5 — You Reap What You Sow (05)

"I-Ichika… san?"

There were chunks of ice everywhere.

Was what I was seeing actually real?

No… it couldn't be. I was still dazed from the blast of light. That had to be it.

I mean, just a few seconds ago Ichika-san was right next to me. There was no way she got over there that fast and attacked Lakas.

"Keuk! Aah! Let go of me, damn old man! You're still holding me even after you're dead?!"

With a scream, Lili finally pried herself free from Lakas's hands. He was completely frozen. Just like almost everything else on the rooftop of the Massugu Sky Tower.

Even from a distance, I could feel the cold radiating from Ichika-san's fingers.

My brain finally made the connection: that ring on her finger… the ice magic that looked like lotus flowers…

I should've known.

Ichika-san was with them. She was a terrorist.

"What took you so long, Ichika? Were you really going to let us die here? Agh!"

"Don't move, Lili. Your leg needs treatment. I'm going to try to remove the bar from your thigh. Put your hand in your mouth and… make sure you don't bite your tongue."

"What are you doing? Wait, Mari! You're just gonna pull it ou— Gaaaah! You damn psycho! Are you trying to kill me?!"

"Hah… Ah… Ah… please, leave the bickering for later… we need to grab the credentials and get out of here, fast," Ichika-san said.

"Hey. Are you… are you okay?"

When Lili asked that, I realized Ichika-san could barely stay on her feet.

At first I thought it was because of the mist, but her skin was pale. Her brown hair also looked lighter, and her muscles were shivering from the cold.

"What a stupid question, Lili. Of course she's not okay. Her body temperature's completely shot. Now that I've taken care of your injury, do something to warm her up. She won't be able to walk out of here like that."

"Tch. I don't need you to tell me what to do."

Lili raised her hands.

A red aura started forming subtly around her fingers, until slowly, some color returned to Ichika-san's face.

"That's enough, Lili. Save your mana."

"Oi, I'm not done yet, I have to at least bring you back to room temperature!"

"We don't have time… after all that noise, reinforcements should be on their way."

After saying that to Lili, Ichika-san turned toward the ice statue and struck it in the chest. It was a quick, weak blow, but it was enough to open a hole in it.

There was no blood, no movement coming from Lakas.

Holy shit.

He was dead.

"Hah… Haha."

I laughed nervously.

If someone like Lakas couldn't handle these terrorists, then what would become of me?

Ichika-san knew I was here.

It was only a matter of time before those lunatics noticed me!

No!

This wasn't the time for self-pity. I needed to get out of here. Take advantage of the fact that they were distracted and—

"Hoho? Well, well, what do we have here. A little rat sneaking around!" A male voice came from behind me.

The yank on my collar was so fast I barely had time to react.

In a matter of seconds, I was thrown from my hiding spot to right beside Lakas's body.

"Shit!"

Out of all places… why here?

"You three really should pay more attention to your surroundings. Didn't you notice you were being watched?"

I knew that voice.

He might not be wearing the horse mask anymore, but that was definitely the hothead who blew up the bar's walls.

"Ken!? Now you show up?! We almost died because of you!" Lili hurled the frozen mask at him.

"M–My fault? Don't try to pin your incompetence on me. Own your weakness."

"I-It was a licensed mage! This has nothing to do with incompetence or weakness."

Mari chimed in:

"She's right… we underestimated him."

"Excuses, as always. If Ichika-senpai hadn't stepped in, you'd both be dead… Whoa! What's with this cold? W-wait! This magic!— Ichika-senpai, are you okay?"

Ken rushed over and grabbed Ichika-san by the arms. The smug look on his face vanished the second he saw how purple her lips were.

"Hey! What happened? Did you really have to use that magic? Was he really that strong?"

"It's fine now, Ken. You don't have to worry about me. I used that magic because I needed to end this quickly… It's nothing serious."

After gently pushing Ken away, Ichika-san went back to searching Lakas's body.

"B-but… but!"

"Ugh, this is disgusting. Could it be any more obvious?" Lili sneered as she pressed down on the wound in her thigh.

Weird.

My eyelids were getting heavy.

"Honestly… I hope we didn't waste our time coming here."

Mari had barely finished her sentence when Ichika-san exclaimed:

"F-found it! He actually had one!!!"

"""You found it?!"""

All of them reacted in shock when they saw some kind of chip in Ichika-san's hand. Why was something like that inside Lakas's body?

