"What's wrong? Surprised?"
"...Yes, just a little."
A faint, bitter smile appeared on her delicate features as Seitenshi's gloved hands clenched slightly before relaxing again.
"But this is very much in line with your style, Mahiro-san. I can tell that Tina-san isn't a bad child. She must have been manipulated by soone, right?"
Seitenshi had already forgiven Tina.
Though the incident had caused quite a stir, fortunately, there had been no casualties, so she saw no reason to pursue the matter further.
As for punishnt, she decided that Tina should assist Mahiro in managing Arcadia properly while learning to beco a good girl.
In so ways, it seed Seitenshi was even more indulgent with children than he was.
And now.
They had already left Arcadia.
However, Seitenshi didn't board her limousine. Instead, she took Mahiro's hand, intending to walk all the way back to Seitenshi.
As if moving from ruins to prosperity.
When Seitenshi posed her question, he naturally nodded in response.
"That's right. Tina is one of the chanized modified soldiers, belonging to the NEXT series under the Arican branch."
"Such a young child, modified into a chanical soldier?"
Even though there had been precedents, hearing it firsthand still inevitably brought heartache.
To think they would conduct experints on children...
"Mhm, but don't worry. Situations like this won't happen again. That scumbag Ayn Rand has already been dealt with."
Hearing this, Seitenshi was visibly startled, her footsteps pausing slightly as she looked at him with disbelief.
As if recalling sothing, she asked solemnly:
"Then, regarding that teorite that fell on North Arica... was that also your doing, Mr. Mahiro?"
"Yep." Mahiro showed no intention of hiding it. "Going area by area would've been too troubleso, so I just dropped a teorite... Why?"
Turning his head, he found Seitenshi had stopped walking entirely, staring at him with grave intensity.
"...Mr. Mahiro, just who are you?"
Previously, using supernatural abilities to kill the Scorpio could still be rationalized as a chanized soldier's capability—even if he himself denied it.
But now.
Pulling a teorite from space? That's the kind of feat only a deity could accomplish, isn't it?
"Who am I?"
Mahiro found the question amusing. "Seitenshi, didn't I introduce myself when we first t?"
Seitenshi recalled her first encounter with Mahiro.
It had been her first ti commissioning a Civil Security officer, so she'd chosen this Yotsuba Mahiro who claid he could perfectly complete any request.
When he ca to the Holy Palace to et her then, this was what he'd said—
"Pleased to et you, Seitenshi. I am Yotsuba Mahiro, affiliated with Tendo Civil Security."
And when she asked where he ca from, why there were no records of him in Tokyo Area, his response had been—
"I'm an adjusted mage from the Fourth Research Institute."
Seitenshi sighed.
"Mr. Mahiro, please tell the truth. After investigation, there are no records of any 'Fourth Research Institute' anywhere in Japan. And mages... aren't those only in fairy tales? Please don't deceive with such childish fabrications, alright?"
"Of course you wouldn't find records."
Mahiro clasped his hands behind his head, replying matter-of-factly: "The reason's simple—I'm not from this world."
"..."
Seitenshi said nothing, but her gaze clearly asked—"Do I look like an idiot who'd believe such nonsense?"
Ah, humans.
When confronted with possibilities beyond their comprehension, their first instinct is denial.
Even Mahiro could only shrug helplessly at this reaction.
"If you don't believe , there's nothing I can do... You've already seen everything you needed to see. Do you think those chanically enhanced new human soldiers could achieve what I've done?"
Even the top two Initiator pairs who defeated the Zodiac-class Gastrea couldn't possibly accomplish this.
It's worth noting that those two only managed to kill a Stage V by relying on Cursed Children who had reached the [Domain] stage.
And after the kills, those two Initiators completely disappeared.
Most likely, their erosion rates had exceeded the limit, turning them into Gastrea.
After all, the so-called [Domain] is essentially the ultimate utilization of the Gastrea virus to enhance oneself while pushing the erosion rate to its limit.
Take Midori Fuse for example—she has great potential to reach the Domain stage, as do Enju and little Asaka.
"If you still don't believe ... How about I pull down a teor right now and demonstrate by destroying the Tokyo Area?"
"Please don't do that!"
Although Seitenshi knew he was joking, she imdiately refused, afraid that if she hesitated even for a mont, he might actually drop a teor.
Seeing the girl so flustered, Mahiro couldn't help but laugh.
"Don't worry, I won't destroy the Tokyo Area."
'At least not now.'
After all, there are still so many children left to gather. It can wait a little longer.
"So... is that why you hate humans so much?"
Seeing how genuine he was, Seitenshi already believed most of it—the remaining doubt stemd from her own perceptions.
"That's not quite accurate, Lady Seitenshi," Mahiro corrected. "First, even though I'm an adjusted mage, biologically I'm still human, just like you."
"Second, I don't hate humans in this world—I simply look down on them from the bottom of my heart and find them disgusting. As a mber of the sa species, I feel deeply ashad."
