Chapter 153: Silence

The air inside the ward was heavy.

The Special Ward was a dedicated area established to handle the special circumstances of Agents.

Walking here, the air, thick with the smell of medicine, was depressing.

The figures of the soldiers patrolling and standing guard served as a constant reminder to all who entered—this was a place completely cut off from the everyday world.

Fuurin Shion’s and Shiina Rin’s hospital rooms were located in this area.

As the two individuals placed here, the situations they faced were both particularly special cases.

Fuurin Shion’s slumber aside, Shiina Rin, who had been sent here for care due to her rising Erosion rate, was a rare case who had not lost her human form and turned into a Remnant even after her Erosion rate exceeded 60%.

After three long weeks of recuperation, Shiina Rin’s Erosion rate had finally, gradually, decreased quite a bit.

31.7%—for an ordinary person, this level of Erosion rate was already a dangerous state that warranted being classified as a “Numbered” and treated with caution.

But for Agents who communed with Order energy, it was a relatively safe range.

Inside the hospital room, Shiina Rin sat quietly by the window, holding her favorite doll in her arms.

Her gaze looked out through the thick glass.

From the window here, half of Seikyo City could be seen.

The streets below were bustling with pedestrians and traffic, but this place, isolated from it all, was as quiet as if it had detached from the world.

Due to the special nature of the patients housed in these wards, all the rooms here were fitted with fiber-reinforced glass.

The moment an Agent transformed into a Remnant, this place would be immediately and strictly sealed off, and other Agents would be dispatched to exile the Remnant.

The presence of the soldiers on guard here was not just to prevent external dangers, but more as a safety measure.

“I’m sorry, senior, but I’m not going to quit…”

Shiina Rin said quietly, her gaze still fixed outside the window.

Ephnel couldn’t see her expression.

But her answer still didn’t surprise Ephnel in the slightest.

“I appreciate your good intentions, senior, but I still… I need this power, no matter what, to protect the person important to me.”

Her tone was filled with a firm and unwavering determination.

“You’re a lot like Saori…”

Two days ago, in accordance with her promise to Uzuki Saori, Ephnel had gone to find Shiina Rin alone.

“Retire, or continue to fight as an Agent?”—at that time, Ephnel had asked her for the second time.

Back then, just like now, Shiina Rin had given the same answer without hesitation—”I will never quit, no matter what.”

A week ago, when Uzuki Saori had sought Ephnel’s help at the sports arena, Ephnel had asked Shiina Rin the same question and received the same answer.

But today’s and two days ago’s answers were even more resolute than that first time.

If Shiina Rin’s choice back then was made in the heat of passion that had yet to cool, then now, it was a decision made after careful consideration.

Ephnel was silent for a moment.

She didn’t immediately respond to Shiina Rin’s answer, but slowly began to speak: “The organization has already decided to strip Saori of her Agent authority and identity. After the investigation on her is complete, her Beacon will be confiscated, and she will go on to live as an ordinary person.”

At the mention of Uzuki Saori, Shiina Rin’s hands, which were holding the doll, tensed slightly.

“The arrangements for your team will also change. After you return to duty, you might be working alone for a period of time, waiting for arrangements after new personnel arrive…”

Yukina stood behind Ephnel, silently watching the conversation between the two.

There was no room for her to say anything here.

For her, the things Ephnel and Shiina Rin were talking about were too heavy.

She could understand, but she couldn’t do anything.

She roughly knew the story between the black-haired girl before her and the girl named Uzuki Saori.

The story of those two had not yet concluded, but it was already nearing its end.

Yukina was afraid that she and Naoko would also face such a day.

So she really disliked this kind of atmosphere.

“Although it’s probably not my place to say this, but… Uzuki Saori wants you to quit. For you to live a safe and happy life is the only reason she has fought until now. If your decision makes Saori’s only wish come to nothing, will you still move forward without any hesitation?”

“I don’t know…”

Shiina Rin’s voice grew softer.

She hugged the doll in her arms tightly, burying her face into it.

“She is her, and I am me. If Saori can take a brave step forward for my sake, then it’s the same for me… If it’s for Saori, no matter what kind of ending awaits me, I will definitely go.”

Towards Uzuki Saori and Shiina Rin, Ephnel had an indescribable feeling.

It wasn’t just her fondness for her juniors; it was more like the dawning realization of seeing another version of herself.

It was just that the path Ephnel walked was different from theirs, and the final outcome was also different.

Or perhaps, if Ephnel had never obtained this power, then everything up until today would have changed.

“You and Saori really are alike…”

Ephnel sighed.

“We’re not, you know.”

Shiina Rin suddenly let out a soft laugh and turned around.

“Don’t worry, senior. I won’t leave the organization. What I wish for is a blessed ending, like a shooting star in the sky… a splendid finale.”

“Don’t casually say things like ‘finale’. For Saori’s sake, you have to live a good life too.”

Ephnel looked at the doll in the girl’s hands.

Her repeated questioning to confirm Shiina Rin’s true feelings was also due to her own concerns—just as Shiina Rin had said, if she were to betray the organization because of what happened to Saori, things would not be so simple.

Moreover, after Saori retired, what would become of Shiina Rin now that she had lost the pillar that had always been by her side, supporting her? This was also something that worried Ephnel.

But now, it seemed that Shiina Rin had already prepared herself in her heart.

“Senior…”

Shiina Rin was silent for a long time, then asked again, “Can I still see her?”

“Of course you can. Headquarters won’t be that unreasonable.”

“That’s good… then, when can I see her again?”

“Wait until you’ve recovered and been discharged. I’ll arrange it for you then.”

“Thank you, senior…”

After leaving Shiina Rin’s room, Ephnel went to visit Fuurin Shion.

Shiina Rin’s condition was stabilizing day by day.

If things went smoothly, she would leave the isolation ward and return to her post in the next few days.

But Fuurin Shion still showed no signs of waking up.

“I’ll come see you again next time. You have to get better soon…”

Ephnel gazed at the sleeping girl on the hospital bed, gently letting go of the girl’s hands she had been holding.

She pursed her lips and turned to take Yukina’s hand.

“Let’s go…”

Yukina glanced back at the quietly sleeping girl on the bed, offered a silent prayer in her heart, and then followed Ephnel out.

The door to the hospital room closed softly, and the two of them left.

And the girl lying on the hospital bed, her fingers, still holding the residual warmth from Ephnel’s palm, trembled slightly for a moment.

Unseen by anyone, they then returned to stillness.