The Destruction of the World by Fire by Shiden Kanzaki Read Free Book Online Page B

he knew it, Tina was looking up at him with a wondering look on her face.
    “Oh, it’s nothing,” he said.
    The train going into the city wasn’t especially crowded or empty. Letting Tina have the seat he got, Rentaro grabbed the strap in front of it. His body swayed a little from the inertia of the train as the departure bell rang noisily. He allowed his body to move with the slight vibrations from the train tracks.
    He raised his eyes casually, only to feel uncomfortable. A train ad with the caption VIOLENT ACT BY RED-EYES!!! ARE THESE GIRLS TURNING INTO GASTREA INSIDE TOWN LIMITS?! came into view. Rentaro quietly slipped his body sideways so that the ad would not enter Tina’s line of sight. If only the world could become a place where he didn’t have to do something like this, sooner rather than later…
    “By the way, where are we going now?” Tina asked.
    As they got off the train and walked into the throng of people in the city, Rentaro lifted his face from the GPS on his cell phone and looked at Tina next to him. “Didn’t I tell you? We’re going to invite some civil officers.”
    “Invite?”
    “I think I told you about this before, but adjuvants fight in teams. That’s why we need to gather people who will team up with us first.”Rentaro felt around in his pocket and pulled out the slip of paper Kisara had given him. On it was a list of names and addresses, and the top fifteen had already been crossed out. This was the list of possible adjuvants that Rentaro and Kisara had put their knowledge together to come up with.
    Rentaro glared at the sixteenth name on the list. “Right now, we’re heading to a place called the Katagiri Civil Security Agency. I met them on the field once. They’re a small agency like us, run by siblings. Can’t say much about their personality, but they’re definitely strong.”
    Tina gave him a dubious look in return. “You can’t say much about their personality…?”
    “Yeah, you know. They’re kind of weird. But they’re definitely strong.”
    “But why did you bring me?”
    “Because otherwise I won’t have a chance to show you around Tokyo Area.”
    Tina’s look turned to one of surprise and she looked down shyly. “A date with Big Brother,” she murmured passionately. Rentaro tried his best not to hear.
    A lot of people were sitting at the edge of the bronze fountain in front of the station, and there were fresh leaves above them giving shade with their deep glossy color. There were sweet smells coming from the ice cream shop they passed, mixed with the fresh smell of summer coming from the watermelons near the entrance of the supermarket and the strong cinnamon scent from the fried bread store. They wafted over together and stimulated his nostrils.
    Tina entwined both arms around Rentaro’s and cheerfully passed the department store. For some reason, Tina looked so funny acting like a new wife with her chin stuck up in the air as she walked that Rentaro let out a small laugh. He was chided with an angry look.
    He wished that this time would continue forever. He really wanted to enjoy the time he could spend with Tina. But a part ofhim knew in his heart that this was all an illusion. The incident with the Family Register Revocation Law the other day definitely woke up the feelings of hatred Tokyo Area citizens had for Gastrea. He needed to be ready for the kind gazes those around him had for Tina to turn into ice once it was revealed that Tina carried something in her body that a normal girl definitely would not have.
    As they approached a five-road junction in the middle of the city, Rentaro suddenly heard singing and stopped. It was the characteristic soprano of a young girl, and a hymn at that. Turning his head toward the sound, he soon realized that it was coming from the wide pedestrian bridge above. He could have just ignored it and continued on, but for some reason, Rentaro was extremely curious about the voice and urged Tina up the stairs of the