by <unknown>
However, the four-meter beech was too tall. Even an adult would not be able to reach the balloon.
"Is that balloon very important to you?"
Enju leaned over and asked. The girl faltered a bit from being spoken to suddenly but nodded in the end.
Enju swiftly looked around. No one was passing by at the moment—Perhaps it was okay right now?
"Close your eyes for a moment."
"Eyes? Why?"
Enju convinced the girl who was utterly confused and made her close her eyes.
"Don't open them, okay?"
Enju shut her eyes and focused her awareness in the depths of her abdomen and took a deep breath, then finally when exhaling, she released her power in one breath. Her body suddenly felt light as though gravity had weakened, accompanied by a feeling of omnipotence as though her limbs were expanding.
Bending her knees gingerly, she took a leap. Accompanied by a rising feeling, she found the bright red helium balloon before her eyes by the time she noticed.
Grabbing it effortlessly and returning to the ground, Enju tapped the girl's shoulder.
Timidly opening her eyes, the girl was staring at the balloon presented towards her. What was she feeling?
Worry, surprise, amazement, joy.
Enjy enjoyed the sight of that complicated expression, feeling overjoyed inside.
"Thank you, miss!"
Enju puffed her chest out proudly.
"That's right! I am older than you and an amazing lady."
The girl tilted her head, probably puzzled by what Enju meant, but still smiling.
At this moment, the girl's mother ran over and thanked many times politely. After nagging at the girl a few times, she took her away. The girl waved to Enju.
Seeing them off with a delighted feeling, Enju concluded what a great feeling it was to help others.
"You must be a Cursed Child, aren't you?"
Feeling electrified, Enju turned around to face the voice's source.
Standing behind her was a girl of roughly the same age as her.
She had a head of dazzling silver hair. Dressed in a white blouse with ruffles and a black skirt, she looked like a well-bred young lady. Her highly distinctive ice-blue eyes shone with the light of intellect.
Enju broke out in cold sweat, her entire body tensing while wondering if she was seen just now.
Whenever ordinary people found out she was a Cursed Child, a great commotion always resulted with a crowd gathering. Then further developments were unpredictable.
"Please hold on."
Just as Enju was about to turn around and flee, the girl stopped her with a stern and dignified voice.
The girl covered her eyes with her right hand then suddenly moved her hand away.
Those cold, ice-blue eyes had turned into glimmering rubies.
Enju gasped.
"You too?"
The girl nodded then covered her eyes with her right hand again. By the time she moved her hand away, her eyes had returned to their original color.
"I never expected to meet one of us so near a Monolith."
The girl was about to salute when she put her hand down as though recalling something.
"What are you doing in this kind of place?"
"What about you...?"
Unable to admit she was skipping class, Enju answered ambiguously.
Unable to state her reason candidly either, the girl likewise bowed her head.
Silence descended upon the conversation when suddenly there was a rumbling.
The silver-haired girl frantically covered her stomach, her face going red.
"Excuse me, that looks very delicious."
Following the girl's gaze, Enju saw the half-eaten sandwich in her own hand.
Ten minutes later—
Enju and the girl were sitting side by side on a bench under a tree's shade, each holding a taiyaki cake in their hands.
Feeling incredulous, the girl was examining this type of food, baked in a fish-shaped mold, from all sorts of angles.
"The surface appears to be flour, but there doesn't seem to be any roasted fish used as filling inside, right?"
"You've never had this before?"
The girl nodded with an expression of complicated feelings.
"It's red bean paste inside. Very yummy."
The girl went "oh" with curiosity, but soon, her eyebrows drooped in the next instant in dismay.
"But payment..."
"My treat."
The girl was still staring at the taiyaki in hesitation, but drool suddenly dripped from the corner of her tightly pursed lips.
This was probably the critical hit. The girl turned to Enju again and bowed deeply.
"Thank you very much for the treat. It was my mistake for failing to bring extra activity funds when going out today."
"Activity funds?"
Ignoring Enju's question, the girl took a large bite.
"Oh, it's very hot so you should eat slower..." Enju was about to remind her when the girl had reacted strongly.
"—!"
Covering her mouth with both hands, the girl twisted her body.
"Spit it out! Quick!"
"I-It ish only a bit hot."
"A bit, but—"
"—a bit hot!"
As though trying to convince herself, the girl yelled with tears glimmering in the corners of her eyes.
Keeping the mouthful in her closed mouth for a while, she finally chewed forcibly and swallowed.
"A-Also, I must not waste what you paid for."
In accordance with the saying, "a burnt child dreads the fire," the girl was blowing at the taiyaki excessively, waiting for it to cool completely before delivering it to her mouth in trepidation.
"Hmm, I see now, it is quite delicious. It is just that my mouth has a numb feeling from being burnt, so I cannot discern the taste clearly."
Seeing this girl offer her comments with a serious face, Enju could not help but burst out in laughter.
