Chapter 378: Something Within the Data
The third meeting between Gu Mu and Ayla was not coordinated by Sora.
Gu Mu had initialized the session himself.
Sora was organizing dossiers when her terminal buzzed. Assuming it was a routine
status report, she opened the message:
[Owner Sora, Ayla collected the architectural archives today. She asked if there
were any vendors selling pressed-flower materials nearby. I wasn't entirely
sure, so I acted as her guide. We located a shop in the Old Market; she seemed
satisfied and acquired a significant amount of stock. She then asked if I wished
to join her for a local meal. I accepted. We've completed the dining protocol.]
After reading, Sora located Gu Mu's slot in the ledger, crossed out the previous
follow-up memo, and scribbled a new line:
[Logistics: Automated. Manual intervention no longer required.]
She closed the book and sat back, staring into space for a few moments.
In her months as a matchmaker, she had witnessed every possible developmental
vector: "Instant Synchronization" leading to immediate contact-exchange,
"Triple-Session Stagnation" where neither party possessed the courage to speak,
and "Immediate System Crash" where both parties exited in silence.
But the Gu Mu-Ayla trajectory was a variable she hadn't audited before.
They had transitioned from architectural structural logic to botanical
specimens, then to pressed-flower logistics, and finally to a joint dining
event. No external pressure. No forced matchmaking. The synchronization was
moving forward with a terrifyingly natural fluidness.
Sora couldn't quite define the feeling. She had succeeded in her mission, yet
she felt as though she had performed zero work.
Kaito manifested around 15:00.
As he pushed the door open, Bochi scrambled out of his hood, waved a tentacle at
Sora, and hopped onto the desk. Kaito took a seat and scanned the open files.
"Update: Status of Gu Mu?"
"They've reached their third session via self-initialization." Sora pushed the
ledger toward him.
Kaito glanced at the entry and pushed it back. "Then the task is complete. No
further monitoring is necessary."
"Mhm." Sora moved the file to the "In-Progress/Autonomous" stack. "Mr. Cold and
Wen Xiao manifest the day after tomorrow. Will you be attending?"
Kaito thought for a moment. "Attending."
"And Chen Xu..." Sora's voice softened slightly. "You mentioned one month for
his manifestation. We're only on Day 3."
"Day 3," Kaito repeated flatly. "Do not rush the hardening protocol. Stability
is the priority parameter."
"Mhm."
Sora didn't reopen the ledger. She rested her hands on the cover, paused, and
pivoted to a different query.
"Mr. Kaito, I have a non-standard question regarding your 'Matchmaking
Authority'." Sora selected her words with clinical precision. "Is the 'Soul
Resonance' variable… absolute? Can you truly see it?"
"Correct."
"Then what did you see with Gu Mu and Ayla?"
Kaito's soul-fire pulsed once. "Their Soul-Frequency Synchronization is
approximately 75%." His tone was as detached as an auditor reading a
spreadsheet. "It is not a terminal peak, but it is stable. In long-term unions,
Stability is a higher-tier parameter than Intensity."
Sora scribbled '75%' into her notes. "Then what about Mr. Cold and Wen Xiao? You
haven't audited Wen Xiao personally yet, so the prediction is TBD?"
"Wait for the manifestation," Kaito replied.
Sora nodded, closing the book. She sat there, her fingers tapping the desktop
for several seconds, before speaking again.
"Then what about Chen Xu? What kind of partner does he require?"
"You have already queried this."
"I am aware. What I mean is… is it possible the compatible unit isn't in my
current database? Someone who hasn't manifested as a client, or perhaps someone
who doesn't even realize they possess the 'Need' variable?"
Kaito stared at her. Sora avoided the gaze, busying herself with tidying the
desk.
"Just a professional inquiry. For future business expansion," she added.
Kaito's soul-fire remained steady for a long beat. Finally, he spoke. "Chen Xu's
Soul-Frequency is 'Low-Bass.' He requires a receiver capable of picking up
low-frequency signals. Someone who is neither high-aggression nor
high-silence—someone capable of sitting comfortably within the void."
Sora's hand paused.
"Additionally," Kaito continued, "a human with high soul-sensitivity is not
necessarily a 'Mage' or a 'Medium'. Some humans possess latent perception that
has never been initialized."
