Sasaki and Peeps - Volume 3 - Chapter 7

<The Leak>

After dealing with Viscount Ohm, I finally had some time to practice magic in the otherworld. We returned to our high-class lodgings and passed the next few days there.

I spent most of my time practicing the beam-like spell I’d fired off in the isolated space. I was able to activate it without issue, but considering the potential danger, Peeps had to educate me on how to handle it. As it turned out, the spell was pretty versatile—it was possible to restrict its power and broaden its scope. It was just as convenient as the magical girl’s Magical Beam.

As a result, however, I had to put off learning any new spells. I thought it was about time I started seeing some progress with the going-to-work spell, but unfortunately, no matter how many times I chanted it, I couldn’t get the magic circle to appear or my body to light up, much less activate it. I’d have to try it again next time.

After our short stay in the otherworld, we returned to modern Japan. When we arrived back at my apartment, I checked the time. It was just past six in the morning—a little less than an hour off from the return time we’d predicted.

Peeps, who had figured that out within moments, went to the computer on my desk and began using his golem to type away at the keyboard. On the display was a text editor and a black screen. I could tell he was messing with some kind of script, but I had no idea about anything beyond that. As the golem typed, the pure-black screen scrolled upward, text flowing at a shocking speed, like Peeps was some kind of super hacker.

It hadn’t taken him much time at all to overtake me in IT skills. It left me with a strange feeling—I was happy but also a little lonely. What is that app anyway? I wondered. I don’t remember installing that one. Was this how it felt to be a parent watching their child grow?

The golem’s movements were smooth and quick as it worked the mouse and keyboard. The puppet’s design also looked different than before. Peeps had probably been making small, incremental updates to it. That’s Peeps, always striving for self-improvement!

“Hmm,” he said. “As I expected, this model is more precise than the last.”

“Figure anything out?” I asked.

“Unfortunately, I still can’t say. The root cause is uncertain, as well. But there is an unpredictability in how much time passes that will cause us trouble. I’ve determined several factors worthy of investigation and plan to run test calculations in the near future.”

“Uh… Oh. Well, thanks for doing all the brainwork.”

“No need to worry. I find it rather fun.”

“……” Whatever he was doing, it sounded difficult. Poking my nose into it any further would just get in his way.

Instead, I checked my bureau phone. Just one night had passed in modern Japan, so I doubted any real problems had cropped up. I flicked on the power and checked the screen, not expecting anything.

But then I saw missed-call notifications from the section chief. Two, in fact—one from a bit after five AM and the other just a few minutes ago. He hadn’t bothered to leave me a voicemail, either.

“…I wonder what he wants.”

The timing made me think it was urgent. The chief was a hard worker on par with Miss Hoshizaki, but even he had to sleep every night. That meant he’d most likely received an unexpected alert and was responding to it.

Frankly, I was hesitant to call him back. I wanted to ignore it, go into the office, and hear what he had to say there.

As I vacillated, my private phone started vibrating. Placing the one from the bureau on my desk for now, I picked up the other. Ms. Futarishizuka’s name was on the screen—she appeared to be the one calling me. I couldn’t very well ignore her, so I decided to pick up.

“…Hello? This is Sasaki.”

“That damn sparrow of yours! What has he done?!”

She wasted no time snapping at me. Her usual playful attitude was gone—she was serious. I couldn’t see her, but I got the feeling she was genuinely angry about something. Even over the phone, I felt the same tension as when I’d first encountered her. And naturally, I had no idea why she was mad.

“Um, what’s going on?” I asked.

“You mean to tell me you don’t know?!” she yelled back.

“I don’t believe I do.”

“Ahh, for the love of…! Fuck! Seriously, fuck!” she replied, repeating a rather coarse word twice over the phone. A moment later, she hung up.

Just as I started to wonder what on earth was going on, my phone—still at my ear—began to vibrate again. I looked at the screen. A notification had popped up, saying I’d received a text message from the very person I’d just been talking to.

The only content of the message was a URL for a social media site. I had an account there, and I used to post occasionally before starting work at the bureau. Lately, I’d been avoiding it like the plague to prevent leaking any personal information.

“……”

After verifying the domain, I tapped the link to see what it was. My browser opened up to a certain user’s submission to the site. Apparently, the submission was a video, which began to play as soon as the tab opened. I glanced at the information just below—it had been uploaded the night before last, with both “likes” and “quotes” in the tens of thousands.

Whatever it was, it was viral.

I looked at the account name, curious. It was ☆SageSummer. Recently created, with a humble number of followers a little under three digits. The profile picture was still set to the default. All the likes and quotes had probably been from someone more famous quoting it.

In the video were two familiar faces: a Java sparrow and a blond-haired girl.

They were both peering into a laptop’s front camera, having an excited conversation. The words they exchanged seemed to be in the otherworld’s language, so the comments were not only about the talking bird but also what language they were speaking.

“That’s amazing! We’re inside the square!” “This is called a video. Everyone in this world uses them in place of a journal.” “You mean to say even commoners use something this handy?!” “That’s correct.” “I… I can’t believe it!” “One can also exchange videos with people in distant places to share information.” “This is part of that internet thing you were explaining before, right, birdie?” “That it is.” “Is it okay for us to be on it?” “If we don’t make it public, nobody will be able to see us.”

That was the gist of their conversation. In the background, I could see the very familiar living room of a high-class hotel.

“……” Oh yeah, this is bad, isn’t it? You’ve really done it now, Peeps.

“Is that the girl’s voice and mine I hear?” asked Peeps from his spot on the desk, catching the video’s sound coming out of the phone speaker and turning around to look at me. The golem stopped moving as well. The clacking of keys fell silent—causing the sound from the video to grow all the more vivid.

“Um, Peeps, about this…”

“Why the troubled expression?”

The sparrow fluttered gently into the air and landed on my shoulder. I held up the phone for him to see. The video was only a few minutes long, and so it looped with perfect timing, giving Peeps the opportunity to see it again from the start. We both watched together.

“That’s amazing! We’re inside this square!” “This is called a video. Everyone in this world uses them in place of a journal.” “You mean to say even commoners use something this handy?!” “That’s correct.” “I… I can’t believe it!” “One can also exchange videos with people in distant places to share information.” “This is part of that internet thing you were explaining before, right, birdie?” “That it is.” “Is it okay for us to be on it?” “If we don’t make it public, nobody will be able to see us.”

