# Chapter 9. Abandoned Factory District
[49]
Yuri looked at Chris, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, with slightly troubled eyes.
He was more or less watching the road ahead, but his hands weren’t even on the steering wheel.
He only pretended to grab it when another car approached.
‘I wonder if he at least has his foot on the brake.’
Even knowing there was no need, this concern seemed like an ordinary human instinct.
Instead of making unnecessary comments to Chris, Yuri kept quiet.
After watching the road ahead for a while, Chris reported:
“We’ll soon enter the abandoned factory district.”
“Alright.”
They had landed in Ishtar City through Peter.
“I need to check something based on Hogan’s information, so I’ll be away for a while.”
After saying that, Peter had brought the transportation, maps, and new ID cards that Yuri requested.
Chris, who had been hesitating, suddenly spoke up.
“The glasses… suit you well.”
“So this is your taste?”
Yuri asked, removing his glasses and turning them around in his hand.
“…It reminds me of when I first saw you. In the bookstore.”
Interestingly, Yuri’s current identity was Magnolia Winter.
Chris recalled the day when, as a Northern Light agent, he had unknowingly walked into Magnolia Bookstore.
The bespectacled bookstore owner had been shockingly beautiful.
Even after recovering his memories as Chris Danil, that moment remained difficult to forget.
Curious if others had similar experiences, Chris had searched through various data and found an appropriate term:
Stendhal Syndrome.
The mental shock experienced when viewing outstanding works of art.
Yuri wasn’t someone’s creation. But Chris had never felt the same appreciation from any painting or sculpture as he did when looking at him.
Of course, his original self had deep feelings for Yuri too. He also thought Yuri was beautiful.
But the shock he felt upon meeting the bookstore owner was something that Chris Danil, who had been imprinted on Yuri from before he knew anything, couldn’t have experienced.
“The ones I wore at Magnolia Bookstore had silver frames. These are black horn-rimmed glasses.”
At Yuri’s words, Chris blinked slowly, as if questioning the significant difference between the two.
Yuri couldn’t help but chuckle.
Chris was the type of person who would tell you to choose the warmer option if you asked about the difference between silk and cotton pajamas.
Why would he care about things like gold frames or silver frames?
“…Either way, they suit you well, Yuri.”
Chris’s earlobes turned red as he added that it didn’t matter.
Yuri felt that since coming to the Spring Continent, Chris’s emotional expressions had become more abundant.
‘Or perhaps that’s true for me as well.’
The trigger was unknown.
But perhaps because he had shed the burden carried on his shoulders when leaving the Winter Continent, Yuri felt himself becoming more honest than before.
Maybe it was because this journey itself was undertaken more for his own desires than for White Night.
The desire for revenge—to completely erase Rosenhauser and the Thorns Order he left behind from this world.
“Nonsense.”
Instead of saying such things, Yuri lightly chided him.
Chris firmly closed his mouth and composed his expression.
He felt he had bothered Yuri with unnecessary comments.
“…I’ll wear them occasionally.”
“Pardon?”
Because of this, he was slow to understand Yuri’s words.
Through the rearview mirror, Chris saw Yuri in the back seat, feigning indifference.
Understanding Yuri’s meaning not too late, Chris’s cheeks flushed.
“Keep your eyes on the road.”
At his mischievous master’s command, Chris fixed his gaze forward.
But Yuri wouldn’t leave his mind.
Though he could see that face with just a turn of his head, why was it so difficult to face him?
Today again, Chris struggled with what felt like the greatest challenge of his life.
“So this is the abandoned factory district of Ishtar City.”
Yuri murmured as he got out of the car.
Unfolding the map Peter had given him, Chris discovered a tourist guidebook.
It was typical of the locksmith’s sense of humor.
“They say it’s unprecedented for a factory from the ancient civilization to remain in such intact form.”
Chris said, opening the booklet and reading a few lines.
“They had planned to develop Ishtar City in earnest, using Babel City as a base. If they had utilized this factory district well, the Spring Continent could have achieved remarkable development.”
“The leadership of the Spring Continent would have gradually shifted from Babel to Ishtar.”
Ishtar City, where the capital of the Spring Continent would have once flowed, had many buildings that looked half-built.
On their way here, they had seen several roads and bridges that had been started but abandoned.
Dust covered the scattered materials, and lush grass grew between some of the incomplete roads.
“Yes. Considering the labor population, the facility workers needed to support that population… and the commercial districts that would naturally grow as many people gathered, Ishtar couldn’t have remained just a satellite city.”
