Chapter 19

Yeah… Her smile was extremely cute. Yeah, this… Rain could tell she was expressing her real feelings. It had nothing to do with Ghosts, mysterious bullets, or abnormal divinities. For the first time, he’d managed to see a part of her true self. “…Well, let’s put that aside for now.” “Yes, we need to strategize for the next battle.” For the moment, that was their top priority. They still had to find the person who’d stolen the missing Devil’s Bullet, and even besides that, there was plenty else left to do. And so they started to discuss what they’d do following Rain’s discharge. Slowly, and with great leisure, the two of them walked onward…together. Meanwhile… Orca entered the Exelia hangar and, after a quick search, found the girl he’d planned to meet there. “Athly.” “Yeah…?” Athly responded as she moved her eyes off her Exelia. “Oh, did I call you over?” “You asked me to look into this!” It seemed she’d completely forgotten. Everyone always assumed she was a responsible person, but she was actually an airhead a lot of the time. “…Well, whatever. Here’s the info you wanted.” “Thanks.” Orca handed Athly the bundle of documents she’d requested. And then he added, “Man…talk about weird coincidences.” “Weird coincidences?” “Hmm… You both asked me separately, so I was gonna keep it a secret…” Orca seemed conflicted over the issue, unsure whether he should say anything. “Well, I guess it probably doesn’t matter.” But eventually, he brushed aside his hesitation and decided to continue talking. “Both of you asked me to look into this Kirlilith person, so where’s the harm, right?” “Both…? You mean someone else asked about her?” “Yeah. Rain.” At that point, Orca finally got a good look at the girl standing in front of him. And as he did, he noticed that she looked rather thin and sickly. “The two of you asked about her three days ago. What, is she some celebrity I don’t know?” “…A celebrity, huh?” Athly set down the Exelia calibration tool beside her. She’d been tending to the unit she’d ridden through countless battlefields to keep it functional. It was standard procedure, and a mage’s bullets and guns needed similar care. “Maybe, of a sort.” Athly, the girl who’d lost her parents in the attack on Leminus, reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a single shell. Its vivid colors had faded, but it was still obviously the shell of a silver bullet with the letters of a person’s name etched onto it: “She’s gone now, though.” Kirlilith Lambert.