"I think you're being too extre, Mr. Mahiro. I can't agree with that. While many people harbor malice toward those children, there are still so who strive to help them."
Seitenshi spoke with heartfelt sincerity.
But Mahiro remained unmoved.
"Extre? I think I've been quite rciful, actually."
He sounded puzzled.
"I rember a saying—how did it go? Oh right, now I recall!"
"'If you execute everyone, so might be innocent, but if you execute them one by one, so will slip through the net.'"
"I don't have the energy to judge each person's goodness or evil. When the bad outweighs the good by such a vast margin, it's already grounds for a death sentence."
"It's like a cancer patient—if the cancer cells have spread throughout the body, do you think there's any saving them?"
However, just as Seitenshi was about to continue this futile rebuttal, a beautiful lody suddenly interrupted them.
Mahiro looked up at the overpass above the five-way intersection in the city center, then smiled at Seitenshi.
"Our date was going so well—it's a sha to ruin it with such heavy talk. Why don't we go up and listen to so music instead?"
"...This isn't a date."
Seitenshi's face flushed red.
Her rare display of tsundere behavior was quite the contrast to her usual deanor.
Yet her body obediently followed him up the overpass steps, where they soon found the source of the singing—
Not far ahead, a tattered straw mat was spread on the ground, and the sound was coming from there.
The atmosphere was completely different from that of a street perforr.
Especially when Seitenshi approached and saw it, she imdiately covered her mouth.
The singer was a ragged beggar girl.
Though the girl appeared dirty, with gri covering her face, her delicate features were still discernible.
She wore a grease-stained shawl, and her frail fra gave an impression of weakness, yet her singing never ceased.
Holding a begging bowl in both hands, she sang toward the passersby.
Beside her was a sign that read: "I am a 'Cursed Child' from the Outer District. I need money to buy food for my little sister. Please spare so change."
Mahiro said nothing upon seeing this, only giving Seitenshi a aningful look, as if to say, "See? This is the result of what you called 'willingness to strive.'"
To make such a young child beg like this...
Seitenshi slowly moved closer.
Without caring about the unpleasant odor emanating from the girl or whether her pristine white dress would get dirty, she crouched down in front of the young girl and spoke softly:
"You..."
"Yes?"
The girl's singing stopped as she raised her face with a smile, though confusion soon flickered across her delicate features.
"This voice..."
However, Seitenshi paid no heed to the girl's bewildernt and surprise. Instead, she nearly gasped aloud.
The girl's eyes were tightly shut, covered by a thin layer of cloth—clearly, she was blind.
But this was the most impossible thing.
Although the Gastrea virus would eventually lead the Cursed Children down the path of becoming monsters, before that, their physical constitutions were among the strongest. Not only did they possess miraculous regenerative abilities, but they were also impervious to all kinds of diseases.
This was the real reason they could survive even when reduced to living on the streets, with nothing to eat but rotting scraps.
Yet, the Cursed Child before her was blind...
Which ant...
"...What happened to your eyes?"
Though Seitenshi already had an answer in her heart, she couldn't help but ask.
"Ah."
The girl gently touched the area around her eyes.
"Poured lead to blind them."
She said it naturally, without a trace of resentnt, as if it were the most ordinary thing.
But upon hearing this, Seitenshi's delicate fra trembled slightly. Her tender lips parted as if to speak, yet her throat felt unbearably dry, rendering her speechless.
Before, she had turned a blind eye to such matters because her subordinates had deceived her, making it impossible to investigate thoroughly.
But now, right before her eyes, such a thing was still happening...
"It wasn't done by soone else. I did it myself." Perhaps sensing Seitenshi's hesitation, the girl shook her head lightly.
"Can you tell why...? Why would you do this?"
"Because Mother hated my red eyes, so I blinded them... Though in the end, she still abandoned and my little sister. Besides, aside from blinding myself and begging, I had no other way to support my sister..."
"..."
Seitenshi could no longer speak.
All for such a reason...
Her heart ached bitterly, and her hands, clad in white lace gloves, clenched the fabric over her chest.
The pain was unbearable, an indescribable sense of suffocation overwhelming her.
"Big Sister, you don't need to grieve for . I'm used to it..."
Despite her own wretched state, the girl still wore a smile, even comforting Seitenshi.
"And... Big Sister, you must be Lady Seitenshi, right?"
"...You realized?"
"Mhm. Because your voice is so pure, Lady Seitenshi. I could never mistake it. My sister and I... we really admire you. Thank you for everything you've done for us Cursed Children. Thank you."
With that, the girl bowed deeply to Seitenshi once more.
But such gratitude felt like sharp blades, piercing her heart over and over, twisting and tearing it apart with unbearable agony.
The pain was so intense that she bit down hard on her lower lip.
Yet this pain was nothing—not even a ten-thousandth of what this child before her had endured.
