Approximately one hour after Jade's life or death had been confirmed.
The instigator who had thrown the Silver Order into an uproar had returned to headquarters and was kneeling on the cold concrete floor.
"Look… I know I should apologize."
"Oh my~? A mere grunt is speaking casually to an executive like me?"
"……."
Looking at Amber, whose face was smiling but eyes were anything but, Jade thought,
'Ah, she's actually pissed.'
After parting ways with Sophia, one of Lapis's direct subordinates had approached Jade and escorted him to headquarters.
That Jade was unharmed was fortunate in itself, but he now found himself face-to-face with the boss, Lapis, and three of the Silver Order's executives, including Amber—
"S-so, Amber?"
"Senior~! Why are you being so stiff and formal~"
"Amber. That's not what you were saying earlier."
But only Crystal refrained from scolding him, stepping in to mediate between the two.
'…I can't say it. That this man is the benefactor who saved my younger brother.'
She had thought his face looked familiar somewhere, but she had never imagined that the person who had saved her younger brother from a traffic accident would turn out to be the subordinate of a junior she cherished.
And so, she merely interjected into the conversation bit by little bit to speak up for Jade.
"So? Did you enjoy your date with Sophia?"
"No, it wasn't fun at all?"
"I see, so you had so much fun on your date with Sophia that you threw me aside here."
"Listen to what people are saying, will you?"
As the conversation ran in parallel lines and Jade's knees began to tremble.
Perhaps even the instigator was beginning to feel frustrated by the meaninglessness of this display, for Amber seized the opportunity to move to the main point.
"If something like that happened, you should have contacted me first before running off."
"……."
"Honestly, you have no idea how people worry!"
Amber wasn't necessarily blaming Jade for walking around the streets laughing and chatting with her classmate.
That was merely jealousy at work. The reason she was truly angry lay elsewhere—
"How many times have I told you to come to me first if something happens? Did you think so little of me?"
It was certainly Jade's fault that he had been so distracted by Ruby's call that he hadn't left any message.
He was well aware of that fact, so he had no choice but to show as much sincerity as possible here.
"I'm really sorry! I'll do anything, so please forgive me!"
"…Anything?"
At that word, Amber openly showed an intrigued reaction. Jade, however, didn't see it because his head was pressed against the floor.
But out of a shallow stubbornness—that she would look like an easy woman if she let it go here—she didn't jump on the offer.
"Then at least tell me what happened."
"…Yeah. I should."
In the end, Jade explained everything that had happened so far to them.
First, that the true identity of Magical Girl Ruby was a girl named Rabi; that she harbored affection for him and displayed various obsessive behaviors; and that as a result, Ruby's magical power had accumulated inside his body.
He had naturally toned down the fact that Rabi had assaulted him, but it seemed clear that she had intentionally transferred her magical power to him.
"Indeed… It's hard to believe at face value, but considering the circumstances, it doesn't seem to be a lie."
The first to speak was Citrine.
According to her, the reason the Silver Order's security system—designed to detect Ruby's magical power—had activated was clear: it had simply read the magical power residing within Jade's body.
If one thought that the power had gone berserk and attacked the security robots, there was nothing strange about it at all.
Citrine had discerned the truth with her characteristic calm analysis, but…
"So you're the one who broke my robots!!"
"Guh!"
The ensuing reaction was anything but calm.
"I! Spent! Five days! On each one! It was hell!"
"I-I'm sorry!"
For a moment, the spectacle of a small, blonde girl kicking an adult man in the back while furious continued,
At first, Chris had thought Citrine was making an effort to ease the stiff atmosphere in her own way…
'No, she really just wants to beat him up.'
Figuring he could endure it given the difference in their sizes, Chris didn't bother trying to stop her.
"Your back is ridiculously tough… I'm the one who's going to get hurt from hitting it."
Before long, Citrine's kicking subsided, and all that remained was reviewing what they had just heard.
"That aside, this is surprising. To think that brat would be in the same school as Amber… and even the same class."
"I couldn't believe it at first either. But she went and revealed herself on her own…"
Amber added to Chris, who couldn't hide her surprise.
"By the way, the kid who was next to me until a moment ago is very likely Magical Girl Sapphire. She seemed to be close with Rabi… no, Ruby at school as well."
