On Terra, a Hunter and a Bad Woman — Chapter 34

That delicate incense scent she could never imitate.

That elegant bearing, as though elegance had been carved into her bones.

That hidden, suppressed savage power.

Maria... Siracusa's final legend, the family's Night Watcher, the silent Inquisitor...

She was standing right before her!

Why should she be afraid?

Though Maria did her utmost to deny that she was that legend, Texas was absolutely certain... they were the same person!

But... why was she concealing something like that?

Texas could not understand.

However, when she noticed that other people from Siracusa nearby were eavesdropping, she seemed to understand something.

Was Lady Maria... unwilling to let the past continue to haunt her?

Just like... me now?

Texas lowered her head, feeling the turmoil in her heart.

"Do you... want to hear those stories about Siracusa?"

"If you are willing to tell them, then I would naturally be willing to listen."

Maria silently nodded.

Having received Maria's confirmation, Texas took a deep breath.

But she did not even have time to finish her first sentence.

A yellow figure suddenly appeared before them at the glass window beside them...

Maria and Texas turned their heads at the same time.

Outside the window stood a strange figure wearing sunglasses and a mask, their entire face concealed.

Though she could not see their appearance clearly, that exceptionally distinctive yellow hair...

"Sora?"

Outside the café, Exusiai and Croissant stood on a distant building, holding binoculars.

"This is bad... really bad. Croissant has never seen Sora make that expression before. So dark, Sora. Your idol persona is about to collapse~"

"Oh my, is this going to become a battlefield of love? The oblivious male lead Texas, the childhood friend Maria who descended from the heavens, and now the passionate popular idol Miss Sora?"

"Croissant does not think so. Croissant thinks Maria and Texas's relationship is even stranger..."

"Like what?"

"Have you watched The Godfather?"

"You mean that gangster movie?"

"No, I mean that romance film called The Godfather."

"Huh?!"

Competition Pressure!

"That one... the movie you said was pretty interesting last time."

Croissant munched on a croissant while using her binoculars to watch Maria and Texas talking in the distance.

They usually did not spend much time together, but they had still fought through life and death side by side.

Naturally, they had not overlooked Texas's strange behavior these past few days.

However, faced with Texas, who stammered and refused to say anything, they knew that simply asking would get them nowhere.

Since that was the case, they might as well try another approach and test both sides' attitudes.

For now, Miss Maria's attitude remained as unfathomable as ever, calm and impossible to read.

Texas, on the other hand, was acting so strangely that they could barely stand watching her.

"I heard Siracusa has a tradition like this. When some families have a child, they find a godfather for them, someone who will guide them through life in the future... I heard it originally came from Laterano."

"Laterano? Oh, I think we do have a tradition like that." After thinking for a moment, Exusiai nodded.

As an Angel from Laterano, Exusiai still remembered many details of life back home.

"Though godfathers over there are more like elders for everyone. They do not carry the kind of major significance as life guides that you described... although that bearded guy does occasionally help quite a lot of people."

Exusiai sat cross-legged on the ground, eating an egg tart while watching Texas from afar.

"But what does that have to do with the Godfather movie you mentioned? I remember the one I watched was a gangster story."

"The one Croissant watched was a love story... A homeless girl was adopted by a godfather. When she grew up, she developed feelings for him, but never spoke of them. That was all."

"..."

"What is it?"

"That sounds strange."

"It was pretty strange, but when we watched it last time, Exusiai, you were crying your eyes out~"

The two chatted idly as they watched Maria and Texas.

Though Croissant's story sounded rather baffling, Exusiai did recall how she had felt when watching that movie.

And if she applied that feeling here, it really did seem somewhat similar.

"I remember that little girl became rebellious after reaching adolescence, right? She ran away from home for a long time... Texas also seems to have never kept in touch with her family."

"Then her childhood friend found her and persuaded her to go home... Lappland does fit that role."

"And then the seriously ill old godfather came to visit his child... So Miss Maria is Texas's godfather?"

Exusiai muttered as she continued staring at the café.

After Sora discovered that the idol she admired was resting at the café with Maria, she rushed over without another word. Before long, Exusiai saw Sora enter the café, sit across from Maria, and lean close to Texas.

