Chapter 34: The Future

It was only natural that Yukina would be interested if the topic had something to do with Ephnel.

Canary simply nodded, not thinking much of it.

“I see!… Well, whatever, it’s fine.”

Canary put on a worldly-wise air and planted her hands on her hips with a sense of importance.

“Anyway, chatting with you helps me relax, so if you don’t mind, I’ll just keep talking. So… you know about ‘that,’ right?”

Once she started talking, she immediately became chatty.

She counted on her fingers, speaking thoughtfully.

“Agents sometimes ‘partner up.’ Senpai Ephnel’s partner is Fifina. It’s common for a beginner to team up with an experienced senpai to hunt lone Erosion Organisms in the Outer Sakahi or deal with Erosion Disasters in the city. Other times, we do combat training against other Agents and anti-personnel training. This is to prepare us for occasionally helping out with terrorist incidents. Of course, we’re not usually deployed for those kinds of missions…”

Agents occasionally dealt with human criminals, but that was limited to a few situations like street brawls or chasing robbers.

If they encountered criminals armed with guns, it was still usually the police and military who handled it.

After all, Agents would be at a disadvantage against soldiers with firearms.

Besides their lack of experience in anti-personnel combat and the issue of humanitarian public opinion, the greater concern was the threat firearms posed to Agents—although ordinary handguns and similar weapons couldn’t easily harm an Agent, if they encountered a larger caliber firearm, even an Agent would struggle.

Bullets were ineffective against Erosion Organisms, but they dealt 100% of their damage to Agents.

Even with a handgun, if an Agent didn’t evade at all, taking a few hits would result in injury.

When fighting armed criminals, Agents were easily outnumbered and could find themselves surrounded, a very dangerous situation for them.

Agents were precious combat assets for dealing with Erosion Disasters.

To lose them in a firefight would undoubtedly be a huge loss, so the Order Organization had strict regulations in this regard, forbidding Agents from arbitrarily interfering in missions outside their duties.

“Anyway, these exercises are part of our training to improve our on-the-spot reaction time, sustained combat ability, and power control. After all, Erosion Organisms are too unpredictable, and we never know what kind of enemy we’ll face next. It would be a shame to die because of a moment of carelessness…”

“People die, huh…”

Yukina murmured.

“Dying… it sounds so cruel… If someone died in battle like that, their friends and family would be so sad… Aren’t you ever scared, Miss Canary?”

“Of course I’m scared… I was terrified at the beginning. But there’s nothing to be done about it, right? Because this is our destiny… That’s why I’ve worked so hard up until now, so I won’t die easily. But, after becoming an Agent, I’ve slowly come to understand that destiny is something you grasp with your own hands. It was only after becoming an Agent that I gained the strength to resist fate. This feeling of being in control of myself is fascinating… Even though I might die in battle, if I were given another chance, I would still choose this path without hesitation.”

Canary smiled and opened her palm.

“And besides… the people I can save with my own two hands… if I try a little harder, maybe no one will have to feel sad. In any case, I won’t let myself die so easily. I’ve always been working towards that goal. After all, I haven’t even had a boyfriend yet! I don’t want to end my cute adolescence so simply.”

“Miss Canary… you sound amazing, and you seem so young…”

“Oh dear… looks like I let it slip.”

Canary giggled, covering her mouth and waving her hand.

“They say I’m in the highly talented group, you know. Though I can’t compare to your idol, Ephnel! But! I’m younger than Senpai, and that’s a big advantage! I’m a little older than you, little Yukina, but I’m definitely not as old as Senpai Ephnel, ehehe~ But I can’t tell you my exact age, that’s a girl’s—se-cret~”

“So Miss Ephnel really is older than us…”

“That’s right, and not by just a little bit!”

“Um…”

Suddenly remembering something Yonomikenami had said, Yukina spoke hesitantly.

“In that case… someone as mature as Miss Ephnel, could it be that she’s already… already married?”

“Huh? Married?”

Canary was stunned by the question.

The image of Ephnel walking arm-in-arm with some unknown man popped into her head, and after a moment, she burst out laughing.

“It’s hard to imagine what a wedding would be like for someone like Senpai…”

Yukina subconsciously imagined it too—Ephnel, standing before her in a wedding dress as white as snow.

Her cheeks couldn’t help but feel a little hot.

