Chapter 404 - Interlude
“—Your appearance has changed quite a bit.”
In the dark, silence-filled room, a lone voice echoed, tinged with complex emotion.
‘…’
In response came not words, but a breath.
A silent word, imbued with complex, intricate, and delicate emotions—something that would have been impossible just a short while ago, just a few hours ago, in fact.
“What should I call ‘you’?”
The lone voice held no trace of agitation. Simply accepting the ‘now’ that had arrived, he—
Yotsuya Togo, asked her.
And the other one answered.
‘Though my form has changed, I am still myself.’
The inorganic coldness was gone from her resonant voice.
‘As you always have—please, call me Maria.’
The words, arriving from somewhere unknown, carried a soft air as they drifted through the darkness.
“Understood. I shall call you that… Now then, shall we get to the purpose of your visit?”
His voice contained a stiffness that was different from tension.
It was wariness. Correctly reading this, ‘she’—the being who called herself Maria—let out a small laugh, paused for a beat, and then,
“Please, invite ‘him’ here.”
With a voice that had gained human warmth, she quietly delivered her decision.
“…Yes, I understand.”
Because she knew that every word she spoke would be fulfilled.