Footsteps came from down the corridor. Two sets. Fast. In front of the door——Gacon!! "「…………っ」" Kuraf stood up. Tears still wet on her face. But what was that just now? They'd both hit their heads on the low ceiling beam at the same time. Outside the door, two presences were writhing around. "[laughing]……Ow……this is definitely gonna leave a bump……" "[cold]……Poor design" "[sarcastic]Before you blame the design, stop running! We both came running, didn't we!!" "[cold]Your voice is too loud. This is a detention facility" "……I know!!" The door opened. Bronya came in holding his forehead, but his eyes were shining. Gold irises burning with certainty. Next to him, silver hair came into view. Dan Hen was looking straight at Kuraf. Red-tinged purple eyes—no emotion in them. But he was here. He came. Kuraf's mouth started to move. "[angry]……Why did you come? It's dangerous, how could you——" Her voice trembled. She couldn't quite manage anger. The girl's high voice was swallowed by the stone walls. "[excited]Found a witness" Bronya said it in one breath. "[excited]Heard it from kids in the city. On the day of the accident a few months ago, someone was going in and out of the Academy's underground. A local. Not an outsider" Kuraf listened in silence. "[serious]Suspicious entry and exit to the underground ruins, Cradle. If this connects to the accident——the culprit isn't an outsider, but someone inside the Academy" "[serious]……But the sentence is tomorrow morning. If we gather evidence now——" "[serious]That's why we move tonight" Dan Hen said it curtly. His mouth pulled tight at the corners, eyes on Kuraf. "[serious]……Were you crying" "[serious]I wasn't crying!!" She spoke fast. Definitely fast. The way she wiped her eyes with her sleeve was obviously a tell. But that wasn't the point right now. Bronya was laughing silently, shoulders shaking. The three of them went out into the night of Lilkenote. --- Vestel Grand Academy was heavy even at midnight. Stone walls loomed in the darkness. Almost no light in the windows. Dan Hen knocked on the entrance door without hesitation. Three times. Clear and sharp. No answer. Again. "[serious]Open. It's urgent" After a while, light appeared in the corridor. The door opened. Tobias Kern, the Academy director, stood there. White hair disheveled, wearing deep blue pajamas. His glasses were slightly bent. "[cold]……What is this. Do you have an appointment——" "[serious]We don't. But we need to speak with you tonight" "[cold]I don't have time to meet with outsiders——" "[serious]We have testimony that on the day of the runaway accident a few months ago, a local person was entering and exiting the Academy's underground ruins, Cradle, without permission" Kern stopped. One second of silence. "[serious]If this testimony is true——you've detained an outsider as the culprit while concealing the true cause of the accident. If that becomes public, the Academy's credibility ends" Dan Hen's voice was quiet. Not shouting. Which made it heavier. "[serious]Vestel Grand Academy is the core of the academic city Lilkenote. Lose trust, and research funding and scholars will stop coming. Director, you understand that better than anyone" Kern's mouth opened slightly, then closed. "……Let them in" --- The director's office was overflowing with books. Kern stood in front of a shelf and began opening a locked drawer. The sight of him rummaging through documents in pajamas was something else entirely. Bronya watched from beside him, desperately holding his mouth tight. "[laughing]……No, I can't laugh. Absolutely can't" "[cold]It's coming out of your mouth" "[laughing]I know!!" Kern pulled out a thick binder. The cover read "Internal Board Materials." He turned pages. Turned them. At one point, his hand stopped. Kern noticed his glasses were bent and hurriedly straightened them with his finger. He cleared his throat slowly. "[cold]……There are suspicious points in the records from the day of the accident. A junior researcher in the Fourth Research Division took an amulet without permission and entered Cradle Level 2——this was discovered in an internal investigation" Kuraf held her breath. "[cold]The Academic Board decided to prioritize the possibility of outsider involvement as the cause of the accident, to avoid loss of external credibility" The words fell into the quiet room. "[serious]……So you knew from the start?" "[cold]……" Kern said nothing. That was the answer. Kuraf's fist tightened slightly. Anger rose to her throat. But——Dan Hen spoke first. "[serious]Issue documents proving innocence immediately. Return the jewel and cancel the sentence order" "[cold]……Overturning the Board's decision requires procedures——" "[serious]There's an emergency certification you can issue with director authority. Article 6, Section 3 of this Academy's regulations" Kern's eyes narrowed for a moment. "[cold]……You've done your homework" "[serious]Yeah" --- The sky before dawn was turning