Chapter 154: Silence

“Huu…”

Leaving the hospital, Yukina took a deep breath, as if by doing so she could exhale all the gloom that had settled in her chest.

She really disliked such a depressing place.

If it weren’t for Naoko, Yukina would never have come to a place like a hospital on her own.

She had hated hospitals since she was a child.

When she was in a hospital, fleeting images would sometimes flash through her mind—white walls, syringes, glaring lights—like photographs tossed in the air, bringing Yukina a certain unpleasant sense of déjà vu hidden in her subconscious.

But whenever Yukina tried to recall them in detail, it was like diving headfirst into a fog.

She couldn’t remember anything, as if she had just woken up from an all-night dream.

Yukina didn’t know if this meant anything.

She didn’t remember much about her early childhood, but the instinctive dislike was deeply rooted in her heart.

Seeing Yukina’s discomfort, Ephnel gave her a gentle smile.

“The atmosphere in the hospital is pretty rough, isn’t it?”

“A little…”

Yukina pouted, not denying it.

Of course, a hospital was just that kind of place.

Who would want to come here if not for an urgent need?

Most of the patients here were filled with anxiety and depression, and these feelings would spread through the air, making it hard to breathe.

This was especially true for the Special Care Unit.

During the days she took care of Ephnel, Yukina had experienced this firsthand.

It had taken in soldiers injured in the disaster on the western front, and the heavy smell of medicine there was always mixed with the suffocating smell of blood.

Moreover, seeing Fuurin Shion and Shiina Rin made Yukina naturally worry about her and Naoko’s future.

Was there really a future to speak of?

There was nothing wrong with protecting the ones you love, but the ending that awaited them was not a good one.

Yukina’s Beacon, “Fifina,” had been inherited from the hands of the still-comatose Fuurin Shion.

As a fellow holder of “Fifina,” Fuurin Shion’s current state was like telling Yukina—”This is your ending.”

Her uneasy feelings were clamoring, making it impossible for Yukina to escape from that gloomy atmosphere, until the warmth of Ephnel’s touch seeped into her breath.

“Don’t think about bad things,” Ephnel said as they walked towards the taxi stand.

“There’s still plenty of time today. Let’s just enjoy this rare weekend.”

Ephnel gently took Yukina’s hand.

Yukina naturally squeezed back, their fingers lacing tightly.

The warmth transmitted from Ephnel’s palm made Yukina feel at ease.

“Miss Shiina is such a strong person…”

She looked at Ephnel and asked softly:

“Naoko, if it were you, what would you choose?”

“I’d probably do the same as her… I don’t really know what I would do, but I can understand her decision. Every Agent has their own reason to fight. For Rin and Saori, that reason is each other.”

“A reason to fight… is that something you must have?”

“Yes, a clear and unwavering belief is something that comes with being an Agent.”

Yukina turned and looked up towards the hospital.

From inside the hospital room, the view outside was so open, and everything could be seen so clearly.

Yet looking in from the outside, it became a dim pane of glass.

“Then, Naoko must have one too, right? A reason to fight.”

“I do.”

“Can I know what it is?”

“Of course,” Ephnel giggled, her eyes curving into crescents.

“But don’t laugh when I tell you. In the beginning, I just wanted to live.”

The catalyst for her becoming an Agent was that accident in university.

If not for that series of coincidences all coming together, “Ephnel” would have ultimately ended up in Yukina’s hands, and she herself would probably have lived on as the ordinary person “Yanase Naoto,” under the protection of Yukina and the other Agents.

She would never have been able to stand in front of Yukina to protect her.

“You’re lying.”

Yukina’s cheeks puffed out.

Ephnel looked innocent.

“How am I lying…”

“If it were really just to live, all you had to do was run, Naoko. If it were just you, you definitely could have escaped safely. But you turned back to save the others, didn’t you?”

“Ngh…”

Well, that was true…

“I just don’t like losing face because of failure…”

Yukina didn’t comment on Ephnel’s excuse, just huffed lightly and asked again, “Then, what about me?”

