・Epilogue

"Bwahahahaha!!"

"Geez~~, Cyan-chan. You're laughing too much."

Mia spoke up on behalf of what every customer in the shop was likely thinking.

This is "Gekko-an," an izakaya and diner located in the middle tier. It's the shop Mia opened after washing up in Amatsu.

"How can I not laugh?! In just half a day since getting out of the slammer, you're acting like the lead in some B-movie action flick!"

"And then, and then? The beauty you were chasing was a Ninja sent by Narita? And she almost killed you!? Gahahaha!"

No matter how much they laughed, Guest only replied with a simple "Yes."

Chasing a woman who said she was 'looking for Violet,' Plunging headfirst into trash cans time and time again, And when they finally thought they had cornered her—she blurted out that she was a Ninja hired by Narita, going around eliminating Delos students.

—And that Narita and the Government Office are aiming for "God-slaying."

"So, you believe that? All that nonsense. Every bit of it."

Cyan's eyes, which had been laughing, suddenly narrowed. The drunken cheerfulness from a moment ago vanished from her voice.

Guest's response was, as expected, the same.

'Yes.'

Eboshi—Aconite—was a professional.

One moment she was smiling seductively, and the next she was calmly pulling the trigger. She was a woman whose every gesture and word seemed laced with sweet poison.

If the roots are poison, the leaves and flowers are poison too.

Normally, one shouldn't believe the words of such a maniac.

"But?"

Cyan muttered, tossing back her drink. It was as if she knew there was more to it.

Strength without a 'reason' does exist. Like Moray or Ion, who are born monsters.

But those who wield power always have some kind of 'purpose.'

That was what Guest had learned through their long days at Delos.

And that also applied to themselves. No matter what they said, Guest was strong.

The reason they gained that strength was not for Cyan to know. But now, Guest was moving for the sake of revenge.

The sunken ship. The students whose lives were unreasonably taken. The peace stolen in an instant.

—Or perhaps something else entirely.

Guest has a 'purpose.'

Revenge.

That is what keeps Guest, who should have rotted at the bottom of the sea, alive and standing even now.

And when confronting Aconite, Guest felt the same thing within her.

She, too, is an 'Avenger.'

If so, at least the hatred supporting her steps is not a fake.

It's not that they are taking Aconite's words at face value. They don't believe everything that woman said was the truth.

Only—that she is moving for retribution against someone.

That one point, they understood.

Where that path of retribution leads, they do not know.

But if the Narita family and the Government Office are involved in that blood-and-ash-stained path—it is worth investigating.

Guest felt that way.

"I see."

"I don't like how I can't quite see what that Aconite ninja is up to—but I'm glad I pulled you out of the electric chair after all."

While saying something that would make a listener shudder, she was nonetheless in high spirits.

She waved her empty sake cup toward the back of the shop.

However, Mia, standing in the kitchen, responded with a large 'X' made by crossing her arms in front of her chest.

It was a sign saying: —That's enough for now.

"What, just when I was getting into the swing of things..."

Cyan snorted in dissatisfaction.

"Fine. Let's go to your place and keep drinking. Well, it's my dorm, actually. I rarely go back anyway, so use it however you like."

She flicked some coins onto the table and stood up vigorously.

Cyan, stumbling slightly, leaned heavily against Guest's shoulder.

Tobacco. Alcohol not yet fully metabolized. A faint scent of a beast. All of them hit the nose together.

"...Ah."

Cyan looked up as if remembering something. A beat passed.

"I came by car but I ended up drinking. You, drive."

She stepped through the noren curtain into the alley, slightly damp from a sudden evening shower.

"It'd be bad if I got caught for drunk driving. Huh? You don't have an Amatsu license? That's just, you know, whatever. As long as I'm in the passenger seat, I can make up any excuse—"

"Wh... wh... whaaa~~!?"

"Wh-what the hell is this..."

"Wh-what in the world is this..."