"Haha, damn, bro, you should’ve seen your face. I an, that sounds dumb, doesn’t it? If I wanted to kill you, why would I have saved you?"
"..."
"Hey, I can feel your skeptical gaze... Listen, I don’t an to say anything, but you’re actually wearing a suit and tie yourself."
This man was dressed in a long, dark gray coat and wore a strange hat, like the kind detectives in his past world used to wear.
The man who made such an awkward joke, yet saved him at the sa ti, was wearing a suit.
Everyone knows that in Concord, only wolves wear clothes like that... and Mr. Nobody.
But Mr. Nobody only allowed himself to wear such clothes because of special circumstances—where no one could recognize his true appearance—and a mask that let him change faces with a snap of his fingers.
Basically, his wolf suit only enhanced his disguise, whereas this man couldn’t be said to have one.
Either he was a madman whose life would end in the coming days... Or he was one of the wolves.
"Anticipating your question... I’m just like you. I’m against them too."
"...I don’t really buy that."
"Ever heard of double agents? I’m one of them! Not that I’m working for anyone else, of course... Let’s say I work for them and for myself."
"..."
"Well, I am wearing a mask, bro."
This man was indeed wearing a mask, though even that was rather strange.
The black mask, woven from so unusual material, had goggles over the eyes.
From mories of a past life, it resembled the kind of mask worn by a web-slinging comic book hero.
Needless to say, because of this mask and his outfit, this man looked very unusual.
But not enough to make him believe it.
"...Alright, last resort. Watch my lips."
He lifted the mask to his lips. And although he was wearing a scarf, it didn’t escape Mr. Nobody’s notice that part of this man’s neck was made of tal.
However, that, like his previous doubts, soon ceased to matter.
"Fuck Big Brother," he mouthed.
"...What the hell are you doing, you idiot! You know, if you’d slipped up and actually whispered that, you’d be dead already!" Mr. Nobody exclaid in shock.
"Oh, co on. When your throat’s tal, it’s, you know, really hard to make a mistake." The man replied with a smirk, pulling his mask back down.
"Okay, sorry for doubting you... And thanks for helping."
"No problem."
"But maybe you’ll answer properly now? Who are you, anyway?"
"...Noir. You can call that."
"..."
"What? Don’t look at like that! It’s a cool nickna!"
...
His legs wouldn’t obey him, and he felt as though he might lose consciousness at any mont.
He had been in this neighborhood before. No way they’d run a subway through a dump like this, so he had to make his way ho on foot. There weren’t even any caras here.
It was just over a kiloter to his rented apartnt, and for that, too, he had to rely on his savior—Noir.
"...And how did it happen that you beca one of the wolves?"
"Wolves? Is that what you call them? Damn, I wish I had your imagination..."
"For your information, I didn’t co up with that... And maybe you could stop carrying around like a princess? Throw over your shoulder."
"Ha-ha, sorry, bro."
It seed he had plenty of strength to spare, and Noir calmly hoisted him onto his left shoulder.
Judging by the sensation, Mr. Nobody could tell that Noir’s left arm was also almost entirely made of tal. It was unknown what abilities this implant might possess.
"Basically, it’s just a sad superhero origin story..." he began lancholically.
"You’re not very good at pulling off that act."
"Okay, okay! To put it simply, I desperately needed... power. In Concord, there’s only one way to get that kind of power."
"...You stepped to the Path of Concord."
"Yeah. Just the First step... But! I’m still a rcenary—and a damn good one! Third Rank Diamond — Flawless Diamond."
"That’s why you ca to that etup about Ghost, right?"
"Sothing like that. I thought everyone would show up, and it’d be fun, but it was just you there... Why did you decide to co?"
"Yeah, I thought it’d be fun, too."
"By the way, what’s going on between you and Ghost..."
"Hmm?"
"Well, you know, from the outside it looked like there was... sothing going on between you two. Instead of frying you, she wanted to tell you sothing."
"I t her for the first ti and imdiately stole her cigarette. I think she wanted to do sothing worse than just talk."
"Oh... Okay. Okay..."
...
About 15 minutes later, they stopped in front of a 13-story building with a simple rectangular shape.
Even in the nightlight, it looked filthy. The windows in the building were very narrow, and none of them had lights on.
The area was saturated with an unpleasant, acrid sll and bluish smog.
In front of the building’s entrance lay the old wreckage of a demolished public transit stop, illuminated by the light of a single flickering streetlamp.
"Like it? My work."
"..."
"...I an the streetlamp."
"Um... Pretty stylish. So, what floor do you live on?"
"12."
"...Do you have sothing like an elevator?"
"Sure. Only it doesn’t work."
For the next five minutes, Noir had to carry him up to the 12th floor, stepping over shards of glass, bloody syringes, used stimulants, and, of course, strung-out junkies sleeping on the stairs.
...
"... Brother, you gotta move out of this place," Noir replied with a sigh, leaning against the wall.
"I like the view from the window... And I like the number too."
He was already standing on his own two feet, clinging to the doorknob.
Holding the black bracelet up to the electronic lock, the door to apartnt 442 opened.
"Well, that’s it... Listen, Noir, thanks. Looks like you really are a decent guy."
"Co on, no problem, bro."
"I’m not really in a state to do anything right now, so just take my number. Maybe later I’ll be able to find a way to repay you."
He pressed his hand against his bracelet.
Through the mask, Noir’s temple flashed red for a mont. He had a Neodeck.
"Yeah, got it. By the way..." He leaned toward him.
"Hmm?"
"Have we ever... t before?"
"..."
His heart skipped a beat.
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