CHAPTER 20: UNSPOKEN ANSWERS

Evening settled across the academy grounds, the warm orange hue of the setting sun melting slowly into the deeper blues of night.

Geto Suguru sat alone on the bench beneath a paper lantern that swung gently in the breeze. The flickering flame inside cast a dull glow over his tired face. His hands were folded, elbows resting on his knees, posture tense—but his eyes seemed lost in another world entirely.

"Yo, Geto!"

A cheerful voice snapped him back to reality.

Haibara.

His energy was always too bright for these hours, like someone who hadn't seen a single crack in the world yet. He plopped down beside Geto with a grin, carrying a carton of peach juice and a bag of steamed buns.

"You look like you've been thinking too hard," Haibara said, taking a bite. "Man, you gotta stop doing that. It'll rot your brain faster than cursed energy."

Geto forced a smirk. "You ever wonder, Haibara… why we do this?"

"Why we exorcise curses? Or why we risk our lives?"

Geto nodded, eyes fixed ahead.

Haibara leaned back. "Sometimes. But then I remember—I do it because people are worth saving. That's what I believe, y'know?"

Geto said nothing.

Haibara stood and stretched. "Anyway, don't overthink it too much. You'll get wrinkles."

With a soft wave, he left.

Silence returned.

Then—

Footsteps.

The sound of geta sandals clicking softly against the ground.

Yuki Tsukumo, casual as always, hands tucked into her sleeves, sauntered toward him with a soft smile.

"You look like you've seen the end of the world, Suguru."

Geto didn't answer right away. He turned his head slightly. "Yuki. Do you think we're doing the right thing? Protecting non-sorcerers?"

Yuki chuckled as she sat down beside him. "Heh. The age-old debate."

She looked up at the sky. "I mean, let's be honest. Most of 'em don't even know we exist. We're ghosts to them. Tools. Sometimes monsters."

She shifted. "But kill them all? Nah. I'm not that crazy."

Her eyes drifted toward him. "You thinking about it?"

"…Sometimes."

"You need rest, not revolutions," she said bluntly, standing up. "The weight gets to all of us. Don't let it crush your reason."

She turned and walked away.

The air felt colder now.

Geto remained seated.

He looked down at his hands—powerful, cursed, stained.

Then he whispered, voice low, almost reverent.

"…I would kill them all."

And not even the wind dared respond