The phone’s screen showed the distinguished sparrow talking happily with Lady Elsa. I was struck by how cute Peeps was, acting all smug. He spoke of the internet with pride, as though it were his own.

“……”

“……”

After watching it all the way through again, I glanced at the bird on my shoulder.

He was clearly petrified.

It hadn’t been long since his introduction to the internet, but he seemed to understand the sort of impact what he was seeing would have on the rest of the world. He kept staring for a little while, not reacting.

And that was what made the existence of this video so puzzling. There would have been no problem as long as he hadn’t made it public—but it was definitely public now. Why was that? I thought about it for a moment, then looked down at the line directly below the number of views. The text showed that the video had been live streamed.

I had a sinking feeling that Peeps had made a mistake using the website. He must have mixed up the RECORD and LIVE STREAM buttons. I’d always thought it would be an easy mistake to make, since the buttons are right next to each other. One of my former coworkers had done the same, hitting the wrong button while drunk and going live with a dumb video.

“……”

Ah yes, that coworker had been drunk. And so had Peeps. I understood now. I recalled Count Müller’s words to me as we parted ways in the otherworld.

“Peeps,” I said, “do you remember any of this?”

“……”

It seemed safe to assume that his silence meant no.

The presence of a bird speaking a mysterious language and a beautiful foreign girl standing next to him were probably what had sent the viewer count skyrocketing in such a short period of time. I found comments about the talking bird, suggesting it had probably been dubbed over or something similar, but many people had enjoyed the video purely for its entertainment value. As for the language they were speaking, a bunch of viewers seemed pretty serious about figuring it out, and I could easily imagine that helping to expand the video’s reach. There were a lot of people in this world with a lot of time on their hands.

A few moments later, I got another call notification. The screen showed the name FUTARISHIZUKA. With Peeps still frozen on my shoulder, I pressed the call button and picked up. She started speaking immediately.

“So?” she asked. “Do you understand the situation we’re in now?”

“Thank you,” I replied. “I got a notification from the section chief telling me to come in, so if you hadn’t contacted me, I would have gone in blind. You may have just barely saved us.”

That was the worst possible situation I could think of. Getting called into the conference room and being shown the video, followed by the chief sitting me down and calmly asking me what it was. It was easy to imagine. And with Lady Elsa present, Ms. Futarishizuka—whom I’d used to explain her presence last time—would be just as caught up in this as I was. There was little doubt we’d both be dismissed. Depending on what happened, I could even see myself losing my home in Japan.

“You should go to him right away,” said Ms. Futarishizuka. “There’s nothing I can do about this.”

“My sincerest apologies. I feel like I do nothing but cause you trouble.”

“You can say that again. It certainly feels like I’ve drawn the short straw this time.”

“We will do our best to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“…I’ll be hoping for good news.”

She immediately ended the call. Usually, she waited for me to hang up, and her action made it clear just how furious she was. She’d been doing so much for us, too. I feel awful about this.

“Peeps, did you mix up the RECORD and LIVE STREAM buttons?” I asked the bird on my shoulder as I slipped the phone back into my pocket.

His tiny body gave a lurch when he heard that. “I…am sorry. Oh, what have I done?!”

Peeps fluttered into the air and landed on the desk, then he turned to me and gave a bow of apology. Seeing a sparrow lower its head that far was simply adorable. How could I do anything but unconditionally forgive him?

“I apologize! I know this situation won’t be resolved by apologizing, but I sincerely apologize!”

“Seriously, don’t worry about it that much. What’s done is done.”

“But I may have just stolen your home in this world…!”

“Well, in that case, we can just stay in the otherworld for a while.”

“Ahh, what have I done?! I cannot apologize enough!”

He’s so cute, constantly apologizing like that. Especially the way he keeps bowing his little head.

“I cannot believe I got so intoxicated that I made a mistake on the internet…”

“It’s not that unusual, actually. It happens to the best of us.”

Celebrities messing up live streams and ending up on the news was a fairly common occurrence. Apparently, there were plenty of people who made video-editing mistakes when uploading videos, too. For the most part, the creator would take it down as soon as they noticed it, but Peeps had fallen asleep before realizing what had happened.

I recalled the sight of him sleeping on the low table the previous morning—though perhaps “lying there” was a better descriptor than “sleeping.”

“This would have gotten out sooner or later. It just happened sooner,” I said, soothing him.

“I have been reckless. I am truly sorry!”

At this rate, it felt like he was never going to stop apologizing. I figured it was especially hard for him to forgive himself for getting drunk and screwing up since he always had a sense of relaxed confidence about him. If only Count Müller had given me that advice a little sooner, I thought, filled with regret.

Perhaps the count had experienced something similar in the past, I thought. The perfect and flawless Starsage seemed just a little bit more human now, and I felt closer to him as I listened to his earnest apologies.

Whatever the case, I needed to buy some time.

“Peeps, I’m going to go talk to my boss for now,” I explained.

“I’m sorry. I am an utterly foolish being. An imbecile who grew full of himself after being called the Starsage and fell to delusions of grandeur. To think I would trample on all the goodwill you’ve shown me! I am hopeless.” Peeps was sliding into a desperate pit of self-loathing, nothing but apologies flowing from his cute little beak. “I shall refrain from using the internet for the time being.”

The distinguished sparrow must have been hurting quite a lot to suggest voluntarily staying away from the internet. His drooping, sad visage was lovely in its own right, so as his owner, I hesitated to voice any disapproval.

Instead, I decided to do my best to support him. “Well, I appreciate it. I’ll just pop over to the bureau.”

“Mm. Please be careful.”

“I’ll smooth things over with the boss, so don’t worry—just wait for me. In return, can I ask you to go keep Lady Elsa company? I’m sure she’s feeling anxious all alone with Ms. Futarishizuka right now.”

“Understood. I vow to never commit another blunder like this again!”

It was a little early to be going into the office, but there was no way I could laze around the apartment in my current state. Plus, leaving early would let me avoid the packed trains.

I wonder, I thought suddenly. When Peeps was assassinated in the otherworld, could alcohol have been involved? It seemed unlikely, and yet I wasn’t sure how else a normal human could hope to take on the Starsage.

Somewhat earlier than usual, I transferred trains and headed for the bureau. I didn’t bother to contact the section chief. He could easily tell when his subordinates were on their way to the office by checking their location data. In fact, he didn’t bother calling me again, either. That gave me all the time I needed to worry about how I was going to get out of this.

