"She said she'd come to see you. It should be sometime soon."
A flicker of emotion crossed the Manager's face, but he quickly hid it and shook his head. "I can't see her..."
He had held his longing in check even during those relatively peaceful days. How could he hope for a meeting under circumstances like these?
"I... we know that, of course." Louis paused, then smiled. "You once asked me to save her. If I understood you correctly, you didn't mean physically saving her."
"So I think this is part of saving her, too." As he spoke, a hint of helplessness returned to Louis's face. "You can't leave all the work to me, can you?"
"There's also the matter of safety."
"But didn't you storm CCG Headquarters alone back then to draw their attention away from her? If danger comes, we can just do it again. I'll go with you."
"Manager, to me, the saddest thing isn't being parted by death. It's dying with a lifetime of regrets. For your sake, and for hers, please have a proper conversation. If there's danger, we'll face it together."
At that moment, the Manager truly looked like an old man on his last legs. He sat numbly on the sofa, expressionless and silent.
"I understand..." After a brief discussion, Louis finally let out a long sigh and leaned back against the sofa, staring at the ceiling.
"I'll pass that on to her, but I won't ask her to come see you, and I won't stop her either."
"If she comes to you someday, please treasure that rare opportunity."
After finishing his conversation with the Manager, Louis left the room. He looked down the corridor, thought for a moment, then headed farther inside.
He stopped before an ordinary yet familiar door.