Chapter 45
After the investigation ended.
They took a carriage towards the dormitory building.
As the sun had already set and darkness had fallen, they planned to return to their respective rooms for now.
The children had all turned into exhausted wrecks.
"To think it's already this late... No wonder I felt tired."
"I-I feel like my eyes are closing too."
"You've been crying all day. It would be strange if you hadn't collapsed in the middle."
"R-Really...?"
"Do you know how annoying it was because of you?"
"S-Sorry..."
"...I didn't particularly say that to make you gloomy."
The carriage rattled.
The two girls were having a conversation while sitting side by side.
At a glance, it might have seemed like they were bickering, but seeing how close they were sitting, it didn't appear that way.
Knowingly or unknowingly, the atmosphere had softened compared to before.
'Better than expected.'
Perhaps because of the memories from the basement?
It seemed a strange bond had blossomed as they relied on each other and faced the monster together.
The villainess allowing the protagonist to sit beside her.
It was a scene unimaginable in the original work.
A smile flowed out, feeling proud of them.
"Huhu."
"...What are you smiling about?"
"It's nothing."
Well, what was so good?
It might have been relief that the episode had wrapped up well.
Though it had deviated somewhat from the original plan... I think it was a story well worth it.
Because we came to know a new light.
'We should be able to do better from now on.'
Everything was still going smoothly.
I quietly chewed over expectations for what was to come.
***
And.
Such expectations were shattered as soon as we returned to the dormitory.
"......"
A space where only chilly silence had settled.
It was a stillness dyed with strangeness.
Originally, a voice greeting me and asking if I was back, though reluctantly, should have been heard.
Now only heavy silence was surging.
There was no sign of presence in the darkened room.
"...Miss Irene."
I called her name, just in case.
But as if mocking my last patience, no answer came.
Only a terrible emptiness lingered.
Thick darkness swallowed the surroundings.
The night sky scenery shining through the window.
Perhaps because it was cloudy, no stars were visible today.
I stood frozen for a moment in the scenery faintly drawing loss.
-Several assailants appeared in the shopping district.
-The shopping district... That's not far from the dormitory building.
-Were there any casualties...?
-None reported so far.
-That's a relief.
-Well, there might be hidden victims we don't know about.
The conversation I had carelessly passed over brushed my ears.
An ominous intuition rippling.
My inner self that had been full of joy until just now cooled coldly.
I muttered quietly.
"Where could she have gone?"
Clap-!
I clapped my hands.
Right after, the scenery in view changed.
Teleportation activating in a short moment. Before I knew it, I was in front of the dormitory building.
I rolled my eyes but saw nothing.
Clap-!
I clapped my hands once more.
This time it was the path leading to the shopping district. Similarly, there was nothing special.
I didn't stop and continued clapping.
Clap-!
Carriage stop, nothing.
Clap-!
Downtown, nothing.
Clap-!
Side street, nothing.
Clap clap clap clap clap-!
Dozens of claps rang out, and each time the background changed rapidly.
Before I knew it, it was emotionally colliding hands.
Vision flickering ten times per second.
I fiercely chased the fox's traces.
Clap-!
The clapping that had been repeating like that stopped in an alley not far from the shopping district.
Perhaps because of the complexly tangled path, it was also a place students' feet didn't often reach.
I quietly stared at the ground.
"......"
A basket had fallen.
As if someone had dropped it while shopping, spilled groceries were rolling at my feet.
It was the basket the fox carried every time she went to the shopping district.
'Why.'
Do bad premonitions never miss?
Beside the messy floor, a strange energy remained thickly.
Though it was so faint it wouldn't even be captured by ordinary eyes... it was clearly a trace of black magic.
These eyes couldn't be deceived.
Whooosh-.
Shadows fluttered following the brushing wind.
After being sunk in silence for a moment, I soon burst into a hollow laugh.
It was a sneer catching fishy.
"Ha."
Baob.
These sons of bitches.
***
Meanwhile
The fox woke up on a cold floor.
"...Ugh."
Eyes opening to a headache that felt like splitting.
What appeared in her wavering pupils was none other than a scene covered in darkness.
The characteristic chill of a stone floor was felt on her back.
A dizzying groan leaked between her dry lips.
"Ugh, haa......"
Though she furrowed her brow at the dizzy vision, the girl slowly raised her upper body.
She couldn't breathe properly.
It was because of the splitting pain dyeing her whole body.
It felt like she was being broken into pieces, as if she had become glass about to shatter.
It was a side effect of excessive sleep magic.
"Ugh, cough, haa...!"
Especially Irene, who had no immunity to magic.
The fox had to writhe while lying down, swallowing screams for a while.
After such a moment passed.
"Haa, haa......"
The headache gradually subsided.
As her rough breathing slowly returned to normal, only then could the girl look around.
It was a space covered entirely in pitch black.
The fox muttered blankly.
"Where is this...?"