Like a kitten vying for its owner’s attention, scrambling onto their lap, Yukina pressed tightly against Ephnel’s arm, staring into Ephnel’s eyes with all her might.

She spoke softly, “The people Naoko protects, the reason you fight, is there a place for me in there?”

“There is.”

Ephnel and Yukina stood in front of the taxi stand sign.

“You, and my parents. You are all the people I cherish most. If I have a reason to have walked this path until now, then it must be you.”

“Really?”

Yukina’s eyes sparkled, shining brilliantly in the bright midday sun.

Ephnel gently pulled Yukina’s hand, leaning in closer.

Using the sign as cover, she lowered her head.

“Of course it’s true. After all, you’re my only little sister.”

“Just a little sister?”

“And my lover.”

Strands of hair fell between their lines of sight, blocking the gazes of passersby.

At the same time—

Futaba Eri silently clutched her phone, her black hair cascading over her shoulder.

Just like yesterday, she stood guard at this spot where the entire hospital was in view.

Her phone was in a call, and a young girl’s voice came from the other end.

“I’m telling you… you’re not going to get any results by searching like this. Agents live in a different world from us. Ephnel only saved you because it was her duty. Why are you doing this, just for those words? How long have you been looking for her, and what have you found? Besides, so what if you do find her? She probably doesn’t even remember you anymore.”

The voice on the phone went on and on, trying to persuade her, but the words falling on Futaba Eri’s ears did nothing to shake her resolve.

“As long as I keep trying, there will be a result.”

Futaba Eri’s simple sentence silenced the girl on the other end of the phone.

When Futaba Eri set her mind to something, she had to see it through.

She would persist until the very end, no matter what.

The girl knew Futaba Eri’s personality well, so she also knew that Futaba Eri hadn’t taken her earnest advice to heart at all.

She could only hold her tongue and sulk in anger.

After a short silence, the girl on the other end of the phone let out an irritated huff.

“Aaargh—forget it! It’s not like you’ll listen to me no matter what I say, sis. It’s like I don’t even exist in your eyes! That’s just how it is, I get it!”

The girl on the other end of the phone grew angrier as she spoke.

“Stupid sister! Go ahead and drown with your precious Ephnel! Don’t even think about coming home tonight! And don’t expect me to bring you an umbrella! Hmph!!”

Then the call was disconnected.

Futaba Eri sighed with a hint of helplessness.

After a pause, she opened her messaging app and found her sister.

Only then did she see the many messages her sister had sent her, asking how she was, telling her to eat on time, warning her that it would rain tonight, and giving her advice.

But she hadn’t replied to a single one.

Her eyes flickered.

Futaba Eri typed out an apology and some comforting words in the chat box and sent them.

And just then, a slender, graceful figure flashed in the distance.

Futaba Eri subconsciously looked up.

At the end of her line of sight, two young girls, arm in arm, were crossing the street from the opposite sidewalk, stopping at the taxi stand.

Futaba Eri’s hands unconsciously stopped moving.

She stared straight at the prettier, slightly more maturely dressed girl of the two, her lips moving slightly.

Who else could that be but “Yanase Naoto”?

The girl she had been searching for for a whole year, the figure she thought of day and night, that special person whose true identity only she knew.

A few days ago, Ephnel had been injured and taken to the hospital.

From the view outside the window captured in a corner of a photo and speculation from online comments, she had found the Joint Hospital.

She had come every day, just to try her luck, hoping to catch a glimpse of “Yanase Naoto.”

What had been a mundane routine of “waiting, then leaving” had unexpectedly yielded results.

Without a second thought, she quickly started running with the flow of people towards the girl’s direction.

But just as she took a step, she saw a scene that stunned her—”Yanase Naoto” gently lowered her gaze, leaning closer and closer to the girl beside her.

And then, their lips touched.

Futaba Eri stared in astonishment at the intimate figures of the two, her slightly raised hand frozen in place.