The investigation into Kanna Aurora began before Yoon Ha-min's.
After all, Ha-min was merely an accomplice at worst, while Kanna was the root of the problem.
Kanna hesitated in the interrogation room, glancing around nervously.
She was clearly different from those who tried to calm themselves with deep breaths. Her eyes darted back and forth anxiously, and she couldn't keep her hands still.
While such behavior was understandable in this situation, it was merely irritating to the investigators who needed to proceed with their work.
The world had been peaceful for too long.
In places unknown to ordinary people, the Mysterious Persons had built their own communities and temporarily set aside their anger. They had paused their expressions of rage toward those who had cast out their kind, choosing instead to live their own lives.
Thanks to this, people inside the Wall found peace and stability.
And because of this, they grew complacent.
The younger generation only knew of Mysterious Persons and monsters from books.
The middle generation was no different.
Only the oldest generation—those now approaching retirement—could recall incidents from their childhood.
This complacency affected not only the heroes but also those in positions of power.
They thought: After getting angry once or twice, the Mysterious Persons will stop. If we cut them down once, they'll back off on their own. If we handle the monsters this way, they won't return.
They lived comfortably, following precedents from the past.
The problem was that the Mysterious Persons of the past were different from those of the present, and these current ones had no intention of stopping. But how could people know this?
From the beginning, no one except Kanna knew that destruction was coming to those inside the Wall—how could they know anything about the future?
They only sought to cover others' eyes to find the peace before them, believing that doing so would restore the peace they once had.
What could be done about such shortsightedness? A whole generation had already passed.
Those experienced in properly dealing with Mysterious Persons had all retired, and those now responsible were merely looking for precedents, hoping things would resolve themselves.
"Kanna Aurora. Yoon Ha-min tried to obtain a Totem for you. What were you planning to do with it?"
Whether Kanna Aurora was guilty or not—that wasn't really important.
They simply wanted to remove her because she was clearly recognized by the Mysterious Persons and seemed to be the reason they repeatedly broke through the Wall.
If Kanna's disappearance would slow the Wall's collapse, nothing would make them happier.
Kanna hesitated before hanging her head. She initially looked as if she'd never heard of this, but then opened her mouth.
"...I... I wanted to heal myself..."
That was Kanna's answer.
While Yoon Ha-min had said he wanted to restore her to normal, she was more concerned with keeping him from getting involved in this mess.
Kanna planned to say that everything was her doing, that she had deliberately gotten close to Ha-min to manipulate him.
She just needed to say things they would have to believe, whether they wanted to or not.
Though Ha-min was probably with Orca now and would never give his heart to her, she thought that didn't matter.
If she claimed responsibility, they would view the situation through colored glasses, and Ha-min would appear to be the victim.
"So you're saying it wasn't Yoon Ha-min's voluntary action, but your order?"
"...Yes."
Kanna deliberately hesitated.
Despite their shortsightedness, they could still detect lies. Kanna nodded naturally and kept her mouth shut.
In this situation, if she admitted to having connections with Mysterious Persons, they would have sent her away immediately, but the threat against her wasn't severe yet because they were still uncertain.
She had merely asked someone to find a Totem to heal her body.
That was all there was to it.
So they had to bring up something else.
Even if she had used Ha-min, it was still within an understandable range, so the Association higher-ups were prepared to bring up something that would justify their suspicions.
"How did you feel when the Mysterious Person contacted you?"
"Huh? Well... um... just normal, I guess."
Kanna was flustered by this question she'd never heard before, but seeing that the questioner was treating it as an established fact, she answered vaguely.
The questioner sensed something odd.
But not knowing exactly what it was, they set a subtle trap with their next question.
"Then what did you do when you met the Mysterious Person for the second time? Do you remember anything about that situation?"
"...Well..."
"Kanna, please answer honestly."
"Ah, yes. So..."
Kanna struggled with the urging, but there was a limit to answering about things she couldn't remember, so she eventually fell silent.
Her heart pounded heavily. It was a moment of growing anxiety.
Kanna stammered, worried that something might go wrong with Ha-min because of her.
The questioner flipped through the file for a moment, then nodded after looking at hospital documents attached at the back.
"You don't remember."
"...I'm sorry."
Kanna hung her head, realizing she'd been caught trying to evade the question.
She was deeply concerned that something might go wrong.
In contrast, the staff member had simply confirmed that the hospital documents weren't forged, and was now writing notes, planning to hand the case over to someone else.
"That's understandable. But trying to evade questions like that only makes you more suspicious."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
"From now on, I'd like you to speak without hiding anything."
"Yes, yes! I'll do that from now on...!"
"Then I'll guide you to another staff member, just follow them."
"I understand."
Kanna thanked the person who had given her advice and turned to leave.
This time, there was a larger person waiting.
Kanna followed behind them and soon noticed a strange door.
In a completely white space, following a white line led to what looked like a small isolation room.
Kanna hesitated at the sight.
"...Ugh."
When she groaned softly, the staff member walking ahead turned slightly to look at her.
"Is something wrong?"
"No... it's just, I don't like it..."
"Since you've come this far, it's best to clear up all suspicions before leaving."
Kanna understood that, but she disliked the inexplicable fear enveloping her body.
Like being afraid of being alone even on an ordinary night.
But after hearing those words, Kanna couldn't stop. She hugged her shivering body and followed.
"Rest for a while and then follow the guidance announcements."
"Ah, th-thank you."
Kanna said this and entered the isolation room assigned to her.
In the pristine white space with white lighting, she carefully sat down on the bed provided.
Kanna thought of Yoon Ha-min.
She worried and felt sorry that he had come to such a place because of her.
She tried to think that if she had her memories, she wouldn't have gone this far, but then remembered that all this had happened because of her actions when she didn't have her memories.
How could she fix everything?
Kanna lay back on the bed and squeezed her eyes shut with worry.
She placed the pillow beside her on her head and rested her hands on top of it.
Let me recall what I know.
Kanna Aurora was a character with minimal importance in the story.
She was only described as having the lowest grades, and even her appearance was so forgettable that it was hard to remember if it had been described at all.
Such a character would just die, knowingly or unknowingly, swept up in the deaths of her classmates during a crisis in the middle of the story.
In other words, she was dispensable.
She had wanted to be useful at least once, but was that dream too far out of reach?
She had wanted to change the ending of the story, but was that just a dream for her?
Or was she destined not to see the changed ending even if it did change?
If her death here could make Yoon Ha-min smile—
If someone could guarantee that this story would have a happy ending, she would give up her life.
"—Ah."
Kanna wanted to say goodbye in her heart, but she still wanted to see Ha-min.
She wanted to tell the protagonist, Yoon Ha-min, that she had received a lot of support and strength because of him.
But that dream remained unfulfilled as the white walls isolated her.
As she groaned softly, a rigid voice came through the speaker.
[Kanna Aurora. Please follow the line of your assigned color to the end.]
Kanna took a step forward, not knowing what awaited her at the end.