"Has anyone died? Regarding that rumor," Sū ěr asked, his fingertip tapping rhythmically against the table.
"The Metropolitan Police haven't made any special moves, nor has there been any emergency mobilization of forces. Judging by that, it's safe to say no one has actually died from it yet," Hanekawa Tsubasa replied. She pushed up her glasses and spoke those chilling words with a disconcerting nonchalance.
You're a student! Why on earth are you spying on the movements of the Metropolitan Police Force?!
Just how obsessed are you with this?!!
And listening to your tone, you're already dead certain that vampires actually exist, aren't you??
"Sigh… You aren't planning on going out to verify the rumors yourself, are you, Hanekawa?" Sū ěr rubbed his temples, a headache blooming behind his eyes. He let out a long, weary sigh.
In his mind's eye, he saw an innocent young girl dancing through a minefield, surrounded by Claymores pointed directly at her.
Without offering a 'yes' or a 'no,' the girl with the braided hair simply went back to chewing her burger.
"Of course not. I'm very safety-conscious," Hanekawa said, her voice muffled by the burger covering half her face. However, one look at her was enough for Sū ěr to know exactly what she was thinking.
"Speaking as a friend, my advice is this—drop the unnecessary curiosity, go home early, and don't linger outside at night." As Sū ěr spoke, he felt more and more like he was inadvertently confirming the existence of vampires, which only added to his speechlessness.
"Mhm, I understand. You should get back to work, Sū ěr." Hanekawa pointed toward the McDanald's counter. The crowd was starting to thicken, and Maou Sadao's eyes were darting toward them incessantly. "...Otherwise, Mr. Maou might come over to reprimand you."
"Remember what I said," Sū ěr left her with one final warning before carrying his tray back to the counter.
[Want to place another bet? I bet she's still going to keep an eye on the vampire business.]
Is there even a point in betting on something so obvious? Sū ěr grumbled internally, rolling his eyes in the privacy of his mind.
As mentioned before, beneath that girl's gentle exterior lay a heart of unshakable resolve. Sū ěr couldn't really blame her for it—after all, humans naturally crave the extraordinary.
If this were the mundane world he lived in before his initial transmigration—where superpowers and magic existed only in fiction—and he were given a chance to touch something supernatural, even Sū ěr himself would have found the temptation hard to resist.
Therefore, his only option was to track down that vampire first... before she could hurt anyone innocent.
Sū ěr couldn't quite decide if he hoped the vampire was real or just a baseless rumor.
Honestly... I was born to toil... Sigh...
[Heh, 'born to toil,' is it?]
Sū ěr heaved a long sigh in his heart, but Think repeated his words with a light, mocking air.
...What's with the sarcasm?
Sū ěr gave her a dead-eyed look.
[Jibril.]
And just like that, he was sunk by a single name.
[Is it not true? Who is it that spends all day circling that well, digging here and there? I suspect you're more familiar with the roots of that tree than the tree itself is.]
Think continued to twist the knife.
...What choice do I have? According to Nurarihyon, we're supposed to have traveled from the future back to the past, right? At the very least, the events in time have formed a closed loop without any timeline collapse, yet I haven't the slightest clue how it happens, Sū ěr brooded listlessly as he scooped fries out of the hot oil.
[You just want to see that Flügel!]
...I wouldn't put it that way. Uh, as they say, the more friends you have, the more paths are open to you...
[You just want to see that Flügel!!]
...
Sū ěr was speechless.
He did want to see the Flügel.
Or rather, he wanted to see Jibril.
Think was being uncharacteristically noisy. It was rare to see this Elf chatter on incessantly; usually, she disdained wasting time and energy on conversation or debate, nor did she care for the understanding of others.
Think hated Jibril.
Well, 'hate' might be a bit harsh, but 'loathing' was perfectly accurate. This loathing wasn't the same as her initial anger when Jibril destroyed her laboratory and city—a general hatred for the Flügel race or a personal enemy—nor was it because of the proximity between Jibril and Sū ěr.
It wasn't about prejudice or acting on impulse.
The root of Think loathing was singular: in the face of that blue sea of Elementals, Jibril had stood on the opposite side.
Regardless of the reason, that was something Think could not accept. It meant she was an enemy.
Yet, Sū ěr didn't care.
That abandoned city, the ruins where only he, the Elf, and the Flügel remained, those two years spent in curiosity and leisure... Even now, Sū ěr convictions hadn't changed a bit. He could not forget that time.
That sentiment remained even when his body was failing, nearly unconscious; even when Jibril stood blocking the final stretch of the path; even when she ran him and Think through together... it never changed.
Those were the two happiest years of his previous life, and he would never be able to forget them as long as he lived.
Unlike Think, Sū ěr did not blame Jibril.
The Flügel were created from the wings on the back of the God of War; they were always His Flügel. Since the God of War was still alive, how could they possibly defect to someone else?
If anything, the fact that Jibril stood by at the final moment and watched as Think carried him, struggling to fall into the Sea of Elementals, could already be considered a betrayal of the God of War. Under those circumstances, a small wound was hardly worth mentioning.
From the moment he began implementing the plan over ten years ago, Sū ěr had never expected Jibril to stand by his side because of their relationship. Yes, he knew that even within the Flügel, there were unique expectations for Jibril—the "Irregular"—hoping she could fulfill their Master's long-cherished wish and defeat the God of War.
But Jibril growing strong enough to defeat the God of War on her own was a completely different matter from Jibril helping an outsider kill Him. The former was an internal affair between the Flügel and their God; the latter was collusion with an outsider—an absolute betrayal.
Even though he chose not to see Jibril one last time before leaving, it wasn't out of loathing. Rather, Sū ěr was certain that neither he nor the pink-haired Flügel had figured out how to face each other... But at the very least, for the current Sū ěr, he still wanted to go back to that time.
To the time when the three of them lived together in those ruins.