Junpei, who had gone out, came back just as the sun was about to set at six o'clock.
After leisurely taking the elevator up to the lounge, Junpei was greeted by a new world spread out before his eyes.
"I was doing fine without me...."
"You're back?"
"Wow."
Maybe the thirty minutes he had spent wrestling with makeup hadn't been a complete waste, because his jaw dropped.
Even if it hadn't been him, anyone who knew Uro and saw this scene would have had a similar reaction.
"Don't just give me fake compliments... Say something already."
Uro handled the heavy makeup beautifully, matching her sharp features.
The tinted eyes, the red-painted lips, even elements that might have felt overwhelming instead blended perfectly with her beautiful face, making her look anything but awkward and instead adding a lively charm.
And with the luxurious outfit that suited her atmosphere, she looked like she could walk a runway right then and there.
It was like her original beauty had finally come alive. She was gorgeous enough to stand beside a model and not lose in the slightest.
"You put on makeup?"
"Yeah."
"No way Uro would have done that... Remi did it, right?"
"Yeah. She was such a pain about it."
"It looks good. You should have dressed up ages ago. That's probably one of the only good things Remi ever did."
When Junpei praised her honestly, Uro's face turned red.
If Nobara had seen this, she would have immediately tried to smash Junpei's head in with a hammer, but Junpei wasn't cold enough to stay calm in front of a beauty like this.
Still, he hadn't completely lost his head, so the fact that he judged her with pure, innocent admiration and no ulterior motive was a point in his favor.
As I keep saying, Junpei didn't have even a shred of lust for Uro. It just kept turning into situations that looked suspiciously like he was cheating.
"....."
Uro understood that much too.
It was just that, since the day she was born, this was the first time a man had looked at her dressed-up self and said she was pretty. Back when she was an assassin, she had been too busy covering her face with a mask.
Her tolerance for compliments about her looks was practically zero, so her emotions showed plainly on her face.
A tingling, not-unpleasant feeling.
She even thought that if she had known, she should have enjoyed this sooner.
But more than that... there was a sense of strangeness first.
The same inexplicable discomfort she had felt since looking in the mirror before.
It frustrated her that even she couldn't clearly define it.
If she had to put a name to it, it was closer to a sense of dissonance.
"Enough with the empty praise. You're hungry, right? Let's go eat."
Whether he knew about Uro's complicated feelings or not, Junpei casually led her along.
It was as if he was saying this was the freedom she was meant to enjoy.
Once again wrapped in his indifferent kindness, Uro couldn't say a word.
'What do I actually want to do?'
She had thought that once she reached the form she had long admired, that would be the end of it.
So why did she feel so suffocated?
Wasn't this what I truly wanted?
She couldn't bring herself to say that much.
Because she still wasn't sure.
The dinner table had a rather calm atmosphere compared to before.
Junpei, who had been the main speaker until now, was quietly focused on eating, and Uro was sorting out her own thoughts.
As the silence, unbroken by anyone, stretched on, Junpei, after finishing his own steak, spoke first.
"How was today? Your impressions of the tour."
How was it, he asked.
It was fun. More than she could ever say.
Entertainment she hadn't been able to enjoy in her previous life, the products of the modern age, all sorts of luxurious and wonderful things.
If she started listing her impressions, ten mouths wouldn't be enough.
"...Not bad."
"Right? Modern life is worth living. Once you get used to it, there are a lot of fun things."
"It has to be better than my previous life. If a thousand years have passed and there's no progress, can you even call that a country?"
"Heh, fair enough. I'm glad you're adapting well."
"Don't go out of your way to worry about me. Just take care of yourself."
Junpei looked at the grumbling Uro with a pleased expression.
He was starting to get used to the way she talked. The type who sniped when embarrassed and snapped when grateful, someone who just wasn't honest.
She had lived by killing her emotions, so it made sense that expressing them would be difficult.
She was the kind of person who fit the so-called "tsundere" label.
