Chapter 3

Yesterday’s friend is today’s enemy

The fact that Charlotte Arisaka Anderson and I didn’t get along was nothing new.

We’d first met more than three years ago. I’d been Siesta’s assistant for about six months then, and I’d finally gotten used to this extraordinary life. Not that I was happy about it.

“Kimi, there’s someone I want to introduce you to tomorrow.”

When Siesta told me that, I got all paranoid that I’d be meeting her boyfriend, and I was all anxious when I went to bed that night… Well, not really anxious. Just moody.

The next day, Siesta introduced me to Charlotte Arisaka Anderson, a girl about my age. My memories of our first conversation are still vivid:

“Who is this girl with the crazy dark circles?”

“Who is this guy with the crazy dark circles?”

It was less a conversation than a name-calling competition, and we were both short on sleep. That day, Siesta said she needed more help with a mission than I could give her, so she’d called in Charlotte…but the fuss she put up was completely abnormal.

I didn’t know the details, but Siesta had become her teacher for some reason, and ever since, Charlotte had considered herself Siesta’s first apprentice… And then I’d shown up as her assistant. It must’ve been a pretty big shock.

To no one’s surprise, Charlie and I completely blew the job that day. Siesta had told us to work together to capture a certain target, but our first meeting had gone terribly and torpedoed any chance we had at successful teamwork.

“Charlotte! How long does it take to figure out you’re standing on my foot?!”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought it was your face.”

“Then get off of it!”

We kept fighting, and since we prioritized showing off over the whole “working together” part, the target got clean away.

After that, we met whenever Siesta needed it, which was often, and we fought every time. When Siesta died, our relationship broke off temporarily…but here we were again. As a matter of fact, the relationship might never have broken off in the first place.

After all—

“Kimizuka, you’ll never get married. There’s just no way.”

Even now, three years after we’d met, Charlotte was grousing at me.

“Man, that’s not fair.”

About half an hour after I’d had Scarlet evacuate Natsunagi and Saikawa, Charlie was insulting me. We’d had a knock-down, drag-out fight, and now we were sprawled out next to each other on the floor of the half-demolished living room.

“Well, I mean, come on. What kind of jerk hits a delicate girl in this day and age?”

Ah. So she was annoyed that the punch I’d thrown at the end out of sheer stubbornness had hit home. If she was going to take that tack, though—

“My injuries are way worse, all right?” I retorted through the pain of the cuts in my mouth. I was all torn up.

Even if that attack from Scarlet had weakened Charlie, there was no way I could win a straight fight against her. It was a miracle I wasn’t dead.

“Haaah, my energy is gone. Help me up.” Charlie sounded apathetic, as if the hostility from just a minute ago had never been. She raised both arms limply toward the ceiling.

“What are you, Siesta?”

“…I did not want to know that you and Ma’am did things like this.”

“It wasn’t because I wanted to. I had no choice.” If I hadn’t done it, that nap-loving detective would never have gotten out of bed.

“Haaah. Well, whatever.” Charlie got up. “Here.” She held out a hand to my black-and-blue self.

“Is that coated with poison or something?”

“You seriously don’t trust me, do you?” Charlie started to laugh it off, but then— “Well, you’ve got a point.” With a self-mocking smile, she quietly withdrew her hand.

After forcing my aching body to get up on its own, I faced Charlie. “Except you weren’t actually trying to kill me. Were you?”

Charlie didn’t answer.

However, in the earlier confusion, she’d said it herself: Her objective was to kill Yui Saikawa. Natsunagi and I just happened to be on the scene.

Besides, it really didn’t seem as if she’d been giving everything she had in our subsequent fight. That hinted that there was still time to talk this over.

“If you keep getting in my way, I’ll show you no mercy either,” Charlie responded, although she looked away as she said it.

“Charlotte, why are you trying to kill Saikawa? Weren’t you two friends?”

Saikawa and Charlie had first met on that cruise, about ten days ago. It was true that they hadn’t known each other long, but we’d been living under the same roof for the past few days. It didn’t seem as if Charlie could actually hate Saikawa… So why?

