The texture of the mask he hadn't worn in a while was still hard. It was specially treated so there was no distortion in his vision, but it was still uncomfortable. It was a mask he had worn for years. Just because he had taken it off for a few months, all the adaptation had disappeared. It was like going back to the time when he first wore the mask.
Humans are so fickle.
Humans are called animals of adaptation, able to adapt and survive even in harsh environments if given time. But if you move from a harsh place to a comfortable one and live there, you adapt to the comfortable environment and become unable to return to the severe place. That was the case now. Although trivial compared to the metaphor, Si-woo found the mask covering his face very uncomfortable.
Still, a few months ago, he could endure it somehow. Now, it was honestly difficult. He even wondered how he had worn this thing so well before.
But he couldn't take it off. The place where he was standing now was the problem.
In a corner of Trinity General School's autonomous district. A back alley that no one visits, ambiguous even to call a slum. Si-woo walked through that alleyway, tapping the mask with his fingers.
"......"
Derelict buildings filled the surroundings. The smell of stagnant puddles, the stench of decaying animal carcasses, and the foul odor from trash piled in corners pierced his nostrils intensely. But his olfactory receptors, accustomed to the dirty smells, no longer allowed further stench. Si-woo brushed off the filth stuck to his shoes and stood in front of the entrance of one derelict building.
Compared to the rusty doors on other buildings, this building's door was very clean. It looked as if black paint had been poured directly over it. It was a color that couldn't help but match very well with whoever was inside beyond the door.
-Come in.
Even though he hadn't knocked yet, a voice came from inside. Si-woo smirked and was about to do as he said, but suddenly feeling displeased, he kicked the door bang bang bang. And he shouted.
"May I come in!"
-......
"I'm coming in!"
After saying that. Si-woo abruptly opened the door and entered the room. Unlike the shabby exterior, the inside was very neat. A ceiling light brightly illuminated the room, and a black carpet was laid under the table.
It wasn't much different from the last time he had come. The types of fish in the aquarium seemed still the same, and the appearance of the room's owner sitting on the chair was unchanged. Si-woo closed the door he had opened and asked him.
"What's the reason for calling me suddenly?"
"What reason could there be for seeking out a friend? Just to have a conversation."
A resonating voice flowed from his mouth.
His appearance was very bizarre. Darkness akin to pitch black replaced his skin, and on it, cracks like shattered glass covered where facial features should be.
His sole white eye had no pupil or sclera, but it clearly served as a substitute for the organ called 'eye'. The mouth was the same. His voice emerged from the cracks that seemed to be smiling.
"Soon, something is scheduled to happen in Kivotos. Before that, before being swept up in that conflagration. I have something to discuss with you. Will you accept?"
"......If I hadn't intended to accept, I wouldn't have come in the first place."
Si-woo clicked his tongue and said that. In response, the man, that is, Black Suit, smiled and nodded.
"Good. Please take a seat."
"I'm warning you in advance, if it's some nonsensical story, I'll smash this place and leave."
"How cruel. Still, am I not your life's benefactor?"
Black Suit said as he rose from his seat. Si-woo sat on the sofa and affirmed his words.
"That's true. If it weren't for you, I would have died right there. But that's that, and this is this. I'm grateful to you, but that's for private occasions. Not now. The reason you called me isn't just to chat and drink, right?"
During the time he was still affiliated with Gematria, the one Si-woo was closest to was Black Suit. Not to the extent of joking or playing around, but they had quite a few times drinking together or having serious conversations.
But all of that was ultimately for private occasions.
And now was not private.
"I understand. Let's keep the jokes to that."
Black Suit chuckled and said so. He sat on the sofa opposite Si-woo, took the chessboard placed at the corner of the table, and slowly opened the board. Si-woo threw him a look as if asking what he was doing, but Black Suit paid no mind and set up the black and white pieces. Then, looking at Si-woo, he opened his mouth.
"Let's have a conversation while playing some chess. Better than glaring at each other while talking, isn't it?"
"......I hope you don't pull any tricks. I don't want to kill my life's benefactor right after meeting him."
