# Side Story 3
More than half a year had passed since Kay and Haylen quit the organization. During that time, Kay had visited various regions. He went to places where snow fell all four seasons and places where rain fell incessantly.
But among the various places he visited, there was one region that particularly stuck in his memory. It wasn’t an exceptionally special place. It was just a peaceful neighborhood with cool breezes and the sound of chirping birds. The people there constantly spread laughter, and like their atmosphere, the neighborhood overflowed with warmth.
Kay liked that place. No matter where he went, peacefulness pleasantly enveloped him, making him want to stay there continuously. And Haylen felt the same way. Without much deliberation, the two settled down and began living there.
At first, everything was bewildering, but before they knew it, Kay and Haylen were living freely like others.
Today was another peaceful day, just like usual. If there was one difference, it would be that there was another person beside Kay, apart from Haylen. With silver hair and blue eyes that contrasted with Haylen’s, she smiled brightly at Kay.
It was none other than Alice. Kay had invited Alice, who had been wanting to see him. The place Kay took her to was a hilltop where the entire neighborhood was visible. Kay remembered what he had heard from Zenon, that Alice wanted to see the night view.
“How is it?”
“It’s pretty.”
Alice’s eyes moved restlessly. The multicolored lights seemed almost alive. Kay looked at Alice, who was staring at the night view, forgetting even to speak.
About a year had passed since Alice had left the laboratory. During that time, she had been receiving treatment. Her body had stopped growing. It was necessary to treat it as soon as possible. They had also borrowed the power of a healing ability user, but perhaps due to the experiments, it hadn’t had much effect.
So he thought it would take a long time to fully recover, but… Alice’s appearance, which had grown to that of a mid-teenager, had changed so much that even Kay couldn’t recognize her at first.
Where had her round features gone? Her jawline had become sharp. Her once long hair was now cut to about shoulder length, and she seemed to have exercised continuously, as her physique was sturdy.
Although she still looked fragile compared to others her age, it was an amazing transformation. That’s why Kay couldn’t stop his gaze from constantly moving towards her.
Alice, noticing this, turned her head. Having expected this reaction, Alice burst into a short laugh and opened her mouth.
“Where did Haylen go?”
“He gave us some space so we could talk alone.”
“I see.”
Just like Kay was observing her, Alice also began to observe Kay. His neat appearance remained the same, and his indifferent expression hadn’t changed either. But unlike before, there was a vulnerability visible in Kay.
Not in a bad sense. It meant that Kay had gained leisure, like an ordinary person.
“How are you feeling?”
“I told you. I’m completely fine now.”
Although they were meeting for the first time in a year, they had been in constant contact during that time. Unlike the past when she had smiled with difficulty, a vibrant smile now formed on Alice’s lips.
“You’ve grown a lot.”
“Yeah, I can speak well now too.”
She had definitely become much more fluent than before, incomparably so. She said she used informal speech because formal speech wasn’t familiar to her, but since she could communicate without problems, it was clear how much effort Alice had put in.
“How is Kane doing?”
“He seems fine. He’s become much brighter than before.”
“That’s a relief.”
Kay examined Alice’s expression carefully, but there was no sign of concern or worry anywhere. Since Kane had been suffering from guilt, Kay had worried that it might have worsened, but it was a relief that he was doing well.
“What about you, Kay? Are you doing well?”
As if telling him to speak without hiding anything, Alice grabbed both of Kay’s wrists. Kay smiled as if telling her not to worry and spoke lightly.
“Yes, I’m enjoying life.”
It was a repetition of peaceful daily life with nothing to hide. The days that had once been full of awkwardness had now become as familiar as breathing. They spend time doing what they want to do. Recently, Kay had been learning to cook, following Haylen.
A bright smile appeared on Kay’s face as if recalling their modest daily life. Seeing him like this, Alice could feel at ease.
“No troubles?”
“Just feeling uneasy because it’s too peaceful, I guess.”
“It will continue to be peaceful, so you don’t need to worry.”
“That would be nice.”
Kay stroked Alice’s head. Alice closed her eyes and quietly savored his touch. A tree made a sound as it met the gentle approaching breeze. Alice opened her eyes at the sound that comfortably resonated in her ears.
“…And I’ve lost my ability.”
“Are you… okay?”
Kay’s hand froze. Alice smiled brightly at Kay as if it didn’t matter at all.
