Adah didn’t hear from Elise again until several days after the appearance of the S-Rank Cruelty. She saw the woman plenty during that time, though, as Elise stood alongside Secretaries Borzage and Carrell while Sirk spoke at what seemed like endless press briefings. The other Secretaries mostly stood behind Sirk, as a show of the nation’s solidarity perhaps, but occasionally took up the microphone to make some remarks as pertained to their particular regions.
Elise, however, wasn’t invited forward to the podium until the third day after the S-Rank battle. Adah wasn’t sure if staying silent was a choice of Elise’s own volition or a decision that Sirk made for her. Once she heard what Elise had to say, she wagered the truth probably lay somewhere in the middle.
The other Secretaries mostly used their time in front of the cameras to share half-truths about the S-Rank and humanoid Cruelties, and to ensure the public that the Department of Magic had already developed new procedures to neutralize such variants in the future. They were focused on damage control, and clearly reciting lines they had all agreed upon together.
But when Elise spoke, it was obvious from the other Secretaries’ expressions that none of them had expected to hear what she said. None of them except for Sirk.
“Region 4 has been developing a new system for predicting Cruelty appearances and activity,” Elise said during this particular evening news conference. “Until recently, we lacked an understanding of a critical variable in the process that prevented us from achieving accurate analysis. In the time leading up to the arrival of this recent S-Rank Cruelty, we gained information that allowed us to account for that variable and complete our system. We have since found that all of our predictions from that point forward have been correct. In other words, we are confident that the system works.”
Her claim, vague as it was, naturally led to a clamor of questions from the press at the event. Elise ignored them all and continued to speak.
“After some further testing in various scenarios, our Department plans to share what we’ve learned with the other regions,” she said, gradually silencing the questions. “We believe that, in conjunction with the Magedars, our system will allow the nation to take a proactive, rather than reactive, approach to addressing the Cruelty threat. We will more accurately be able to predict the resources required to eliminate each variant, and will resolve missions in less time and with less risk to citizens and magic users alike. I look forward to sharing more details with you soon.”
With that, Elise left the podium, paying no mind to the second avalanche of questions that came her way. As she returned to the group of Secretaries lined up along the back wall, Sirk stepped forward to reclaim his spot at the microphones. He gave Elise a small nod as the two of them passed.
Even this was another political maneuver, Adah recognized. This “analysis” of Cruelty activity Elise had mentioned was first and foremost a bargaining chip. Judging by their reactions, neither Borzage or Carrell had heard of Elise’s system until now, which meant she had brought her findings to Sirk privately. She must have pitched it to him like a business plan, in hopes of earning Region 4 a better seat at the Secretaries table.
Borzage and Carrell could do little to relieve Sirk of the pressure that would fall upon him after the outcome of that S-Rank mission. His leadership would be scrutinized, along with his ability to keep his region—and the nation at large—safe from future attacks of this kind. The other Secretaries could offer empty words about vigilance and collaboration, but Elise had an actual “product” to pitch. She had a potential solution to Sirk’s problem. By revealing whatever system had allowed her to know no more Cruelties would appear during the S-Rank’s appearance, Elise could help bail Sirk out. Together, they were taking actual action to avoid such a disastrous outcome in the future.
And if Elise’s system worked, then she would earn herself the good graces of both Sirk and the public.
After Elise made her announcement, Sirk claimed the rest of the speaking time at that particular briefing. He provided some vague updates about research into the new S-Rank variant, repairs to the neighborhood in which the battle occurred, and other peripheral matters of the mission’s aftermath. Adah wasn’t particularly interested in any of that—Sirk’s remarks were all calculated and sanitized. Adah would learn more from her personal conversations with Elise.
There was, however, one update that caught her attention. Locke would be making his first public appearance since the battle. Sirk would be presenting the magical boy with a medal in recognition of his service and valor. At the same ceremony, Locke would also accept posthumous honors on behalf of his three fallen teammates.