slightly white at the eastern edge. The front door of the detention facility opened. Kuraf stepped outside. Cold air hit her face. The pre-dawn on Beryl Star was colder than expected. In her hand, the round feel of the jewel. It had been returned. She looked up——there were four people. Dan Hen. Bronya. And Natasha with short silver hair and light blue eyes, standing a little hesitantly at the edge. She must have gotten the call in the middle of the night; her coat-wrapped figure still looked half-asleep. "[serious]Are you hurt? Is your condition alright? After a night in the detention facility, there's risk of hypothermia and dehydration——" "[laughing]Natasha! First, smile!" Bronya slapped Natasha's shoulder. Natasha continued muttering, "No, that's not it, but as a physician I need to confirm——" Kuraf slowly looked at all four faces. Bronya was grinning while holding the bump on his forehead. Natasha was trying to peer at Kuraf's face with concern. Dan Hen——said nothing, just looked straight at her. She tried to open her mouth. She was going to be angry. Why did you come, you got involved, you're in danger again, I told you—— But no sound came out. Instead, what came out was a high voice, barely a whisper. "[sad]……Thank you" No bravado. No excuses. Just——thank you. Bronya let out an "Oh!" Natasha smiled softly. Dan Hen——for just one second, met her eyes. Said nothing. Just nodded. That one second pierced her chest. That moment. The jewel in her hand glowed. ——A light completely different from before. It made no sound. But the light spread across Beryl Star's night sky, and for one instant the pre-dawn sky turned bright as noon. The stone pavement of Karat Street, the building walls, everything shone pure white. "「「「Whoa!!」」」" The light slowly faded. Bronya looked at his own hands. "Huh——?" came his voice. Natasha touched her hair. "……It's back?" she whispered. Dan Hen quietly looked at his own palm. "[excited]It's back!! We're back to normal!!" Bronya raised both hands and shouted. Natasha was looking around saying "Really? Is it really?" trying to check her own face. Dan Hen just said quietly, "……Yeah." The three of them looked at each other and started laughing. But——Kuraf alone hadn't changed. "……Huh?" She looked at her hands. Reached up to check if her hair was black. Still a high voice. Still a girl. "[surprised]Why am I the only one——!!" At that moment, the jewel glowed once more, softly. Kuraf's body slowly, gently, over the course of one second——returned to her original form. Everyone saw it. Completely, perfectly, all three of them witnessed the entire one-second transformation. "[angry]Don't look!!" "[laughing]You're never straightforward, are you!" Bronya was laughing so hard he was rolling on the ground. Natasha was saying with a straight face, "Medically speaking, there are no particular issues." Only Dan Hen, with the corner of his mouth slightly raised—— "[sarcastic]……Too slow" Just one word. Something in Kuraf's chest jumped again. Even though she'd returned to normal, only her face was still red. Four voices laughing spread across Beryl Star before dawn. --- The four of them walked side by side down Karat Street's stone pavement. The eastern sky was slowly turning orange. The city lights dissolved into the color of dawn. The jewel glowed softly in Kuraf's hand. Completely different from the intense white light from before——a gentle glow. But it was wavering. "[serious]Wait a second" Dan Hen stopped. He placed his hand on the stone pavement. He put his ear to the ground like he was listening——then looked up. "[serious]The ground just trembled" "[surprised]Huh? An earthquake?" "[serious]No. When the jewel released its light——something in the underground reacted" Natasha furrowed his brow. "[serious]The jewel's released energy may have resonated with the underground ruins. The underground ruins Cradle are relics of a pre-ancient civilization, and according to reports, amulet-like patterns are carved there——the jewel may have reacted" "[excited]So Cradle reacted to the jewel?! Isn't that interesting?!" "[serious]……Yeah" Kuraf looked at the jewel. The wavering light hadn't faded. Warm in her palm. She'd returned to normal. But——the relationship between the jewel and Cradle was still a mystery. "[serious]For now, we head back to the inn" "[serious]The operation is tomorrow!" Bronya said "That's our leader!" and Natasha nodded saying "Rest is important." Kuraf started walking. Dan Hen fell into step beside her. Neither said anything. The sound of two pairs of shoes echoed on the stone pavement. Kuraf glanced sideways without thinking. In the dawn light, silver hair glowed faintly. Red-tinged purple eyes looking forward. (……Too slow, huh) Her face heated again. The jewel glowed softly in her grip. Kuraf walked forward faster, clutching the jewel, trying not to think about what might still be trembling somewhere underground——but couldn't help it.