Chapter 31
Creeeeak-!
The iron door opens with a loud noise.
As the interior scene gradually reveals itself, suddenly a blatant smell brushes the tip of my nose.
The fox unknowingly raises her tail straight up.
The source stimulating her sense of smell was...
"Delicious!"
"It's so fluffy...!"
A faint sweet scent wafting over.
A space adorned cutely.
In front of an antique-style dining table, familiar children are sitting together amicably.
They were the foxes Irene had entrusted.
"It's sweet and melts in my mouth......"
"I love the pie the teacher makes no matter how often I eat it!"
"Mmm...!"
"It's as delicious as the Commander's!!"
The sight of them chatting and laughing happily.
The children were munching on pies placed in their bowls.
Perhaps that was the source of the intense sweet smell.
The foxes had the happiest expressions in the world.
The moment they bring forks to their mouths, their tails sway pleasantly.
A scene that naturally warms a corner of the heart.
"...?"
Question marks float above the watching girl's head.
It was because of a completely unexpected scene.
The tension that felt like it would burst dissipates emptily.
"It seems it was snack time."
A voice suddenly heard.
Turning around, there is the golden snake smiling broadly.
"Snack time...?"
"It's what I instructed. I prepared for there to be snacks three times a day besides meals."
"W-Wait... Isn't three times too much?"
"It's important to eat well and grow well when young."
The boy nods confidently.
"Don't worry. The chef here is skilled enough to impress even me."
I knew the underground facility was large, but to think there's even a chef.
I belatedly realize how proper a facility this is.
The boy continues his explanation with a pleased expression.
"Not only nutrition, but we're also managing constitution and eating habits... So you don't need to worry about your siblings' health either."
"......"
Irene was listening blankly.
Yet her black eyes don't lose their light. Only a gentle smile is reflected in her vision.
It was a confusing feeling.
How should I put it?
It was so different from the scenes in her head that had made the girl anxious until just now.
'It's strange.'
Only now do the detailed scenes start to enter her eyes.
Expensive-looking items all around, softly laid carpets, toys rolling around abundantly.
It was a composition showing consideration for children.
I didn't know there were such thoughtful aspects.
It was a point where I felt ashamed for having doubted the underground facility.
The children were doing well.
The fox quietly watches her younger siblings.
"...Big sister Irene?"
As she's standing like that, her eyes meet with one of the children.
The short words soon color the surroundings.
"What? Big sister came?"
"Where is she?"
"She's right there! How can you not see her standing still by the door!"
"Oh, it really is!"
"The Commander came together too!"
Gazes focusing one by one.
Irene smiles awkwardly.
"It's been a while, everyone."
The children's faces brighten.
They put down the snacks they were holding and immediately ran towards the girl.
Several warm presences are embraced in her arms.
"Sister! I missed you...!"
"You came to see us, right? We've been waiting!"
"It's been so long!"
"Where have you been all this time, sis?"
The children chattering happily.
As she receives the enthusiastic welcome, a smile blooms even on the lips of the gruff girl.
"I missed you too."
She spreads both arms and hugs her younger siblings.
Though Irene usually had a sharp and fierce personality, she softened without boundaries just for now.
The corners of her mouth drawing a bright arc.
It might feel unfamiliar.
"......"
An infinitely affectionate scene.
The golden-haired boy was watching from one step behind. The foxes' reunion was beautiful.
He didn't want to needlessly break the emotion.
"Enjoy it fully."
He mutters quietly.
Right after.
The snake turned his back just like that.
His calm steps disappear leaving only momentary footprints.
***
Subtly avoiding the place.
While the foxes were having a lively conversation and catching up in the opposite room.
I'm sitting at a work desk.
A faint self-mutter escapes between my lips.
"It's been a while."
That's right.
When was the last time I sat in this seat?
I made it coolly calling it the 'Commander's Office', but I don't really remember actually spending daily life here.
It's too vague to recall memories.
I quietly shake off idle thoughts.
