The Way to Love in the Place of Dead Chapter 19

The owner of the voice that had been wailing until just moments ago approached, draped in a silk robe. The scent of sweat-dampened skin and the sweet fragrance from his half-dried hair suited his somewhat languid demeanor well.

“Full Moon Auction?”

“It exists. An auction that’s held on the night of the full moon once every few months, though it’s only rumors swirling about it.”

“If it’s only rumors swirling…”

“It means it’s a black market.”

The man who cut in definitively took the notebook from Kay’s hand. As he flipped through the pages containing the calendar from the very first page onward, Gray spoke up.

“But it’s an auction you can only enter with an invitation, isn’t it? The exclusive domain of the high and mighty. Even common folk like us can’t get a glimpse, so how would someone from Willamere?”

After Gray, who had carefully chosen his words, the esper holding the notebook opened it to the very last page and showed it.

“There’s this. The names written here.”

On the very back page of the notebook, about half the page was densely filled with names.

“I don’t know all of them, but I remember a few—these guys are espers from Willamere. And these two here have definitely been processed as missing.”

From Willamere. Espers. Missing. And a black market.

An indescribable ominousness brushed past Kay’s chest.

“This Full Moon Auction thing. Is there any way to get an invitation?”

“I told you. It’s a black market. And a place where only special VIPs receive invitations and attend. Which means it’s people with enormous money and tight lips.”

“Or people who can make others’ lips tight.”

“You’ve never seen it either, right?”

When the silk-robed esper asked, everyone including Gray shook their heads.

“If even you guys haven’t been able to get a glimpse… then it’s basically impossible to get in on your own, I guess.”

“Shall I get you one?”

Kay was the only one who even felt the presence.

When, where, or how he had entered was impossible to know. But no one dared to ask.

“Excuse me.”

Following the smile that smoothed over even the fact of an intrusion, the real thing before them surpassed all awareness that they already knew he possessed an astonishing appearance. Any praise felt as though it would ring hollow, and everyone present except Kay failed to find adequate words.

“Why the Full Moon Auction?”

Aran, who had strode into the room, stood before Kay with an attitude that was not in the least bit apologetic toward the others. Perhaps due to the height difference, the sight of Kay, hidden by Aran’s body, looking up at him was invisible to the rest.

“Simon… Someone I know seems to have gone there and disappeared.”

“You want to find him?”

At first, Kay thought it was a provocation.

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

But the utterly guileless eyes didn’t look like an act.

“What’s the intent behind that question?”

“I’m asking because I’m genuinely curious. There are all sorts of reasons for wanting to find someone.”

Aran spoke, folding down his fingers one by one.

“Could be you’re looking for him because he’s missing and in danger. Could be you sense he’s dead but still want to find the body. Or else, maybe you want to find him to say things left unsaid, or to resolve a festering grudge… Or.”

Aran stared intently at the unmoving Kay and asked.

“Could it be so painful that you can’t bear it without that person?”

“Because he’s my friend.”

Kay answered, meeting Aran’s downward gaze straight on.

“Because he’s my friend, I want to find him. Isn’t that reason enough?”

The gem-like eyes rolled. The corners of his eyes creased, as if to hide the gaze that had glanced away.

“Nothing wrong with that. But there’s a condition.”

A condition? Kay’s eyes narrowed, too, though for a different reason.

Kay knew that when others wanted something from him, it was generally one of two things. His power, or his body.

But as for his power, they had already made a deal, and as for his body, it seemed like people who would gladly follow this guy around were lined up and then some.

“Don’t worry. It’s nothing difficult.”

“…Tell me first.”

Aran’s business was brief and direct.

“Let me touch you.”

The sound of someone whistling rang out.

∞ ∞ ∞

Back in Room 5101 of the Residential Complex, Kay ruminated over and over on the situation he found himself in, but still could not understand it.

“Hey, wait a second. Let’s talk first, and then…”

“I’m in a hurry.”

