When do stars shine the brightest?
They shine most brilliantly when the sun has set and people wander in the deep darkness.
Step outside a building, move beyond the trees, and there they are—stars.
The waves of stars, equally accessible to anyone who simply looks up at the sky.
People name them and give them meaning, finding the brightest ones to use as landmarks to guide their way.
Because they shine brightest in darkness, people naturally come to depend on their light.
The sun, which had always brought light, was taken for granted. Even when it set, people believed it would rise again, and during that dark period, it was human nature to rely on the stars.
This was both natural and unchanging. Though we compare it to a single night, in reality, peace might take days, months, or even years to find, making the wait feel endless.
Someday peace will come.
Someday happiness will find its way inside these Walls.
But when exactly will that be?
When will the Strange Ones stop breaking through the Walls? When will monsters stop trampling people?
No matter how strongly built, the Walls surrounding humanity were impossibly long and wide to maintain completely.
Realistically, nothing seemed possible.
All we could do was hope the Strange Ones wouldn't come.
Or else defeat them when they did.
Otherwise, the sun would never return to this city, to this world.
Isn't it sad to live a life dependent on the small light of stars in the dark night?
I wished for this power of stars to become meaningless.
I thought I'd be truly happy if someday the sun returned and made them fade.
Only in such a world would Kanna here be safe from harm.
"How should I get a totem..."
Returning Kanna to her original state—that was my first goal.
It didn't necessarily need to be accomplished first. Changing the Academy's atmosphere could be the first priority instead.
Whatever happened faster would be fine.
Should I take Kanna somewhere away from other heroes' eyes?
Could we somehow find a totem hidden near the Wall?
I worried that bringing Kanna along might be too much of a gamble.
But if I was going to do it, doing it before I deliberately became the Bottom Rank to change the Academy seemed better for handling the aftermath.
I should talk to Senior Sela beforehand.
Could I get help from President Lignum? If not, perhaps from Sela personally.
Or maybe the Larden Agency? No, I didn't need to incur debts when Kanna's future was still uncertain.
The only other person I could ask was Orca—no, I felt bad about dragging her into this and making things difficult for her too.
She would help if I asked, but I didn't know how to explain why I needed a totem, so I had to give up on that idea.
After going back and forth with these thoughts many times, I finally picked up my Device.
*
A week passed, and I met Sela on the weekend.
Sela, with her blue hair, blue eyes, the master of blue flames.
"...Hello, Senior."
"Oh, it's my junior."
I had already explained the situation and what I needed over the phone.
But Sela had thought for a moment and told me to come ask in person.
This was my problem, and having someone else speak on my behalf might cause unnecessary trouble and create bad memories for Sela.
So I accepted her suggestion and was standing here now.
To persuade President Lignum Pellein of the Prika Agency.
"But do you really need that?"
"...Yes, you saw it yourself, Senior."
"That's true."
Sela had heard about it, but she still seemed to have trouble accepting it.
How could anyone believe that unrefined mana, which most people would struggle to withstand, could be used to regenerate one's body?
We had witnessed her prosthetic arms and legs detach with a clatter, and new flesh growing from within to become real limbs.
It was a sight I would probably never forget for the rest of my life.
Especially since I'd never heard of a person regenerating like that before.
"To think Kanna would be caught up in something like this."
"What do you think, Senior? Do you also find it strange?"
"No, well, it's hard to answer directly when you ask me face to face~"
"...Is it really that odd?"
When I asked glumly in response to her glib answer, she exclaimed:
"Look at you, I can't even joke around. What I mean is that it's ambiguous. Honestly, either interpretation makes sense, right?"
"What?"
"Her existence alone might help Strange Ones break through the Walls. Just this fact keeps some people from sleeping soundly at night. How anxious they must be."
Sela first voiced the opinion held by the Hero Association.
I felt like snapping back, but I held my tongue and waited for her to continue.