My commute had never felt shorter. I arrived at the bureau in what felt like seconds. Going through the main entrance, I headed up to my department.

Naturally, Section Chief Akutsu was waiting for me. He looked as slick as he did every day, wearing an expensive-looking suit and perfectly shiny leather shoes. For the price of the watch gleaming on his wrist, you could buy a brand-new car, complete with every available option.

“Sasaki,” he said, “see me in the conference room.”

“All right,” I replied.

I followed him through the office, where employees were still sparse. We ended up in the small conference room, about ten meters square. He walked around the table to face me. It was just us in the room, of course.

“I think you know what’s going on,” he began.

“I do.”

I had assumed he’d show the video in question on the conference room screen, but he launched straight into discussing it as soon as he sat down, as though it would be a waste to even pull it up. He must have been certain I had something to do with it.

“I’ll ask you plainly. Who is she?” he said, calm and collected as always, his tone forceful. “She” definitely referred to Lady Elsa.

For now, I’d try playing innocent. “I believe I gave an explanation regarding her before.”

“We found the hotel based on the background of the video and checked the camera footage of the entrance. Two people who looked like you and Ms. Futarishizuka were seen going in. I hope you’re not going to try to claim this is unrelated to you.”

The section chief really likes his surveillance cameras, I thought. At this point, he couldn’t claim it was just for work—it was definitely his hobby. But what a pain for all his employees.

Initially, we had informed him that Lady Elsa was a psychic from another country. I’d also said I had nothing to do with her. But now it was clear to him that she was still in Japan—and that I still had contact with her. It would be weirder if he wasn’t suspicious. And that’s precisely why I had such a hard time answering him.

“I hear she’s staying in Japan for the time being,” I said.

“People are saying the voice was dubbed over, but personally, I have quite an interest in that sparrow that speaks the same language she does. If it isn’t fake, could the sparrow be from the same place as that lizard-man that fell from the sky?”

“Have you already analyzed that recording as well?”

“Come to think of it, I believe you have a pet sparrow at home, Sasaki.”

“……” He was really hitting me where it hurt. Bull’s-eye, Chief. There was no way to get out of it this time.

He continued. “Users on the internet have already determined the location of the hotel in the video. Quite an expensive place, isn’t it? I assume it was obtained through Futarishizuka’s influence. Have you heard nothing about her relationship to the girl?”

“Apparently, she doesn’t understand the language in the video, either.”

“Is that right?”

“That’s what she told me, at least.” For the moment, I decided not to lie. I was hoping to avoid aggravating the situation any further with minor inconsistencies. My plan was to acknowledge the truth for what it was but still claim I didn’t know anything about it.

“I’d like to speak with Futarishizuka as well, if possible,” remarked the chief. “But I can’t seem to get in touch with her. Would you mind trying to reach her for me? Though, I’m sure she’ll come into the office at some point today if we wait.”

“You’re probably right…”

I got the feeling she’d be able to give a good answer to any questions he might ask. She hadn’t been alive since before World War II for nothing. The older, the wiser, as the saying went. But I felt like the chief might be able to outfox even her.

So what am I supposed to do now? I wondered, trying to think as quickly as possible.

But taking that time worked against me. “That said,” continued the chief, “I’d prefer to wrap things up quickly.”

“Has something urgent come up?” I asked.

“You want to continue living here as a Japanese citizen, right?”

“……”

Ah, I thought. This is my boss giving me an ultimatum. He stared at me. His tone had been as detached as always, but I knew my life would change drastically depending on how I responded.

And if he was going to push me that far, then I’d just have to do the same.

“Yes,” I answered. “I would like to continue working for the benefit of Japan.”

“Then do what you need to do—as a member of this bureau.”

“Then, Chief, I believe I’ll do so right away.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

I rose from my chair and moved to the whiteboard beside the conference table. I made out a slight twitch in the chief’s eyebrow—he must have been wondering what I was doing. But he didn’t say anything.

As he watched, I picked up a black marker. “Mr. Akutsu, do you recall the incident at the bowling alley?” I asked.

“…Why this, all of a sudden?”

“A lot of bureau employees died in that incident,” I continued.

On the whiteboard, I drew an equilateral triangle. At each of its corners I drew equally sized circles. In one circle, I wrote the chief’s name. I was about to write the nerd’s name in the second, but then I remembered I didn’t know it, so I put the word suspects instead. In the last, I wrote the name of the bureau’s vice director, who was the chief’s boss as well.

“It would seem the vice director was fed false information by the suspect group,” I explained, drawing an arrow from the suspects to the vice director. The chief didn’t respond to this. I continued to explain, the marker in one hand. “But at the scene, as bureau members were dying left and right, you were the only one taken alive, for some reason—though, I suppose it’s possible you’re worth that much to them.”

I drew an arrow from the chief to the suspects. As I did, the marker started to run out of ink. What a sad time for that to happen. I picked a different pen off the tray below the whiteboard. I couldn’t find the same black color, though, so I was forced to grab the blue instead. It kind of put a damper on the coolness factor of my presentation, but it seemed like the kind of thing that would happen to me.

“Actually, a direct line might not be appropriate here.”

I added a smaller circle in the middle of the other three. In it, I wrote Mr. X. I didn’t know the details for this player, since Ms. Futarishizuka had been hesitant to explain further. Then I drew a line from the chief through Mr. X to the suspects.

“The suspects were probably thrilled at the prospect of eliminating so many bureau members.”

I added an arrowhead to the other side of that line, pointing back to the chief. Personally, I really wanted to know the identity of Mr. X. Maybe Futarishizuka would tell me someday if I got to know her better.

“When you look at it like this, I feel bad for the vice director—he had no idea. I hear he’ll be taking responsibility for the whole incident and leaving his post in the near future. As for who will take up his position… Well, I know I’m curious. Aren’t you?”

“……”

I stared fixedly at the whiteboard. If I’d simply told the section chief I knew he’d set up the incident at the bowling alley, I wouldn’t have needed to go through this song and dance. I did it anyway, because I wanted to give off the impression I knew even more—all sorts of things.

It wasn’t clear whether my efforts had borne fruit, but I did finally get a response from the chief. “Sasaki, would you happen to be connected to the Public Safety Commission?”

Yes! I thought. He took the bait. All thanks to Ms. Futarishizuka’s intel. She really has been nothing but helpful lately. “No, I’m not,” I said.

“Then why are you here right now?”

“Please don’t misunderstand me. You were the one who started this, Chief.”