With no time even to appreciate the coziness of a sofa he was using for the first time, Kay froze, held from behind in Aran’s arms.

“What meaning does this even have?”

“It has every meaning.”

“I’m not a guide.”

“I know.”

Then why?!

Unlike Kay, who had naturally assumed there must be that kind of intent behind the words ‘Let me touch you,’ Aran’s purpose was, literally, to ‘touch’ Kay.

“I’m taking off my gloves, so don’t be startled.”

The hand Aran bared after removing his gloves while still holding him was pure white. His hands had always been white and clean, but this was different. It was literally pure white—shattering, as if made of light.

“You, that hand… Hngh!”

Kay tried to say something, but Aran’s hand slipped inside his clothes, and the icy-cold skin met his own. His body curled up involuntarily.

“Ah, just as I thought. Warm.”

A long sigh escaped from Aran’s lips, his face nestled between Kay’s neck and shoulder, tickling Kay’s ear.

“Ngh.”

The breath whispering against his ear, the sensation of being held from behind. It was uncanny, as if it were stimulating some moment from his memories. At the same time, El’s hands had always been warm, so it became clear that this ice-cold touch unmistakably belonged to Aran.

“This… Don’t tell me, this is your side effect?”

“Yeah.”

The recoil that returned to espers as the price for using their abilities varied in every shape and form. Some suffered from headaches, some developed tinnitus, and at times, some suffered from severe vomiting or hallucinations. And in Aran’s case…

‘A type of chill, perhaps?’

His hands and arms were entirely like ice, and Kay turned over in his mind the appearance that had seemed as if his cells were shattering.

“What else?”

“What else… what do you mean, what else…”

“Is there anything else you’re curious about? You even borrowed books about it.”

Aran’s casual remark was an invasion of Kay’s privacy.

“How did you know?”

“Secret.”

“…Was it the bracelet?”

“Clever.”

According to the Center’s guidebook, the bracelet that Willamere natives were made to wear was made of a special material that couldn’t be removed without permission, and it recorded real-time location tracking, simple access logs, heart rate, and so on. So it wouldn’t be strange for him to know the library checkout list. It was just creepy. Just how far did this single bracelet invade one’s privacy?

‘Ah? Wait. Maybe.’

In that case, could he find out Simon’s last whereabouts through the Center?

The moment of realization coincided with the hand on his waist shifting to the side, making him feel a chilling tickle.

“So? Did you read all the books?”

“Not all, just a little, ngh.”

“How was it?”

The book he’d borrowed from the library. <Rapperd>.

On the cover of the thick, hardbound book, only the title in gold leaf was written, without any particular illustration.

In the table of contents, which divided the book by generations, one subheading bore the name ‘Aran Rapperd,’ and in that chapter, Aran and Rapperd were explained separately.

“It didn’t feel real.”

The former was the name of one of only two S-rank multies across both Limpus and Willamere.

And the latter was the surname of a family that had built a mythology upon this land of Limpus.

“You were a big shot. Really.”

The reason he had been able to stake his life wasn’t simply because he was a valuable resource to the Center.

He was, literally, a descendant of the very first Rapperd who had raised the dome called Limpus. Following that, the next generation had created the androids, and the generation after that had created the <Mother Core>—the founding family.

A name that had built the greatest civilization in human history, yet at the same time led humanity to extinction—truly a name that would remain at both the beginning and the end of this world.

“I’m glad you know.”

So it wasn’t difficult to guess just how enormous the influence his name and his existence held in this land.

“Is there anything else you’re curious about?”

“Ngh. No, there isn’t.”

“Why not?”

“You won’t… tell me, anyway.”

“I’ll tell you, except for things related to ‘that person.’ What are you curious about? If you want, I’ll even do a full public reveal, from my latest height to my three measurements, to my hobbies and tastes.”

“I don’t need any of that, so stop groping me already.”