A dazed self-mutter.
What came first was a bewildered feeling.
Black eyes scanned the surroundings.
How did she end up in a place like this?
The girl chewed over hazy memories.
She had certainly been shopping in the shopping district, but from the moment she turned into an alley, she seemed to have heard footsteps following.
Irene, who had smelled something suspicious, didn't lower her guard.
The moment she turned around while grabbing the sword at her waist.
"...I was caught."
Her consciousness cut off there.
The last thing that shone in her vision was a red flashing light.
It was an unpleasant light.
Irene quietly held her breath.
For now, grasping the situation came first.
Black pupils scanned through the darkness, digging through the background standing nearby one by one.
What stood out most were iron bars.
"......"
The fox was trapped in a narrow prison.
As she examined the densely surrounding iron bars, suddenly a sense of déjà vu brushed by.
"Damn it."
A curse popped out involuntarily.
Because she had been in a similar place until just a few months ago.
The slave auction house where numerous beasts had gathered. At the memory passing like trauma, the girl bit her lip.
Could it be their doing this time too?
"No, there's no way they would have chased me to the academy......"
Then who on earth was it?
To kidnap someone in broad daylight at the continent's top educational institution.
At least she could tell they weren't in their right mind.
Her mind was dyed in confusion.
Mental anxiety approached as stress.
Finally, a headache creeping up.
As she groaned while rubbing her brow to that, suddenly an alien noise was heard in her ear.
It was someone's footsteps.
Trudge trudge-.
Steps echoed in the long corridor.
They were approaching the iron bars where Irene was trapped at a leisurely pace.
Just then.
"Don't just stand there blankly, crouch down...!"
"...?!"
Something touched the fox's shoulder.
Surprised, she turned around to see fingers sticking out between the bars.
It seemed to be a person trapped in the cell right next to her.
The youthful voice whispered quietly.
"Sister! Quickly pretend to be asleep...!"
"Wh-What?"
"Hurry before the devil comes...!"
Footsteps that had suddenly come close.
Irene, who had been hesitating, decided to follow those words for now and lay down.
As if she hadn't woken up yet.
"......"
Trudge-.
Right after, the footsteps stopped in front of the iron bars.
As she repeated her breathing nonchalantly, two men exchanged conversation next.
"It seems she hasn't woken up yet."
"It appears so."
"What shall we do?"
"Leave her be until tomorrow for now. We still have many experimental subjects to deal with."
"What should we do with the failures we worked on today?"
"Move them to the lowest floor."
"Yes, understood."
Experimental subjects, work, failures, lowest floor.
They were somewhat meaningful words. The fox unknowingly clenched her fist tightly.
It felt like her tail might move from tension if she wasn't careful.
"By the way, a very useful material has come in."
"Indeed. There haven't been many experiments using fox beastkin as samples until now."
"To think such an interesting creature would be brought in... from an infiltration operation that proceeded with deception. I should give a reward to the surviving members."
"Everyone will surely be pleased."
"It will make a good sacrifice to offer to Him."
A blatant gaze was felt.
A resonance dyeing the darkness stickily, a voice glistening with ugly desire.
Irene unknowingly thought.
"I look forward to the upcoming experiment."
Something was wrong.
It seemed very wrong.
***
It was cold.
It felt like her heart was no longer beating.
In the chest of that young child from those days, an icicle was always stuck.
It was a sensation long forgotten.
'How long has it been.'
Air lingering chilly.
Her mind was cold, stinging, and quiet like snow falling on a winter night.
A cool breath flowed between her lips.
She was strangely calm.
An inner self without even a trace of wavering. I was swimming in a world dyeing gently.
The feeling of slowly sinking gave a strange sense of stability.
A brief meditation continuing.
As I sat for a moment with my eyes closed, suddenly there was a girl's voice calling me.
"Commander."
"......"
"All members are prepared."
"......"
I raised my lowered head.
What appeared before my eyes were Astro's members. They were all wearing white robes.
They were waiting in proper postures.
Is it about time?
I slowly stood up from my seat.
The members' gazes focused.
Killing intent surging ominously. They were standing in place, each armed.
They were assassins waiting for orders.
"The tree has declared war."
"......"
"Though it's hard to say they picked a fight... Unfortunately, they touched a friend I cherish."
I had no intention of letting it slide once they crossed the line.
If something was taken, it should be retrieved.
I intended to show them clearly whose possession they dared to covet.
"It seems cleaning is needed... Shall we do it together?"
"All according to your will."
The members all bowed their heads in unison.
As I smiled with satisfaction at that, the vice-commander beside me handed over my share of the robe.
It was similarly pure white.
"Commander."
"Thank you, Miss Neria."
Flutter-.
I put on the robe without hesitation.
After arranging my disheveled collar, I took steps that had been stuck to the floor.
It was time to go out for observation.
"Then, shall we go?"
I muttered in the flickering shadows.
"To find the fox."