“……”

During this entire exchange, Mr. Akutsu’s gaze had never once drifted away from me. I was sure he carried a concealed gun, so I was paying just as much attention to his actions as he was mine. There was a chance he would label me a spy and shoot me. Dead men tell no tales, after all. With his position, he could kill me and sweep it under the rug in any number of ways.

“I’d like to keep our relationship cordial, Mr. Akutsu,” I said.

“You expect me to believe that?”

“I very much hope you will. Do you think I would have bothered to tell you about all this if I harbored any ill will toward you? All I ask in return is my status as an ordinary bureau employee.”

“Is the title that attractive to you?”

“It is like heaven compared to my previous job.”

“…I see.”

Hesitation was evident in the chief’s normally confident manner of speaking. He was probably busy trying to guess what I was playing at. The idea that I might be content remaining in my current position was beyond his imagination. In that light, his disbelief actually made me feel pretty good.

“I’ll say it again—I have no intention of opposing you, Chief. Were it not for this incident, we wouldn’t have needed to have this conversation. So will you allow me to continue contributing to the nation as a member of this bureau?”

“Who are you, Sasaki?”

I couldn’t answer that question—nor could I remain silent. This was a good chance to use one of Peeps’s lines. “Our world is much richer in versatility than you think it is, Chief.”

“……”

When an average Joe like me says it, it just doesn’t have the same punch. These sorts of quotes needed to come from the Starsage’s beak. The chief had fallen silent, and I began to think this middle-aged man might have gotten a little carried away. How embarrassing.

Still, I felt like I’d managed to deal with him. I was confident my safety was ensured for the time being. I trusted the chief not to do anything careless now that we both knew each other’s weaknesses. There was nothing I could do if he decided to surprise me by shooting me in the back, but he’d have to at least consider the risks he’d run if he failed. In that light, this situation wasn’t all bad. It would also make it easier to do things related to the otherworld in the future.

“So I’d appreciate it if you didn’t pry any further. I won’t involve myself in anything you’re doing, either. I believe this would be a mutually beneficial arrangement. What do you say?”

Whatever the case, the one thing I didn’t want was to return to my life as a corporate drone. I’d also prefer not to have the government after me. The important things in life were eating and sleeping—Peeps was in agreement with me there. To that end, I wanted to maintain the status quo. I was an employee making a desperate appeal to my boss, insisting I hadn’t the slightest ambition to climb the ladder.

A few moments later, the chief said, “You’re correct, Sasaki.”

“Do you mean that?”

“You had better not be lying about this.”

“You can trust me, Chief.”

“…Very well. Then, I’ll respect your wishes on the matter.”

I did it, Peeps! I’d successfully gotten a compromise out of the section chief. It sounded like he wouldn’t be prying into our affairs in the future. Perhaps that would quell Futarishizuka’s ire, too. I was confident that if I added a little bonus to all my future payments, everything would be all right. And it seemed likely my distinguished sparrow would be more than willing to help out this time.

“Thank you. I’m glad we’ve come to an agreement.”

Even so, that had been some dangerous business. Making deals like this with the chief was going to give me a heart attack.

(The Neighbor’s POV)

At the moment, I’m in my apartment with my mother before heading off to school. We have a little TV in the corner of the room, and it plays the news—at length—every morning. My mother is watching it while doing her makeup. Keeping her in the corner of my vision, I start packing textbooks and notebooks into my designated schoolbag.

Around the same time, I hear a voice emanating from the TV that I recognize. I’m not sure what it’s saying—whatever language it is, I don’t know it. It has a very strange ring to it, though, and it doesn’t sound like English or Chinese. Figuring my imagination is getting the better of me, I turn my attention away from my bag and to the TV, just to check.

After all, it sounds a lot like a voice I heard from the room next door—like the voice of whoever was talking to my neighbor that one time.

“……”

The TV shows a blond girl and a silver Java sparrow having a conversation. According to the newscaster, it’s a video trending on social media that was just uploaded yesterday. But the familiar voice isn’t coming from the girl—it’s coming from the sparrow.

It looks like they’re using a computer or a smartphone camera to record a video. The newscaster goes on to explain that the video was streamed live on a social media site.

It sounds like viewers enjoyed the setup of a cute blond girl and a sparrow skillfully conversing in a mysterious, unknown language. The comments left on the video scroll by on the TV screen.

Personally, I’m more curious about the bird—it’s the same species of sparrow the man next door keeps as a pet. And the pattern on its body looks similar.

“……”

But behind the two speakers in the video is a pretty large living space, completely different from our humble apartments. It looks to me like an extremely luxurious home or maybe a royal suite in a high-class hotel. Obviously, it wasn’t streamed from the apartment next to ours.

“Oh. Haven’t we seen that sparrow somewhere before?” says Abaddon, noticing that my attention has shifted. His gaze is fixed on the TV as well.

“You think so, too, Abaddon?”

“Do you honestly think a little bird could speak human language?”

“That’s nothing compared to all the stuff you’ve dragged me into.”

“Hmm. You think?”

The newscaster says the video was filmed in a hotel room in Tokyo. Apparently, people on the internet have already figured out exactly where it is. They then urge viewers to respect people’s privacy. But you put it on the news, I think.

“Should I assume the voice sounds familiar to you, too?” I ask.

“I think you’re right. It might just be the same creature.”

“I see. That’s very reassuring.” If Abbadon thinks so, too, then there can be no doubt. I don’t know how good a demon’s senses are, but they must be better than a human’s. If there’s even the slightest chance it’s true, that’s good enough for me. Playing hooky for the day is nothing if it means getting a chance to be with him.

The thing I need to focus on above all is finding out the identity of the girl with the sparrow. What kind of relationship does she have with him? She can’t possibly be his child. It seems unlikely she’s a blood relative. But then, who is she? And why is some random girl with him?

“Hey! What the hell are you muttering about?!”

Abaddon is invisible to others at the moment, as usual. My mother can’t see him or hear any voice but mine. She overhears my little chat and yells at me angrily, her gaze moving away from the TV to glare at me. She must be wondering if her daughter’s finally lost it.

“Do anything creepy like that again and I’m kicking you out! Got it?!” she continues. As she speaks, I notice the smartphone in her hand.

If I could use that smartphone, I might be able to get more detailed information. Everything the newscaster is reporting seems to have been picked up from the internet. So if I do some investigation of my own, I might be able to get the details—including where the hotel was.