Enju was about to call to the girl when she realized she did not know the girl's name.
"I am called Enju, Enju Aihara. Your name is...?"
Mouth open, about to bite the taiyaki again, the girl instantly paused in her motion with a thoughtful look. Finally, she raised her eyebrows fully apologetically.
"Enju, I am truly sorry. Due to certain reasons, I am unable to answer. Rather, I might be causing trouble for you down the line if I were to tell you my name, so I am reluctant to say it."
Reluctant to say it... Enju took some time to understand her intent.
"Why is that...?"
The girl looked up at the clock in the seaside park.
"It is almost time. Perfect. Enju, may I borrow a little of your time for the next while?"
The faint red setting sun gradually tilted west, making the surface of the sea glimmer as though it was on fire.
What lay beneath the sea surface was already too dark to see.
Instead of feeling like there was no place to return home, Enju felt a surging sense of excitement, difficult to describe.
Enju tried to touch the wet surface of the warm water and brought her fingers to her mouth. As expected, her tongue felt stimulated by a sense of saltiness that numbed her throat.
Moving back and forth, the waves struck the boat, rocking her view while making a light noise.
Enju twisted her hips and looked up at the great distance to land, feeling a faint sense of unease in her heart.
"Is it okay with just us two?"
"No problem."
The silver-haired girl was sharing the same boat, smiling as though trying to put her at ease without stopping her arms from rowing the oars. Sitting face to face, her gaze seemed to be directed towards Enju, but in fact, she was looking behind Enju.
Because her eyes turned red when her power was released, she probably worried whether people taking strolls in the seaside park would see them.
Enju and the girl had come to Tokyo Bay.
Enju was starting to regret her impulsive actions.
Partially coerced by the girl to the pier, she inexplicably boarded the boat the girl had concealed beforehand. However, this inconspicuous little boat was the type that should be used in a pond or some body of water without waves.
Besides, they were two little kids on a journey. If spotted by tourist ships or fishing boats, wouldn't it cause a great commotion?
"It's time you explained the reason for coming here."
"Because I would like to spend time with you, Enju."
Enju did not know how to respond to the girl's half-smiling dodging of her question. Even Enju could understand that she was lying just now.
Sighing, Enju listened to the waves in order to think.
A steam whistle was heard from the distant sky.
Enju looked out into the western sky and brought up a completely unrelated topic.
"Y-You, what is your view on the issue of Cursed Children mixing themselves among ordinary people to go to school?"
"Why are you asking for my opinion on this?"
Enju was instantly at a loss for words, but she finally revealed everything.
Including her own origins, how she had been chased out of elementary school as soon as her identity came to light, and how she was troubled by her past memories, unable to become a part of her current school, also her sense of guilt when hiding things from friends... She revealed everything.
While speaking, Enju wondered why she would tell this girl all this when they had only met just earlier. If one were to ask who was the Cursed Child closest to her, it ought to be Tina instead...
The girl with the strict and prudent personality closed her eyes for a while before finally opening them again.
"I am very sorry, Enju, in most likelihood, I am unable to provide an effective solution to your situation."
Enju shook her head wryly.
"I am already very happy just from the fact that you listened to it all... Just from the fact that you didn't laugh."
"By the time I was born, my homeland was already gone."
Enju suddenly looked at her. The girl had just stood up. As though gazing into the distance, her eyes were staring at the seagulls flying in the air.
"My homeland vanished due to the Gastrea War. I was born in a neighboring country, but that country had severe issues with famine and discrimination. Living there was very difficult."
The girl paused for a while then continued:
"Speaking of human lives, the more impoverished and destitute, the closer to animals the way people live. Nothing more than sleeping, eating and producing offspring.
"Enju, did you know? Even if you start with same person, raised in a well-provided versus a starving environment, the latter's IQ would end up at least ten points lower. Although IQ would recover if conditions were to improve, the more destitute the more one would lack the intellect to escape tragic conditions. This is why people all say that poverty is a vicious cycle.
"I was very fortunate. I was picked up by auspicious coincidence to receive a high-quality education, thus allowing me to learn how to liberate myself from the shackles of the three base desires, to engage in thought with rationality. This is precisely the only thing that separates humans from other animals."
Holding down her beautiful hair that was being blown in disarray by the sea breeze, the girl turned her head.
"Although I am very hesitant to make comparisons to the hardship you have experienced in the past, whenever you feel sad, do try recalling the fact that you are not the only one who has experienced such suffering."
Was it right to use people facing greater misfortune as mental support? Wasn't this mindset equivalent to secretly looking down on them with a sense of superiority?
Probably reading these thoughts from Enju's face, the girl shook her head gently.
"You are wrong, Enju. Sometimes the annoying web of human relationships also serves as a net for distributing and absorbing sadness from the past. In times like these, it is nothing shameful to make the best use out of social networks."
