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Regulating Miracles
(12-7) A Callback on Responsibilities

(12-7) A Callback on Responsibilities

Location: Restaurant

Time: 18:01 26/1/08

Emi Emi was acting strangely. First off, she declined my invitation to hang out after school.

No, that part was normal. She declined my invitation every day. But the way she did it was odd. On this particular day, there was trepidation in her voice. Normally she would instantly say no and quickly remove herself from prying eyes. That gave me ample opportunities to insult, I mean, talk to her as she tried to run away. I’d drag Alli with me and eventually we’d all end up back at Emi Emi’s dorm room.

Yet for some reason on this day she made some excuse about having other plans. Without giving any concrete details, she escaped off of Evergreen’s campus.

Suspicious. Normally Emi Emi would never go into town if she didn’t need to.

Should I have followed after her?

No, probably not.

Mistress Oakley had remedial lessons for the ATC, so she would be training with Ren or older Olive.

That meant I could go wherever I wanted around the campus. Heading into town was still a bit much though. I would definitely get scolded if I abandoned Mistress Oakley again. She’d almost certainly be fine without me, but my assignment wasn’t based on whether or not my presence was necessary. I was supposed to be watching over Mistress Oakley in all circumstances.

It’s not like I had any excuse for going after Emi Emi.

But what if I did?

It wasn’t that long ago that I was supposed to track Emi Emi down. So wouldn’t it be reasonable for me to track her down if I thought she was doing something suspicious?

No, that was a bad excuse.

I decided to use it anyway.

I grabbed Alli and convinced her to come with me. I didn’t tell her we were going to be following Emi Emi.

It didn’t take her long to find out. Then she started yelling about how abnormal it was to stalk someone, so I just let her leave.

Now all of this preamble is necessary for me to make something clear. I wasn’t trying to hide. I had no reason to keep myself hidden. Emi Emi seemed to think my objective was to secretly tail her, but I had no reason to do anything like that.

I was boldly following her, without trying to hide my presence. That’s why I didn’t bother hesitating to approach her after Sara left. I needed answers.

I silently stood in front of her table, waiting for her to give me an excuse.

“So, before we start this conversation, how’s the guy?”

“Exaggerated. Oh, so there’s a guy now too?”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“Don’t act like a wife that caught her husband having an affair. I’m obviously talking about him. Is he okay? Is there something we need to do?”

Emi Emi pointed to the body on the floor.

“Uninterested. Don’t worry about him. It’s fine.”

“Well, that’s good at least. I wasn’t sure how this would go if he was actually dead.”

“Confused. No, he is dead.”

“You said he was fine!”

“Certain. I said it’s fine. And it is. I already looked up his personal information. No close relatives. Confident. It will be an easy death to falsify.”

“I don’t think that’s really the point here.”

“Accusing. Why? You grew up in the slums. It’s not like this is the first dead body you’ve come across, or even the first person you’ve seen killed.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m happy to see it. And shouldn’t the person who killed him make this more of an issue?”

So that’s what it was that had her on edge.

“Understanding. You’re misunderstanding something. Derogatory. That’s what I’d expect from someone like you. . .”

“There it is. I was waiting for something like that, but let’s put aside your unwarranted insults for now.”

“Skeptical. Alright.”

“Good. Now what am I misunderstanding?”

“Honest. More than I have time to explain. We’d need at least 17 years to properly educate you to an elementary school level.”

“Alright, what happened to moving past the insults?”

“Surprised. You wanted me to stop with the warranted ones as well?”

“Yeah, let's just put them all on hold.”

“Explanatory. Well, that unwanted redhead is no longer a target. At least for now, she is to be ignored.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Annoyed. Her benefactor still has enough influence to keep her safe. Same goes for that annoying guy in the hat.”

“So, then, she’s not a criminal or anything like that?”

“Suspicious. Technically not. Curious. The princess was clear in her suggestion to the prime minister as well. She didn’t want us to push them into a corner. Skeptical. If the prince felt safe he would be easier to predict.”

Emi Emi breathed a sigh of relief.

“Oh, that's great. One less problem. I thought for sure things were going to get violent when I saw you follow me in here.”

“Annoyed. You’re misunderstanding something else. Things still might get violent. Jealous. Why were you out having fun with someone other than me?”

“Is that why you were following me? I just had to fulfill a promise. Do you really think I’d do something so conspicuous if I didn’t have to?”

“Suspicious. Then why try to hide it from me?”

“Because at the time I didn’t want to make it public news that I struck a deal with a wanted terrorist, but now I’ve got no reason to keep it hidden.”

The circuit breaker on the far side of the restaurant exploded as I released some of my electricity.

“That’s not a good enough excuse. I demand equal treatment.”

“Hey, should you really- no whatever, but what are you talking about? Why do I need to make an excuse for you? And equal treatment?”

“If I leave things like this it will seem like that redhead got a leg up on me. You have to come have fun somewhere with me.”

“No thanks.”

“Refusal is not an option. Did I forget to mention that part?”

A few black sparks flew out of my shadow. One of them struck the man lying collapsed on the floor. I’m pretty sure I noticed his breathing resume after getting struck.

“You’re going to cause a scene if I don’t agree aren’t you? Fine, yeah sure, whatever. What did you have in mind? Just try to make it somewhere that I can keep my face hidden.”

“We’ll go back on campus and hang out at the dorms!”

Emi Emi looked surprised that I picked something so accommodating.

Of course I did. I’m superior to that redhead in every way. There’s no point if I’d be the only one having fun.

Although I’d be lying if I said my desire to get back on campus wasn’t related to the fact that I was never supposed to leave it in the first place. Hopefully Mistress Oakley never realized I left. Even during the callback, I’m a tool that is skirting her responsibilities.