“……”

My next-door neighbor wiped out an entire group of angels in that isolated space. He can’t possibly be a normal person. He must have something special going on, just like I do. And if his pet sparrow can talk, that basically proves it. That’s how it seems to me anyway.

After all this, there’s no way I can restrain myself. I immediately get up and touch a fingertip to my mother’s head.

“Hey! What are you—?”

“……”

I feel something warm flow into my body from hers. It takes a few seconds before she collapses on the spot, unable to finish her complaint. At the same time, the fog in my brain clears up. Now that I think about it, I haven’t had anything but water since yesterday afternoon. I probably have a minor case of malnutrition. But stealing some life force from my mother seems to have fixed the issue.

“Your decisiveness regarding him reassures me,” comments Abbadon.

“It would be a waste not to use everything I can, wouldn’t it?”

The phone falls out of my mother’s hand, and I scoop it up. She was just using it, so it’s already unlocked. I type the words sparrow, blond, and conversation into the search bar. A whole list of websites pop up, and they seem to have the information I’m looking for. I navigate to the one at the top and skim what it says. Most of it is the same as the news, but there’s one piece of additional info. And it’s exactly what I want most: the name and address of the hotel where people think the video was recorded.

“Abaddon, I’m going out now.”

“Well then, why don’t I join you?”

“I should have expected you’d want to come along.”

“Hey, if an isolated space appears while I’m not around, it’ll be the end of the line for you!”

“…All right, then.”

Even a vile demon like Abbadon comes in handy when I need to do something in secret. And if he’ll be joining me, I’ll use him however I want. I can even ask him to get rid of that blond girl, depending on the situation, I think to myself. Wait, no, that won’t work. The rules say demons can’t do anything to humans in the real world. Last time, he told me all he could do was knock them unconscious.

“Should we leave your mother there?”

“It’s not summer,” I reply. “It won’t matter if she lies around for a while. She’ll still get up and go to work without my help. In fact, she seems to think she’s just getting random bouts of light-headedness, so it’s actually better for us not to bother.”

“Have I ever told you how fitting it is that you’re a demon’s Disciple?”

“All humans are like this deep down, aren’t they?”

“Now there’s an opinion I can agree with.”

With Abaddon’s assistance, I should be able to sneak into the hotel room unnoticed.

I feel my chest warm up at the thought of the man I parted from only two days ago.

For a little while, I wasn’t sure how that conversation with the chief was going to go. But I’d managed to get through it by making use of some of the information Ms. Futarishizuka had given me beforehand. And it hadn’t been just me being driven against the wall the whole time—I’d gotten something out of it, too.

For a while, even if he saw us acting strangely, he probably wouldn’t openly point it out. In exchange, we would overlook whatever the section chief was up to. At least, that was the kind of relationship I was hoping for.

Afterward, I quickly left the office for the day and returned to our hotel. Whatever the case, I wanted to report the news to Ms. Futarishizuka. We’d need to find a new place for Lady Elsa to stay. And besides, after my little act, I wasn’t comfortable working in the same office as the section chief—I was sure it would be extremely awkward. I wanted to take some time, maybe the next several days, and wait for the storm to blow over.

Thank goodness for flexible office regulations. I’m sure the section chief will overlook a few days. My negotiations should have netted me at least that much.

A little while after leaving the bureau’s building, I reached a point in my commute where I had to exit the train station to change lines.

“……”

Compared to the suburbs, the city sky, only visible between high-rise buildings, felt so much more cramped. As I was looking at the clouds scattered across the blue expanse, I caught a glimpse of something odd.

Something was floating up there—it was angular, but it wasn’t an airplane or a helicopter. One part narrowed to a point, while another was wider. Its distinct shape meant it had to be manufactured, but its movement speed distinguished it from a regular airplane. From my vantage point on the ground, it was maybe the size of my fingertip.

Others nearby started looking up at it as well. The next thing I knew, a whole crowd of people had taken their phones out and were holding them up at the sky. I felt the impulse to follow their lead and take mine out, too—but various theories about what it might be came to mind, stopping me in my tracks. Maybe there was something more important to be doing right now than taking a picture and uploading it to social media.

“I really, really hate to call the section chief after all that, but…,” I muttered to myself, taking out my bureau phone. He’d probably still be at his desk.

Maybe he’d already gotten the information without me telling him about it. The thing was pretty big, by the looks of it, and given its location above urban Tokyo, it was more than likely that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport—not to mention the Air Self-Defense Force—had picked it up on their radars. In which case, rather than the bureau, which liked to keep everything secret, it might be better for Japan’s existing air power to do something about it.

I’d already seen everyone staring at it from the ground. At any rate, it seemed like the forces of modern civilization would need to go up there soon.

My hand came to a stop, hovering over the phone. I was starting to feel like I should prioritize my own matters and get back to the hotel.

Meanwhile, I heard the people watching the sky talking among themselves.

“Do you see that weird thing floating up there?”

“Huh? It’s not an airplane or something?”

“Hey, look! Is something floating in the sky?”

“Could it be a spaceship?”

“Of course not. That’s dumb.”

“Maybe it’s really just an airplane, then.”

“There was also that blimp thing floating around a while back, remember? It was big news.”

“You know, I wonder what happened to that.”

“Wait, is it really a UFO? Talk about exciting!”

The same ideas were going through my mind as well. The object was very far away, so I couldn’t make out any design details. Still, its inorganic form was clearly uneven and jagged—hence why the first thing I’d thought of was something manufactured, like an airplane.

A bunch of images flashed through my mind: mostly media containing space battleships, humanoid robots, and the like. Mysterious invaders from outside our galaxy and the earth being in grave danger—you saw stories like that all over the place these days.

But fiction was not reality. It’d be a huge mess if something like that were to actually happen. To begin with, eyewitness reports of strange flying objects like this had become the topic of conversation many times in the past. As those around me were saying, an object resembling a hot-air balloon had been sighted in the sky a few years back. Was this something similar?

If it was, then I’d only be wasting the bureau’s time reporting it. I put the phone I’d just taken out back into my pants pocket, then started walking again. I weaved through the rubberneckers, heading for the train.

“……”

But then, something occurred to me.

At the very least, that otherworld was real, wasn’t it?

That wasn’t all, either. Lately, I’d not only been seeing all sorts of suspicious, questionable things—people with psychic powers, magical girls, angels, demons—but I’d been communicating with them. I’d even begun thinking of some of them as my friends and fellows.