Instantly, Enju's troubled soul felt lighter. The sky, approaching night, seem to grow brighter.
Gazing at her own palm, Enju opened and closed it.
"How incredible. My chest doesn't feel as tight anymore."
"I am honored to be of help."
The girl partially closed her eyes and smiled.
Enju also smiled happily.
"You are such a good person. Come to my house next time and I'll introduce my Promoter to you. He is so lovey-dovey with me that he never lets me get any sleep at night!"
"Looks like you were fortunate enough to encounter a good Promoter."
"Is your Promoter a good person?"
"Indeed, most excellent."
Seeing the girl speak with happiness as though she had been praised herself, Enju wondered what her identity was exactly.
Her excessively pale skin and silver hair clearly did not resemble Japanese looks. Enju was practically certain she was a foreign Initiator.
Due to disputes over varanium rights, foreign Initiators apparently visited the Tokyo Area quite often, but as long as they refrained from displaying their powers, it was not possible for Enju and them to identify each other as Initiators.
"An Initiator like you must be very strong, always making the right decisions."
Hearing Enju's casual comment, the girl's expression distorted timidly.
"Nothing of that sort."
The girl sat down dejectedly and stopped talking, pretending to be focusing on rowing the oars.
Just as Enju worried whether she had said something wrong and leaned forward, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her head.
Looking around, she soon found the reason.
The giant jet-black walls of varanium towered on the left and right.
Coming to the seaside park, Enju had considered the locations of the Monoliths already, picking the center between the two Monoliths where the varanium magnetic field was weakest, but while traveling on boat, they had apparently unintentionally approached a spot near her limit.
"Don't you feel uncomfortable?"
"Not yet. Does it hurt for you at this distance...? How sensitive of you. Pardon me for being rude, Enju, but may I ask what your internal corrosion rate might be?"
"Around 24.4%, what about you?"
"Similar."
The girl showed a troubled face.
"How odd. I recall that reactions to varanium magnetic fields were not supposed to differ significantly for those of similar corrosion rates."
"Really?"
Speaking of which, Enju remembered how Tina's internal corrosion rate was roughly the same percentage as hers yet she was more sensitive to varanium magnetic fields than Tina.
"However, it might be an issue with constitution. Ah, we have arrived."
Enju looked around but could not find any dry land to alight.
"My destination is that building over there."
The girl brought out a pair of binoculars from the side while pointing towards the land.
Although the sky was getting dim, without needing binoculars, Enju could still see the floating prison that loomed bigger than what she could see from the seaside park.
"You have things to do at that prison?"
The girl's eyes widened from surprise.
"How startling. I never expected you would also know this place is a prison."
The girl looked at her watch at this time, then took a prone position and ducked down, raising her binoculars to say:
"It is almost time."
Unable to get the situation, Enju cocked her head slightly. But suddenly finding another boat sailing nearby, Enju also lowered her head involuntarily.
However, the small boat resembling a fishing boat did not take any notice of them, simply passing by in the distance. For some reason, it circled in a big detour before approaching the back of the building, mooring itself at what see
med to be a small loading bay of the Mega-float.
"Tethered mines were apparently placed near that area to prevent the escape of convicts, possible to detonate remotely from land. The boat just took a detour along a path without mines, probably carrying large loads that are difficult to transport by land routes."
Seeing the girl wave to her, Enju went over and took the binoculars handed over to her.
"Security is tight as expected. Enju, do you see it? What appears at first glance to be an old building is actually covered with all kinds of sensors and biometric verification, a collective of state-of-the-art security systems. The wall surface looks eroded but the interior is reportedly made with processed varanium. It must be quite astounding in toughness."
The girl was explaining with slight excitement, completely ignoring Enju staring at the side of her face.
"Why did you come here to look at the prison?"
The girl's expression collapsed and she deliberately turned away to avoid eye contact.
"Uh, I suppose you could consider me a prison aficionado..."
Seeing the girl act flustered, Enju observed with a complicated expression.
The girl most likely intended to come here alone originally. But after meeting Enju, she came up with the impromptu idea of going together.
Most likely because rowing the boat alone would look more suspicious from afar than having two people, which might be why she picked Enju to fill up the numbers.
If that really were the case, Enju was supposed to feel angry. However, she did not feel anything like that.
To be honest—Enju was already quite smitten with her.
Enju recalled what Rentaro had said once about cherishing friends if you meet someone you want to be friends for a lifetime.
"You must have difficult circumstances. I won't pry."
The girl's eyelashes fluttered down.
"Thank you, Enju. But it is time for us to return. I am very sorry for dragging you out here today."
The kittiwakes meowed in the air while the girl's face was illuminated red by the setting sun.
"Will we meet again?"
"Most likely not. For both of us, it would be a kind of good fortune if we were not to meet again."
Until the very end, a mysterious smile remained on the girl's face.