Bullet Time

She suddenly recalled her days at the convent. Back then, she had often stood atop the church bell tower, looking down at the highway in the distance.

Every year on the convent's open day, several families approved by Sisters Elma and Gerdin would enter the convent to adopt children they had taken a liking to. Back then, she and Boheng would wait together in the bell tower, guessing which children had been chosen that year and would leave with their adoptive parents.

New fathers and mothers meant a new home and a new life. That was part of the convent's charitable work. But neither she nor Boheng had ever entered the adoptive families' sights—Boheng had chosen to remain at the convent and refused to leave that way, while Hesta, for various reasons, had never been brought before anyone.

At that moment, Hesta's attention was no longer trapped by her physical pain. She gazed toward the end of the road as Miss Chiba's rapid-fire words vanished into the distance along with the hatchback... Now she was standing high above again. The gentle elders and kind friends of the past had all left her, and she was still alone.

"Don't be afraid."

Hesta suddenly felt a pair of hands settle on her shoulders. She turned and saw Valenti smiling at her.

"I'll take you to the dormitory, all right?"

The reservists' dormitory was a very old-fashioned four-story building. The first and second floors contained lounges, training rooms, and a small library lending room. The third and fourth floors were the actual dormitory area, with boys on the third floor and girls on the fourth. Both ends of each floor had restrooms and communal shower rooms.

Hesta followed behind Valenti, slowly climbing the worn old stairs—there was not even an elevator here.

"There are more than two hundred active Quicksilver Needles in all of District 3, while Tanyi City has sixty-seven reservists in total. Aside from a few children currently taking part in internships, most of them live here." Valenti smiled. "As for your room, let me see... Ah, it's Room 403."

Valenti suddenly stopped speaking, then burst into laughter. "Your ID number ends in 403, and you've been assigned to Room 403 too—you really are fated with the number 403."

Valenti's voice was gentle and cheerful as she showed Hesta the two fitness areas and communal lounge on the first floor. It was around four in the afternoon, and everyone was having class in another teaching building, leaving the entire dormitory area empty and quiet.

According to Valenti, people would only begin returning after seven in the evening. They would stay in the gym and library until ten, then return to the third and fourth-floor dormitories to sleep. Every day was the same.

However, as they passed the shower rooms, they both heard faint sobbing.

The smile in Valenti's eyes vanished almost immediately, replaced by concern. She told Hesta to wait where she was while she went to see what had happened, but Hesta still followed behind her as they searched for the source of the crying.

The sobbing overlapped with the sound of running water. In a corner of the women's changing room, they soon found a girl huddled there. She wore a freshly changed short-sleeved shirt and sat crouched on a wooden bench against the wall, her face buried between her arms. Her wet brown hair covered most of her face.

Valenti recognized her at once, but did not approach.

"All right, all right, Miss Hesta." Valenti quietly left the area and quickly used her phone to notify her companion. "Let's go. I'll show you your room..."

Hesta looked back with some concern. "Shouldn't we do something about that person?"

"Someone will come for her, but perhaps she wants to be alone for a while right now."

"You know her?"

"Of course." Valenti smiled. "I know everyone here—her name is Tulan, and she lives in Room 403 too."

Tulan. Hesta remembered the name. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Why is she crying?"

"Mm." Valenti considered her words. "I think it's because her time is too short, so she can't join the frontline teams and directly take part in combat against Chelated Beings—she's always wanted to become one of them, like Masaki."

"Does she have a serious illness?"

"No." Valenti gave Hesta a strange look. "Why would you ask that?"

"You just said her time was too short..."

"Ah..." Valenti suddenly understood, then smiled. "That wasn't referring to the rest of her life, Miss Hesta. Miss Tulan is very healthy, and she trains diligently in every area. She will definitely live for a very, very long time... The 'time' I meant was every Quicksilver Needle's 'Bullet Time.' It directly determines how long they can remain on the battlefield when fighting Chelated Beings."

Hesta's footsteps slowed slightly. "What is... Bullet Time?"

Valenti seemed somewhat surprised. "Masaki didn't tell you?"

Hesta shook her head.

Valenti said, "From the moment a Quicksilver Needle is discovered until they can truly be deployed in combat, they generally undergo two awakenings. The first usually happens when they encounter a Chelated Being for the first time. Bullet Time, meanwhile, is a talent that all Quicksilver Needles gain after their Secondary Awakening... You've already seen a Chelated Being with your own eyes, haven't you?"

"Mm."

Valenti paused. "When you faced a Chelated Being head-on, did you feel anything unusual?"

"Something unusual..." Hesta fell silent for a moment. The strange scene from then, when everything before her had slowed down, suddenly flooded back into her mind. "A little."

"About seventy-eight percent of Quicksilver Needles feel something abnormal during their first awakening, usually a burning sensation or pain in the body." Valenti spoke softly. "After their initial awakening, Quicksilver Needles emit a unique scent that allows others of their kind to recognize them."

Hesta's steps faltered. Somewhat concerned, she lowered her head and sniffed at her clothes.

Valenti said, "Haha, don't worry. Ordinary people can't smell it. Only a small number of Chelated Beings and certain Quicksilver Needles with especially sensitive senses of smell can detect it—and the scent itself is very faint. It will disappear once you undergo your Secondary Awakening."

"Is that so..." Hesta murmured softly.

"These are all minor matters. You don't need to worry about them." Valenti continued, "After the Secondary Awakening, the appearance of Bullet Time is the change that receives the most attention—it refers to the length of time Quicksilver Needles can maintain their combat state. During that time, our speed, strength, vision, hearing... all improve dramatically."

"...We become as fast as bullets?"

"You could understand it that way." Valenti replied, "A Quicksilver Needle in that state can easily catch a bullet in flight."