Should I say, “It worked out well”?
It’s not like we have a TV.
We do have smartphones, but since we couldn’t risk being tracked, we weren’t using them.
Even James or Iris, who were adept at tinkering with the parts I had stored in subspace to create various devices, seemed to find “screens” particularly challenging.
Well, that makes sense when you think about it.
We casually refer to screens as just another component, but in reality, they’re items densely packed with tiny pixels.
Unless we managed to procure an actual screen somewhere, there were no parts we could substitute for one.
Chipsets? We had plenty.
In fact, we even had versatile computer parts, so we could at least cobble together various devices.
The idea of dismantling a smartphone to use its screen crossed my mind, but for now, the thought was more along the lines of, “Do we really need to?”
After all, not having a TV didn’t significantly hinder our ability to gather information.
We had some spare components, but wasting them wasn’t an option.
Having parts available for emergencies and not having them made a huge difference.
Still, we did have a radio, and through it, we could access information.
Surprisingly, it seemed my choice to throw a bomb into the sky back then wasn’t a wrong one.
When we visited the clinic that day, a few officers had taken off their hats, which I suppose was their way of showing respect—or something along those lines.
[Would it have been easy to save those who had aimed guns at you and even fired? You claimed earlier that it was simply the right thing to do, but how many people would willingly do good for someone they resent? If you hadn’t gone there in the first place, you might’ve avoided being involved in the bombing altogether.]
I didn’t understand why people were splitting into two camps to debate that incident, but those kinds of discussions were happening on the radio.
Somewhere in their words lay the reasoning that my actions were, in the end, a wise decision.
The black hole above that day prevented the debris from reaching the ground.
I had thought it simply spared people from injury, but since the debris didn’t fall, people had no way of knowing “exactly what had exploded.”
That’s right. People only assumed an explosive went off.
No one considered that if I hadn’t gone there, the circuit wouldn’t have activated in the first place, meaning there wouldn’t have been an explosion at all.
After all, there was no evidence that it was a circuit to begin with.
Sure, there was the fragment extracted from Hayoon’s body, but none of it contained the core components of the circuit.
Some people speculated based on the explosion, but even then, no one understood “how it worked.”
[Is it possible that the situation was intentionally created as a way to shift the focus away from the accusations and create confusion?]
[The children are currently on the run from the authorities. Have you forgotten what they mentioned earlier? Weren’t they pleading for basic necessities like food and clothing? Or do you believe that was all just a performance?]
Well done.
I silently rooted for the nameless debater who took my side.
Not that their victory would immediately benefit me in any way.
[If everything is labeled as staged, the implication would be that virtually anyone could be classified as a terrorist. This notion seems quite peculiar. It is difficult to fathom how a regular teenage girl could manage to build such a destructive bomb not once, but twice. If she indeed possessed such a talent, we would have witnessed numerous acts of terror happening in our country on multiple occasions by now.]
While the opposing party hesitated to find a response, the debater quickly continued their argument.
[Claiming it’s all a conspiracy seems far less plausible, doesn’t it?]
[Do you intend to imply that the government may have orchestrated a conspiracy? Or could it be the Federation or a certain corporation? There exist numerous conspiracy theories of similar nature that they are innumerable. Allow me to inquire: if all governments across the globe were implicated in such conspiracies, wouldn’t the world have already succumbed to the flames of war? Or descended into a nightmarish dystopia?]
[Upon closer examination of the cases, it is plausible to consider that not all governments are constantly involved in scheming activities. Nevertheless, one cannot ignore the fact that conspiracy theories about governments have been verified as accurate on numerous occasions compared to those concerning individuals. Furthermore, when we consider the magnitude of the incident at hand, it is evident that the individual in question, now referred to as a magical girl, was previously an ordinary minor with no prior association to such mystical phenomena. The sole link she had was her employment at Noir Corporation. Therefore, could it be insinuated that this magical girl conspired with the company to perpetrate acts of terror?]
[…That’s not what I’m saying…]
The debate gradually veered away from the incident I was involved in the other day and shifted toward a discussion of whether or not it was a conspiracy theory.
Hearing the derailment of the discussion made me lose interest, so I simply changed the channel.
“Phew.”