“Well, although Senpai Ephnel is older than me, she’s not at the age where she’d be a spinster if she didn’t get married. In fact, she’s always given off the impression of being in the ‘definitely-not-interested-in-romance’ camp… I remember, she just started college last year. Back then, I had just started high school. And now, over a year has passed, and Senpai Ephnel is still the same. So many people have pursued her, but she’s rejected them all.”

“Eek?”

Yukina covered her mouth in surprise.

If that was the case, wasn’t Ephnel around the same age as her own brother?

Thinking about it that way, she suddenly felt the distance between them shorten considerably.

“Well, actually, there are several colleagues younger than me, probably cute juniors around your age… Ah… whatever, let’s not talk about that.”

Canary took a deep breath, leaned against the car door, and looked up at the sky.

Seeing that Canary didn’t seem to want to continue, Yukina felt a slight sense of relief and stood quietly to the side.

Just then, Canary suddenly raised a hand to her earpiece.

“Is that you, Senpai Ephnel?! This is Canary. Are you alright, Senpai?”

Hearing the name she cared about, Yukina subconsciously looked up at Canary.

Canary seemed to be communicating with Ephnel.

An inexplicable nervousness made Yukina hold her breath.

“Yes… no problems. Mm, the Special Disaster Section members are with me. I’ll relay the subsequent tasks for you. Please go and support Ayse, Senpai!”

After speaking, Canary cut off the communication.

She turned to Yukina, her expression becoming serious.

“It seems the ‘Apostle’ has been subdued. Little Yukina, this disaster will probably be over soon. But we can’t let our guard down until then.”

“Is Miss Ephnel okay?!”

“She’s fine. She’s very strong, you know.”

Yukina finally felt at ease.

“Anyway, just wait a little longer. Senpai will come over here after the battle is over.”

…

After the “Apostle” girl was defeated by Ephnel, Ephnel went to support Ayse, and they swiftly annihilated the “Crow” and the “Whale.”

“And with that, it’s finally over. Turns out the ‘Whale,’ for all its size, was actually easier to deal with than the ‘Crows.’ Well, it was still pretty tiring though…”

Because the Whale-type Erosion Organism didn’t possess an offensive capability matching its size, the cleanup battle wasn’t particularly difficult.

“We owe you for this one, Ayse. Thanks to your efforts, we had more flexibility in deploying our forces. The casualties this time were lighter than usual, and we have your hard work to thank for that.”

Ephnel said.

“Th-That’s because you and Canary are so amazing, Senpai. I couldn’t have done it on my own…”

Ayse waved her hands, a little embarrassed.

“Get some good rest when you get back.”

Ephnel looked at Ayse’s arm.

The blood had already dried—an injury sustained during the “Apostle’s” surprise attack.

“I will~”

Ayse tilted her head and smiled, letting out a long sigh.

She sat down on the steel frame of the venue’s roof, gazing at the stardust scattering above.

With the “Whale” gone, the harsh sunlight once again spilled down.

“You know… looking at it like this, this city is actually quite beautiful. I wish it could always be like this. A world without Erosion Organisms, without the need to fight. The world before the Erosion must have been much more wonderful than it is now…”

“Yeah, it was probably fascinating…”

Beside her, Ephnel knelt down and sat, the spear in her hand slowly dissolving into starlight.

“If none of this had ever happened… or if it all came to an end, what would you want to do, Ayse?”

“What would I want to do?”

Ayse turned her head to look at Ephnel.

A gentle breeze brushed against her cheek, carrying the unique warmth of an afternoon wind.

Ephnel was gazing at something in the distance, her silver hair dyed a beautiful orange by the sunlight.

The warm afternoon breeze lifted strands of her hair.

With stardust dancing and colorful clouds in the sky, Ephnel looked like a tranquil fairy from a painting.

An inexplicable flutter stirred in Ayse’s heart, and she shifted her gaze away, feeling a little flustered.

“Um… what do you mean, Senpai?”

“Dreams, maybe?”

“Of course I’d go back to school… probably?”

“Do you like school a lot, Ayse?”

“Not really… Although seeing my classmates every day makes me happy, the teachers are always nagging, and there’s endless homework… Well, it’s not like the school has made any special demands on me or anything…”

Ayse pretended to think, then sighed as if giving up.

“Anyway, I’ve never really thought about it, even though you’re asking. I just think that if I didn’t have to face death and farewells… a world like that would be so dazzling… In a world like that, even a slightly boring life would surely be captivating…”

She turned her head, looked at Ephnel cautiously, and asked hesitantly.

“So… what about you, Senpai? What would you do?”

…