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hearing her say that, it would be unfair to stop her.
    She continued. “I said so during dinner, as well, but I am grateful to you, Rentaro. The Tendo Civil Security Agency is warm and comfortable, and I want to stay here forever. I’m the happiest I have ever been in my life.”
    Tina’s words were becoming more and more passionate. Rentaro hesitated, but he opened his mouth slowly. “Tina, there’s just one thing I think I should tell you. This life will probably not continue for long.”
    “Is it about Aldebaran? Then, you don’t have to worry.”
    “That’s not it.” Wind blew outside, and the window shook. Then the wind was completely gone, and there was the sound of leaves rustling against each other.
    “Is it about…Enju’s body’s corrosion rate…?”
    Rentaro looked sideways at the girl in question. She had kicked off her blanket and was sleeping with her underwear displayed for all to see. She made a small sound and turned a little. “There’s that, too,” he said.
    “Is there something else, as well?”
    Rentaro put both hands behind his head and looked at the ceiling. “That’s right, Tina, this concerns you now, too. Tina, why do you think Kisara and I started the Tendo Civil Security Agency in the first place?”
    Tina didn’t seem to understand where the question was going, and he could almost see a question mark appear on top of her head. “To defeat Gastrea and protect the peace of the citizens, right?”
    “In other words, you’re saying it was in the spirit of justice? Unfortunately, that’s not the case. We became civil officers purely for revenge. My arm, leg, and eye were eaten by Gastrea, and Kisara’s parents were killed by them, too. That’s why we started the agency: with hatred, and the desire to get revenge by annihilating all the Gastrea in the world. Like most of the rest of the Stolen Generation, I also hated the Cursed Children, so I really didn’t want to partner up with an Initiator, and if that Initiator had done something strange, I would have shot and killed her on the spot. But theone who came was Enju, who had been betrayed by humans many times before, and she had even colder eyes than we did.”
    In the darkness, he could hear Tina holding her breath. She probably couldn’t believe that the Tendo Civil Security Agency now was the same as the bloodthirsty Tendo Civil Security Agency back then. “You were able to reach the state you’re in now just a year after that?” she asked.
    “That’s right. First, Enju and I changed. And then that spread to Kisara. But that’s all it is.”
    Tina responded with silence, thinking in the darkness. “I would like to hear more about that. May I ask President Tendo about it, too?”
    “No.” Before he knew it, he had thrown off his covers and gotten close to Tina. Surprised, he put his hand to his mouth and shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry… But don’t touch Kisara’s past.”
    As he looked at Tina, who was tilting her head, he saw panic in her eyes. “Tina, what’s the Kisara you know like?”
    “She’s…kind, of course, good at her job, broad-minded, and cool.”
    “Then you should definitely not talk to her about the past.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because she’ll turn into a different Kisara than the one you know.”
    “What?”
    Rentaro exhaled slowly through his nose and closed his eyes. His sleepiness was mostly gone.
    “Tina, the three of us each have our own goals. I want to know the truth about my parents’ deaths, Enju Aihara is looking for her birth parents—and Kisara Tendo lives to kill the people who killed her family.”
    Tina trembled and pulled her blanket up to her shoulders. “No way… President Tendo is…”
    “Tina, I’ll tell you more later. As much as I remember about my parents. Why Enju’s last name is
Aihara
. Kisara’s regret. But go to sleep for today.” Rentaro put his hand on top of Tina’s head.
    Tina was silent for a while, but then finally lifted her gaze.