Compared to that, unearthly life-forms that had evolved independently in the vast reaches of space finding our planet with its water and atmosphere and making the long journey over actually sounded natural.

“No, no. That’s ridiculous…”

Crazy ideas rushed through my mind—and I didn’t have a shred of evidence to disprove them.

(The Neighbor’s POV)

After leaving my apartment, I ride a train to my destination. I procured the money for the fare from my mother’s wallet. She might complain if she notices, but if she does, I can just take more of her life force to quiet her down again. If she keeps on fainting like that, maybe at some point she’ll get a clue. Investigating that blond-haired girl hanging around my neighbor is more important right now.

“Whew! Talk about fancy entranceways,” says Abaddon, looking at the front of the hotel building.

We’re standing behind another building nearby, looking over at it. The entrance has a uniformed security guard keeping watch. Since I’m wearing a school uniform, if I’m not careful, he might call me aside. And depending on how I answer him, he might bring me to the police. Because of these concerns, I’m currently trying to figure out how to get inside.

“Somehow or other, I need to get in without being noticed,” I explain.

“Want to use your reward?” he asks. “You still have one from that last battle in the isolated space.”

“Yes, please.”

“I don’t know why, but I didn’t expect an immediate answer.”

“Is there a problem?”

“No, I just thought you’d think about it a little more.”

“I hope you’re not about to tell me you can’t do it, even though you’re the one who offered,” I murmur to Abaddon as I check out the building. Nobody conspicuous is nearby. In fact, I’m probably the most conspicuous one around. It seems like I’m the only one crazy enough to visit the scene of that viral video to get more details.

The internet is on fire with people talking about it, but that’s only because phones put everything at your fingertips. I suppose it’s unusual for anyone to be bored enough to walk here this early in the morning—into an area of the city with a ton of office buildings and at a time when trains are so crowded.

If the scene had been a little more chaotic, I might have been able to sneak in with other people. Or if I was an adult wearing a suit, I could have just boldly strode in, pretending to be a guest at the hotel. It wouldn’t have been impossible, at any rate.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Disciple use a wish on something like this,” remarks Abaddon.

“This kind of situation is exactly the reason I’m cooperating with you.”

“Personally, I’d be happier if you wished for something slightly more related to the proxy war.”

“Then give me the ability to fly with you.”

“Given the number of angels defeated, that would be an appropriate reward. But you weren’t the one who actually took them down—it was that man you know, right? That makes me a little hesitant.”

“Don’t the actions of a Disciple’s acquaintance count as points for the Disciple in this game? He clearly acted to save me. If I hadn’t been there, those angels and their Disciples wouldn’t be dead now.”

“You sound so proud of it, too.”

“Do I?”

“Well, fine. You’re right, after all. It’s thanks to him I was able to wipe out that many Disciples. I’ll simply chalk it up to your own efforts this time. I’ll give you the power to fly and help you handle this situation.”

“All right. Quickly, please.”

“Leave it to me!” says Abaddon as my vision suddenly twists.

But there’s no sound or magic circle. Did that give me the ability to fly? It was a pretty plain reaction, compared to the things I’ve seen so far.

“…What was that?”

“I hid you from sight,” he explains. “Now you can go straight in through the front door. But people will notice if you touch them, so just be careful of that, I guess. They might also realize something’s going on if they hear you make noise.”

“What about being able to fly?”

“That would definitely draw attention, so we can do it in the hotel bathroom or something. There are probably cameras all over a busy spot like this, right? You’re better off not doing anything conspicuous.”

“You’re surprisingly knowledgeable about this time period.”

“I’ll learn whatever it takes in order to win this game. If we slip up, you might end up on the news just like that bird did. And if that happened, it would put us at a big disadvantage in the game, wouldn’t it? Nothing wrong with keeping your identity a secret.”

“Right,” I say, a little impressed by how much thought Abaddon is putting into this.

In any case, I can now enter the building with ease. Just like he said, the security guard doesn’t react to me at all. Thankful, I proceed.

The entrance is absolutely gorgeous. Looking back on my thirteen years of life experience, I think this is the most out of place I’ve ever felt. The same goes for the people walking around. Every single one of them is wearing very expensive-looking clothing as they confidently go about the interior. It almost feels like I’ve wandered into a different world.

For a little while, we move about the building. However, it’s proving difficult to reach the room. I’ve barely even been outside my own neighborhood, so although this is just one building, it feels more like a labyrinth. If anyone had seen me, they’d definitely have called me aside.

“What’s wrong? Why did you stop?”

“I’m looking for an elevator up to the guest rooms,” I say. “As far as I can tell, the video was recorded on the top floor, probably in a room called a presidential suite.”

“Isn’t that one right there?”

“I can also see a staircase leading up on the other side.”

“Well, why not pick one and give it a shot?” prompts Abaddon.

“All right,” I reply, heading toward the elevator.

As I do, the elevator doors open, and someone who appears to be a guest steps inside. It’s a young woman wearing a suit. She has neat, bobbed hair and a lot of makeup on, like one of those female office workers who really knows what she’s doing. Or maybe she’s the secretary of someone really powerful.

“I swear! What the hell has Sasaki gotten up to?!”

Just as I start to pay attention to her, a word spills from her mouth that I can’t ignore.

It’s the name of the person I love, after all.

The name of the person who loves me.

And yet, on any other occasion, I might not have cared. The last name Sasaki is extremely common in this country. In a hotel this big, at least one of the guests is bound to have it.

Recalling the video I saw in my apartment, however, I take a step forward.

“Abaddon, we’re going with her,” I say.

“Okay, okay.”

Aware of the risks, I decide to follow the woman in the suit. I walk into the elevator behind her, then tuck myself away in a corner, careful not to touch her. My eyes naturally drift over to the buttons on the wall used to travel to other floors.

She presses the one with the highest number of all.

“Well, would you look at that?” says Abaddon playfully, his voice reverberating through the elevator. “Your gut instinct might have been right on the mark.”

“……”

Ignoring him, I take a closer look at the woman in the suit. And then I realize something.

I know her.

She came to the apartment building to pick up my neighbor in the past. He told me she was a colleague from work.

“Oh? That’s a lot of tension in your face. What’d you notice?”

“……” Obviously, I can’t let the woman know we’re here. Swallowing the complaint I would otherwise have directed at the demon beside me, I wait for the elevator to arrive at the top floor. Every second of every minute feels like an eternity. I stifle the urge to tap the woman’s shoulder and demand to know what’s going on.

