After driving for a few hours, Tsushima spotted a house nestled behind a pasture. As he headed down the farm road, where sunlight had started to fade, Holy was roused by the changing vibrations of the vehicle.
She sleepily rubbed her eyes as she sat up, then looked around at the empty landscape outside the window.
“What? Where are we going?”
“I’ve found our lodging for tonight.”
“Our lodging?”
Holy looked out over the empty pasture and tilted her head in confusion, but she was dumbfounded when she spotted the abandoned building farther ahead.
“Huh? Surely you don’t mean we’re staying here?”
“I certainly do.”
Tsushima pulled the car up in front of the house and got out, leaving Holy sitting and staring at the building with her mouth open.
Abandoned buildings like this were not uncommon in the northern region, which the Balga Empire had only recently annexed. The area still bore the scars of the Empire’s war of aggression. Tsushima looked up at the tired remnant of the conflict and walked toward it.
Thick grass was growing around the entrance, but despite the building’s appearance, the pillars and other parts of its construction seemed to be intact. That it was still standing up to this region’s heavy snowfall was proof they could stay the night without worrying.
After he finished looking over the house, Tsushima checked for any signs of pursuers. He surveyed the surrounding area, then let Holy know it was safe.
“It’s all right.”
Holy made a face that said she really didn’t want to get out of the passenger’s seat. She looked at the abandoned house in front of them and muttered, “Hey, I don’t mind if it gets late; can’t we spend the night someplace decent?”
“The empire’s regular army is on the move. If we waltz into an inn nearby, they’ll track us down straightaway. Abandoned buildings are the most convenient place to stay when you’re on the run. That’s what I’ve determined.”
“But this isn’t about convenience.”
Holy seemed nervous and was still making no move to get out of the car.
Without hesitation, Tsushima told her, “It’s much better than camping out in the open.”
“Your comparison is weird. Totally weird,” Holy grumbled as she reluctantly got out of the car. She stuck close behind Tsushima as she stepped firmly on the grass.
The inside of the building was nicer than they had anticipated, and it even had some furniture left behind. As they walked along the creaky floorboards, Tsushima scrutinized every nook and cranny of the place, from the ceiling to the floor.
“It’s not as bad as I thought, is it?” Holy said, sounding completely unassured as she walked hiding behind Tsushima, terrified.
Tsushima pointed to the sofa in the living room.
“Rest over there. I’ll go check the other rooms.”
“No way! Don’t leave me alone in such a creepy place,” Holy retorted before Tsushima finished speaking.
While the outside was bathed in the light of the setting sun, the interior of the building was so dim that they had to strain their eyes to see. It was no stretch for her to call the house creepy.
Despite her irritable front, Holy was clearly frightened.
Tsushima reluctantly took her hand and got her to hold on to his back.
“I don’t think there’ll be anything, but don’t wander off.”
“G-got it.”
Holy was so frightened that it felt like they were visiting a haunted house. Tsushima took her along to check the first and second floors. Every time he opened a door, Holy would become a bundle of nerves, closing her eyes and saying, “Give me a signal when you’re going to open it!” She was seriously slowing him down.
When they finally finished checking all the rooms, the pair took a seat in the living room they’d started in. The world outside was now fully immersed in the dark of night.
Tsushima passed Holy a blanket he had found in a bedroom.
“Thanks,” she said as she accepted it. She gave a big shiver and curled up tightly on the sofa. Tsushima positioned himself by the window, where moonlight was shining in, and focused his attention outside.
Gazing at Tsushima’s back, Holy spoke to him, a little concerned.
“Hey, you should sleep, too.”
“I’m all right. I’ll get some shut-eye when I need to.”
“So you say, but you’ve been up for a whole day, right? You’ll do me no good if you collapse in an emergency.”
Perhaps this was Holy’s way of looking out for him. Tsushima noticed this but maintained his posture.
“If our enemies have figured out our position, they’ll attack us at night. They’ve lost once already in a face-to-face fight, so there’s a good chance they’ll switch to a surprise attack next. The darkness of night is perfect for a sneak attack,” said Tsushima.
“You’re vigilant, aren’t you?”
“It’s part of the job,” Tsushima said, speaking as if he were talking about somebody else. Then he turned to Holy. Her face was surprisingly nonhostile. She had a faraway look in her eyes, as if she was remembering something.
Holy’s expression was slightly unguarded and wrapped in a girlish fragility. For some reason, it evoked an image of her in Tsushima’s memory.
Their faces, their personalities—everything was different. Yet, for some reason, the image of the girl he’d been reminded of was overlapping with Holy. Tsushima clicked his tongue slightly.
Unaware of Tsushima’s feelings, Holy spoke to him in a slightly relaxed tone.
“Hey, can I ask you something?” she began, peeking at him.
Tsushima nodded, still looking out the window.
“You said you’re a level-seven Informationist, right?”
“Yeah, I’m a level seven according to the international standard.”
“You’re lying. Level seven should be average for an Informationist. You’re clearly higher than that.”
Holy pouted, looking discontented. For some reason, she seemed to feel she was being lied to. Tsushima replied indifferently, giving only the facts.
“I haven’t been evaluated for any level higher than this, and I don’t plan to. Many Informationists from the Free City of Elbar originally participated in the War of Independence. We’re way more skilled than Informationists who’ve barely found themselves in real combat situations, like the ones in this country.”
“Are you saying you’ve fought in actual battles?”
“That’s right.”
Appearing satisfied with his explanation, Holy nodded with a light “Hmmmm…”
Informationists were ranked by level according to ability. From levels one through ten, they were evaluated independently, with larger numbers indicating higher levels. Levels five to seven were the most common, and Informationists were considered to be powerful if they were higher than level eight.
Recent years, however, had seen the rise of Informationists who couldn’t be ranked on the standard ten-level scale. To address this, the Exceptional Level System had been established to sort extraordinary Informationists from levels eleven to thirteen through relative comparison.
Exceptional Level was an honorific title given only to those Informationists with abilities surpassing human understanding. Level thirteen was the highest rank, and there were currently only two people in the world who held it.
“In my estimation, you have about the ability of a level nine,” Holy said, then continued speaking to elaborate further. She had done a complete one-eighty from when they were in the car and was now quite chatty.
“They say Informationists can accomplish almost anything on their own, so long as it’s something achievable through science, right? That means they shouldn’t be able to do anything science can’t explain. Your ability looked a bit disconnected from reality, so I figure you must be pretty skilled, right…?”
“You’re strangely well-informed. And here I thought Balga was opposed to Informationists…”
“Isn’t that much just basic knowledge? Well, I do have my reasons for knowing that, though,” Holy said, trailing off while speaking vaguely so as not to touch on the crucial details. Taking her hint, Tsushima deliberately refrained from probing further.
“Even Informationists can’t do anything just because there’s a scientific basis for it. To pull something off, we need to be well- trained and have a sense for crafting Codes.”
“Codes?” Holy repeated, looking a little distressed. It seemed likely her knowledge of Informationists was limited to bits and pieces of information she had heard somewhere.
Since he had said the word, he had no choice but to explain it.
“A Code is kind of like a spell we construct in our brain. Once we’ve interpreted the scientific mechanism of a phenomena, we store the method of using it in our heads as a Code. Some Codes are open to the public, but most Informationists have their own unique ones. The simpler the construction, the quicker it’ll be to execute, and the lighter the strain on the user. That’s why having a knack for creating Codes is also important.”
“Huuuh… So that’s what Codes are.”