomorrow?”

What could I say?
I stood speechless, like a muted fool.
In this city, he was right—I was the odd one.

“No need to argue like this.
Just ask your precious sister directly.
…Hic!”

He was completely right.
The only reason I hadn’t done so was fear of her answer.

Ruby, glancing at me warily, spoke cautiously.

“I made it.
To help you, Sis…
Did Ruby do wrong…?”

How could I call my sister’s desire to help me wrong?
If anyone was wrong, it was me, the sister who ignored her heart.

Sighing deeply, I patted Ruby’s head.

“No way.
You made it for me, right?
I’m grateful.”

Ruby rushed into my arms, nuzzling her head.
I hugged her small back tightly in return.

“From now on, Ruby’ll work hard to make more.
You can’t get hurt, okay?”

“Yeah.
I won’t get hurt.
Promise.”

While we shared this sisterly bond, a crass whistle from behind shattered the heartwarming moment.

“Heh.
Nice scene, huh?
Perfect with some booze.
…Hic!”

“Can’t you read the room and leave us alone?”

“Tch.
Talking to your sister’s future teacher like that?”

“…Huh?”

As I blinked in confusion, Franklin grinned, driving the point home.

“Karen’s mentor act with you looked fun.
So I thought I’d take on a disciple too.
Her field fits perfectly, right?
Shooting and engineering.”

An unimaginable development left me speechless.
I wanted to object, but having just said it was okay made backtracking awkward.

Franklin and Ruby as master and disciple?
The image felt so wrong.
It was completely different from me and Karen.
Or was this just my bias clouding my view?

While I hesitated, panicking, Ruby frowned, hiding behind me.

“I don’t like that old man.
He stinks.”

Her brutal honesty made me glance at Franklin, but surprisingly, he seemed unfazed.
Grinning, he coaxed Ruby without missing a beat.

“It’s your choice, but think it over.
If you wanna help your sister, learning from me’ll be way faster than going solo.
That bomb you made?
Looks decent, but it’s empty inside.
You don’t know the theory of explosives, so that’s natural.”

Not just talking, he acted to prove it.
Using his engineering implant arm, he pulled out tools, picked up the fallen bird, and tinkered with it.

About 10 seconds later, he wound its spring and launched it at me.
…Wait, didn’t he say it’s a bomb?

Before I could react, the mechanical bird flew at me and exploded.

Pfft!

A cute sound for a bomb, splattering* paint on my clothes.

“Swap the paint inside with gunpowder and explosives, and boom!
Heh.”

“…My clothes.”

Ruby, seeing her bomb successfully detonate, turned to him.

“Teach me.
I wanna learn.”

“Good choice.
Call me Teacher from now on.”

“Okay, Mister.”

“…Hrm.
This’ll take some time to teach.”

I watched from a step back, grappling with mixed emotions.
A bittersweet feeling.
Ruby seemed to be growing, yet also drifting slightly from me.

But what unsettled me most was how Ruby’s growth increasingly mirrored Ember’s image.

‘No, it’ll be fine.’

If I stay by her side, Ruby’ll remain the kind, pure Ruby forever.

Believing that, we returned to our room.

“By the way, you’ve been hanging out with that Sion kid lately, right?”

A casual question before bed.
Ruby, unusually, answered with unconcealed annoyance.

“She’s always bothering me.”

Still a one-sided relationship, it seems.
But with time, Ruby might open up, right?

“Ruby, good night.”

“Hehe, you too, Sis.”

Now, I vaguely understand.
Normalcy like everyone else isn’t what matters.

Even if we’re a bit different, as long as we’re happy, that’s enough.
Hoping Ruby can be that way, I closed my eyes.

Now, it’s just a faint, nostalgic memory.