Chapter 27: Don't Break the Taboo

Kriiiing! Kriiiing!

My alarm clock rang again at exactly seven in the morning. Its sound was so loud and annoying. I didn't know how many thousands of times it had woken me up this way. Slowly, my eyes opened. My hand reached out deliberately, then turned it off gently.

I woke up from the bed, sitting on the edge while letting out a heavy sigh.

My eyes fell again on the alarm clock on my desk. For the first time in two months, I didn't throw it roughly.

Last night, I still saw it. The same dream. About Xiang Yu again. This time about his teenage years when he was raised by his uncle. About his selfishness. About his ambition. And about the foolishness I had witnessed dozens of times.

But... somehow this time I didn't feel so angry. That blaze of anger still remained, but more like a candle flame illuminating the darkness, no longer a great fire that scorched everything.

Strange. And I didn't understand.

Was I so fed up that I no longer cared? Or could it be that...

I shook my head slowly, driving that thought far from my mind.

Getting up from the bed, I went to the kitchen and brewed a cup of warm tea mixed with sweet white milk.

The deliciousness and warmth immediately flowed as I sipped the milk tea from the edge of the cup. From the tongue, down the throat, ending in the stomach before later being converted into energy for the day's activities. But as soon as I put the cup back on the table, silence immediately greeted me.

I was used to loneliness.

This wasn't a problem.

But my instinct said something was wrong today. There was something big waiting for me today. Sure enough, my phone suddenly sounded a notification from Tirta-san. I picked it up. Anxiety enveloped me as I read the contents of his message.

"Seven people dead. Yesterday I almost caught one dark apostle. Unfortunately, that damn goat stopped me again."

Reading it made me clench my teeth until a loud 'click' sound was heard.

Since encountering the dark apostle, I and Tirta had often exchanged messages secretly to discuss someone I suspected at school. I never mentioned his name even though I knew Tirta wouldn't hurt him, let alone kill him.

In the organization, there was something I learned. Everyone there had the ideal of saving every human life without question. Killing was a taboo. Whether because of naivety or because they were possessed by the spirit of heroes, everyone upheld that prohibition even though there was no written rule.

The proof was when Tirta stopped me when I almost succeeded in killing the dark apostle we had encountered. He also preferred the trouble of capturing and handling them the right way—healing and punishing according to the written laws in the organization—rather than killing them directly.

Even so, somehow, I felt this was my own business. I felt I myself should be the one to stop him.

"Haruki Tachibana..."

That name... I knew it. No! From the start I was very sure he was the one involved in all these murder incidents. I didn't have physical evidence. But I knew one—I mean two things that pointed to him.

Motivation for revenge. And such a drastic psychological change.

Those two things indeed wouldn't be accepted in criminal law. But they were enough to direct suspicion at him. One more thing, for those who knew about the mirror world, it actually became the strongest evidence. Because all physical evidence would disappear when in the mirror world.

Once I tried stealing money in the mirror world. But when I entered the real world, the money disappeared before I could see its form in the real world.

Even though I was very sure, I still hesitated to act against him. Something bound my hands and feet. My mouth felt locked every time I wanted to ask when near him.

Tachibana was the perpetrator, but two weeks ago he was just a victim. And I didn't know how long he had been a victim.

"Still. His actions can't be ignored."

Brrrrt!

Once again, my phone vibrated. Another message from Tirta.

"Are you still there?"

"Yes."

"Do you have any plans today?"

"Maybe?"

I waited for a reply, but Tirta on the other side seemed to take so long to answer, as if arranging the right words. This kind of thing rarely happened. After waiting almost a minute, the answer finally came.

"This might just be my feeling. But let me give you some advice. Whatever you do, never hesitate to take a step. Even so, never ever try to cross the taboo."

"Do you understand?"

I fell silent. His instinct is really sharp.

To erase his suspicion, I quickly replied.

"What taboo action could I possibly do at the library with a bespectacled girl I met?"

"How should I know?" Attaching a Moai stone emoji.

I smiled at his reaction.

"Don't worry, there won't be any problems."

"Alright if that's what you want."

"I trust you with everything."

In the end, our conversation ended.

I immediately took my bag and left for school. I didn't forget to put the keychain into my pocket. As soon as I opened the front door, Rena was already waiting for me, standing with her back to the fence while gazing at the clear, wide blue sky.

She turned, smiling at me.

"Have you had breakfast?"

"Something like that. Have you been waiting long? Why didn't you just ring the bell?"

"I just arrived too. I thought it was better to wait a bit. I didn't want to make you choke."

"No. I mean wouldn't it be better for you to wait inside than outside like an idiot?"

"Eh, is that allowed?"

"Why not? Sakura always did that every morning. Even worse, she would just enter my house without knocking. By the way, she knows where I keep my spare key."

"That much?!" Her expression was increasingly filled with surprise.

A soft laugh slipped out of my mouth. "Just ignore it. Let's go."

We walked together. Walking side by side with the same destination.

I didn't know since when, but we started to go to school together often. At first it was just by accident, our schedules were almost exactly the same. Once or twice we crossed paths at the intersection. Then slowly, that coincidence turned into a morning routine without us realizing it, bringing us to the situation we were in now.

I glanced back.

Rena, with her slow steps, was a little behind as usual. Her eyes were closed, as if enjoying the spring wind hitting her face, blowing her shining white hair. In my eyes, Sakura's shadow seemed to overlap with hers.

I sighed, shaking my head slowly to drive away that shadow.

Rena wasn't Sakura, and would never be her.

The wind felt stronger, carrying green leaves and small flowers falling from the trees. One flower floated gently before finally falling on Rena's hair.

My hand moved on its own, brushing the object from her head in one gentle sweep.

That small, almost meaningless gesture apparently was enough to make her cheeks glow with a faint blush.

For a moment, there was no sound. Only gazing at each other with an indescribable softness. Silence became the third party before finally I myself broke it.

"Just a flower."

"Th-thank you."

After that, there was no more conversation between us. It felt like there was a barrier nearly separating us. For the rest of the journey, we only spent the remaining time in our own reveries. Walking in emptiness like toy puppets that only moved after their key was turned.