Ch.32Astro (4)

“By the way, I’m surprised.”

“Pardon?”

“That you recognized me. I heard that beastfolk are usually indifferent to other races.”

“…That’s not wrong. Foxes are the worst offenders.”

“Oh?”

The man naturally strikes up a conversation.

Irene furrows her brow briefly, then responds with a somewhat dry voice.

“I learned about you through my master.”

“Your master?”

“Swordsmanship. He took care of me like a parent since I was young, and he was your fervent supporter.”

“Hearing that makes me feel a bit embarrassed. Hahaha!”

“It was tiresome.”

The girl remembers clearly.

A wheat field rippling with the gentle breeze. The earth swept with golden hues as if proving its abundance.

In that nostalgic landscape stands a white-haired old man.

-Didn’t I tell you, Irene.

-A sword must contain righteous light.

-Like the Red Sword Saint… you must be easily broken but never wavering, easily knocked down but never lying flat.

-Find your own star.

Back then, she dismissed it as mere nagging.

“Your name was what I heard every time I got lectured.”

“That’s quite unfortunate.”

“Having the protagonist of those lectures right beside me now… it feels strange, fascinating even.”

“Hmm!”

The Sword Saint nods as if he understands.

The conversation breaks into short exchanges.

After a moment of silence, Irene finally asks the question that had been most difficult to believe.

A straightforward fastball.

“I heard you died two years ago.”

“……”

“What happened?”

“……”

Perhaps he has no intention of explaining.

The Sword Saint keeps his mouth shut.

The pleasant atmosphere from earlier vanishes, replaced by a chilling silence that envelops their surroundings.

The air grows cold in an instant.

‘Did I make a mistake?’

Judging by his reaction, this doesn’t seem to be a pleasant topic.

Perhaps I should have phrased the question more delicately.

As the tense girl breaks into a cold sweat, a soft chuckle breaks the silence.

“Pfft… hahaha!”

“…?”

“I’m sorry! You looked so tense that I thought I’d play a little joke!”

The frigid tension dissolves.

The Sword Saint laughs as if nothing had happened. He looked every bit the middle-aged man.

Should she consider him friendly?

Or should she find him suspicious?

He leans back against his chair and naturally continues the conversation.

“There’s not much to tell, really.”

“……”

“I simply put too much faith in the name of justice, and paid a small price for it.”

For a playful tone, his words carried significant weight.

A fleeting emotion crosses his cloudy pupils.

Yet his lips recite the words calmly.

“By rights, I should have died. Vanishing pathetically, as recorded in history.”

The fall of a brilliant star.

But even in such despair, someone reached out.

“The Commander took me in.”

“That suspicious person…?”

“It was truly a miracle. Since then, I’ve lived in complete loyalty to him.”

The Sword Saint faintly raises the corner of his mouth.

Though still tinged with playfulness, it wasn’t a smile that appeared light-hearted.

It was a worn expression that only an adult could make.

“The same goes for the others. Every one of them owes their life to the Commander.”

“All those people…?”

The members who served the boy like fanatics.

It seemed there were reasons behind their faith, which had only appeared suspicious before.

“Poor orphans, wrongfully condemned prisoners, damned beggars… and finally, a fallen star.”

They were like street garbage, but.

“He didn’t turn his back on us.”

The world abandoned them.

Hearts broken, wills withered, hope lost meaning.

As they were dying like that.

The golden snake found them.

“That’s the reason for our faith.”

“……”

“The child who holds the Vice Commander position is especially devoted. I understand why they’re so attached to him.”

“Could you tell me what happened…?”

“That would be difficult for me to say, as I’m not the person involved.”

“I see.”

“Anyway.”

The man lightly wraps up the conversation.

The Sword Saint shakes off his serious demeanor and leaves a few final words.

“To form a relationship means to be ‘tamed’.”

That’s what he used to say habitually.

Things that aren’t tamed have no color of their own.

Only those who have been tamed by something can face a meaningful landscape.

The golden hue that spreads magnificently.

“I pray that such a moment comes to you as well.”

“……”

Relationship, and taming.

Though she had heard these words before, they remained sentences whose meaning she couldn’t quite grasp.

She seemed caught on an unsolved question.

No appropriate response comes to mind.

The fox remains frozen for a while.

In the end, she simply nods her head quietly.

***

A day that passed in a blur.

It would soon be evening, and she needed to return to make curfew at the dormitory.

The fox was saying brief goodbyes to her younger siblings.

“Sister… are you leaving already?”

“Can’t you just stay here with us? The teachers are all nice…”

“Sniff…”

The children whimper with disappointment.

Irene puts on a complicated smile and tries to comfort the young foxes.

“I have things I need to do.”

“Do you really have to go…?”

“I made a promise. Remember what I told you before? You shouldn’t break promises made with friends.”

“Yes…”

Their response comes back dejected.

Of course, the children weren’t seriously throwing tantrums or being stubborn.

They knew how much the girl sacrificed to protect them.

