Princess Connect! IF: The Guild Management Route - The Vanished Back: The Bond I Couldn't Protect, a Window of One

The morning light painted the stone walls of the Guild Management Headquarters a pale white. Normally, this hour was still quiet. Staff members would trickle in one by one, wipe down the wooden counters, and the sound of boiling water would drift through the halls. But today was different. The moment Yuuki stepped through the heavy front door, his feet stopped. The air was wrong. Whispers leaked from down the corridor. Staff members who looked at him and immediately averted their eyes. Those who subtly shifted away when passing him. (What...?) Something stirred uneasily in his chest. Yuuki pressed down his bedhead with one hand as he walked toward his counter. The ink stain on the back of his right hand stood out in the morning sun. The staff badge hanging from his neck clinked softly. "Yuuki." He looked up at the voice. Misato stood on the other side of the counter. Her long wisteria-colored hair was loosely braided and draped over her left shoulder, as always. Her amber eyes looked straight at him. The tear mole beneath her right eye cast a small shadow in the morning light. "Good morning, Misato." "Yes, good morning." Misato smiled. It was her usual smile. But behind it, Yuuki sensed something he'd never seen before. (...Something happened.) "Um, the headquarters feels... strange today." "Yes. It's a bit... restless, isn't it." Misato picked up her fountain pen, spun it once, and placed it back in its stand. Her fingertips were trembling, just slightly. "Misato." "What is it?" "...Never mind." Yuuki swallowed the words he'd been about to say. That was when it happened. "Yuuki. Come with me." A low voice echoed from behind him. He turned to find the headquarters' supervisor standing there. A square face with deep furrows between his brows. In his right hand, a single document. "...Yes, sir." "Follow me. ...Misato, you too." The supervisor glanced at them both, then walked toward the back room. Yuuki met Misato's eyes. Misato gave a small nod. For just a moment, her eyes wavered, as if she were about to cry. — The Review Room, fourth floor of the Management Headquarters. An inorganic room surrounded by stone walls. A long table sat in the center, and an old full map of Landsol hung on the wall. Light streaming through the window cast a square shadow on the floor. Several staff members were already in the room. And in the center of them all, that man stood. Long black hair slicked back. A single white streak on the right side. One eye black, the other an eerie purple — heterochromia. Black leather gloves on his right hand. "Good morning, Yuuki. Misato." Kurou bowed politely. His well-tailored black coat swayed faintly. His hands, which had a habit of lacing fingers together, folded quietly before his chest. "Kurou... why are you here?" "I've come today to submit evidence to the Guild Management Headquarters." Kurou's voice was utterly calm. But his left eye glinted — a flash of purple. "Evidence...?" "Yes. Regarding the documents that disappeared from the Records Vault." Yuuki's heart slammed against his ribs. The other day, important documents had vanished from the headquarters' Records Vault. A spare key had been found at Yuuki's counter, and he'd been suspected of embezzlement. The suspicion had never been fully cleared. "I've obtained information regarding the whereabouts of those documents." Kurou placed the envelope he'd been holding onto the table. "Please, take a look." The supervisor opened the envelope. What emerged was a single copy of a recording spell. "This is..." The supervisor's expression changed. "Thirty years ago, there was an incident in which the records of the Astraia Society were erased. This is a testimony stating that someone tampered with those records, along with a copy of the recording spell's seal." "The person who tampered with them... who are you saying it was?" Kurou opened his mouth slowly. "The woman who was in charge of records management at the time. Her name... was Misato's mother." In that instant, the air in the room froze. "...!" Yuuki looked at Misato standing beside him. All the color had drained from her face. Her lips were trembling faintly. "W-wait a minute!" Yuuki's voice burst out before he could stop it. "Misato's mother tampered with records...? That's insane! Do you have proof?!" "This copy is the proof." Kurou spoke quietly, fingers still laced. "The recording spell's seal is genuine. This seal could only be used by the Records Director of that era. And the Records Director at that time was Misato's mother." "But even if the seal is real, that doesn't mean Misato's mother did it! Someone could have stolen it, or it could have been forged—" "Yuuki." Kurou's voice dropped, just slightly. "You don't seem to understand what a recording spell actually is." Kurou took a step closer to Yuuki. "A recording spell's seal etches the caster's magical wavelength into it. In other words, the magical wavelength left on this copy belongs to the person who tampered with the records thirty years ago. And that wavelength matches Misato's mother's." "That can't be..." "Furthermore, internal documents from the headquarters at the time contain testimony that she erased the records. Multiple witnesses stated they saw her entering the Records Vault late at night." Kurou placed another document on the table. "This is a copy of those testimonies." The supervisor scanned the document. Silence. "...There's no mistake." The supervisor let out a deep sigh. "Wait! We still don't know for certain that Misato's mother—" "Yuuki. That's enough." It was a quiet voice. Yuuki turned around. Misato was looking straight ahead. Her profile was like a wax doll's — all emotion erased. "Misato..." "My mother was exiled from the Management Headquarters thirty years ago for the crime of erasing records. That is the truth." "But that was a false accusation—" "No." Misato shook her head slowly. "My mother did