Inside the building of the Ruthenia Corporation, two people crossed paths.

The moment I saw them, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

Although I probably hadn’t seen them that often, there was an inexplicable familiarity about them.

The silver-haired elf known as Sator greeted the man with a smile, happily saying, “Luke, how could you go completely off the grid? You can’t just be so cold to a friend!”

“I’m really sorry about that. I’ve been super busy lately.”

Although they referred to each other as friends, they didn’t seem that close; while Sator greeted him enthusiastically, the man appeared indifferent.

The man asked Sator, “But Sator, didn’t you hate hanging around crowded places because of your germophobia?”

“That’s true; I’m not a fan. But when something piques my interest, a researcher simply has to check it out. The last time I came to settle a contract for the reconstruction of the lab, I had a chat with the senior researcher from Ruthenia. They were having trouble creating a prosthetic arm for a pyromancer, so I gave them a hand. As you know, I have lots of interest and knowledge in that area.”

Sator adjusted his glasses with his gloved hand while he spoke.

At first, I thought the white gloves were just a fashion choice, but it turned out they were a sign of his germophobia.

“I gave them some advice, so I need to check if everything is working as it should. They said the result was ready, and here I am, running into a familiar face. What brings you here?”

“The student needing the prosthetic arm is attending the academy, so my brother asked me to make sure the surgery goes smoothly.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Upon hearing the man’s response, Sator smiled brightly.

His gaze was fixed on me through his glasses.

“Isn’t it curious? An academy student who needs a prosthetic arm just happens to look a lot like someone I know, who also just so happens to be a pyromancer, and that someone is you. Doesn’t that seem a bit too coincidental?”

“……”

The man’s eyes flickered.

After looking at me for a while, Sator turned his attention back to the man.

“It seems like you two have a lot to talk about. Could you spare us a moment?”

The man glanced at me and slowly nodded.

“……Let’s finish the surgery first, and then we can talk.”

I did my best to ignore their conversation.

It was a topic I didn’t want to involve myself in.

—

To receive the surgery, I changed my clothes and entered the operating room, where Jessie was waiting with the prosthetic arm.

Seeing the prosthetic up close was breathtaking.

Just at first glance, it looked incredibly sophisticated and luxurious.

I had imagined something similar to the prosthetic arm of my history teacher, but this seemed like it belonged to a whole new dimension.

I was thinking about the Inspector Gadget’s robotic arm, only to feel like an Iron Man suit had unexpectedly appeared instead.

It wouldn’t be strange to call that an artistic piece in the form of an arm.

Except for the unknown white material intricately crafted in the center of the palm, the entire prosthetic was made of black metal, glowing with a characteristic metallic luster.

As I was mesmerized by its flowing shape under the light, Jessie gave a confident smile and said,

“This is a combat prosthetic, so I prioritized durability and practicality, but I couldn’t ignore its appearance. After all, Miss Scarlet is a girl, right?”

Was this really the priority on durability and practicality?

This was something impressive enough to impress even a guy, so as I vigorously nodded my head, Jessie smiled in satisfaction and stepped out of the operating room.

Only the man and I, both dressed in surgical gowns, remained in the room.

Handing me a mask similar to an oxygen mask, the man seemed to be preparing for anesthesia.

“It’s not a complicated surgery, so by the time you wake up, it will be over.”

I had never undergone anesthesia for surgery, so I was a bit anxious as I put the mask on. The man smiled gently, perhaps trying to reassure me.

“Don’t worry; nobody knows better than me how much you hate pain.”

Though he smiled, the man looked a bit sad.

As I was thinking about that familiar face, I inhaled something, and my consciousness quickly became hazy.

The man’s face grew blurry.

[I’m sorry, I’ll make sure you won’t feel pain for long…]

With a sorrowful face, the man said that while attaching my severed left arm.

—

In a slightly dazed state, I attempted to rise.

Unconsciously, I was supporting myself with my left arm.

Realizing that, I slowly looked down at my left arm.

It was now a metal arm.

Even though I couldn’t feel anything, it moved exactly how I wanted it to.

Curious, I wiggled my fingers, and before I knew it, Jessie had come back into the operating room, smiling as she observed.

“Does it feel okay? First, get dressed.”

Once I had changed clothes and stepped out, Jessie was fiddling with something on the prosthetic.

With a click, a small gap opened on the back of the prosthetic hand, and Jessie looked at me.

“You can insert the piece you showed me earlier here.”

Following Jessie’s instructions, I inserted the black piece I had brought with me into the opening.

Once I placed the piece in, Jessie readjusted the prosthetic and closed the gap.

“I tightened the screws inside with telekinesis, so it won’t come loose even if it gets hit. According to the design, the prosthetic should be able to emit flames, so let’s test it! Follow me.”

I followed Jessie out of the building into a spacious area marked as a “training ground.”

According to her, it used to be a warehouse that her parents remodeled for training sessions.

She mentioned they usually rented it out to other heroes for a fee, but today, they weren’t taking any people, which made me feel quite pressured.

Is this how the wealthy live? My hands were shaking.

“By the way, isn’t there a lot of people here?”

Shortly after we entered, the man, Sator, Jessie’s big brother, and a few smaller men and women came in and stood near the entrance, watching us.

Hearing my question, Jessie chuckled and said, “Hehe, those are my siblings on their day off. They came to check if what they made works well, but if it makes you uncomfortable, I can tell them to leave?”

“No, that’s alright. That’s fine by me.”

Since they were people I should thank, I bowed my head towards them, and they all waved back with smiles.

