From the fan meeting to the end of the attack, nearly the entire afternoon had passed.
At the tail end of autumn, dusk always came earlier. When Squire finally left the underground plaza, the sky was already darkening…
The events of the afternoon had left her physically and mentally exhausted, so she sat on a park bench to rest, clutching her phone as she edited a message to send to her younger sister.
Despite having obtained Ps·ycho’s data—which was beneficial for the “Nightmare” modification research and even meant a chance for promotion and a raise—she couldn’t bring herself to feel happy.
“In the end, I still didn’t get the autograph… How am I supposed to tell her…”
She remained fixated on a single autograph, her heart burdened by it.
[Question: The data from the Freak has greater value than an autograph and might even earn a bonus. Why are you feeling so down?] Nyx asked in her mind.
Squire had grown accustomed to Nyx popping up like this suddenly, even treating her as a companion to talk to. She replied:
“Lucia will be really disappointed when she finds out, right? The big brother she looks up to can’t do anything right, not even get a simple autograph…”
After fiddling with the message for a long time, she still didn’t send it. She just stared blankly at the phone.
[This is not your fault; it’s just bad luck.]
Nyx offered cold comfort, but it didn’t help much.
Squire looked up at the sky.
Monument Park was the only open space in the Central City’s core, surrounded by skyscrapers hundreds of stories tall. The sky itself was encircled by this steel forest, like looking at the heavens from the bottom of a well.
The brief dusk was about to pass, and as night fell, the lights of the towers gradually flickered on, creating a different kind of scenery.
Her small feet, too light to touch the ground while sitting on the bench, swung gently in midair.
“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even qualify to appear in the plaza.”
Squire muttered to herself, “Think about it—a freak suddenly showing up at a hero’s fan meeting? I’d just become the practice target for the heroes… All those flashy weapon demonstrations would be aimed at me, and the fans below would probably cheer.”
It wasn’t impossible. The relationship between freaks and heroes was notoriously hostile.
Besides, this Sigma hero event was a female-oriented project, so the audience was mostly women.
Even if the heroes managed to hold back, a male squid freak standing among a crowd of young women was destined for social death. Not to mention the drones from the press hovering overhead—they specialized in spinning stories just from a single photo.
Without the Nyx driver, he would never have had a chance to get the autograph;
but even with the Nyx driver, he still failed to get the autograph…
“I really can’t get used to this identity. Nyx, I know you’re not just a simple AI… Maybe I wasn’t very friendly to you before, but can you turn me back?”
Squire lowered her tone.
After all, Nyx was the product of cutting-edge technology and undoubtedly an excellent tool, but she clearly wasn’t a qualified master and couldn’t unleash Nyx’s true potential.
[Error]
“…You’re not malfunctioning, are you? Leaving me to find someone better suited to be a hero would be the best outcome for you.]
[You’re not so bad.]
Even so, Squire didn’t know what qualities she had.
[From pretending, to accepting, and ultimately becoming someone else entirely, this is a process that takes time. You should try to become a better version of yourself.]
“Pretending? You mean the magical girl Clara?”
Clara was just the ideal hero in Squire’s mind, but she was definitely not the real Clara.
[A tentacle just skewered and extracted some data from Pure White Storm. As a newly minted hero, he’s currently in the same stage as you.]
“He’s still in the ‘pretending’ phase too?”
[Moreover, his situation is similar to yours… Or should I say, opposite?]
“What situation?” Squire was completely confused.
[Secret. Maybe one day you’ll understand on your own.]
Why did an AI have to be so secretive and mysterious?
Squire didn’t feel relieved by Nyx’s comfort.
But the message on her phone still needed to be sent, even if her sister would be disappointed.
Just as she was about to press send, something suddenly covered her head and pushed her chin down.
“Hm?”
It was a baseball cap.
Looking up, she saw a white-haired youth wearing a stand-collar trench coat.
Though masked, Squire recognized him immediately.
“…Pure White Storm! How did you find me here?!”
But he only pointed at the cap on her head.
“This is what you wanted, right?”
Squire took off the cap to take a look.
The white baseball cap was embroidered with the Sigma series logo, but on the brim, there was a scrawled, illegible doodle—some kind of unreadable scribble.
“What’s this…”
“My autograph. It was supposed to be yours.”
Squire’s feelings were hard to describe, but it was definitely a positive emotion.
Her lips curved into a small smile, but looking at Pure White Storm’s handsome face, she tried to compose herself…
After all, she was supposed to have an adult’s restraint, not showing her emotions openly.
“…Thank you.” But she still needed to express her gratitude.
“You’re the one I should thank. I feel a little bad that all I can give you is my autograph.”
Pure White Storm shook his head and then reached out to ruffle Squire’s hair.
Being treated like a child.
Though annoying, Squire made an exception and allowed it.
She stroked the baseball cap in her hands and asked, “I’m actually a Freak. Is it okay for us to have this kind of contact?”
Heroes and Freaks were not allowed to touch each other. Though not written into any law or charter, it was an unspoken rule firmly ingrained in every hero’s and freak’s heart.
“I just became a hero not long ago. Those outdated ideas aren’t so strict yet.”
Outdated ideas?
Squire gave a bitter smile.
Though she was powerless as a Freak, her thoughts had become rigid.
Pure White Storm continued, “Besides, I only know you as an ordinary person. Who you really are beneath that disguise doesn’t matter much to me.”
“…Disguise?”
A combat body was a kind of disguise.
But a disguise that couldn’t have contact might eventually become the true body.
“Then, if you’re not a hero, who are you?”
Squire wanted to ask the white-haired youth’s name, but he refused with a helpless look.
“…Names can wait until next time.”
The white-haired youth had only come to deliver the cap, with no intention of staying long.
“Will we meet again?”
“Yes, we will.”
Leaving behind this less-than-a-promise, the youth turned and walked out of the park.
Squire clutched the cap and couldn’t hold back her smile.
[That’s all it takes to cheer you up?]
“Yeah, I’m pretty simple like that.”
Nyx experienced this pleasant mood as well.
Squire deleted the message she had been editing.
Then she took a photo of the autographed baseball cap resting on the bench.
And sent it.