Chapter 6
There was something I was often told as I went through life.
How can a person be so cold?
Each time, I would ask in return.
How can a person be so stupid?
..
..
Kael turned around and tried to pull the child's hand away.
But at that moment.
“….”
It felt as though the hand of someone who wasn't there had seized his arm.
The hand of a presence he could only vaguely sense.
As though it were telling him he mustn't do that.
If you turn away here, you may survive for a long time,
but you'll become no different from the things you hated.
“….”
Kael let out a low breath.
‘Yeah. I understand.’
In the end, he turned around.
Instead of removing the filthy hand, he took it.
“Get up.”
The small child couldn't even put any real strength into it, so Kael ended up lifting the child.
“Hng….”
It had been a long time since he had smelled anything this awful, not since his first day shoved into a trash bin.
***
Kael opened the door and went inside.
The room that came into view was still modest in size.
He set the child down on the floor and pointed to the bathroom.
“Wash up.”
“….”
“You smell.”
The child flinched for a moment, then merely bowed their head without saying a word.
Kael sighed when he saw them.
…Should I help?
At those words, the child spoke for the first time.
“I-I can… wash myself.”
“All right.”
Kael asked no more.
Instead, he took the least worn shirt and pair of pants from the wall.
They were all Kael's clothes, so they would obviously be too large for the child.
But there was no other choice.
“Wash up and change into these.”
The child accepted the clothes in both hands.
“Th-thank you.”
The child hesitated for a moment, then carefully entered the bathroom and closed the door.
A moment later, he heard the sound of running water.
..
..
At last, the bathroom door opened cautiously.
Kael turned his head, saw the child, and was speechless for a moment.
They looked completely different after washing away the filth and blood.
White hair falling to their shoulders, and blue eyes set in pale skin.
“You were a girl.”
At his words, the girl flinched and spoke in a small voice.
“I-I'm not a child.”
“….”
“I'm twenty-two this year. I'm, I'm an adult.”
Kael quietly looked her over again.
Twenty-two.
She didn't look that age, but such things were not uncommon in the underground levels.
Most people there suffered from malnutrition. Humans with small, frail bodies were a common sight.
However, this woman was different. He could tell from her appearance alone.
‘Definitely not someone from the underground.’
Considering that she had fallen from a transport pipe, she was undoubtedly someone from the levels above with a complicated story.
“All right.”
At his curt reply, the girl watched him cautiously, as though gauging his reaction.
Kael picked up the black mask lying in the corner.
The item Harun had thrown in as a bonus before.
He had said it was for dust protection, but in reality, the cheap thing was barely any help against odors, either.
Still, it was useful for covering her face.
When he tossed her the mask, the girl hurriedly caught it.
“Wear it when you go out.”
“Yes?”
“If you walk around the underground levels with that face, you won't last a day.”
The girl's hand stopped.
“You'll be kidnapped, sold, or both.”
Kael said it matter-of-factly.
The girl silently looked down at the mask, then slowly nodded.
“So.”
Kael asked the girl a question.
“Why did you fall from the transport pipe?”
But she did not answer.
She merely bowed her head, clutching the mask tightly in both hands.
Kael waited for a while, but only silence followed.
“Fine.”
Kael beckoned to her.
“You washed, I gave you clothes, and I gave you a mask. Now leave.”
The girl slowly raised her head.
Her blue eyes wavered, but Kael deliberately hardened his expression.
“You said you're an adult. Then you should be responsible for taking care of yourself.”
The girl moved her lips, but no voice seemed to come out.
Kael waited.
For her to continue speaking.
At last, she spoke in a very small voice.
“I-I… could you let me stay here for just a little while…?”
She tightened her grip on the mask.
Kael said nothing and fell into deep thought.
On the surface, the girl looked like she wouldn't last a single day in the underground levels. In reality, she probably wouldn't. If he sent her outside, she clearly wouldn't last long.
Kael let out a short breath.
“Let's make a deal.”
The girl slowly raised her head.
“…What?”
“You don't seem to want to talk about your circumstances, so I won't ask.”
He leaned back against the chair and continued.
“Who you're running from, why you fell from the transport pipe, or where you were before. I'm saying I won't ask for now.”
The girl's hand flinched at his words.
“But I'll confirm one thing.”
The girl looked at him cautiously.
Kael's voice lowered.
“You came from above, didn't you?”
The room fell silent.
“….”
She did not answer him, but her silence did not last long.
The girl nodded.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
He had expected it, but confirming it only made his head ache more.
A human from above. And one dumped down a transport pipe in this state. Just from her appearance, she clearly didn't belong in a place like this.
If so, there was no way the trouble she was involved in was an ordinary matter.
However.
Tap, tap.
Kael lightly tapped the table with his fingers.
“All right. Then you have something you can give me, too.”
“Something I can… give you?”
“Knowledge.”
The girl flinched.
Kael looked straight at her with a serious expression.