"Mind if I smoke for a bit?"
"Do whatever you want."
Since they seemed comfortable with each other now, this much should be fine.
Besides, he hadn't had a chance to smoke today, so he was already building up a craving.
Junpei took a cigarette from his front pocket, put it in his mouth, lit it, and took a deep drag.
Huuuu....
The smoke that stabbed into his lungs was blown back out of his mouth.
The sharp hit that caught in his throat felt pretty damn good.
Especially after eating greasy food, it tasted even better.
"Last time you were talking about table manners."
"A post-meal smoke is different. I got your permission too."
"Is that supposed to taste good? That Ishigori bastard too, I don't get why everyone smokes so damn much."
Uro used her technique to pull the air toward herself and brush away the smoke drifting her way, shaking her head.
She looked like a grandmother muttering, "Young people these days, tsk tsk."
Feeling mischievous, Junpei took a fresh cigarette from the pack and offered it to Uro.
"If you're curious, want to try one?"
"Me? Why?"
"Hey, it might suit your taste. You only know once you experience these kinds of personal indulgences."
He only had Ieiri Shoko to smoke with, so if the number grew, that would be a good thing.
Didn't they have stuff like this in your era?
Try it, try it.
"...Maybe."
As expected, Uro couldn't refuse.
Junpei innocently took the cigarette she accepted and put in her mouth, then lit it for her, and the moment she took a clueless drag—
"Cough! Gah! Uweeeek!"
"Pffft!"
"My throat, my throat hurts! What's so good about this!"
Uro hurled the cigarette away and threw a fit, stomping around in outrage.
Junpei, who had burst into loud laughter at the ridiculous coughing fit, apologized with a face that looked absolutely unrepentant.
"You knew this would happen, didn't you?"
"Ah, sorry. It's been a while since I saw such a pure reaction."
"You're making fun of me...?"
Uro clenched her trembling fist, briefly wondering if she should hit this bastard, then decided against it.
After letting out a sigh and plopping down, Junpei asked her in a sly tone,
"You're not going to hit me?"
"I'm not. You'd dodge anyway."
"Sorry about that. Instead, I'll do you a favor. Within reason, of course."
"A favor?"
"Because I feel bad for teasing you, and because it's admirable that you're trying."
What had gotten into this guy?
It was annoying, but if he was offering to do her a favor, there was no reason to refuse.
So what should she ask for to make it a fair trade?
'Material compensation?'
That was too mercenary.
'A job introduction? Identity protection?'
That was too much.
She had already owed him plenty; she wasn't shameless enough to ask for that much.
After thinking for a moment, Uro gave an appropriate answer.
"I told you about my situation too, so now tell me your story."
"You're curious about that? You don't have to make it a favor; you could just ask and I'd tell you."
"You said it yourself earlier. Everyone lives carrying around one or two stories they don't want to talk about..."
"Uh... that was..."
"So I'm asking as a favor. Whatever you say, I won't laugh at you. Just like you did for me."
They hadn't known each other long, but she wanted to know more about this boy.
A person with power no one could touch, and yet he hadn't let go of his humanity.
Come to think of it, she knew embarrassingly little about him.
There was so much she wanted to ask.
Why had he become a sorcerer?
Why did he want to end the Culling Game?
And what had he gone through that let him understand me?
She had brushed it off at the time, but during the battle she had heard something she couldn't ignore.
The second trial, beginning with an appeal. The charge was—abetting the murder of his mother.
At that time, Junpei had answered without the slightest intention of denying it.
He said, "I did it."
And Higuruma, catching sight of something in that answer, gave up on fighting back.
What truth had he seen, and why had that made him question life itself?
She felt like she had to know.
"....It might be a little long, but do you still want to hear it?"
"Yeah. It's not fair if I'm the only one who knows."
"Okay. Fine. But after this story ends, can I ask you one question?"
"Do whatever you want."
