Moonlight bathed the Ark.
Pure white light.
It was a cold light, unlike the bright rays of morning sun.
Most of the shops had already closed.
Of course they had.
It was night now.
Not just a moonlit night, but a proper night that had taken over the sun’s job.
“This way home is longer than I expected.”
Bill let out a sigh so deep it felt like it was draining the Ark dry.
He still had a bit farther to walk before he got home.
All the time he’d spent walking so far added up to more than an hour.
It was a pain.
If it had been morning, maybe it would have been different, but at night it felt even worse.
Running might have been faster.
No, it definitely would be.
That much was obvious.
His body wasn’t the kind that would get tired from something as simple as a long run.
That was one of the blessings he’d gained in exchange for this unknown body.
Still, Bill didn’t change his pace.
Someone was tailing him.
--Who could it be...
She was trying to hide her footsteps, but she couldn’t mask their natural heaviness.
The faint crunch of sand underfoot, the soft sound of breathing.
A woman who was heavy, yet also light on her feet.
But at the same time, she wasn’t an ordinary Nikke.
She was heavy.
Not just in the sense of being big, but like two people were packed into one body.
At first, he thought of a plump Nikke like Brady.
But no matter how you looked at it, even Brady couldn’t be said to weigh twice as much as a normal Nikke.
That left only one conclusion.
Rapi.
She was the only Nikke he knew who fit that weight.
--But... why?
Once he identified her, the next question was why.
Rapi had no reason to follow him.
He hadn’t offended her, and he hadn’t asked her anything.
Literally, why?
Bill’s confusion only grew.
Tap, tap.
Bill quietly tapped at his phone.
A short message appeared on the screen, then was sent.
Bzzzt.
A loud vibration sounded.
And from behind him, Rapi cautiously stepped out.
“I... I’m sorry...”
From Rapi’s point of view, she had simply followed someone she had just met until late at night.
Apologizing was only natural.
Then he should probably ask why, but... two men and women alone on the street at this hour might lead to misunderstandings.
“Come with me first. I know a good place.”
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Rapi thought Bill would take her home.
She had seen him graduate.
He had come up to the surface as a proper Commander.
Of course he would have a home.
Whether or not his parents were around, that much was only natural.
“This is...”
But the place he brought her to was the academy dormitory.
A small room with only one bed, barely four pyeong at most.
Before she knew it, they were sitting inside as if this were his home.
“You... don’t have a home?”
“I used to, but... not anymore. It was only for a year.”
She had clearly heard the answer, and yet...
It only pulled her deeper into the maze.
Didn’t he have a family home?
Or had he cut ties with his parents?
Or maybe he had none at all?
Either way, it was a difficult subject to ask about.
--I can tell exactly what you’re thinking.
Bill nodded.
It was such an obvious story.
“Rapi, what do you think I am?”
“Huh...?”
A person.
Wasn’t he a person?
“A monster...”
That was it.
That was what he was saying.
The man in front of her was asking whether he seemed ordinary.
“I don’t have parents... Ah, don’t misunderstand. I’m not denying whoever made this body. I mean literally, I don’t know.”
“What do you mean...?”
“Well... when I opened my eyes, I was lying on the street. I almost got my head twisted off.”
When Rapi first heard that, she thought he was lying.
That was only natural.
What was the Ark?
This wasn’t just a beautiful place where science and civilization had blossomed.
It was a controlled space, cut off from the outside world.
And yet... someone who didn’t even know their own origin woke up on the street?
Impossible.
There was no way.
“You’re probably thinking that’s impossible anyway. But... does my body make sense?”
Rapi’s eyes wavered.
That was right.
Before even talking about what was impossible, the man himself was someone who shouldn’t exist in the first place.
“Then... what about your ID chip?”
ID chip.
The thing every Ark citizen naturally had, the thing needed to live as a citizen of the Ark.
“That? You don’t know? It’s on the back of your neck.”
“...?”
Rapi usually didn’t show much emotion.
There were times she couldn’t hold it in, but only sometimes.
But now she had unconsciously parted her lips and was trying hard to make sense of it.
She wanted to deny it, but that only made her sink deeper into the blind spot.
“I really don’t know. I don’t know anything.”
“I see...”
Rapi had no choice but to accept it.
That didn’t mean she understood or believed it.
If even he himself didn’t know, then there was no way to explain that thing that seemed like a phenomenon.
Clap.
A small clap filled the room.
A signal of some kind.
For example, a signal to change the mood.
“Then I guess it’s my turn to ask.”
Bill looked straight into Rapi’s eyes and asked, “Why did you follow me?”
“Th-that’s...”
She couldn’t answer right away.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t, but that she looked troubled.
He understood.
He knew exactly why.
[I’m looking for someone who can lead me without breaking.]
A wish she had once spoken to someone.
Rapi’s longing was impossible to misunderstand.
He didn’t think of himself as that kind of amazing person.
He was just someone who had happened to gain power by chance.
Even if she had really followed him on a whim because she saw that possibility, he should correct her.
“If you don’t want to answer, you don’t have to.”
But not now.
It was too early to say it.
He still shouldn’t know Rapi’s wish yet.
“Commander?”
“Ah, sorry. I was spacing out for a second because I’m tired.”
Rapi glanced at the wall, and the clock was already pointing to eleven.
It was a time when a person would be tired, yes... but to say he was tired while carrying a body like that.
It was hard not to think it was just an excuse to move the conversation along.
“It’s too late to go home, so just sleep here. There’s a blanket.”
“B-but...”
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. I don’t mind.”
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Bill fell asleep quickly.
His soft breathing drifted from the bed.
On the other hand, Rapi couldn’t easily close her eyes.
It wasn’t that the fact a man was lying above her mattered; she simply needed time to sort out her thoughts alone.
--Why am I here?
Emotions she couldn’t even understand herself clashed inside her.
Her heart was just confused.
It wasn’t because of what had happened today.
The outing Anis had called her out for had simply ended as an outing.
That was all there was to it.
If there was a problem, it was him—the one she had been called out with.
He was a little... hard to ignore.
--Red Hood...
Her friend came to mind.
It wasn’t something that had suddenly appeared; it was an afterimage that had brushed through her mind ever since she started following him.
But it wasn’t like she had suddenly remembered.
She saw him, and it surfaced.
That didn’t mean they were the same.
He was weak.
He wasn’t ordinary by any means, but compared to her friend he was far too weak.
She would cut through swarms of Raptures in every direction, and before long the Raptures behind her would already be riddled with holes and collapsing.
Her friend could even take down Tyrant-class Raptures without much trouble.
There was no comparison.
And yet the part that kept bothering Rapi was...
The atmosphere was similar.
That was all.
He stepped forward.
He moved ahead of her.
More than the source of his strength, she was curious about why he moved that way.
It was only natural for him to hide it.
If something like that were exposed, he wouldn’t be able to stay in the Ark.
--Should I sleep...
Thinking like this while lying here wouldn’t give her any answers.
She had refused to answer, and he hadn’t pressed her.
Wasn’t it cowardly to demand answers after that?
Rapi closed her eyes.
And then.
She fell asleep faster than usual.
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