You're Really Something

The smile vanished completely from Shawn's face. The shift from a smile to contempt was so swift, so natural, that even the air around him seemed to turn cold in an instant.

"Then let me put it another way, Hesta. You may think this is a Habitable Zone, a place where everyone is filled with righteousness. But every place has its own rules, and some rules transcend geography. In Hekla, in Duanming Alley, at the base—it's all the same."

At the mention of "Duanming Alley," Hesta became slightly more alert. "...You've been to Duanming Alley?"

"No," Shawn answered frankly. "But it couldn't be too different from Hekla. I'm sure you understand what I mean."

"I don't." Hesta lowered her head slightly. "Please explain it more clearly."

"I've got something on you too, Hesta." Shawn's voice was very soft. "Think about it. If Ms. Moly found out about your private plotting, do you still expect her to defend you like before? And Liz? She'd be terribly disappointed in you too—she's a fanatic for procedural justice, as rigid and dead-set as an ancient corpse. They care more about order than they care about you, but I'm different. In certain matters, you'll find me far more reliable than Liz."

Hesta smiled. "...In what way?"

"I understand you. I understand you far too well. You've merely brought your habits from Duanming Alley into the base. We're all familiar with this sort of thing. It's the people here who don't understand—they've soaked in honey for too long."

Hesta let out a breath of disgust, and Shawn watched her with a grin.

"Haha, I know you won't like hearing that—nobody would. But that's the truth. Unlike everyone else, I won't use high-sounding words to deceive you—"

Hesta raised a hand to her forehead and said quietly, "Miss Tulan, please come out. I really... can't listen to this anymore."

In an instant, Shawn's expression froze. Several strange sounds came from the stairwell landing below him; he had never noticed that someone was hiding there.

After a burst of electronic static, he heard a familiar string of conversation:

"Has anyone ever told you your hair is beautiful?... What?... No wonder people once offered huge sums to buy Hesta people's hair. But why don't you grow yours out? Girls should all have long hair..."

The voice cut off abruptly. At the same time, Tulan, dressed in the same short-sleeved shirt, appeared on the stairs before them.

"Not bad. I didn't get all of it, but... I got the important parts." Tulan slipped her phone into her pocket, narrowed her eyes, and gave Shawn a thumbs-up. "You're really something, Shawn. You're really something."

"You... You two set me up together?"

"How can this be called setting you up? Hesta and I went downstairs to shower together. She came out first, and I followed behind her," Tulan said coldly. "This is called happening to be here. A coincidence. Just happening to run into you."

"Heh. A recording made secretly without the knowledge of the person involved has no legal validity—"

"Who needs legal validity?" Tulan laughed. "Once Liz comes back and hears this recording, you'll find out whether she's an order fanatic or not. I suggest you go reserve a bed at the base hospital first. When the time comes, she'll beat you so badly even your brother won't recognize you."

Shawn frowned. After a brief moment of panic, he regained some of his composure.

"You think the people at the base would really punish me severely over such a trivial little matter?" He looked mockingly at Hesta. "Fundamentally, we're both exceedingly rare tools. Before we belong to ourselves, we belong to AHgAs. The balance in the Habitable Zone is too firmly entrenched—as long as I haven't committed a serious crime, no one can really do anything to me. Your Liz can't, and neither can Ms. Moly."

"Then they can't." Hesta spoke softly. "But I advise you not to make any rash moves right now. You and Tulan are both Quicksilver Needles after Secondary Awakening. If you really start something here, it won't do you any good."

Shawn's throat moved. "...What do you want?"

"The recording doesn't necessarily have to be released, as long as you stop here and don't trouble me again." Hesta looked at him. "Of course, if you do come looking for me again, I have other measures... I mean what I say, Shawn."

"Oh, don't hold back. It'd be best if we started right now." Tulan laughed. "On the night the main force leaves the base, two reserve Quicksilver Needles activate Bullet Time and brawl in the dormitory area—just thinking about it is exciting. I really am curious whether, with my brief Bullet Time, I can beat you until you're crawling around looking for your teeth."

Shawn swept his gaze over the two of them. He said nothing, turned, and ran toward the other end of the corridor.

Tulan, standing where she was, could not help bursting into laughter. She shouted after Shawn's retreating figure, "I know you won't like hearing this—nobody would—but this is the truth. After all, I'm different from everyone else. I won't use high-sounding words to deceive you: go back to your room and play with your balls, Shawn—"

Hesta watched Shawn's back vanish into the darkness of the corridor, and finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you."

Tulan waved a hand, her tone light. "It was nothing. But how did you know he'd definitely come looking for trouble with you today?"

Hesta tilted her head slightly. "...A feeling?"

Tulan gave Hesta a thumbs-up. The two smiled at each other and went upstairs to their rooms together. Before long, Tulan copied the recording and then knocked on Hesta's door.

"Come in. The door isn't locked."

Tulan pushed the door open but did not enter. She looked at Hesta, who was sitting at her desk. "Writing in your diary?"

"Mm."

"I brought tonight's recording. I saved a copy for myself too. This one is for you."

Tulan held out her left hand and tossed a brand-new voice recorder toward Hesta. Hesta had not been expecting it, but she caught it quickly.

"Just keep it in your pocket every day. If something like this happens again, you can gather evidence yourself even if I'm not around."

It was a silver voice recorder, only about the size of an ordinary pen. There was a small electronic screen on its side, with buttons beside it.

"Thank you... Does it come with a manual?"

"No. I threw that thing away ages ago," Tulan replied. "Figure it out yourself. It's not difficult."

"...All right."

"By the way," Tulan said, folding her arms before her, "you really don't plan to tell Liz or Molly about what happened tonight?"

"There's no need. Some evidence is more useful kept in hand than released."

"...You don't believe Liz can get justice for you?"

Hesta put away the voice recorder and stood up.

"It's not that I don't believe her." Hesta looked at Tulan. "But I think Shawn was right about one thing too. The base won't really make things difficult for him. A fine or a lowered rating should already be the maximum punishment—when all is said and done, this isn't something Liz can control."

Tulan was somewhat surprised. "Why do you say that?"

"Before I came here, Miss Chiba told me that there were only a little over four thousand active Quicksilver Needles in the world." Hesta answered quietly. "And District 3 has an especially small number of Quicksilver Needles—just over two hundred, roughly 5% of the total. That means every reserve here is extremely valuable. I don't think the base will easily give up on anyone. Not over petty troublemaking like Shawn's. Even if he truly committed some serious crime, he would probably still have value."

Tulan frowned slightly—it seemed... to make sense.

She fell silent for a while. "...Anyway, don't listen to Shawn. Liz isn't the kind of person who cares more about order than her companions. I think it's because this is her first time serving as an adjutant, so she's been constrained in many things she does. She's always been a reliable partner."

Thanks to Foodie's Record Nine for the tip and monthly vote~