I let out a long sigh.
A short while ago, I felt so suffocated that it was hard to breathe.
Still, seeing someone speak up like that gave me some relief.
Maybe public opinion had been tightly controlled until now.
In a non-authoritarian state, it would have been impossible to suppress it indefinitely.
From a conspiratorial perspective, it might have been more efficient to spread other rumors to divert attention.
In that sense, the incident that broke out this time was as hard to suppress as the one where I got entangled in a terror plot.
At least back then, shifting the blame onto me was enough, but now the story had completely changed.
The party responsible for planting the bomb was still unclear.
But one thing was certain: my image… had slightly improved.
I looked at the circuit.
The circuit… wasn’t vibrating.
It wasn’t entirely inactive, but its operating speed had slowed significantly, eliminating any reason for it to shake.
That… wasn’t exactly good news.
To fight effectively, it would be better for the circuit to run intensely.
“…Ah.”
As soon as I thought that, the circuit’s speed picked up again.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“What’s ridiculous?”
As I muttered to myself while looking down at the circuit, a sharp voice responded to my words.
Startled, I looked up toward the source of the voice and saw Hayoon standing there.
Hayoon casually perched beside me.
Although she sat on the door frame, it was a sliding door, so the entrance wasn’t entirely blocked.
For two rather slender people like us, it was just roomy enough—not something you’d expect an adult male to fit into.
“Oh, nothing. Just the radio broadcast.”
I spoke while naturally lowering my left hand.
However, Hayoon’s gaze stayed fixed on the circuit.
Could she have figured out what kind of energy I was using?
During the conversation between Cherry and James, Hayoon observed them with keen interest.
While to most bystanders it may have seemed like mere background noise, even Iris, who was right beside them, appeared oblivious to their discussion.
However, Hayoon’s intelligence shone through.
She was not just book-smart from studying diligently at home, but she possessed a sharp mind that enabled her to achieve better results with minimal study time compared to others.
Given her exceptional comprehension abilities, it was likely that she was able to grasp at least some parts of the foreign language being spoken by Cherry and James.
It wouldn’t be surprising if she had also caught on to the subtle energies at play in the environment.
As she focused intently on a circuit in front of her, her gaze suddenly shifted to meet yours, accompanied by a warm smile.
This interaction had become a common occurrence lately.
Ever since you allowed her to share your tent to avoid falling ill, Hayoon had become more comfortable and relaxed in your presence.
She now entered your tent without hesitation and even shared a sleeping bag with you as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
When I got the sleeping bag, I bought it assuming it would be freezing outside.
It wasn’t top-tier, but it was insulated with goose feathers and rated for temperatures as low as -10°C.
Lately, it’s been so warm that I was considering putting it away.
But strangely, Hayoon would always climb out of the sleeping bag and use it as a blanket for both of us.
She’d cling to me tightly, insisting we share it.
When I slept on my back staring at the ceiling, she’d hug one of my arms.
Objectively speaking, Hayoon’s figure wasn’t particularly mature for her age, but she was still undeniably feminine.
So how do you think I’d feel when she hugged my arm tightly?
Physically, we might be the same age, but mentally, we were different.
I’d become extremely flustered and didn’t know how to handle the situation.
I couldn’t bring myself to move my arm.
Not just the arm she hugged, but my entire hand froze up. I think you can imagine what I’m talking about.
And if I turned my back on her to sleep, I’d wake up in an even more awkward position.
In those cases, Hayoon would end up hugging me from behind.
Of course… well, you get the idea.
With the thick sleeping bag on in this heat, it was… quite a situation.
At first, I thought Hayoon might still be sick.
When you have the flu, you can feel unbearably cold, or if you have a bad scrape, the infection can cause similar symptoms.
But wouldn’t a fever like that usually go away after sweating it out?
Every night, the two of us ended up drenched in sweat, yet Hayoon kept doing the same thing.
I couldn’t figure out why.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have let her in from the start.”
Once someone decides it’s their space, they just keep coming back, don’t they?
Even now, Hayoon was sitting so close that her thigh pressed against mine.
She used to only do this when I went out for late-night walks, but now, she did it in broad daylight, even with the others watching.
And—
Yeah, what’s most troubling is…