[163] A Late Lunch (2)
"Huff, huff."
Amy, who had been watching them for a long time, finally yelled as if she couldn't stand it any longer.
"Hey! Could you stop packing in like that? There's a limit to nerve—people might think we're the thugs and you're the victim."
Marsha, who had been glancing at Amy, puckered her lips as if to set Amy's heart on fire and burrowed even deeper against Shirone's chest.
Amy felt the last thread of her patience snap.
"I swear, if you keep gawking—what the hell is your problem, woman!"
Freeman stepped in front of Marsha and pleaded.
"Leave her. She must be exhausted from crying."
Amy stared at Freeman in disbelief and wagged a finger.
"Aren't you missing something? Do you know how much trouble we've had because of you? Lucky we won—Shirone's life could've been over!"
What really made Amy angry was that. Was everything forgiven just because the outcome was good? If Shirone hadn't survived today, what would have come after was terrifying to even imagine.
Not only Shirone, who'd lost his magic, but Amy, who'd been forced to watch, felt like she had crawled back from hell.
"I'm sorry. All the crimes committed while acting as the Parrot Thief Gang were on my orders. Marsha only fought the Association's trackers. But if that's still a crime…"
Amy folded her arms and asked.
"If?"
"I'll take responsibility for her life."
Marsha, who had been curled against Shirone, snapped upright. She stomped forward in a huff and kicked Freeman in the rear.
"You're joking! Who are you to ruin someone's chance at marriage? We don't need scum like you!"
Freeman staggered but, like an old tree, still stood his ground. He'd long since become used to Marsha's tantrums.
"Marsha noona."
Marsha's shoulders flinched at Shirone's voice. She couldn't bring herself to turn around. She'd lashed out at Freeman because she was terrified of this moment. In the end she couldn't face him and only managed to speak.
"Um… about all this, I'm sorry. I don't expect you'll forgive me."
"Right. Noona, you're unforgivable."
Marsha spun around in surprise. Shirone's gaze was cold. The look that had been soothing her wounds a moment ago had vanished without a trace.
"No matter the reason, you kidnapped a girl and used her. That's something you must never do."
Marsha couldn't argue and bowed her head. She had never been the type to torment the weak. Still, she didn't want to make excuses—the one who suffered most from Yuna's kidnapping had been Shirone.
"Yeah, I suppose so. Come to think of it, you're a real villain."
"That's right. Noona, you're a vile villain."
Shirone said it without hesitation. It suited him—being genuinely kind and avoiding conflict came from his nature, not from deceiving people or perjuring the truth.
"I'll go. I hope you can make it through this. And… I hope I never see you again."
Shirone turned and walked away without looking back. All he could do was feel sympathy for Marsha and try to understand.
"You were wrong!"
At that moment Marsha mustered her courage and shouted. Shirone hadn't judged her outright.
It was like when she had stolen pottery at the market—because of that, she had to be the one to step forward.
"Where do you think you're going? I'm just getting started. At least promise we'll see each other again!"
After standing there for a long moment, Shirone turned. Her eyes were still sharp, and Marsha felt like a prisoner waiting for her sentence.
"If you really mean it, apologize to Yuna. Apologize properly to her brother, Jis. You have to compensate the siblings for the harm you caused."
"Of course! Honestly, I hate this kind of thing too. I won't make excuses—I will go and beg them for forgiveness."
"Even so, that doesn't erase what you did. I will never forgive what you've done up till now."
Marsha's shoulders slumped. Tears pooled and looked as if they'd fall at any moment.
"But if you truly decide to live a new life, I can try to forget the past."
Marsha snapped her head up. Like a child, she sobbed and threw herself into Shirone's arms.
"Waaaaah! I was wrong!"
Shirone couldn't soothe the crying Marsha in his arms. This was a choice he was making for the first time.
Some people live lives harder than anyone else's. Not everyone in the world can fight for some great conviction.
So Shirone decided to forgive her.
If he was the point where her change had begun, then he felt responsible for watching that change.
'Clay Marsha…'
Maybe that was it. Shirone suddenly realized.
Marsha, who had seemed so strong and frightening, was actually a woman small enough to fit in his arms.
* * *
Marsha led Shirone's group into the building. As the place where the two mages had fought, there wasn't a single intact piece of furniture left.
The others could imagine how fiercely Shirone had struggled.
"Let's go upstairs. After a fight I'm starving. I'll make something to eat. I'm not much of a cook, though."
At least the second floor was livable. Only a few broken pots lay on the floor.
Shirone's group waited for the food.
Yuna sat in her place too. Now that the tension had eased, she looked better than when they first met.
They'd left at dawn and hadn't eaten a single meal until sunset. They couldn't be expected to wait, so Marsha served soup and bread that could be eaten right away.
As soon as the food appeared, they devoured it. Rian, though injured and hardly in a state to eat, seemed to have eaten the most.