“Knowledge of the ground level. How people live on the upper levels. Transit procedures. Corporate structure. How citizenship is managed. How artificial mana circuits are registered. The relationships between schools, hospitals, the Public Security Bureau, and megacorps, and so on.”
He paused for a moment.
“As much as you know is enough.”
The girl moved her lips, seemingly flustered.
“W-why would you need… something like that?”
“Because I need it.”
Kael answered briefly.
“I need to understand this city. But the information you pick up in the underground levels is limited, and most of it is bullshit. If you came from above, you know at least some things I don't.”
“….”
“Tell me.”
Kael pointed around the cramped room.
“In return, I'll provide food, clothing, and shelter.”
The girl's eyes widened slightly at his words.
He calmly added another condition.
“And if someone comes looking for you, I can stop them, at least within what I can handle.”
The girl's shoulders trembled.
“You… will protect me?”
“It's a deal.”
“….”
“We're just exchanging what we each need.”
The girl lowered her head and hesitated for a moment.
Kael did not rush her.
After a long while, the girl spoke in a very small voice.
“I… don't know that much.”
“You don't need to know much.”
“I'm not sure what I know will be useful.”
“I'll decide that.”
The girl clutched the mask to her chest and slowly nodded.
“…All right.”
Kael looked at her.
“Do we have a deal?”
The girl hesitated briefly, then nodded again.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Kael stood up, yanked open the iron box in the corner, took out an old blanket, and tossed it onto the floor.
“There’s only one bed.”
The girl looked at him in confusion, but he ignored it and pointed to the mattress.
“You use it.”
“But….”
“I can sleep in a chair.”
The girl looked down at the blanket.
“Thank you.”
She thanked him with a smile.
“What’s your name?”
The girl's expression stiffened, so he immediately added,
“If you don't want to tell me your real name, you can give me any name. I just need something to call you.”
Kael did not press her.
After a moment, the girl spoke in a very small voice.
“…Lin.”
“Lin?”
“Yes.”
The girl nodded.
“Please call me Lin.”
Kael asked no further questions. For now, that was enough.
“All right, Lin.”
Now it was his turn to give his name.
“My name is Kael.”
“Kael… sir?”
“Drop the ‘sir.’”
Lin blinked, seemingly flustered.
“Then… Mr. Kael?”
“Drop the ‘Mr.’ too.”
“….”
She hesitated for a moment, then
“K-Kael….”
managed to say the name.
“That’ll do.”
Kael pushed the old blanket toward her.
“Go to sleep tonight. I’ll ask questions starting tomorrow.”
Lin accepted the blanket in both hands.
She looked down at it for a moment, then carefully lowered her head again.
“Y-yes… no, all right. Kael.”
***
Upper Levels, Third Water Purification and Wastewater Treatment Facility.
Transparent glass pipes and silver plumbing ran endlessly along the ceiling and walls, while corporate logos were embedded throughout the facility.
A logo of silver wings wrapped around a blue droplet.
Beneath it, an orderly slogan floated in the air.
[Clean cities begin with clean circulation.]
Beneath the slogan, a man stood.
Pale.
He was a man dressed in a black suit.
He lightly brushed the underside of a pipe with his gloved hand.
There was a bloodstain that had hardened, as though some time had passed.
Pale raised his head.
A man who appeared to be the facility manager stood before him, sweating profusely.
“She fell here?”
At Pale's question, the facility manager trembled and opened his mouth.
“Y-yes… There was an abnormal pressure reading in the transport pipe, and immediately afterward, we received a waste backflow warning… We initiated the shutdown procedure at once, but….”
“And you lost her.”
“S-she most likely flowed into the lower transport pipes. But considering the pressure at the drop point and the waste compression process, the chances of survival are practically….”
“Practically.”
Pale cut him off, and the manager naturally closed his mouth.
Pale slowly approached him.
“That’s the kind of word I hate most.”
“Y-yes, sir…?”
“Practically dead. Practically finished. Practically, practically, practically….”
Pale grabbed the manager by the chin.
“Most problems arise from that ‘practically.’”
“S-sorry….”
Crunch.
With a short, dull sound, the manager's body collapsed limply.
Thud.
Pale didn't even look down at the fallen corpse.
He merely took out a handkerchief and wiped his glove.
“Can’t you handle even one thing properly?”
None of the employees nearby could move.
After a moment, the woman standing behind Pale cautiously opened her mouth.
A security officer in a gray uniform.
“What… do we do now?”
Pale folded the handkerchief, tossed it onto the fallen manager's chest, and slowly turned around.
“We find her.”
“The lower sector is connected to the underground levels. There are too many unofficial passages and waste transport routes, so tracking her will take….”
The moment his gaze fell on her, she immediately fell silent.
“We need to confirm the body.”
Pale said it matter-of-factly.
“T-the body?”
“Yes.”
The corner of his mouth twisted.
“It would be a problem if she were alive.”