“Friends? Who are you talking about?” With a humorless smile, Charlie gave a flat no. “I’ve never made one of those.” There wasn’t the slightest hint of confusion in her expression, and she didn’t seem to be bluffing. She genuinely thought that. That was how she’d lived her life. “All I do is carry out the mission I’m given, as part of my organization. That’s my job, and it’s the only way I live. There’s no room for a fuzzy concept like ‘friends’ in there.”

Charlotte Arisaka Anderson was a lone agent who’d undergone military training for the exceptionally talented since she was small, and she had belonged to a series of organizations on her own. As far as she was concerned, orders from her organization were everything. She’d never dream of disobeying them.

“So you’re telling me your organization ordered you to assassinate Saikawa?”

Charlie nodded wordlessly.

Assassinate Saikawa—the first thing those words made me think of was SPES. After the earlier sapphire incident, that was where my mind inevitably went. But—

“Charlie, you’re not telling me you’ve got a connection to SPES, right?”

Earlier, Bat had told me that Seed’s objective was to use Saikawa’s body as a vessel. SPES wasn’t trying to kill her. However, some organization had ordered Charlie to assassinate Saikawa. I couldn’t reconcile those two facts.

“…Yes, that’s right. I haven’t sold you out and gone over to SPES. As a matter of fact,” she said, “it’s the other way around. Both I and the person who issued my orders want to destroy SPES, just like you do.”

“In that case—”

“What’s different is the lengths we’re prepared to go to in order to do it.” Charlie’s eyes were cold. She wouldn’t allow any compromises or bargaining. “You already get it, don’t you? Right now, Seed’s deteriorated to the point where he has to switch to another vessel. If we destroy that vessel, what do you suppose will happen to Seed?”

“…! If the person he’s planning to take over is gone, then Seed will…”

Die.

We didn’t even have to fight Seed himself. If we just destroyed that vessel…

If Yui Saikawa died, Seed wouldn’t last much longer.

“…So you want to sacrifice Saikawa in order to take down Seed?”

“I told you. We’re prepared to go to different lengths.”

“Who’s ‘we’?” I said, still aching all over. “You’d better tell me that, at least. Listen, Charlie. If you’re an agent who obeys orders without question, then tell me: Who’s your boss? Who thought of this ridiculous idea?”

“It’s me.”

A flat, cold voice echoed in the room. It was enough to shut down my exasperation instantly. I turned toward the door, and…

“I ordered her to liquidate Yui Saikawa.”

A redheaded lady detective who always looked good behind cigarette smoke was standing there.

The enemy was there all along

“Ms. Fuubi?”

Someone who hadn’t even been on my radar had just walked in, and my thoughts froze up for a second.

In the meantime, she ground out her cigarette under her foot, then stalked over to me. What in the world is going on? I was about to ask, but—

“Charlotte, why are you slacking off?”

Before I could, Ms. Fuubi decked Charlie.

Charlie crashed to the floor, then curled up with a pathetic moan.

“…! What the heck are you doing?!”

Ms. Fuubi ignored me. She went over to Charlie and hauled her up by her blond hair.

“Hey, Charlotte. I’m going to ask you one more time. What are you doing?”

“I’m r-really…sorry…”

“Huh? Look, I’m asking what you’re doing. I told you to kill Yui Saikawa here, didn’t I?” Ms. Fuubi pulled on Charlie’s hair even harder.

“…! No, what are you doing?!” I couldn’t just stand by and watch this; I got between them.

“Kimizuka, is this somebody you should be protecting?”

…Yeah, she had a point. Right now, Charlie was trying to kill one of my friends. But still. “She’s not somebody you should be hitting either, Ms. Fuubi.”

“…Huh. You’ve almost got a spine now.”

She stepped away from me and Charlie, although probably not because I’d convinced her.

“Are you okay?” I turned to Charlie; she’d put a hand to her swollen cheek. She must have cut her mouth; there was blood leaking out of the corner.

“I don’t need you worrying about me.”

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