24 Two years ago, the thing I wanted to ask

Shaking off the expression on Jin’s face just seen, Chi speaks to Mio.

“Was it tasty, Mio-chan?”

“It was delicious!”

“That’s good.”

“Ugh… I hate to admit it, but I have to acknowledge your cooking skills.”

“No, you don’t have to acknowledge them specifically, not to Sharon.”

Jin eats in silence, savoring each bite.

It’s frustrating, but incredibly delicious. Admitting it openly feels awkward, so he says nothing.

“Want to eat it again?”

“Yes!”

“Uu… you made such a face when I served the pancakes… I thought you hated them…”

Though pancakes and Shirley are mentioned, to Mio, that was nothing more than charcoal.

She’d even be angry if she said so.

“If Mio-chan likes it, there’s a way to eat it every day.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Come to my place—then you can eat it daily.”

At those words, Jin and Sharon stirred with sudden animation.

Mio might have spoken without thinking.

"Hey, Chi."

"Wha—! Mr. Kusunoki!"

"Is Dad coming too?"

Mio asked before anything else.

"…No. Dad's different."

"Then it's fine."

Mio dismissed the invitation without hesitation.

Jin came before food.

That moment made the priority clear.

"Chi, come here a moment. I'm entrusting Mio to you."

Handing Mio to Sharon, Jin led Chi outside the room.

"What are you thinking?"

"Nothing special. Easto Jin. Simple. I just thought it'd be unwise to raise her in a relationship so easily swayed by meals."

He shrugged, as if acknowledging the unexpected depth of their bond.

"What do you plan to do with Mio?"

“If you haven’t raised her properly, I’ll take her to the Second Fleet. I’ll raise her myself.”

Staring directly into Jin’s eyes, Chi relaxed her shoulders with a faint exhale.

“Turned out to be unnecessary concern, then.”

“Huh?”

“To be honest, I worried you might be raising her as a substitute for your sister. But she… seems to be growing freely.”

Chi said this after just a short time.

Jin thought, perhaps.

Had she come here uninvited, worried about Mio? Rational thought suggested the lost ID was unnatural.

“So that’s why you staged that scene…”

“Huh? What scene?”

“No need to pretend. You didn’t really lose your ID, did you?”

“No, I did lose it… I just thought it’d be convenient.”

A brief moment of recognition.

“I have a question, too.”

“…Ask it.”

“The time my sister died.”

It was a topic that carved wounds into both of them. A subject laden with pain, difficult to speak of.

“I heard you abandoned my sister. You were the only one who fled from the accident site. That’s why you survived.”

“Don’t be absurd. Or rather, that wasn’t an accident at all… It was an ASID attack.”

“What?”

“The black box was destroyed. There’s nothing left to prove it… We couldn’t do anything.”

“…Was there truly nothing we could have done?”

What could Jin have done before that colossal entity?

…The answer was no.

Even if Jin had been ten times stronger back then.

The outcome would have been unchanged.

The gap was that absolute.

“No… There was nothing.”

“Why didn’t you say that two years ago?”

“It’s an excuse. What good would an excuse do for someone who lost their family?”

It might only serve to irritate the nerves.

But for Chi, that excuse was what she had longed for.

If she had heard those words from someone she admired.

She might have finally given up—defeated, unable to do anything about it.

“Tell me one more thing. Did you love your sister?”

Jin tightened his grip on the ring. Only then did Chi notice it.

A distorted, women’s ring.

So seamlessly worn, as if it had become part of him.

“No.”

The denial came from Jin.

Chi’s expression dissolved—

“I still love her.”

Not a past tense. Chi lowered her gaze.

At last, Chi found a reason not to hate Jin.

“If I’d heard that two years ago, I wouldn’t have had to confront you at every turn.”

“Perhaps. Even so, I’d still have found fault….”

The sight of them speaking so casually was beyond Jin’s imagination. Perhaps their relationship had become this way before it could solidify—before it could settle into something stable.

At least, Chi thought, he would not have been accused of killing the order.

“Wish I could change the past… no, pointless.”

