The True Human

Suddenly, Calvin's steps halted.

Shawn walked a few paces ahead, then turned back when he realized Calvin wasn't following. "Why'd you stop?"

Calvin's gaze passed over Shawn, fixing on the lawn in the distance. They were standing on the semi-open corridor of the library's third floor, the distant green expanse laid out before them.

Shawn faintly heard the sound of an accordion. He followed Calvin's gaze, spotting a few girls gathered on the grass.

The one holding the accordion in the center of the group was Liz. But Shawn also immediately saw the red-haired Hesta, sitting quietly next to Liz with her hands clasped around her knees, empty-handed. He didn't recognize the rest of them immediately, but he was sure they weren't the other two girls from 403.

Liz was teaching them the Quicksilver Needles' battle hymn.

Shawn's lips curved upwards. He leaned his elbows on the corridor's railing and listened for a moment. "No matter what it is, once you put it together with an accordion, it just has that Askia smell… so strong."

Calvin didn't speak, listening to the women's chorus drifting on the wind, watching them.

After a while, Calvin suddenly spoke, "Why Hesta?"

Shawn didn't react immediately. "Why what?"

"I wanted to ask you that the other morning, but Liz burst in then," Calvin's gaze shifted from the distance to Shawn. "Why have you been making things difficult for Hesta since she arrived at the base? Do you like her?"

Shawn shrunk his neck, creating a double chin.

Calvin tilted his head. "No?"

"I like this kind of," Shawn gestured with two balls in front of his chest. "Is she like that?"

"Then why..."

"I don't know if you remember," Shawn propped his face up, looking back at the girls in the distance. "Back in '19, someone spread word in the habitable zone that someone was paying a high price for red hair from Hesta Tribe women."

Calvin frowned. "Did that happen?"

Shawn shook his head. "Your memory is something else... You had long hair back then too. One day I got hair dye and said we should try to dye it that shade of red they wanted. I accidentally bleached your hair orange-red... Remember?"

"Oh, I think so."

Shawn laughed. "I was thinking, what kind of woman would have naturally fiery red hair?"

"So that's why you stole her data recently?"

"Yeah, that was the initial reason," Shawn looked into the distance. "But after seeing her basic profile, I became even more curious. Born in 4612, entered Saint Anne Abbey in 4620, she spent a full eight years in Duanming Alley... How is that possible? She said she lived alone before entering the abbey, do you believe that?"

A burst of laughter from the girls came from the distance. Calvin remained silent.

"And, have you seen the recent reports? The ones from outside," Shawn asked.

"I saw some."

"Don't you find it ironic," Shawn said gently, "everyone is praising Hesta to the skies, they're practically calling her the Second Coming of Christ—all to snatch a Quicksilver Needles reserve, they're willing to fabricate a non-existent saint."

"How do you know it's fabricated?"

"Isn't that exactly like when we first arrived?" Shawn retorted. "As long as someone thinks someone is bad, they're definitely rotten to the core. If they think someone is good, then they're perfect in every way. How many rumors did those newspapers spread about us back then? Duanming Alley and Hekla are no different. People from places like us aren't exactly easy to deal with."

"...People are different."

"They just look different." Shawn chuckled and lightly tapped his temple. "Karl, fundamentally, everyone is pretty much the same—as long as you look closely enough, deeply enough."

Calvin glanced at Shawn. He'd had this feeling more than once: he couldn't pinpoint when it started, but Shawn seemed to have retreated behind a shell wall that no one could reach.

He just stood there, quietly watching everyone, keeping people out while also isolating himself.

"So what exactly are you trying to do?" Calvin asked calmly.

"Nothing much, I just find her interesting," Shawn stretched lazily. "Just wait, I'll definitely reveal Hesta's true colors..."

Shawn turned sideways, his expression playful. "What do you think the citizens outside will do then?"

Liz began to sing again in the distance, her voice melodious and graceful, but in a language that both Shawn and Calvin found unfamiliar. Shawn listened for a couple of lines and recognized it as Askia.

"Let's go, I'm tired of standing," Shawn yawned and turned to walk ahead. "Let's find a place to sit down quickly, I need to catch up on sleep."

"Shawn."

"Hm?" Shawn turned his head and saw Calvin standing there with a complex expression. Shawn suddenly felt his brother was a bit off today. "What's wrong?"

"If you continue to act so recklessly, you might eventually be stripped of your combat qualification," Calvin frowned. "Does that not matter to you?"

Shawn smiled, deliberately lowering his voice. "I don't care, Karl. I never intended to go into battle."

Calvin froze, then clenched his fist. "What?"

"I've been thinking of finding a chance to tell you my thoughts lately—in fact, once we've learned what we need to here, there's no need to risk our lives for them."

"...It's only been a short while," Calvin's anger was evident. "You've already forgotten everything that happened at Hekla."

"No, Karl, I haven't forgotten," Shawn's expression also turned serious. "I will always—"

"Then what nonsense are you talking about?"

"Alright, let me put it this way, Karl." Shawn took a deep breath, thought for a moment, and continued. "I just don't want to risk my life for AHgAs, but we can still use these abilities for other things—there's just no need to risk our lives, we should live for ourselves."

Calvin's voice rose slightly. "Like a coward?"

"No, like a person," Shawn interrupted Calvin. "A real person."

"I don't want to hear your excuses—"

"You have to listen!" Shawn's voice also couldn't help but rise, but he immediately calmed down and looked around—thankfully, on a Sunday morning, no one was likely to pass by here.

"Karl, Karl..." Shawn took a deep breath, adjusted his emotions, and walked a few steps closer to Calvin. "Maybe I'm a coward, a scoundrel, a liar who spews nonsense, but I've never lied to you—"

As soon as he said this, Shawn vaguely felt something was wrong. He immediately tried to salvage it. "I mean, at least on all the important matters—I've always been honest with you."