"But your point isn't wrong either. If she's someone the Strange Ones have tried to kill by breaking through the Walls multiple times, she's certainly worth protecting for humanity. Especially if she's done something significant enough to provoke them."
Sela said this while tilting her head, as if trying to find some compromise.
But there couldn't be a compromise in this situation.
This was a battle between rejecting Kanna or protecting her.
"So even though she saved people, they want to exclude her because the remaining people might be in danger again. Is that it?"
"That's what the Association thinks. We also hope it's false that Kanna creates favorable conditions for the Strange Ones. But the reality is that we can't prove it either way, right?"
"...That's true."
"That's why it's difficult. Neither side can make an easy choice."
My teeth clenched.
I never expected to hear the word "difficult" when the choice was between killing someone or saving them.
Of course, through social experiences, she might have learned to align with those above her, feeling she couldn't go against them.
But right now, I couldn't accept that.
Was I being too greedy? Was it greedy to want only good things to happen from the start?
All I wanted was for them to leave Kanna alone—was that greed?
"Anyway, go in and talk with the President. Talking with me forever won't help since I don't have much influence."
"Yes, I understand."
I nodded.
I didn't dislike her for what she said.
I was just depressed by the fact that Kanna might be executed or expelled beyond the Walls based on majority opinion.
I entered the clean building.
There was another private room inside the office—that was the president's office.
Since the office was just a waiting area for heroes before deployment, it didn't need to be very large.
After waiting briefly, I followed Sela's guidance inside.
"Oh, Yoon Ha-min."
"Hello. I'm Yoon Ha-min, first-year at the Academy."
"I already know. Lignum Pellein. Is this introduction sufficient?"
Lignum left his desk and pointed to a reception table.
I carefully took a seat next to Lignum, who sat at the head of the table, and began our conversation.
"Would you like some coffee?"
"Ah, no thank you. I'm here because I wanted to ask for some favors..."
"An Academy student asking favors of a hero agency president."
He slightly adjusted his snow-white hair that was swept back and nodded.
"Interesting. What's your business?"
He must have already heard something from Sela to allow this meeting, yet he was playing dumb.
Or perhaps he wanted to hear it from my own voice, my own mouth, before making a judgment.
"Do you know about Kanna's condition, President?"
"I know about the prosthetics."
"Then do you know her limbs have regenerated?"
"I know that as well."
It was something no hero could be unaware of.
It was already a widely circulated story among heroes.
"Kanna responds to unrefined mana in that way. The regeneration of her limbs, her revival from near death—it's all because of that."
His expression seemed to ask "So what?" which made me feel slightly intimidated.
But being intimidated didn't mean I would be silenced.
I had come this far for Kanna, and I couldn't back down now.
"So, um, if you happen to find something like a totem, could you possibly give it to us? I'll definitely compensate you properly."
"Why do you need that totem? Her limbs have already healed, and she's escaped a life-threatening crisis, hasn't she?"
"Right now... right now she can't remember anything because of a head injury. She doesn't even remember fighting the Strange One at the risk of her life. I want to help her recover from that."
"Hmm."
Lignum stroked his chin as if considering it.
Then he placed his hand on his knee.
"I can't easily approve this. Unrefined mana is beyond the Walls, so it's impossible to hand over, and totems belong to Strange Ones. Using them to save people would cause too much controversy."
I kept my mouth shut and remained silent.
"She's already broken the rule about not engaging with Strange Ones, which is difficult enough to cover up. I'd like to help, but I must advise against anything more conspicuous."
"...I'm sorry. I'll keep that in mind."
In the end, it was a bust.
He had only shared information, but there was nothing I could get from him.
She should have already proven her innocence by fighting the Strange Ones, so it was absurd that this still needed to be "covered up."
No matter how strong one might be, moments like these made me feel truly powerless.
I'm sorry, Kanna.
Your treatment will have to wait a little longer.