"Good afternoon, Miss Sora."

Faced with Sora's sudden appearance, Maria maintained her usual composed attitude. After nodding to her, she called the waiter over again, took the menu, and handed it to her.

"I am sincerely delighted to see that you are as lively and beautiful as ever..."

"Huh?" Sora froze at Maria's sudden praise, her face reddening slightly.

It was not as though she had never heard praise from others, but Maria had come right out with it... and she felt a little shy.

But... an invitation?

What invitation?

Texas explained from beside her.

"Lady Maria invited us yesterday... but you were preparing for the charity concert at the time. We thought you probably would not have time, so we did not tell you."

"Ah~ So that was it."

Sora nodded as though she understood.

"What about Exusiai and the others?"

"They have other matters to deal with. They will come later... or perhaps they will not."

Texas spoke blandly. She lifted the coffee cup before her again and casually asked, "By the way, the charity concert is today, right? Why are you..."

"Do not worry~" Sora smiled confidently. "My part of the performance just ended. The next performance is the chorus after four o'clock, and there is still more than an hour until then. There is no rush at all!"

As she spoke confidently, Sora cheerfully removed her mask.

Maria, meanwhile, became curious.

"A charity... concert?"

"Oh, Miss Maria, you did not know." Once Sora understood that Maria and Texas had not secretly come out on a date, her mood visibly improved. "Sora is an idol, you know~"

"An... idol?"

Tilting her head, the two girls could clearly sense Maria's confusion.

For someone as obviously traditional as Maria, many professions in this world were difficult for her to understand.

Fortunately, after Sora explained for a long time, Maria finally reached a conclusion.

"A bard?"

"...Yes, more or less."

Hearing Maria's question, Sora helplessly nodded in agreement.

A bard was fine.

It was better than the jester Maria had mentioned earlier.

"Bards are a profession now?" Maria sounded somewhat wistful.

In her era, becoming a bard was more often a helpless choice... after all, if one could have a stable life, who would choose to drift from place to place?

But compared to having a bard among her companions, there was something else she was more curious about.

"What is a charity concert?"

"It is basically a free concert held to raise donations for the Infected."

Sora helplessly shook her head and continued.

"Miss Maria, you might not know this, but... in Lungmen, those infected with Oripathy have a hard time surviving. Discrimination, suppression, exclusion, even persecution. Even companions who once lived together will unhesitatingly cast someone out of their group the moment they become infected with Oripathy. Their lives have no security. They cannot even obtain the most basic food and warmth."

"So Sora... wants to help them..."

"I know I cannot help every one of them, but... I still want to do something. It does not need to be much. At the very least, within the limits of what I can do, I want more people to have a chance to survive..."

After saying that, Sora smiled at Maria.

Her smile was forced.

Clearly, showing kindness toward the Infected had brought her many troubles that others did not know about...

Maria did not know just how far this world's attitude toward the Infected had gone, but from what she could see, the Infected were indeed treated differently in many places.

And amid such a prevailing tide, the girl before her had chosen to sympathize with them...

Maria fell silent for a moment, then nodded at her approvingly.

"You are a kind person, beautiful Miss Sora... Kind people will always be blessed."

"Hehe..." Sora felt a little embarrassed as well.

What she had just said had always been hidden in her heart. She rarely spoke of it to others... because she knew that even in Lungmen, a city with a large floating population, exclusion of those with Oripathy had become commonplace.

And as an idol, she could not act against the general current, so even though she sympathized with those suffering from Oripathy, she could not say so openly. She could only quietly use her actions to convey something.

But she had not expected Maria to support her as well... Though Maria had not explicitly stated her stance, her words were no different from acknowledging Sora's own.

That made Sora feel much more favorable toward the woman before her.

Even her smile became brighter.

"Could Miss Maria be some kind of succubus? She seems to have successfully won Sora over?"

Having finished her croissant, Croissant stared at the three people through her binoculars in astonishment.

After seeing Sora's expression, she became even more surprised.

It had only been a few words. Sora had already lost her hostility toward Maria and was smiling like that...

"This is bad. Texas's competition pressure is about to get worse..."

"Competing for whom?"