Clara and her ambition (II)

"Explain to me now, what can I help with, Clara?" I asked Clara, who was sitting on the sofa facing me.

Meanwhile, I was also sitting on the sofa with Maria, who was holding my left arm while staring at Clara with a sharp gaze.

"First of all, can you make your little sister stop staring at me like that?" Said Clara, who was uncomfortable with Maria's presence.

"Maria, can you stop acting like this? Or you can get out of this room if you can't," I said without hesitation, making Maria stop staring at Clara sharply.

"I can! I don't want to go out! Brother will only be alone with this devil if I leave this room!" Maria shouted while pleading.

Honestly, she didn't need to beg, as long as she kept quiet and didn't do anything to avoid disturbing.

"Who are you calling a devil, me?" Clara looked annoyed.

"Who else if not you? Forcing my brother to do dangerous things all the time, and you say you're not a devil?" Maria replied.

"Ugh...," Clara looked unable to refute.

While I sighed and said, "Maria, I did it because I wanted to, I wasn't forced. Besides, I was also paid by her, even though I didn't want to accept it at first."

"Of course you're paid! I'd feel guilty if you helped without getting anything!" Clara replied.

"Yeah, sorry, I just helped you."

"No-no, I should thank you, because of you I can live peacefully until now...," Clara looked shy when she said it.

Her self-esteem as a human being is very high. It must be difficult for her to say that to me. But knowing that she was grateful to me showed that she still had ethics as a human being.

Thankful that I am me, if other people might act like that too but say bad things about Clara behind their backs. But I'm different, badmouthing people behind their backs is not something I usually do. It's better to say it directly than to keep it bottled up for too long.

That was the lesson I learned after observing my relationship with Beatrice. The longer I kept something bottled up, the harder it was for me to handle it in the future. Therefore, it is better to be honest from the beginning and accept what happens in the relationship that is ongoing.

A few minutes passed and Maria had already apologized to Clara for her rude words.

"As you know, my ability makes me able to see the future or the past randomly. Honestly, I haven't been able to control this unreasonable ability yet. But several times this ability has helped me avoid my own death, and the people around me," Clara said.

"Yeah, I know, so what did you see this time?" I asked.

"The death of hundreds of prison inmates."

"Prison inmates?"

"Yep, in this Millennium City there is a prison called 'Ironclad'. An ordinary prison that honestly looks normal but for some reason what I saw at that time made me suspicious of something."

"What did you see?"

"The police laughing as they watched one of the inmates sitting in the electric chair. Then there were also some inmates who were fed strange things. Some of them also became strange after eating the food given to them. They looked like they were becoming zombies or something."

"But isn't there an annual check from the center? No... Wait... If I'm not mistaken, the requirement for your ability to activate is...," I stared at Clara for quite a while, waiting for her answer.

She nodded and said, "yes, I've been there to visit someone I know. Not long after I looked into his eyes, I saw his death. Everything I saw at that time was what would happen to him," Clara looked uncomfortable discussing it.

I'm sure it must have been someone very close to her, or maybe someone special to her.

"So that's it, I understand, I won't ask about who he is."

"Th-thank you..."

"Are there any other clues?"

"Hmm...," Clara closed her eyes and folded her arms in front of her chest while closing her eyes to think.

"You don't have to force yourself if you can't," I said because I was worried about her. Maybe seeing the future that the person she cherished would experience would make her feel uncomfortable.

"No... I'm fine, I'm just trying to remember. Because the visions of the future I get always come from someone else's perspective, not my own. So I need time to understand the situation little by little."

"That's good then."

"Oh! I remember!"

"What?"

"There's one thing that's been curious to me ever since I first heard the conversation of the people around me at that time."

"About what?"

"Eng... Payment?"

"Payment?"

"Yes, there was talk about salary or something."

Hearing that made me a little curious about this case. With a clue about the salary, it made me think about several possibilities that happened.

But as I thought, there was one possibility that made the most sense.

A few days ago I met someone who was disguised as a poor person living under a bridge. I felt that everything that person told me seemed to be related. Making me smile unconsciously and making Clara surprised by it.

"Do you know something?" Clara asked.

"Hey, you asked me to come here to help you think about what really happened and how to help that person you know, right?"

"Yes, as usual, you don't actually need to go down to the field, you just need to act as a consultant. Especially this time it's quite dangerous."

"Hoo... You're worried about me?"

"Of course I'm worried!" Clara shouted clearly, making me a little surprised by it.

Without realizing it, I smiled and said, "yeah, this time it seems like I don't need to get involved either. And besides, my sweet little sister already knows about it. She'll definitely get involved if I get involved."

Maria, who heard it, immediately replied, "of course! We're family, right? This is the right thing to do for a family!"

I smiled and started stroking her head while saying, "yes, thank you."

Clara, who saw the two of us at that time, also smiled and muttered, "that's right, this is the right thing to do for a family."

Fortunately, even if her voice was as small as it was, she couldn't hide it from me. Because controlling sound waves is very easy for me.

The gentle expression on her face, and also her muttering about something strange. It made me sure that the person she wanted to save was her own family. Even though Clara is a firm and intelligent girl, it seems that she is still a naive girl who loves her family. It made me feel happy to know that my friend has a good heart.

"But Clara, before I explain the plan I've made, can I ask you something?" I said.

"What?"

"Show me the list of prisoners who entered that prison over the past few days. If possible, reports from last month."

"What for?"

I smiled and replied without hesitation, "I just want to see if there's someone I know on the list."

I wasn't lying at all, because I was still curious about the mysterious person under the bridge. Maybe he is already in the prison right?