"I have no intention of dying either."
Si-woo glared at Black Suit for a moment, then sighed deeply and grabbed the white piece in front of him. He had the first move. He pushed a pawn forward. Black Suit also grabbed a black pawn and moved it forward.
"I called you to inform you of one fact."
"You're going to give me information?"
"Put simply, yes. But due to a contract, I can't tell you everything."
Black Suit moved a knight. One of Si-woo's pawns was taken.
"Weren't all contracts with me gone?"
"Not with you. A contract with Madam."
Madam.
At that word, Si-woo's hand trembled slightly. But soon he regained composure. He pushed a rook forward and erased one of Black Suit's pawns from the board.
"Must be information related to Beatrice."
"Yes. To get straight to the point, she is trying to achieve her goal through this treaty."
"......The great undertaking I often heard about in Arius. Is that what you mean?"
"I've never been to Arius, so I don't know well. But, it seems the two words don't have different meanings."
Black Suit hummed, then pulled the knight back. It was a position to be taken by the rook.
"I can't tell you her goal. That's the contract. No matter how much the contract was made with my ability, breaking it is impossible."
"The goal is obvious. Isn't it to seize Kivotos and lay it under her feet. Not a child. That bitch aiming for world conquest or something."
"Harsh expression. I understand. The damage you suffered from her is considerable, after all. Immediately abandoning a peaceful life and joining Gematria... wasn't it because she arbitrarily proceeded with things."
"And the hole in my stomach is because of that bitch too."
Si-woo twisted the corner of his mouth and crushed Black Suit's pawn he had taken. Even though the piece was destroyed, Black Suit didn't blink an eye. Instead, he slowly moved a piece to continue the chess.
What he grabbed was the queen. For some reason, the queen had a slightly reddish tinge. Black Suit brought that important piece to the center of the board without hesitation.
"The reason I'm giving this information to Nameless, to you, is simple. Because I know your hatred and resentment towards her."
"......"
"She has left our hands. She is trying to call something that shouldn't be called. But since she is still a member of Gematria, we can't interfere with her 'research'. We'll consider countermeasures, but it's impossible to step forward and act."
"......So, you want me to handle it instead?"
"That's not the intention with which I gave the information."
Si-woo no longer continued the chess and silently looked down at the black queen with a reddish tinge. His voice was heavier than anything.
"But that's how it sounded to me."
"It's true that she has stepped on the line, but she hasn't crossed it yet. Maestro is saying to deal with her now, but Golconda and I are skeptical. After all, the benefits she brings to Gematria aren't entirely nonexistent. Since she's only stepping on the line, not crossing it, the loss outweighs the gain if we deal with her now."
But.
Black Suit added, looking at Si-woo.
"If a former colleague and friend who no longer belongs to 'Gematria' wants personal revenge, I have no intention of stopping it."
"......"
"Did you ask the reason I provided information? Simple. Because you want it. Because you're waiting for a situation to face her. Because you hope to gain even a little more information about her."
"......Ha."
"So I told you. Because I can tell you that much, friend. Do you remember? What I said about wanting to be friends with you? That statement is still valid, Nameless."
Black Suit chuckled and crossed his legs.
"Eden Treaty. The day that treaty, borrowing the ridiculous name of paradise, is signed. Beatrice will take some action. How you react there is entirely up to you."
With those words, silence fell in the room. Black Suit slightly leaned forward, staring at Si-woo, and Si-woo sat with an expressionless face, still looking down at the queen.
After a few minutes passed like that. Si-woo slowly moved his arm.
He openly crushed the exposed queen with a knight and muttered softly.
"Obvious."
"......"
"I'll kill her."
The crushed chess piece scattered in all directions.
The red liquid inside the queen stained the chessboard red.
*
"Hi, Sensei! This is our first meeting, right? I'm Misono Mika! Nice to meet you! Oh, do you need some ice-breaking? Shall we talk about what flowers we like? I like forget-me-nots! What about you, Sensei?"
A girl with pink hair asked brightly. Ha-yul broke out in a cold sweat at her unrestrained approach.
Save me...!
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