Junpei stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, then took a deep breath and began his long story.
As the story went on, Uro's expression, which had been listening with growing interest, gradually turned strange.
The darkness that couldn't be spoken of wasn't hers alone.
"-That's how it happened."
This was the story of the boy, Yoshino Junpei.
The record of the curse that had piled up on him, and the chronicle of how he shed it to become a solitary being.
She heard it all.
His awakening and his mother's death, a new encounter, and the hellscape that unfolded in Shibuya.
Even the way he overcame loss and kept moving forward.
"Not exactly a pleasant story, huh?"
"You... how can you say it so easily?"
Uro Takako had to admit it.
The boy in front of her was not some sheltered idiot who had grown up safely in the modern age, as she had thought.
He was closer to a seeker who had suffered greater loss than anyone, yet still moved silently toward the light.
There was a clear difference.
As time passed, he met good people, while her life had rolled straight into the gutter.
And yet, it was an undeniable fact that they had both suffered the pain of loss.
'Why are you...'
Without erasing or denying your cursed past.
Accepting it, honing yourself endlessly, and adapting...'
Why did you live in a way so different from mine?
"Just because."
"..!"
"It just ended up that way. It wasn't easy for me to overcome things and get back up either. Before I even tried to do anything about it, I was already like that. That's when I realized it."
My mission.
"My true conviction wasn't some solid faith I built up step by step. It was something I gained here, by looking back at who I used to be. Time teaches you things."
"Time..."
"So it's a little messy, right? Kind of arbitrary. To be honest, maybe I'm just looking at the world through my own narrow standards. Still, I'm satisfied with who I am now."
Trusting himself and filling in the gaps in his own incompleteness.
The way he smiled so brightly that not even a trace of darkness could be seen, so much like someone's back she had seen long ago, left Uro unable to speak easily.
"...I see."
"Now it's my turn, right?"
"Yeah."
"Why did you go around without clothes on?"
For once he had been serious, and she almost spat out her drink.
To ask that kind of question now.
The somber mood shattered.
"...Why are you curious about that?"
"You seem more normal than I expected, Uro. A slightly twisted personality is just a sorcerer thing, so fine. But why would a perfectly sensible person cover only her body with her technique and walk around like a slut?"
"....."
She had brushed Higuruma off with a vague answer, but this time she didn't think she could dodge the question.
He had been so honest with her that answering with a lie would be dishonorable. Even if it was her "reverse scale," if it was him, it should be fine.
Letting out a sigh, Uro brought out the "real reason" she had never told anyone.
"When I wear clothes... I keep remembering bad things, and it makes me feel trapped."
"Ah."
"When I was little, so little I barely remember it now, a curse wiped out my family. I was the only one lucky enough to survive, but when I came out of that dark house, my body felt strangely heavy."
A ragged cloth soaked with her family's blood.
The red fabric, carrying a fishy smell, seemed to cling to her and never let go.
No matter how fine the clothes she wore, she couldn't erase that smell or that weight.
"Every time I put on clothes, it felt like I could hear voices blaming me. Why did only you survive? Why did you have that kind of talent and still let us die?"
"It wasn't Uro's fault...."
"I know. That was the first time I manifested my technique. What could a five-year-old kid have done? It was just bad luck."
It was also proof that I still haven't accepted it.
"Uh... um..."
"Don't apologize. I was the one who brought it up."
"Still, I asked for no reason. Sorry. I didn't know you had something like that."
"...That's enough if you know."
Junpei was sweating from his forehead.
He had thought it was just a nudist preference, but he hadn't expected such a heavy backstory.
He had made that joke just to lighten the awkward mood, but if she was going to dump something this personal on him, then I look like trash.
'What am I supposed to say in a situation like this?'
Junpei wracked his brain and decided to change the subject.
There happened to be an area he hadn't been able to show her because of work.
It was one of Junpei's favorite places too, so if Uro saw that view, she'd probably feel better.
