When Erna thought about the teammates she hadn’t seen in a year, her chest ached a little. She was working so hard, and there was no one around to praise her. How surprised would they be, she wondered, if they saw how well she and Annette were doing?
However, she didn’t voice her complaints aloud. The next time they met up would be when the revolution was complete.
“Hey, Annette.” Erna looked over at her partner, who’d promptly curled up on the bed. “After we’ve rested a bit, do you want to go for a walk?”
Annette gave her a puzzled look.
Erna didn’t elaborate, instead choosing to lie down and pass out.
They knew that Jean was liable to scold them if he found out, so the girls made sure to sneak out of the dorm quietly.
In order to avoid any prying eyes, they went for their walk atop building rooftops. They went from a four-story hotel to a three-story building with a tailor. From there, they propelled themselves off a smokestack to the building next door that housed a plasterer and a tile supplier, then onward to another building with a brasserie and a photo studio.
Nobody was going to look up and spot them, not when the night sky was on the verge of raining.
The two of them strode atop Pilca’s gorgeous night skyline, aided at times by the use of Annette’s homemade grappling gun. They held tight to each other as they glided gently through the air.
It seemed like everything they passed, from the intricately designed fountains to the streetlights, was a work of art in its own right. There was even some sort of festival being held over on the main street, and they could hear the sound of trumpet music.
“I hear that today’s the second anniversary of the current king’s coronation, yo.”
“Ugh, it makes me sick just thinking about it.”
The main street ran straight up to the palace, and despite the late hour, it was thronging with people. Things could go poorly if they got too close, so the girls stopped at a building off to the side and took cover behind its large chimney.
They couldn’t see it from where they were, but there was a parade being held to celebrate Clement III. People who looked to be royals and aristocrats were dressed up in flashy outfits and waving from cars. The Royal Guard watched over them with eagle eyes, and there were doubtless Genesis Army members mixed in with the cops and soldiers patrolling the main street. They didn’t want a repeat of the tragedy from two years ago when the Fend Commonwealth’s crown prince got assassinated, so they’d prepared by locking up spies across the kingdom. Probably with a fair number of innocent civilians, too.
People strolled down the moonlit street decorated lavishly with flowers, confetti, and torches. Just feet away, homeless people couldn’t find enough food to get them through the day.
Erna and Annette sat shoulder to shoulder atop the roof and waited for the fireworks that the king was so fond of.
“…You know, I’ve been thinking,” Erna murmured as she looked down at the nightscape.
“Hm?”
“What we’re doing right now is way bigger than any of the missions Lamplight’s done before.”
“Yeah, that’s true. We’re trying to change a whole country, after all.”
“Right. And by doing that, we’ll end up helping all the people suffering there.”
The night wind blew back Erna’s bangs, and she smoothed them down.
“If we can pull this off…then I think I might finally be able to like myself.”
Erna had hated herself for so long.
Everyone else in her family had died, and her survivor’s guilt weighed heavily on her. She’d learned to protect herself by staging accidents. She hated how craven that was. Being unlucky garnered sympathy from others. When she learned that, she came to love misfortune. She was drawn to it subconsciously, and at times, other people got caught in the cross fire.
She nodded and gave voice to the secret desire she’d been harboring.
“So if we do, if we pull this off…I’m going to quit being a spy.”
“Hwuh?” Annette said, letting out an uncharacteristic gasp.
Erna hadn’t even told Klaus yet.
“I’m going to go along with Big Sis Sara’s dream. It’ll be sad leaving Lamplight, but I’m going to open a restaurant with her and lead a quiet life.”
Sara had already told them about her plans to retire. That had likely influenced Erna.
Erna had always preferred to spend her days peacefully. It was her feelings of obligation that kept her from choosing that kind of life. She felt compelled to do right by her family and by Avian.
Over the past year, though, the scope of the influence she wielded dawned on her, and she’d been struck by a realization. Maybe she really could revolutionize that corrupt nation and become the kind of person who could face her family with pride. Maybe she really could find out the full details of the Nostalgia Project that had driven Avian to ruin.
Once she did all that, then she was sure she could retire with her head held high.
“So, that’s why you’ve been so stupidly gung ho about all this!” Annette gave her a big smile, like everything made sense to her now. “Like, when you freaked out at the mines! That was hilarious, yo!”
“Oh, be quiet.”
Annette cocked her head. “But why tell me, though?”
By the look of it, she honestly didn’t know.
Erna found it funny how slow she was on the uptake, and she laughed. “Do you want to come with me?”
“………?”
“Look, I have to admit it. We make a good team. This mission’s made that clear.” She sucked in a breath of the cold night air. “With you, me, and Big Sis Sara, I bet there’s a pretty fun life waiting for us.”
During Lamplight’s early days, the two of them had fought constantly, leaving Erna unable to be honest with herself.
Now, though, she could lay her heart bare.
To her, Annette was a true friend. Erna had a habit of building walls, and Annette had taken those walls and smashed right through them.
“………”
However, Annette didn’t reply.
As the silence dragged on, Erna’s face grew hot.
“…C-come on, say something.”
“………………”
Annette’s eye was like an inky abyss fixed right on Erna. It was like her expression was completely devoid of humanity. The casual grin she always wore had vanished.
“I dunno if that’d work out, yo.”
Her voice was as transparent and empty as glass. There was no emotion there, only cold.
“Why not…?”
That wasn’t the answer Erna had expected, and her chest tightened.
She turned toward Annette and leaned forward. “We’re doing well, you and me. There’s nothing stopping you from leading an ordinary life. You’re having fun hanging out with the people from the Knights of Valor, aren’t you? I’m sure it would all be—”
“That was all just an act, yo.” When Erna extended her hand, Annette’s words all but slapped it away. “I don’t care one bit about those secret society people.”
“But…”