Having a crowd made me feel inexplicably tense.

They all said they needed to observe for any issues, so I rolled up my sleeve, imagining flames igniting in my left arm while I released a burst of fire.

At that moment, the prosthetic began to shine.

Flames flowed from the back of my hand, where I had inserted the piece earlier, all the way up to my shoulder, emitting light.

The most noticeable part was the characters etched in light, making my eyes go wide in surprise.

Soon enough, flames erupted from the shining sections, enveloping the prosthetic, yet before they caught fully, I was undeniably sure the characters glowing on my arm were spelling out “Scarlet.”

How did they do this…

Turning around in shock, I caught Jessie with a sly grin, as if she had just pulled off a surprise.

“Did you see that? Right? In order to allow flames to flow through the whole arm, we needed to carve some grooves. If done well, we thought it could look like letters, so we wracked our brains together and made it happen! It’s a success!”

Overwhelmed by such an unexpected gift, I stood there in awe, and Jessie shouted at me as if I hadn’t even begun to be surprised yet.

“The real cool part is still to come! Stretch out your palm towards the empty space and press that button inside your wrist!”

A button?

Following Jessie’s instruction, I touched the inner side of the prosthetic wrist and found a button that wasn’t obvious at all.

After applying quite a bit of pressure to push it, the flames that had been blazing suddenly whoosh went out.

Wait, the flames are still leaking out, right?

Concentrating, I realized that not only was the fire coming out, but it was also being sucked somewhere.

“Release the button, then press it again to fire!”

Hearing the word “fire,” I recalled what I had requested earlier.

I had definitely asked them to find a way to enable long-range attacks…

Suppressing my excitement, I released the button and then pressed it again.

Instantly, everything before me lit up.

Flames erupted vigorously from my palm, scorching the large space ahead of me.

In this stunning display, I heard the cheers of those watching from the back.

“We created this instead of a magic cannon. Well? Do you like it?”

Jessie asked that, but even before I could respond, she was already grinning. Instead of answering, I pulled her into a grateful hug.

A quote from a game my friend loved came to mind.

“Scarlet Evande has learned to unleash flames!”

Now I finally had a technique to use besides just a flame-throwing car!

—

While watching the flames erupting from the prosthetic, Sator spoke up, “That’s an absorption stone. It’s a magic stone that absorbs flames and can release them in the desired direction. I got it as a fire prevention measure after the research lab burned down, and I sent a few to Ruthenia when I heard about the prosthetic.”

His explanation held, while Luke, Sator’s friend, continued to silently watch him. Sator muttered quietly,

“Don’t worry, it’s not something that could harm your precious Number 10. But I never imagined that the most trusted friend would be behind this. I couldn’t have imagined it.”

“… How did you know?”

“It was a pure coincidence. I ran into her once recently, but since she had changed her hair color, I thought it was just a similar person. But then I heard about a unique pyromancer during a conversation with the senior researcher. A girl who emits flames when she’s angry. That’s when I started to put the pieces together. But seeing you here today confirmed my suspicions.”

Sator looked at Luke, who was asking with trembling eyes, and smiled slightly as he answered.

“But I never thought that her ability would develop in proportion to her anger, not her pain. Thinking back, it was obvious, but I had overlooked it. If I had known, we could have made so much more progress. If I had another chance, I feel like we could succeed. But my family told me to abandon the plan. They want to throw it away.”

“… Throw it away?”

I didn’t expect him to be so shaken.

Sator chuckled softly.

“Yeah, it’s really a shame, but after the lab burned down, the order came down to stop the project and throw away any remaining results.”

With a serious expression, Luke bowed his head.

Sator was a bit taken aback by his reaction’s intensity.

“… Sator, can you delay that a bit?”

“As you know, Number 10 is Astra’s private property. If an order comes from above, I have no choice but to follow.”

“Number 10. No, Scarlet is a person, not property.”

He even gave her a name.

At Luke’s words, Sator adjusted his glasses and his eyes glinted sharply.

“A person? You say that?”

“She completely lost her memories due to the experiment. I heard she’s living normally at the academy. Can’t you see that?”

—

Sator looked at Number 10, who was smiling and embracing a female student.

She did appear to be an ordinary person, but to Sator, that simply seemed ridiculous.

Pretending to be human didn’t change its essence.

Feeling disgusted, Sator scratched his neck.

Oblivious to his inner feelings, Luke continued fervently.

“Moreover, she saved lives. More than ten thousand lives. Sator, do you remember our original goal when we first made our plans? It was to save people. And she managed to do that. She may save even more in the future. So please, give her a little more time. Can’t you do that?”

There was once a time he had said that.

The look on Luke’s face was desperate.

Sator remembered clearly the words he had spoken the day he agreed to stand by him.

So, Sator scratched his neck.

“Please, Sator. This is my last request as a friend.”

Friend, that’s a nice term.

Sator considered him as such, yet Luke betrayed him.

Sator had also deceived him, so friendship was clearly a relationship of continual deception.

Of course, he couldn’t just leave it at being deceived.

So, with a gentle smile, Sator said,

“Since you’re asking so earnestly, I’ll do my best to persuade the family.”

Sator gazed at his friend who had deceived him.

He glared at the vile thing adorned with a ring of red that concealed its true nature.

“As you say, we are indeed friends.”

Astra never forgets a favor or a grudge.

Never.

Sator scratched his neck.

—

The absorption stone Sator had handed to Ruthenia contained one more spell.

A simple, trivial tracking spell.

That early morning, Sator loaded a large trunk into his car and set out.