mostma

Not for the time being, just a routine report. But...

Oh? Did they change your codename again?

Yeah... *Sigh*.

That bad, huh? Lay it on me, I could use some cheering up.

...One-Armed Chainsaw Guy.

Huh... Did they just watch that shitty Lungmen flick?

I brought it back. Ugh, I should've known better. Why didn't I bring them something artsy?

Hah, hah, hah. Maybe you'll be Guns n' Roses next time.

Better than One-Armed Chainsaw Guy.

Alright, let's go.

I thought you were going to follow her around all day.

Do I look that bored to you?

If you ask me, I'd say that there aren't many people in this world more bored than you.

Do you really think so highly of me?

That wasn't a compliment.

What matters is that I take it as a compliment.

Anyway, that really wasn't my plan. Just had to swing by to take a look, call it force of habit. Wouldn't be my first time doing this either, and you should know that.

I do. That you're not proactively trying to make contact with her is a good thing in my opinion, but...

Ever since I had that little chat with her last Sauin, you've been totally fixated on it.

Are you worried that I'll tell her something?

If that was your plan, I might not be able to stop you. So I need to know how you feel about it.

Hmm... Fine then.

I know that look in your eyes. You're not gonna leave until I give you an answer.

I'm glad you understand.

Force speaks louder than reason with you.

Tell me this... what's the best way to make someone stop caring about you?

To disappear from their life.

No, not good enough. Once you've appeared, there's no way to completely disappear.

You have to wait for that person to find a new life, a new environment.

To tell the truth, I never thought she'd come running here from Laterano.

When Emperor told me she joined Penguin Logistics, I was quite shocked.

But you know, that whole time until Sauin, I never once spoke to her.

As for what happened then... Just consider it part of the festivities.

She's not going to give up looking for you.

But she's not actually looking for me.

It's not like she had anything to do with it, at least not directly, but we all have to keep our mouths shut.

Is that something I can clue her in on? Tell me, One-Armed Chainsaw Guy.

Please don't unironically call me that name.

Unfortunately, it's absolutely top secret, so you cannot.

See, I can't tell her the thing she wants to know the most, so what's the point of me showing up in her life?

Give her little hints here and there, pique her interest, and drag her into this whole mess?

So, you want her to stop caring about you?

Isn't that what you want too?

As I said, from an official standpoint, I'd like her to distance herself from any matters concerning you. Personally speaking though, I don't really care.

Honestly, if you were to ask me if that's really what I want, I don't think I'd say yes.

But when I let go of Laterano, cut all my ties, it was just as easy as when I raised my gun that one time. No hesitation.

All I can say is, if something happens, just let it be.

That is indeed the kind of person you are, and I don't like it. You don't care about loss.

Lots of people dislike that about me.

But color me interested. What good comes from caring about loss?

You end up crying your eyes out over whatever you've lost and whatever you see yourself losing, and then what?

I'm not here to talk philosophy with you. All I'll say is, if you really think that, then why did you come to watch her?

Take a guess?

No clue. I don't suppose you're lame enough to be doing this in hopes that she'll realize you're here.

You haven't been reading sappy romance novels, have you? Go easy on that stuff.

Grrr!

Oh, did Lemuen ever tell you why El is named after her? Why is her name Lemuel when the two of them are obviously not blood-related?

She keeps her work and her home life separate.

True.

The reason's simple. When she joined that family, El hadn't been born yet, and the parents decided it would be nice to integrate her into the family.

Though, that couple is just as joyous as El. If you told me they were just too lazy to come up with another name, I'd probably buy that.

In any case, Lemuen might not straight up say it, but she's really grateful to those parents, deep down.

And she cared even more about her little sister Lemuel.

So what does that have to do with anything you're doing here?

I'll spell it out for you, One-Armed Chainsaw Guy.

I'm thinking that Lemuen would let Lemuel leave Laterano, not just because she wanted to.

She's a discerning one. If El really got obsessed with you-know-what, I don't think she would've let her go.

It is precisely because that matter had nothing to do with El, and because finding me is not some obsession she can't give up—

—that she could come to Lungmen and join Penguin Logistics.

What Lemuen really wants is for El to see the world and find her own life.

And she kind of indirectly handed the responsibility to look after El over to me.

Even though you left without saying goodbye?

Precisely because I left without saying goodbye.

Watching her from a distance probably doesn't count as 'looking after.'

It's not like I left Penguin Logistics because of her either. It's something I should've done from the beginning, right?

So you're doing all this because you believe it's what Lemuen wants you to do?

Who knows.

Might've just been an excuse I came up with to explain why I'm doing this.

Well that's a surprise. I never expected you to come up with such a sentimental excuse.

I'm not a robot. There just happens to be a whole lot of stuff I don't care about.

Guilt, nostalgia, sorrow, etcetera etcetera. My heart's packed full of 'em all, but I've got them smoothed out pretty good now.

But if you or Lemuen decided to cut ties with me or something, I'd feel pretty sad.

For how long?

Dunno, I could probably manage a week, yeah?

That's a damn long time.

From ten-thousand feet, you could say I also grew up with those sisters. Since El came here, it's only natural I'd keep an eye out for her.

So, you plan to keep going along like this?

More or less? She seems to be getting on just fine with her current partners.

I do think we'll meet once in a pair of blue moons, here or there, but only out of happenstance. That's good enough for you, isn't it?

That's fair...

...is what I'd like to say, though from a personal perspective, I don't think it'd be fair to her, even if I'm not qualified to say it.

I guess. But ever since I became the owner of the lock and key, fairness has kind of left my vocabulary.

If I've got a reason to talk to her, I'm not gonna dodge it. If there is something I have to tell her, I'll deliver the message in person.

But the truth is... I don't have a reason, or anything like that.

I have my mission, and this girl already found a new life in this city.

Don't you think that's actually fair, in a sense?

As long as you're fine with the status quo.

Alright, shoo already. If someday, by some stroke of ill fortune, she ends up getting tangled in our side's mess, we can pick up this discussion again.

I won't let that happen.

Here's hoping.