"Why didn't you say that sooner!!"
"I was going to, but you went and hit me in the middle of it!!"
"Ah, right."
Finishing a conversation that felt like it was melting her brain, she grabbed the back of her neck to calm down.
"Hoo… You and Amber both, why have you kept your mouths shut about something this important until now? If you'd told her, she would have done something about it."
Citrine pointed at her superior with her thumb, rebuking Jade's conduct.
Wearing an expression that said she couldn't understand why he'd hidden the whole story when Lapis, who commanded the Silver Order with outstanding leadership and flexible thinking, would have surely lent her strength.
"Ruby knows mine and Amber's identities. I was afraid that if we stirred up unnecessary trouble, it would put her in danger…"
"Tch. If you put it that way, I can't even blame you."
"I get the gist. Personally, I wish you'd relied on us more, but it looks like you've been through a lot yourself."
Chris lightly tapped the shoulder of Citrine, who was clicking her tongue, putting an end to the situation.
It was an action born from the knowledge that continuing the argument would yield no benefit.
"Well, I'd like to call it a day here since I'm tired, but…."
Lapis turned her gaze to Jade, who was rubbing his knees that had turned blue.
"I should say this now. I have something to tell you, so follow me for a moment."
"…?"
***
"All hail Lapis!"
"Hard at work, all hail Lapis!"
"Yeah, good work."
Several grunts greeted Lapis as she walked elegantly down the hallway. She herself seemed to dislike such stiffness, merely returning a casual wave.
'Is this the second time I've faced this woman directly?'
The point at which I had fallen into this world was a little further back than one year ago.
Lapis had taken me in without a word during those days when I was wandering, discriminated against for having no magical power.
She was also the only person who had listened seriously to the mad ravings of a lunatic—that I had ended up in this world after being hit by a truck—so I had harbored something of a special affection for her, but…
"We're here. Come in and sit wherever."
At her words, I entered a messy room with piles of documents scattered everywhere.
'Still dirty.'
Hadn't she said that since she had no habit of cleaning herself, she always left it to one of the grunts?
She was also someone I could never quite get close to, as her eccentricities ran deep for someone who aspired to conquer the world.
Taking a modest seat, I watched as Lapis leaned back in an expensive-looking chair and began to speak.
"Jade, Silver Order Operations Support Department. From a world different from this one. Your real name is Kim… what was it again? I forgot."
I didn't bother pointing it out. Revisiting my name from that world was pointless now.
What mattered was what Lapis was about to say from here on, but…
"Why are you still alive?"
"Whoa, where did that verbal abuse come from?"
No matter how much damage I'd caused—1.5 billion won—this was a statement that made me question my character.
But she cut me off as if frustrated and added an explanation.
"That's not it… From the start, you were fated to die a long time ago. Almost several months back."
"Fated to die?"
I had heard from Amber before. That Lapis's innate magic allowed her to read a human's fate.
"All living beings have what is called their fated lifespan. Well, simply put, it's their life expectancy."
In a world overrun with magic, it was a rarely scientific topic.
"Lifespans increase or decrease due to congenital or acquired reasons, and I can roughly read that flow."
It was quite a humble ability for a boss ruling an evil organization. Knowing someone's lifespan didn't mean knowing their future.
But it couldn't be entirely looked down upon. Because Lapis had used that very power to build the Silver Order.
Anyway, what was important now was that my lifespan didn't match the flow she had read…
"I thought this was a trial as well, so I deliberately didn't tell Amber, but since you're still not dead, I've grown more frustrated instead."
"Haah…"
Come to think of it, I had felt like I met eyes with Lapis several times during the morning assembly; it seemed that hadn't been my imagination after all.
"The reason I called you here is only one. I want to ask if there has been any recent incident where you felt your life was threatened."
"An incident where I felt my life threatened. There was."
First, being attacked by the security robots was due to Rabi's magical power from the start, so that was excluded.
Then the most recent incident was saving a little kid who had almost been hit by a large truck.
'…And I'd survived that thanks to the magical power Rabi gave me, too.'
Something about the timing fit together perfectly. As if my lifespan was increasing thanks to that magical power.
That's right. It was as if I was alive like this because I had met Rabi.