The way Sirk spoke about the ceremony was as calculated as the rest of his updates, which made Adah suspect he viewed it as nothing more than a means to offer the public closure on recent events. The event was a chance to get Locke in front of the cameras, alive and well, and to put on a show that would hopefully wash away any lingering fear the public felt about the mission. Sirk would want to push this whole disaster into the past as soon as possible, no matter how much it still haunted Locke. For all Adah knew, he might even make the boy give a speech, no doubt filled with lines written by Sirk’s own office.
Adah had no interest in watching such a vulgar display, but when Elise finally reached out to her, that was exactly what she asked Adah to do.
“I think it would be wise to show face at Locke’s ceremony,” Elise said over the phone.
She had called Adah shortly after that press conference had wrapped up, which was probably a sign that the burden of damage control on the Secretaries’ shoulders was lifting.
“Me?” Adah asked. “Why? It’s not like he and I were close. We only met the one time, and I haven’t talked to him since.”
“You want to be the de facto representative of magic users in our region, correct?” Elise said. “Being present at major events like this will help your cause. Furthermore, I expect you have questions you’d like to ask Locke. I can arrange a meeting between you two prior to the ceremony—if you’d like.”
Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
Elise was right on both fronts, but those weren’t Adah’s only priorities at the moment.
“And when will we get to talk?” Adah asked.
“As soon as we return home,” Elise replied. “I will tell you all that you’d like to know, and all that I’ve learned.”
☆☆☆
Adah hadn’t expected to return to Avepoir—or Region 1 in general—so soon. At least she got to make the journey with Grace this time, who proved to be a superior conversationalist to Elise. No surprise there.
They’d be staying overnight again, in the same hotel where Locke’s ceremony was being held. Apparently Elise was already reaping the rewards of her latest maneuver; she informed Grace that Region 1’s Department of Magic would cover their accommodations expenses in addition to providing them with a gratuitous travel stipend. Adah just hoped Sirk didn’t view her attendance at this ceremony as her falling in line. He’d be in for a rude awakening if that was the case.
She and Grace drove to Avepoir on the day of the ceremony, arriving at their hotel with a few hours to spare before the event. Sirk had put them in separate rooms—another unnecessary luxury—so they each headed to their own so that they could change into something a little more formal than the sweats they had worn during their drive. Adah had considered showing up to the ceremony as Heartbreak, but ultimately decided that pushed the limits of decorum. This was too somber an event for any theatrics. Once Adah had changed into a simple black dress and brushed out her hair, she went down to the hotel lobby to regroup with Grace.
Alex, the same sharp-dressed young man who had welcomed Adah during her first visit to Avepoir, greeted her and Grace today, as well. He guided the two of them through the hotel as confidently as he had the Department of Magic, ultimately leading them to a dressing room near the ballroom where tonight’s ceremony would be held. This, he explained, was Locke’s private waiting room as tonight’s guest of honor. It seemed to Adah a bit more like a cage they’d locked him in, but she held her tongue.
Although Alex had led both Adah and Grace to this room, only Adah would be going inside. Meanwhile, Grace planned to learn what she could about Secretary Sirk and Region 1’s Department of Magic from Alex. She had some catching up to do after missing out on the first trip to Avepoir.
Adah knocked on the dressing room door. A moment later, she heard a faint response from Locke that sounded like permission to open the door, so she did so.
The dressing room was sparsely decorated, and looked more like a living room that had been halfway furnished. Inside, there was a single standing mirror, a couch, a coffee table, and a mini fridge. If Locke was tonight’s guest of honor, she had to wonder how much of an honor it really was.
Locke himself was dressed up for the occasion, though. He had on a neatly tailored black suit and tie and, if he suffered any injuries during the S-Rank battle, they were hidden from sight. In such handsome attire, there was no denying his charm.