In the meantime, she speaks to herself again. “I really need him to stay with me until retirement age…”

What is she talking about? I wonder incredulously. Stay with you until retirement age? Does she plan on marrying him, sucking him dry, then divorcing him when he hits retirement? I’d heard such behavior was getting more and more common. I remember reading an article about it in a magazine in the library. Even a neglected child like me is aware of these things.

No, wait a second, I think. He’s single. He’s not married. He told me he’s never even been divorced. That makes sense, since we haven’t gotten married yet. We’ll marry and become one in both name and substance.

“…Wow, if only you could see the look on your face right now,” remarks Abaddon.

“……” But the only one currently at my side is a vile demon.

The woman can’t have already secured her place beside him, right? Ahh, if that’s true, I can’t just stand here quietly! It occurs to me that this situation, where nobody else is around, is the perfect opportunity to speak to her.

“I really think you’re better off calming down, personally!”

I don’t need you to tell me that, I think. I am calm. I’m perfectly fine. All I have to do is give her a little touch to make her pass out anyway.

“……” I stare at the woman for a little while, agonizing over it in my mind.

Then I hear a ding as the elevator reaches the top floor.

The woman, done up in all that makeup, immediately gets out and begins walking confidently down the hallway. Since this is the top floor, it only has a few rooms. I don’t see any other guests aside from us walking around—it’s practically deserted up here.

Normally, I’d need to check the map to see where I’m going, but now I’m more interested in where this woman is headed. I start down the passage behind her.

“Where are you going? You just passed the map.”

“I’m following her,” I murmur under my breath. There’s a little bit of distance between us now, so it should be fine.

“Considering your options, that’s probably the easiest choice, but…” Abaddon looks at me and sighs.

Say what you want, I think. I won’t be able to sleep at night until I find out what she’s up to.

“……”

I trot along after the woman, who is taking big, intimidating strides. The rug on the floor is very fluffy. Its pile stands up straight, and it has a sheen to it. It would be far more comfortable to sleep on than my usual blanket. I feel guilty just walking on it with my dirty sneakers. I can’t understand what goes on in the minds of rich people. Why would they do something so wasteful?

The dimness—probably a result of the indirect lighting—gives the place a high-class feeling, which is only underscored by the furnishings dotting the hallway. A lot of them are beyond my comprehension, but I’m sure someone with a sense for such things would feel they had value. A child from a poor family like me could never understand.

“Oh, looks like we’ve arrived.”

“……” My silent pursuit of the woman with the makeup ends as she stops in front of a door. She knocks on it—hard. The sound reverberates all the way down the hallway. Nobody inside the room responds, so she tries a few more times. Abaddon and I are just a few meters away, watching.

“This is the police! Open up!” she shouts after a few tries, the intimidation in her voice carrying all through the hall.

She’s a police officer? If that’s true, that means my neighbor is a police officer, too. But he told me himself he works in an office at a midsize company. Naturally, the first explanation I can think of is that he was lying—a white lie in order to protect someone close to him.

“……”

“It really shows on your face whenever you’re thinking about him.”

Abaddon is speaking, but I don’t have the patience to listen. My mind goes blank. Is he actually dating this woman? An office romance? Why would he lie to me, then? Does he have feelings for me, too, and is that why he lied? That wouldn’t be so bad.

Still, I want him all to myself.

“……”

As I’m panicking, the woman in front of the door moves. She takes a card out of her inside pocket and uses it to unlock the door. Apparently, she wasn’t lying when she said she was with the police. Otherwise, she couldn’t have gotten the key to the room.

Is my neighbor a police officer? Is she his colleague? Whatever the case, it’s clear he lied to me. That makes me very sad.

He just risked his life to save me, too. What was that all about, then?

Does this woman have charms I lack?

Now’s not the time to be thinking about this, I chide myself. I’ll just have to be even bolder with my advances. I’m the one who’s supposed to be at his side—and nobody else.

“Looks like it’s open. What will you do?” asks Abaddon.

“I’ll follow her inside and have a look,” I reply.

I step into the room after the woman. On the other side of the door is a small space that seems to be an entranceway. This place is supposed to be some kind of impressive suite, so of course it’s very spacious. I wonder if anyone inside could even hear the knocking.

The woman doesn’t hesitate as she strides through the entranceway. There’s another door beyond, leading into an expansive living space.

And that’s where I finally find the person I’ve been looking for.

“It looks like your intuition was right on the money.”

“……”

Here is the blond girl from the video on the news. She stands up from the couch and faces the woman in a defensive posture. She looks pretty tense. Age-wise, we’re probably pretty close, but the cautious way she carries herself reminds me of a stray cat unaccustomed to humans.

And on the low table in front of the couch is the bird—a silver Java sparrow, the same as in the video. It’s perched on a little tree, staring hard in our direction. I can feel a humanlike intelligence from it, like it’s genuinely wary of the sudden intruders. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I can’t dismiss the idea.

“You’re Futarishizuka’s psychic acquaintance, right?” demands the policewoman. “The one who visited the bureau before?”

“Wh-who are you? The door should have been locked!”

The blond girl and the woman are speaking two totally different languages. I understand the former, though I’m not sure what she means by psychic and Futarishizuka. But I know from context what she’s after. She has probably come here as part of a police investigation. Considering the timing, it must be about that video on the news. But what would the police have to do with a video like that?

The blond girl, on the other hand, is completely incomprehensible to me. Her words sound like a foreign language, just like in the video.

“Yeah, I still can’t understand a word you’re saying,” remarks the woman.

“Birdie, I still have a hard time understanding this world’s language…”

I mentally prepare myself not to cry out just in case the bird starts talking.

This is the perfect chance to figure out how all these people are related to my neighbor. But as I watch, waiting for the right time to intervene, something else happens. A new person appears from another doorway and enters the living room.

“I’ve secured a different location, little one. We should move there at once—”

The newcomer is a girl who can’t be more than nine, wearing a red-and-purple kimono tinged with black. Her glossy black hair is very striking and reaches down to her waist. In one hand she grips a smartphone, and she wears geta on her feet—I’d heard them clap across the floor when she entered.

As soon as she steps into the room, she sees the woman in makeup and stops.

Then, looking disappointed, she continues. “Or not. We’re already too late.”

Oh, that’s right, I think. She was with him the day before yesterday. What on earth is going on here? Until just last month, there were never any women anywhere near him.

