The year is 2247. Humanity clings to existence within the vertical mega-cities known as the Cages, where the ruling Holders feast on luxury while the Resources beneath them are property—nothing more. Article Seven of the law says it plainly: killing a Resource is merely property damage.
Kaito has known nothing but the lower levels since birth. He learned young how to erase his own expression, how to survive in a world that sees him as disposable. Now eighteen, he has clawed his way through the
A Will for the Survivors - The Selection of Silence — What Kindness Kills
The event operations prep room was in the basement of the Tower of Veruna.
The moment Kaito stepped through the door from the corridor, the air changed. Nothing like the clean air of the upper floors—this smelled of mold and rusted iron, sharp in his nose. Pipes ran exposed along the walls, and every other fluorescent light in the ceiling flickered. Three long tables had been pushed together in the center of the room, cluttered with the rosters of the relocated and the event's schedule sheets.
Kaito stood in a corner, staring at the terminal screen.
The screen displayed the roster of the relocated. Number, name, classification. Processed. Relocated. On Hold. The three words lined up like grains of cold light. Kaito's fingertips still remembered the feel of the leather-bound ledger he'd touched in the archive last night. And the fact that his own number and Ren's had been listed in the On Hold column.
(The Duke is keeping us on a long leash.)
Kaito set the terminal down on the table.
That was when it happened.
The door at the entrance creaked open.
Kaito looked up.
A man stood there.
Gray servant's uniform. Short-cropped black hair. Sharp eyes. An old scar running down his left cheek. A participant Kaito had been certain had been "eliminated" in the Snadokei district. It was Noah.
Noah's eyes were slightly more focused than they'd been when Kaito had seen him in the corridor before. Something was lit inside the emptiness. His eyes looked as though fragments of memory were dimly surfacing.
"...You."
Noah's lips moved.
His voice was dry. The voice of a throat forced to produce sound after long disuse.
Kaito stood.
"Noah."
At the sound of his name, Noah's shoulders trembled slightly.
"You... you're Kaito. In the City of Hourglasses... you were the one who lasted to the end."
Noah took a step toward Kaito. His footing was unsteady. As though he still hadn't regained the sense of standing on his own two feet.
"That's right."
Kaito answered briefly.
Noah's face slowly twisted. Was it anger, or grief, or both? Torn apart by fragments of memory, Noah seemed to be searching for words.
"Because you people... survived."
Noah's voice was low and shaking.
"We were chosen."
Those words sank deep into the heavy air of the prep room.
Kaito's breath nearly stopped.
(That's right. Because I survived. This man is here.)
The image of the roster he'd seen in the archive last night came flooding back. Noah's entry had been On Hold. The Duke was keeping Noah on hold so he could pit him against Kaito. To test Kaito's choices.
"You don't know anything, do you. What they did to our memories, what they're making us do here."
Noah took another step forward.
The distance between him and Kaito was now less than two paces.
"I know."
Kaito forced the words out.
"You know, and you still won't do anything?"
For the first time, a clear emotion surfaced in Noah's eyes.
Anger.
"You're going to kill me. At the next event. The Duke said so. He said he'd make you and me fight."
Kaito couldn't answer.
"Because you survived, I was chosen. Because you won, I'm here. You're going to kill me."
Noah's voice grew louder and louder. It echoed off the prep room walls, piercing Kaito again and again.
"...That's not it."
Kaito finally managed to speak.
"It is. You'll kill me. That's the system here."
Noah grabbed Kaito by the collar.
The strength was weak. But his fingers dug in with enough force to make the bones stand out. It was the last strength of a man whose memories had been erased, who had been treated like a puppet.
"You're going to kill me... you... you...!"
Noah's voice was almost a sob.
Kaito grabbed Noah's arm.
"Calm down."
"Let go!"
Noah shook off Kaito's hand.
In the process, Noah's body staggered and struck the corner of the table. A dull thud echoed through the prep room.
The servants around them all looked away at once. No one stepped in to stop it. No one said a word. Here, that sort of thing was everyday life.
Noah braced himself against the table, breathing raggedly.
"...What did you gain by surviving?"
Noah spoke without lifting his head.
"Freedom? Rights? There's no such thing here. This is hell. The place where you survived is hell."
Kaito stared at Noah's back.
He had not a single word to argue with.
Noah slowly straightened and turned his back to Kaito.
"...Someday you'll understand too. What it means that you survived. What it means that you'll kill me."
Leaving only those words behind, Noah left the prep room.
The door creaked shut.
Kaito stood rooted to the spot.
His fingertips were cold. The sensation of grabbing Noah's arm still lingered in his palm. A thin, bony arm.
(What it means that I survived.)
Kaito looked down at the terminal on the table.
The roster was still displayed. Noah's entry. On Hold. The word seemed to stare back at him.
——
"Kaito."
At the sound of his name, Kaito looked up.
Ren stood in the doorway of the prep room.
Brown curly hair. Bright amber eyes. Freckled cheeks. The mouth that usually smiled was now pressed into a hard line.
"Did you hear all that?"
Kaito asked quietly.
"Yeah."
Ren answered briefly.
Silence fell between them.
Ren walked past Kaito and picked up the terminal from the table. He operated the screen and opened the roster.
"What are you doing?"
Kaito watched Ren's hands.
"I'm changing Noah's classification."
Ren spoke in a voice devoid of emotion.
"Moving him from On Hold to Processed."
Kaito's entire body went rigid.
"...What are you saying?"
"Noah is a dangerous element—he defied the management. What he just did was clear insubordination. If we leave him, it'll affect the other relocated. So we process him."
Ren spoke flatly while operating the terminal screen.
