Before dawn had even broken, the nun was already awake. She hadn't slept well, drifting in and out for only two or three hours. She simply sat at the head of her bed, resting with her eyes closed until daybreak, when she opened them to glance at the overcoat hanging nearby.
He hadn't come last night.
No, it was only normal that he didn't come. It was impossible for someone to run into a nun's room every single night, wasn't it?
It was a pity she hadn't been able to return the clothes to him...
...
Kalpas workday began. As one of the few sources of income for the sanitarium, his efficiency was breathtaking. He could shoulder a heavy load taller than himself with one hand, walking steadily without a single tremor.
At this hour, the children were still asleep, though the sanitarium's caregivers were up and working. The others were somewhat fearful of Kalpas; even if they crossed paths, they would quicken their pace to get away—away from the masked man whose gaze and tone felt as if he were ready to kill... or had already finished doing so.
Ironically, the children quite liked Kalpas. Even the corrugated cardboard mask on his face had been a gift from one of the children at the sanitarium.
He shook the melted snow from his white hair—water that had thawed before it even touched his head—and glanced toward the nun's room. Just as he was about to start his next task, he froze. With a vision sharper than an eagle's, he noticed a letter stuck in the mailbox at the sanitarium's entrance.
Sundown Alley hadn't had a mailman in years. Furthermore, even if people wanted to contact someone now, they wouldn't use paper letters; thus, physical mail had been phased out, and the mailbox abandoned.
No one would notice an unremarkable letter, but for Kalpas, who passed by dozens of times a day, no detail could escape his eyes.
Kalpas set his things down, stepped forward, and pulled the letter from the slot. He pinched it, feeling a hard, card-shaped object inside.
"A letter... addressed to whom?" Kalpas literacy was limited. He turned it over and saw the words "To the Sanitarium" on the back. It didn't specify a person.
Suspicious, he tore open the envelope. Out fell a sheet of paper covered in writing and a card.
Kalpas could barely recognize a few sentences. The general idea seemed to be giving this card to the sanitarium. The card looked somewhat like a bank card, but its craftsmanship suggested it was no ordinary one.
"...Hmph. Is this Aponia doing?" Kalpas thought of the nun's recent unusual behavior and how she had shut herself in the prayer room yesterday after returning from her outing. Even he could guess that the nun must have done something to ease the pressure on the sanitarium.
...Saying it that way felt a bit strange.
However, it couldn't be ignored. He decided to find Aponia and ask her what exactly was going on.
...
The man took off his mask and put on his helmet, activating his communication system. He was soon connected to Mei, far away at the Fire-Moth headquarters.
"How is the mission?" Mei asked casually while adjusting data.
"...I cannot understand it," Lin stated his observation.
Mei stopped her work, puzzled. "Hmm? What's wrong?"
"The Chairman once sponsored a sanitarium in Sundown Alley, but that doesn't prove he's connected to it. Besides, he has sponsored orphanages, sanitariums, and schools all over the world. Why investigate the one in Sundown Alley specifically?"
The Chairman's purchase of real estate in Sundown Alley was one of the most secretive things he had done. Even the high-ranking members of Fire-Moth and Mei didn't know; only Lin was aware that the Chairman had bought property here.
This was what baffled him the most. Could sponsorship alone justify the conclusion that there were clues or remnants of traitors here?
Mei didn't answer directly, but changed the subject: "Tell me the results of your investigation first."
"The person in charge of the sanitarium is a nun named Aponia. The vast majority of the people taken in are children between the ages of seven and fifteen. 90% of them suffer from Honkai syndrome. Other than that, no abnormalities were found."
"Lin, you should understand the saying: 'Once bitten by a snake, twice shy,'" Mei said after listening to Lin report. "Currently, the rest of Fire-Moth is in that state. That nun, Aponia, has taken in a massive number of Honkai patients, and the sanitarium itself received sponsorship from the Chairman. This in itself is suspicious. This mission was assigned to the Poison Pupa by other high-ranking officials."
"..."
Aponia had taken those people in simply out of kindness—Lin couldn't say that. A mission cannot be judged by emotion, but by evidence, logic, and interrogation.
"After the Chairman's death, we have captured several of his accomplices one after another. But the Chairman was an expert at management and concealment. Even if they worked under him, they didn't know each other's situations. We don't know how many remnants are still dormant, including those who once hacked the Fire-Moth system during the Great Purge. Therefore, we won't overlook any clue."
Lin shook his head after hearing this. It seemed he would need to continue his investigation of Sundown Alley and the sanitarium.
"Why is it just me this time?"
The Chrysalis Squad usually consisted of two people, but this time only Lin was sent, even though it was a mission a single person could handle.
"Didn't Sakura tell you?" Mei paused, then continued, "She is to undergo the MANTIS surgery."
"..."
"Not just Sakura, but Elysia, Ato, Kosma, and Dystopia as well. They will be the second batch of Fusion Warriors after you and Kevin... according to the proposal, they are Fusion Warriors of the same generation as you."
They hadn't told him.
Lin had indeed noticed a few signs—Elysia smile, Sakura questions at the ball, and the way Kosma hesitated when they met... He recalled them one by one, yet was surprised that such obvious hints hadn't led him to the truth.
It was as if they had all agreed to keep this a secret... specifically from Lin.
The communication ended shortly after, confirming that Lin would continue searching for traitor clues in Sundown Alley.
Lin opened his communicator and found the numbers for Elysia and the others. His finger hesitated over the dial button for a moment before he put the communicator away.
He took off his helmet and put the mask back on. He became the nameless man again, stepping into the wind and snow.
...
The directive for the Honkai patients in the sanitarium was to hold all actions until the investigation concluded... No, even if they were taken into Fire-Moth, it was nearly impossible for them to be cured with the Honkai serum. The use of a serum that required ten thousand lives to save one was not something he could decide alone—not even Spaci, the developer of the serum, had that power.
That was "humanity's property."
The man clutched his chest; he couldn't feel his heart beating.