"So does that mean Rulebreaking is off the table now?"
What had impressed Shirone most in this battle was, unsurprisingly, the Rulebreaking. It was certainly a rare trait in the magic community, if not as rare as an Unlocker.
"No, not exactly. Of course you can't just strip someone's standing, but wounds carved into the heart don't heal that easily. They'll leave a mark."
"I see… hmm."
When Shirone trailed off, perceptive Marsha smiled brightly and said,
"Don't worry. I won't make any more of those malicious magics. We can change some of the rules."
Shirone nodded in surprise. This was another piece of practical knowledge you couldn't learn at school.
"Do you already have rules in mind?"
"Not really. Let's see… maybe a spell that makes handsome blond men at the Magic Academy fall for girls?"
Shirone forced an uneasy smile. Having experienced the eccentricities of Rulebreakers, he couldn't take it as a mere joke.
Marsha waved her hand to reassure them, prompted by Amy's sharp glare.
"Heh heh, don't worry. It's not for Shirone."
"Oh? Is that so? Then who's it for?"
"For someone at the Magic Academy—blond hair, handsome man."
Amy fell silent. Arguing with a Rulebreaker who looked at the world only through their own logic felt pointless.
Freeman put down his spoon and said seriously,
"How about a spell to seduce a man without eyebrows?"
"Pfft!"
Marsha spat the soup back onto her plate. Of all the brazen remarks, she hadn't expected that here.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Are you losing your mind?"
"Why, what? I didn't say a word about myself."
"Are there any eyebrowless people besides you and a monkey?"
"A monkey isn't human."
"No! I'm calling you the monkey! Now that I think about it, you're doomed. Pathetic coward. How many times do I have to tell you not to touch the Reverse Technique tree? Huh? Huh?"
Marsha jabbed Freeman's temple hard with her fork.
Watching that, Amy suddenly had a thought. It was odd that Freeman had taken her Flame Strike head-on and come away fine.
"Reverse Technique tree?"
Those who train schemas stack multiple schemas to build up their capabilities. A basic build forms the foundation, and optional builds are layered on top.
Reversing that order in an instant is a reverse build.
Schema users call it a "reversal," a defensive build chosen only when one's life is at stake.
Gunners, whose lives depend on mobility and accuracy, usually base their builds on sensory or neural enhancements.
So defensive builds related to regeneration or cell activation are typically pushed into optional slots.
Freeman was a gunner too, so he'd normally be the same.
But from what Marsha said, he'd been fighting from the start with a defensive setup—a reversal build.
If so, it made sense that he'd taken a Flame Strike to the face and come away unscathed.
'True… the speed when he saved Marsha at the end was incredible.'
That had likely been how a non-reversal gunner would have moved. Thinking that made Amy's blood boil.
Sensing Amy's mood, Freeman said,
"If it hadn't been a reversal, the opponent would have used a different strategy. There's no absolute strength or weakness—just choices that fit the situation. Courage is part of skill. Amy was stronger than me. That's all."
Marsha propped her chin on her hand and snorted. Eyebrowless Freeman—turned coward—could now sound rather manly.
Being praised by an enemy made Amy awkward.
"Well… you were amazing too, sir."
"Thanks. But I'm not a 'sir.' I'm the same age as Marsha."
"So what? Even if you're the same age, you're still a sir to me."
Freeman sulked, bowed his head, and went back to tearing bread. He wanted to ask why Shirone called Marsha "noona," but his timid nature kept the question stuck in his throat.
The light chatter died down and Marsha grew serious again.
"Anyway, Shirone, if you want to be a mage, you should beware of Rulebreakers. Kind of funny hearing that from me, I know."
"No. I want to know. Tell me more, please."
"Hmm. The Deprivation I used isn't a very efficient magic. Stealing someone's magic is overpowered in concept, but it's more a challenge to possibility than an effective combat method."
Shirone thought he probably wouldn't choose Deprivation if it cost his life.
There are simply too many constraints on taking another person's power.
"I'm a bit of a special case. Of course most Rulebreakers are unusual, but my magic wasn't made for combat from the start. Other Rulebreakers will use far more effective and adaptable rule-breaking magics than mine."
"I see. I didn't realize until now, but fighting you was truly chilling. I never thought there could be a way to seal the Immortal Function."
"Heh heh, sorry about that. But it's true. In the world of magic nothing is impossible, and nothing is absolute. You were able to beat me because you saw through my weakness."
"Yes. If a Rulebreaker's activation stems from trauma, then obsessively targeting that trauma can create openings."
"Exactly. It's a battle of constraints and costs. When facing a Rulebreaker, it's more important to quickly identify the mechanism behind their magic than raw combat power. Of course, I think you can handle that just fine."
"No. I learned a lot this time."
Shirone answered sincerely. It had been a fight that showed him how wide the world was and how many exceptional people there were.