"This..."
The night wind swept through the woman's disheveled hair. Everything in the world seemed to fall silent. Inie stared blankly at the scene on the screen, the blazing wreckage reflected in her pupils as though it were being burned into her memory.
"We won."
She lowered her head and murmured to herself.
"Don't you think..."
Liss rested her head on her hand and slowly spoke.
"Hm?"
Inie turned to look at her friend.
"That old man was a little too handsome?"
Liss rubbed her face, turned to look at her friend as well, and scratched her hair. "He gives people this explosive sense of security, like he can solve any problem."
"Does he?"
Inie withdrew her gaze and looked at the screen again, but all that remained on it was an empty podium. The Old Man who had stood behind it had long since left.
It seemed to tell everyone that everything was over, that Ilan City's night was as it had always been.
The flames of war had merely been an interlude beneath this tranquil night sky. They had sounded without warning, only to be easily silenced by that Old Man.
Inie paused, then slowly said, "I guess... a little."
Whoosh--
As the two spoke, lights lit up not far behind them, accompanied by the sound of approaching cars.
"Are those cars coming back?"
Liss looked up at the approaching lights behind them.
"They probably heard the war was over and turned back," Inie said, watching beams of light emerge from the darkness. "There aren't many people yet. Once the first people back realize the war really is over, everyone should gradually return. After all, no one wants to leave home in the middle of the night and flee for their lives with their families."
"Then are we