“Interesting.”
Yuri’s purple eyes sparkled as if he had caught the scent of another dark conspiracy.
Chris thought that at times like this, Yuri resembled a boy faced with a difficult puzzle.
When he discovered others’ desires and the schemes arising from them, he wanted to dig to the very roots.
‘I wonder if it’s related to his original dream of becoming a scholar.’
Though uncertain, it probably wasn’t completely unrelated.
Since returning from the Autumn Continent, Chris found it increasingly difficult to separate Yuri from his past.
The master he knew was the cold and rational ruler of the Winter Continent.
But the Yuri from times Chris knew nothing about was a boy who grew up with abundant love from both parents and dreamed of becoming a scholar.
How could these two be the same person?
As for Chris himself, he had no past before meeting Yuri.
Therefore, it was difficult for him to fully understand Yuri’s sense of loss.
It was like trying to feel an animal he had never seen while blindfolded. No matter how vividly he tried to imagine it, errors would inevitably occur.
What he believed was a leg might be the trunk, or he might only have confirmed a part rather than the whole.
“Martha Chafnil inspected the facility and eventually submitted a report stating that the possibility of operation was very low.”
“Yes. I found the relevant report in the Summer Continent’s database and sent it to Yuri’s terminal.”
Yuri didn’t ask how this was possible.
Chris often contacted Anong aside from reporting to him, so he probably made a separate request.
“There should be people who would be dissatisfied with the current situation in Ishtar… such as companies or individuals who eagerly invested here.”
Sensing that he was gauging whether they could gain additional collaborators, Chris replied:
“I’ll look into it.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard; it’s not absolutely necessary.”
After saying this, Yuri flipped through the terminal screen a few more times before looking away.
“…There’s a structural diagram here. It’ll be helpful for our search.”
“Then let’s proceed inside.”
The two began walking.
Moss covered the corners of the factory.
Birds chirped and bathed in naturally formed puddles.
Colorful flowers, lush leaves… some tree trunks even showed marks where animals had scratched them.
It was easy to forget they were trailing a terrorist organization and had come to a factory where drugs were being processed.
“It’s breathtakingly beautiful.”
Chris agreed with Yuri’s words.
He had never seen such a fresh ruin before.
“Even the Summer Continent… which I thought was quite green, doesn’t compare.”
The June Continent also had abundant greenery between its towering buildings. If that side had more refined nature, this side felt closer to the wild.
‘There are no signs of pruning or weed clearing.’
No footprints were visible either.
“It truly feels like a place long abandoned by humans.”
Yuri murmured.
“Excessively so.”
Looking at the grass beneath his feet, Chris suddenly thought of Anong.
If there were Espers who could manipulate plants on the other side, hiding their traces wouldn’t be difficult.
They could simply grow plenty of flowers and grass.
The vigorous life force of the Spring Continent would completely conceal human traces.
As well as the scale of the conspiracy being perpetrated here.
“One moment.”
Chris used telekinesis to lift himself off the ground.
“Hmm. This seems to work. Let’s try to move without stepping on the grass as much as possible.”
“…It is better not to leave traces if possible.”
Chris took this as permission and lifted Yuri’s body.
“This feels strange.”
“Since there might be an Esper with plant-related abilities like the Acting Head… I’ll move this way despite the inconvenience.”
“I wasn’t saying I disliked it.”
Yuri extended his hand as if telling Chris to hold it. Chris instinctively grabbed him.
‘I’m already holding him firmly with telekinesis, so there’s no way he could shake or fall.’
But rather than saying that, he would just swallow those words.
Opportunities to touch Yuri were always precious.
Chris slowly moved using his power. It would be problematic to fly too high and become noticeable. Therefore, the two moved about 5cm above the ground.
“Quite stable. You could pass for a flying Esper.”
Chris smiled awkwardly at Yuri’s words.
Should he have pretended to be a bit more clumsy?
“Ah. Over there.”
Turning his head to change the subject, Chris’s eyes gleamed as he discovered something.
“Let’s go that way.”
“Alright.”
In front of the two who moved quickly was a tightly closed metal box.
Creeeeak.
Pulling the rusty handle that no one had used made a rather loud noise.
‘It doesn’t look like anyone has checked this place.’
After fully opening the metal box, Chris exclaimed, “Ah,” and stuck out his tongue.
Inside the opened door was an energy meter.
It was a facility probably created to check internal energy flow when the factory was in full operation.
“…Look.”
Yuri whispered in a lowered voice.
“The numbers… are increasing.”
