kscans

Chapter 404 - Interlude

"—…You've changed quite a bit, haven't you?"

In the silence of the dim twilight, a lone voice, tinged with complex emotion, echoed.

'…'

In response, there were no words, only 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, to be precise.

"What should I call 'you'?"

There was no wavering in the lone voice. Simply accepting the 'now' that had arrived, he—

Yotsuya Togo, posed the question to her.

And the other one answered.

'Though my form has changed, I am still myself.'

The inorganic coldness had vanished from the resonant voice.

'As you always have—please, call me Maria.'

The words, arriving from somewhere, were cloaked in a soft atmosphere as they drifted through the darkness.

"Understood. I will call you that… Now then, perhaps it is time I heard your business."

The hardness in his voice was of a different kind than tension.

Namely, caution. Correctly reading this, 'she'—the being who called herself Maria—let out a small laugh, pausing for a beat before saying,

"—Please invite 'him' here."

With a voice that had gained human warmth, she simply stated the decision.

"…I understand."

For she knew that every word she uttered would be carried out.