In front of my eyes is a girl with silver hair. She had an atmosphere resembling winter.
The vice-commander of Astro, Neria Lightni.
"You called?"
She stands with neatly held angles.
Not even a speck of vitality exists in her eyes. It's like seeing an empty shell.
Or perhaps a puppet tied with strings.
Anyway,
"There's something I'd like you to do."
"Whatever you say, I'll gladly do it."
I had other business now.
With the immediately returning answer behind me, I slowly start speaking.
"There's been some talk going around recently."
"What do you mean by talk?"
"There should have been news that the movements of heretics... demon god worshippers are not normal."
"That's right. We've been hearing bits here and there for a few months."
"As expected."
Are they starting to move?
Well, considering the flow of the original work, it wouldn't be strange for them to appear anytime.
Rather, it's later than I thought.
"How about the other side?"
"There's talk going around that two underground bigwigs have joined hands. We haven't found out the reason yet."
"The slave trader... and the monarch, right?"
"That's correct."
"This side is also according to the original story."
The Baobab Tree, the Businessman, the King.
They were forces that appeared as villains in the original work, but there hadn't been any particular abnormalities yet.
It was following the contents of the original work as is.
"Please continue information gathering like this."
"Understood."
"Also increase patrol personnel just in case... Ah, and."
Suddenly one thing comes to mind.
I drew a meaningful smile on my lips and stared straight into her silver eyes.
My voice rings out coldly.
"There was a dispute around us today, people extorting passage fees at the street corner."
"...!"
"I wonder if management was lax?"
"I-I'm sorry. I'll correct it."
"For there to be a mistake in the work I asked you to do... How should I take this?"
"I'll make sure it never happens again."
Neria visibly flustered.
Her cold appearance from just before was gone, and her reaction was starting to crumble and break.
Why is she so scared?
I was actually saying it out of concern.
During the 6 months I was absent.
Neria performed duties as Astro's de facto leader and supervised the city.
How could I scold such a talented person?
I'm just worried because she made a mistake she doesn't usually make.
"I trusted our vice-commander."
"P-Please Master, d-don't abandon me......"
"My, my... How could I abandon our capable Miss Neria?"
If you leave, our organization collapses.
You handle 30% of the total work alone.
"I just meant let's try a little harder."
"...Yes, Master."
Did I make her feel down by saying unnecessary things?
The girl lowers her head.
I stood up from my seat with the thought that I should comfort her.
"Be at ease."
"...?!"
I stroke her silver hair.
Slowly, so as not to dishevel it.
Neria is flustered for a moment not knowing what to do, then soon freezes in a stiff posture.
Even so, her shoulders twitch.
"Hic, huu......"
Every time the soft sensation brushes my fingertips, pitiful moans flow out.
You must have had a hard time all this while.
The kid is even on the verge of tears.
"I will never abandon you."
As expected, patting is the best for comfort.
The girl loosens up little by little.
I continued encouraging her for a while.
***
Meanwhile,
Irene, surrounded by the foxes.
She spent a chaotic time being led here and there by welcoming hands.
It seems her younger siblings had missed her quite a bit too.
For a while, the underground facility was filled with the unique cheerfulness of children.
"Haa......"
After a hectic moment passed, Irene sat in a corner to take a brief rest.
Do the young foxes never tire?
They were playing among themselves.
Eating well, sleeping well, laughing well.
Perhaps because their overall life was balanced, her siblings were full of a healthiness that couldn't be seen before.
Incomparable to when they were confined in narrow cages.
'I'm glad.'
They seem to be doing well.
Belated relief washes over her. A faint smile spreads on her lips.
'I was so worried... but he was really helping them sincerely.'
The slit eyes that had only felt lecherous looked a bit different now.
Though the fox had originally vowed never to trust humans again, gratitude was gratitude separate from that.
She chews over thoughts about the boy for a moment.
At that time.
"So you're the guest the Commander brought."
"...?"
A husky voice suddenly heard.
Turning around, red hair comes into view. It was a man who looked middle-aged.