"Don't be ridiculous."
Kaito snatched the terminal from Ren's hands.
"Kaito."
Ren's voice dropped.
"He's just starting to regain his memories. There's no need to process him."
"There is. He cornered you. If the Duke's eyes are on us, you'll be processed along with him. Don't you understand the situation you're in?"
Ren's eyes fixed straight on Kaito.
There was no light in those amber eyes.
"I understand. That's why I'm looking for a way to avoid cutting him loose."
Kaito kept his voice low but spoke firmly.
"A way to avoid cutting him loose? There's no such thing. Here, it's cut or be cut. Those are the only two options."
"Don't give up. I'm going to save Noah."
"Save him? Your kindness is going to kill someone."
Ren's words stabbed coldly into Kaito's chest.
"If you try to save Noah, the Duke will corner you and Noah both in even crueler ways. Your kindness will only make Noah's death more painful."
Ren took a step closer to Kaito.
"You're trying to ruin everything with your emotions. The mission, me, Sara, our comrades in Kusabi—everyone might die because of your kindness."
Kaito stared back into Ren's eyes.
There was no hesitation in them.
Not a shred of hesitation.
(This guy is serious.)
For the first time, Kaito realized that Ren's rationalism wasn't an act—it was part of his core.
Until now, Ren had hidden his true feelings behind a smile. He cracked jokes, mixed in banter, and went quiet when things touched on the core. Kaito had believed that beneath it all was the same heat he himself carried.
But he was wrong.
Ren's interior was far colder than Kaito had imagined.
"...Since when have you been like this?"
Kaito asked quietly.
"From the very beginning."
Ren answered immediately.
"I've thrown everything away to survive. Emotions, kindness, trust. Unlike you, this is the only way I've been able to live."
Ren's voice was low and quiet.
"Use whatever rules you can use. That's the only survival method here. You should do the same."
Ren took the terminal back from Kaito's hands.
"Noah will be processed. Even if you object, the procedure will go forward."
"Stop."
Kaito grabbed Ren's arm.
"Stop it, Ren. I'll protect him."
"You can't protect anyone. You still don't understand your own powerlessness."
Ren slowly removed Kaito's hand.
"Your kindness is going to kill someone. Remember that."
Leaving only those words, Ren left the prep room.
Kaito was left alone in the prep room.
From the pipes in the wall, the faint sound of running water. The fluorescent lights flickered on and off.
(My kindness is going to kill someone.)
Kaito looked down at the roster on the table.
Noah's entry. On Hold. The word seemed to waver before his eyes.
——
That night.
The upper floor of the Tower of Veruna, the Duke's office.
Sara Nokkusu stood before the Duke's desk.
Her long black hair tied back in a single bundle, narrow black eyes. A small mole behind her right ear. In her uniform pocket, as always, a terminal was tucked away.
"You know why I called you here, don't you."
The Duke, silver hair swept back, watched Sara with cold, pale blue eyes. The large jeweled ring on his left hand caught the room's light and glittered ominously.
"No. I have no idea what this is about."
Sara answered in a businesslike voice.
"Don't lie to me. You used the phrase 'outside the rules' in my presence. What did you mean by that?"
The Duke's smile didn't falter. But his eyes missed nothing—every move Sara made.
"What I said in that setting was based on the regulations as an operations assistant. I was merely explaining to the participants the procedures that exist outside the rules."
"Procedures outside the rules. You taught those two, didn't you."
"I didn't teach them. They asked, and I answered."
"It amounts to the same thing. You leaked information I didn't know about to those two. As an operations assistant, that is a clear abuse of authority."
The Duke rose slowly.
His tall frame looked down at Sara.
"But I don't want to punish you. I'll give you a choice."
Sara's expression didn't change.
"Kaito or Ren. Cut one of them loose, and you'll be saved."
The Duke's voice was calm. Announcing cruel things in a gentle tone—that was this man's way.
"...What do you mean?"
Sara asked, feigning composure.
"Exactly what I said. If you report that one of those two broke the rules, you won't be held responsible for the rule violation. Rather, you'll be praised for demonstrating loyalty to the management."
The Duke picked up the glass on his desk and slowly swirled its contents.
"Conversely, if you report nothing, you yourself will be processed as a rule-breaker. You understand which is the wiser choice."
Sara's fingertips grew slightly cold.
(Kaito or Ren. Cut one of them loose.)
Two faces surfaced in Sara's mind.
Kaito—expressionless, faint in presence, and yet his eyes were always moving.
Ren—never without a smile, quick with a joke, and yet hiding something cold inside.
Both were comrades in Kusabi. Both carried the same mission.
"...I have nothing to report."
Sara spoke quietly.
"Oh? Does that mean you're protecting them?"
The Duke's eyes narrowed.
"No. It simply means I have no facts to report."
"You don't seem to understand your situation. I'll say it again. Kaito or Ren. Cut one loose, and you'll be saved. If you don't, you die."
The Duke approached Sara and peered into her face.
"Now then, what will you do? Let me hear your answer."
Sara stared back into the Duke's eyes.
"My answer hasn't changed. I have nothing to report."
Sara's voice wasn't trembling.
The Duke watched Sara for a while.
"Wonderful. Truly fascinating."
The Duke's smile deepened.
"But that loyalty of yours will be the rope around your neck. Remember that."
The Duke waved his hand.
"You may go."
Sara bowed and left the office.
The door closed.
Sara began walking down the corridor.
Her footsteps were swallowed by the carpet.
(Kaito or Ren. Cut one of them loose.)
The Duke's words repeated in her head.
Sara turned the corner at the end of the corridor.
That was when she saw Kaito walking toward her from ahead.
The distan
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