Sora looked up, locking eyes with Kaito's soul-fire for two seconds. Then she
lowered her head and scribbled a line in her private notes, quickly flipping the
page as if checking another record.
Bochi leaned over, his head swiveling between the two. "Sora, what did you just
log?"
"Client data."
"Let me audit it—"
"Focus on your own data-entry, Bochi."
"I don't have any data-entry!"
"Then stare at the wall."
Bochi slumped back, mumbling something inaudible.
Kaito didn't ask about her notes. He sat in the chair, his bony fingers tapping
the armrest in a slow, rhythmic pattern, as if processing a deep calculation.
Sora finished tidying the desk and poured two glasses of water, placing one near
Kaito's hand. "Mr. Kaito, when you visited Chen Xu yesterday… what was the state
of his existence?"
"Marginally improved since the first session." Kaito touched the glass but
didn't drink. "His vocal-output is manifesting more easily. A positive shift."
"He's been lonely for a terminal duration." Sora stood by the desk, not sitting
back down. "Listening to your reports… I just keep thinking about him in that
yard. From before the Scourge until now. That kind of duration would kill a
normal human's spirit."
"Undead and Ghosts perceive time differently," Kaito said calmly. "To him, it is
not a 'Grind'. It is a 'Submergence'."
"Submergence?"
"Like water rising without a boundary. You do not know when the flooding began,
and you cannot calculate when it will recede."
Sora processed the metaphor. She sat back down, reopened the ledger to Chen Xu's
page, and reread the line she had buried at the bottom.
It was a name: Lyra Frost.
She stared at the name for three seconds, then slammed the book shut and buried
it again. Kaito's soul-fire pulsed at the moment she looked up, but she didn't
notice.
Her terminal buzzed. It was a message from Lyra Frost.
[Sora, how are the bureau's parameters? Do you require any manual assistance
today?]
Sora stared at the message, her finger hovering over the screen for two seconds
before typing a single word.
[Yes.]
[State the task.]
Sora looked at the ledger, then at Kaito, then back at the screen.
[I will explain during your next manifestation.]
She flipped the terminal face-down and began logging the day's work. Her
handwriting was steady, row by row, until she reached the final line. She
paused, wrote half a sentence, then immediately crossed it out.
The half-sentence was: [Lyra Frost. Soul-Perception: Potential High.]
As 18:00 approached, Kaito stood to leave. Bochi tried to linger but was stuffed
into the hood. Sora saw them to the door, checking the street out of habit.
The city was bustling. Dusk was settling, and the Imperial streetlights were
flickering to life, casting a warm, amber glow over the masonry.
Kaito had taken two steps when Sora suddenly called out.
"Mr. Kaito!"
Kaito stopped. He didn't turn around. "Status?"
"Last time, you said humans with high soul-sensitivity often don't realize they
have it," Sora said, leaning against the doorframe. Her voice was soft, barely
carrying over the street noise. "How do you verify a variable like that?"
Kaito stood still for a few seconds.
"Have them sit in the yard beside Chen Xu."
"For how long?"
"Duration is irrelevant. If the variable exists, they will manifest a reaction."
"And if there is zero reaction?"
Kaito finally turned his head. His soul-fire glowed slightly brighter in the
encroaching dark.
"Then you switch the sample."
He turned back and walked into the twilight. His silhouette grew distant, with
Bochi's head occasionally popping out of the hood to wave a tentacle farewell.
Sora stood at the door, repeating the words in her mind. Then she went back
inside, grabbed her terminal, and sent a new message to Lyra.
[Sister Lyra, have you ever visited the abandoned courtyard at the south end of
District 4?]
Lyra's reply came within seconds. [Why are you querying that location?]
Sora stared at the screen. [Just an audit. Have you been there?]
There was a long silence. Then Lyra replied:
[I went there once. During the Scourge. I was operating in that sector and
passed the yard one night. Something about the 'Atmosphere' felt strange, so I
entered to investigate. I found nothing… but I ended up staying there for quite
a while before exiting.]
Sora set the phone down and stared at the ceiling. She pulled out the ledger,
flipped to Chen Xu's page, and looked at the crossed-out line.
The marks were still there, but the logic was clear. She wrote a new, complete
sentence beside it:
[Lyra Frost. History of Lingering in the Courtyard. Status: Awaiting
Verification.]
☆☆☆
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