1
Deep in the mountains, beneath the cover of darkness, a teenage boy ran through the bushes and weeds. No road was safe for him and the young girl in his arms, nor could he risk the unpaved hiking trails that crisscrossed the mountain. Instead, he kept to the little paths made by wild animals.
He wasn’t about to hand her over to someone else.
If he allowed the grown-ups to get ahold of Midori while she was like this…who knew what measures they would resort to? He couldn’t bear to see his friend in a comatose state on a hospital bed, hooked up to all sorts of tubes and monitors or shipped off to some research institute to become a lab rat. And that was before even considering the Magistelli. If the AI hive mind wanted to, they could ship her back and forth between hospitals until she mysteriously “vanished” off the face of the earth, deleted from all public records. They had more than enough control over the data to make a person disappear.
A brave squeal came from behind him. It was the Pocket Piglet the girl kept as a pet. The creature was surprisingly persistent and had followed the boy all this way, even if it didn’t fully understand what was going on.
He felt another tingling sensation. The Lion’s Nose. Immediately after, he heard a noise like an electric shaver and quickly hid behind a large, leafy tree. This far into the mountains, the land was surveilled by patrolling drones instead of the ubiquitous security cameras that dotted the cities below.
Sweat dribbled down his brow and into his eyes. His contact lenses felt loose.
He didn’t even know why he was running, but he knew if he was found in the woods having effectively kidnapped a young girl, there would be no talking his way out.
The angel that called himself Uriel. The demons that called themselves the Magistelli. Both seemed to consider Midori a powerful anomaly. Whether that worked to their advantage or disadvantage, both would want to secure her for themselves. If the boy was going to keep her safe, he’d have to avoid giving away his location. He couldn’t so much as buy a train ticket or a drink from a vending machine—either would require him to run his smartphone over a scanner.
Crap, my phone!! Of course!!
Cursing himself for remembering so late, the boy took out his phone and switched it off. Then, a little hesitantly, he rummaged through the sleeping girl’s pockets until he found hers. He should never have picked it up in the first place, he thought. He couldn’t unlock it, but at least by holding down the power button he was able to turn it off.
Next, he examined the Pocket Piglet’s collar. As he suspected, it was chipped, to prevent the pet from getting lost. It had a peculiar design—dark leather with green trim. The boy briefly wondered if Midori had chosen it, but it seemed more like something a man would buy. Perhaps it had been a gift. And there was only one other person the boy could think of who would subconsciously choose a color that matched the meaning of Midori’s name.
…Takamasa.
The more Kaname thought about it, the more it seemed like something he would buy. He knew what was going to happen, so he bought something that would allow him to always keep tabs on his precious sister.
Legendary Dealer or not, Takamasa was just a boy who loved his family.
Unfortunately, there was no way to turn the microchip off or even prevent it from being read. Though he wished he didn’t have to, the boy was left with no choice but to gently remove the gift and toss it into the bushes. As he did, the piglet rolled over onto its back and wiggled its little legs in the air as though it was being tickled.
“Haah… haah…”
The boy was short of breath. He hadn’t run far, but he was carrying another person, even if she was only a schoolgirl. Plus, the mountain trail was rugged and unmaintained. Even if he held his breath, it just came back in wild bursts, and it felt like he was sweating all over.
He was a real, flesh-and-blood human. He couldn’t do what Kaname Suou the Dealer could do.
He picked up the static-covered girl and tightened his jaw.
Where do I go from here…?
This wasn’t Money (Game) Master. He had no cars or guns. No secret hideout to retreat to and no partner to rely on in the passenger seat. He’d been aiming for animal trails, with fewer cameras, that might take him to the foot of the mountain. But even if he returned to civilization, there wasn’t anything there to help him. He was just an ordinary high school boy with an unconscious girl in his arms.
He’d stick out like a sore thumb, and he had no means of defense. His choices seemed increasingly limited.
What use was the Lion’s Nose at a time like this?
The Mind controlled all of human society, if indirectly. They could deploy the police or spin mass media to their whim. If they put out an APB on him, it wouldn’t be long until he was found.
So…
Why couldn’t he leave Midori behind?
The boy who lived in the real world clenched his teeth. How was he able to expend so much effort for a friend’s relative? He was in a desperate enough situation as it was.
Back at the camp, why had he hidden when he thought the girl might spot him?
Why was it so important to him to look cool in front of her?
Oh…
At long last, he realized. There was only one explanation.
I wanted to impress her.
It was hard to admit. The mere thought of it made him want to forget everything and just scream at the stars. But he had to face up to the facts. Only then could they possibly become his strength.
So he did.
✦ ✦ ✦
I love her, don’t I?
✦ ✦ ✦
He felt the gears mesh cleanly in his mind for perhaps the first time.
Physically speaking, there was nothing different about him. His bones, his skin. His organs, his brain, they were all exactly the same.
“I can still do it…”
But the boy had changed. And the world looked very different now.
“I can still fight. I can’t afford to give up here.”
The boy wiped the sweat that had fallen to his jaw with the back of his hand, and as soon as the drone above departed, he lifted Midori into his arms once more.
Helping people was not about bragging rights or asking for anything in return.
It was just like his hero said. You had to see it through to the end.
He set off running, without any idea where he might be headed.
Running and hiding won’t do me any good. A normal doctor might not know how to help Midori, but is there anything I can do for her?!
In his anguished state, the boy’s senses were dulled. He didn’t even notice the buzzing in his nose until it was too late.
There was a rustling from a nearby bush.
“?!”
The boy had no weapon, and even if he had, he probably would have shot himself when he fell.
He was knocked to the ground by something, and Midori fell from his grasp. He reached out toward her, but his arm was grabbed by someone else.
Yes, the attacker had hands, not paws. They were not a wild bear. They were human.
“Gah?!”
But that was as far as the boy was allowed to think, before another hand tightened around his neck, and he was lifted up against a nearby tree. He couldn’t breathe. His vision went blurry and didn’t recover. One of his contact lenses must have fallen out. But the boy wasn’t looking at the person standing in front of him, holding him still.
Through his blurry vision, he had spotted something. The Pocket Piglet was attempting to scare off the attacker with a high-pitched cry like a boiling kettle. But right behind, hidden in the bushes, was the cold lens of a camera.
A trail camera…? Dammit, students from the university must have put it there!!
“Found you.”
The AI companies didn’t need patrols or searches. All they needed was for their target to walk past any network-connected camera with their face unmasked.
The one grabbing him by the neck was a woman with fiery eyes. She appeared older than he was, but he didn’t know anyone with such messy dark hair and ghostly pale skin. She looked to be a shut-in, like him.
The woman repeated herself.
“Found you, found you, found you! I finally found you!! I didn’t think it would be so easy! You really were right by the Admin Without Sin!!”
“Who…? Gah! …Are you…?!” the boy choked out.
“Valencia Hikarioka.”
It wasn’t a name he recognized. He couldn’t even be sure if it was her real name or not.
However, what she said next struck a far more familiar chord.
✦ ✦ ✦
“You might know me as Lily-Kiska Sweetmare. Perhaps you could call me a not-so-secret admirer?”