Yet, his posture didn’t match the elegance of his clothes. He was sitting hunched over on the couch, with his elbows on his knees and the knuckle of his thumb clenched between his teeth. He had been staring at the wall in front of him, but looked up when Adah entered. He nodded at her, but his expression remained vacant.
Adah walked inside the room and shut the door behind her. She took another look around, though there wasn’t anything else for her to see.
“You look even cuter without the horns,” Locke said to her.
She let him have that one for free, given the circumstances. Still, it felt odd to hear those words come from such an expressionless face.
“I’m sorry,” she said, unsure where else to begin. Locke shook his head and said, “What did you do? No one has to be sorry. Except me, maybe.”
“I don’t think so,” Adah said.
She walked closer to him and stood in front of an open spot on the couch next to him. When he noticed, Locke nodded his head toward the spot, so she sat down.
“Sorry if I’m off right now,” he said. “I’ve been doing better than this, you know? It’s just tonight—these medals. I don’t know why I’m here. Valor? I got lucky. That thing attacked us four times. We blocked the first one, then it got Oren with the second. It got Eli with the third and Proust with the fourth. If there had been a fifth, it would’ve got me. What kind of valor is that?”
“Sirk thinks you deserve it,” Adah said. She didn’t share what she thought Sirk’s real motivations were. Chances were, Locke already knew.
“Sirk,” he said with an empty laugh. “I don’t know if Sirk wants to throw me in the trash or back into the action. And I don’t know which I’m more scared of.”
“It doesn’t matter what Sirk wants,” Adah said. “It’s up to you what you do and how you do it.”
“Is it?” Locke said with a frown.
He took his phone out of his pocket and pulled up his Magiapp. He showed Adah the screen, which displayed his current FP in large numbers across the top. The number had been cut nearly in half since they last met, falling below 400,000. That value still dwarfed Adah’s current FP, but the amount Locke had dropped by surpassed any other falls from grace that Adah knew of. He had lost more FP than all but the top magic users would ever gain.
“The people are sending a pretty clear message,” he said.
“They’re scared,” Adah said. “I don’t think they’re losing faith in you. It’s a gut reaction.”
Locke stashed his phone back in his pocket and shrugged.
“Somebody’s got to take the heat for what happened,” he said. “Some hotshot team wants the S-Rank all to themselves, then turns the whole thing into a national disaster. Maybe tonight’s my send-off. ‘You did such a good job. Here’s a medal and a pension—now get lost.’”
Adah didn’t know what to say. She simply looked at him and tried to think of what she’d want to hear in his position. After a few seconds, Locke must have noticed a look of concern on her face, for he smiled at her and waved his hand side to side.
“I’m just joking,” he said. “I bet those guys are laughing at me. I got luckier than all of them, and yet here I am feeling sorry for myself. Oren would say something like, I’m supposed to be a carefree character. I’m really letting my fans down, you know? Or something like that.”
“I think you should act however you want to right now,” Adah told him. “And I still think you should do whatever you want after tonight, as well.”
His smile faded away, although he forced a smaller, faker one back onto his face.
“Adah,” he said. “Without those guys, I can’t do what I want to do. Do you understand?”
She felt her lip quiver, so she bit the inside of it to stop it. With nothing else to say, she simply nodded.
Locke closed his eyes and breathed quietly for a few moments. Adah thought about turning away from him, in case he wanted some kind of privacy, but he soon opened his eyes again. That easygoing smile had returned to his face, too.
“Well, if you keep visiting me, that’ll be a good enough life for me,” he said. “Thank you for coming today, Adah. Although, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me I look cool in my suit.”
“You look cool,” she told him. “Like a proper magical boy.”
He laughed for real this time, then closed his eyes once more. He leaned back against the couch without another word. He didn’t give any indication that he wanted Adah to leave, so she stayed on the couch beside him.
All of her questions for him would have to wait for another day. He had said enough hard words to her for one evening.
Tonight, she sat next to Locke in silence. The two of them stayed together until the ceremony began.