Once the heavy metal door had sealed completely shut, the atmosphere inside the hall shifted without a sound.
The harsh, deliberately oppressive top-lighting — designed to press down from above — gradually softened. The cold white spotlights bled outward into an even, warm amber glow.
The bone-deep chill of concrete that had saturated the air was quietly replaced by the hidden ventilation system, carrying with it the expensive scent of something like sandalwood incense.
The gallery lights along the upper perimeter came up fully — no longer the harsh overheads that had carved those menacing silhouettes, but a bright, gentle ambient light that now illuminated the faces and clothing of all five figures with perfect clarity.
They were no longer vague shapes submerged in shadow. They were five well-dressed men and women of middle and advancing age, looking for all the world as though they had just wrapped up a serious but entirely unremarkable internal meeting.
「That Indou — she's getting harder to manage by the day.」
A middle-aged man on the left — the kind of face that radiated amiable goodwill, the sort of man you'd mistake for everyone's favorite uncle — shook his head. He smoothed the cuff of his suit jacket with a light touch, his tone carrying a faint note of resignation, but no real anger behind it.
「The Police History Compilation Office faction was never on the same page as us to begin with. Tch — a pack of naive, blinkered nuisances. That said, we genuinely can't do without her right now. In the circles that deal with those things, the name Indou Ranko still carries the most weight. As long as she doesn't make a spectacle of herself — doesn't cross the hard lines — a little collateral damage here and there… or her quietly pocketing something on her own initiative… that's within the range of what we can tolerate.」
The man at the center spoke at a measured pace. He was the most composed of the five, his temples touched with frost-white hair.
At first glance, he looked to be somewhere past sixty. But look closer, and something was off — his skin lacked the true papery dryness or the slack looseness of genuine old age. Instead it had a taut, almost luminous quality.
His eyes were sharp and clear, without a trace of the milkiness that came with years. His insides, it seemed, were still young.
But for the political class of this world, that was no great mystery. Soul-Returners were happy to be of service, and a century of added lifespan was a trifling transaction.
Unless a Soul-Returner was replaced or died, those who had received lifespan from one would continue to live — politicians centuries old, even a thousand years old, still active in the corridors of power.
「Getting bogged down in the small stuff isn't worth anyone's time. The Police History Compilation Office still serves a function — for now. The real problem is that our own toolkit doesn't yet contain anything capable of fully replacing her. Whether we settle accounts with her or swap her out, we'll have to wait until we've groomed someone with enough standing of our own first.」
The one who picked up the thread was a middle-aged man with a slightly wide mouth, thin lips, and eyes that missed nothing.
「Ha. With Indou Ranko's operating style and the rate she burns through everything around her, she may not live to see that day.」
As he said it, a sardonic expression spread across his face.
At that moment, the sole woman among them raised her head. Her skin was impeccably maintained, but her features were, to put it generously, difficult to describe — a face that put one in mind of the Cart Titan.
She raised another matter in a flat, unhurried tone: 「A few friends of mine were rather taken with Kawahara Miyuki's face and her skin. Since the opportunity has presented itself, hand her skin directly over to my side — I need it for the ball tomorrow.」
Yes. She was asking for Kawahara Miyuki's skin. Which meant, in turn, that the alchemy capable of removing a person's skin whole was also in their possession.
For people like these — people who held power — the hunger for any method of extending life was acute, anything to replace the unreliable longevity granted by Soul-Returners.
Particularly after one of them had, with their own eyes, watched a predecessor lose their life when their Soul-Returner was replaced. Not a single lead pointing toward immortality was ever left unexplored.
Alchemy was one such lead. The black magic Kawahara Miyuki had employed was another.
A pity, then, that the former had proven a failure, and the latter had been taken away by Amamiya Rin.
The amiable-faced middle-aged man glanced at the Cart Titan woman and smiled. 「Her skin? Let me take care of her first instead. The Madonna has been in a poor mood lately — a face fresh and lovely enough might make for a fitting gift, give her something to lift her spirits.」
When he mentioned the Madonna, a rare solemnity crept into his voice.
The Cart Titan woman let out a scoffing laugh, her gaze settling on him with undisguised mockery. 「Ampere, are you genuinely this oblivious about women, or is it an act? Why do you think the Madonna is unhappy right now? Isn't it because that husband of hers has found himself a new favorite again and spends every waking hour circling some other woman?」
She leaned forward slightly, her words edged with a particular kind of exasperation.
「And your plan is to send her a young, beautiful woman's face — and the original owner happens to be a national idol at that. As a gift. What exactly are you implying? That she should put it on herself and go fawn over that faithless man? Or are you reminding her that it's time she stepped aside? Trust me — you send that gift over, and the Madonna will throw it straight back in your face. Then you won't have a comfortable day for the next six months.」
The middle-aged man blinked. He pressed his fingers to his brow and exhaled. 「You've talked me out of it. That gift won't do at all — entirely the wrong direction. Sending a new face… that's practically walking into the line of fire. I really don't understand women. Come to think of it — why does the Madonna even have a husband? And one who looks so thoroughly ordinary at that?」
Ampere was genuinely baffled.
He had met the man many times. The man was, by all appearances, nothing more than the principal of an ordinary Catholic girls' school, with no detectable supernatural ability whatsoever. So why did the Madonna — she who commanded the Light of Punishment of the Lord — simply allow that man to do as he pleased?
Could it be that the man was hiding something? That there was another power concealed beneath the surface?
Ampere found he couldn't rule it out.
Non-human entities masquerading as ordinary people — there were far too many of that sort in the world.
Someone who had acquired supernatural power through some exceptional stroke of luck was one thing and relatively manageable. But the kind that wore a human face while being something else entirely — nobody could ever predict what was going on inside them.
The Cart Titan woman gave a nod, her manner entirely matter-of-fact. 「Then leave Kawahara Miyuki's skin to me. If you have time, come to the ball tomorrow — I'll make good use of it to show you a pleasant evening.」
Ampere shook his head, his tone easy. 「Pass, for now. Next time. As it stands, I'm scheduled to pay the Madonna a visit at Tiansei Academy tomorrow. Though I'll need to rethink the gift.」
「Mind your step — Kawahara Miyuki was a public figure, and the disappearance case has only just been closed. When you make use of it, be thorough about covering the traces. Don't leave loose ends that attract unwanted attention from certain parties.」
The white-haired elder with the paradoxically youthful complexion directed the words at the Cart Titan woman in a quiet, unhurried tone.
「Understood. I know where the line is.」
The Cart Titan woman grasped the elder's meaning perfectly.
The opinions of the rabble were beneath consideration. But Indou Ranko's were not.
If they were careless enough to let Indou Ranko discover that the Kawahara Miyuki she had just apprehended had inexplicably turned up somewhere else — and she then launched an investigation — that would be a genuine problem.
____
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