29
After days and nights of terror in prison, racing along with Rossi, being sent off the Red Line by a palm strike from Sengoku, and flying here by a roundabout route-the three Hancock sisters had made it this far on their last reserves alone.
The moment they saw the former queen of Amazon Lily, that taut string abruptly snapped.
Exhaustion and pain washed over them like a tide. As soon as they were settled upstairs, all three fell into a deep sleep.
"Mr. Rossi, please allow me to thank you again."
The middle-aged Shakky still retained a youthful figure. She bowed to Rossi, then raised her eyes.
"Forgive my presumption, but the search for Hancock and her sisters was Amazon Lily's most closely guarded secret.
Just where... did you learn about it?"
On that summer afternoon, the tavern smelled of boiled beans mixed with ale.
The ceiling fan turned slowly, slicing the lingering tobacco smoke into fragments.
"Surely it wasn't just because they happened to be there?"
The woman put down her glass-polishing cloth, her gaze settling on the young man opposite her.
Her fingers unconsciously tapped the wooden counter, making soft, rhythmic sounds.
Sunlight filtered through the blinds outside, drawing alternating stripes of light and shadow across the floor.
The young man did not answer immediately.
He reached up and rubbed his chin, the friction between skin and stubble making a faint rasp.
On the other side of the counter, the white-haired man was spooning softened beans into his mouth, his cheekbones shifting slightly as he chewed.
"There are things you can know without seeing them yourself."
The young man turned his gaze toward the white-haired man. "Like the records left in certain places."
The white-haired man paused for an instant.
The aroma of beans lingered in the