Chapter Forty: The Abandoned Factory

In the early morning, when Manami Mizuhara awoke, she felt an unprecedented sense of ease and comfort. It was as if a powerful pump had been installed inside her, supplying her with endless vitality—her breaths were fresher, her movements more fluid, her muscles more relaxed, and the world around her seemed brighter than ever.

She had no way of knowing that the pendant she wore, crafted from the branches of the Sugitani Sacred Tree’s avatar, was allowing the blood of evolution it contained to slowly seep into her body, guiding her through a quiet, gradual transformation. Yet even without understanding its nature, Manami could feel the vibrancy of life surging within her—ignorance of the cause did nothing to diminish the lighthearted joy that filled her heart.

However, this buoyant mood was shattered soon after she arrived at school.

“Mana, did you get into some kind of trouble on your way home yesterday?”

Just as Manami set down her schoolbag, not yet having begun class, Ryoko Okuyama hurried over to her, her face drawn with worry.

“...Ryoko, how did you know?!”

Manami’s eyes widened behind glasses as thick as the bottom of a soda bottle—her shock was unmistakable.

“It's not Ryoko, it's Lucia—but wait, so it really was you!” Ryoko’s eyes widened in turn, utterly taken aback by Manami’s reaction.

“I heard from the delinquent group this morning that the boss, Maya, is looking for a girl from our school—a second-year, wears thick glasses, plain uniform. The description sounded a lot like you, but I didn’t think—”

“Maya?” Manami recalled the leader of the gang of delinquent girls from the previous night.

“Is she the one with blonde hair, always smoking, high boots, and eyes as fierce as a crocodile?”

“That’s the one—so you really did offend her. How did this happen?!”

Ryoko blinked, still not over her surprise.

Manami pressed for details. “This ‘Maya’—what sort of delinquent is she?”

Ryoko, regaining composure, swallowed and began to explain.

As it turned out, the blonde delinquent’s full name was Maya Mineyama, a senior at Jodai Academy, notorious far and wide for her reputation. Rumor had it she attended junior high in a prefecture outside Tokyo, and even then terrifying stories circulated about her. When she transferred to Jodai Academy for high school, those rumors became reality, each one attesting to the dread the name ‘Maya Mineyama’ inspired.

According to the tales Ryoko recounted, the stories were chilling enough to make Manami’s blood run cold.

“Don’t the teachers do anything about people like her?” Manami asked timidly.

Ryoko shook her head at once. “How could they? Don’t you know? Maya Mineyama’s father, Yu Mineyama, is a trustee of Jodai Academy and the president of a construction company. He rose to power when Maya was still in junior high, and his company only grew after she entered high school. He even invested in the academy just to provide his precious daughter with an ideal environment to study in…

“People like that, no matter what their kids do, it doesn’t matter—after she goes abroad to study and comes back with a fancy degree, she’ll still be among the elite, probably our boss someday. We might even end up working for her!” Ryoko sighed, lamenting the harsh truths of society.

Then she turned back to the matter at hand. “Wait—Mana, you haven’t told me yet. How did you end up offending Maya Mineyama?”

Manami hesitated—not because of her conflict with Maya, but because to explain it, she would have to reveal everything that happened after they left “Suguya Bookstore” yesterday. After parting ways with Ryoko, she had told her she was heading home, but instead, she went back to the bookstore for the sake of that book, “The Sayings of Hermes.” To confess now would be to expose her own lie.

She wavered. But looking at Ryoko’s concerned face, Manami ultimately chose to tell the whole truth.

“…That’s all of it, Lucia. I’m sorry!” Manami pressed her hands together in apology, bowing her head sincerely.

Knowing Ryoko’s personality, she expected a fierce scolding. To her surprise—

“So that’s what happened…” Ryoko said quietly.

Manami looked up, warily, only to find regret on Ryoko’s face, not anger.

“What, did you really think I’d yell at you for something like this?”

“Ryoko, you…” Manami blinked, so surprised she even forgot to use the ingratiating “Lucia.”

Ryoko just waved it off and sighed. “Of course, I’m a little mad that you went back to ‘Suguya Bookstore’ alone and didn’t call me when you had a chance to talk to that handsome manager. But…

“…You did a good thing, Mana. You helped that upperclassman, Mio Ito, and you stood up to Maya Mineyama. You’re really brave.”

“…Ryoko…”

Moved, Manami sniffled and leaned in to hug Ryoko, who could only smile wryly at her.

Just then, Ryoko glanced at her smartphone on the desk, and her expression changed drastically as she unlocked it and read the messages, her brows knitting tight.

“…What’s wrong?” Manami couldn’t see the screen from her angle, so she could only watch Ryoko’s face and ask anxiously.

“Uh… A friend in the delinquent group just messaged me—Maya and her gang have taken Mio Ito to an abandoned factory nearby. Looks like they’re planning to do something to her…”

A chill ran down Manami’s spine. She remembered that delinquent’s twisted smile, the cruel glint in her eyes, the wounds and lonely smile on Mio Ito’s face—a cold dread crept into her heart.

“…Do you know where? Can we call the police?”

“…The police usually don’t get involved in student matters until it’s too late, and Japanese police hate getting dragged into trouble anyway… Besides, if I call, Maya will definitely find out, and my friends might get caught up in it…”

Ryoko tore her gaze from her phone, suddenly stammering.

“….”

Manami took a deep breath.

“Ryoko, can you tell me the address of that factory?”

Ryoko hesitated. “But…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Ryoko sighed in resignation and showed Manami a photo on her phone—the entrance to a run-down factory, with “NAKAYA” written above the gate.

Manami quickly pulled out her own phone to look up the address.

“So it’s just over two kilometers from school. Not far at all.” She looked up at Ryoko’s worried eyes and smiled. “I’ll be careful, I promise. I’m in top shape right now.”

She rolled up her sleeve to show off her unimpressive biceps. Then, before Ryoko could speak, she grabbed her phone and dashed out of the classroom just as the bell rang.

Her figure disappeared down the hallway.

As she left, the language teacher for first period stared in confusion after her, then turned to exchange bewildered looks with the rest of the class.

“Uh… can anyone tell me where Manami-san is going?”

“—Mana has some family issues, sorry, Sensei.” Ryoko’s pitiful expression vanished completely as she flashed the teacher an “ok” sign, then stood and spoke in her best gyaru tone, “Sorry, Sensei, I’m suddenly feeling under the weather. I think I’ll go rest in the nurse’s office~”

With that, she sauntered out of the classroom.

On her way down the corridor, Ryoko opened her phone and spoke to someone on the other end.

“Mm-hmm… She’s already on her way… Don’t worry, I talked her out of calling the police…

“Friend? Oh, of course, a friend… But I like Maya-senpai much more…

“I can join in the future? Thank you so much! I’ve been hoping for this day for ages… Call me Ryoko if you want. Whether it’s Ryoko or ‘Lucia,’ I’ll always be your faithful sidekick, Senpai.”

Ending the call, Ryoko sighed, pressing her hands to her chest with a weary air.

“Honestly… If you hadn’t lied to me, Mana, I could have covered for you a bit more. But since you lied, I have to pay you back in kind, every last detail…

“…Besides, becoming part of Maya-senpai’s inner circle is something I’ve dreamed of—if you want to join the upper crust, you have to start building connections in high school, even if it’s just as their friend…

“Mana, as a token of our last bit of friendship—I hope Maya-senpai doesn’t treat you too harshly. Good luck!”

She made a heart shape over her chest, offering a blessing completely devoid of sincerity to her friend speeding toward the abandoned factory, and then, grinning, pushed open the door to the nurse’s office.