"Yes… after all this time… we finally have a lead."

From the way Ichika-san reacted, and how excited the others got, I figured this was what they'd been after all along. Not that it mattered to me.

My main concern was getting out of there alive. But that didn't look very likely.

Trying not to draw attention, I started scanning the rooftop. Door. Stairwell. Elevator. Everything was far away. If I got up and tried to run for any of them, I'd be dead before I got halfway.

Shit.

Is it really going to end like this?

"Let's go, Ichika-senpai. We'll analyze this back at base. We need to return."

"!"

Return? Did they forget about me?

Yes!

Go back to whatever hellhole you crawled out of!

Now that you got what you wanted, just disappear and leave me alone. I'm just a useless neural connections student. You won't gain anything by killing me.

"Yes, let's go."

Ichika-san's words were like a light at the end of the tunnel. I knew I shouldn't, but I clung to them with everything I had.

Please, God.

I swear after today I'll stop drinking.

I swear I'll never get involved in this kind of—

"Wait. What about this clown?"

The false hope died instantly.

Ken grabbed me by the collar and lifted me up.

"…Should I blow him up, or do we throw him off the side?"

Why, God?! I was so close!

"Uh… that guy."

The moment she saw me dangling there, Lili's face flushed red.

"What? You know this little rat? Huh? Is he your boyfriend?"

…If this guy kept shaking me like that, I was going to puke.

"W-what are you talking about, you idiot? I don't know this moron!"

"Isn't he one of the hostages?" Mari drew closer.

"Who cares who he is. I just want to know if I should kill him or not."

"There's no reason to kill him. Didn't you hear your beloved 'Ichika-senpai'? We don't need unnecessary casualties."

Mari? No. Who was this angel in front of me?

"B-but he saw our faces!"

When Ken said that, his grip on my collar loosened and I dropped. At the same time, a wave of anger washed over me.

Who did this bastard think he was, tossing me around like a ball?

I had to try something.

If he stayed in charge, I was done for.

Thud! I banged my head on the ground and dropped into a full dogeza bow.

"Ichika-san… do you really have to do this? My mouth is like a grave. I won't say a word! Besides, I can barely remember what I ate yesterday. Look, I just turned around and I've already forgotten everything about Ken, Lili, and Mari. I didn't even see the ice magic with lotus flowers you used. Please believe me!"

"H-hey! How does this idiot know our names?! Ichika-senpai, we can't let him go!"

"AAh! Not again!"

For the third time, I was yanked up by the collar.

A bluish light formed around Ken's fist.

"I'll make sure you stay real quiet."

Before he could finish blowing my head off, Ichika-san grabbed Ken's hand.

"I-Ichika-senpai?"

"I'm sorry, everyone. I completely forgot to introduce him."

Ichika-san's sudden gesture made everyone fall silent.

"This is Kobami Haruki-kun, a sound mage. He'll be joining our team starting today."

""""What?!""""

Holy shit.

"Ichika! Are you sure about this? A new member out of nowhere?! You've got to be kidding."

"Lili's right. I know you're the leader, but don't you think this is going too far? And what do you mean sound mage? Do you have any idea how rare that is?"

Mari and Lili clung to Ichika-san's arms in a panic. Ken, meanwhile, was completely stunned.

"I know it's sudden, but it's the truth. Any help is welcome on the team. Besides, a sound mage can be very useful, don't you think… Haruki-kun?"

Ichika-san placed a hand on my shoulder and whispered:

"How did you put it earlier? Fate brought us together tonight."

"..."

Haha… Ha… haha… Yeah, yeah.

A sound mage.

It's true.

A sound mage could be very useful to them.

Considering the foundation of all magic is waves and resonance… I don't see why a sound mage wouldn't be valuable.

After all, they're rare.

What terrorist group wouldn't want that kind of addition on their team, right?

"Y-yeah. I can be really useful! Definitely!"

I smiled.

I gave a big smile up at the sky... but not from happiness, from pure despair.

In fact, a sound mage really was something incredible.

But… there was just one tiny problem:

It was a lie.

One I was forced to keep in order to survive.

—Clack.

The TV remote hit the floor.

Drool slid from my mouth and soaked my T-shirt.

All the memories were back.

And yet… I wished I hadn't remembered.

Back then, there was no way for me to know just how much I would come to regret that lie.