“There’s nothing wrong. It’s just a bit awkward.”
“…”
“I’m really okay. Actually, I prefer it now?”
Ever since her ability had manifested, she had been constantly surrounded by noise. No matter how much she covered her ears, the sound showed no intention of disappearing. Even after she gained control over it, she always had to live in tension, afraid that if she let her guard down, the noise would cover her again like a wave.
Certainly, not all sounds were bad. But she grew increasingly tired. Of the numerous voices tormenting her.
But that was over now. She no longer had to hear others’ voices. With this, she could escape from the pain.
“Kane also said it was fortunate. That ability was troublesome in many ways.”
“…When you think about it that way, it is fortunate indeed.”
Alice spoke in a calm voice, as if satisfied with the quiet surroundings. Seeing her looking pleased, Kay felt relieved. He had worried about what would happen if Alice was stressed about losing her supernatural ability.
But looking at Alice now, such worries seemed unnecessary. Kay resumed moving his hand, which had stopped on Alice’s head.
“How do you plan to live from now on?”
“I’m trying to help Kane.”
“Kane?”
“Yeah, I’ve heard a lot, so I thought I could be of help.”
Surprise flashed across Kay’s eyes. It was an unexpected statement. He had thought Alice would want to see more things now. But Kay had no reason to oppose Alice’s choice.
“I see. Please contact me if you need any help.”
“I will.”
Alice, who had nodded willingly, rolled her eyes around. Kay tilted his head at her attitude, which seemed to be hesitating about something. After a long while, Alice finally opened her mouth.
“Can we… meet often in the future?”
Kay let out a small laugh at her tense appearance, as if worried that today might be the last time. He had thought Alice had grown up seeing her mature appearance, but there seemed to be some tenderness still remaining.
“Whenever you call, I’ll be there.”
Alice’s head shot up. Kay couldn’t help but smile once more at her, whose eyes were sparkling as if she would call every day.
* * *
The dense forest with nothing but trees around looked difficult to enter, but if you went in slightly, a side path appeared. And if you followed that path inside, a quite large cemetery appeared. Each of the dozens of graves had a tombstone erected, but interestingly, there were no names.
Zenon prepared a bouquet of flowers, as he had always done. Unlike in the past, they were vividly alive chrysanthemums. But in a place where there should only be himself, another figure was visible. Zenon narrowed his eyes to identify the other person.
“You…”
“Zenon…”
The other person also seemed to have discovered him, calling Zenon in apparent confusion. Zenon could see that Ben had the same purpose as him by the bouquet of flowers in his hand.
“What brings you here?”
“It suddenly came to my mind.”
Zenon approached Ben without relaxing his frown. Ben looked around and opened his mouth.
“…All of them have been moved here as of today.”
“I see…”
Zenon knelt at one unfamiliar grave and placed a few flowers on it. All these numerous graves belonged to people who had been sacrificed by Raymon. Some were experimental subjects, and some were people he had killed with his own hands. Even those who could only be secretly buried in the reed field were all moved here.
“It was possible thanks to you.”
“I killed them. It’s only what I had to do.”
After Raymon’s death, Zenon collected data on the people who had been sacrificed. Then, based on that data, he recovered the bodies and traced the remains. In the end, Zenon was able to create graves for those who had been sacrificed by Raymon, including the people he had killed.
Although he couldn’t move those who had already turned to dust or those who had disappeared without a trace. This grave held the person estimated to have been Raymon’s first victim.
Zenon slowly looked around the desolate surroundings. No one came to visit these people. It was natural. If they wanted to hide Raymon’s crimes, they also had to hide those who had been sacrificed.
All of them would have to continue living while only feeling the cold wind. The thought that this clean tombstone would someday be covered in dust made him uncomfortable. He had found someone to manage it even after his death, but that couldn’t be eternal.
Zenon, who had looked around with a complicated gaze, moved past Ben. It was a sign that he didn’t want to exchange any more words, but Ben stopped him.
“Zenon, would you consider working with me?”
At those words, Zenon stopped his feet. He turned around, let out a sigh as if exasperated, and frowned.
“Are you out of your mind?”
“…”
“You should know what I’ve done.”
No matter if it wasn’t intentional, the fact that she had taken others’ lives remained unchanged. Ben should know this too. Yet he said such a thing.
“That’s exactly why I need you more.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m planning to establish a protection facility for ability users. I’d like you to be the director.”