A childhood that matured too early.

Perhaps it was forced by the world, having lived under oppression for so long.

To forget childhood during childhood itself.

To become worn adults earlier than scheduled.

“…I’ll come back during vacation.”

The girl smiles bitterly.

As she turns her back, the boy beside her interjects.

With sly, narrowed eyes.

“My, my~ Splendid foxes don’t get sad over such things, you know?”

His hand skillfully rummages through his pocket.

Then, numerous chocolates and candies tumble out of the small space, as if by magic.

The boy gives each child a handful.

With a slight wink.

“This is my gift to you.”

“Sniff, thank you…”

“Mmm… thank you.”

“Hehe, don’t mention it.”

The boy smiles brightly.

He was clearly skilled at handling children. His characteristically light tone refreshes the atmosphere.

Perhaps it was consideration for Irene.

‘Really.’

The fox gazes at the snake with complicated eyes.

Inwardly, she replays the voice she heard earlier, a recurring question.

‘Why… does he go this far for me?’

Looking back, it had been that way from the beginning.

He rescued her from the hellish cage and kept her siblings safe.

Though he always acted suspiciously.

Not once had he done anything bad to her.

Rather, he seemed to treat her preciously.

‘It’s strange.’

Humans are vile creatures.

They exploit others’ goodwill, deceive, and eventually take everything away.

She paid too high a price while learning this fact.

-I’m sorry, Irene.

-I wanted to stay by your side forever.

The day she finally lost her master.

The girl swore.

That she would never trust humans again.

That she would sneer and mock any sweet talk, no matter how crafty.

But.

“It’s time to go back, Miss Irene.”

“…Yeah.”

“Don’t be too sad. You don’t have to wait for vacation—you can visit whenever you miss them.”

“……”

She doesn’t know what to do.

Even though she pushes him away sharply, every time she sees those bright, narrowed eyes approaching cheerfully.

Her solid wall seemed to be shaking.

Such heavy kindness was a first for her.

Was it because of the memories of the past two years, struggling desperately to survive?

She even felt like she had become weak.

Irene forcefully shook off her distracting thoughts and spoke with composure.

“…I’ll trust that your members will take good care of the children.”

“Of course. Actually, I wanted to send them to the orphanage run by Astra, but as you know, we still need to be careful about eyes at this stage.”

“Orphanage? You run something like that too?”

“It’s a modest scale.”

“Still surprising…”

The fox’s response comes back quietly.

The boy seems to freeze momentarily, but soon answers calmly.

“I just didn’t want children to be alone.”

The corner of the snake’s mouth rises quietly.

“Lonely childhood memories… they remain as scars for life.”

His voice resonates calmly.

Though he was smiling as usual, the boy’s expression somehow looked sad.

As if hinting at a distant past.

“…?”

“Well~ Let’s stop the idle talk here, shall we?”

While the fox tilts her head at the unfamiliar atmosphere.

The snake walks ahead toward the exit.

The golden figure exchanges greetings with passing members, shares jokes, and promises future meetings.

“……”

Irene, who had been standing blankly, finally takes her halted steps.

Following the lingering image of the snake.

***

Meanwhile.

In a building whose exact location is unknown.

In a space filled only with darkness and silence, several suspicious figures in robes had gathered.

They exuded an obviously dangerous aura as they faced each other around a round table.

“It’s almost time.”

The robe at the center mutters.

Though he didn’t specify what, his companions quietly nodded.

“We’ve kept our heads down for a while… but now it’s time to take root again.”

At the center of the pitch-black round table is a golden pattern.

An image reminiscent of an inverted tree.

There was only one group that wore such ominous garments.

Baob, the continent’s largest black magic cult.

The heretics, who had been quiet for the past few years, were stirring again.

“Exactly two years ago today. We killed the ‘Red Sword Saint’ who had been such a nuisance to us.”

There had been some bloodshed, but the result was satisfactory.

Now there are no strong ones who can control us on the continent. This time we will fulfill his will.

“I hear some quality students have entered Galimar Academy.”

A summoner who handles dragons.

The Empire’s First Princess, called an unparalleled genius.

The Venatti twins.

And the valedictorian from House Snakus who appeared like a comet.

“They’ll all make fine sacrifices for him.”

-BANG!!

Behind the robe is a massive cage.

Something huge trapped inside is rampaging. A hideous construct smeared with chunks of human flesh.

It screams as if thirsting for slaughter.

-KIEEEEEK!!

Though the noise seemed to pierce their eardrums, the robes didn’t even frown.

Instead, they were bursting into maniacal laughter.

“Everyone, prepare.”

Eyes gleaming with desire.

In their vision, the landscape of the continent covered in blood and flames was already shimmering.

Their shoulders trembled with the thrill running down their spines.

“It’s time for us to return to the world.”

Take root, sinister trees.

“Everything is for our master, the origin of all things… the Demon God.”

“For him.”

In a space filled only with darkness and silence.

The danger was taking root like that.