A faint aura was evident in his sturdy physique.
"I've wanted to meet you sometime."
"Uh... yes?"
"I should introduce myself first."
He bursts into laughter at Irene's wary reaction.
The man who was nodding heartily places his fist on his chest and says.
"Kyle Stroban, I'm in charge of the kitchen here. I also play the role of supervising the children."
"Ah."
He's the person the boy had confidently mentioned.
Is he also taking on the role of teacher on top of that?
At the appearance of the man actually taking care of the children, Irene hurriedly returned a greeting.
"I'm Irene Foxis."
"Hahaha! I've heard a lot about you from the children."
A few words were exchanged lightly.
Only then does the fox start examining his face.
Intense red hair, eyes tinged with blood color.
Arms with muscles clearly embedded as if having honed swords for a long time, and a sturdy physique to match.
A cross-shaped scar etched on his cheek.
His inner waves are chillingly calm.
'...Where did such a monster pop out from?'
Cold sweat flows without her realizing.
The members she had met earlier.
They were all skilled people with awe-inspiring output, but standing in front of this man made them pale in comparison.
She thought she had seen countless monsters rolling in the mud, but.
'What on earth.'
It was unusual.
Had he been hiding his energy until now? His presence becomes clearer and clearer.
The Galimar faculty is called peerless under heaven.
They say there's no one who can match them on the continent.
But this is an intensity that would easily trample even such strong people.
'No way.'
Strength in a range difficult to comprehend.
To think this is just a chef.
Just as she was about to feel something was strange.
'His face seems familiar from somewhere...?'
A sudden sense of déjà vu brushes by.
Deep red hair, sturdy physique, even the cross-shaped scar on his cheek.
He was definitely someone she knew.
Her master's words that she had heard to the point of annoyance brush her ears.
-Irene, remember this man in the picture well.
-If you want to walk the path of the sword in the future... He's a sky you must someday overcome.
-He's the only figure in continental history who reached the stars.
A scene she had forgotten vividly replays.
Her master who kept shoving someone's portrait at her and raising his voice about the achievements he had made.
In the picture, a red-haired young man is smiling.
The name of the subject drawn was.
'Kyle Stroban.'
Though long years have passed, traces of unforgettable familiarity are evident here and there.
Irene mutters blankly.
"...The Red Sword Star?"
The weapon was evaluated as humanity's strongest.
The most brilliant legacy of the past era that decorated countless pages of history with unprecedented strength.
The Sword Star smiles as if embarrassed.
"I didn't think you'd recognize me... Hahaha! This is embarrassing!"
It was clearly an answer indicating affirmation.
"It can't be."
Irene mutters blankly.
The person called the pinnacle of the continent... why is he involved in a criminal organization?
At a glance it sounded like such a lamentation.
But the reality was completely different.
"You're definitely......"
Confusion, bewilderment, doubt.
The shock the fox felt was triggered by a more fundamental issue.
She lets out a monologue in a daze.
"...I heard you died in an accident two years ago."
Kyle Stroban.
Also known as the 'Red Sword Star' or 'Fallen Star'.
A hero who subjugated numerous black magicians and had a profound influence on the continent's peace. He was the figure symbolizing the empire's past 20 years.
And
According to official records, deceased.
"......"
"Now I'm just an ordinary chef."
A hearty laugh rings out.
Irene was facing a ghost that shouldn't be alive.
"Hahaha! This too is grace bestowed by the Commander!"
"What do you mean...?"
"Thanks to him, I survived like this."
The Commander mentioned once again.
The Sword Star offers a brief meditation after a simple recitation. Deep reverence is evident in his expression.
It was a similar state to the members she had seen outside.
The fox watches the scene while frozen stiff.
'Slums, criminal organizations, underground facilities, fanatics... and now even the empire's disappeared hero.'
How far does his reach extend?
A sticky ominousness brushes her nape.
The girl had to swallow dry saliva while recalling the mastermind who would be at the center of all this.