Or had he actually been hopping from one woman to the next, and I just never knew about it? If so, then the situation is dire. I need to join with him as soon as I can. After all, I’m the one who loves him the most. I’ll never let another woman steal him away.

They might love him, but do they understand him? I’ll accept him for who he is, no matter how wretched. In fact, the more wretched he is, the more I’ll love him.

We’re made for each other. I want to depend on him, and for him to depend on me, and for us to melt and mix into one another.

“Futarishizuka,” says the woman in makeup, “I know you’ve been working with Sasaki.”

“That makes things easy,” replies the little girl. “Leave this to me and go back to the bureau.”

“That blond girl—she’s the psychic you’re friends with, right?”

“And what would you do if I said yes?”

The kimono girl’s attention is on the woman in makeup. She looks exactly like a Japanese doll in those old-fashioned clothes. Her hair is gorgeous, smoothly swaying this way and that at every casual movement.

I’d have long, straight hair if I undid my ponytail, too. But I certainly can’t take care of my hair the way she does hers—you can tell by the color and sheen that our hair is completely different. I haven’t even touched conditioner or any other hair product in several years. I wash myself, including my hair, with blocks of soap I steal from school, because if I used the stuff my mother buys, she’d be furious. In addition to my theft of leftover lunches, soap runs are another of my regular procurement missions.

“I have some things I’d like to ask you about,” says the woman in makeup, “including the matter of the lizard falling from the sky,”

“Is that an order from the boss?” responds the kimono girl.

“No, but he will certainly order me to do so in the near future.”

“Then why don’t you sit quietly and wait for that to actually happen, hmm?”

The conversation keeps going—apparently, the two of them know each other. The blond girl maintains her defensive posture, silently watching them talk. She’s very clearly foreign, judging from her skin and eye color, so she probably can’t understand Japanese. She isn’t able to communicate with the woman in makeup at all.

In the meantime, a light flashes outside the window. What was that?

The answer comes an instant later when the living room’s window glass loudly shatters.

At first, the light blinds me—it reminds me of when the group of angels fired that strange laser.

“N-now what?!” exclaims the kimono girl.

“Urgh…,” grunts the woman in makeup.

“B-birdie!”

Immediately, I see the sparrow leap off his tree out of the corner of my eye.

I crouch down right away, wanting to pat myself on the back for not screaming. A moment later, I feel the glass shards spraying everywhere. Then a series of sounds, like large furniture falling over, make it very clear that I’m in danger. Fortunately, though, I don’t feel anything hit me.

Abaddon speaks from right beside me, his voice calm and collected. “That child is floating in midair. Do you know who she is?”

“…What are you talking about?” I ask, incredulously looking up and outside the window.

And there she is—a child floating in the air. She’s dressed strangely, too. She looks like a transforming heroine in a little girls’ anime. She must be one of those so-called magical girls who have proliferated in the last half century. But her clothing is torn in places and covered in dirt. She looks filthy as she floats there, just beyond the broken window. Considering where she is, it seems safe to assume she was the one who broke the glass.

“I will kill all psychics.”

As I watch her, she raises something that looks like a wand, before making her bloodthirsty declaration. She’s only just appeared, and she’s already saying some pretty scary stuff. This girl must be crazy. Is she the Disciple of an angel or a demon?

But that doesn’t make sense. If she’s a Disciple, an isolated space should have appeared. Which means she isn’t a Disciple—she must be the angel or demon herself. But considering Abaddon’s question, that doesn’t make sense, either. Would he have asked me who it was if it was an angel or a demon?

While I puzzle over everything, the others begin talking again.

“H-how did you find out about this place?” stammers the kimono girl.

“I saw it on TV,” the floating girl answers. “One of the big ones on the side of a building.”

“Ah. I wasn’t aware it had spread that far…”

The kimono girl seems to know this other kid dressed like a magical girl.

Like me, the floating girl has apparently seen the video on the news and come directly here. She seems to have caught wind of it from one of the giant moving displays affixed to the outer walls of city buildings, though I’m not certain why she’s interested in the first place.

The kimono girl, however, looks over at the blond girl standing on the sofa and says, “You’ve really done it, haven’t you?”

“……”

Wait, no, I think. She’s not looking at the girl—she’s looking at the bird on her shoulder. And why did yet another woman suddenly show up?

As far as I can tell, every single person here aside from the woman in the makeup is either in elementary or middle school. Was the man next door into that? Thinking back, I’d first met him when I was their age or a little younger.

That was a serious problem. After all, my body had suddenly begun to mature recently. Was he losing interest in me as a result?

No, that can’t be, I think.

He should belong to me. And I should belong to him.

I can’t stand by and take this.

“Abaddon,” I say, “please make me visible.”

“Don’t blame me for whatever happens, okay?”

“I won’t,” I say with a nod.

My vision twists for a moment, giving me the same sensation as when he made me invisible in front of the hotel building. And that seems to be the exact instant I appear, because every single person in the room, without exception, reacts to me.

The kimono girl’s response is the most striking. “Wh-what could it possibly be now?!” she cries out, her voice carrying through the living room.

After that, the others all react in turn.

The woman in makeup takes a gun from her inside pocket and begins pointing it at everyone. The blond girl suddenly has what looks like a conductor’s baton in her hand, and she waves it at us. The magical girl has been pointing her own wand into the room ever since making her violent declaration.

And I, unarmed, lower my center of gravity, ready to fight.

“I’m finished with this!” shouts the kimono girl. “I am finished! I care not what the rest of you do—just leave me out of it!” She heads out of the room, apparently fed up with the whole situation. The way she walks makes her seem like someone much older, and her antiquated style of speaking gives the same impression.

As soon as her back disappears from view, everyone in the room starts shouting at each other.

“Fine, then! I’ll just have to drag every one of you back to the bureau with me!”

“I won’t let any psychics escape. I will kill you.”

“You know, you’re all being awfully rude, barging in here like this!”

“He belongs to me, and I won’t let anyone else have him.”

We’re all trying to speak at the same time, our various opinions and arguments reverberating through the suite. And I can’t even understand one of them, so I don’t know what she’s saying. Plus, with everyone talking at once, I doubt anyone is listening to anyone else. I, for one, am annoyed at having to hear them at all.

“It looks like none of you are on the same page,” remarks Abaddon, though it’s unlikely anyone hears him.

Whether we are on the same page or not, my only wish is to be at his side.