Chapter 60: One Person's Destiny

A quarter of an hour later, Robert returned to his office alone.

He stepped inside as usual, took a few soft paces on the rug by the entrance, and then stopped—someone was already sitting in his chair.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Secretary-General."

The voice of a young man came through. It was a typical youthful timbre, leaning toward the higher side of the vocal range, occasionally carrying a slightly muffled nasal tone when he spoke in a low voice.

"Avinash?" Robert murmured the name.

The upholstered chair creaked as it swiveled around, and the young man in it gave Robert a wave.

By descent, Avinash belonged to the Eleventh District. He possessed the brown skin and slightly curly black hair common to the people of that district. His eye sockets were deep, his gaze bright, and those peridot-like light green eyes matched the initial impression he gave as a person—gentle and clear.

Seeing Avinash in person at this moment did not surprise Robert; it was he who had personally issued an ultimatum to the young man last night: if he failed to show up before six o'clock today, the employment agreement he had privately signed with the Third District United Government would be directly invalidated.

"Tomorrow afternoon, there will be a press conference here," Robert began straight to the point. "We need you to attend and speak—as the representative of Tanie's first Quicksilver Needle Task Force, it is time to announce our plan."

"I must decline," Avinash said calmly. "Wasn't it agreed long ago that whenever you bring that newcomer, I will take over the task force... I don't like dealing with the media."

Although this was not his first conversation with Avinash, the young man's ungracious and blunt attitude still stirred a hidden irritation in Robert. He narrowed his slender eyes. "What if I insist on your attendance?"

"Then I will need a handwritten letter of consent from the entire Council of the Third District," Avinash raised his head. "Though the task force nominally belongs to Tanie... it is better if you do things by the book."

Robert paced slowly along the edge of the spacious room, his gaze rarely leaving Avinash in the chair.

"Masaki Chiba was here today," Robert said abruptly. "She even brought you up."

"I know, I saw her car... What did she mention about me?"

"She asked about the terms the Third District offered you," Robert paused, his gaze looking somewhat suspicious. "How did she find out about this, Avinash?"

Avinash shook his head slightly and smiled. "Really, Mr. Secretary-General, either you underestimate AHgAs's intelligence network, or you underestimate Chiba's influence within AHgAs..." He raised his eyes to look at Robert. "It is not the least bit surprising that she knows about these matters."

"Could it be that someone among us leaked it to her?"

Avinash tilted his head slightly toward his shoulder. "Are you suspecting me?"

Robert kept a straight face and did not answer. The somewhat frivolous smile on Avinash's face at that moment had already angered him, but he reined it in, merely raising his chin with a mocking air.

"I just want to know whether your repeated delays regarding the task force's missions have anything to do with Chiba?"

"Yes," Avinash replied.

"Was it your own initiative, or did she coerce you?"

"That is hard to answer, Mr. Secretary-General," Avinash said, his gaze lowered, his eyes half-closed beneath long eyelashes. Amidst the silence, he picked up a feather pen from Robert's desk, expressionlessly stroking its loose, soft plumes. "Do you believe in destiny?"

"What do you mean?"

"If you are doing this for the young girl from the monastery, you hardly need to fly into such a rage—as long as you truly bring her out of the base, I will take over the task force affairs immediately."

Robert was extremely annoyed. His eyebrows knitted tightly together, and he bit out each word, "When all is said and done, you still don't believe we can bring her out—with an attitude like yours, how are we supposed to cooperate?"

"All cooperation must be built on a foundation of division of labor; once you have completed your part, I will complete mine," Avinash said, rising from the chair. "I came today simply to remind you to mind the boundaries."

The two stood in a silent standoff, after which Avinash bowed in greeting and walked toward the door.

"Wait!" Robert shouted at Avinash's retreating back. "What did you mean by destiny just now?"

"A piece of empirical wisdom, nothing more," Avinash said with a smile. "Masaki Chiba's destiny is to drag everyone who approaches her into misfortune, whether they are her friends, her lovers, or her enemies."

"This is a piece of advice I give you: do not befriend such a person, but even more so, do not make an enemy of her." Avinash did not stop; he pulled the door open, turned his head back, and said, "Take care of yourself."

The door slammed shut with a bang. Robert stood alone in his office, suddenly feeling a shudder run through him.

...
...

On the final morning of her discharge, Hesta sat quietly on her bed as usual, waiting for the nurse to make rounds.

Her wounds had completely healed, at a speed she herself could not comprehend.

Starting a few days ago, her bedside had been piled with all sorts of flowers, most of the bouquets accompanied by small cards bearing words of blessing, signed with names Hesta did not recognize at all.

These bouquets arrived in a continuous stream. Every evening the nurse would help clear away a batch, and by the next day, new flowers would be delivered.

Footsteps sounded from outside the door. Hesta put down her book and looked toward the entrance.

"Jane?" The doctor and nurse pushed the door open together. "How are you feeling today?"

Hesta nodded.

The nurse smiled as she placed a stack of varying-sized cards on Hesta's bedside table. Judging by the material and patterns of the cards, they must have been blessing cards tucked inside the flowers.

"Too many flowers were delivered today; we simply couldn't keep up with them," the nurse smiled, straightening the stack of cards. "Congratulations, you'll be leaving the base tomorrow."

"You mean being discharged?"

The doctor and nurse exchanged glances. "... Didn't Ms. Chiba tell you? The base has agreed to the municipal government's request to let you return among the citizens and live the life of an ordinary person. The press conference was held a few days ago, and they were just waiting for you to recover and be discharged."

Hesta gave a soft "Oh." Chiba truly had not mentioned it to her.

However, since Ms. Chiba had not mentioned it, that meant this matter was not important.

That day, she underwent the doctor's inquiries and examinations as usual, and then sat quietly on the bed waiting.

The clock hands slowly ticked from seven to nine, and finally, a knock was heard outside the ward once more.

Hesta raised her head. "Please come in."

The young nurse poked half her body in. "Hesta, a friend is here to see you. He said you told him to come at this time... Is that true?"

"Yes," Hesta nodded.

The nurse's lips pressed down slightly. "Now is not visiting hours for the hospital, let this be the only time, alright?"

Hesta smiled. "Thank you."

The nurse smiled as well. "He's at the nurses' station."

After the nurse left, Hesta changed into her clothes—a suede jacket left behind by Chiba, the loose hem of which hung down to conceal the two pistols tucked into the small of her back.

She walked toward the nurses' station. At the end of the corridor, Shaun was already waiting there.