Inside the room that seemed like a hidden base, all she found was an empty void — no furniture, no equipment, nothing at all.
Just four plain flat walls and a floating circular light source that barely justified its existence. Not a trace of anything that could genuinely be called remarkable 'technology'. The older girl's expression drooped slightly, betraying a fleeting moment of disappointment...
"This is..."
"Ah, this is the lobby of the information processing sector."
"Just think of it as the place that will handle your anonymous status, sister."
"Oh... I see."
Her reply came out small, as though the words had caught in her throat.
Mid-conversation, a silhouette slipped past her and moved straight to the corner of the room. She glanced after it — despite his large frame, Shiroya moved with a speed and silence that made him nearly impossible to track. Had it not been for Uzuki, she likely wouldn't have even noticed him pass by.
He pressed his hand against the wall's surface. From the gaps between his fingers, faint threads of light began to emerge, not unlike the glow of a SmartWrap. A small flicker of curiosity stirred in her.
"What is that?"
"A technological device."
"If you'll excuse me for a moment, miss."
Shiroya kept his voice measured, his expression holding its gentle smile.
"Of course."
She wanted to know more, but there was little she could do about it. Her gaze drifted restlessly around the room, quietly hoping something would distract her enough to stop paying attention.
But there was nothing. Just an uncomfortably stripped-down simplicity, and nothing else worth noting.
"Are you alright, sister?"
"Hm?"
"I'm fine, really."
She waved her hand dismissively at Amanai, her expression so forced it went well past reluctant.
"..."
"Sister—"
"—Miss."
Shiroya cut the little girl off without warning. His hand remained fixed to the device on the wall, but his gaze had turned fully toward the older girl.
She stiffened slightly.
"Were you calling me?"
"Is something the matter?"
"Nothing significant."
"I was simply wondering — what kind of setting do you prefer?"
"..."
She blinked, her face practically stamped with ten thousand question marks.
"Why would you ask something like that?"
"No need to worry. Just tell me whatever setting comes to mind, miss. That's all."
His expression barely shifted, the warmth in his voice still present — and yet somehow it only made her more confused.
Her right finger rose to her chin as she tried to think of something to offer him.
Shiroya tilted slightly. His pale blue eyes passed briefly over the SmartWrap on her wrist.
"Don't overthink it, miss."
"Hmmmm... somewhere with shades of green, perhaps? Wait, no, that's not quite—"
"A forest, perhaps, miss?"
"Huh?"
"How did you... ah, well, that is right, isn't it..."
She let out a strained smile.
"Oh, what a wonderful idea indeed."
Shiroya's hand returned to the wall device, operating it without even looking — professional to an almost unsettling degree.
Her brow furrowed.
"That thing must be difficult to use—"
"Not exactly, miss. It just takes a bit of time."
"..."
"Right, of course..."
Her voice softened, her palms rubbing against each other absently.
"Why does this feel so uncomfortable—?"
Below her, the small figure quietly glanced up at the larger, more uncertain one. A barely perceptible flicker of concern passed through her expression.
"Hey, sister."
"What is it?"
"Breathing deeply helps with discomfort, you know."
The older girl blinked, quickly catching the implication, and replied softly.
"Don't worry about me, I'm fine..."
The little one kept her eyes fixed on the older girl, waiting — until she had no choice but to reluctantly take a slow, deep breath.
In that brief moment, Amanai turned her face away, her expression unchanged.
"Fuu... honestly..."
"Hm—?"
"—Done!"
"Everything is complete. We may proceed now, miss."
Once again, Shiroya cut across their exchange without warning — at this point, it was genuinely unclear whether the man was being courteous or simply didn't notice he was doing it.
"Proceed?"
"Right, let's proceed then."
"Isn't that right, Amanai?!"
Despite looking less than thrilled, the little girl managed to squeeze out a smile for the older one.
Shiroya stepped forward twice, lowering his frame slightly, his hand resting lightly against his chest. He dipped his head in a brief bow before the older girl.
"As per procedure, allow me to enter first, miss."
With that, he turned and moved back toward the device — but not to operate it. He simply stood there, completely still.
The moment the older girl opened her mouth to say something, a stream of blue light surged from the device — not blindingly bright, more like the last rays of an afternoon sun, but enough to make her flinch.
The device expanded outward on both sides, forming the shape of a doorway. Shiroya offered no explanation and didn't linger — he simply walked toward what still looked like a solid wall. And rather than stopping him, it let him through entirely.
The older girl's mouth fell open. The astonishment hit her in waves, and yet her feet refused to move from the floor.
She watched Shiroya disappear through the wall, then looked back at Amanai, then at the thing that was supposedly a door...
"Sister. Go on in."
Amanai spoke up suddenly, urging her forward.
The girl's surprise hadn't faded.
"Go in?"
"Are you saying—?"
Amanai cut her off.
"—Remember what I told you."
"Breathe deeply and don't worry."
"But..."
"Fuu..."
"You want to understand all of this, don't you, sister?"
"Hm?"
"You want to know why it's so serious, don't you?"
The larger figure went still without thinking, falling into a brief silence as the words she'd been about to say sank back down.
"You noticed?"
"Mhm."
"I noticed a while ago."
"Then why didn't you say anything?"
"..."
"It's not that I wanted to hide it."
"It's just..."
"I'm only a piece of technology within the system. I don't have the authority to disclose matters related to internal affairs."
"...But we're speaking privately, aren't we—"
"—That doesn't change things..."
"What? Why not?"
"Technology is only one part of the system."
"I'm not permitted to transmit things I haven't been authorized to share."
"...I know I'm not exactly the most trustworthy thing either."
Amanai raised her hand in front of her. From the center of her palm, faint, shimmering particles began to emerge, pressing against one another and forming the outlines of something strange and material-like.
Then her palm closed, and the hazy particles dissolved before the girl's eyes.
"But I can say with certainty — once you step through that door, the questions weighing on you will be answered."
Everything fell quiet. The girl drifted into an absent kind of stillness. After a few seconds, her gaze slowly moved toward the strange door.
She tilted her head back toward the ceiling, drawing in a long breath that filled her chest and held there. Finally, her chin dropped, and she let it all back out — carrying with it the weight of worry she'd been accumulating this whole time.
"Fuuuu..."
"Right... why should I be worried?" Her eyes slowly came alive again.
"A Sin-spirit is not allowed to worry!"
A smile appeared on her lips — faint, and faintly bitter.
Her feet began to move, carrying her toward the thing that barely resembled a door.
Its corners pulsed with light at irregular intervals, and the device at its center had formed into something like a bowl-shaped ring — though she couldn't quite tell when its color had shifted to green.
Her mood settled. Her voice dropped.
"I wonder if that guy is even in there — well, whatever."
Amanai glanced up softly, as if she'd caught every word.
"Any last questions, sister?"
"Yes — but I'll find out once I'm inside anyway."
Where she'd found it, no one could say, but confidence had completely taken over her expression.
Amanai's face was unreadable.
"The area inside is secured by the system, so I won't be able to follow you in — but with confidence like that, you probably won't need me anyway."
"Huh?!" The older girl spun around.
"...What is with that face, big sister?"
"Oh, I just suddenly felt like it got a little warm in here."