erase the records. ...But she did it to protect me." Misato's voice trembled. "My mother was being threatened by a dark guild. They told her to erase the records, or they would kill me. She gave up everything she had to protect me." A heavy silence fell over the room. "...I see. So Misato's mother was complicit with a dark guild." Kurou's voice was cold as ice. "That's wrong! She was being threatened! Misato's mother was a victim!" "Nevertheless, the fact remains that she tampered with records. The crime of violating the Guild Records Protection Act does not disappear." Kurou turned toward the supervisor. "And that crime extends to family. Under Guild Management Headquarters regulations, the family of one who commits record tampering loses the right to remain employed by the headquarters. ...Isn't that correct?" The supervisor's face twisted in pain. "...That is correct." "Wait! That's just a regulation—" "Regulations are law, Yuuki." Kurou looked straight at Yuuki. The purple of his left eye gleamed. "No matter how loudly you shout, the facts don't change. Misato's mother erased the records. And her daughter sits in the very headquarters meant to protect those records. ...Do you understand how dangerous that is?" "That's..." "Furthermore, the recent incident of documents disappearing from the Records Vault. The spare key to that vault was found at your counter. However, the key to your counter is managed not only by you, but also by the senior staff member at that station." Kurou's gaze shifted to Misato. "In other words, Misato also had ample opportunity to steal those documents." "What—!" "It cannot be ruled out that Misato placed the spare key at your counter to frame you." "Are you insane?!" Yuuki was shouting before he realized it. "Misato would never do something like that! It's because I—because I didn't manage the keys properly that the documents were stolen! Misato has nothing to do with it!" "Yuuki." Misato's voice cut off his words. "Please, stop." Misato turned slowly toward Yuuki. Her eyes were full of tears. But her lips were smiling. "I'm so happy that you'd defend me. ...But if my being here puts you in danger, that's the most painful thing of all." "Misato, what are you saying—" "I'm resigning." The words were impossibly quiet. The air in the room stopped. "Misato?!" "Misato, are you serious?" "Yes. As long as I'm here, suspicion will fall on Yuuki too. I refuse to let that happen." Having said that, Misato picked up a blank sheet of paper from the table. She pulled the fountain pen from its stand and began writing her letter of resignation. "Wait! This is wrong! If I had just done my job properly—" "Yuuki." Misato spoke quietly as she wrote. "You haven't lost anything yet. That's why you can become stronger." "What are you saying?" "What I've lost can never be returned. But you're different. You still have a future ahead of you." Misato finished writing and held out the resignation letter to the supervisor. "...Accepted." The supervisor took it, his face pained. "Thank you for everything." Misato bowed deeply. "Misato, wait! I still—" "Yuuki." Misato raised her head. A single tear traced down her cheek. But her smile was strangely serene. "Thank you for everything. Working beside you was truly wonderful." With that, Misato left the room. Yuuki tried to follow. But his legs wouldn't move. They were rooted to the floor. "...You're an interesting one." Kurou passed by Yuuki, chuckling softly. "You can't protect a single thing you want to protect. ...And yet, here you still stand." "..." "Your helplessness is truly entertaining to watch." With that, Kurou left the room. Yuuki was left alone in the Review Room. — The day of Misato's resignation. A heavy atmosphere hung over the Guild Management Headquarters' counters. Staff members kept their distance from Yuuki, whispering in hushed voices. "Did you see that rookie? He's still sitting at his counter." "He was the one managing the keys, right? Why is he still here?" "Because Misato-senpai covered for him. ...But word is, it was Misato-senpai who sold the records." "Figures. Her mother erased records back in the day too, apparently." "Like mother, like daughter, huh." Yuuki pretended not to hear. But the voices lingered in the back of his ears. (That's wrong. Misato didn't do anything wrong.) He clenched his fists. His nails dug into his palms. "Yuuki." He looked up at the voice. Misato stood on the other side of the counter. In her hands, a small bundle. A cloth bag containing her personal belongings. "Misato... you're really leaving?" "Yes." "If I had noticed sooner. If I had protected those documents. If I had checked the keys properly that night—" Yuuki's voice shook. "It's not your fault." Misato shook her head. "This isn't your fault. My past simply caught up with me." "But!" "Yuuki." Misato looked straight into his eyes. "Protecting records means this: sometimes you can't. But if you don't forget, someday it all connects." "Misato..." "You're someone who doesn't forget. So you'll be fine." With that, Misato quietly placed something in the drawer of Yuuki's desk. "...Misato?" "Goodbye." Misato smiled. Her smile was warped by tears. "Take care of yourself." With that, Misato left the counter. Her wisteria-colored hair swayed. The heavy door of the Guild Management Headquarters opened slowly, and then closed. Yuuki stood up. But he couldn't chase after her. (I have to say something. But what?) His mind was blank. Tears distorted his vision. Misato's back disappeared beyond the door. "...Misato." His voice reached no one. Yuuki collapsed into the chair at his counter. Whispers still drifted around him. "Finally gone, huh." "Maybe now the headquarters will be a little better." Yuuki covered his ears. But the voices wormed their way into the depths of his mind. — That night.

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Episode 5

Name: Princess Connect! IF: The Guild Management Route
Author: Novelia

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