Hours had passed at this point, but Haruto's body was still not found. Everyone had started to lose hope as they returned to the building they had started at.
Of course, he couldn't have gone far, so when he didn't show up, they assumed the worst. Throughout the entire search, Silas did not bother helping.
No one questioned it; it wasn't out of character for him. Besides Silas and Simon, the rest of the group was rather shaken.
By this time, he must've been dead. While the others grieved, Simon was rather disappointed more than anything.
(He was a valuable asset, but there's not much I could do about it.) He sighed internally.
Haruto was a major help in the fight against Nabû-Zēr, but there was nothing Simon could do now. More importantly, he had two other things to worry about.
The first was that Elliot was also nowhere to be found. He did not help with their fight, and he was not there while the group was choosing weapons. Simon couldn't help but wonder what Elliot could be doing.
(We both noticed the marker of the falcon's skull, and I've already given hints that I know about him. Maybe he's trying to ask them about me? From his perspective, it must seem as if I'm trying to take Project Icarus, or him out.)
The second thought was rather immediate compared to the last. Nabû-Zēr had been reincarnated as an entity against his will, and so had his wife. Naturally, she would want revenge.
However, who can say she was reincarnated the same way as Nabû-Zēr? Whatever ritual Nicholas Crest had performed was planned years before its execution, so there was a high chance it could fail.
This was because the ritual's ingredients could be hard to obtain. The rarer the ingredients, the higher the probability of failure. A grimace painted Simon's face as he stopped the search for Haruto.
He was surely dead by now; there was nothing more Simon could do.
(What's another pawn? A D-grade at that. It doesn't matter if he died or not; he'll just have a more valuable replacement.)
With this, he and the rest of the group left the Hollow World. Like usual, they followed procedures and went to the infirmary. Of course, Alina was Simon's doctor, and an awkward silence was shared between the two.
Simon didn't dare say a word, and Alina didn't dare to question. There was an understanding between the two, which Evelyn seemed to notice. An indistinguishable frown painted her face as she saw this.
In her mind, these were her two best friends. She had known Alina since they were children. As for Simon, she was close to him due to the late nights shared in the meeting room.
Perhaps they had gotten too close, as Evelyn was awfully touchy with Simon. He attempted to act like he didn't care, but deep down, it made him slightly uncomfortable.
"Simon," Alina whispered.
This caught his attention, his gaze shifting towards her. Alina leaned in closer, her voice light against the tip of his earlobe.
"Yes, Alina?"
"Next time I gift you something, don't destroy it."
Her voice was menacing, making Simon nod. The message was loud and clear, and her expression stayed the same. Her steel, owl-like stares felt as if they might crush him.
No matter how curious she was, Simon still viewed her as useful. Her methods were questionable, sure, but without her, he would've died in that cave.
(Yes, the Earth Scale Eel Cave!) He suddenly remembered.
With Nabû-Zēr finally gone, he now had more chances to explore it. The problem of his core still arose, however. Simon had to stick to his original plan of achieving a new sub-stage before exploring again.
There was no telling what would happen if he tipped the scales of fate again. He had already done so many times during his first visit to the replica world.
Simon had focused many times on making sure Leo, Haruto, and himself lived. The butterfly effects of his Signature might have caused Haruto's death. If this were the case, this meant Leo would die too soon, so Simon could only wish for the best.
Unlike Haruto, Leo had great importance to him for the time being. Leo was always used as an offensive member like Silas. Ezra, however, despite his appearance and Signature, was a rather defensive unit.
This meant that he needed Leo alive more than Ezra. With no offense, Simon would surely die in the Hollow World. Their visit to the infirmary was short-lived this time as Evelyn kept their symptoms at bay instinctively during the fight.
The group went into the meeting room as the sun began to drop across the horizon. All of them sat down, with Silas falling asleep beside Ezra.
"I've been thinking, maybe we could use another squad in our expeditions," Simon suggested.
The entire group agreed immediately. Although they were hardly injured this time, it would be nice if they weren't at all. It would save them time, and more importantly, another member would not get lost.
Although the group's minds were far from this complication. They were all stuck on the sudden disappearance of Haruto. Even if death in the Hollow World was common, they couldn't deny their feelings about him.
Leo was the most devastated by this. After spending so much time with Haruto, they were almost inseparable. His face showed obvious sorrow before he got up from his seat.
"I think we should ask for Alina's team. She seems like the most reliable as they're already our nurses." Leo said.
(...So you just want me to die then?)
"Yes! That seems like the best choice!" Evelyn said.
Even still, her voice was less bright than usual. It caused the entire team's mood to shift. To see Evelyn with any expression other than joy was odd. Everyone grieves differently, however.
Among the group, Leo was the only one who didn't seem to understand his death. To Simon, it was inevitable. A blind, D-grade Signator would die eventually.
His death was not taken to heart by Ezra, although he was still saddened. He was by far the most experienced; he had seen many Signators come and go.
Among all of them, Evelyn was the only one who still held hope that he was alive. Even if he wasn't, in her mind, people often die in the Hollow World, so it was out of her reach. She had done everything she could for Haruto, so this is where it would end.
At least, this is what it seemed to be on the outside.
With a sigh, Evelyn began to get out the paperwork to request additional help from Alina's team. The group began to leave one by one as this happened, however.
Leo was far too depressed to do anything else for the time being; he needed to rest. As for Ezra and Silas, the latter lived with the former. Ezra had a wife waiting for him to return.
This left Simon and Evelyn alone in the room.
(Once again, it's only me and her doing all the work. Not to mention we still have to write a report for the day.) Simon rubbed his temples in annoyance.
What a nuisance this was... It made him wonder how they had gotten their jobs in the first place. They were constantly relying on the two, involving everything that didn't include the Hollow World expeditions.
However, Evelyn seemed rather pleased with this. She giggled to herself, sitting closer to Simon.
"We're alone again, huh?"
"It seems so."
Simon smiled at her sudden change in attitude. Evelyn really was an odd one, for her to change so fast. Maybe she had come to an understanding about Haruto.
Either way, Simon was rather pleased at this, thinking she had finally grasped the facts.
The smile swiftly left his face as the next words left her lips:
"Let's make it a date!"
(Huh?)