"I-if you're done eating, should we get up?"
"..? Sure."
"There's one last place I want to show you."
Taking the still-bewildered Uro with him, he hurriedly set off.
Uro, following behind him, shook her head while secretly looking forward to it.
She had seen just about everything by now.
She had gotten used to the products of the modern age, and the clothes and makeup on her body were still uncomfortable... but somehow, she could bear it.
She had thought there probably wouldn't be anything left to surprise her.
"......."
When they reached the rooftop glass garden, Uro had no choice but to retract that thought.
The last thing Junpei showed Uro was the glass garden on the hotel's rooftop.
A place covered by a dome-shaped glass roof, where fresh nature could be enjoyed in every season.
Lighting that didn't spoil the atmosphere and flowers of every color blended together to create a moving, luminous scene.
"What do you think?"
"It's beautiful..."
It was the first honest assessment to leave Uro's mouth.
Anyone would have reacted the same way.
Neatly tended, cute little trees standing in rounded shapes, and colorful flowers shyly peeking up.
This place, a concentrated version of nature made by human hands, where creations that did not wither even under artificial light proudly displayed their colors, was not something the word perfect could fully capture.
"It's still too early to be surprised. Look over there."
Where Junpei pointed was the night sky, packed with stars shining through the glass.
A breathtaking sight like a painting embroidered by someone's hand.
The pitch-black curtain of night seemed to surround and protect the entire space.
"You can only see this at night. I like it, so I come here often."
"I can see why."
"Want to sit for a bit?"
Maybe because she had seen such a beautiful sight.
She felt a little sentimental.
"Actually, you can't always see the stars. Since this is the middle of the city, if the weather's bad they don't even bother showing their faces. We got especially lucky today."
"......."
"The things from your past, Uro. It'd be impossible for me to say I understand them carelessly. Since it's awkward to put into words, I hope this scenery helps you feel something."
Stars that only reveal themselves in darkness.
Junpei felt that principle was a little like the life of a sorcerer.
They always guard against threats hidden from view, and sometimes even throw away their lives to protect this peace.
For the sake of the modern people living inside the glass dome.
"And sometimes, they shine this brightly. From a place no one can reach."
It was fine if no one recognized them.
Like the stars in that night sky, if they could watch over things and shine on their own.
That would be enough.
"I..."
"You don't have to decide right now. Someday, you will too, Uro."
Like someone's star, forming bonds, living on...
There would come a day when she reached the light.
And then Uro realized what she wanted to do, what she had to do.
"Thank you."
"Huh?"
Her first expression of gratitude.
For a moment, an unidentifiable sense of foreboding brushed past, and then Uro continued.
"For showing me that the world is beautiful. For telling me that someone like me is allowed to want to live."
"Wait a second. Right now..."
"It's all thanks to you. If I hadn't met you, I'd still be buried in that vast darkness."
From beginning to end, Uro's gaze was fixed beyond the darkness.
Faint points of light, glittering under the pressure of the bright stars, struggling even to shine.
Beings so small that no one would even notice them unless they looked closely, and who would be exhausted just from borrowing a little light.
-That was unmistakably like Uro's life.
Now I understand.
Why all the good things I enjoyed today felt so awkward, like clothes that didn't fit.
Why reaching the thing I had wanted so badly didn't make me as happy as I thought it would.
I shouldn't have wanted it in the first place. It never suited me.
Because by now, I had already been dyed beyond saving.
And yet, because the light you gave me was so warm, because I was afraid of losing it.
I got greedy.
For a place that didn't suit me at all.
A way of living that couldn't even light up the world around me, and yet coveted someone else's light.
That had already become what "I" was.
"Thanks to you, I know what I want to do."
"Uro..."
"I'm sorry for making you have to ask me something like this. Really."
Today had been fun.
Fun enough that she wouldn't mind dying.
"I'll give my score to you."
Now there were no regrets left.
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