“True. The past cannot be changed.”

A conversation that did not quite align.

For a moment, Chi hesitated, his lips parting slightly.

In the next instant, the sharp gleam of the soldier returned.

“This is a warning. Third Fleet’s Tokio Jin.”

“What?”

“Do not sniff around our actions. As stated, we act for humanity.”

“Don’t understand. If you’re acting for humanity, why the secrecy?”

“…That I cannot say. But I can make a promise. This will be good for you, too.”

"A deal too good to be true—such words are too obvious, like a fraud’s standard line..."

If you wish to stop it, state your true intent.

Not doing so implies something shadowy lies behind.

"I'm sorry, but I can't heed that warning. Second Fleet Lieutenant Kusunoki Chi. I am a soldier sworn to protect the Third Fleet and its inhabitants. As long as your actions risk harm to the Third Fleet, I cannot overlook them."

"Even if the Third Fleet's leadership intervenes?"

"Even if I now serve as Instructor. My duty is to protect civilians, not to guard politicians' seats."

If, indeed, the leadership chooses to sacrifice civilians.

Then we must be the ones to stop it.

"Is that so. The path to reconciliation is long."

"Not necessarily. If you speak your true intent, we could shake hands at once."

But that is not possible.

The dispute regarding Rei has been resolved.

But the matter of her covert actions within the Third Fleet remains unresolved.

"Chi. Speaking as someone who might have been your sister-in-law, I say: step back from this danger. I don’t know the details, but whatever this is, it’s clearly something shady. Getting too deep into it will ruin any chance of a normal life."

What little information is visible now.

That alone is more than enough to raise suspicion. To involve oneself in this—no happy ending can be expected.

"I don’t care. I volunteered for this. I’ve already accepted the cost."

"...Rei would be saddened."

That word, as precious as a blade, was rejected outright.

"No. She’ll smile again, I’m certain."

A single step forward. Then the parting was clear.

"Now then. It’s time to return... about your sister. I regret saying it was your fault."

Chi’s demeanor softened.

Yet a boundary that could not be crossed became unmistakably clear.

At the same time, Chi provided Jin with a substantial amount of information.

(Imbecile.)

Jin thought internally.

If she had truly intended to conceal it, she should not have issued a warning.

They were still in a摸索 stage, uncertain whether intent existed there at all.

Chi had already revealed that it did.

Was this carelessness on Chi’s part—or something else?

Was it acceptable for others to know that something was moving?

Jin concluded it was undoubtedly the latter.

She must have confidence that the full picture remained out of reach. Something connected to Chi.

"Well, if the Third Fleet suffers no damage, there’s no issue, is there?"

The movement was suspicious, but no actual harm had occurred—no, not even Jin’s collision with the drone had been anything but a complete accident.

No drone of that speed and scale could possibly have caught up to it.

Jin considered discussing it all with Sharon.

Her insight might clarify things further.

Returning to his seat, he ate the slightly cooled hamburger. It remained delicious.

"Old man, another fight?"

"No... not really."

"More like a reconciliation, actually."

"Yep, hugs really are powerful."

Jin thought that had nothing to do with it, but no one contradicted him. Hugs meant reconciliation. That was how Mio saw it.

"Still, we argued again soon after."

"Why do you always fight so quickly!"

Mio was indignant. She had just reconciled with him. Sharon soothed her while asking the reason.

"Um, what were you arguing about, exactly?"

"...To put it simply, it stems from a misunderstanding I had two years ago. That misunderstanding has now been resolved by listening again."

"What about this fight, then?"

"I've been keeping something hidden."

"It's not entirely Nanagi's fault, is it?"

Sharon glares at Chi, the root of all evil.

"Anyway, that aside. The situation's changed significantly."

"Me being me..."

Sharon, thoroughly worn out from being dragged along by Chi's pace since earlier, wears a tired expression.

"Jin."

"What? Chi."

Responding with full name after being addressed with full name.

"Will you marry me?"

Jin's mind briefly rejects the notion—completely irrelevant.

"…Huh?"