No wonder Mr. Mahiro kept saying I was "asking why not eat at porridge when hungry" before. It seems I truly was like that...
This was her first ti venturing far from the Holy Palace without bodyguards, walking on the land she governed.
Though she had heard about the plight of the cursed children, only upon seeing it firsthand did she understand what true heartache ant.
"I'm sorry... I'm an unqualified head of state, to have allowed you to suffer such pain..."
Tears glistened in Seitenshi's eyes as she reached out with her white-gloved hands, heedless of getting them dirty, gently cupping the girl's cheeks.
"Lady Seitenshi, please don't cry. None of what we've endured is your fault..."
"Why... why can you still smile even in circumstances like this?"
For the first ti, Seitenshi felt her strong heart gradually crumbling, displaying emotions befitting a girl her age.
The feelings long suppressed in the corner of her heart were finally being released.
"Because... there's no other way."
Those simple words plunged Seitenshi into complete silence.
"I can only survive by begging like this, so of course I must keep smiling. I don't know what other expression to wear."
The girl forced a bitter smile, her shoulders slumping slightly:
"But recently, being beaten and cursed at has beco more frequent... It's getting a bit hard to bear. I wish I could get hit less each day..."
Hearing this, Seitenshi felt her heart bleeding.
She reflected on what she could do—what she could do for this girl, and for all the cursed children.
Her gaze involuntarily fell upon Mahiro, her eyes pleading like a helpless child's.
Just then, a tallic clink sounded in the girl's begging bowl.
Not money, but a pull-tab from a soda can.
Yet even so, the girl still offered a faint smile, bowing deeply without a word.
The two who threw the tab turned back to mock her, their faces hidden under sun hats preventing them from recognizing Seitenshi.
Staring blankly at the tab in the bowl, Seitenshi thought:
"How could anyone do sothing so cruel?"
Words failed her now; only thoughts could express her turmoil.
She had seen many cursed children before.
But aside from the Initiators, they were only those living peacefully in Arcadia.
She knew nothing of how other children—especially those wandering Tokyo's streets—truly lived.
For the first ti, she questioned everything she'd done in the past.
Had any of it... truly ant anything?
Suddenly, Mahiro's earlier words to her resurfaced in her mind...
Then ca the unmistakable click of a trigger being cocked.
Seitenshi's head snapped up to see Mahiro standing there, aiming that peculiar pistol at the two n who hadn't yet left, his face expressionless as he pulled the trigger.
In an instant, the two seed to experience excruciating agony.
As if the moisture in their bodies was forcibly evaporated, steam continuously rose from their bodies as they struggled desperately.
Yet not a single sound could escape their lips.
They slowly knelt on the ground, their struggles gradually weakening until they died in agony.
When Mahiro pulled the trigger for the second ti, the two desiccated corpses crumbled into fine dust, scattering with the breeze.
"I didn't expect the 'Rupture' magic of the Ichijou family to be so useful."
He said this casually, completely ignoring the pale-faced Seitenshi as he approached the blind girl.
"Little sister, let ask you sothing. Do you know about Arcadia?"
"You an... the sanctuary built in District 39? I know about it. I've heard from my companions."
"Then why didn't you go? If you had, you wouldn't have to keep begging like this."
However, the girl shook her head. "Big brother, it's not that I don't want to go, but that I can't... I'm blind, I can't do anything. And I have a younger sister too. Going there would just be a burden on others, so I can't."
Hearing her words, even soone like him, who had witnessed countless tragedies of the Cursed Children, couldn't help but sigh.
How could anyone reject such an obedient and sensible girl?
What's wrong with red eyes?
It wasn't them who killed your family and friends. If you have the guts, go outside the Monoliths and take revenge on the Gastrea!
What kind of courage does it take to bully a bunch of little girls?
His disgust for these humans grew stronger.
At the sa ti, he felt deep sorrow for the girl's plight.
Because he couldn't restore her eyes—covering information body records was sothing Tatsuya could do for a maximum of 24 hours, while his current limit was 48 hours.
But this girl's eyes had been blind for far longer...
"It's alright. Even if you can't do anything, even if you're blind, believe , the doors of Arcadia will always be open for you."
With that, he stood up and made a call to Kanae.
"Big brother, you are..."
"I'm the leader of Arcadia. My na is Yotsuba Mahiro. You can call Mahiro-nii."
He gently stroked the girl's hair.
Before long, Tina and several of her sisters arrived at the overpass where he was and took the girl away, along with her younger sister.
As for Seitenshi, she remained crouched the entire ti, staring at the pull-tab in her bowl, lost in thought.
"Alright, stop moping. This is reality. The reality you, in your high position, couldn't see."
Mahiro's words made Seitenshi purse her lips slightly.
She took a deep breath and exhaled.
Raising her head, she looked at Mahiro again and asked:
"...Mahiro-san, what should I do? Please teach ."
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