Chapter 34

"Ah, I guess I'll have to throw away this outfit."

Levi looked at his tattered windbreaker, which was almost as ragged as a beggar's, and sighed.

Not far away, a blonde girl lay on the ground. Without touching her, Levi could feel her body temperature rising to a level far beyond that of an ordinary being. It was likely the result of overloading combat, like an overheated machine that temporarily couldn't function properly.

"Are you awake yet?"

The girl struggled to lift her head, and the look in her eyes, which had been dazed and lifeless, now regained the vitality of a human being.

"We shouldn't have any reason to fight, right?"

Sitting on a raised mound of earth, Levi stopped the girl's struggle.

"The organization that treated you as a 'weapon' has been destroyed by me."

If the girl was part of that organization, she might react with anger; if she had been modified by the organization since birth, she might be at a loss... Levi considered various possibilities and the corresponding ways to handle them. He had similar experiences in previous missions.

But the girl seemed to have not heard him at all. She curled up on the ground, straining to lift her head. Her red, gem-like eyes, now full of life, stared intently at Levi.

Was she unwilling to give up?

Levi saw no negative emotions in the girl's eyes. Instead, they seemed to radiate a joy that was hard to understand.

A crystal tear rolled down the girl's face.

"I finally found you, Tore..."

...

"Tore"

...

"Tore"

Levi, still groggy, felt someone pushing his shoulder. He opened his sleepy eyes and looked around, trying to figure out where he was.

All he could see were simple tables and chairs and shelves filled with books. In the sparsely furnished room, there were only he and the blonde girl who had woken him up.

"Princess... didn't you buy too many books this time...?"

"Ah!"

Levi, still not fully awake, didn't even know what he had just said. He thought it might have been a complaint about Eve waking him up. But why was she so surprised?

"Is it Eve? What's wrong?"

"Tore! You just called me... just now..."

"What did I call you? Eve, don't worry, I remember you don't like that codename. I won't call you that again."

Levi thought for a moment. Could he have called her 'Golden Darkness' in his drowsy state?

After their first meeting, Eve had somehow become an assassin. Although their subsequent encounters hadn't been as intense as that first one, Levi had learned that she didn't like the title 'Golden Darkness.'

"No! No!"

The girl shook her head vigorously, her smooth blonde hair flying back and forth.

"Did you remember in your dream? Did you forget again? Please, tell me you remembered, Tore!"

—Remembered?

Levi tried to recall his dream, vaguely remembering it was about their first meeting. Could there have been more?

Dreams are often involuntary and hard to recall once you wake up. Levi thought for a long time but couldn't remember anything else.

—Did I say something in my sleep that made her think I admitted to being that 'Tore'?

Feeling puzzled, Levi didn't notice that he no longer felt the same aversion to being mistaken for someone else by Eve.

"Don't you remember...?"

"Sorry."

Eve's disappointed expression made Levi apologize without thinking. Perhaps subconsciously, he didn't want to see the girl sad.

"It's okay."

Levi's apology seemed to have an effect. When Eve looked up again, she had regained her composure. Her delicate face, with its large eyes, even made Levi think she was showing a smile he had rarely seen.

"Tore, don't apologize. You'll remember."

Eve tightly held Levi's hand, as if trying to convey her firm belief to him.

"Who!?"

Before Levi could think of how to respond, the sound of a door opening came from behind them, and Eve immediately stood up and turned around.

"Ah~ sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

The librarian, Miyazawa Yuki, poked her head in from the open door and smiled.

Hearing Yuki's words, Eve realized she was still holding Levi's hand, even though she had stood up.

"No, I should be the one to apologize."

She casually let go of his hand, resuming her doll-like expression, but Levi, who was observant, noticed the slight blush on her face.

"Is it lunchtime already? Where's Okazaki?"

Levi was much calmer than Eve. In fact, there was nothing that would make people misunderstand what had happened between them.

"Are you talking about that student? He left as soon as the class ended."

Probably to avoid the awkward atmosphere. Levi imagined the teenage Okazaki Touya, left alone in a room with two girls he had just met. Even though Yuki was friendly, the presence of the quiet Eve would inevitably create an awkward atmosphere.

"Wow, it's already lunchtime? My bento is still in the office!"

"Mr. Levi!"

Yuki called out to Levi, who was about to run back to the office to get his bento.

"If you don't mind, I can prepare lunch for the two of you."

She pointed to the kitchen equipment behind the long table, which seemed out of place in the library.

"Uh, I always see things like rice cookers here, but I didn't expect you to actually cook. Yuki, you're openly breaking school rules in front of the teachers."

"Ah, please don't worry. I'm not using an open flame."

Yuki wasn't intimidated by Levi's tone. She knew he was just joking. Besides, as she said, the school rules only prohibited the use of open flames, not electric stoves, which was a loophole in the outdated regulations.

She walked around the two of them and returned to her small space. Opening her cabinet, which was probably stuffed with edible items, she bent down and rummaged through it, pulling out a few bags.

"Sorry, I only have enough ingredients for fried rice, stir-fried noodles, and curry. What would you like?"

"Fried rice, please. Curry is a bit complicated."

Levi had just had curry recently, and compared to the delicious curry made by Chachamaru, he wasn't particularly interested in the pre-packaged stuff from the supermarket. Of course, this didn't mean he was picky; he just wanted to try Yuki's fried rice.

"Okay, one serving of fried rice. Would you like beef or pork?"

It seemed Yuki was enjoying playing house, and Levi was happy to play along. After a moment's thought, he chose pork.

"What about Miss Eve? This is my first time meeting a student from Mahora Academy, so please don't be shy. Let me treat you well."

Curiosity is an instinct no one can avoid. For the students in the central district, the two mysterious areas of the Academy Island—Mahora and Academy City—were a source of great curiosity. Even if they didn't cause a commotion, it was common to see people turn their heads and whisper when they spotted someone from Mahora or Academy City.

Just like Okazaki when he saw Eve, it wasn't so much her appearance that caught his attention as her Mahora uniform.

Yuki was similarly delighted to meet a student from Mahora.

"Same as him."

Eve, like Levi, generally wasn't picky about food. However, the reasons were different. Yuffie had once said that Levi was like a food incinerator, consuming anything edible. Eve, on the other hand, was more like a true assassin, viewing food only as a means to replenish her body's needs.

"Two servings of pork fried rice, then. Please wait a moment."

Yuki happily began cooking. Eve took the opportunity to continue reading the novel she had just found. Levi, meanwhile, thought about helping Eve find a food she liked. He believed that this girl, who was always surrounded by the smell of gunpowder, just hadn't found something that suited her taste.

Perhaps sweets would be a good choice.